University of Virginia Library

Sunday May 20th 1804.

The morning was fair, and the weather pleasent; at 10 OCk.
A M. agreably to an appointment of the preceeding day, I was

joined by Capt Stoddard, Lieuts Mi1ford & Worrell together
with Messrs. A. Chouteau, C. Gratiot, and many other rispectable
inhabitants of St. Louis, who had engaged to accompany
me to the Vilage of St. Charles; accordingly at 12 OCk., after
bidding an affectionate adieu to my Hostis, that excellent
woman the spouse of Mr. Peter Chouteau, and some of my fair
friends of St. Louis, we set forward to that vilage in order to
join my friend companion and fellow labourer Capt. William
Clark, who had previously arrived at the place with the party
destined for the discovery of the interior of the continent of
North America the first 5 miles of our rout laid through a
beatifull high leavel and fertile prarie which incircles the town
of St. Louis from N. W. to S. E. the lands through which we
then passed are somewhat broken less fertile the plains and
woodlands are here indiscriminately interspersed untill you arrive
within three miles of the vilage when the woodland commences
and continues to the Missouri the latter is extreemly fertile.
At half after one P. M. our progress was interrupted by the near
approach of a violent thunder-storm from the N. W. and concluded
to take shelter in a little cabbin hard by untill the rain
should be over; accordingly we alighted and remained about
an hour and a half and regailed ourselves with a could collation
which we had taken the precaution to bring with us from
St. Louis.

The clouds continued to follow each other in rapaid succession,
insomuch that there was but little prospect of it's ceasing
to rain this evening; as I had determined to reach St. Charles
this evening and knowing that there was now no time to be lost
I set forward in the rain, most of the gentlemen continued with
me, we arrived at half after six and joined Capt Clark, found
the party in good health and sperits. Suped this evening
with Monsr. Charles Tayong a Spanish Ensign & late Commandant
of St. Charles at an early hour I retired to rest on
board the barge. St. Charles is situated on the North bank of
the Missouri 21 miles above it's junction with the Mississippi,
and about the same distance N. W. from St. Louis; it is
bisected by one principal street about a mile in length runing
nearly parallel with the river, the plain on which it stands is

narrow tho' sufficiently elivated to secure it against the annual
inundations of the river, which usually happen in the month
of June, and in the rear it is terminated by a range of small
hills, hence the appellation of petit Cote, a name by which this
vilage is better known to the French inhabitants of the Illinois
than that of St. Charles. The Vilage contains a Chappel,
one hundred dwelling houses, and about 450 inhabitants;
their houses are generally small and but illy constructed; a
great majority of the inhabitants are miserably pour illiterate
and when at home excessively lazy, tho' they are polite hospitable
and by no means deficient in point of natural genious,
they live in a perfect state of harmony among each other, and
plase as implicit confidence in the doctrines of their speritual
pastor, the Roman Catholic priest, as they yeald passive obedience
to the will of their temporal master the commandant.
a small garden of vegetables is the usual extent of their cultivation,
and this is commonly imposed on the old-men and
boys; the men in the vigor of life consider the cultivation of
the earth a degrading occupation, and in order to gain the
necessary subsistence for themselves and families, either undertake
hunting voyages on their own account, or engage themselves
as hirelings to such persons as possess sufficient capital
to extend their traffic to the natives of the interior parts of the
country; on those voyages in either case, they are frequently
absent from their families or homes the term of six twelve or
eighteen months and alwas subjected to severe and incessant
labour, exposed to the ferosity of the lawless savages, the
vicissitudes of weather and climate, and dependant on chance
or accident alone for food, raiment or relief in the event of
malady. These people are principally the decendants of the
Canadian French, and it is not an inconsiderable proportion
of them that can boast a small dash of the pure blood of the
aboriginies of America. On consulting with my friend Capt C.
I found it necessary that we should pospone our departure
untill 2 P. M. the next day and accordingly gave orders to the
party to hold themselves in readiness to depart at that hour.

Capt. Clark now informed me that having gotten all the
stores on board the Barge and perogues on the evening of the

13th. of May he determined to leave our winter cantoonment at
the mouth of River Dubois the next day, and to ascend the
Missouri as far as the Vilage of St. Charles, where, as it had
been previously concerted between us, he was to wait my
arrival; this movement while it advanced us a small distance
on our rout, would also enable him to determine whether the
vessels had been judiciously loaded and if not timely to make
the necessary alterations; accordingly [at 4 P. M. on Monday
the 14th. of May 1804, he embarked with the party in the
presence of a number of the neighbouring Citizens who had
assembled to witness his departure. During the fore part of
this Day it rained excessively hard. In my last letter to the
President dated at St. Louis I mentioned the departure of Capt.
Clark from River Dubois] on the 15th. Inst, which was the day
that had been calculated on, but having completed the arrangements
a day earlyer he departed on the 14th. as before mentioned.
On the evening of the 14th. the party halted and
encamped on the upper point of the first Island which lyes
near the Larbord shore, on the same side and nearly opposite
the center of this Island a small Creek disimbogues called
Couldwater.

The course and distance of this day was West 4 Miles—the Wind
from N. E.[17]