Nov. 9th. Snowed a little. The men carried my pack. I was so sore that it was with difficulty I carried my gun; fortunately they brought with them a pair of mockinsons, sent me by one of my soldiers, Owings, who had rightly calculated that I was bare-foot; also a phial of whisky, sent by the sergeant; were both very acceptable to me. They brought also some tobacco for my lost men. We experienced difficulty in crossing the river, owing to the ice. Moved into the post my command, who were again encamped out, ready to march up the river. Set all hands to making sleds, in order that the moment the river closed I might descend, with a strong party, in search of my lost men. Issued provisions, and was obliged to use six venison hams, being part of a quantity of elegant hams I had preserved to take down, if possible, to the general and some other friends. Had the two hunters not been found, I must have become a slave to hunting in order to support my party. The ice still ran very thick.
Sunday, Nov. 10th. Continued making sleds. No news of my hunters. Ice in the river very thick and hard. Raised my tent with puncheons, and laid a floor in it.
Nov. 11th. I went out hunting. Saw but two deer. Killed a remarkably large black fox. Bradley and Miller arrived, having understood the writing on the snow, and left Sparks behind at the camp to take care of the meat. Their detention was owing to their being lost on the prairie the first night, and not being able to find their deer.
Nov. 12th. Dispatched Miller and Huddleston to the lower hunting-camp, and Bradley and Brown to hunting in the woods. Made my arrangements in camp. Thawing weather.
Nov. 13th. Bradley returned with a very large buck, which supplied us for the next four days.
Nov. 14th. It commenced raining at 4 o'clock a. m.; lightning and loud thunder. I went down the river in one of my canoes, with five men, in order to bring up the meat from the lower camp; but after descending about 13 miles, found the river blocked up with ice. Returned about two miles and encamped in the bottom where I had my hunting-camp on the 1st inst. Extremely cold toward night.
Nov. 15th. When we meant to embark in the morning, found the river full of ice and hardly moving. Returned to camp and went out to hunt, for we had no provision with us. Killed nothing but five prairie-hens, which afforded us this day's subsistence; this bird I took to be the same as grouse. Expecting the ice had become hard, we attempted to cross the river, but could not. In the endeavor one man fell through. Freezing.
Nov. 16th. Detached Corporal Meek and one private to the garrison, to order the sleds down. No success in hunting, except a few fowl. I began to consider the life of a hunter a very slavish life, and extremely precarious as to support; for sometimes I have myself, although no hunter, killed 600 weight of meat in one day; and I have hunted three days successively without killing anything but a few small birds, which I was obliged to do to keep my men from starving. Freezing.
Sunday, Nov. 17th. One of my men arrived; he had attempted to make the camp before, but lost himself in the prairie, lay out all night, and froze his toes. He informed us that the corporal and the men I sent with him had their toes frost-bitten, the former very badly; that three men were on their way down by land, the river above not being frozen over. They arrived a few hours before night. Freezing.
Nov. 18th. Took our departure down the river on the ice, our baggage on the sled. Ice very rough. Distance 12 miles. Freezing.