Chapter I (2)

_Sept. 20th._ It appearing as if we possibly might have a clear day, I ordered our baggage spread abroad to dry; but it shortly after clouded up and commenced raining. The Osage sentinel discovered a buffalo on the prairies; upon which we dispatched a hunter on horseback in pursuit of him, also some hunters on foot; before night they killed three buffalo, some of the best of which we brought in and jerked or dried by the fire. It continued showery until afternoon, when we put our baggage again in a position to dry, and remained encamped. The detention of the doctor and our Pawnee ambassador began to be a serious matter of consideration.

_Sunday, Sept. 21st._ We marched at eight o'clock, although there was every appearance of rain, and at eleven o'clock passed a large [Little Saline river of Pike, now Covert] creek, remarkably salt. Stopped at one o'clock on a fresh branch of the salt creek. Our interpreter having killed an elk, we sent out for some meat, which detained us so late that I concluded it best to encamp where we were, in preference to running the risk of finding no water. Distance 10 miles.

Lieutenant Wilkinson was attacked with a severe headache and slight fever. One of my men had been attacked with a touch of the pleurisy on the 18th, and was still ill. We were informed by an Osage woman that two of the Indians were conspiring to desert us in the night and steal some of our horses, one of whom was her husband. We engaged her as our spy. Thus were we obliged to keep ourselves on our guard against our own companions and fellow-travelers--men of a nation highly favored by the United States, but whom I believe to be a faithless set of poltrons, incapable of a great and generous action. Among them, indeed, there may be some exceptions.

In the evening, finding that the two Indians above mentioned had made all preparations to depart, I sent for one of them, who owned a horse and had received a gun and other property for his hire, and told him "I knew his plans, and that if he was disposed to desert, I should take care to retain his horse; that as for himself, he might leave me if he pleased, as I only wanted men with us." He replied "that he was a man, that he always performed his promises, that he had never said he would return; but that he would follow me to the Pawnee village, which he intended to do." He then brought his baggage and put it under charge of the sentinel, and slept by my fire; but notwithstanding I had him well watched.

_Sept. 22d._ We did not march until eight o'clock, owing to the indisposition of Lieutenant Wilkinson. At eleven waited to dine. Light mists of rain, with flying clouds. We marched again at three o'clock, and continued our route 12 miles to the first branch of the Republican Fork. [?] Met a Pawnee hunter, who informed us that the chief had left the village the day after the doctor arrived, with 50 or 60 horses and many people, and had taken his course to the north of our route; consequently we had missed each other. He likewise informed us that the Tetaus [misprint for Tetans, and that a mistake for Ietans, _i. e._, Comanches] had recently killed six Pawnees, the Kans had stolen some horses, and a party of 300 Spaniards had lately been as far as the Sabine; but for what purpose was unknown. Distance 11 miles.[I-67]

_Sept. 23d._ Marched early and passed a large fork of the Kans [_i. e._, Smoky Hill] river, which I [correctly] suppose to be the one generally called Solomon's. One of our horses fell into the water and wet his load. Halted at ten o'clock on a branch of this fork. We marched at half past one o'clock, and encamped at sundown on a stream [Buffalo creek] where we had a great difficulty to find water. We were overtaken by a Pawnee, who encamped with us. He offered his horse for our use. Distance 21 miles.[I-68]

_Sept. 24th._ We could not find our horses until late, when we marched. Before noon met Frank, who had accompanied Dr. Robinson to the village, and three other Pawnees, who informed us that the chief and his party had only arrived at the village yesterday, and had dispatched them out in search of us. Before three o'clock we were joined by several Pawnees; one of them wore a scarlet coat, with a small medal of General Washington, and a Spanish medal also. We encamped at sunset on a middle-sized branch [White Rock creek], and were joined by several Pawnees in the evening, who brought us some buffalo meat. Here we saw some mules, horses, bridles, and blankets, which they obtained of the Spaniards. Few only had breech cloths, most being wrapped in buffalo robes, otherwise quite naked. Distance 18 miles.[I-69]

_Sept. 25th._ We marched at a good hour, and in about eight miles struck a very large road on which the Spanish troops had returned, and on which we could yet discover the grass beaten down in the direction which they went.

