THE MISSOURI RIVER JOURNALS 1 33 



August 7, Monday. Provost, Bell, and La Fleur started 

 after breakfast, having waited nearly four hours for Bou- 

 cherville. They left at seven, and the Indians were curi- 

 ous to know where they were bound, and looked at them 

 with more interest than we all liked. At about nine, we 

 saw Boucherville, accompanied by five men, all mounted, 

 and they were surprised that Provost had not waited for 

 them, or rather that he had left so early. I gave them a 

 bottle of whiskey, and they started under the whip, and 

 must have overtaken the first party in about two hours. 

 To-day has been warmer than any day we have had for 

 two weeks. Sprague has been collecting seeds, and Har- 

 ris and I searching for stones with impressions of leaves 

 and fern; we found several. Mr. Denig says the Assini- 

 boins killed a Black Bear on White Earth River, about 

 sixty miles from the mouth ; they are occasionally killed 

 there, but it is a rare occurrence. Mr. Denig saw the skin 

 of a Bear at their camp last winter, and a Raccoon was also 

 killed on the Cheyenne River by the Sioux, who knew 

 not what to make of it. Mr. Culbertson has given me the 

 following account of a skirmish which took place at Fort 

 McKenzie in the Blackfoot country, which I copy from his 

 manuscript. 



''August 28, 1834- At the break of day we were aroused 

 from our beds by the report of an enemy being in sight. 

 This unexpected news created naturally a confusion 

 among us all ; never was a set of unfortunate beings so 

 surprised as we were. By the time that the alarm had 

 spread through the fort, we were surrounded by the 

 enemy, who proved to be Assiniboins, headed by the chief 

 Gauche (the Antelope). The number, as near as we could 

 judge, was about four hundred. Their first attack was 

 upon a few lodges of Piegans, who were encamped at the 

 fort. They also, being taken by surprise, could not es- 

 cape. We exerted ourselves, however, to save as many as 

 we could, by getting them into the fort. But the foolish 



