Part 14 (1/2)

There were about 100 persons on board the Yellow Stone, eurs_, who are the lowest class of servants of the Fur Company Most of them are French Canadians, or descendants of the French settlers on the Mississippi and Missouri

The appearance of the river above St Louis did not differ from that already described The red-bud (_Cercis Canadensis_) appeared as underwood in the forests, covered with dark red blossoms before the appearance of the leaves, which for contrast with the young, bright green leaves of the s At noon, Reaumur's thermometer on board was at +17 We had soon passed the 16 miles to the mouth of the Missouri,[177]

but before we entered it, we lay to, on the Illinois side, to take in wood The Yellow Stone entered [pg 113] the Missouri, which, at its mouth, is about the same breadth as the Mississippi at this place In the afternoon we reached, on the S W side, Belle Fontaine, a rather decayed building belonging to the ainst the Indians, but which was subsequently abandoned The current of the river runs here at the rate of five miles an hour; on the left bank there is a chain of calcareous hills with the saular forms of towers, &c as on the Mississippi The bushes of wild plums were covered with snohite blossoms, and those of the _Cercis Canadensis_, with their red flowers; and I could not help re that, in this country, most of the trees and bushes have their flowers before their leaves On the beach the inhabitants had fixed fishi+ng rods, which they exae cat-fish Towards evening the lofty plane trees, with their white branches, were beautifully tinged with the setting sun We passed several islands, which showed us the usual formation of these accumulations of sand, which arise rapidly, and are often as rapidly destroyed Against the streaenerally have a naked, sandy point, with layers of thick, heavy tirow first, then poplars, and, lastly, hard timber In many places in the forests, and between the e observed the high rushes (_Equisetum hyemale_) which are said to be injurious to the horses, unless salt is given the we reached St Charles, on the N E shore, one of the oldest French settle of about 300 houses, where the ood appearance The environs of this scattered village are rather bare, but there were many European fruit trees in blossom Most of the houses are built of wood, but a modern part of the place is of brick

On an e behind it, stands an old stone tohich forainst the Indians We lay to, opposite St Charles, where Messrs Mc Kenzie and Dougherty joined us, and M

Chouteau and his fa a few hours, we continued our voyage till a storm of wind filled the air with sand, from the sand banks, and compelled us to stop after twelve o'clock, above the whirlpool, called Reuette;[178] towards dark, however, we reached Isle au Bon Hoht On the 12th of April, the original forain appeared, with the red cedar, as usual, growing upon them The hills were covered with forests, whereforth leaves, especially the very delicate green foliage of the sugar maple A cavern at this place is called the Tavern Rock (Taverne de Montardis), and on both sides of the river were nuerous to vessels

Near so the strange forms of the rocks, I saw one flattened at the top like a table, on a thin stem, and quite isolated The country is here pretty well peopled, and game is rather rare in the forests, at least ere told that stags, bears, and wild turkeys were not often found there

The people settle on the eminences, rather than below on the bank of the river, where the air is [pg 114] said to be less salubrious The inundations of the river for protected fro trees, produce fevers

Flint, in his History and Geography of the Mississippi Valley,[179]

gives a very good account of the climate and diseases of this country

We passed Isle and Riviere au Boeuf, as well as the village of Pinkney;[180] observed very picturesque rocky scenes, cli plants, which twined round overthrown broken trunks of trees, and gloo leaves that were everywhere sprouting forth The Yellow Stone had several tied trunks of trees, but it was purposely built very strong, for such dangerous voyages This was its third voyage up the Missouri The Fur Company possess another steao up the Missouri before us[181] At night-fall we lay to on the right bank, where a cheerful fire of large logs was soon es_ assembled and chatted incessantly in French We spent part of the night with Messrs Mc Kenzie, Dougherty, and Sanford, under the canopy of the starry heavens, while a couple of clarionets, on board the vessel, played Scotch airs and the fa of the 13th of April, the weather was serene and cool, the ther, +5 Reauht, near Otter Island,[182] and soon saw before us the country about Gasconade River There were extensive sand banks on the left hand, picturesque hills, radations of tint in the forests; an island, on the surface of which we distinctly saw the layer of black mould, six feet thick, with sand beneath it; further from the left bank a chain of hills, valleys, and e to put forth leaves, all illu sun

