horses. Had a long talk with him. They are afraid of the U.S. troops soon coming up with the astronomy parties & intend moving off N of the line tomorrow or next day & burning their shanties. They have never traded two years on the same spot. Always burning their shanties on leaving for year of opposition. They buy horses from the Indians for whisky &c in summer & then sell them back during the winter for robes when the buffalo come up into the hills, making an enormous profit in both transactions. Said had traded 14000 robes in these shanties last winter. Said that last winter being a terrible one. 3 feet of snow on the level, stayed for three months Jan. & Febr. & March. Some left in April. Says however that snow storms sometimes in August. Evidently a set of desperadoes & having no regard whatever for life. Told me that 8 indians had been killed & 5 wounded ìround these shantiesî during the last 18 days. Not long ago some indians made a plan to shoot him but were discovered & three of them shot on the spot. Blood indians stole away 17 horses from them a few days ago, they were taken from the bloods however by Blackfeet & the latter brought 14 of them back & got some ìblanketsî? [Dawsonís ?] &c for their trouble. The indians get drunk & then those of different tribes quarrel & kill each other constantly, the women very often raising the row by boasting about their relationsí horses. My informant, known I believe as Castillian Joe. says the U.S. authorities have a ìdead clueî against him for something