08 November: Fort
Clark had not undergone any important changes during the time of our
absence from [the place]. At the time [of our earlier visit] the Yank-tonais wanted to make peace with the
Mandans and Hidatsas, which did not materialize. At the beginning of September,
the Yanktonais had finally achieved their
ultimate purpose. Two hundred tents of Yanktonais had camped on the prairie behind Fort Creek and stayed there three to four days. They
had many festivities and dances, and Fort
Creek was crowded all day long with Dacota,Mandan, and Hidatsa Indians. Now it was quiet in the fort's
surroundings. Some Indians had already moved into their winter quarters in the
neighboring forest. But many still maintained to besiege Mr.
Kipp's room every day. In the fort itself, there were two interpreters
([one of them,] Belhumeur, was an Ojibwe) for the Mandanlanguage. Abel
identifies this man as Michel Bellehumeur.
Abel, Chardon's Journal, 5, 283n286.According to Thwaites (EWT, 24:12n3), his
father had been employed by the North West Company on the Upper Red River.
By the way,Mr. Kipp was more fluent in speaking the
Mandan language than Belhumeur. The other one was Ortubise, an interpreter of the Dacotalanguage. Possibly
Pierre Ortubise. See NAJ 2:174n43.
[Aside from] the interpreters, there only six more men.
Mr. McKenzie had departed four days ago for
Fort Union.He left many
letters for me, among them, three from Germany
written in December, January, February, and May. These letters were likely from Maximilian's siblings. Maximilian mentions having received letters from Germany in his own
missives, two addressed to his brothers August
and Karl, dated 18
November 1833, and one to his sister Louise, dated 5 December 1833 (all
JAM, MBC). He had left orders to complete a recently started house in the
fort for us to live in. But there was a lack of workers, meaning craftsmen. The
fort's store was well stocked [with] merchandise having a value of $15,000 in
St. Louis, but with such a
large number of rats here, all supplies were in danger. There is always a large
quantity of corn on hand, often 600 to 800 bushels. However, it can be assumed that,
at the time of our presence, these rodents were eating five bushels of this grain
daily. The rat that causes so much
damage her is the one called Norway rat (Mus
decumanus). Unknown to the Indians earlier, these rats came up with
the first military expedition. It should be noted here that a bushel of Indian
corn weighs 50 pounds. [Ed.: Rattus norvegicus, Norway rat.] The news I
received from all places, except for a few, was generally good.Ortubise was absent; they expected him back daily with
news from the lower Missouri.
Mr. McKenzie had taken a physician upriver with
[him], because they were generally afraid of the cholera that had caused great
devastation on the lower Missouri this past
August. At Bellevue and Mr. Cabanné’s's post, most people had died. Major Dougherty was almost the sole survivor of this
frightful illness. The federal
government then maintained an Indian agency at what is now the city of Bellevue, Sarpy County, Nebraska. John Dougherty was
the agent in charge. See NAJ, 2:76-77. John (or Jean)
Pierre Cabamme (1773-1841) had been replaced by Joshua Pilcher in May 1833 as trader in charge of the
American Fur Company post located near what is now Hummel Park in Omaha, Douglas
County, Nebraska. See NAJ,
2:81 and n90. We had the prospect of receiving new letters from Europe [soon]. Because the new house could not be
finished quickly enough, all of us lived in Mr. Kipp
's small room, where he, too, slept, with [his] wife and child. As I
mentioned, that [room] was always besieged by Indians. They sat down wherever they
could find a place without further ado, amoked, and frequently received food.
Mr. Kipp's wife is a
Mandan [with] nice facial features and rather white skin, showing
even red cheeks. He has already been here eleven years without having been once in
the United States. He therefore fluently speaks the language
of the Sipuska-Númangkake (Mandans)
For alternative spellings and modern
orthography for this tribal self-name, see NAJ, 2:201n103. and knows
perfectly all their manners and customs. This day was clear, as [was] the night, but
[it was] very raw, with strong wind.