Home » Journal » Winter Sojourn at Fort Clark »

December 20, 1833

December 20, 1833

Around nine to ten o’clock in the night, a severe wind rose; the sky was slightly cloudy. It snowed some about daybreak. At eight o’clock, 30°F [−1.1°C]. A strong wind [from the] northwest. Kipp and Charbonneau went with two sleds to the most distant Gros Ventre village to stay overnight. Early, a few Indians wailed and shouted near the hills, most probably medicine lamentations. An Indian brought a white rabbit and demanded two dollars for it. Because I did not want to pay that much, he tore off its tail and stuck it on his head.

Two men from Mr. Sublette’s company arrived here today. They had left St. Louis on 14 October, when the cholera had almost cleared. They had already received 15″ of snow below the Kansas River in October. They mentioned that the escort of the convoy from Santa Fe was surrounded so closely by Indians that they had to eat fourteen of their horses, because of [the] lack of provisions. The Indians are supposed to have been Arikaras. At one o’clock, 31°F [−0.6°C]. The wind raw and very strong from the northwest. In the afternoon Dreidoppel went out; however, he brought nothing back but a magpie. Síh-Chidä visited us but did not want to stay because he said that he had to return to the medicine dance. The forty nights when they surrender the women to the Káua-Karakáchka are not over yet. This festivity had already been going for a long time when we attended it. The moon was large in the sky at five o’clock, about 2/3 full. Night calm and bright.

Current Location

Journal Location: Fort Clark