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Show (No.2. ] LIEUTENANT WILKINSON'S REPORT OF HIS PAS SAGE DOWN THE ARKANSAW, &c. JYew-Orleans, Ajtril 6, 1807. S1u, AGREEABLY to yom· order dated in June, 1806, I took nty cleparture from Belle Fontaine, under the command of lieutenant Pike, early in July. The Missomi being well up, we found the navigation as favorable as could have been expected. On the 28th of the same month, we reached the mouth of the Osage river, which we found a pellucid, tJ·ari C]uil streum, with the exception of a few triflin g· ripple-s, and a fall of about six feet in two-thirds of a mile, called the Old :\Ian':-. Rapil!. The river abo.uncls with various kinds of good fi sh, especially the soft-shelled turtle, which we took in great numbers. The banks of the river are g-enerally formed by c rap;gy clifrs, and not uufrequcntly you perceive stupendous rocks projecting over the water, out of which i ssue excellent sprin~s. T he most remarkable natural curiosity which I observed is a pond of wate r, about three hundred toises in circumference, six miles atw,·e the Yan~a, on a ri::.ine; piece of ground, consid erably above the I ~ vel oi· the rivt!l', which keeps one conti11ued heig ht) is per· fcctly pure nnd lrunsparent, aud has no outlet by which to di::.charge i tself. On the I 2th of Augost the Osages appeared dissatisfied "ith the tedious movement of out· barges, and cxpres!lcd a wi:sh to eros» the pmi rie to their villages, in case an escort was allowed them. I immediately vol nntecrcd my services, and we parted with the boats APPENDIX TO PAitT ll. a~ the mouth of Grand river, the spot where our ransomed prisoners were taken th(: preceding winter by the Potowatornies. vVe reached the village of the little Os.1ges, aftvr a fatig uing and laborious march of six days, across an arid prairie. When within a mile of the town, the chief Tutta3uggy or the Wind, desired a regular procession might be observed and accor· dingly he placed me between himself and his first wanior, t~nd the ran somed capthes followed by files. Half a mile f rom the village we were met by oue hundred and eighty horsemen, p aiu ted and de· corated in a very fanciful manner : those were considered as a guard of honor, ancl on our approach, opened to the right Hncl left, leaving a suffic ient space fot· us to pass throug-h. A few yards in advance on the right I perceived sixty or more horsemen pain ted with a blue chalk, which, when the chief observed, he commauded a halt, and sent forward his young cl' l.H'Other Ne=uma or the Rain tiJat H£zLks, with a flag and silk handkerchief as a prize for· the swiftest horseman. At a given signal they started o{f at full speed. The two foremost taking the flag and h andkerchief, and the rest conten ting themselves with having shewn their· agili ty ancl skill. As 1 entered the villa~c, I was saluted by a discharge from four swivels (which the Indians had taken from an old fol't e rected by the Spaniat·ds on the river) and passed through a crowu of nearly R thousand persons, part of whom I learut were of the grand vil lag- e. I was immediately, but with ceremony, ushered into the lodg·c of the Soldier qf the Oak, who, ::1ftcr hu\ ing paid me some very ~anclsome compliments, courteously invited me to <'at of g reen corn, buffalo meat and water-melons about the si;ze of a twentyfour- pound shot, which, though small, were hi ghly fl avored. After lieutenant Pike's arrival with the bo<~ts, we formed om· camp on the bank of the ri ve1·, equi-distant ft·om the villages of the Grand and Little Osag es, and he selected a situation for making his observations, which he did not com ple te until the ~8th of the month. The 29th and 30th were devoted to packing· ns conveniently and carefully as possible the mathema tical instrument') and a small quantity of provisions, and on the 1st of September '"e com me need our march fol' the Pawnee r epublic, and cnte r·ed on that vast and extensive prairie, which lies between the Missollli and the Hio del Norte. 'i\Te comscd the Osag·e 1·iver to its source, and almo-;t imrncdi ately after. crossed some of the smnll branches of Grand rive1 which enters the Arkansaw about seven humlrcd miles from the :\iississippi. After passing G1·and rin~r, vhi ch we lounrl o he c;i'C.ty |
