September 30, 1833
In the night there was heavy hoarfrost. Weather bright and clear. At seven thirty, 44 1/2°F [6.9°C]. The thermometer at the fort differed from mine by 2°F [1.1°C]; the [blank] stands. By 13 September they had already heard from the returning Assiniboines about the skirmish of 28 August at Fort McKenzie. The Assiniboine [warriors] had grown to [800]; 100 Crees were among them. I found Deschamps, too, [at Fort Union]. He had brought his horses safely to the fort in ten days and had only once been pursued by Indians, namely Gros Ventres des Prairies. They probably wanted to steal his horses, but he managed to hold them off. When he was almost across from the fort, many Assiniboines gathered at the water [and] shouted a warning to him to beware, because they would shoot him, since he had killed and wounded so many of their tribe. Actually, he fought on until dark and shot a great many enemies. They recognized him and shouted to him several times; he answered that he was not afraid of them. They attacked the fort, and its inhabitants had to defend themselves. He had his brother load the musket and a small pistol he was carrying on his belt and drove straight ahead toward the Indians. His relatives (his wife being a Cree) were with him and told him not to be afraid of them but to be cautious toward others. He answered that he was not afraid of any attack in the open and knew how to react to attacks by the enemy. He could not do anything about attacks by the enemy. Indians do not favor such attacks (that is, in the open). The Assiniboines told him they were 580 men; the battle [had resulted in] 3 dead and 20 seriously wounded. The man whose spear and warbonnet I have in my possession was the nephew of Gaucher. The name of this chief Gaucher is Minohä́nne (‘e’ hardly audible). He now calls himself Tatógan, Antelope, one of the first chiefs. This chief received a flag from the Americans. He threw it away, being annoyed, and said he did not want to have anything to do with the French [sic], who had presented him with the flag and then fired at his people.