Omaha daily bee., 1889-05-06


They also told them the river where a
branch of their tribe lived was called
Shah-gove-bit, or Green river, and was
so named from the color OF its waters.
At Wind river the explorers turned
back, and on the 18th OF May, l744, they
had returned to the upper Missouri and
at the fork near the mouth OF the Jetfer-
son they planted on an eminence, as be-
fore stated, a copper plate OF the arms
OF France, and raised n monument OF
stone as token that they would claim
the country they had visited for the
king OF France. They were about one
year in making their southern trip, and
although their route going south is per-
fectly described, there is no mention
made in the records to show which way
they returned, but they probably came
back the way they went.
After erecting their cross and
monument and claiming the country
for their king they descended the Mis-
souri, in boat to where they first
struck it and thence journey by way OF
Mouse river and the Assiniboine to the
Lake Of the Woods, where they arrived
on the I'd day of July, l744 There is n
full account in the records OF the falls
near Benton, around which the French
voyagers portrayed their boats. The de-
scription given of them does not differ
materially from that of Louis and
Clarke and shows that the falls have
remained very much the same for over
a century. The explorers found many
Indian tribes on their journey and all
were glad to see them, treated them in
the most friendly manner and gave
them provisions until they came to the
Snakes. who alarmed them about the
Sans Arcs. 1t is doubtful if the Arcs
Il H. a
gone on south, and they probably could
have penetrated the country undis-
turbed to the Platte river and thence to
the Missouri at Plattsmouth. The
strongest tribes met with were the
Montanes, Brochetts, Flat Heads, Ma
hantas, Gros Ventres, Black Feet,
Dog Feet and Snakes. The Mantanes
were doubtless the Maudans, the Bro
chefs, Assiniboines and the Dog Feet.
part of the Black Feet as there are no
such tribes rs the explorers mention.
There were thirteen villages on the
Missouri, and they stretched from
Knife river up to the Falls. On the
Shell river (Musselshelll there were
three villages of "Panis," probably
Pawnees, some OF whom were white,
others freckled, and others black.
The explorers had been told by In
dians that the head of the Missouri
flowed from great lake, and that the
Shining mountains were full OF gold.
What they saw shining they thought
was gold, and were much disappointed
to find only ROCKS and snow, from which
the sun reflected it's rays. Neither
could they discover any lake, but it is
| probable they were mistaken in the
| river, and that the Indians meant the
Yellowstone, which flows out of the
magnificent Yellowstone lake. About
thirty leagues beyond the rapids or
| falls they mention narrow pass in the
mountains, which undoubtedly was
Mullan's Pass. AT the gates of the
mountains they found a river (Priclly
Pear which entered the Missouri. Not
| far distant they heard of n river which
| flowed the other way, and though anX-
| ious to see this stream did not visit it.
1t probably was the Bitter Root, which
| flows into the Columbia. The eXplor-
| ers speak of a tusk-shaped mountain,
which certainly was the Bears Tooth, :"
near Helena, and it was
in the vicinity of this spur the first
white men ascended the rocky noun
turn they said the shining mountains
were not gold but ''rock," since which
| time they have borne the name of the
Rockies" They got their idea of the
Missouri being the outlet of a great
lake from the Flatheads, whom they
met far down the river returning home,
and who said in their country that a
large lake from which river flowed,
and that close by river ran to the
west. Had the explorers followed up
the Madison branch of the Missouri to
Its source, they would have found that
it nearly interlocks with the discharge
| pf fha Nnlln,vcfnnn lal.n anI hot ba
Jefferson fork is only a short distance
from the headwaters of the Snake river,
which is u tributary of the Colum bia.
| The fate of the French explorers who
were the first white men to penetrate
| the United States west of the Rocky
| Mountains was sad in the extreme.
| They left Montreal, 1881, fifty strong,
under the sons of Verendrye, the father
being detained on business and not
| joining the party until 1873. In June,
1876, while twenty-one men of the ex-
| plorers were camped on an island in
the Lake of the Woods, they were sur
dians and all killed. The Sioux
attacked them because they
had allied themselves with the
Knisteneaux, who were hostile to the
| Sioux. The island upon which the
slaughter took place was set down on all
the maps as Massacre Island. A few
days afterwards a party of five of the
Canadian voyagers discovered the dead
bodies of their scalped and mutilated
comrades.
Father Duncan, the missionary, was
found upon one knee, an arrow in his
head, his breast bare, his left hand
touching the ground and his right hand
raised to heaven.
Among the slaughtered on this oc.
casion was young son of Verendrye,
who had tomahawk in his back and
his body was adorned with garters and
bracelets of porcupine quilts. The
father was at the Lake of the Woods
when he heard the sad news of the death
of his son, and about the same time re,
ceivcd information of the death of his
nephew, Juveray, the son of his sister
Marie Varouner. This young man was
the brother of Madam Yourville, who
afterwards founded the hospitaliers o.
Montreal, being greatly moved to piety
10y the sad death of her brother. The
Indians gave the following account Of
the killing OF the party:
One morning the French canoes left
the trading house, which the French
had built about the middle Of the Lake
OF the Woods and stopped upon ar
nnlg Il - ID.,,. IL.