October 28, 1833

Morning bright, calm, cold. Snow was lightly spread on the ground. Soon the sun rose brightly. For the first time I saw the prairie in its real winter coat. Smoke rose in the distance where the horses were kept. They [remain] outside the whole winter, [and] if there is deep snow, they go to the forest and live only on bark. They are said to like to eat cottonwood bark. Hunger may also serve as a good incentive, because in the yard during the night at Fort Union, the lockedup horses totally gnawed off the rails on Mr. McKenzie’s house, even though they were painted with reddish brown oil paint. At eight o’clock, 16°F [−8.9°C]. Instead of riding to Fort William, Moncravie went to the place where the workers made charcoal. He asserted that all people in the fort had been asleep. His head probably was not completely clear yet.

The weather almost turned nice during the day; calm; beautiful sunshine. The hoarfrost that had covered all the forests melted off toward noon. Because our departure was set for [tomorrow,] Wednesday the 29th, we made the necessary prepa rations today. I gave Mr. Chardon [a list of] various items we would need for the trip.

Noon pleasant, twelve o’clock, 36 1/2°F [2.5°C]. At noon, Mr. Campbell ate with us. He mentioned that seven Crows Gros Ventres had recently pursued one of his people [in a] hunting party on the other side of the Yellowstone. He, however, got away from them after he reached the willow brush. We talked at length about the Rocky Mountains. Mr. Campbell said that even now whites call certain of the rivers leading into the Yellowstone by their Crow names, that is, Bighorn River, Little Bighorn, etc. He told [me] much about the Snakes and Flatheads [Salish]. The former call themselves Shoshones. He knew the Big Salt Lake [Great Salt Lake] very well, [and] especially the Platte.

A certain Smith, who was killed by Indians in the Rocky Mountains and whose journal is in the hands of General Ashley in St. Louis, recorded all his many trips there on a map included with the journal. General Clark is perhaps now in possession of the journal and map. Mr. Campbell gave me his whip, which he got from the Snake or Shoshone [Indians]. He left us at dusk. We packed many items today.

In our boat they had constructed a high flue and fireplace from heavy blocks of stone. The mason built these high [enough] to jut out from the covering tent. However, today we discovered that it was too high; it [could] crush the deck. It was therefore completely taken down. On the other hand, we got a good tent in the middle of the boat, stretched over hoops. The boat was much larger than [our] previous one—broad and spacious. However, we needed four men to row it. The people I received from the company were Henry Morrin (helmsman), l’Enfant, Louis Vachard, Beauchamp, and Bourgua. The name of l’Enfant was actually Hugron. Night bright, calm, and cold.

Current Location

Journal Location: Fort Union