Near the Gasconade, where we took in wood,plants were in blossom The Gasconade, which is an inconsiderable river, and rises not far from the source of the Merrih, bold eminence, the summit of which is covered with rocks and red cedars The hills near it are frequently covered with the white and the yellow pine, which supply St Louis with boards and ti Its mouth, which is reckoned to be 100 miles from that of the Missouri, is picturesquely situated in a lofty forest

Near it, our hunters fired unsuccessfully at a flock of wild turkeys

We soon passed the village of Portland; then the mouth of Little-Au-Vase Creek, where we observed, in the woods, the young leaves of the buck-eye trees (_Pavia_) which grew in great abundance[183] A little further on, the Osage River appears betooded banks: it is a s to Warden, many soft-shelled tortoises are found: we came then to Cote-Sans-Dessein, an old French settleht houses, celebrated for the brave defence ainst a numerous body of Indians It must have been fore calls it a beautiful place[184] The river has destroyed it, and it is now quite insignificant Opposite to it, on the left bank, further up the country, there [pg 115] are inally French fae Indians, who formerly dwelt in these parts While Mr Bennett, the master of our vessel, landed to visit his family, who lived here, we botanized on the opposite bank, where oaks of many kinds were in blossom, and where the Monocotyledonous plant is found, which is called here Adaether, of which it is said that, when thrown into the water, one swiood cure for wounds The floas just beginning to appear

From Cote-Sans-Dessein, you soon come to Jefferson City, on the south bank of the Missouri, the capital, as it is called of the State of Missouri, where the governor resides[185] It is at present only a village, with a couple of short streets, and soovernor's house is in front, on the top of the bank, and is a plain brick building of entle eo, are now traversed by fences, and the stu of the 14th of April was clear but cool; at 8 o'clock +8, a thickfrom the river On a wooded eminence, on the left hand, at soh, isolated rock, which stands like a tower in the forest Major Dougherty, once passing this place with some Joway Indians, was told by the their ancestors, that this rock was for of a race of bisons, which lived in heaven, but they theer believed this fable The Manito rocks, two isolated blocks, about fifty feet high, which have been mentioned by many travellers, appear below, on the bank of the river They are 's Expedition, which containsthe Missouri, as far as Council Bluff, to which I refer We learn from that work, that alanic remains, encrinites, &c On the rocks, which are divided by ravines into broad rounded shapes, like towers, the Virginia red cedar grows, and falcons build their nests We see here on the rocky walls red spots, strokes and figures, re froing rocks, in which there are several caves, putJust before dinner we reached Rockport, a village founded two years ago, on the Manito River, six miles up which river Coluainothers that of a man with uplifted arms; not thirty years have elapsed since this whole country was in the possession of the Indians After passing Manito and Bonne Fee of Boonville on the left bank, opposite which is Old Franklin[187] As this place was threatened by the river, and is besides in an unhealthy situation, the people founded New Franklin, rather further inland, now a thriving village, near which salt springs have been discovered We afterwards passed the mouth of La Mine River, which is about equal to the Lahn, and lay to for the night at Arrow Rock (Pierre a fleche), a chain in which [pg 116] flint is found, of which the Indians formerly made the heads of their arrows In a ravine, before Arrow Rock Hill, there is a new village, which was called New Philadelphia, though the inhabitants did not approve of this na (April 15th), proceeding on our voyage, we passed little Arrow Rock, and found a very fertile and rather populous country Near the mouth of Chariton River, there are several islands, covered s, poplar, and hard timber The river here makes a considerable bend; the numerous sand banks did not permit us to proceed in a direct line, but coe of the bend, and to take soundings continually, being in great danger of striking against the snags Some parts of the banks were rent in a reh In ht, had sunk doith poplars thirty or forty feet high, as well as entire fields of ether a wild scene of devastation, to which the broken poplars not a little contributed

