February 6, 1805
6th February Wednesday 1805.
Fair morning Wind from N. W. had a sley prepared against the return of
the horses which Capt Clark had promised to send back as soon as he
should be able to procure a load of meat. visited by many of the
natives among others the Big white, the Coal, big-man, hairy horn and
the black man, I smoked with them, after which they retired, a
deportment not common, for they usually pester us with their good
company the ballance of the day after once being introduced to our
apartment. Shields killed three antelopes this evening. the blacksmiths
take a considerable quantity of corn today in payment for their labour.
the blacksmith's have proved a happy resoce to us in our present
situation as I believe it would have been difficult to have devised any
other method to have procured corn from the natives. the Indians are
extravegantly fond of sheet iron of which they form arrow-points and
manufacter into instruments for scraping and dressing their buffaloe
robes— I permited the blacksmith to dispose of a part of a sheet-iron
callaboos which had been nearly birnt out on our passage up the river,
and for each piece about four inches square he obtained from seven to
eight gallons of corn from the natives who appeared extreemly pleased
with the exchange-
