Fort MacLeod February. 7th 1875

My darling Lizzie,

The Mail was not sent off as was expected. Mr A after all did not have the pleasure of riding to Stand Off, + our thanks to him were not required. A man volunteered to take any mail matter we had in to Benton + also bring back what was there, the whole to be done in 21 days and for the sum of $25.00. so we entrusted to him our mail, and he started out about noon on his trip with a toboggan drawn by a rough rugged roan horse. It was pretty cold when he started. He left here about noon last Wednesday, I had sent in my letters to you, and thought they had gone, so did not send any other to you. On Tuesday nothing in particular happened my sick list is getting to be very small, only 2 or 3, + my great trouble is to get up in time for the sick parade at 0 a.m. on Friday, the same dull routine. I had 3 or 4 games of chess with Denny + we came off even. I think I should be victor as one game was really a drawn game. Saturday presented the same every day appearance, still cold + the snow on the ground about 6 inches deep, at about 4.30 a strong wind from the West sprung up and in 9 minutes the thermometer had risen 32º! From +8º to +40º. The wind could be felt warm + balmy as the soft breezes that blow o’er Ceylon’s Isle. As soon as it began, a crowd of men appeared like magic with brooms on the roof of their quarters, brushing the snow off, to prevent it leaking through. Before this I had taken a walk up to the Blackfoots Camp about a mile from our Fort. The dogs, of which there are innumerable quantities around the Indian Camp, did not appear to entertain very kindly feelings towards us, (Allen was with me). However we were not bitten, we walked through the Camp looking at the lodges, some of them painted with Buffalo’s heads, + various Animals. Some with zigzag lines of party coloured pigments, some bright red, others their top only coloured black with rows round spots of red or white. The children ran after us calling out + evidently making fun, but we could not tell, they laughed and so did we. A few of the squaws were at work scraping robes, but not many on account of the cold. We were finally invited into one of the wigwams + found the old man proprietor of the lodge, his two stalwart looking sons + 4 or 5 squaws each with two or three little children hanging on to them. Room was made for us + a pipe offered, after a desultory conversation a sick child was shown to me, and its symptoms described, also a second child, fat, a most enourmous amount of fat, + dirty + a large lump on his head, just behind the ear. I looked at them both and promised to bring some medicine for them. We then came home. After dinner, by the by I am President of the Mess for this week beginning last Wednesday, I had some more chess with Denny + came off the Conqueror without doubt.