He found the banks on the north side high, with coal occasionally, and the country fine on all sides; but the want of wood, and the scarcity of game up the river, induced us to decide on fixing ourselves lower down during the winter.

In the evening our men danced among themselves, to the great amusement of the Indians." It may be said here that the incident of a life saved from fire by a raw-hide, originally related by Lewis and Clark, is the foundation of a great many similar stories of adventures among the Indians.

Usually, however, it is a wise and well-seasoned white trapper who saves his life by this device.
Having found a good site for their winter camp, the explorers now built a number of huts, which they called Fort Mandan.

The place was on the north bank of the Missouri River, in what is now McLean County, North Dakota, about sixteen hundred miles up the river from St.Louis, and seven or eight miles below the mouth of Big Knife River.

On the opposite bank, years later, the United States built a military post known as Fort Clark, which may be found on some of the present-day maps.