The drift wood on the sand bank, consisting of the trunks of large timber trees, forms a scene characteristic of the North A like it in Brazil, where most of the rivers rise in the priround On the banks whichpassed, the drifted trunks of trees were in many places already covered with sand; a border of s and poplars was before the forest, and it is a thesebushes that the Indians usually lie in ambush, when they intend to attack those who tow their vessels up the river by long ropes At five o'clock in the afternoon we reached the mouth of Grand River, which was then very shallow, alround at the mouth of this river, and stirred up the sand so as to discolour the water The Joway Indians dwelt on the Grand River till 1827, when they removed to Little Platte River[189] They continue, however, like the Saukies and Foxes, to hunt in the prairies at its source, where buffaloes, elks, and stags, are said to be still pretty numerous The first of these Indians called the Grand River, Nischna-Honja; and the Missouri, Nischna-Dja:--Ni, in their language, means water, and Nischna, the river[190]

We lay to, for the night, beyond Waconda Creek[191] Our hunters dispersed into the neighbouring woods and plantations, but they only shot so, we had, on the left bank, undulating hills, thinly covered with trees, and on the bank were strata of limestone Here is the mouth of the stream, the Bonnet de Boeuf, which, doubtless, has its name from the caps, with ox horns, which the Indians, who forerous subs left only a very narrow channel open for our vessel At ten [pg 117] o'clock we caerous parts, where our vessel frequently struck, and ere obliged to stop the engine, and to push by poles The vessel stuck fast in the sand, and it was necessary to fasten it to the trees on the bank till it could be got afloat again At this point the great forests begin to be interrupted by open places, or prairies, and ere at the part called Fox Prairie, where the Saukie and Fox Indians, and, perhaps, some other nations,[192] formerly attacked, and nearly extirpated the tribe of the Missouris The re the Otos, on the southwest banks, where their descendants still live, led with the natives The Missouris came down the river in many canoes, and their enemies had concealed themselves in thethickets After the Missouris, who suspected no evil, had been killed or wounded with arrows, the victors leaped into the water, and finished their bloody ith clubs and knives: very few of the Missouris escaped[193]

To-day , for the first time, from the deck of our vessel, the prairies of the Lower Missouri covered with luxuriant young grass, but the air was misty, and bounded our prospect In the afternoon we took in fuel at Webb's warehouse; the river was here again covered ood, which so greatly ied to lay to for the night, sevenof the 17thonly an uninterrupted forest; in the course of the day we again encountered s, which, in some places, scarcely left a channel of ten feet in breadth; but our pilot steered, with great dexterity, between all these dangers, wherethis hazardous navigation, ere all on deck, anxiously expecting the result, but everything went off well We afterwards sounded, sought another channel, but proceeded very slowly, so that we only passed Fire Prairie,[194] and lay to for the night, five ine was broken, so that we could not proceed till the nextI had the misfortune to break my last Reaumur's thermometer, so that, henceforth, all the observations of the te to Fahrenheit's scale Some of my people, attracted by the cries of the wild turkeys, were te met with any success I happened to have taken no piece with retted, for a wild turkey-cock came out of a bush about ten paces fro at etation was rather backward A large flock of sandhill cranes, taking their course to the north-east, filled the air with their cries; their note is very similar to that of the European crane After the people had returned on board, at the repeated sue, but were soon obliged to take soundings, and to saw off sos; we then landed twenty118] steamer, but their efforts broke the rope, and they all tureat amusement of those on board By way of precaution, our vessel was fastened to a large tree, which proved our safety, for the rudder was soon afterwards deranged, and rendered unserviceable It was repaired about two o'clock, but we soon run aground on a sand bank, where ere obliged to reht, in a rather unsafe situation, for the current, on the bank, was very strong, and we could not fasten the vessel to anything, so that we ht easily have been carried down the strea of the 19th a flat boat was procured, to lighten our vessel, by landing a part of the cargo, which was piled up in the wood, on the bank, and covered with cloths Mr Bodmer made a faithful sketch of this scene[195]

