October 10, 1833
Sky slightly cloudy, good weather, not significantly cool, no frost. During the night two men of the fort deserted and took a boat with them. Chardon and Deschamps followed (only for a short distance) without catching up with them. We were invited for lunch by Mr. Campbell at Fort William. The weather was incomparably beautiful and very warm about noon. At twelve o’clock, 51°F (10.6°C) (by the fort’s thermometer, 53°F (11.7°C)). The drawing of the Indian child continued.
At eleven o’clock I departed with Mr. Hamilton and Mr. Bodmer. We followed the prairie in an easterly direction along the lower forest and then turned slightly to the right, where we saw the new Fort William located on the flat prairie. It is a little less than an hour’s distance from Fort Union, and we walked for about three-quarters of an hour. Two sections of the picket square were standing; they had just dug the trenches for the other two. Here we found about fifteen people busy at work. With the exception of Mr. Campbell and two clerks, the whole population consists of fifty men, most of them absent. Mr. Campbell has a very good log house with glass windows and a clay chimney. The whole fort is still under construction. In addition to the superintendent’s house, two smaller buildings were ready for [occupation]. The other structures were yet to be built. Cattle, horses, hogs, chickens, and turkeys were the domesticated animals, as well as several dogs. Mr. Campbell told us interesting stories about his travel and trips to the Rocky Mountains and the sources of the Columbia. Last summer he traveled there with Captain Stewart, the same man we saw in St. Louis before he started his journey. He will stay in the mountains over the winter and then travel down to the mouth of the Columbia. Mr. Campbell gave him for safekeeping a small linen bag containing washed stones to take with him. Truly [it is] a satire on a mineralogical collection or rock specimens in an area so interesting to geologists. We ate lunch at Fort William, took leave of our host at five o’clock, went back quickly during the pleasant evening, and arrived at Fort Union at nightfall. The necessary preparations for our buffalo hunt the next day had been made. The horses had been put in a special corral and were well fed. We were [scheduled] to leave on horseback after breakfast.