University of Virginia Library

[Lewis:]

Monday May 20th. 1805.

Set out at an early hour as usual, the banks being favourable
and water strong we employed the toe rope principally;
river narrow and croked; country much as that of yesterday;
immence number of the prickley pears in the plains and on the
hills. At the distance of 2 1/4 miles passed the entrance of a
large Creek, affording but little water; this stream we named
Blowing Fly Creek, from the immence quantities of those insects
found in this neighbourhood, they infest our meat while
roasting or boiling, and we are obliged to brush them off our
provision as we eat. At 11. A.M. we arrived at the entrance
of a handsome bold river which discharges itself into the Missouri
on the Lard. side; this stream we take to be that called
by the Minnetares the [blank space in MS.[18] ] or Muscleshell
River; if it be the same, of which I entertain but little doubt,
it takes it's rise, by their information in the 1st. Chain of the
Rocky Mountains at no great distance from the Yellow stone
river, from whence in it's course to this place it passes through
a high and broken country pretty well timbered, particularly on
it's borders, and intersperced with handsome fertile plains and
medows. but from the circumstance of the same Indians informing
us that we should find a well timbered country in the
neighbourhood of it's mouth, I am induced to beleive that
the timbered country of which they speak is similar to that
we have passed for a day or two, or that in our view above,
which consists of nothing more than a few scattering small
scrubby pine and dwarf cedar on the summits of some of the
highest hills nine tenths of the country being wholy destitute
of timber of any kind, covered with a short grass, arromatic
herbs and the prickley pear; the river bottom however, so
far as we have explored it or 8 M. are well stocked with Cottonwood
timber of tollerable size, & lands of excellent quality.
We halted at thentrance of the river on the point formed
by it's junction with the Missouri determining to spend the
day, make the necessary observations and send out some hunters
to explore the country. The Muscle Shell river falls into

the Missouri 2270 miles above it's mouth, and is 110 yards
in width, it affords much more water than streams of it's width
generally do below, it's courant is by no means rappid, and
from appearances it might be navigated with canoes a considerable
distance; it's bed is coarse sand and gravel principally
with an occasion[al] mixture of black mud; it's banks abbrupt
and about 12 feet high yet never appear to overflow;
the waters of this river is of a greenish yellow cast, much more
transparent than the Missouri, which last is also much more
transparent than below but still retains it's whiteish hue and
a proportion of it's sedement. the Missouri opposite to this
point is deep, gentle in it's courant, and 222 yards in width.
The hunters returned this evening and informed us that the
country continued much the same in appearance as that we
saw where we were or broken, and that about five miles abe
(above) the mouth of shell river a handsome river of about
fifty yards in width discharged itself into the shell river on the
Stard. or upper side; this stream we called Sâh-câ-ger we-âh
(Sah ca gah we a) or bird woman's River,[19] after our interpreter
the Snake woman. Shields also found a bould spring or
fountain issuing from the foot of the Lar.d hills about 4 miles
up the Missouri; a fountain in this plain country is a great
novelty; I have not seen a bould fountain of pure water except
one since I left the Mandans; there (are) a number of
small ones but all without exception are impregnated with the
salts which abound in this country, and with which I believe
the Missoury itself considerably impregnated but to us in the
habit of useing it not perceptible; the exception I make is a
very fine fountain under the bluffs on the Lard. side of the
missouri and at a distance from the river about five miles below
the entrance of the yellowstone River. The sands of the
Missouri are not so abundant as they have been for some time
past, being confined to the points only; the bed of the river
principally mud and still too deep to use the seting pole.
Capt. Clark walked out today and killed two deer and an Elk,
the hunters killed 4 deer and elk and a buffaloe. I saw two
large Owls with remarkable long feathers on the sides of the
head which resembled ears; I take them to be the large hooting
Owl tho: they are somewhat larger and their colours
brighter than those common to the U. States.

Courses and distances of May 20th. 1805.

                 

South-	Along the Stard. side to the upper part of a bluff (bad water)	1/2
S. 70°. E.	to a sand point on the Stard. side	1.
S. 20°. W.	to some timber on a Stard. point	1/2
S. 10°. E.	to the entrance of a large creek on Lard. 25 yds. wide, called blowing Fly Ck.	1/4
South.	to a point of timber on the Lard. side opposite to a bluff on Stard. side	1 1/4
S. 30. E.	to a willow point on the Stard. side opposite to a bluff on Lard. side	1 1/4
South.	Along the Stard. point opposite to a bluff	1/4
West.	to a point of woodland on the Lard. Sd. just below which Muscle shell R. discharges itself on the Lard. 2270 M. up	2.
	Miles.	7.

Point of Observation No. 20.

On the Lard. shore opposite to the extremity of the 5th. course of this
day, observed time and distance of ☉'s and Ds nearest limbs, with
Sextant, the ☉ East.

Mean of a set of 12 observations

     

	Time	Distance	Longitude deduced.—
	h m s	° ′ ″	° ′ ″
A.M.	9. 44. 48	103. 3. 14.	[blank space in MS.]

Point of Observation N° 21.

On the point of land formed by the junction of the Missouri and
Muscle-Shell river observed Equal Altitudes of ☉, with Sextant.

         

	h m s
A.M.	9.53.31.	P.M.	lost	Altd. of Sextant
	″.55.6.		4. 40. 33.	at the time of Obst.
	″. 56.44.		4. 42. 10.	81°. 58′. 15″.
				h m s

Chronometer too [blank space in MS.] on Mean time [blank space
in MS.]

   

Observed Meridian Altd of ☉'s L. L. with Octant by the back observation...	59.° 50′
Latitude deduced from this Observation	47.° 00.′ 24.6″

Observed also magnetic Azimuth of ☉'s Center.

           

Azimuth by	Time by	Altitude by
Circumferenter	Chronometer	Sextant
	h m s	° ′ ″
1st. S. 85. W.	A.M. 6. 14. 35.	50.
2ed. S. 82. W.	″ 6. 24. 36	46. 37. 30.
3rd. S. 80. W.	″ 6. 34. 42.	43. 15. 30.