When we arrived within about three miles of the village, we were requested to remain, as the ceremony of receiving the Osage into the towns was to be performed here. There was a small circular spot, clear of grass, before which the Osage sat down. We were a small distance in advance of the Indians. The Pawnees then advanced within a mile of us, halted, divided into two troops, and came on each flank at full charge, making all the gestures and performing the maneuvers of a real war charge. They then encircled us around, and the chief advanced in the center and gave us his hand; his name was Caracterish. He was accompanied by his two sons and a chief by the name of Iskatappe. The Osage were still seated; but Belle Oiseau then rose, came forward with a pipe, and presented it to the chief, who took a whiff or two from it. We then proceeded; the chief, Lieutenant Wilkinson, and myself in front; my sergeant, on a white horse, next with the colors; then our horses and baggage, escorted by our men, with the Pawnees on each side, running races, etc. When we arrived on the hill over the town we were again halted, and the Osage seated in a row; when each Pawnee who intended so to do presented them with a horse and gave a pipe to smoke to the Osage to whom he had made the present. In this manner were eight horses given. Lieutenant Wilkinson then proceeded with the party to the [Republican] river above the town, and encamped. I went up to our camp in the evening, having a young Pawnee with me loaded with corn for my men. Distance 12 miles.[I-70] As the chief had invited us to his lodge to eat, we thought it proper for one to go. At the lodge he gave me many particulars which were interesting to us, relative to the late visit of the Spaniards.

I will attempt to give some memoranda of this expedition, which was the most important ever carried on from the province of New Mexico, and in fact the only one directed N. E. (except that mentioned by the Abbe Raynal[I-71] in his History of the Indies) to the Pawnees--of which see a more particular account hereafter. In the year 1806 our affairs with Spain began to wear a very serious aspect, and the troops of the two governments almost came to actual hostilities on the frontiers of Texas and the Orleans territory. At this time, when matters bore every appearance of coming to a crisis, I was fitting out for my expedition from St. Louis, where some of the Spanish emissaries in that country transmitted the information to Majar. Merior [_sic_] and the Spanish council at that place, who immediately forwarded the information to the then commandant of Nacogdoches, Captain Sebastian Rodreriques [_sic_] who forwarded it to Colonel [Don Antonio] Cordero, by whom it was transmitted to [General Don Nimesio Salcedo, at Chihuahua,] the seat of government. This information was personally communicated to me, as an instance of the rapid means they possessed of transmitting information relative to the occurrences transacting on our frontiers. The expedition was then determined on, and had three objects in view:

1st. To descend the Red river, in order, if he met our expedition, to intercept and turn us back; or, should Major Sparks[I-72] and Mr. [Thomas] Freeman have missed the party from Nacogdoches, under the command of Captain Viana, to oblige them to return and not penetrate further into the country, or make them prisoners of war.

2d. To explore and examine all the internal parts of the country from the frontiers of the province of New Mexico to the Missouri between the La Platte [sentence unfinished].

3d. To visit the Tetaus, Pawnees republic, Grand Pawnees, Pawnee Mahaws, and Kans.[I-73] To the head chief of each of those nations the commanding officer bore flags, a commission, grand medal, and four mules; and with all of them he had to renew the chains of ancient amity which was said to have existed between their father, his most Catholic majesty, and his children the red people.

