October 13, 1833
Overcast; calm weather. At seven thirty both thermometers [read] 37°F [2.8°C]; at noon, both [read] 50°F [10°C]. We had much work and kept busy at home. I received the mouse with long outside [cheek] pouches, [which is] not rare in the forest, and described it precisely. Toward The opening of these colossal drooping pouches, at the corners of the mouth, is filled with seeds of small plants.
Because today was Sunday, nobody worked. People tormented Mr. Hamilton terribly about brandy. They almost always got it, too, and many were drunk. The lone man who remained back on the prairie yesterday arrived this morning. He had spent the night without fire or any cover. He had missed the six people who had been sent out to look for him. Several people from Fort William paid a visit to Fort Union. Some people went hunting and shot at the prairie fox that occasionally came close to the fort.
The Negro, Antoine, came back from the lake on the Yellowstone and brought along thirteen muskrats and a large number of wild geese and ducks. He often caught 500 in one season, sometimes almost 1,000 or 1,500. In the afternoon there was a very strong wind blowing, increasing at nighttime [and] turning stormy.