The soldiers called their winter camp Fort Mandan. They had a hard winter there. It was so cold that many men were ill. They had no time to be ill. They had to work to be ready to go West when Spring opened. The captains wrote in their books about the Indians and animals and plants they had seen. They made maps of the country they had come through. They had long talks with the Indian chiefs. They made friends with the Indians by giving them medicine. An Indian boy had his feet frozen near the soldiers' camp. The captains kept him until his feet were well again. His people all came and thanked the captains. [Illustration: AN INDIAN SWEAT-HOUSE] The Indians told each other about the white men's medicine. They said, "The white men's medicine is better than our sweat-house." So they came for miles to the white camp to get the medicine. They gave the captains food. They wanted to be friends with them. ar rows din ner hunt ed mon ey beads fid dle knives pie ces blan kets gal lons med als stove The soldiers hunted animals for food and for their skins. One soldier cut an old stove into pieces. The Indians wanted these pieces to make arrows and knives. They would give eight gallons of corn for one piece. The Indians did not know what money was. The captains did not carry money with them. They took flags and medals, knives and blankets, looking-glasses and beads, and many other things. With these they could get food from the Indians. On Christmas Day, 1804, the soldiers put the American flag up over the fort. They told the Indians not to come to see them on that day. They said it was the best day of their year. It was a cold day, with much ice and snow. They had a good dinner and after dinner the soldiers danced. On New Year's Day, 1805, they fired off all their guns. The captains let the soldiers go to the Mandan camp. They took their fiddle and danced for the Indians. One soldier danced on his hands with his head down. The Indians liked this dancing very much. They gave the soldiers some corn and some skins. sur prised hair paint ed stran ger fin ger wa ter helped York THE BLACK MAN. Captain Clark had his black man, York, with him. The Indians were always surprised to see the black man. They thought he was stranger than the white men. One Mandan chief said, "This is a white man painted black." He wet his finger and tried to wash the black off York's skin. The black would not come off. Then York took off his hat. The chief had not seen such hair before. Then the chief said, "You are not like a white man. You are a black man." The Indians told each other of this black man. They came from far to see him. York helped make them friends with the whites. The captains named a river for York. The river had only a little water in it. They named it York's Dry River. bas ket laugh weeks born su gar SACAJAWEA'S BABY.