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reach Fort Pierre on Friday evening, but it was beyond our power. Our 

 men had been furnished with Indian horses and we had put some other 

 jnules into the cart, giving our mules their okl place in the buggy. The 

 road was good and well marked as it is much traveled passing over rolling 

 prairie. Timber and water were scarce. The wind blew quite violently 

 which increased the fatigue of traveling. About two o'clock we stopped 

 for dinner on a high hill where we found plenty of wood left by some Indi- 

 ans. After dinner the wind made the traveling so unpleasant that we 

 •encamped early in a ravine, through which ran a small stream called 

 the Chain of Rocks, from the fact of a ridge of rocks extending across 

 the Missouri at its mouth. The sides of this ravine were covered with 

 banks of snow six and ten feet deep. In the morning we made an early 

 «tart with a clear sky and bright sun ; the wind tlid not seem to be unusu- 

 ally violent, but in less than an hour it became so. 



About ten o'clock we reached La Chapelle creek, almost worn out with 

 fatigue. We all agreed that of all our bad days, this had been the worst. 

 But we found good restoratives in plenty of hot coffee and meat, and a 

 rest of a few hours made us all again in a condition for traveling. The 

 afternoon proved pleasant and we soon reached Medicine creek which was 

 fordable ; we passed on and about seven o'clock found a good camping 

 ground at the foot of an island some miles below the fort. We were oil 

 before sunrise, and at seven o'clock on the^ morning of Saturday, May 4, 

 we I had the pleasure of halting opposite Fort Pierre. 



The boat could not come over for us at once, and so we had something 

 to eat by way of variety, and waited, not very patiently, for it. About 

 twelve o'clock it reached us, and as the wind was blowing, we were 

 cordelled up about a mile, and then crossed and landed at the fort gate. 

 The cannon and guns were fired in honor of the " Boss," and we were re- 

 ceived with great kindness. I was glad to stop ; we had been forty-five 

 days coming from St. Louis, and our trip had been a tedious one. A's. 

 quarters are very comfortable and we were put in better condition here 

 than we had been for some days. The Indians soon invited A. to a dog 

 feast, but he was too tired to go ; however, they at night brought over 

 to him some of the meat and had a talk with him. I was too fatigued to 

 attend, but some of the meat was given me, which I thought tasted strongly 

 of dog. Yesterday was Sunday, and was truly a day of rest. This 

 morning I feel very well, and am preparing for a start to-morrow for the 

 Mauvaise Terre. 



Tuesday, May 7. — This morning at seven o'clock I started from Fort 

 Pierre, for the Mauvaise Terre or 13ad Lands of White river. Our com- 

 pany consists of three — young M'Kenzie, myself and one of the men from 

 the Fort. The whole equipment is at the cost of A. We are well fur- 

 nished with provisions for about two weeks, and have three mules all of 

 which are the worse for w^ear, but they are the best we could get, as the 

 Indians have bought up all the best horses and mules and are clamorous for 

 more. We had a pleasant morning for our start, although it was a little 

 hazy. By ten o'clock we had reached Willow creek, eight miles from the 

 Fort, and there we dined. After this we moved off, expecting to go thir- 

 teen miles further, but we found our mules scarcely strong enough for 

 the trip, and stopped after traveling eight miles ; I hope to reach Bear 

 creek, our destination, on Saturday, but fear that we shall not be able ; 