The commanding officers also bore positive orders to oblige all parties or persons, in the above-specified countries, either to retire from them into the acknowledged territories of the United States, or to make prisoners of them and conduct them into the province of N. Mexico. Lieutenant Don Facundo Malgares, the officer selected from the five internal provinces to command this expedition, was a European (his uncle was one of the royal judges in the kingdom of New Spain), and had distinguished himself in several long expeditions against the Apaches and other Indian nations with whom the Spaniards were at war; added to these circumstances, he was a man of immense fortune, and generous in its disposal, almost to profusion; possessed a liberal education, high sense of honor, and a disposition formed for military enterprise. This officer marched from the province of Biscay with 100 dragoons of the regular service, and at Santa Fe, the place where the expedition was fitted out, he was joined by 500 of the mounted militia of that province, armed after the manner described by my notes on that subject, and completely equipped with ammunition, etc., for six months; each man leading with them (by order) two horses and one mule, the whole number of their beasts was 2,075. They descended the Red river 233 leagues; met the grand bands of the Tetaus, and held councils with them; then struck off N. E., and crossed the country to the Arkansaw, where Lieutenant Malgares left 240 of his men with the lame and tired horses, while he proceeded on with the rest to the Pawnee republic. Here he was met by the chiefs and warriors of the Grand Pawnees; held councils with the two nations and presented them the flags, medals, etc., which were destined for them. He did not proceed to the execution of his mission with the Pawnee Mahaws and Kans, as he represented to me, from the poverty of their horses and the discontent of his own men; but, as I conceive, from the suspicion and discontent which began to arise between the Spaniards and the Indians; the former wished to revenge the death of Villineuve and party, while the latter possessed all the suspicions of conscious villainy deserving punishment. Malgares took with him all the traders he found there from our country, some of whom, having been sent to Natchitoches, were in abject poverty at that place on my arrival, and applied to me for means to return to St. Louis. Lieutenant Malgares returned to Santa Fe the ---- of October, when his militia was disbanded; but he remained in the vicinity of that place until we were brought in, when he, with dragoons, became our escort to the seat of government [in Chihuahua].

_Sept. 26th._ Finding our encampment not eligible as to situation, we moved down on to the prairie hill, about three-fourths of a mile nearer the village. We sent our interpreter to town to trade for provisions. About three o'clock in the afternoon 12 Kans arrived at the village, and informed Baroney that they had come to meet us, hearing that we were to be at the Pawnees' village. We pitched our camp upon a beautiful eminence, whence we had a view of the town and all that was transacting. In the evening Baroney, with the chief, came to camp to give us the news, and returned together.

_Sept. 27th._ Baroney arrived from the village about one o'clock, with Characterish, whose commission from the Governor of New Mexico was dated Santa Fe, June 15th, 1806, and three other chiefs, to all of whom we gave a dinner. I then made an appropriate present to each, after which Lieutenant Wilkinson and myself accompanied them to town, where we remained a few hours, and returned. Appointed to-morrow for the interview with the Kans and Osage.

_Sunday, Sept. 28th._ Held a council of the Kans and Osage, and made them smoke of the pipe of peace. Two of the Kans agreed to accompany us. We received a visit from the chief of the village. Made an observation on an emersion of one of Jupiter's satellites.

_Sept. 29th._ Held our grand council with the Pawnees, at which were present not less than 400 warriors, the circumstances of which were extremely interesting. The notes I took on my grand council held with the Pawnee nation were seized by the Spanish government, together with all my speeches to the different nations. But it may be interesting to observe here, in case they should never be returned, that the Spaniards had left several of their flags in this village, one of which was unfurled at the chief's door the day of the grand council; and that among various demands and charges I gave them was, that the said flag should be delivered to me, and one of the United States' flags be received and hoisted in its place. This probably was carrying the pride of nations a little too far, as there had so lately been a large force of Spanish cavalry at the village, which had made a great impression on the minds of the young men, as to their power, consequence, etc., which my appearance with 20 infantry was by no means calculated to remove.

After the chiefs had replied to various parts of my discourse, but were silent as to the flag, I again reiterated the demand for the flag, adding "that it was impossible for the nation to have two fathers; that they must either be the children of the Spaniards, or acknowledge their American father." After a silence of some time an old man rose, went to the door, took down the Spanish flag, brought it and laid it at my feet; he then received the American flag, and elevated it on the staff which had lately borne the standard of his Catholic Majesty. This gave great satisfaction to the Osage and Kans, both of whom decidedly avow themselves to be under American protection. Perceiving that every face in the council was clouded with sorrow, as if some great national calamity were about to befall them, I took up the contested colors, and told them "that as they had shown themselves dutiful children in acknowledging their great American father, I did not wish to embarrass them with the Spaniards, for it was the wish of the Americans that their red brethren should remain peaceably around their own fires, and not embroil themselves in any disputes between the white people; and that for fear the Spaniards might return there in force again, I returned them their flag, but with an injunction that it should never be hoisted again during our stay." At this there was a general shout of applause, and the charge was particularly attended to.

