"In the evening, the prairie took fire, either by accident or design, and burned with great fury; the whole plain being enveloped in flames. So rapid was its progress, that a man and a woman were burned to death before they could reach a place of safety. Another man, with his wife and child, were much burned, and several other persons narrowly escaped destruction. Among the rest, a boy of the half-breed escaped unhurt in the midst of the flames. His safety was ascribed by the Indians to the Great Spirit, who had saved him on account of his being white. But a much more natural cause was the presence of mind of his mother, who, seeing no hopes of carrying off her son, threw him on the ground, and, covering him with the fresh hide of a buffalo, escaped herself from the flames. As soon as the fire had passed, she returned, and found him untouched; the skin having prevented the flame from reaching the grass where he lay." A COUNCIL. "After making eleven miles, we reached an old field, where the Mandans had cultivated grain last summer. We encamped for the night about half a mile below the first village of the Mandans. As soon as we arrived, a crowd of men, women, and children, came down to see us. Capt. Lewis returned with the principal chiefs to the village, while the others remained with us during the evening. The object which seemed to surprise them most was a corn-mill, fixed to the boat, which we had occasion to use; while they looked on, and were delighted at observing the ease with which it reduced the grain to powder. "Among others who visited us was the son of the grand chief of the Mandans, who had both his little fingers cut off at the second joint. On inquiring into this injury, we found that the custom was to express grief for the death of relations by some corporeal suffering, and that the usual mode was to lose a joint of the little finger, or sometimes of other fingers.