June 17th. Sunday 1804 (S. 65° W. 1 Ml. S. Side.)—
Cloudy morning wind from the S.
E we Set out early and
proceeded on one mile & came too to make oars,
& repair our
cable & toe rope &c. &c. which was necessary
for the Boat &
Perogues, Sent out Sjt. Pryor and
Some men to get ash timber
for ores, and Set some men to make a Toe Rope
out of the
Cords of a Cable which had been provided
by Capt. Lewis at
Pittsburg for the Cable of the boat.
George Drewyer our
hunter and one man came in with 2 Deer & a Bear,
also a
young Horse, they had found in the Prarie, this horse has
been in the Prarie a long time and is fat, I Suppose, he has
been
left by Some war party against the Osage, This is a
Crossing place for the war parties against that nation from the
Saukees, Aiaouez, [Ayauways] & Souix. The party is much
aflicted with
Boils, and Several have the Deassentary, which I
contribute to the water [which is muddy.] The
Countrey
about this place is butifull on the river rich & well
timbered
on the S. S. about two miles back a Prarie coms. [commences]
which is rich and interspursed with groves
of timber, the
county rises at 7 or 8 miles Still
further back and is rolling.
on the L. S. the high lands & Prarie
coms. in the bank of the
river and and continus back,
well watered and abounds in Deer
Elk & Bear The Ticks & Musquiters
are verry troublesome.