_Sept. 30th._ Remained all day at the camp, but sent Baroney to town, who informed me on his return that the chief appeared to wish to throw great obstacles in our way. A great disturbance had taken place in the village, owing to one of the young Pawnees, Frank, who lately came from the United States, having taken the wife of an Osage and run away with her. The chief, in whose lodge the Osage put up, was extremely enraged, considering it a breach of hospitality to a person under his roof, and threatened to kill Frank if he caught him.

FOOTNOTES:

[I-1] Belle Fontaine or Bellefontaine is the name of the large cemetery in the environs of St. Louis, where William Clark lies buried; and probably few persons now living know its proper geographical connotation. The cemetery is four miles from the Court House, and ten miles further is the place whose name was given to the burying-ground on the road thither, after its original designation as the Rural Cemetery. Belle Fontaine was a place on the south bank of the river, 14 m. north of St. Louis, in what is now St. Ferdinand township of St. Louis Co. (Sect. 10, T. 47 N., R. 7 E. of this county). Before there was any such "place," or locality, Belle Fontaine was the French name of the creek which falls in there, which had been called Ferdinand by the Spanish, and which became known to the English as Cold Water creek, there being a fine large spring under the bluffs, close to the Missouri. This, however, was washed away by the encroachment of the river. We find the latter name in Lewis and Clark, who made the first camp of their expedition on Green isl., opposite the mouth of the creek, May 14th, 1804. There was nothing then at the place that was soon to become forever notable as the spot where was built the first military post ever established in the newly acquired territory of Louisiana. Much early history attaches to the locality, some of which may be here epitomized, mainly on the basis of Billon's Annals. In 1768, when St. Louis was but begun, Captain Rios arrived with 25 soldiers under orders from Count Ulloa to establish Spanish authority in the region where things were at a standstill, if not in distraction. Rios was persona non grata in the infant St. Louis; he withdrew, and selected Belle Fontaine as a suitable location for a post. Late in 1768 he there built a fort which he called Fort Prince Charles in honor of the son of his king and heir apparent to the Spanish throne. In 1769 Rios left with his men; in 1770 Piernas came. The Spanish presidio was soon turned into a commercial factory or trading-post. On Sept. 10th, 1797, Governor Zenon Trudeau granted to Hezekiah Lord a concession of 1,000 arpents of land on Belle Fontaine or Cold Water cr.; and on the site of the former Spanish fort Lord built a house and mill. He died in 1799; his estate was sold in partition in 1803, when 600 arpents were bought by William Massey. In 1805, General James Wilkinson selected the place for a military establishment, and United States troops were first cantoned in temporary quarters during the winter of 1805-6. This was the original Cantonment Belle Fontaine. On April 20th, 1806, General Wilkinson purchased from Massey, on behalf of the United States, five acres of ground with the improvements, called Belle Fontaine, with the use for five years of the ground on which had been located the cantonment, and upon these five acres established a permanent post. In July, 1806, he purchased the rest of the tract of 500 arpents, which was conveyed to the United States in Mar., 1809. Belle Fontaine was really the parent of Jefferson Barracks; for, after the establishment of Forts Atkinson, Snelling, and others on the Missouri and Mississippi frontiers, it lost its importance from a military point of view, and was abandoned for the site of the present Jefferson Barracks. This in 1825; on July 4th of which year Colonel Talbot Chambers, with four companies of the 1st United States Infantry, evacuated Belle Fontaine and proceeded to the new site which had been selected, though the place remained for some ten years in charge of a military storekeeper, Major John Whistler. General Lewis Cass, Secretary of War under Van Buren, ordered it to be sold at public auction in 1836. It was bought by Jamison Samuel, Dunham Spalding, H. N. Davis, and E. L. Langham, who laid out a paper town that never came to anything. Agriculture finally reclaimed Belle Fontaine after the military occupancy; it was bought for a farm by the late Dr. David C. Tandy of St. Louis, whose son, Robert E. Tandy, now or lately did live there. The old road can still be traced in part over ground where it ran more than a century ago.

[I-2] The roster of the party, with some of the most notable particulars, is as follows:

COMMISSIONED OFFICERS (2).

1. Captain Zebulon M. Pike. Escorted to Mexico from his post on the Rio Conejos, with six privates, by Spanish dragoons, Feb. 26th, 1807. His men, excepting one left with Jackson, were Brown, Carter, Gorden, Menaugh, Mountjoy, Roy, and Stoute.

