gh the territory. The explorers, therefore,
went into camp for the winter at the mouth of the Du Bois River, a
little north of St. Louis, on the eastern bank of the Mississippi. This
point was left on May 14, 1804. Entering the Indian country the leaders
held a council with the Ottoes and Missouris, and by the distribution
of gewgaws and presents won the good will of the red men. Lewis and
Clark named the place of meeting Council Bluff, which is retained to
this day, although the site of the modern city is below the meeting
place and on the opposite, side of the river.

For a time the expedition acted the part of peacemaker among the
Indians. The officers patched up peace agreements between the tribes
that were on the verge of warfare, and made treaties with the Yankton
branch of the Sioux and the Ricaras. All these natives were familiar
with white men, having known both French traders and the employees of
the British Fur Company. The Indians showed a friendly disposition
toward the explorers, but their wonder was unbounded at sight of the
African servant, he being the first of his race they had ever seen.
With the waggery of his nature this negro gravely informed them that he
was really a wild animal that had been caught and tamed. The simple
folk believed his fantastic yarns, which were emphasized by numerous
feats of strength on his part.

Progress up the river was slow, because of the many sand bars and
numerous curves of the stream. The hunters, who kept in advance,
secured large quantities of fresh meat, and dried a good deal for the
winter supply. The region of the Mandans was reached in the latter part
of October. There a fort was built and occupied during the winter. This
was in what is now McLean County, North Dakota. The winter was very
severe, and many of the men had their hands and feet frostbitten, while
the continual glare of the snow caused a temporary blindness.

At this fort another interpreter was engaged. He was a Canadian, whose
wife was a member of the Snake tribe of Indians of the Rocky Mountains.
She was stolen when a child and brought east, where she was bought by
the Canadian, who made her his wife. She was a remarkable woman, and
the only one of her sex who accompanied the party. When she set out she
carried an infant barely two months old. She not only stood the journey
as well as any of the men, but displayed a rare degree of intelligence.
She remembered much of the wild region through whi