Thursday, November 1st.  Mr. M’Cracken, the trader whom we found here, set out to-day on his return to the British fort and factory on the Assiniboin river, about one hundred and fifty miles from this place.  He took a letter from captain Lewis to the northwest company, inclosing a copy of the passport granted by the British minister in the United States.  At ten o’clock the chiefs of the lower village arrived; they requested that we would call at their village for some corn, that they were willing to make peace with the Ricaras, that they had never provoked the war between them, but as the Ricaras had killed some of their chiefs, they had retaliated on them; that they had killed them like birds, till they were tired of killing them, so that they would send a chief and some warriors to smoke with them.  In the evening we dropped down to the lower village where captain Lewis went on shore, and captain Clarke proceeded to a point of wood on the north side.

Friday, November 2.  He therefore went up to the village where eleven bushels of corn were presented to him.  In the meantime Captain Clarke went down with the boats three miles, and having found a good position where there was plenty of timber, encamped and began to fell trees to build our huts.  Our Ricara chief set out with one Mandan chief and several Minnetaree and Mandan warriors; the wind was from the southeast, and the weather being fine a crowd of Indians came down to visit us.

Saturday 3.  We now began the building of our cabins, and the Frenchmen who are to return to St. Louis are building a periogue for the purpose.  We sent six men in a periogue to hunt down the river.  We were also fortunate enough to engage in our service a Canadian Frenchmen, who had been with the Chayenne Indians on the Black mountains, and last summer descended thence by the Little Missouri.  Mr. Jessaume our interpreter also came down with his squaw and children to live at our camp.  In the evening we received a visit from Kagohami or Little Raven, whose wife accompanied him, bringing about sixty weight of dried meat, a robe and a pot of meal.  We gave him in return a piece of tobacco, to his wife an axe and a few small articles, and both of them spent the night at our camp.  Two beavers were caught in traps this morning.

Sunday 4.  We continued our labours:  the timber which we employ is large and heavy, and chiefly consists of cottonwood and elm with some ash of an inferior size.  Great numbers of the Indians pass our camp on their hunting excursions:  the day was clear and pleasant, but last night was very cold and there was a white frost.