Page:History of Iowa From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century Volume 1.djvu/186



encountered by a small band of men cut off entirely for months, or possibly years, from all communication with their countrymen, in an unknown and unexplored region, remote from civilization. But it was of great importance to examine and learn something of the capabilities and natural resources of this recently acquired region. The prudence, skill and courage displayed by Lewis and Clark in leading their party through this journey in safety, confirmed the excellent judgment of the President in his selection of the commanders of the successful expedition.

The first encountered were the Ottoe and Pawnee Indians on the Papillion and Mosquito, streams emptying into the Missouri. The party at once established friendly relations with them in a conference not far from where Omaha stands. On the 29th they came to a region occupied by the Ayauway (Iowa) Indians before they moved to the Des Moines Valley.

On the first of August they camped on a high wooded bluff some distance back from the river, at an elevation of more than seventy feet above the plains. From here they obtained a fine view of the surrounding country, the great prairies stretching in every direction as far as the eye could reach; the winding valley of the river fringed with woods in various places. On the 3d of August a friendly council was held with six Indian chiefs, accompanied by many members of their tribes. Captain Lewis explained to them that the Americans had now become the rulers of this great valley and that they wanted to live at peace with all of the Indians who occupied it. The tribes at this council were the Ottoes and Missouris and they asked that the Great Father would protect them from the Omahas, with whom they were at war. After a friendly conference presents were distributed among them and the council closed. Lewis and Clark gave this camp the name of “Council Bluffs.”

A week later the explorers camped near the mouth of a river named by the French “Petite Riviere de Sioux”