Sunday 6.  A clear cold morning with high wind:  we caught in a trap a large gray wolf, and last night obtained in the same way a fox who had for some time infested the neighbourhood of the fort.  Only a few Indians visited us to-day.

Monday 7.  The weather was again clear and cold with a high northwest wind, and the thermometer at sunrise 22 degrees below 0; the river fell an inch.  Shahaka the Big White chief dined with us, and gave a connected sketch of the country as far as the mountains.

Tuesday 8.  The wind was still from the northwest, the day cold, and we received few Indians at the fort.  Besides the buffaloe dance we have just described, there is another called medicine dance, an entertainment given by any person desirous of doing honour to his medicine or genius.  He announces, that on such a day he will sacrifice his horses, or other property, and invites the young females of the village to assist in rendering homage to his medicine; all the inhabitants may join in the solemnity, which is performed in the open plain and by daylight, but the dance is reserved for the virgins or at least the unmarried females, who disdain the incumbrance or the ornament of dress.  The feast is opened by devoting the goods of the master of the feast to his medicine, which is represented by a head of the animal itself, or by a medicine bag if the deity be an invisible being.  The young women then begin the dance, in the intervals of which each will prostrate herself before the assembly to challenge or reward the boldness of the youth, who are often tempted by feeling or the hopes of distinction to achieve the adventure.

Wednesday 9.  The weather is cold, the thermometer at sunrise 21 degrees below 0.  Kagohami breakfasted with us, and captain Clarke with three or four men accompanied him and a party of Indians to hunt, in which they were so fortunate as to kill a number of buffaloe:  but they were incommoded by snow, by high and squally winds, and by extreme cold; several of the Indians came to the fort nearly frozen, others are missing, and we are uneasy, for one of our men who was separated from the rest during the chase has not returned:  In the morning,

Thursday 10, however, he came back just as we were sending out five men in search of him.  The night had been excessively cold, and this morning at sunrise the mercury stood at 40 degrees below 0, or 72 below the freezing point.  He had however, made a fire and kept himself tolerably warm.  A young Indian, about thirteen years of age, also came in soon after.  His father who came last night to inquire after him very anxiously, had sent him in the afternoon to the fort:  he was overtaken by the night, and was obliged to sleep on the snow with no covering except a pair of antelope skin moccasins and leggings and a buffaloe robe:  his feet being frozen we put them into cold water, and gave him every attention in our power.  About the same time an Indian who