2. Lieutenant James B. Wilkinson. Detached to descend the Arkansaw with five men, from camp near Great Bend, Aug. 28th, 1806.

NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS (3).

1. Sergeant Joseph Ballenger. Went with Wilkinson.

2. Sergeant William E. Meek. Sent from Rio Conejos to relief of abandoned men, Feb. 19th, 1807.

3. Corporal Jeremiah R. Jackson. Left in charge of post on Rio Conejos, with Carter, Feb. 26th, 1807, to await return of Meek and Miller with Vasquez, Smith, Sparks, and Dougherty.

PRIVATES (16).

1. John Boley. Went with Wilkinson, Aug. 28th, 1806.

2. Samuel Bradley. Went with Wilkinson, Aug. 28th, 1806.

3. John Brown. Left with Jackson on Rio Conejos, Feb. 26th, 1807.

4. Jacob Carter. Went with Pike, Feb. 26th, 1807.

5. Thomas Dougherty. Abandoned in Sangre de Cristo mountains with frozen feet, Jan. 22d, 1807.

6. William Gorden. Went with Pike, Feb. 26th, 1807.

7. Solomon Huddleston. Went with Wilkinson, Aug. 28th, 1806.

8. Henry Kennerman. Deserted July 19th, 1806.

9. Hugh Menaugh. Abandoned in Sangre de Cristo mountains, Jan. 27th, 1807; recovered on Rio Conejos, Feb. 18th, 1807; went with Pike, Feb. 26th, 1807.

10. Theodore Miller. Went with Meek to relief of abandoned men, Feb. 19th, 1807.

11. John Mountjoy. Went with Pike, Feb. 26th, 1807.

12. Alexander Roy. Went with Pike, Feb. 26th, 1807.

13. Patrick Smith. Left with Vasquez on the Arkansaw at site of present Cañon City, Jan. 14th, 1807.

14. John Sparks. Abandoned in Sangre de Cristo mountains with frozen feet, Jan. 22d, 1807.

15. Freegift Stoute. Went with Pike, Feb. 26th, 1807.

16. John Wilson. Went with Wilkinson, Aug. 28th, 1806.

CIVILIANS (2).

1. Dr. John H. Robinson, volunteer surgeon. Left Pike on the Rio Conejos to proceed to Santa Fé alone, Feb. 7th, 1807.

2. Interpreter A. F. Baronet Vasquez. Left with Smith on the Arkansaw, at site of present Cañon City, Jan. 14th, 1807.

Of these persons--

(1) Lieutenant Wilkinson, Sergeant Ballenger, and Privates Boley, Bradley, Huddleston, and Wilson descended the Arkansaw and reached New Orleans in February, 1807.

(2) Private Kennerman deserted.

(3) Dr. Robinson left Captain Pike at the post on Conejos r., and went to Mexico on his own account.

(4) Captain Pike, Sergeant Meek, Corporal Jackson, Privates Brown, Carter, Dougherty, Gorden, Menaugh, Miller, Mountjoy, Roy, Smith, Sparks, Stoute, and Interpreter Vasquez were escorted in separated parties to Mexico by Spanish dragoons. Of whom--

(5) Captain Pike, Privates Brown, Gorden, Menaugh, Roy, and Stoute were escorted back to the United States, and reached Nachitoches on or about July 1st, 1807; while--

(6) Sergeant Meek, Corporal Jackson, Privates Carter, Dougherty, Miller, Mountjoy, Smith, and Sparks, and Interpreter Vasquez, were still detained in Mexico at the time of Pike's return, and are not accounted for in his narrative.

(7) The 51 Indians, which raised to 74 the total of persons who left Belle Fontaine, were all dropped at their respective destinations, and no others were permanently attached to the party which reached the Rocky mts.

[I-3] Past present Jamestown ldg. to Carbunker's pt., off which the large Pelican isl. now separates Car of Commerce bend from Pelican bend.

