Friday April the 12th
1805.
Set out at an early hour. our peroge and the Canoes
passed over to the Lard side, in order to avoid a bank which
was rappidly falling in on the Stard.. the red perogue contrary
to my expectation or wish passed
under this bank by means
of her toe line; where I expected to have seen
her carried
under every instant. I did not discover that she was about to
make this attempt untill it was too late for the men to reembark,
and retreating is more dangerous than
proceeding in
such cases; they therefore continued their passage up this
bank, and much to my satisfaction arrived safe above it. this
cost
me some moments of uneasiness, her cargo was of much
importance to us in
our present advanced situation. We proceeded
on six miles and came too on the lower side of the
entrance of the
little Missouri on the Lard shore in a fine
plain where we determined to
spend the day for the purpose
of celestial
observation. we sent out 10 hunters to
procure some fresh meat. at this
place made the following
observations.
Point of Observation N°. 1.
| Observed
☉'s. Magnetic Azimuth with Circumfertr |
S. |
88°. |
E. |
|
h |
m |
s |
| Time by Chronometer
A.M. |
8. |
20. |
25. |
| Altitude by
Sextant |
52°. |
20′. |
45″. |
| ☉'s Magnetic Azimuth by Circumferenter
. |
S. |
87°. |
E. |
| Time by
Chronometer |
8°. |
25′. |
22″.
|
| Altitude by
Sextant |
53°. |
55′. |
30″. |
Observed equal altitudes
of the ☉ with
Sextant.
|
h |
m |
s |
|
| A.M. |
8. |
30. |
11. |
P.M. the P.M.
observation |
|
". |
31. |
52. 5 |
was lost in
consequence |
|
". |
33. |
31. |
of the Clouds. |
| Altd. by Sextant at the time of
observation. |
55°. 28′.
45″. |
Observed Meridian altitude of the ☉s U. L.
with Octant by the back
observation. |
81°. 25′.
15″. |
| Latitude deduced from this
observation |
[blank space in
MS.] |
Remarks.
The artifil. Horizon
recommended by Mr. A. Ellicott, in which water
forms
the reflecting surface, is used in all observations which requirs the
the
uce of an Artificial horizon, except when expressly mentioned to
the
contrary.
The altitude of any object in the fore observation as here
entered is
that deduced immediately
from the graduated limb of the instrument,
and is of course the double
altitudes of the object observed.
The altitudes of objects observed by
the back observation, with Octant
as here entered, is that shewn by the
graduated limb of the Instrument
at the time of observation, and is the
compliment of 180°. of the double
altitude of the object
observed.
| Error of Sextant—
Subtractive |
°. 8′.
45″. |
| Error of Octant fore observation—
|
2°. ′. ″.x |
| Error of d° in
back observation addtve. |
2°. 40′. -.x |
The night proved so cloudy that
I could make no further observations.
George Drewyer shot a
Beaver this morning, which we found
swiming in the river a small distance
below the entrance of the
little Missouri. the beaver being seen in the
day, is a proof
that they have been but little hunted, as they always keep
themselves closly concealed during the day where they are so.
found
a great quantity of small onions in the plain where we
encamped; had some
of them collected and cooked, found
them agreeable. the bulb grows single,
is of an oval form,
white, and about the size of a small bullet; the leaf
resem[bles]
that of the shive, and the
hunters returned this ev[en]ing
with one deer
only. the country about the mouth of this
river had been recently hunted
by the Minetares, and the little
game which they had not killed and
frightened away, was so
extreemly shy that the hunters could not get in
shoot of them.
The little Missouri disembogues on the S. side of the
Missouri 1693 miles from the confluence of the latter with
the
Mississippi, it is 134 yards wide at it's mouth, and sets in
with a bould
current but it's greatest debth is not more than 2 1/2
feet. it's
navigation is extreemly difficult, owing to it's rapidity,
shoals and sand bars it may however be
navigated with
small canoes a considerable distance. this river passes
through
the Nothern extremity of the black hills where it is very narrow
and rapid and it's banks high an[d] perpendicular. it takes it's
rise in a broken country West of the Black hills with the waters
of
the yellow stone river, and a considerable distance S.W. of the
point at
which it passes the black hills. the country through
which it passes is
generally broken and the highlands possess
but little timber. there is
some timber in it's bottom lands,
which consists of Cottonwood red Elm, with a small
proportion
of small Ash and box alder. the
under brush is willow,
red wood, (sometimes called red or swamp
willow
[22]
) the
red
burry, and Choke cherry the country is extreamly broken
about
the mouth of this river, and as far up on both sides, as
we could observe
it from the tops of some elivated hills, which
stand betwen these two
rivers, about 3 miles from their junction.
the soil appears fertile and deep, it consists generally of a
dark
rich loam intermixed with a small proportion of fine sand.
this river in
it's course passes near the N.W. side of the turtle
mountain, which is
said to be no more than 4 or 5 leagues distant
from it's entrance in a straight direction, a little to the S.
of
West. this mountain and the knife river have therefore
been laid down too
far S.W. the colour of the water, the bed
of the river, and it's
appearance in every respect, resembles the
Missouri; I am therefore
induced to believe that the texture
of the soil of the country in which it
takes it's rise, and that
through which it passes, is similar to the
country through
which the Missouri passes after leaving the woody country,
or
such as we are now in. on the side of a hill not distant from
our
camp I found some of the dwarf cedar of which I preserved
a specimen (See N° 2.) this plant
spreads it's limbs
alonge the surface of the earth, where they are
sometimes
covered, and always put forth a number of roots on the under
side, while on the upper there are a great number of small
shoots
which with their leaves seldom rise higher than 6 or
eight inches. they
grow so close as perfectly to conceal the
ea[r]th. it is an evergreen; the
leaf is much more delicate
than the common Cedar, and it's taste and smell
the same. I
have often thought that this plant would make very handsome
edgings to the borders and walks of a garden; it is quite as
handsom
as box, and would be much more easily propegated.
the appearance of the
glauber salts and Carbonated wood still
continue.
Cou[r]se and distance of this day was.
N. 80°. W. to the entrance of the little Missouri—4m1/2
