d here,
set out to-day on his return to the British fort and factory on the
Assiniboin river, about one hundred and fifty miles from this place. He
took a letter from captain Lewis to the northwest company, inclosing a
copy of the passport granted by the British minister in the United
States. At ten o'clock the chiefs of the lower village arrived; they
requested that we would call at their village for some corn, that they
were willing to make peace with the Ricaras, that they had never
provoked the war between them, but as the Ricaras had killed some of
their chiefs, they had retaliated on them; that they had killed them
like birds, till they were tired of killing them, so that they would
send a chief and some warriors to smoke with them. In the evening we
dropped down to the lower village where captain Lewis went on shore, and
captain Clarke proceeded to a point of wood on the north side.

Friday, November 2. He therefore went up to the village where eleven
bushels of corn were presented to him. In the meantime Captain Clarke
went down with the boats three miles, and having found a good position
where there was plenty of timber, encamped and began to fell trees to
build our huts. Our Ricara chief set out with one Mandan chief and
several Minnetaree and Mandan warriors; the wind was from the southeast,
and the weather being fine a crowd of Indians came down to visit us.

Saturday 3. We now began the building of our cabins, and the Frenchmen
who are to return to St. Louis are building a periogue for the purpose.
We sent six men in a periogue to hunt down the river. We were also
fortunate enough to engage in our service a Canadian Frenchmen, who had
been with the Chayenne Indians on the Black mountains, and last summer
descended thence by the Little Missouri. Mr. Jessaume our interpreter
also came down with his squaw and children to live at our camp. In the
evening we received a visit from Kagohami or Little Raven, whose wife
accompanied him, bringing about sixty weight of dried meat, a robe and a
pot of meal. We gave him in return a piece of tobacco, to his wife an
axe and a few small articles, and both of them spent the night at our
camp. Two beavers were caught in traps this morning.

Sunday 4. We continued our labours: the timber which we employ is large
and heavy, and chiefly consists of cottonwood and elm with some ash of
an inferior size. Great numbers of the Indians pass our camp on their
hunting excursions: the