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The Journals
of Lewis and Clark: Dates March 10, 1805 - March 15,
1805
The following
excerpts are taken from entries of the Journals of Lewis
and Clark. Dates: March 10, 1805 - March 15, 1805
March 10,
1805
Sunday 10. A cold windy day. Tetuckopinreha, chief of
the Ahnahaways, and the Minnetaree chief Ompsehara,
passed the day with us, and the former remained during
the night. We had occasion to see an instance of the
summary justice of the Indians: a young Minnetaree had
carried off the daughter of Cagonomokshe, the Raven
Man, second chief of the upper village of the Mandans;
the father went to the village and found his daughter,
whom he brought home, and took with him a horse belonging
to the offender: this reprisal satisfied the vengeance
of the father and of the nation, as the young man would
not dare to reclaim his horse, which from that time
became the property of the injured party. The stealing
of young women is one of the most common offenses against
the police of the village, and the punishment of it
always measured by the power or the passions of the
kindred of the female. A voluntary elopement is of course
more rigorously chastised.
One of the wives
of the Borgne deserted him in favor of a man who had
been her lover before the marriage, and who after some
time left her, and she was obliged to return to her
father's house. As soon as he heard it the Borgne walked
there and found her sitting near the fire: without noticing
his wife, he began to smoke with the father; when they
were joined by the old men of the village, who knowing
his temper had followed in hopes of appeasing him. He
continued to smoke quietly with them, till rising to
return, he took his wife by the hair, led her as far
as the door, and with a single stroke of his tomahawk
put her to death before her father's eyes: then turning
fiercely upon the spectators, he said that if any of
her relations wished to avenge her, they might always
find him at his lodge; but the fate of the woman had
not sufficient interest to excite the vengeance of the
family. The caprice or the generosity of the same chief
gave a very different result to a similar incident which
occurred some time afterwards.
Another of his wives
eloped with a young man, who not being able to support
her as she wished they both returned to the village,
and she presented herself before the husband, supplicating
his pardon for her conduct: the Borgne sent for the
lover: at the moment when the youth expected that he
would be put to death, the chief [170]mildly asked them
if they still preserved their affection for each other;
and on their declaring that want, and not a change of
affection had induced them to return, he gave up his
wife to her lover, with the liberal present of three
horses, and restored them both to his favor.
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