y, another sixty feet in height, and some of less elevation. Our
chief tells us that the calumet bird lives in the holes formed by the
filtration of the water from the top of these hills through the sides.
Near to one of these moles, on a point of a hill ninety feet above the
plain, are the remains of an old village which is high, strong, and has
been fortified; this our chief tells us is the remains of one of the
Mandan villages, and are the first ruins which we have seen of that
nation in ascending the Missouri: opposite to our camp is a deep bend to
the south, at the extremity of which is a pond.

Saturday 30. We proceeded early with a southeast wind, which continued
high all day, and came to a creek on the north at two miles distance,
twenty yards wide. At eight miles we reached the lower point of an
island in the middle of the river, though there is no current on the
south. This island is covered with willows and extends about two miles,
there being a small creek coming in from the south at its lower
extremity. After making twelve miles we encamped on the south, at the
upper part of a bluff containing stone-coal of an inferior quality;
immediately below this bluff and on the declivity of a hill, are the
remains of a village covering six or eight acres, formerly occupied by
the Mandans, who, says our Ricara chief, once lived in a number of
villages on each side of the river, till the Sioux forced them forty
miles higher; whence after a few years residence, they moved to their
present position. The country through, which we passed has wider bottoms
and more timber than those we have been accustomed to see, the hills
rising at a distance and by gradual ascents. We have seen great numbers
of elk, deer, goats, and buffaloe, and the usual attendants of these
last, the wolves, who follow their movements and feed upon those who die
by accident, or who are too poor to keep pace with the herd; we also
wounded a white bear, and saw some fresh tracks of those animals which
are twice as large as the track of a man.

Sunday 21. Last night the weather was cold, the wind high from the
northeast, and the rain which fell froze on the ground. At daylight it
began to snow, and continued till the afternoon, when it remained cloudy
and the ground was covered with snow. We however, set out early, and
just above our camp came to a creek on the south, called Chisshetaw,
about thirty yards wide and with a considerable quantity of water. Our