University of Virginia Library

Monday July 15th. 1805

WE arrose very early this morning, assigned the canoes
their loads and had it put on board. we now found
our vessels eight in number all heavily laden, notwithstanding
our several deposits; tho' it is true we have now
a considerable stock of dryed meat and grease. we find it
extreemly difficult to keep the baggage of many of our men
within reasonable bounds; they will be adding bulky articles
of but little uce or value to them. At 10 A.M. we once more
saw ourselves fairly under way much to my joy and I believe
that of every individual who compose the party. I walked on
shore and killed 2 Elk near one of which the party halted and
dined. we took the skins marrowbones and a part of the flesh
of these Elk. in order to lighten the burthen of the canoes I
continued my walk all the evening and took our only invalledes
Potts an[d] La Page with me. we passed the river near
where we dined and just above the entrance of a beautifull
river 80 yards wide which falls in on the Lard. side in honour
of Mr. Robert Smith the Secretary of the Navy we called [it]
Smith's River.[1] this stream meanders through a most lovely
valley to the S.E. for about 25 miles when it enters the Rocky
mountains and is concealed from our view. many herds of
buffaloe were feeding in this valley. we again crossed the
river to the Stard. side and passed through a plain and struck
the river at a Northwardly bend where there was timber here
we waited untill the canoes arrived by which time it was so late

that we concluded to encamp for the night.[2] here Drewyer
wo[u]nded a deer which ran into the river my dog pursued
caught it drowned it and brought it to shore at our camp. we
have now passed Fort Mountain on our right it appears to be
about ten miles distant. this mountain has a singular appearance
it is situated in a level plain, it's sides stand nearly
at right angles with each other and are each about a mile in
extent. these are formed of a yellow clay only without the
mixture of rock or stone of any size and rise perpendicularly
to the hight of 300 feet. the top appears to be a level plain
and from the eminence on which I was yesterday I could see
that it was covered with a similar coat of grass with the plain
on which it stands. the surface appears also to possess a
tolerable fertile mole [mold] of 2 feet thick. and is to all
appearance inaccessible. from it's figure we gave it the name
of fort mountain. those mounds before mentioned near the
falls have much the same appearance but are none of them as
large as this one. the prickly pear is now in full blume and
forms one of the beauties as well as the greatest pests of the
plains. the sunflower is also in blume and is abundant. this
plant is common to every part of the Missouri from it's entrance
to this place. the lambsquarter,[3] wild coucumber, sand
rush and narrow dock are also common here. Drewyer killed
another deer and an Otter today. we find it inconvenient to
take all the short meanders of the river which has now become
c[r]ooked and much narrower than below, we therefore take
it's general course and lay down the small bends by the eye on
our daily traverse or chart. the river is from 100 to 150 yds.
wide. more timber on the river than below the falls for a
great distance. on the banks of the river there are many
large banks of sand much elivated above the plains on which
they ly and appear as if they had been collected in the course
of time from the river by the almost incessant S.W. winds;
they always appear on the sides of the river opposite to those
winds.

The [cour]ses and distances from the White bear islands to the camp
at which we made the canoes as taken by Sergt. Ordway.

                                           

S. 10°. E.	1 1/2	to a point of low trees on the Lard. side passing a willow island on Lard. side
S. 36°. E.	1.	to a point of wood on the Stard. side
South.	1.	to a clift of rocks in a bend on Lard. side
S. 45°. W.	1 1/2	to some trees in a bend, passing a timbered isla[n]d on the Stard. side.
South	1 1/4	to a point of low timber on Stard. side
S. 24. W.	1.	to a bunch of bushes on the Lard. side
West	2.	to a grove of trees in a Lard. bend
N. 26°. W.	2.	to a point of wood on the Lard. side
North	1.	Along the Lard. point
N. 20°. W.	1 1/2	to a small Creek Lard. side
S. 45°. W.	3/4	to the lower point of a timbered Is.ld S. S.
S. 10°. E.	1 1/2	opposite the island on the Lard. side
S. 16°. W.	3/4	to a point above the Island Lard. side.
South—	1 1/2.	to a point of low timber on the Stard. side opposite to a bluff on Lard. side
West	1/2	to a tree in a Lard. bend.
North—	1/2	to a point of timbered land on Lard. side
N. 12°. W.	1	to a point on Lard. side
West	1 1/2	to a point on the Stard. side.
N. 16°. W.	1/2	to a point of timber on Lard. side
N. 60°. W.	1/2	along the lard. point, passing a large sand bar on Lard. side.
S. 54°. W.	1/2	to a point of woodland Stard. side where we built two canoes.—
Miles	23. 1/4

Courses and distances July 15th. 1805.

                                 

S. 45°. W.	1/4	to the upper part of the timber Stard. side
S. 60°. E.	3/4	to a bend on the Lard. side
S. 20°. W.	1/2	along the lard. side in the bend
N. 70°. W.	1 1/2	to a point on the Stard. side passing an Is1d.
South	3/4	to a Lard. bend passing the entrance of Fort Mountain creek at the commencement of this course no water at present 10 yds. w.
S. 30°. W.	2 1/4	to a bend on the Stard. side oposite an Island passing a Stard. and Lard. point.
West	1 1/2	to the lower point of the woodland at the entrance of Smith's river, which is 80 yds. wide and falls in on Lard. in a bend
N. 45°. W.	1 3/4.	to a Stard bend.
South	3	to the head of an Island in the Lard. bend passing over the Lard. point.
N. 45°. W.	1 1/4	to a stard. bend.
West	1/2	in the stard. bend.
South	3/4	in the Stard. bend.
S. 45°. E.	3/4	in the Stard. bend.
East	1.	in the Stard. bend passing an island Lard. side
S. 45°. E	3/4	on the Lard. side.
West	2 1/2	to a wood in the Stard. bend. where we encamped for the evening.
Miles	19 3/4