30 January: In the morning, moderate, calm weather, windless. At seven thirty, −1°F [−18.3°C]. Overcast sky. Bright, fiery streaks on the horizon. About nine o’clock a wind rose from the south that increased toward noon. The women of the band Ptihn-Tåck-Óchatä, some twenty in number, came up in a procession across the ice of the Missouri from the lower Mandan village, Ruhptare. Síh-Chidä stayed in our room. At twelve o’clock, 7°F [−13.9°C].

About four o’clock in the afternoon, after Síh-Chidä had just left us, an engagé came and announced Mr. Kipp's imminent return. In half an hour he arrived himself with three [or] four sleds. His three sled dogs had their neckbands, or horse collars [sic], decorated with large arches [wrapped in] red, yellowish white, [and] blue woolen fringe [strips?] and [adorned with] several bells. He had about six men with him. Among them were Hugron and Bourgua, my former people. They looked very cold and were covered with ice. Their noses and cheeks all showed traces of frost. Immediately after the return of the travelers, the wind became very strong and cold. In addition to his four-day stay with the Hidatsas, Mr. Kipp took twelve days [to get] to Fort Union. At the beginning they had nothing to eat, and his dogs starved for nine days—such [deprivation] that they staggered. Therefore [the dogs] could not be loaded down, and [the travelers] had to make the whole trip mostly on foot. [Mr. Kipp] met a small war party of nine Assiniboines. Some ran away; the others he sent out to hunt. In this manner he had buffalo meat for several days; his people also shot deer and elk. During the severe cold at the beginning [of the journey], several people left him, including the Dutchman deserter, Müller, who froze his face. At Fort Union the thermometer supposedly registered −45°F [−42.8ºC] for more than fourteen days. There were no buffalo nearby; also no Indians. The latter have were farther downriver. The fort’s hunters had been away for twenty-nine days and took only two bulls, two cows, and one calf during this time. It seems that there are people starving this winter along the whole Missouri, from Fort Clark on upriver. There was no news yet from Fort McKenzie. Mr. Hamilton wrote to me that they could not send me any [Page 3:143] of the items [I] requested, because the sleds were overloaded, but it will certainly be [taken care of] in spring. Then we should receive people from there to take us downriver to the Little Missouri. Mr. Kipp took eleven days for the return trip, mostly on foot again. When he arrived, his dogs had not eaten for three days. They gave them some cut-up buffalo skins, because there was no meat. In the evening a real storm blew.