Building Fort Mandan — Patrick Gass: November 3, 1804

men went down the river in a periogue to hunt. They will
perhaps have to go 30 or 40 miles before they come to good
hunting ground. — The following is the manner in which our
huts and fort were built. The huts were in two rows, con-
taining four rooms each, and joined at one end forming an
angle. When raised about 7 feet high a floor of puncheons
or split plank were laid, and covered with grass and clay;
which made a warm loft. The upper part projected a foot
over and the roofs were made shed-fashion, rising from the
inner side, and making the outer wall about 18 feet high. The
part not enclosed by the huts we intend to picket. In the
angle formed by the two rows of huts we built two reoms, for
holding our provisions and stores.
About the 16th, the weather became very cold, and the ice
began to run in the river. We sent a Frenchman down to
inquire about the hunters and periogue. He and one of the
hunters returned to the fort, having left the periogue and the
rest about 30 miles below. The Frenchman was sent down
again with a rope, and returned by land. On the rgth the
LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION 57
hunters came up with the periogue loaded with the meat
of about thirty deer, eleven elk and some buffaloe. In the
cold weather we moved into the huts, though not finished.
From the 2oth to the 27th we had fine pleasant weather, and
on the evening of the latter finished the roofs of our huts.
These were made of puncheons split out of cotton wood
and then hewed. The cotton wood resembles the lombardy
poplar, and is a light soft wood. The largest trees are in
thickness about eighteen inches diameter. On the night of
the 27th the snow fell seven inches deep, and the 28th was
stormy.