the fireplace, round which, at _c c c c_, are the seats of the inmates, consisting of benches formed of basket-work, covered with skins; _b b b b_ are four strong pillars which bear the roof, and are very well united above by cross beams. At _i_ there was a large leather case for the beds in which the family slept. A chain, with a large kettle, was suspended from the roof over the fire, to cook our supper, consisting of very pleasant flavoured sweet maize." (Op. cit., pp. 425-426.) A plan of the lodge is given on page 426, here reproduced as figure 8. [Illustration: FIG. 8.--Plan of the interior of a Mandan lodge.] The "great medicine feast" was to begin the evening of their arrival at the winter village and to last 40 nights. That evening "after seven o'clock we repaired to the medicine lodge; it was entirely cleared, except that some women sat along the walls; the fire burned in the centre, before which we took our seats, near the partition _d d_, with several distinguished men of the band of soldiers. At our left hand, the other soldiers, about twenty-five in number, were seated in a row; some of them were handsomely dressed, though the majority were in plain clothes. They had their arms in their hands, and in the centre were three men who beat the drum." (Op. cit., pp. 426-427.) The lengthy detailed account of what followed during the course of the "feast" is most interesting, but will not be mentioned in this sketch. As among the many neighboring tribes of the Missouri Valley, the buffalo served as the principal source of food for the Mandan. Often sufficient meat could be secured very near the towns; again it would be necessary to undertake long journeys in search of the moving herds. It will be recalled that on January 13, 1805, when the mercury stood 34° below zero, Lewis and Clark saw "nearly one half of the Mandan nation" pass down the frozen Missouri on a hunt to last several days. And a few years later, just at the beginning of summer, June 25, 1811, Brackenridge wrote: "At ten, passed an old Mandan village; and at some distance above, saw a great number of Mandan Indians on their march along the prairie. They sometimes go on hunting parties by whole villages, which is the case at present; they are about five hundred in number, some on horseback, some on foot, their tents and baggage drawn by dogs. On these great hunting parties, the women are employed in preserving the hides, drying the meat, and making a provision to keep. Very little of the buffalo is lost, for after taking the marrow, they pound the bones, boil them, and preserve the oil." (Brackenridge, (1), p. 260.) On such trips away from their permanent earth-lodge villages the Mandan made use of the skin-covered tipi.