A Fur Trader on the Upper Missouri Studies in the Anthropology of North American Indians Series EDITORS Raymond J DeMallie Douglas R Parks A Fur Trader on the Upper Missouri The Journal and Description of Jean-Baptiste Truteau, 1794–1796 JEAN- BAPTISTE TRUTEAU Edited by Raymond J DeMallie, Douglas R Parks, and Robert Vézina Translated by Mildred Mott Wedel, Raymond J DeMallie, and Robert Vézina University of Nebraska Press • Lincoln and London In cooperation with the American Indian Studies Research Institute, Indiana University, Bloomington © 2017 by the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska All rights reserved Manufactured in the United States of America ♾ Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Truteau, Jean Baptiste, 1748–1827, author | DeMallie, Raymond J., 1946– editor, translator | Parks, Douglas R (Douglas Richard), 1942– editor | Vézina, Robert, 1965– editor, translator | Wedel, Mildred Mott, translator Title: A fur trader on the Upper Missouri : the journal and description of Jean-Baptiste Truteau, 1794–1796 / Jean-Baptiste Truteau ; edited by Raymond J DeMallie, Douglas R Parks, and Robert Vézina ; translated by Mildred Mott Wedel, Raymond J DeMallie, and Robert Vézina Other titles: Voyage sur le haut-Missouri English Description: Lincoln NE : University of Nebraska Press, [2017] | Series: Studies in the anthropology of North American Indians series | “In cooperation with the American Indian Studies Research Institute, Indiana University, Bloomington.” | Includes bibliographical references and index Identifiers: LCCN 2017017764 | ISBN 9780803244276 (cloth : alk paper) Subjects: LCSH: Truteau, Jean Baptiste, 1748–1827—Diaries | Missouri River Valley— Description and travel | Indians of North America—Missouri River Valley Classification: LCC F598 T87 2017 | DDC 917.804—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017017764 Set in Merope Basic by Scribe Inc Designed by A Shahan Contents List of Illustrations vi Explanation of Editorial Method vii Acknowledgments xi Introduction DOUGLAS R PARKS Extract from the Journals of the Voyage of Jean-Baptiste Truteau on the Upper Missouri 76 From St Louis to the Arikara Villages, June 7, 1794–May 14, 1795 76 Part 2, At the Arikara Villages, May 24–July 20, 1795 166 From the Arikara Villages to St Louis, July 22, 1795–June 4, 1796 198 Abridged Description of the Upper Missouri 240 First Notebook 240 Second Notebook 314 Third Notebook 338 Instructions Given to Truteau by the Company of the Upper Missouri 366 Account of the Indian Trade 392 JACQUES CLAMORGAN Appendix 1: The Language of Truteau 405 ROBERT VÉZINA Appendix 2: A Glossary of Voyageur French 509 ROBERT VÉZINA Notes 579 Bibliography 637 Index 675 Illustrations Figures and Maps, following page xvi James De Berty Trudeau by John Woodhouse Audubon (1841) Bull Boating by Alfred Jacob Miller (ca 1858) Dugout canoes on the Mississippi River by Charles-Alexandre Lesueur (1826) Medal depicting King Carlos IV of Spain, dated 1797 Printed commission certificate given to Omaha Chief Blackbird in 1796 Written instructions to Truteau from the Company of the Upper Missouri in 1794 Page of Truteau’s manuscript journal Page of abridged edition of Truteau’s description Drawings by Rudolph Friedrich Kurz (1851) Map drawn by M Guillaume Delisle, 1752 Carte du Missouri by Franỗois-Marie Perrin du Lac, 1802 Plat map of St Louis, 1804 Map of Truteau’s Expedition, 1794–96 Map of the Missouri by Georges Henri Victor Collot, 1826 The Upper Mississippi and Missouri by M Soulard, 1795 Topographical Sketch of the Upper Mississippi and Missouri by M Soulard, 1785 Tables Versions of the journal compared Versions of the description compared Tribal names used by Truteau Lahontan and Truteau chapters (English) compared Lahontan and Truteau passages (French) compared Passages in Seville and Québec versions of the journal compared Initial-vowel masculine nouns feminized in writings of Truteau 44 47 67 419 421 428 435 Diagrams Fort plan 367 Fort plan 369 vi Explanation of Editorial Method Jean-Baptiste Truteau’s eighteenth-century Mississippi Valley French differs from modern French in a number of respects Spelling and punctuation had not yet been standardized and a specialized vocabulary had developed to represent the natural and cultural features of North America In preparing the transcription and translation, clarity has been the first concern, followed by the attempt to give a sense of Truteau’s style as closely as possible without slavish adherence to his syntax Transcription and Editing A literal transcription of the original handwritten manuscripts would appear chaotic in printed form Complex sentences continue for as many as eight clauses, with erratic capitalization and punctuation that serve to obfuscate syntax rather than clarify it The transcription published here normalizes punctuation, capitalizes the first word of each sentence, capitalizes proper names, and occasionally inserts missing letters or corrected form with sic in square brackets For clarity in the translation of complex sentences, occasionally some of Truteau’s commas are replaced with em dashes No corrections are made for diacritical marks and apostrophes, which are frequently lacking; nor for two words written together, without intervening space; nor for agreement of number or gender Paragraphing is added when necessary for ease of reading; some portions of the manuscript lack it altogether Similarly, pagination of the folios is indicated in the transcription but not in the translation Each scribe used periods, dashes, hyphens, lines, and flourishes to distinctively mark the ends of paragraphs, sentences, or clauses, or to end the text at the bottom of a folio These have been omitted except in cases when a row of periods or hyphens clearly seems to signify an ellipses; in such cases six periods separated by spaces ( .) indicate the ellipses Pagination seems to have been added to the manuscripts later, perhaps after they were archived at the Séminaire de Québec Section titles are Truteau’s Interpolated material from the Seville version of the journal is taken from a photostat of the