Fort Mandan (winter) — Patrick Gass: January 17, 1805
The weather was generally very cold, though hunters frequently went out and had varied success. They killed a white hare, a small buffalo, three elk, four deer, and a few wolves. Three hunters traveling down the river caught nothing for two days except a wolf, which they ate and found tough but tolerable. A local native left behind in the prairie during a cold hunt survived by sheltering in the woods on broken branches; he reached the fort the next morning with badly frozen feet, and the officers took on his treatment.
generally very cold ; but our hunters were frequently out.
One of them killed a beautiful white hare. These animals are
said to be plenty. We killed a small buffaloe, 3 elk, 4 deer
and two or three wolves. Three of the hunters going to a
distance down the river, killed nothing for two days, but a
wolf, which they were obliged to eat ; and said they relished
it pretty well, but found it rather tough. A number of the
natives being out hunting in a very cold day, one of them
gave out on his return in the evening ; and was left in the
plain or prairie covered with a buffaloe robe. After some
time he began to recover and removed to the woods, where
he broke a number of branches to lie on, and to keep his
body off the snow. In the morning he came to the fort, with
his feet badly frozen, and the officers undertook his cure.
Read this entry in modern English AI-translated
Generally very cold; but our hunters were frequently out. One of them killed a beautiful white hare. These animals are said to be plentiful. We killed a small buffalo, 3 elk, 4 deer, and two or three wolves. Three of the hunters, going some distance down the river, killed nothing for two days but a wolf, which they were obliged to eat; and they said they enjoyed it pretty well, but found it rather tough.
A number of the natives being out hunting on a very cold day, one of them gave out on his return in the evening, and was left in the plain or prairie covered with a buffalo robe. After some time he began to recover and moved to the woods, where he broke a number of branches to lie on, to keep his body off the snow. In the morning he came to the fort with his feet badly frozen, and the officers undertook his cure.
This modernization is AI-generated for accessibility. The original above is the authoritative version.
Entities mentioned in this entry
Auto-extracted from the entry text. Hover any entity for context.
