29 January: In the morning, slightly cloudy sky; strong, cold wind out of the northwest. [The weather was] pleasant, where the wind did not reach. At seven thirty, 8°F [−13.3°C]. At this hour the sun had in the slightly cloudy horizon two short, beautiful, colorful rainbows at a distance from it on both sides. They did not reach high up because of the interruption of the upper cloud layer; [they] were separated above and below.

Early [in the morning], Indian women carried much ice in pack baskets to their villages, no doubt to melt water from it. After eight o’clock the wind turned stormlike and extremely cold; driving snow and sand filled the whole area. Durand had breakfast with us and mentioned that the Hidatsas had shot two cabri recently; he had ordered some for me. At twelve o’clock, the same weather and wind; 8 1/2°F [−13.1°C]. Charbonneau came back during the meal, completely chilled; [he] had no meat. The Hidatsa hunters had not yet come back from their hunt.

At three o’clock, when there were a few Indians in our room, we suddenly heard a drum. Lo and behold, the women of the White Buffalo Cow [Society] (PtihnTåck-Óchatä) from Ruhptare marched in. They were dressed like the ones [we] recently saw from Mih-Tutta-Hangkusch. On their caps they [wore] eagle owl, crow, and a few red-colored feathers. Two of them wore skunk skins around their heads, [and] one of them wore the skin of a white buffalo cow. The bundles of brushwood were lacking today. The music was played by three men, [who] also wore white buffalo caps. After they danced they received tobacco, rassade, and a knife. These things were thrown in [to] the circle on the ground; they left soon afterward. In the afternoon Síh-Chidä visited us; he spent the night at our place. In the evening, cloudy sky, mild weather; the wind has abated.

Old de l’Orme asserted that the Gros Ventres des Prairies amounted to about 100,000 souls. On the Saskatchewan (Kjiskadjawan[-ohsíhbi] of the Ojibwes and Rivière aux Rapides of the French), they had often been numerous. He saw 1,800 tents of the Sioux together.