October 16, 1833
In the morning, raw and cool weather; a bit of wind. At seven thirty, 34 1/2°F [1.4°C]. Yesterday Mr. Hamilton gave me an interesting letter written by a Mandan Indian Four Bears (Mató Tópe) to Mr. McKenzie. Explanation: In the middle, there is a cross, the Indian symbol for trade or bartering: the Indians cross the index finger of each hand [to make the X]. At the right side of the cross a beaver can be recognized, and above it a series of lines indicates the number of beaver pelts the writer wants to trade. Behind the beaver a rifle is drawn. He wants to trade this, too, as well as everything to the right of the cross. For [all] that, he wants to get a white buffalo skin and also that of a fisher and an otter. The three animals are easy to identify in the drawing.
At noon, 36°F [2.2°C]. A raw wind was blowing on the prairie. Dreidoppel went out with his gun, and I soon followed, taking another direction. In the upper forest, where there was protection against the wind, [there were] crows, ravens, and many blackbirds. Some woodpeckers were seen for the first time today, probably Picus villosus and pubescens. The lower bushes were alive with Fringilla canadensis and other birds in large numbers, including a small flock of perhaps four to five migratorius.
I found interesting plant seeds. By chance I saw again on the banks of the Missouri the beautiful large white flower from the upper Missouri (Bartonia ornata Pursh), foliis pinnatifidis, its seed capsules only partially open.
They are found in the calyx, which is five-lobed on its upper rim. On the outer side of the large capsule ([which is] almost two inches long, rather cylindrical, [and] a bit rounded at the corners) are two or three rather irregularly shaped, small, pointed leaves severely indented on the sides, or pinnatifid. Some still had flowers, but they were not open during this cold weather. The opening is on the top, still closed with some blockage toward the inside, having already split open in many [flowers] in six segments.
When I arrived back at the fort, the dogs had just chased away a little prairie fox that came near the fort every day. This small, cute animal is extraordinarily fast; it never runs straight, but darts sideways. Deschamps and the fellows with him returned; they had shot eighteen wild geese, twelve ducks, and four muskrats. Chardon and Moncravie rode to Fort William. At five o’clock four Cree Indians arrived, among them a famous chief, le Sonnant (Mähsette-Kuiuab—second ‘e’ half long). They brought the news that below the fort the Assiniboines had shot a Gros Ventre chief. Two white men who came up to Fort William had been robbed by the Gros Ventres. This was bad news for our travel plans. At seven o’clock we found three of the Cree Indians with Mr. Hamilton. The chief spoke long; Deschamps was the interpreter. He said he was poor and loved the white man. He had not been able to bring anything to trade, but he was hoping they would have pity on him and would lend or sell him a horse. He would pay for it later. They needed the horse to carry things to the fort occasionally. For this evening he asked for some filets (liquor) to bring joy to his heart and enable [him] to lie down. He had actually received several [filets] already. Night cold. The weather clearing up.