was too lean
for use, and the wolves, who regard whatever lies out at night as their
own, had appropriated a large part of it: when he left the fort on the
4th instant, he descended on the ice twenty-two miles to New Mandan
island, near some of their old villages, and encamped, having killed
nothing, and therefore without food for the night.

Early on the 5th, the hunters went out and killed two buffaloe and a
deer, but the last only could be used, the others being too lean. After
breakfast they proceeded down to an Indian lodge and hunted during the
day: the next morning, 6th, they encamped forty-four miles from the fort
on a sand point near the mouth of a creek on the southwest side, which
they call Hunting creek, and during this and the following day hunted
through all the adjoining plains, with much success, having killed a
number of deer and elk. On the 8th, the best of the meat was sent with
the horses to the fort, and such parts of the remainder as were fit for
use were brought to a point of the river three miles below, and after
the bones were taken out, secured in pens built of logs, so as to keep
off the wolves, ravens and magpies, who are very numerous and constantly
disappoint the hunter of his prey: they then went to the low grounds
near the Chisshetaw river where they encamped, but saw nothing except
some wolves on the hills, and a number of buffaloe too poor to be worth
hunting. The next morning 9th, as there was no game and it would have
been inconvenient to send it back sixty miles to the fort, they returned
up the river, and for three days hunted along the banks and plains, and
reached the fort in the evening of the twelfth much fatigued, having
walked thirty miles that day on the ice and through the snow in many
places knee deep, the moccasins too being nearly worn out: the only game
which they saw besides what is mentioned, was some growse on the
sandbars in the river.

Thursday 14. Last night the snow fell three inches deep; the day was,
however, fine. Four men were despatched with sleds and three horses to
bring up the meat which had been collected by the hunters. They returned
however, with intelligence that about twenty-one miles below the fort a
party of upwards of one hundred men, whom they supposed to be Sioux,
rushed on them, cut the traces of the sleds, and carried off two of the
horses, the third being given up by intercession of an Indian who seemed
to possess some authority over them; th