[I-4] See L. and C., ed. 1893, p. 6, and Pike's Dissertation, etc., beyond. The village was then the seat of justice of the District of St. Charles, Louisiana Territory, as it is now of St. Charles Co., Mo. The Wabash, St. L. and Pac. R. R. bridged the Mo. r. here; opposite is Bon Fils station; also Brotherton. St. Charles was not so called till 1784; the place had been known as Les Petites Côtes, where the hunter Blanchette settled about 1770: note 41, p. 214. In to-day's journey Pike passed the place known as Piper's (or Fifer's) ldg.: see the mark "Ferry" on his map. The principal point was the coal hill on the south, then known as La Charbonnière, now Charbonnier pt. A present or recent place of ferriage is Music's or Hall's; some of the landings are Heagler's, Kemp's, and Orick's or Orrick's; some of the present islands above the Pelicans are Charbonnier or Mullanphy, Holmes, and Vingt-une. There was a marsh or lake on the N. side, 5 or 6 m. below St. Charles, which the French called Marais Croche, Crooked marsh; some maps now make it Marie Croche l.

[I-5] M. de Lisa was one of the most noted Missourian Indian traders in those days. This is certainly not the last, and probably not the first, time he played exactly that trick. Pike has a good deal to say of him further on: see also L. and C., pp. lxxix, 62, 242, 256, 443, 1153, 1154, 1232, where my notes refer to further information in Brackenridge's Travels and Irving's Astoria. Lisa was at one time associated with Captain Clark in the fur-trade.

[I-6] One of the two letters Pike wrote to Wilkinson formed No. 3 of the App. to Pt. 2 of the orig. ed. See beyond, where it is given.

[I-7] See L. and C., ed. 1893, pp. 2, 8, 1182, 1211; also, p. 1257, where Charette's cr. and village are given, showing this to be a personal name. We come to the place presently.

[I-8] This letter formed No. 4 of the App. to Pt. 2 of the orig. ed. It is given beyond.

[I-9] This mileage would set Pike about Cottleville ldg., on the N., though I hardly think he got quite so far. He passed Fee Fee and Crèvecoeur creeks on the S., latter discharging from Crèvecoeur l.; Little Duckett and Big Duckett creeks, near together, on the N.; Catfish isl., behind which is Howard bend, into which Bon Homme or Good Man's r. falls, about opposite the middle of Green's bottom, N., 3½ m. long, separated by Green's chute from Bon Homme isl., next above which comes Bacon's or Post's isl., and then Cottleville ldg. If Pike reached this place, he was 44 m. from the mouth of the Missouri, according to recent charts.

[I-10] Late Sergeant Henry Kennerman, reduced to the ranks for cause at Pike's stockade on the Upper Mississippi r., Mar. 9th, 1806: see p. 181 and note 10, p. 245. He was posted as a deserter in various places, but we are not told he was retaken. He drops out of the story at this point. With Kennerman deserted, Vasquez arrested, and Geo. Henry engaged, the whites of the party are now 23 - 2 + 1 = 22; Vasquez rejoins on the 21st, when the roster is again 23.

[I-11] Position uncertain, especially as the text of the 18th-20th cannot be squared with the camp-marks on Pike's map. Going by the text, which agrees with the actual geography better than the map does, we may set Pike in the vicinity of St. Albans. To reach this point from his last camp he passes places on the N. now known as Cottleville ldg., Hamburg, and Dozier's ldg. At the last named Femme Osage r. falls into the lower end of Dozier's bend. The Missouri is here 1½-2 m. broad, and mostly filled with Howell's isl., 2½ m. long, some small islands, and various sand-bars. Thence on the N. or rather N. W. is a bottom 8 m. long and a mile or more deep; while on the S. E. is a nearly unbroken line of bluffs which the river washes from Port Royal (in Franklin Co., just over the border of St. Louis Co.) to St. Albans. At one place in these rocks is the cave formerly, and perhaps still, known as the Tavern: see L. and C., ed. 1893, p. 8, and Pike's map, place lettered "Cave." The small stream which makes in on the S. W. at St. Albans is still called Tavern cr.; and directly opposite is Murdoch's ldg. The Mo. R. Comm. charts of 1879 mark a place Missouriton on the N. W., 2 m. below Murdoch's ldg. Nicollet's map, pub. 1843, marks Missouriton on the N., slightly _below_ mouth of Femme Osage r., about position of present Hamburg.

