4 February: Early in the morning, pleasant, warm, calm weather. Light wind out of the west. At seven thirty, 44 2/3°F [7°C]. The snow was rapidly receding, disappearing more and more. On the river, numerous water channels flowed in the ice. Early in the morning, a young Indian came who carried around a hand on [a] piece of string [tied] to a stick; [the hand] had been cut off the Assiniboine shot yesterday. A crowd of children surrounded him. Síh-Sä took the barbaric trophy away from him and carried it around [himself] with pleasure. This morning Belhumeur went buffalo hunting on horseback with three men and eight horses. [Page 3:145]Many Indian women carried wood and other objects from the lower forest village to Mih-Tutta-Hangkusch.

In the fort I saw the skinny, unfortunate dogs being fed. Because they do not want to eat corn, old dry skin is ? cut up and fed to them; they get absolutely nothing else. They look like skeletons. At twelve o’clock, 54°F [12.2°C], west wind, fairly strong in the afternoon. The snow diminished more and more; the weather [was] continually warm.

Charbonneau was absent again today. This 75-year-old man is always chasing women. Jonquá is here today. He wants to go with Papin to the Black Hills. The latter gave his word to old de l’Orme to trap with him around Picotte’s place, but he did not keep [it].

The wind came in the afternoon from the west and was strong. The weather [was] continually warm, the snow vanishing. In the evening, warm, dark, calm. After nine o’clock in the evening, the thermometer showed 45 1/2°F [7.5°C]. The schähä́ckäs could be heard barking beside the fort; our dogs therefore barked loudly, too.