17 March: Cloudy, rain, warm early; at seven thirty, 34 1/2°F [1.4°C]. Wind east. Soon [there was] heavy snow; later on, large flakes; [it] fell for an hour and a half, [and] then the weather cleared. At nine o’clock, wind out of the southeast. The blacksmith sent his wife away, because she spent time with other men, and in her place he took a horse into his small hut. The Missouri was rising [high]. At twelve o’clock, 49 3/4°F [9.9°C]. Wind strong out of the west. The weather [was] pleasant and warm; it thawed a good deal, but the wind [was] very severe. We could not expect the ice to disappear [in] the present rise of the Missouri; [the water level would] soon subside again. However, when the snow [melt] of the Rocky Mountains comes, the ice cover breaks and the drift ice usually passes within three to four days. Dreidoppel went out with a gun and set a wire snare for the machtóhpka (gopher). Not a single Indian came to us today. There were a few at Kipp's. Kipp’s chickens were now laying many eggs, which were a pleasant food for us, since we had nothing else but corn. Síh-Chidä came in the afternoon. David [Dreidoppel] was in the lower forest but did not see anything. The creek carried much water. [The] weather toward evening [was] warm but [with] severe wind.