held with the Sioux--Character of that tribe, their manners, &c.--A
ridiculous instance of their heroism--Ancient
fortifications--Quieurre river described--Vast herds of
Buffaloe--Account of the Petit Chien or Little Dog--Narrow escape
of George Shannon--Description of Whiteriver--Surprising fleetness
of the Antelope--Pass the river of the Sioux--Description of the
Grand Le Tour, or Great Bend--Encamp on the Teton river.


August 25. Captains Lewis and Clarke, with ten men, went to see an
object deemed very extraordinary among all the neighbouring Indians.
They dropped down to the mouth of Whitestone river, about thirty yards
wide, where they left the boat, and at the distance of two hundred
yards, ascended a rising ground, from which a plain extended itself as
far as the eye could discern. After walking four miles, they crossed the
creek where it is twenty-three yards wide, and waters an extensive
valley. The heat was so oppressive that we were obliged to send back our
dog to the creek, as he was unable to bear the fatigue; and it was not
till after four hours march that we reached the object of our visit.
This was a large mound in the midst of the plain about N. 20° W. from
the month of Whitestone river, from which it is nine miles distant. The
base of the mound is a regular parallelogram, the longest side being
about three hundred yards, the shorter sixty or seventy: from the
longest side it rises with a steep ascent from the north and south to
the height of sixty-five or seventy feet, leaving on the top a level
plain of twelve feet in breadth and ninety in length. The north and
south extremities are connected by two oval borders which serve as new
bases, and divide the whole side into three steep but regular gradations
from the plain. The only thing characteristic in this hill is its
extreme symmetry, and this, together with its being totally detached