April 26, 1834
Beautiful morning. We left early. At eight o’clock, 47°F [8.3°C]. Wind northeast hora 7. At seven o’clock our mackinaw boat ran aground, [but] we soon floated again. The area is bare and monotonous. We saw no waterfowl. We [quickly] put the leather boats (which had left earlier) behind us. The river had many sandbars here. A bald eagle was wounded near his aerie. We ran aground several times before the last turn to the right [toward] Fort Pierre. The men pulled and pushed in the water. At twelve thirty, 59°F [15°C]. Wind northeast. Very cool and windy [at] noon. There was still snow in the ravines on top of the hills opposite Fort Pierre. We saw hardly any green on these bare elevations. About two o’clock we reached the Fort Pierre landing area. Some Dacotas arrived, and we immediately went to the fort, where Mr. Laidlaw approached us and we were welcomed with a few cannon shots.
Fort Pierre was in good condition, kept neat and clean. The whole plain was covered with Dacota tents scattered everywhere—mostly Tetons [but] also several Yanktonais. We got a good room. Our boat was unloaded, because one could not trust the numerous Indians, [who] might easily kill our bears out of hunger.
There was a considerable lack of fresh food, because here, too, there were no buffalo during the whole winter. We could have easily brought corn down [with us], but we were not aware of the circumstances. For today, Mr. Laidlaw bought an Indian dog for twelve dollars. Because of the lack of [fresh] foods, they had to eat dogs every day, so these were expensive and hard to obtain. Incidentally, they live very well in this fort; fresh bread, potatoes, cabbage, beets, various preserved fruits, rice, coffee, sugar, and tea rendered life here far more bearable than at our earlier winter quarters.
Today we (Mr. Laidlaw, Chardon, Papin, the interpreter Dorion, and us) were invited to a celebration in the [tipi] of an Indian. After we sat down on a new buffalo robe decorated with porcupine [quills], dog meat was taken out of the kettle. More and more Indians arrived and sat in a circle. The meat was very fat and looked blackish, like mutton. It was delicious, however, and the prejudice [against eating dog] was quickly overcome. Afterward there was smoking. Then we left suddenly, and Mr. Laidlaw was given the robe that we sat on as a present. The host made a speech before we ate [in which] he talked about his devotion to the whites, and for that Mr. Laidlaw expressed his thanks through Dorion. We received a second invitation that we, however, did not accept. We returned to the house and found that fat dog meat was served again at lunch. A large group of Dacota Indians stayed in Mr. Laidlaw’s spacious living room the whole day. They came mainly to see us.
Among them we found our friend Wáh-Menítu, who was happy to see us again and was extremely friendly. Usually Mr. Laidlaw does not tolerate Indians in this room. The severe wind continued the whole day, and my people slept on the boat. The two bears brought to the fort greatly aroused the curiosity of the Indians, who continually surrounded them. Mr. Laidlaw was very courteous and looked after us far more than during our earlier stay. Also Mr. Denig (of German descent), now clerk of the company, who [had] traveled with us upriver, made every effort to be useful to us.
The prairie close by and surrounding Fort Pierre was already slightly green, and various small, early flowers bloomed there. Two days’ journey from Fort Pierre, in a southwesterly direction on the flat prairie, there is a strange accumulation of highly unusual hills called les Mauvaises-Terres that resemble fortresses, churches, villages, [and] old castles. They are, without doubt, of the same nature as the formations [in the region of] the Stone Walls. Mr. Laidlaw visited that area last winter and could not say enough about its very original character. Numerous bighorn live there.