History of the expedition under the command of Captains Lewis and Clark, to the sources of the Missouri, thence across the Rocky mountains and down the River Columbia to the Pacific Ocean : performed during the years 1804-5-6 by order of the government of the United States; Volume 1

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Lewis und Clarke's Expeditio1t and a creek on the south known by the Ft•cnch name of Re. more. 'I'he main cut·rent which is now on the south si()e of the largest of the tht·ce islands, ran thret> ycat·s~ as we were told on the north, and there was then no appearance of the two smaller h;lands. At the distance of four and a half miles we .l'ea.chcd the lowet• point of a cluster of small is­lands, two larg£' and two small, called Isles des Pares or :Field Islands. Parenun trees were this clay seen, and large quantities of deer and tul'kics on the banks. We had ad­vanced twelve miles. July 2d. 'Ve left our encampment, opposite to which is a l1igh and beautiful prail'ie on tl1e southern side, and pas­sed up the south of the islands. which are high meadows, and a creek on the north called Pat•c creek. Here for half an hout• the rivet· became covet·cd with drift wood, which rendered the navigation dangerous, and was probahly caused by the giving way of some sandbar·, which had detained the woo(). Aftet• making five miles we 1)assed a stream on the south called Turky creek, ncar a sandbar, where we could scarcely stem the current ~ith twenty oars, and all the poles we had. On the north at about two miles further is a large island called by the Indians, Wau -car-da-war-card-da, or the Bear Medicine island. llct•e we landed and replaced our mast, which had been broken three days ago, by running against a tt·ce, oYel'hanging the rivet·. 'rhenec we pro­ceeded, and after night stopped on the nOJ•th side, above the island, having come eleven and a half miles. O}lllosite our camp is a valley, in which was situated an old village of the Kanzas, between two high points of land, and on the bank of tl1e rivet·. About a mile in the re.ar of the village was a small fort, built by the French on an elevation. There al'e now no tt·aees of the village, but the situation of the fort may be recognized by some remains of chimQics, and the general outline of the fortification, as well as by the fine sp1·i~g whieh supplicll it with watt.•t•. The pa1·ty, who wet•e sta• wncd here, were prolmbly cut off by tbe ] ndians, as there are no accounts of them. Up tl1c JJlissouri. 21 July sd. A gentle breeze from the soutlt carried us eleven and a quarter miles this day, past two islands, one a small willow island, the other large, and called by the Ft·encb Isle des Vaehes, or Cow island. At the head of this islan(), on th~ north<wn shore. is a large pond eon1aining beaver, and fowls of difrerent kinds. Aftet· passing a had sandbar, we stopped ~n tlw south side at an old trading house, which is now de­set ·ted, and half a mile beyoml it encamped on the south. The land is fine along the rivct·s, and some distance back. \Ve obser·ved the black walnut and oak, among t11e timber; and the l10ney-suckle and the buck's-eye, with the nuts on them. The morning of the 4th .July was announced by the dis-tharge of our gun. At one mile we reached the mouth of a bayeau or creek, coming from a lat·gc lake on the north side, which a11pears as if it h:ul once been the becJ or the rivel', to which it runs Jlarallel for sevet·al miles. The water of it is elcar and suJ•plied by a sma.ll creek and several springs, and the number of ~oslins which we saw unit, induced us to call it the Gosling lake. It is about three quartet'S of a mile wide, and seven or eight miles long. One of our men was bitten by a snake, hut a poultice of' bat·]{ an() gunpow­der was sufficient to cure the wound. At ten and a quarter miles we reached a creek 011 the south about twelve yards wide and corning ft·om an extensive prait·ie, which approach· ed the bor()el's of the river. To this ct•eek which ha(l no name, we gave tl1at of Fom·th or Jnly creek; above it is a. high mound, where tb ree Indian paths centre, and from which is a vet·y extensiYe prospect. Aftet• fifteen miles sail we came to on the nm·th a little above a creek on the southern side, about thit·ty yards wide, which we called Independence creek. in honout• or the day, which we could celebrate only by an evening gun, and au ad(litional gill of whiskey to the men. The next day, 5th, we crossed over to the south and came along the hank or an extensive and beautiful prairie, inter-