Volume 1

CHAPTER IX.
THE MANDAN TOUR: 1806.
ynVONDAY, July 7th, 1806. During the three days
•^"•^ since my arrival from Bas de la Riviere, I made
the necessary preparations for my intended journey, and
this morning left Panbian river with two men, Joseph Ducharme
and Michel Forcier. Mr. William Henry goes with
us to Portage la Prairie for a supply of tobacco. We were
all well mounted, and had an extra horse for my baggage.
At the Grand Marais we met Vieux Collier [Old Necklace]
going to the fort with a load of dried provisions. At ten
o'clock we crossed Riviere aux Marais, unloaded, and
allowed the horses an hour to eat and refresh themselves,
after which we remounted and proceeded. We were
plagued with clouds of mosquitoes. I had made a kind of
mask of thin dressed caribou ' skin, to cover the head and
face, and thus was more at
ease than my companions, who
could scarcely defend themselves from these troublesome
insects. The traveling was tedious from the heavy rains,
which made ugly and laborious walking for our horses.
The soil is a stiff black mold, through which the rain does
not soon penetrate; but when it is once thoroughly soaked,
the water cannot drain off as it
does in more elevated plains.
In many places we found several feet of water ; every little
hollow formed a pond, and every rivulet appeared like a
river. Our horses often sunk up to their knees in mud,
and at times had water up to their bellies. The rivulets
we swam over on horseback, carrying on our heads such
articles as we wished to keep dry. At two o'clock we came
to Plumb river, and were obliged to make a long circuit in
the plains, before we could find a convenient place to swim
'
The American woodland reindeer, Rangifer caribou or R. tarandus.
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