The party had to travel in the teeth of an almost unceasing north-east wind which was freezingly cold.

Night after night they were obliged to dig deep holes in the snow for their sleeping places.

La Verendrye nearly died of agonizing pain and fatigue during this journey, and was a long time recovering from its effects.
As they continued to receive friendly messages from the Mandans, inviting them to make further discoveries, LA VERENDRYE'S sons, PIERRE and FRANCOIS, set out in the spring of 1742, and, after some checks and disappointments, managed with a single Mandan guide to reach Broad Lands on the Little Missouri River, where they noticed the earths of different colours, blue, green, red, black, white, and yellow, which are so characteristic of this region.

They reached the village of the Crow Indians, passed through a portion of the friendly tribe, the Cheyennes (the name was probably pronounced Shian) and got into the country which was constantly being ravaged by the Snake Indians, or Shoshones.

Here, on the 1st of January, 1743, when the mists of morning cleared away, they saw upon the horizon the outline of huge mountains.