original in the Archives of the Indies Interpolated material from the Nicollet version of the description is taken from a photocopy of the original manuscript in the Library of Congress vii viii Explanation of Editorial Method All editorial comments appear within square brackets; square brackets enclosing three periods separated by spaces ([ ]) designate redundant material omitted because it appears elsewhere in the journal or description, as indicated in a footnote Translation While retaining as much of Truteau’s style as possible, the translation attempts to be as clear as the original French; clarifications appear in square brackets only when essential for understanding Ambiguous pronouns are retained, with the referent indicated in square brackets, e.g., “they [the Arikaras].” Although this may be objected to as interrupting the narrative flow, it has the benefit of signaling such ambiguities to the reader and allows for the possibility of alternate interpretations Numbers and abbreviations are reproduced in translation as they appear in the original French text American English usages, rather than British ones, are used throughout For example, maïs and boeuf are translated respectively as “corn” and “buffalo,” not “maize” and “bison.” Similarly, fusil is translated as “gun” rather than “fusil”(which follows the generic French sense of the term, though the firearm of the times was a flintlock musket) Truteau’s terms peaux rouges, barbares, and sauvages (“redskins,” “barbarians,” and “savages”) are all translated as “Indians.” He used them interchangeably, sometimes employing barbare and sauvage to comment ironically on so-called civilization Lacking the social evolutionary context of the times, literal translation of these terms would create misunderstanding When speaking disparagingly of individual Indians who opposed his enterprise or otherwise caused him trouble, Truteau used the word coquin Probably the best eighteenth-century translation is “knave,” but since that term is now archaic in English, “rogue” is substituted, though the latter probably carries a slightly stronger negative connotation Translations appropriate to American Indian cultures are used whenever possible For example, souliers is translated as “moccasins” when the referent clearly refers to Indians; when the referent is ambiguous, it is translated as “footwear.” Metaphors derived from American Indian languages are translated literally; for example, “stealing the road” (passing by without permission), “bad hearts” (anger), “thrown to” (offered as a gift), “Thunder” (Thunderbird, the personification of the power of the west, represented by thunder and lightning), and “Master of Life” (equivalent to “Great Spirit”) Explanation of Editorial Method ix Names of American Indian social groups are translated using their modern equivalents when the referent is clear When the identity of a group is in question, Truteau’s term is retained, in italics (See table for Truteau’s list of tribal names) Truteau used peuple(s) “people(s)” and nation(s) “nation(s)” interchangeably to indicate the highest-level social grouping, and usually designated “tribe” in English He used tribu(s) “tribe(s)” and bande(s) “band(s)” to indicate lower-level groups that might be bands or clans The word village(s) “village(s)” designated the permanent earthlodge villages of the Arikaras and other semi-sedentary tribes as well as the tipi villages of the Sioux and other nomadic tribes Cabane(s) and lodge(s) are used interchangeably for earthlodges or tipis, and both are translated as “lodge(s).” Habitation(s) “dwelling(s)” and demeure(s) “dwelling place(s)” designate permanent earthlodges or earthlodge villages Truteau’s étrangers, referring to Indians of other tribes, is usually translated as “other nations” or “those of other nations”; in cases when the term specifically refers to Europeans, it is translated “foreigners.” Truteau used a vocabulary for statuses that accurately reflected the social and political organization of the upper Missouri River tribes Grand chief “head chief,” un homme chef “a man who is a chief,” and chef “chief,” designated positions of political leadership Considérés “leading men” were the respected men who were councilors and who, together with the chiefs, made the decisions necessary for the common good The “old men” or vieux “elders” were respected advisors by reason of age and experience Leaders of war parties Truteau designated alternatively as chefs de guerre “war chiefs” or partisants “partisans.” Those he called braves “braves” were younger men who were successful in warfare; as Truteau used the term it probably implied membership in the men’s societies that were important components of Plains Indian social life The “soldiers” were the police appointed to protect the camp and supervise hunts He used guerriers as a generic term for “warriors.” Names of rivers and other geographical features have been translated using their modern equivalents, with Truteau’s forms indicated either in the text or in notes Names of animals and birds present some challenges to translation, since French words designating species found in the Old World were applied differently in North America Mississippi Valley French, like American Indian languages, designated large mammals by pairs of terms For example, vache (and vache sauvage) designated “buffalo cow” and was also used generically for buffalo herds; boeuf (and boeuf sauvage) designated “buffalo bull” but seems also to have been used indiscriminately for “buffalo,” particularly in reference .. .A Fur Trader on the Upper Missouri Studies in the Anthropology of North American Indians Series EDITORS Raymond J DeMallie Douglas R Parks A Fur Trader on the Upper Missouri The Journal and... we have had from the Indian called Wagigasabey (L’Oiseau Noir) of the Mahas Nation, maintaining close relationship with the Spaniards, and venerating the respectable and high name of our Catholic... for the possibility of alternate interpretations Numbers and abbreviations are reproduced in translation as they appear in the original French text American English usages, rather than British ones,