Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1927-03-04

north east north. 1t is navigable only with
little pirogues. The Sioux nations that
frequent the st. Pierre and Des Moines
rivers come at different ines of the year
to hunt the buffalo and other Wild ami
mails. 1t has, according to the report OF
the sayages, a course of more than a hun
dred leagues and comes also from the
north. 1t disembogues into several other
little rivers, one of which is named the
river of the red stone (James In Dakota)
1t takes its name from a quarry of this
stone that Is found upon its banks. At
twenty five leagues above the James river,
on the left, one find the river Qui Court.
1t has its source in the west southwest
and very far from its mouth. According
to the reports of the savages, 1t Is the
most abundant in beaver and otter of all
the known rivers; but 1t flows with such
swiftness and is so full of waterfalls that
it is impossible to navigate it, either in
ascending or In descending.
THE Ponca nation has its habitations
placed at two leagues higher than Its
mouth. Their huts are built upon a hill
on the edge of a great plain about a league
from the Missouri. The buffalo, the deer,
and beaver are common in this place. At
thirty five leagues higher, on the same side,
there goes out a river named che White
river. Its waters are white. Its source is
a little way from its mouth.
The Big Bend
Fifteen leagues above this river, the
Missouri makes q detour OF ten leagues. 1t
turns in this place to the southwest and
resumes its usual course after ten leagues
of detour. (Lewis estimates that 'the big
bend of the Missouri lies In a circular
form, and is 30 miles around, while it is
only one mile and a quarter across the
gorge.)
Fifteen leagues higher, on the left In
ascending, one finds a river, named by the
savages Tranquil Water, and by the
French, the Little Missouri. This river is
small. The water runs only In the spring
time at the melting of the snow or after
some heavy rain. AT other times, one sees
only some ponds of water without Aow.
One branch of the Sioux, called the Oco-
mona, formerly friends and allies of the
Arikara, wandered habitually along the
banks Of this stream.
The Arikara Tor Reel
The Arikara, (once a large nation or ~
villages-now depopulated and almost de-
stroyed by three scourges OF smallpox,
called for short the Rec, had their dwell
ings ten leagues higher upon the left bank.
These they abandoned during my stay
among them, in order to withdraw nearer
to the Mandan. One can count Ave hun
dred warriors of this nation.
1.-TWO leagues above the dwelling OF the
Rec issues forth the river of the Cheyenne
which some hunters have named the FORK
This river is rather wide but shallow so
that one can navigate 1t only with mucn
difficulty. 1t has its source very far from
Its mouth, in the hills of precipitous rocks,
in the direction Of the setting sun. In its
upper part, 1t divides into many branches,
we'll supplied with wood and very abun
dant in beaver.
The Agriculturists
"Above thirty leagues from Its mouth,
upon one of it's tributaries, called the river
Of the Bunch Of Cherries, the Cheyenne
built there some permanent huts, around
which they cultivated little fields of maize,
fCheyenne. Arikara, Mandan and a few
| other upper Missouri tribes were agricul-
~turists and they raised corn and melons,,
and tobacco; but, furthermore, this nation,
hordes, of which the largest bears the
name Of Cheyenne, the second is called
Ouisy, the third Chouta, wanders without
cessation the length OF this river and
crosses, in search of wild cows, even many
chains of hills that separate, by several
ranges, these vast p~rairies. On tine other
side Of these various hills, on this side OF
the great river Platte, several little lakes,
or boys, are found, which seem, tney say,
by the quantity and the great size Of the
huts which these animals have built there
and which they inhabit, to be places
whence have come all the beavers and the
offers that are scattered In all the other
rivers.
Wandering Savage Tribes
Several savage wandering peoples scour
this country, such as are the k1owa, the
Tocaninanbiche, (Arapaho), the Tokiouako'
the Pitapahato. all allies of the Chey-
enne but speaking different languages. The
Cheyenne know very well how to hunt the
beaver, the skins Of which they barter with
the Sioux for merchandise; and the others
would not fail likewise to. Kill many or
them II they were led to 1t by traders who
would take the skins in exchange for
merchandise.
1.-THE great nation of the Comanche,
which roams along the banks OF the river
Platte is, at the place of the territory of
the Arikara, only ten days march by war
! | riors from the Missouri river which dis
lance can be estimated as sixty or eighty
common leagues. The Hahitannes, or wan
dering bald -headed people, occupy all the
country beyond the great river Platte as
far as along the banks OF the Arkansas
river and extend themselves the length OF
the great mountains which separate New
Mexico from this part of southern Mexico.
About the Western Tribes
when / had dealings with the Cheyenne
people, In the course of the summer OF
1895, where I saw and spoke to many
chiefs and leading men Of the Tocaninan.
biehe and Kiowa nations, | inquired or all
II, In their long war marches beyond the
mountains, they had not discovered some
river the waters Of which might possibly
flow toward the setting sun. They told me
that two years before the Cheyenne and
Kiowa, their allies, had formed a consider
able war party In which the great chief OF
the Cheyenne took part, who himself re-
ported to me this fact, for certain that,
having crossed the mountains, they had
come, after many days journey 10 the
banks Of a wide and deep river, well tim
bered, the waters Of which appeared to go
In the direction of the winter sunset; that,
along this river they had followed In de-
scending, they had discovered seven huta
of unknown savages; having attacked them
and defeated them, they found In their
booty none OF the small effects coming
from white men, all Of their utensils being
OF their own Invention. Their huts were
made OF rush mating and OF long straw,
The large animals OF the skins OF which
the savages were accustomed 10 make theii
tents are absolutely wanting In this caun'