Pierre Gaultier de Varennes

“ It was of the Gens des Chevaux that I inquired for knowledge of the tribe which lived by the sea. They replied that no member of their tribe had ever been there, since the route was blocked by the Snake tribe; that, if we made a long detour, we might meet with some tribes along the way who traded with the white men at the sea. I persuaded the village, by means of gifts, to march with us to the country of the Gens de l'Arc (Bow Indians) [6] , the only tribe who, by dint of their bravery, do not fear the Snakes. ”

“ Several carry a kind of gown of very soft deer skin; there are many deer, they are very small. Their fort is full of caves, in which are stored such articles as grain, food, fat, dressed robes, bear skins. They are well supplied with these; it is the money of the country; the more they have of it the richer they believe themselves to be. They are fond of tatooing, but never more than half of the body is tatooed, both of men and women. They make wicker work very neatly, flat and in baskets. They make use of earthen pots, which they use like many other nations for cooking their food. ”

“ The fort is built on a height in the open prairies with a ditch upwards of fifteen feet deep to eighteen feet wide. Their fort can only be gained by steps or posts which can be removed when threatened by an enemy. If all their forts are alike, they may be called impregnable to Indians. Their fortifications are not Indian.
This nation is mixed white and black. The women are fairly good-looking, especially the white, many with blonde and fair hair. Both men and women of this nation are very industrious; their huts are large and spacious, separated into several apartments by thick planks ”

“ He was a young man of the Cree nation speaking good Assiniboine. As there were several Mandans who spoke it well enough, I made myself very well understood, as my son spoke Cree and the Cree interpreted into Assiniboine. But here was the height of misfortune, as we could only make ourselves understood by signs and demonstrations. If I had suspected my interpreter, who every day assured me he would always remain with me and never abandon me, I would have taken advantage of the time I had him with me to make the demands on the Mandans I wished to make. ”

“ He has lengthened his road to join us, agreeing to our wish for his company among the Mandans and to bring him back to his fort. He would have gone to-day if he had not listened to us, and you would think of abandoning him by letting him go alone, which cannot be. If we fear the Sioux let us leave our village here till our return; let every man able to march follow our father. All agreed in the old man's opinion; it was decided that only a few should remain to protect the women ”

“ I suggested to the chiefs that if, by chance, the Frenchman to whom I had written should come to their fort, shortly after our departure, he could find us with the Mantanes, since we expected to remain there for a time. I should have been glad to get him away from among the Indians. I assured the chief of the tribe that I would take very great care of the three young men whom he gave us as guides, and that, although the Mantanes were their enemies, they would have nothing to fear while with us. ”

“ These people dress leather better than any of the other nations, and work in furs and feathers very tastefully, which the Assiniboines are not capable of doing. They are cunning traders, cheating the Assiniboines of all they may possess, such as muskets, powder, balls, kettles, axes, knives or awls, Seeing the great consumption of food daily by the Assiniboines, and afraid that it would not last long, they set afloat a rumor that the Sioux were near and that several of their hunters had noticed them. ”

“ Since the season was advancing and I absolutely refused to give up the expedition, I sought from among the Mantanes two men to guide us to the country of the Gens des Chevaux, in the hope of finding some village near the mountain or along our route; two offered their services willingly. We left without a moment's delay. We marched for twenty days west southwest, which did not augur well as to our route; we encountered no human being, but many wild beasts. ”

“ The march of the Assiniboines, especially when they are numerous, is in three columns, having skirmishers in front, with a good rear guard, the old and lame march in the middle, forming the central column. I kept all the French together as much as possible. If the skirmishers' discovered herds of cattle [15] on the road, as often happens, they raise a cry which is soon returned by the rear guard, and all the most active men in the columns join the vanguard to hem in the cattle, of which they secure a number, and each takes what flesh he wants. ”

“ These Snake Indians are considered very brave. They are not satisfied in a campaign merely to destroy a village, according to the custom of all other Indians. They continue their warfare from spring to autumn, they are very numerous, and woe to those whom they meet on their way!
They are friendly to no tribe. ”

“ We had every reason to fear that the roads would become impracticable in spring on account of the waters and with the risk of arriving too late for the setting out of our canoes; the powder I would have would not perhaps be enough to supply all our wants during the winter and with the small quantity of goods remaining we might find ourselves in a difficulty about all our people, having no longer anything to carry us on, as the Indians would only serve us so far as they were paid and that in advance, as they look on promises as a very small resource. ”

