We were so well wrapped up in blankets that we did not suffer from cold while within the tent, but the open air was severe in the extreme.
March 15th .-- We were roused by the bourgeois at peep of day to make preparations for starting.

We must find the Sauk trail this day at all hazards.

What would become of us should we fail to do so?
It was a question no one liked to ask, and certainly one that none could have answered.
On leaving our encampment, we found ourselves entering a marshy tract of country.

Myriads of wild geese, brant, and ducks rose up screaming at our approach.

The more distant lakes and ponds were black with them, but the shallow water through which we attempted to make our way was frozen, by the severity of the night, to a thickness not quite sufficient to bear the horses, but just such as to cut their feet and ankles at every step as they broke through it.