254 JOURNAL. 
village of the Rickarees, and halted. In our way 
here we met three Frenchmen in a canoe ; one of 
them a young man, who formerly belonged to the 
North West Company of traders, wished to go with 
us to the United States ; which our Commanding 
Officers consented to and he was taken on board one^ 
of our canoes. When we/ halted and landed at the 
villages, the natives genei^ally assembled, and Cap- 
tain Clarke held a council with them ; when they de- 
clared they would live in peace with all nations ; but 
that their chiefs and warriors would not go . to the 
United States at present, as they had' sent one chief 
already, and he had not returned. There are also a 
great many of the Chien, or Dog nation encamped 
here, in large handsome leather lodges ; and who 
have come to trade with the Rickarees for corn and 
beans, for which they give in exchange bufFaloe meat 
and robes. They are a very silly superstitious peo- 
ple. Captain Clarke gave one of their chiefs a medal, 
which he gave back with a buffaloe robe, and said he 
was afraid of white people, and did not lik^ to take 
any thing from them : but after some persuasion he, 
accepted the medal, and we left them.* Here a 
Frenchman joined us to go to St. Louis, who was in 
the service of the Commanding Officers ; and we 
dropped down to the village on the island, and en- 
camped for the night* 
* We think that some further proof is neeessary to esta^ 
blish the weakness and superstition of these Indians, Had 
the chief persevered in Ms rejection of the medal, we, in- 
stead of thinking him silly and superstitious, would have 
been inclined to the opinioRi that he was the wisest Indian 
on the Missouri; 
