e Mandans of
North America. These people raise a great deal of corn; but their
harvests are sometimes destroyed by long-continued drought. When
threatened with this calamity, the women (who have the care of the
patches of corn) implore their lords to intercede for rain; and
accordingly the chiefs and doctors assemble to deliberate on the case.
When they have decided that it is necessary to produce rain, they wisely
delay the matter for as many days as possible; and it is not until
further urged by the complaints and entreaties of the women, that they
begin to take the usual steps for accomplishing their purpose. At length
they assemble in the council-house with all their apparatus about
them--with abundance of wild sage and aromatic herbs, to burn before the
"Great Spirit." On these occasions the lodge is closed to all except the
doctors and some ten or fifteen young men, the latter being the persons
to whom the honour of making it rain, or the disgrace of having failed in
the attempt, is to belong.

After having witnessed the conjurations of the doctors inside the lodge,
these young men are called up by lot, one at a time, to spend a day on
the top of the lodge, and to see how far their efforts will avail in
producing rain; at the same time the smoke of the burning herbs ascends
through a hole in the roof. On one of these occasions, when all the
charms were in operation, and when three young men had spent each his day
on the lodge in ineffectual efforts to bring rain, and the fourth was
engaged alternately addressing the crowd of villagers and the spirits of
the air, but in vain, it so happened that the steam-boat "Yellow Stone,"
made her first trip up the Missouri river, and about noon approached the
village of the Mandans. Catlin was a passenger on this boat; and helped
to fire a salute of twenty guns of twelve pounds calibre, when they first
came in sight of the village, which was at some three or four miles
distance. These guns introduced a new sound into the country, which the
Mandans naturally enough supposed to be thunder. "The young man upon the
lodge, who turned it to good account, was gathering fame in rounds of
applause, which were repeated and echoed through the whole village; all
eyes were centred upon him--chiefs envied him--mothers' hearts were
beating high, whilst they were decorating and leading up their fair
daughters to offer him in marriage on his signal success. The
medicine-men had left t