At four o'clock in the afternoon, the crew had got the steaht, a little below theCreek[196] Here our anchors, boats, &c, were taken on board, and three oods, which consisted of the presents for the Indians in Major Dougherty's agency The flat boat was sent back to its owner, on Fishi+ng Creek, under the care of thirty men, who had to wade in the water to keep it afloat After taking in fuel, for which the wood of the red mulberry and the ash is preferred, we proceeded slowly, and reached, at dusk, the hill, on the right bank, where Fort Osage, built, in 1808, by Governor Lewis, fore on which it was situated is free from wood, and cultivated, and the last posts and beahbourhood This part of the country was the chief abode of the Osages Only ten years ago they were still at Cote-Sans-Dessein They are peaceably disposed towards the A posts in their territory The whole tract, froh which we have passed, was formerly theirs, but they sold a part of it to the United States, and they are now entirely forced back into the prairies, on the river Arkansas[197]

We lay to, for the night, a short distance below Fort Osage On the 20th, in theisland, on the steep banks of which large snags, covered with sand and earth, projecting very far, for point[198] We had scarcely passed it, e run aground on a sand bank The engine was immediately backed; but the current carried the vessel so close to the above point, that it tore away our side gallery with a great crash

The carpenter soon repaired it, and our progress was now more favourable At noon we had 68 Fahrenheit At this time a thunder-storm arose, accompanied with hail and rain The rain continued to fall in torrents till we reached the landing-place of the village of Liberty, which is at sos and detached houses were situated on the bank, in front of the wooded etation, refreshed by the rain, was very brilliant The tall, slender, forest trees, grow a picturesque rocks; the beautiful flowers of the red bud tree, bright green119] of the leaves of the May-apple (_Podophyllum_), everywhere covered thetheir buds

This is about the northern li here, belonging to the Fur Company of Messrs

Ashley and Soublette, which was just established as a rival to the Aentleaged in this service, for which they were not well qualified, and were, besides, wholly inexperienced in thewith the Indians We next reached the mouth of the Blue Water River, the clear blue waters of which forreat contrast to those of the Missouri[201] We were here joined by a couple of canoes, with soht to Mr Mc Kenzie news from Fort Union, at the mouth of the Yellow Stone River Their half Indian costume, which is usually worn, was new to us One of them, named Defond, a tall, slender, brown man, was a half-breed Indian, and one of the best and most experienced pilots of the Missouri Mr Mc Kenzie had sent for him to steer our vessel up the river, and he fully justified his reputation He was likewise a sportsht us several turkeys which had been lately shot Before evening we became acquainted with the quicksands of the Missouri These are sand banks which are so soft that one immediately sinks in them We saw an ox, which went deeper at every motion, while nobody could afford it any assistance

On the next(21st April), we reached the mouth of the river Konza, or Konzas, called by the French, Riviere des Cans, which is not quite so broad as the Wabash, and was now very shallow Its clear green water was distinguished by a well-defined, undulating line, froated the Konzas about seven -post of the American Fur Company, which is now under the direction of a brother of Mr P

Chouteau[202] It is said that this country formerly abounded in beavers, but their numbers are much diminished At the point of land between the Konzas and the Missouri, is the boundary which separates the United States from the territory of the free Indians It runs directly froes, passes the Osage River, and goes northward from the Missouri, parallel to the Little Platte River, to Weeping Water River, which falls into the Missouri, whence it runs eastward to the Des-Moines and the Mississippi About 500 or 600 paces from the h yellow clay walls, in the forest; and near it live the reed from the States to the east of the Mississippi, to who them were the Delawares, Shawnees, Mia 90 or 100 es of the Konzas (Cans, of the French), the best accounts of who's travels[203] These people forradually retired froes, and the language of these two people [pg 120] is only a dialect, originally not different frouished only by the pronunciation, and not by its roots At present the Konzas inhabit the tract on both sides of the river of the same name, and its tributaries, and they make excursions into the prairies of the Arkansas

We were now in the free Indian territory, and felt ht expect to e inhabitants We examined the country with a telescope, and had the satisfaction of seeing the first Indian, on a sand bank, wrapped in his blanket; but our attention was soon called to the obstacles on the river: we avoided one dangerous place, where the Missouri was so full of trunks of trees that ere forced to put back; but at noon, when the ther drift wood, which broke some of the paddles of our wheels, so that it was necessary to stop the engine Forty-two of our -pieces, ca physician, going to the cantonment at Leavenworth