[Text in a different hand]

I must not forget to mention that there was a fine harvest at the Mississouri this season, I never witnessed anything equal in richness to the appearance of the fields. The stalks of indian corn were generally eight feet high; the leaves of the Kidney beans were entirely covered with blossoms promissing abundance; the pumpkins were already gathered, cut into slices and dryed in dried in the sun ready for use.

About the beginning of August, the Free man whom we had dispatched on our arrival, to our establishment on the Red River returned and informed me that M^r Alexander Henry was arrived from Fort William. Concluding from circumstances, that a charge had taken place in our Department, I became anxious for my departure and on the 15^th I crossed the Mississouri with seven horses. Here I lost half a day waiting for my fellow traveller M^r LaFrance; he had three horses, but he gave me a very poor account of the property intrusted to his care which did not realize half the value[.]

In the evening we left we left the banks of the Mississouri; eight horses carried our returns out, two for ourselves. LaFrance led the van; I in the rear drove the horses behind him. In this manner we jogged along on, and no one can judge of the difficulties which we had to encounter, unles he had travelled in the same rob route and with

with

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