[I-12] The "point to the south" which Pike passes I take to be that opp. Cottlebaum's ldg., at the mouth of Ridenour or Fiddle cr., at the head of the difficult place called Devil's Race-ground by Lewis and Clark: see ed. of 1893, p. 8. This is a couple of miles above St. Albans, at the 55th river-mile point of recent surveys. The bluffs continue a mile or so, and then, at the mouth of Labadie's cr. or slough, begins the extensive Labadie's bottom on the S., for the Missouri crosses over to the bluffs on the N., and continues on that side to the town of Augusta, St. Charles Co. Thence the channel runs obliquely by the Augusta and Hinkley bends, between Labadie's and Hancock's bottoms, to the S. side again. Here, at Mung's or South Point isl., is the lower end of the "long reach," N. W., in which Pike says he camped. We set him on the S., at the mouth of Dubois or Wood cr., where there is now a place called South Point. This is directly opposite the line between St. Charles and Warren cos. on the N.; it is about 2 m. below Washington, Franklin Co., and at the 67th mile-point from the mouth of the Missouri. Pike maps the stream in the right place, but by the wrong name of "Ash R."

[I-13] The proper name of the interpreter, whom Pike usually calls "Baroney," was A. F. Baronet Vasquez. He was b. St. Louis, 1783; his wife was Emily Faustine Parent. He was the son of Benito Vasquez (b. 1750) and Julia Papin (married Nov. 27th, 1774), and was the fifth child of 12 they had. He appears in army registers as Barony Vasquez, appointed to be an ensign in the 2nd Infantry Dec. 12th, 1808; transferred to 1st Infantry Oct. 31st, 1810; commissioned as second lieutenant Mar. 4th, 1811; promoted to a first lieutenancy July 30th, 1813; and resigned Oct. 1st, 1814. See also a letter about him in my Memoir of Pike, _anteà_.

[I-14] See note 7, p. 361. La Charette is still the name of the stream, and of the extensive bottom on the N. side through which the river seeks the Missouri. But the settlement once so called is not to be found by this name on modern maps. Instead of this we have Marthasville (3 m. N. of which stands still the house in which Daniel Boone died), a village about a mile from the Missouri, and nearly midway between the points where La Charette cr. and Tuque cr. respectively enter the bottom. Marthasville appears on maps of 50 years ago, as for example, on Nicollet's, 1843. Gass calls the place St. Johns where he camped May 25th, 1804; it then had seven houses: see L. and C., ed. 1893, p. 8. St. Johns is now the name of the largest one of a cluster of islands and sand-bars in an expanded part of the Missouri, between the mouth of La Charette cr. on the N. and of St. Johns or Bourbeuse cr. on the S., 2 m. and more above the town of Washington, Franklin Co. Pike maps "S^t. Johns R." correctly between his "Ash R." (error for Wood or Dubois cr.) and his "Bay R." (error for Boeuf r.). Washington is the most notable place Pike passes to-day; it is now quite a town, large enough to have started a place opposite itself, called North Washington, on Lac's pt. in Warren Co. Here is where, at the 69th river-mile point, a creek falls in on the N.; it is commonly called Tuque cr., though Sheet III. of the Mo. R. Comm. charts has "Duke" as the name. It looks like a French word, but whether it be a personal name, or derived from _Toque_ or _Turque_, does not appear. It is one of two creeks which L. and C. speak of passing on the N., May 25th; the other one of these has never been identified. But there is an old lake bed, or something of the sort, a couple of miles back of North Washington, in Hancock's bottom, under the bluffs, and I imagine this once discharged about opp. Dubois or Wood cr.--say at Rieskamp's place, on the boundary between St. Charles and Warren cos. Tuque cr. itself seems to have had more than one outlet, in the course of the several miles it meanders the low land and separates Hancock's bottom from La Charette.

[I-15] Originally Docs. Nos. 5 and 6, p. 33 and p. 36 of the App. to Pt. 2. They are given beyond.

