As soon as a proper place was found they felled trees and built houses for the winter, calling the place Fort Mandan. The Mandans were perfectly familiar with white men, as has been noted, and were mainly peaceable. Lewis found here one of the British traders, McCracken, and by him sent a note to the chief of his home post, Chaboillez, also enclosing a copy of his British passport. This apparently was to avoid friction with the fur companies, and it indicates the uncertain condition of the claim of the United States to the territory he intended to traverse. Lewis evidently concluded a month later that he was quite within American territory, for he forbade Laroche,[67] another British trader, from presenting medals and flags to the natives. Up to this time the expedition had lost but one man. Sergeant Floyd, who died near where Sioux City now stands, and he was the only man who was lost on the whole expedition. Nor were any seriously injured but Captain Lewis, who was accidentally shot in the thigh by one of his men who had poor eyesight and took him for an elk. This occurred on the return not far above the mouth of the Musselshell, and Lewis was well before they reached St. Louis. The freedom from needless accident is strong proof of the judgment which Lewis and Clark used in the management of the party, for disasters are usually the result of wrong decisions. The winter at Fort Mandan passed pleasantly. Corn and other supplies were bought from the natives, and there was plenty of game. About the middle of December, a trapper named Haney arrived from Montagne à la Basse with a note from Chaboillez, in reply to the one sent by Lewis to him. He offered to render any service in his power. Later the trader Laroche came again, desiring to go with the expedition, but Lewis declined his proposition. Laroche had previously planned a journey in that direction which he had not carried out. They had other visitors, among them McKenzie, one of the principal North-west men. The intercourse with the people of the North-west Company was entirely amicable, and there was no friction except for a brief time, when they tried to prevent the interpreter from continuing in Lewis and Clark's service, and took steps to prejudice the natives. This was not sanctioned, however, by Chaboillez or McKenzie.