History of the expedition under the command of Captains Lewis and Clark, to the sources of the Missouri, thence across the Rocky mountains and down the River Columbia to the Pacific Ocean : performed during the years 1804-5-6 by order of the government of the United States; Volume 1

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.lJc<cis and Clw·f.Lc"s Expedition Wednesday, December 12. rrhe wind is still from the not•th, the tbc1·mometer being at sunl'ise thirty-eight de~ grees JJelow o. One of the Ahnahaways brought us do,~n the half of an antelope killed near tbe fort; we had been mfor" med that all these animals return to the Black Jnountains, but there are great numbers of them about us at this sea­son which we might easily kill, but are unwilling to ven­ture out before our constitutions are hardened gradually to the climate. W c measured the rher on ibe ice, and find it five hundred yards wi<le immediately opposite the fort. Thm·s<lay 13. Last night was clear and a very heav1 frost covered the old snow, the thermometer at sun rise be­ing t wcnty degrees below o, and followed by a fine day· 'fhe river falls. Friday 14. The morning was fine, and the weather ha .. ving moderated so far, that the mercury stood al. o, captain Lewis went down with a party to hunt; they proceeded about eighteen miles, but the buffaloe having left the banks of the river they saw only two, which were so poor as not to be worth killing, and shot two deer. Notwithstanding the sno'\\ we were visited by a large number of the Mandans. Saturday 15. Captain Lewis finding no game returned to the fort bunting on both sides of the river, but with no suc­cess. 'l~he wind being from the north, the mercury at sun­rise eight degrees below o, and the snow of last night an inch and a half in deilth. 'I'he Indian chiefs continue to visit us to-day with },resents of meat. Sunday 16. 'fhe morning is clear and cold, the mercury at sunrise :22° below o. A Mr. Haney with two other per· sons from the British establishment on the Assiniboin, arri­ved in six days with a letter from Mr. Charles Chabouilles, one of the company, who with much politeness offered to render us any service in his power. Monday 17. 'fhe weather to-day was colder than any we had yet experienced, the thermometer at sunrise being 4!3° below o, and about eight o"clock it fell to 74° below tbefree· Up the .JJlissom·i • .ling point. From Mr. Ilaney, who is a very sensible intel­li~ ent man, we obtained much geographical information with regard to ihe country between the l\1issouri and l\1js. sissippi, and the Yarious tribes of Sioux who inhabit it. Tuesday 18. The thermometer at sunrise was S2° below 0. 'The Indians had im·ited us yeste1·day to join their chace to-~ay, but the seven men whom we sent r eturned in conse­quence o~ the cold, which was so severe last night that we 'vcre obhged to have the sentinel relieved every half hotir. The northwest traders however left us on their return home. Wednesday 19. The weather moderated, and the river rose a little, so that we were enabled to continue the picket­ing of the fort. . Notwithstanding the extreme cold, we ob­serve the Indians at the village engaged out in the open air at a game which resembJed billiards more than any thing we had seen, and which we inclined to suspect may have been acquit·ed by ancient intercourse with t11e French of Canada. From the first to the second chief's lodge, a di s­tance of about fifty yards, was covered with timber smooth­ed and joined so as to he as level as the floor of one of our h_ou.ses, with a battery at the end to stop the rings: these rmgs were of clay-stone and flat like the chequers for drafts aud the sticks were about four feet long, with two short I,ic: ces at one end in the form of a mace, so fixed that the whole will slide along the board. Two men fix themselves at one end, each provided with a stick, and one of them with a ring; t h.ey then run along the board, and about half way slide tbe sticks aftet· the ring. 'Thursday 20. 'I'he wind was from the N. ,V. the wea­ther moderate, the thermometer 2~0 above o at sunrise. We a~ailed o~rselves of this change to picket the fort ncar the I'JVer. Friday 21. rTbe day was fine and warm, t.lac wind N. W. by W. 1~he Indian who had been prevented a few days ago ft·om killing his wife, came with both his wives to the fort, and was very desirous of reconciling our interpreter, a jea·