ice
running in great quantities. All our Indian presents were again exposed
to the air, and the barge made ready to descend the Missouri.

Monday 31. Early this morning it rained, and the weather continued
cloudy during the day; the river rose nine inches, the ice not running
so much as yesterday. Several flocks of geese and ducks fly up the
river.

Monday, April 1, 1805. This morning there was a thunder storm,
accompanied with large hail, to which succeeded rain for about half an
hour. We availed ourselves of this interval to get all the boats in the
water. At four o'clock P.M. it began to rain a second time, and
continued till twelve at night. With the exception of a few drops at two
or three different times, this is the first rain we have had since the
15th of October last.

Tuesday 2. The wind was high last night and this morning from N.W. and
the weather continued cloudy. The Mandans killed yesterday twenty-one
elk, about fifteen miles below, but they were so poor as to be scarcely
fit for use.

Wednesday 3. The weather is pleasant, though there was a white frost and
some ice on the edge of the water. We were all engaged in packing up our
baggage and merchandize.

Thursday 4. The day is clear and pleasant, though the wind is high from
N.W. We now packed up in different boxes a variety of articles for the
president, which we shall send in the barge. They consisted of a stuffed
male and female antelope with their skeletons, a weasel, three squirrels
from the Rocky mountains, the skeleton of the prairie wolf, those of the
white and gray hare, a male and female blaireau, or burrowing dog of the
prairie, with a skeleton of the female, two burrowing squirrels, a white
weasel, and the skin of the louservia, the horns of the mountain ram, or
big-horn, a pair of large elk horns, the horns and tail of the
black-tailed deer, and a variety of skins, such as those of the red fox,
white hare, martin, yellow bear obtained from the Sioux; also, a number
of articles of Indian dress, among which was a buffaloe robe,
representing a battle fought about eight years since between the Sioux
and Ricaras against the Mandans and Minnetarees, in which the combatants
are represented on horseback. It has of late years excited much
discussion to ascertain the period when the art of painting was first
discovered: how hopeless all researches of this kind are, is evident
from the foregoing fact. It is indebted for its origin to one of the
s