Mih-Tutta-Hang-Kusch, Mandan Village

Description

The strategic positioning of villages for defense purposes is evident in this view of Mih-Tutta-Hang-Kusch, located high on a promontory jutting out into the Missouri River with steep banks on three sides. A palisade surrounding the village offered additional protection, but this had fallen into disrepair at the time of Bodmer's sketch in the summer of 1833, and only a small portion of it can be seen in the drawing. Mih-Tutta-Hang-Kusch consisted of approximately sixty-five earth lodges or houses. House roofs were used for a variety of daily activities in fine weather, and small figures are visible on them in this scene. The scaffolds around the houses were used to dry corn and other food. In the foreground are penciled representations of women and bull boats, a form of river transportation pictured in more detail in Plates 296, 297. and 298. Bodmer cropped this scene for the aquatint (Tableau 6), bringing the village into closer view.