Parting gifts
At the Knife River Villages in present North Dakota, a Mandan village gifts more corn than the expedition boats can carry. A swivel gun is given to Hidatsa Chief Le Borgne, and the blacksmith tools are given to Charbonneau. Mandan Chief Sheheke (Big White) agrees to go to Washington City.
In St. Louis, a discredited James Wilkinson leaves town after being recalled as Governor of Upper Louisiana—a change that would directly impact Meriwether Lewis.
Broken promises of peace
Having returned to the Knife River Villages in present North Dakota, the captains hear of several broken promises of peace among the several tribes with whom they thought peace treaties were in place. Pvt. Colter asks to leave the expedition so that he can go back west with two fur trappers.
Grand Chief Le Borgne
Le Borgne pays his first visit to Fort Mandan where the captains try to impress this important Hidatsa chief. Despite Lewis’s efforts, he leaves with disdain for all except the blacksmith and gunsmith.
Major buffalo hunt
At Fort Mandan, Clark estimates that half the Mandan population has formed a large hunting party. Charbonneau returns from a trip and tells Clark why Hidatsa Chief Le Borgne has kept his distance.
A safe refuge
A Hidatsa man comes for his wife who is seeking refuge at Fort Mandan, and hunters return with a white-tailed jackrabbit. Charbonneau and one enlisted man arrive late at one of the Hidatsa villages.
This site is provided as a public service by the
Lewis and Clark Trail Alliance
with additional funding from the following:
