University of Virginia Library

CHAPTER X.

JOURNEY FROM ST. LOUIS TO THE CANTONMENT OF LEAVENWORTH, OR TO THE BORDERS OF THE
SETTLEMENT, FROM THE 10TH TO THE 22ND OF APRIL.

On the 10th of April, at eleven o'clock, all our company having collected, the Yellow Stone
left St. Louis; Mr. Pierre Chouteau, and several ladies of his family, accompanied us to St. Charles.
Some guns were fired, as a signal, on our departure, on which numbers of the inhabitants assembled
on the shore, among them the Saukies and some half-civilized Kikapoo Indians. Mr. Bodmer
made some interesting sketches of the former, of which the plate gives a specimen. (Vignette X.)
There were about 100 persons on board the Yellow Stone, most of whom were those called
engagés, or voyageurs, 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 form red stripes along the shore, and make a pleasing
contrast with the young, bright green leaves of the willows. At noon, Reaumur's thermometer
on board was at + 17½°. We had soon passed the 16½ miles to the mouth of the Missouri,[1] but
before we entered it, we lay to, on the Illinois side, to take in wood. The Yellow Stone entered

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 military station established, in 1803, against 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 same singular forms of towers, &c. as on the Mississippi. The
bushes of wild plums were covered with snow-white blossoms, and those of the Cercis Canadensis,
with their red flowers; and I could not help remarking that, in this country, most of the trees and
bushes have their flowers before their leaves. On the beech the inhabitants had fixed fishing
rods, which they examined, from time to time, and we saw them take up a large 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 stream they generally
have a naked, sandy point, with layers of thick, heavy timber; young willows grow first, then
poplars, and, lastly, hard timber. In many places in the forests, and between the willows, we
observed the high rushes (Equisetum hyemale) which are said to be injurious to the horses, unless
salt is given them with it.

Next morning we reached St. Charles, on the N.E. shore, one of the oldest French settlements
on the Missouri, consisting of about 300 houses, where the massive church, with its low
tower, has a very good 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 eminence rising behind it, stands an old stone
tower, which formerly served as a defence against the Indians. We lay to, opposite St. Charles,
where Messrs. Mc Kenzie and Dougherty joined us, and M. Chouteau and his family took leave,
and returned to St. Louis. After stopping 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 Remoux à Baguette; towards dark, however, we reached Isle au Bon
Homme, in the vicinity of which we passed the night. On the 12th of April, the original forms
of the calcareous rocks again appeared, with the red cedar, as usual, growing upon them. The
hills were covered with forests, where many trees were putting forth 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 numerous snags, which often prove
dangerous to vessels. Near some habitations the European peach trees were in blossom; among
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 we were 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

said to be less salubrious. The inundations of the river from marshes on the low grounds, which,
being protected from the sun by the surrounding trees, produce fevers. Flint, in his History and
Geography of the Mississippi Valley, gives a very good account of the climate and diseases of this
country. We passed Isle and Rivière au Bœuf, as well as the village of Pinkney; observed very
picturesque rocky scenes, climbing plants, which twined round overthrown broken trunks of
trees, and gloomy ravines, which were now full of the bright green young leaves that were
everywhere sprouting forth. The Yellow Stone had several times struck against submerged 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 steamer called the Assiniboin
which had left St. Louis to go up the Missouri before us. At night-fall we lay to on the right
bank, where a cheerful fire of large logs was soon made, round which our engagés 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 famous "Yankee-doodle."

On the morning of the 13th of April, the weather was serene and cool, the thermometer, at
eight in the morning, + 5° Reaum., and at noon, + 9°. We had lain to, for the night, near
Otter Island, and soon saw before us the country about Gasconade River. There were
extensive sand banks on the left hand, picturesque hills, many pleasing gradations 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 eminences,
covered with high trees, which were just beginning to put forth leaves, all illumined by the beams
of the brightest morning sun. Near the Gasconade, where we took in wood, many interesting
plants were in blossom. The Gasconade, which is an inconsiderable river, and rises not far
from the source of the Merrimack, in the State of Missouri, expands behind a high, 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 timber
for building. 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. A little further on, the Osage River appears between wooded banks: it is a small
stream, in which, according to Warden, many soft-shelled tortoises are found: we came then to
Côte-Sans-Dessein, an old French settlement of six or eight houses, celebrated for the brave
defence made by a few men against a numerous body of Indians. It must have been formerly
much more considerable, since Brackenridge calls it a beautiful place. The river has destroyed
it, and it is now quite insignificant. Opposite to it, on the left bank, further up the country, there

are many originally French families, and half-breeds, descendants of the Osage 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 Adam and Eve.
Its roots consist of two bulbs joined together, of which it is said that, when thrown into the
water, one swims and the other sinks. It is held to be a good cure for wounds. The flower was
just beginning to appear.

From Côte-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. It is at present only
a village, with a couple of short streets, and some detached buildings on the bank of the river.
The governor's house is in front, on the top of the bank, and is a plain brick building of
moderate size. The gentle eminences, on which the place was built about ten years ago, are
now traversed by fences, and the stumps of the felled trees are everywhere seen.

The morning of the 14th of April was clear but cool; at 8 o'clock + 8°, a thick mist rising
from the river. On a wooded eminence, on the left hand, at some distance from the bank, is a
high, isolated rock, which stands like a tower in the forest. Major Dougherty, once passing
this place with some Joway Indians, was told by them, that there was a tradition among their
ancestors, that this rock was formed of the dung of a race of bisons, which lived in heaven, but they
themselves no longer 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 mentioned in the account of Major Long's Expedition, which contains much information
respecting the Missouri, as far as Council Bluff, to which I refer. We learn from that work,
that almost all these calcareous rocks of the Missouri contain organic 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, remaining from the times when the Indians dwelt here: two towering overhanging
rocks, in which there are several caves, put me in mind of the ruins of the castle of Heidelburg.
Just before dinner we reached Rockport, a village founded two years ago, on the Manito River,
six miles up which river Columbia is situated. Near this place there are again many red figures
on the rocky walls, among others 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
Femme Creek, we stopped at the village of Boonville on the left bank, opposite which is Old
Franklin. 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 à flêche), a chain in which

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 name.

On the following morning (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 with willows, 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
compelled us to take the narrow channel, at the outer edge 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 remarkable manner by the rapid stream, when the water was high. In many places, large
masses, fifteen or eighteen feet in height, had sunk down, with poplars thirty or forty feet high,
as well as entire fields of maize, and piles of timber, which form together 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 American rivers; at least I saw nothing like it in Brazil, where most of
the rivers rise in the primeval mountains, or flow through more solid ground. On the banks
which we now passed, the drifted trunks of trees were in many places already covered with sand;
a border of willows and poplars was before the forest, and it is among these willow bushes 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, almost as broad as the Wabash. The Yellow Stone nearly run
aground 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.
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.[2]

We lay to, for the night, beyond Waconda Creek. Our hunters dispersed into the neighbouring
woods and plantations, but they only shot some parrots. On the 16th, in the morning, 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 Bœuf, which, doubtless, has its name
from the caps, with ox horns, which the Indians, who formerly dwelt here, wore in their dances.
Some highly dangerous submerged snags left only a very narrow channel open for our vessel. At ten

o'clock we came to some excessively dangerous parts, where our vessel frequently struck, and we
were 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 we were at the part called
Fox Prairie, where the Saukie and Fox Indians, and, perhaps, some other nations,[3] formerly
attacked, and nearly extirpated, the tribe of the Missouris. The remainder of the people saved
themselves among the Otos, on the south-west banks, where their descendants still live,
mingled with the natives. The Missouris came down the river in many canoes, and their enemies
had concealed themselves in the willow thickets. After the Missouris, who suspected no evil, had
been killed or wounded with arrows, the victors leaped into the water, and finished their bloody
work with clubs and knives: very few of the Missouris escaped.

To-day we saw, 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 with
wood, which so greatly impeded our progress, that we were obliged to lay to for the night, seven
miles above Webb's warehouse. In the morning of the 17th we saw only an uninterrupted
forest; in the course of the day we again encountered much danger from the quantity of snags,
which, in some places, scarcely left a channel of ten feet in breadth; but our pilot steered, with
great dexterity, between all these dangers, where many a smaller vessel had been wrecked. During
this hazardous navigation, we were 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, and lay to for the night, five miles below Fort Osage.

Our engine was broken, so that we could not proceed till the next morning (18th April). On
that morning I had the misfortune to break my last Reaumur's thermometer, so that, henceforth,
all the observations of the temperature are according to Fahrenheit's scale. Some of my people,
attracted by the cries of the wild turkeys, were tempted to land, but returned without having met
with any success. I happened to have taken no piece with me, which I much regretted, for a wild
turkey-cock came out of a bush about ten paces from me, and stood still, looking at me, while his
splendid feathers shone in the sun. Vegetation 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
summons of the bell, we proceeded on our voyage, but were soon obliged to take soundings, and
to saw off some dangerous snags; we then landed twenty men on a sand bank, to tow the

steamer, but their efforts broke the rope, and they all tumbled one upon another, to the great
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 we were
obliged to remain all night, 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 might easily have been carried
down the stream; the river, however, continued to subside. On the morning 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. (Plate IV.)

At four o'clock in the afternoon, the crew had got the steamer off the sand bank into deeper
water, on the right, a little below the mouth of Fishing Creek. Here our anchors, boats, &c.,
were taken on board, and three men left to take care of the landed goods, which consisted of the
presents for the Indians in Major Dougherty's agency. The flat boat was sent back to its owner,
on Fishing 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, formerly stood. The ridge on which it was situated is free from wood, and cultivated,
and the last posts and beams were taken away by the people in the neighbourhood. This
part of the country was the chief abode of the Osages. Only ten years ago they were still at
Côte-Sans-Dessein. They are peaceably disposed towards the Americans; and the Fur Company
have trading posts in their territory. The whole tract, from the Osage River, through 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.

