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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Si Lewis and Clat•ke's .E:eytdition of the Osage, particularly in his calling a chic~, inca. \Ve sent him back with one of our party next mornmg, . S d July 29 with an invitation to the lmhans, to un ay, ' r mee t us above on the rh·cr, and then pt·occe.d ed. "e .s o..o. n came to a not· thern bend in t1Ie river, wluch runs W. ltum. twenty yards of Indian Knob creek, the water of winch 18 five feet higher than thai of the Missouri. In l~ss than two miles, we passed Boyet·'s creek on the north, of twenty­five yat·ds width. We stopped to dine under a shade, near the highland on the south, and caught several large ca~­tish, one of them nearly white, and all very fat. Abo~e tlus hi bland, we obse1·ved the traces of a gt•eat hurriCane, '"l~ich passed the river obliquely from N. W. to S. E. and tore up large trees, some of which perfectly sound, and four feet in diameter, were snapped off near the ground. 'Ve made ten miles to a wood on the north, where we encamped. The Missouri is much more crooked, since we passed the river Platte, though generally speaking, not so rapid; more of prairie, 'vith less timber, and cottonwood in the low grounds, and oak, black walnut, hickory, and elm. July so. We went early in the morning, three and a quarter miles, and encamped on the south, in order to wait for the Ottoes. The land here consists of a plain, above the high water level, the soil of which is fertile, and cover .. ed with a grass from five to eight feet high, inb4rspersc(l with copses of large plums, and a currant, like those of the United States. It also furnishes two species of honey· suckle; one growing to a kind of shrub, common about Harrodsburgb (Kentucky), the other is not so higb: tile flowers grow in clusters, are short, and of a light pink co· lour; the leaves too, are distinct, and do not surround the stalk, as do those of the common honeysuckle of the United States. Back of this plain, is a woody ridge about seventy feet above it, at the end of which we formed our camp. This ridge separates the lower from a higher prairie, of a good quality, with grass, of ten or twelve inches in height, and extending back about a mile, to another elevation ~f Up tlte .Missowi . S7 eighfy or ninety feet, beyond which is one continued plain. Ncar our eamp, we enjoy from the bluffs a most beautiflll view of the river, and the adjoining country. At a distance, varying from four to ten miles, and of a height between se­venty and three hundred feet, two parallel ranges of high· land affords a passage to the }lissoul·i, which enriches the low grounds between them. In its lvinding course, it nourishes the willow islands, the scattered cottonwood, elm, s~cam~re, lynn, and ash, and the groves arc interspersed 'With hickory, walnut, coffeenut, and oak. July 31. The meridian altitude of this day made tlte Ia· titude of our camp 411 o 18' t -r\''· The hunters supplied us with deer, turkies, geese, and beaver; one of the last was caught alive, and in a vel'y short time was perfectly tamed. Catfish are very abundant in the river, and we have also seen a buffaloefish. One of our men brought in yesterday an animal called, by the Pawnees, cbocartoosh, and, by the French, b1aireau, or badger. The evening is cool, yet the musquitoes are still very troublesome. We waite(} with much anxiety the return of our messen­ger to the Ottoes. 'rhe men whom we despatched to our last encampment, returned without having seen any appear­ance of its having been visited. Our horses too had strayed; but we were so fortunate as to recover them at the distance of twelve miles. Our apprehensions were at lengtb reliev. ed by the arrival of a party of about fourteen Ottoe and Missourilndians, who came at sunset, on the second of August ,a~companied by a Frenchman, who resided among them, amlmterp1·eted for us. Captains Lewis and Clarke went out to meet them, and told them that we would hold a council in the morning. In the mean time we sent them some roasted meat, pork, flour, and meal· in return for which they made us a present ofwatet·melons.' 'V c learnt that our man Liberte had set out fJ'om their camp a day before them: we were in hopes that he had fatigued his horse, or lost himself in the woods, and would soon return; but we never saw him again.