JOURNAL ENTRIES:
TAMBOURINES & PERCUSSION
All citations come from the Moulton edition
of the journals or
from Jackson's Letters of the
Lewis and Clark Expedition, 2nd Edition.
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Date |
Author |
Note |
Source |
|
8/30/1804 |
Ordway |
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Moulton, v. 9, p. 47 |
|
Entry: "...they all [c]ame into our Camp in the most friendly manner &C their was four of them which were always a Singing & playing on their curious Instruments which were as follows, viz. they had each of them a Thrapple1 made of a fresh buffelow hide dressed white with Some Small Shot in it and a little bunch of hair tied on it, the head man of the[m] was painted white, the rest of them were painted different colours.... a drum was prepared, the Band began to play on their little Instruments, & the drum beat & they Sang." 1. Referring to the windpipe and perhaps to the Jew's harp as noted by Whitehouse this day, but Ordway seems to describe a rattle or tambourine |
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9/26/1804 |
Clark |
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Moulton, v. 3, p. 116 |
|
Entry: "...they requested us to remain one night & see them dance &c.... Several men with Tamborens highly Decorated with Der & Cabra Hoofs to make the rattle, assembled and began to Sing & Beat...." see also page 118-119: "...we Smoked for an hour [till] Dark & all was Cleared away a large fire made in the Center, about 10 misitions playing on tamberins [NB: made of hoops & skin stretched]. long sticks with Deer & Goats Hoofs tied So as to make a gingling noise and many others of a Similer kind, those men began to Sing, & Beet on the Tamboren, the women Came foward highly Deckerated in theire way...." |
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1/1/1805 |
Ordway |
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Moulton, v. 9, p. 107 |
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Entry: "cloudy but moderate. we fired a Swivel & drank a Glass. about 9 o.C. 15 of the party went up to the 1st village of Mandans to dance as it had been their request. carried with us a fiddle & a Tambereen & a Sounden horn. as we arived at the entrence of the vil. we fired one round then the music played. loaded again. then marched to the center of the vil, fired again. then commenced dancing. a frenchman danced on his head and all danced round him for a Short time then went in to a lodge & danced a while, which pleased them verry much they then brought victules from different lodges & of different kinds of diet, they brought us also a quantity of corn & Some buffalow Robes which they made us a present off. So we danced in different lodges untill late in the afternoon. then a part of the men returned to the fort the remainder Stayed all night in the village-- rained a little in the eve." |
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10/16/1805 |
Clark |
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Jackson, v. 2, p. 501 |
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Entry: "a skin or parchment of deerskins or goat sk. stretched over sticks &c.--a sort of tambourin or something like a racket held in one hand & stick in another... The music consists of tambourin or drum--singing & a flute or rather a sort of whistle." |