We lay to, for the night, a short distance below Fort Osage. On the 20th, in the morning,
Blue Water River was hid from us, by a long island, on the steep banks of which large snags,
covered with sand and earth, projecting very far, formed a threatening point. We had scarcely
passed it, when we 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 68½° 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 some distance from the river. Some buildings and detached houses were situated
on the bank, in front of the wooded mountains, where the vigorous vegetation, refreshed by the
rain, was very brilliant. The tall, slender, forest trees, grow among picturesque rocks; the beautiful
flowers of the red bud tree, bright green moss, and a thick carpet of verdure, chiefly consisting

of the leaves of the May-apple (Podophyllum), everywhere covered the mountains. The
papaw trees were just opening their buds. This is about the northern limit for the growth of this
tree. Some keel-boats were lying here, belonging to the Fur Company of Messrs. Ashley and
Soublette, which was just established as a rival to the American Fur Company. In the pay of
these gentlemen, there were, in the boats, about ten Germans, who had engaged in this service,
for which they were not well qualified, and were, besides, wholly inexperienced in the mode of
trading with the Indians. We next reached the mouth of the Blue Water River, the clear blue
waters of which formed a great contrast to those of the Missouri. We were here joined by a
couple of canoes, with some Canadian engagés from the Upper Missouri, who brought 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-bred 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 sportsman, and brought 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 morning (21st April), we reached the mouth of the river Konza, or Konzas,
called by the French, Rivière 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, from the
muddy stream of the Missouri. The steam-boat has navigated the Konzas about seven miles
upward, to a trading-port of the American Fur Company, which is now under the direction of a
brother of Mr. P. Chouteau. 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 from south to north, comes from the territory of the Osages, 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 mouth of the Konzas, the banks of the river consist of high
yellow clay walls, in the forest; and near it live the remnants of several Indian tribes, which
were driven or dislodged from the States to the east of the Mississippi, to whom land was
assigned in these parts. Among them were the Delawares, Shawnees, Miamis, &c. &c.

Proceeding 90 or 100 miles up the river, you come to the villages of the Konzas (Cans, of
the French), the best accounts of whom are given by Mr. Say in the narrative of Mr. Long's
travels. These people formerly lived nearer to the Missouri, but have gradually retired from it.
Their language is entirely the same as that of the Osages, and the language of these two people

is only a dialect, originally not different from that of the Omahas and Puncas, being distinguished
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 much more interested in looking at the
forests, because we might expect to meet with some of their savage 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 we
were forced to put back; but at noon, when the thermometer was at 75°, we got among drift
wood, which broke some of the paddles of our wheels, so that it was necessary to stop the
engine. Forty-two of our men, most of whom had been out with their fowling-pieces, came
on board. Among them was Dr. Fellowes, a young physician, going to the cantonment at
Leavenworth.

The underwood of the forest consisted chiefly of Laurus benzoin and Cercis Canadensis; the
ground was covered with Equisetum hyemale, from one and a half to two feet high. Limestone
everywhere stood out; large blocks of it were on the bank. The Little Platte River here falls
into the Missouri. On the northern bank, seven miles up that river, are the villages of the Joway
Indians, who speak the same language as the Ottowas. They inhabit and hunt the country
about the Little Platte, Nadaway, Nishnebottoneh Rivers, together with a band of the Saukies,
who have settled in this neighbourhood. A couple of Shawnee Indians stood on the high bank,
and made us friendly signs. We halted, for the night, near Diamond Island; our people cut
down some trees, and kindled a large fire, which illumined the tall forests.

The next morning, 22nd of April, was warm and cheerful, the thermometer being at 64½°
Fahrenheit, at half-past seven o'clock. About six, we passed several islands, separated by narrow
channels, where our pilot steered so close to the left bank that the hens which we had on board
flew to the land. We soon came to a place where most of the trees were cut down, and we were
not a little surprised at the sight of a sentinel. It was the landing-place of the cantonment
Leavenworth, a military post, where four companies of the sixth regiment of infantry of
the line, about 120 men, under Major Ryley, were stationed to protect the Indian boundary.
There were also 100 rangers, who are mounted and armed militia, well acquainted with
Indian warfare.

We were stopped at this place, and our vessel searched for brandy, the importation of which,
into the Indian territory, is prohibited; they would scarcely permit us to take a small portion to
preserve our specimens of natural history. Major Dougherty rejoined us here, and brought with
him several Kickapoo Indians who had come from St. Louis to receive land in these parts. The

Kikapoos, and Delawares, and some other Indians, are settled at no great distance from this
place; the officers of the garrison were on board the whole day, and our hunters rambled about
the surrounding country. We saw, in the neighbourhood, the beautiful yellow-headed Icterus
xanthocephalus. The black oak and other trees were in blossom, and many interesting plants.
Near the bank, where the vessel lay, the beds of limestone were full of shells, of which we kept
some specimens. Between these limestone strata there were, alternately, thin layers of dark
bluish clay slate, which was not yet very hard.