“ He continued his speech as follows: "The French who are at the sea coast," he said, "are numerous; they have many slaves, whom they establish upon their lands by tribes; they have separate quarters, they marry among themselves, and they are not oppressed; the result is that they are happy with them (their masters) and they do not seek to run away. They raise a large number of horses and other animals, which they use to work on their lands. They have many leaders for their soldiers, and they have many also for prayer." ”

“ They made a great feast for us and for all our people, who did not want for a good appetite. On the 19th I assembled the chiefs and head men of the village in the hut where I was, I gave them a present in your name of powder, balls, knives and tobacco, telling them that I received them into the number of your children; that if they had sense you promised hot to abandon them; that the French were now established on their lands and would provide for all their wants; that they must hunt the beaver and keep to their lands ”

“ I was notified of the result of the council; word was sent throughout the village to warn every one to be ready to march the day after tomorrow, the 30th of the month, [17] thus making a little longer delay among the Mandans, who knew how to profit by it by the sale of their grain, tobacco, peltry and painted plumes, which they know the Assiniboines greatly value, who had brought and now gave i,n exchange muskets, axes, kettles, powder, balls, knives and awls. They are much craftier in trade than the Assiniboines and others, who are constantly their dupes. ”

“ We left on the morning of the 30th, about 600 men, several women without children, the best walkers. On the evening of the third day of our march, about seven leagues from the first fort of the Mandans, I was informed that an Assiniboine had taken the bag from my slave on the road, under pretext of relieving him, and had returned to the village. My box, in which were my papers, and many things of use to me, were in the bag. I immediately engaged two young men to run after him, whom I paid, making them promise to bring the bag to the Mandans, where I would wait for them. ”

“ Everything about the plate tallies with everything in the journal; its authenticity cannot be doubted. As a reminder of the plucky attempt of ancestors, acting under the most trying difficulties the new-found relic has a truly sacred character, for Frenchmen and for Americans both. ”

“ Finding ourselves without news of our Frenchmen when the month of April came and being urged on by the guides whom I had engaged to conduct us to the Mantanes, and our horses being in good condition, I prepared to leave and offered several gifts to the chiefs of the tribe, who had always guarded us and treated us well while we were with them, as well as to a number of the most important of our good friends. ”

“ He determined to set out, asking me to leave his brother with a large party of hired men for provisions at my fort, flattering themselves that there was more hope there of seeing people. We were nearly starving, when fortunately two huts of Indians came, whom I stopped at the fort. They supplied us by their hunting moose and deer. We numbered forty-two persons in the fort, which means a large consumption of food. ”

“ He made us take for the height of happiness twenty-two leagues of a road which was taking us off our route, to get to a village [14] of a hundred and two huts which he had gone to look for, and had brought us eight men, whom the chiefs of the village had sent to beg me to join them, that they were all inclined to accompany me to the Mandans, telling me that the Sioux often visited in that direction and that I had need of an escort. ”

“ The Pananas and Pananis [20] made their forts like them. In summer they grew wheat and tobacco on the lower part of the river, which was very wide, land not being visible from one shore to the other; the water bad for drinking. All these lands are inhabited by whites [21] like us, who work in iron. The word iron among all the nations here means all sorts of metals which they call iron ”

“ These men are always naked, covered only with a buffalo robe; a great part of the women naked like the men, with this difference, that they wear a loose apron, about a hand breadth wide and a foot long, sewed to a girdle in front only; all the women have this kind of protection, although they have a petticoat wnich gives no constraint, they do not close the thighs ”

“ In all the huts they have them in use as ladles, proving that they have killed many when the road was open. That was all I could learn even by chance, as I had relied on my interpreter, that I would have time to be thoroughly informed at leisure.
Six days after the Assiniboines left I sent my son, the Chevalier, with Sieur Nolant, six Frenchmen and several Mandans to the nearest fort, which is on the bank of the river. [22] If well received they were to sleep there, to get the best information of the course of the river; who dwell there ”

“ The Assiniboines, numerous, strong and robust men, are not brave; they greatly fear the Sioux, whom they think to be braver. The Mandans know their weakness and profit by it, as opportunity arises. The council was held to discuss what should be done. The most decided opinion was that it was not necessary to go further than towarnmeoftheriskIwasabouttorunifIwishedto pursue our course. An old man rose firmly: Do not think that our father is a coward; I know him better than the others do; I have been with him ever since he left his fort ”

“ What hast thou brought of his spoil to show us that thou speakest the truth? As I wished to cut off his head, I noticed men on horseback, who were blocking the way, I escaped with difficulty; I kept nothing to carry off ”

“ We are told that in 1741 they had entirely destroyed seventeen villages, had killed all the old men and old women, and made slaves of the young women and had traded them at the seacoast for horses and merchandise. ”