University of Virginia Library

[Lewis:]

Friday April 26th. 1805.

This morning I dispatched Joseph Fields up the yellow-stone
river with orders to examine it as far as he could conveniently
and return the same evening; two others were
directed to bring in the meat we had killed last evening, while
I proceeded down the river with one man in order to take a
view of the confluence of this great river with the Missouri,
which we found to be two miles distant on a direct line N.W.
from our encampment, the bottom land on the lower side of
the yellowstone river near it's mouth, for about one mile in
width appears to be subject to inundation; while that on the
opposite side of the Missouri and the point formed by the
junction of these rivers is of the common elivation, say from
twelve to 18 feet above the level of the water, and of course
not liable to be overflown except in extreem high water, which
dose not appear to be very frequent, there is more timber in
the neighbourhood of the junction of these rivers, and on the
Missouri as far below as the White-earth river, than there is
on any part of the Missouri above the entrance of the Chyenne
river to this place. the timber consists principally of Cottonwood,
with some small elm, ash and boxalder. the under
growth on the sandbars and verge of the river is the small
leafed willow; the low bottoms, rose bushes which rise to
three or four fe[e]t high, the redburry, servicebury, and the

redwood; the high bottoms are of two discriptions, either
timbered or open; the first lies next to the river and it's under
brush is the same with that of the low timbered bottoms with
the addition of the broad leafed willow, Goosbury, choke
cherry, purple currant, and honeysuckle bushis; the open
bottoms border on the hills, and are covered in many parts by
the wild hyssop which rises to the hight of two feet. I
observe that the Antelope, Buffaloe Elk and deer feed on this
herb; the willow of the sandbars also furnish a favorite winter
food to these anamals as well as the growse, the porcupine,
hare, and rabbit. about 12 O[c]lock I heard the discharge of
several guns at the junction of the rivers, which announced to
me the arrival of the pa[r]ty with Capt Clark; I afterwards
learnt that they had fired on some buffaloe which they met
with at that place, and of which they killed a cow and several
Calves; the latter are now fine veal. I dispatched one of the
men to Capt Clark requesting him to send up a canoe to take
down the meat we had killed and our baggage to his encampnt,
which was accordingly complyed with. after I had completed
my observations in the evening I walked down and joined the
party at their encampment on the point of land formed by the
junction of the rivers; found them all in good health, and
much pleased at having arrived at this long wished for spot,
and in order to add in some measure to the general pleasure
which seemed to pervade our little community, we ordered a
dram to be issued to each person; this soon produced the
fiddle, and they spent the evening with much hilarity, singing
& dancing, and seemed as perfectly to forget their past toils,
as they appeared regardless of those to come. in the evening,
the man I had sent up the river this morning returned, and
reported that he had ascended it about eight miles on a
streight line; that he found it crooked, meandering from side
to side of the valley formed by it; which is from four to five
miles wide. the corrent of the river gentle, and it's bed much
interrupted and broken by sandbars; at the distance of five
miles he passed a large Island well covered with timber, and
three miles higher a large creek falls in on the S.E. side above
a high bluff in which there are several stratas of coal, the
country bordering on this river as far as he could percieve,
like that of the Missouri, consisted of open plains. he saw
several of the bighorned anamals in the cou[r]se of his walk;
but they were so shy that he could not get a shoot at them;
he found a large horn of one of these anamals which he
brought with him. the bed of the yellowstone river is entirely
composed of sand and mud, not a stone of any kind to be
seen in it near it's entrance. Capt Clark measured these
rivers just above their confluence; found the bed of the Missouri
520 yards wide, the water occupying 330. it's channel
deep. the yellowstone river including it's sandbar, 858 yds. of
which, the water occupyed 297 yards; the depest part 12 feet;
it was falling at this time & appeard to be nearly at it's
summer tide. the Indians inform that the yellowstone river
is navigable for perogues and canoes nearly to it's source in
the Rocky Mountains, and that in it's course near these
mountains it passes within less than half a day's march of a
navigable part of the Missouri. it's extreem sources are adjacent
to those of the Missouri. river platte, and I think probably
with some of the South branch of the Columbia river.[34] the
first part of its course lies through a mountanous rocky country
tho' well timbered and in many parts fertile; the middle, and
much the most extensive portion of the river lies through a
delightfull rich and fertile country, well covered with timber,
intersperced with plains and meadows, and well watered; it is
some what broken in many parts. the lower portion consists
of fertile open plains and meadows almost entirely, tho' it
possesses a considerable proportion of timber on it's borders.
the current of the upper portion is extreemly rappid, that of
the middle and lower portions much more gentle than the
Missouri. the water of this river is turbid, tho' dose not
possess as much sediment as that of the Missouri. this river
in it's course recieves the waters of many large tributary
str[e]ams principally from the S.E. of which the most considerable
are the Tongue and bighorn rivers (& Clark's fork)
the former is much the largest, (rather the smallest—next in
size Clarkes fork, and the Big horn the largest by much.) and
heads with the river Platte and Bighorn river, as dose the
latter with the Tongue river and the river Platte. a suficient
quantity of limestone may be readily procured for building
near the junction of the Missouri and yellowstone rivers. I
could observe no regular stratas of it, tho' it lies on the sides
of the river hills in large irregular masses, in considerable
quantities; it is of a light colour, and appears to be of an
excellent quality.

The courses and distances of the 26th. as the party ascended the
Missouri, are as follow

           

		Miles
S . 45. E.	to a point of woodland on the Stard. side	2 1/2
S. 40. W.	along the Stad. point, opposite a bluff	1 1/2
N. 75. W.	to the commencement of the wood in a bend on Stard. side	3.
South.	to the point of land formed by the junction of the Missouri and yellow stone rivers	1.
		Miles— 8.

Point of Observation No. 7. April 26th. 1805.

On the Lard. bank of the yellowstone river 2 miles S.E. of it's junction
with the Missouri observed Equal altitudes of the ☉ with Sextant
and artificial horizon.

         

	h	m	s		h	m	s
A.M.	9.	41.	13.—	P.M.	6.	49.	3.	Altd. given by Sextant at the
	".	42.	52 —		".	50.	41.	time of observation
	".	44.	31.—		".	52.	17.	48°. 57′. 45″
								h. m. s.

Chronometer too fast mean time [blank space in MS.]

☞. the clouds this morning prevented my observing the moon
with a. Aquilæ; and as the moon was not again observeable untill the
1st. of May, I determined not to wait, but reather to relinquish for the
present the obtaining the necessary data to fix the longitude of this place.
Observed Meridian altitude of ☉'s L. L. with Octant by the
back observation 73°. 47′

Latitude deduced from this observation. [blank space in MS.]