60 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [ BULL. 77 
, 
the expedition reached the mouth of Teton River (the present Bad 
River), which enters the Missouri from the west at Pierre, Stanley 
County, South Dakota. Here stood the great village of the Teton, 
concerning which Sergeant Gass gave a very interesting account in 
his journal: “‘ We remained here all day. Capt. Lewis, myself and 
some of the men, went over to the Indian camp. Their lodges are 
about eighty in number, and contain about ten persons each; the 
greater part women and children. The women were employed in 
dressing buffaloe skins, for clothing for themselves and for covering 
their lodges. They are the most friendly people I ever saw; but will 
pilfer if they have an opportunity. They are also very dirty: the 
water they make use of, is carried in the paunches of the animals 
they kill, just as they are emptied, without being cleaned. . . About 
3 o’clock we went aboard the boat accompanied with the old chief 
and his little son. In the evening captain Clarke and some of the 
men went over, and the Indians made preparations for a dance. At 
dark it commenced. Captain Lewis, myself and some of our party 
went up to see them perform. Their band of music, or orchestra, 
was composed of about twelve persons beating on a buffalo hide, and 
shaking small bags that made a rattling noise: They had a large fire 
in the centre of their camp; on one side the women, about 80 in num- 
ber, formed a solid column round the fire, with sticks in their hands, 
and the scalps of the Mahas they had killed, tied on them. They 
kept moving, or jumping round the fire, rising and falling on both 
feet at once; keeping a continual noise, singing and yelling. In this 
manner they continued till 1 o’clock at night, when we returned to 
the boat with two of the chiefs.” (Gass, (1), pp. 45-46.) 
In the journal of the expedition is a very full account of the events 
which transpired during the two days spent at the Teton camp, 
but only part will now be quoted, sufficient to describe the place 
of meeting: “Captain Lewis went on shore and remained several 
hours, and observing that their disposition was friendly we resolved 
to remain during the night to a dance, which they were preparing 
for us. Captains Lewis and Clark, who went on shore one after the 
other, were met on landing by ten well dressed young men, who took 
them up in a robe highly decorated and carried them to a large 
council house, where they were placed on a dressed buffaloe skin 
by the side of the grand chief. The hall or council-room was in the 
shape of three quarters of a circle, covered at the top and sides with 
skins well dressed and sewed together. Under this shelter sat about 
seventy men, forming a circle round the chief, before whom were 
placed a Spanish flag and the one we had given them yesterday. 
This left a vacant circle of about six feet diameter, in which the 
pipe of peace was raised on two forked sticks, about six or eight 
