"We saw a man opposite to our camp which we discovered to be Frenchman, a little from the shore among the Willows we observed a house, we call to them to come over, a boy came in a canoe & informed us that 2 frenchmen were at the house with good to trade. This Mr Jon Vallie* informs us that he wintered last winter at the Black mountains**.  The black mountains he says is verry high and some parts of it has snow on it in the summer great quantities of Pine grow on the mountains, a great noise frequently heard on those mountains.  The Chien Inds.*** are about 300 lodges they inhabit this river principally and steel horses from the Spanish settlements. "

Mr Jon Vallie* - Jean Valle’ of an influential St. Louis fur-trading family.

Black mountains**- Black Hills in present day Rapid City, South Dakota

The Chien Inds***-  Cheyenne Indians

"we discovered a number of Indians on the hills on the North side of the River, one of those Indians came on the bank of the River and fired off his gun, and hallowed to us...observe great caution this day expecting the Seaux intentions some what hostile towards our progression. 12 miles today."

"mice had cut several bags of corn, and spoiled come of our clothes. We made eight miles along high bluffs today."

"passed an island, in the centre of this island is an old village of the Recorees containing seventeen lodges. The Recorees* are known to have lived there in 1797, the village seems to have been deserted about five years since. Mad 12 miles to day."

Recorees* - Arikara Indians

"the high land not so high as below, river about the same width, sandbars as noumerous, the earth black and many of the bluffs have the appearance of being on fire. We came too and camped on a mud bar. The evening is calm and plesent, refreshed the men with a glass of whiskey."

"halted for dinner at a village which we suppose to have belonged to the Recorees; and consists of eighty lodges of an octagon form*  neatly covered with earth and placed as close to each other as possbile. The skin canoes, mats, buckets and articles found in the lodges induce us to suppose that it had been left in the spring. We found three different sorts of squashes growing in the village."

octagon form*- Description of the typical earth lodges of Missouri River  Indians

"passed an island called Grouse island, owes its name to the number of grouse that frequent it. We saw the tracks of large white bear on grouse island."