The present residents of the region, South Dakota, have preserved the
Indian tradition, and Spirit Mound may be seen on modern maps of that
country.

Passing on their way up the Missouri, the explorers found several kinds
of delicious wild plums and vast quantities of grapes; and here, too,
they passed the mouth of the Yankton River, now known as the Dakota,
at the mouth of which is the modern city of Yankton, South Dakota. The
Yankton-Sioux Indians, numbering about one thousand people, inhabited
this part of the country, and near here the white men were met by a
large band of these Sioux who had come in at the invitation of Lewis
and Clark. The messengers from the white men reported that they had been
well received by the Indians, who, as a mark of respect, presented their
visitors with "a fat dog, already cooked, of which they partook heartily
and found it well-flavored." From this time, according to the journal,
the explorers tasted occasionally of roast dog, and later on they
adopted this dish as a regular feature of their bill-of-fare. They do
tell us, however, that they had some difficulty in getting used to so
novel an article of food.

The Sioux and the white men held a grand council under an oak-tree,
from the top of which was flying the American flag. The head chief was
presented with a gold-laced uniform of the United States artillery, a
cocked hat and red feather. The lesser chiefs were also presented
with suitable gifts of lesser value. Various festivities followed the
conference. Next day another powwow was held at which the head chief,
Weucha, or Shake Hand, said:--

"'I see before me my great father's two sons. You see me and the rest
of our chiefs and warriors. We are very poor; we have neither powder,