March 6, 1834
In the morning, gray sky; calm, wind moderate out of the northeast. At seven thirty, 14°F [−10°C]. Cold. The sun stood as a dim, yellowish spot in the clouds with no brightness at all. Durand came into the fort. Indians went to and fro. On the river the women were seen again going to the forest.
Mató-Tópe came and brought the Arikara who was to be drawn. He was a welldressed and handsome man. His name is Pachtüwa-Chtä (‘ach’ velar, ‘wa’ very short, everything short together). He is a wicked man who has shot or killed many white men.
Dreidoppel went in the forest across the river, but there were so many women there that he could not see any animals, except for a few prairie hens. At noon [the weather was] unpleasantly cold; the wind [was] moderate but cold. At twelve o’clock, 12 1/2°F [−10.8°C]. Wind northeast. For Mató-Tópe, I had to draw a pattáckä [bald eagle] holding a scalp in its claws, blood flowing from them. He and the Arikara went across [the fort?] to eat. Afterward, he was drawn again. About four o’clock it started to snow. The Indians left us early, all of them feeling not quite well; [they] had an unpleasant feeling in their stomachs or abdomens. Kipp had colic last night and had not slept at all. The weather is too changeable; no two days [are] the same. At dusk, the wind northwest. In the evening it snowed so heavily that the whole land was covered with 2 to 3 inches of snow. At nine o’clock, fairly calm.