Day-by-Day / January 11, 1805

January 11, 1805

War medicine dance

Posecopsahe (Black Cat) of Ruptáre and The Coal of Mitutanka visit Fort Mandan and spend the night. At Mitutanka village, several soldiers witness a war medicine dance—perhaps the Mandan Wolf Ceremony. In a lodge at a nearby Hidatsa village, trader François-Antoine Larocque‘s ink freezes.

A War Medicine Dance

by Yellowstone Public Radio[1]Originally aired weekdays by Yellowstone Public Radio during the Bicentennial observance of 2003-2006. Narrated by Hal Hansen. Scripts by Whit Hansen and Ed Jacobson. Produced by Leni Holliman. © … Continue reading

Mitutanka War Medicine Dance

verry Cold, Send out 3 men to join 3 now below & hunt,
Pose-cop se ha or Black Cat came to See us and Stay all night
Sho sa har ro ra or Coal also Stayd all night, the inturpeter oldst wife Sick, Some of our men go to See a war medison ⟨Dance⟩ made at the village on the opposit Side of the river
William Clark

Cold Hidatsa Lodges

It is so very Cold in these Lodges, that the Ink freezes in my pen while writing, although I sit as close to the fire as I can without burning my Legs.
François-Antoine Larocque[3]11 January 1805, W. Raymond Wood and Thomas D. Thiessen, Early Fur Trade on the Northern Plains: Canadian Traders among the Mandan and Hidatsa Indians, 1738–1818 (Norman: University of Oklahoma … Continue reading

 

Weather Diary

Ther. at sun symbol rise Weather Wind at sun symbol rise Thert. at 4 P.M. Weather Wind at 4 P.M. River
38 below [0] fair N W 14 below [0] fair N W fall ½ in.

Meriwether Lewis[4]To assist the reader, the editor of this web page has omitted the date column, merged the “River” columns, and spelled out some abbreviations.

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Notes

Notes
1 Originally aired weekdays by Yellowstone Public Radio during the Bicentennial observance of 2003-2006. Narrated by Hal Hansen. Scripts by Whit Hansen and Ed Jacobson. Produced by Leni Holliman. © 2003 by Yellowstone Public Radio.
2 “Scalptanz der Mönnitarris. Danse du scalp des indiens Meunitarris. Scalp dance of the Minatarres.” New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed March 5, 2019. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47da-c450-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99.
3 11 January 1805, W. Raymond Wood and Thomas D. Thiessen, Early Fur Trade on the Northern Plains: Canadian Traders among the Mandan and Hidatsa Indians, 1738–1818 (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1985), 148.
4 To assist the reader, the editor of this web page has omitted the date column, merged the “River” columns, and spelled out some abbreviations.

Discover More

  • The Lewis and Clark Expedition: Day by Day by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 2018). The story in prose, 14 May 1804–23 September 1806.
  • The Lewis and Clark Journals: An American Epic of Discovery (abridged) by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 2003). Selected journal excerpts, 14 May 1804–23 September 1806.
  • The Lewis and Clark Journals. by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 1983–2001). The complete story in 13 volumes.