tremity of the tail
which was black: great numbers of wild geese are passing to the south,
but their flight is too high for us to procure any of them.

November 10. We had again a raw day, a northwest wind, but rose early
in hopes of finishing our works before the extreme cold begins. A chief
who is a half Pawnee came to us and brought a present of half a
buffaloe, in return for which we gave him some small presents and a few
articles to his wife and son: he then crossed the river in a buffaloe
skin canoe; his wife took the boat on her back and carried it to the
village three miles off. Large flocks of geese and brant, and also a few
ducks are passing towards the south.

Sunday 11. The weather is cold. We received the visit of two squaws,
prisoners from the Rock mountains, and purchased by Chaboneau. The
Mandans at this time are out hunting the buffaloe.

Monday 12. The last night had been cold and this morning we had a very
hard frost: the wind changeable during the day, and some ice appears on
the edges of the rivers; swans too are passing to the south. The Big
White came down to us, having packed on the back of his squaw about one
hundred pounds of very fine meat: for which we gave him as well as the
squaw some presents, particularly an axe to the woman with which she was
very much pleased.

Tuesday 13. We this morning unloaded the boat and stowed away the
contents in a storehouse which we have built. At half past ten ice began
to float down the river for the first time: in the course of the morning
we were visited by the Black Cat, Poscapsahe, who brought an Assiniboin
chief and seven warriors to see us. This man, whose name is Chechawk, is
a chief of one out of three bands of Assiniboins who wander over the
plains between the Missouri and Assiniboin during the summer, and in the
winter carry the spoils of their hunting to the traders on the
Assiniboin river, and occasionally come to this place: the whole three
bands consist of about eight hundred men. We gave him a twist of tobacco
to smoke with his people, and a gold cord for himself: the Sioux also
asked for whiskey which we refused to give them. It snowed all day and
the air was very cold.

Wednesday 14. The river rose last night half an inch, and is now filled
with floating ice. This morning was cloudy with some snow: about seventy
lodges of Assiniboins and some Knistenaux are at the Mandan village, and
this being the day of adoption and exchange of proper