nters, mounted on horseback and armed with
bows and arrows, encircle the herd and gradually drive them into a plain
or an open place fit for the movements of horse; they then ride in among
them, and singling out a buffalo, a female being preferred, go as close
as possible and wound her with arrows till they think they have
given the mortal stroke; when they pursue another, till the quiver is
exhausted. If, which rarely happens, the wounded buffalo attacks the
hunter, he evades his blow by the agility of his horse, which is trained
for the combat with great dexterity. When they have killed the requisite
number they collect their game, and the squaws and attendants come up
from the rear and skin and dress the animals. Captain Clark killed ten
buffalo, of which five only were brought to the fort; the rest, which
could not be conveyed home, being seized by the Indians, among whom the
custom is that whenever a buffalo is found dead without an arrow or
any particular mark, he is the property of the finder; so that often a
hunter secures scarcely any of the game he kills, if the arrow happens
to fall off."

The weather now became excessively cold, the mercury often going
thirty-two degrees below zero. Notwithstanding this, however, the
Indians kept up their outdoor sports, one favorite game of which
resembled billiards. But instead of a table, the players had an open
flooring, about fifty yards long, and the balls were rings of stone,
shot along the flooring by means of sticks like billiard-cues. The white
men had their sports, and they forbade the Indians to visit them on
Christmas Day, as this was one of their "great medicine days." The
American flag was hoisted on the fort and saluted with a volley of
musketry. The men danced among themselves; their best provisions
were brought out and "the day passed," says the journal, "in great
festivity."

The party also celebrated New Year's Day by similar festivities. Sixteen
of the men were given leave to go up to the first Mandan village with
their musical instruments, where they delighted the whole tribe with
their dances, one of the French voyageurs being especially applauded
when he danced on his hands with his head downwards. The dancers and
musicians were presented with several buffalo-robes and a large quantity
of Indian corn. The cold grew more intense, and on the tenth of the
month the mercury stood at forty degrees below zero. Some of the men
were badly frost-bitten, and