The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-05-04


 From Alice coopers statue of sacaja-
 veal Ing warrior in a hurry to get into a country and in hurry to get out of it again. Raiding parties cling to the river courses, which they know, but she and her people must have been far to the west of any place these ad- venturers of the Minnetarees ever saw. Sacajawea she calls herself-the Ebirdf woman I swear I look upon that name itself as good omen. She has come back like a dove to the ark, this bird woman. William Clark, we shall reach the sea- ~
 The snows had come soft and deep, blown on the icy winds. The horses of the Mandans were housed in the lodges and lived on cottonwood in stead of grass. When the vast herds ! of buffalo came down from the broken hills into the shelter of the flats the l men returned frostbftten with their loads of meat. The sky was dark. The days were short.
 | To improve the morale of their men the leaders now planned certain fes- l tivities for them. On Christmas eve each man had his stocking well stuffed with such delicacies as the compa- ny stores afforded-pepper, salt, dried fruits long cherished in the commits Gary and such other knickknacks as might be spared.
 On Christmas day Drouillard brought l at fiddle. A dance was ordered and went on all day long on the puncheon | floor of the main cabin. In moccasins and leggings, with hair long and tunics belted close to their lean waists, the | white men danced to the tunes of theil own 1and-the reels and hoedowns o1 old Virginia and Kentucky. The sounds of revelry were heard by the Mandans, who came up to the gate
 White men make medicine dance, they said, and knocked for entrance. Two women only were present, tht I wife of Jussaume, the squaw man, anl Sacajawea, the girl wife of Charbon neau, the interpreter of the Mandans These two had many presents. The face of Sacajawea was wreathei in smiles. Always her eyes followed
 
 wherever he went. Her own husband was but her husband, and already shs had elected MeriwetherA Lewis as he deity. When her husband thrashet her, always he thrashed her husband. In her simple child's soul she con secrated herself to- the task which h, had assigned her. Yes, when the gras came she would take these white mel to her own people. If they wanted t see the salt waters far to the west her people had heard of that-thel they should go there also. The birt woman was very happy that Christ mas day. The chief had thrashet Charbonneau and had given her won derful presents.
 And so the winter passed, and tn welcome spring opened the way fo further progress.
 (Which way, WHIP" asked Meri wether Lewis one bright morning (Which is the river? If we mis ! many guesses the British will beat u through. Which is our river here?"
 They stood at the Junction of tn, Yellowstone with the Missouri ant faced one of the first of their grea problems. The geese were flying north ward again; the grass was green Three weeks ago the ice had run clear and they had left their winter quar ters among the Mandans.
 Five months they had spent at tn Mandan village. For, five months the, had 1abored to reach that place; fo five months or more they had lain a St. Louis. Time was passing. A Meriwether Lewis said, few wron guesses could be afforded.
 Early in April great barge, name, by ten men, had set out downstream carrying with 1t the proof of the sue cess of the expedition. It bore man new things, precious things, things un known to civilization Among thes were sixty specimens of plants. 2