ey also took away two of the
men's knifes, and a tomahawk, which last however they returned. We sent
up to the Mandans to inform them of it, and to know whether any of them
would join a party which intended to pursue the robbers in the morning.
About twelve o'clock two of their chiefs came down and said that all
their young men were out hunting, and that there were few guns in the
village. Several Indians however, armed some with bows and arrows, some
with spears and battle-axes, and two with fusils, accompanied captain
Lewis, who set out,

Friday 15, at sunrise with twenty-four men. The morning was fine and
cool, the thermometer being at 16 degrees below 0. In the course of the
day one of the Mandan chiefs returned from captain Lewis's party, his
eye-sight having become so bad that he could not proceed. At this season
of the year the reflexion from the ice and snow is so intense as to
occasion almost total blindness. This complaint is very common, and the
general remedy is to sweat the part affected by holding the face over a
hot stone, and receiving the fumes from snow thrown on it. A large red
fox was killed to-day.

Saturday 16. The morning was warm, mercury at 32 degrees above 0, the
weather cloudy: several of the Indians who went with captain Lewis
returned, as did also one of our men, whose feet had been frostbitten.

Sunday 17. The weather continued as yesterday, though in the afternoon
it became fair. Shotawhorora and his son came to see us, with about
thirty pounds of dried buffaloe meat and some tallow.

Monday 18. The morning was cloudy with some snow, but in the latter part
of the day it cleared up. Mr. M'Kenzie who had spent yesterday at the
fort now left us. Our stock of meat is exhausted, so that we must
confine ourselves to vegetable diet, at least till the return of the
party: for this, however, we are at no loss, since both on this and the
following day,

Tuesday 19, our blacksmith got large quantities of corn from the Indians
who came in great numbers to see us. The weather was fair and warm, the
wind from the south.

Wednesday, 20th. The day was delightfully fine; the mercury being at
sunrise 2 degrees and in the course of the day 22 degrees above 0, the
wind southerly. Kagohami came down to see us early: his village is
afflicted by the death of one of their eldest men, who from his account
to us must have seen one hundred and twenty winters. Just as he was
dying, he requested his grandchildr