BOLL. 30J 



MANDAN 



797 



entirely mythological. All that can be 

 gathered from them is the indication that 

 at some time they lived in a more easterly 

 locality in the vicinity of a lake. This 

 tradition, often repeated by subsequent 

 authors, is given by Lewis and Clark, as 

 follows: "The whole nation resided in one 

 large village underground near a sul)terra- 

 neous lake; a grapevine extended its roots 

 down to their habitation and gave them a 

 view of the light; some of the most adven- 

 turous climbed up the vine and were de- 

 lighted with the sight of the earth, which 

 they found covered with buffalo and rich 



IMERAPARAPA (" LANCE ")— MANDAN 



with every kind of fruits; returning with 

 the grapes they had gathered, their coun- 

 trymen were so pleased with the taste of 

 them that the whole nation resolved to 

 leave their dull residence for the charms 

 of the upper region; men, women, and 

 children ascended by means of the vine; 

 but when about half the nation had 

 reached the surface of the earth, a cor- 

 pulent woman who was clamliering up 

 the vine broke it witli her weight, and 

 closed upon herself and the rest of the 

 nation the light of the sun. Those who 

 were left on earth made a village below, 



where we saw the nine villages; and 

 when the Mandan die they expect to 

 return to the original seats of their fore- 

 fathers, the good reaching the ancient 

 village by means of the lake, which the 

 burden of the sins of the wicked will not 

 enable them to cross." JNIaximilian says: 

 "They athrm that they descended origi- 

 nally from the more eastern nations, near 

 the seacoast." Their linguistic relation 

 to the Winnebago and the fact that their 

 movements in their historic era have been 

 westward up the Missouri correspond 

 with their tradition of a more easterly 

 origin, and would seemingly locate them 

 ni the vicinity of the upper lakes. 

 It is possible that the tradition which 

 has long prevailed in the region of 

 X. w. Wisconsin regarding the so-called 

 "ground-house Indians" who once lived 

 in that section and dwelt in circular earth 

 lodges, partly underground, applies to 

 the people of this tribe, although other 

 tribesof this general region formerly lived 

 in houses f)f this character. Assuming 

 that the Mandan formerly resided in the 

 vicinityof the upper Mississippi, it is'i )rob- 

 able that they moved down this stream for 

 some distance before passing to the Mis- 

 souri. The fact that when first encount- 

 ered by the whites they relied to some ex- 

 tent on agriculture as a means of subsist- 

 ence would seem to justify the conclusion 

 that they were at some time in the past 

 in a section where agriculture was prac- 

 tised. It is possible, as Morgan con- 

 tends, that they learned agriculture from 

 the Hidatsa, but the reverse has more 

 often been maintained. Catlin's theory 

 that they formerly lived in Ohio and built 

 mounds, and moved thence to the N.W. 

 is without any basis. The traditions re- 

 garilingtheir migrations, asglven by Maxi- 

 milian, commence with their arrival at the 

 Missouri. The point where this stream 

 was first reached was at the mouth of 

 White r., S. Dak. From this point they 

 moved up the Missouri to Moreau r., 

 where they came in contact with the Chey- 

 enne, and where also the formation of 

 "bands or unions" began. Thence they 

 continued up the Missouri to Heart r. , N. 

 Dak., where they were residing at the 

 time of the first known visit of the whites, 

 but it is probable that trappers and trad- 

 ers visited them earlier. 



The first recorded visit to the Mandan 

 was that by the Sieur de la Verendrye in 

 1738. About 1750 they were settled near 

 the mouth of Heart r. in 9 villages, 2 on the 

 E. and 7 on the w. side. Remains of these 

 villages were found by Lewis and Clark 

 in 1804. Having suffered severely from 

 smallpoxand theattacksof theAssinil)oin 

 and Dakota, the inhabitants of the two 

 eastern villages consolidated and moved 

 up the Missouri to a point opposite the 