[I-16] To camp at New Haven, Franklin Co., a considerable town which has grown up of late years at the place formerly known as Miller's ldg., on the S., a little below Pinckney pt. Passing through Charette bend, beyond Patton's pt. and ldg., Pike comes to the mouth of the Rivière au Boeuf of the French, now Boeuf or Buffalo r., which falls in on the S. behind Boeuf, Buffalo, or Shelton's isl., about a mile below Dundee station of the Mo. Pac. R. R. This is the stream by error lettered "Bay R." on Pike's map. On rounding Emily and Miller bends, Pike comes to his camp, say at the 85th river-mile point of late surveys. Here he is 1½ m. below a place which was charted by Nicollet in 1843 as Griswold, and which may be found on maps of but few years ago, but has since disappeared. On the N., opp. Griswold, was a place called Pinckney or Pinckneyville, seat of Warren Co. about 1825, and there is still a hamlet of the same name in the vicinity. The Shepherd r. which the above text mentions falls in about a mile above Griswold and the same below the present R. R. station Etlah. This is Shepherd's cr. of L. and C., ed. 1893, p. 9, but is oftener now called Berger r. or cr. I am told by R. J. Holcombe that the word is not the common F. noun _berger_, a shepherd, but a personal name, probably of the old German pioneer Caspar Burger, a founder of the colony there; if so, it should not have been translated into English. The word is mangled into "Boeger" on the beautiful chart of the Mo. R. Comm. It is a pity that so many cases as bad as this one mar the lettering of such fine draughtsman's work as Mr. D. W. Wellman's. Berger's or Burger's cr. comes into the bottom 2 m. above its mouth, and is there joined by Little Berger's or Burger's cr., which runs about 4½ m. in the bottom before its confluence; the two thus make what is known as Berger's (_i. e._, Burger's) bottom nearly an island, 6 or 7 m. long.

[I-17] On rounding Pinckney pt. through the bend of that name, Pike passes the mouth of Berger's cr., opp. Yeager's ldg., crosses to the N. side of the Missouri, and sails along with Berger's bottom on his left for several miles; he goes by Whitehouse's isl., near which L. and C. were camped May 26th, 1804, and on finishing with Berger's bottom, reaches a place on the N. called Bridgeport. This is pretty old for a Missouri River town; we find it located more than 50 years ago, and it still exists in name, but has never amounted to much. Opp. Bridgeport is Bates' isl., 2 m. long, the largest one of several at the head of Berger's bottom. In the vicinity of Bridgeport several small creeks fall in on the N. Three of these are called Lost cr., Massas (qu. Massey's?) cr., and Malhern (qu. Malheur?) cr. Excepting Lost cr., these fall into Chenal à Loutre or Otter slough; and this snicarty cuts off a very large piece of bottom known as Île à Loutre or Otter isl. L. and C. speak of this as nearly 10 m. long, and say that it was one of the most fertile in the whole river. The details of the river bottom along here seem to have altered a good deal since 1804, and even since Long's time; the upper end of the slough is now a little above Hermann, near McGirk's isl. and ldg., cutting the island down to a total length of not over 7 m. The slough itself is very narrow, and hardly more than a sluggish creek, like a good many others that meander bottoms before they discharge. L. and C. speak of three creeks which fall in behind Otter isl., and one of these as having the same name. This is Rivière à la Loutre of early F. settlers, now Loutre, Louter, or Luter r., and Otter r., very curiously lettered on the Mo. R. Comm. map, as "L'Outre"--a form which only needs an accent to be decidedly _outré_. Pike maps the stream as "Otter Riv." He proceeds by Otter or Loutre Island bend to a mile or so above Hermann, and camps on the S. In finishing the bend just named he passes on the S. the county line between Franklin and Gasconade, which cuts through Bates' isl., and then on the N. the line between Warren and Montgomery cos., which cuts the upper part of Otter isl. at the lower point of Hermann isl., opp. the town of this name. This is now quite a place, and more than 50 years old. It is situated across the mouth of Rivière aux Frênes of the F., commonly called Frene cr. and Ash cr., but uncommonly appearing as "Frame" cr. on the Mo. R. Comm. map. Pike does not map Ash cr., though it is given under this name by L. and C.: for the stream he marks "Ash R." by mistake, see note 12, p. 363.

Loutre isl. is quite historic. A number of Americans and some French families settled there in 1805; first child born was Jacob Grosjean (name corrupted to Groshong); one b. 1806 became the local celebrity known as "old man Patton," living in 1884. Fort Clemson was built by Capt. Clemson about 1808, and maintained till after the war of 1812-15. From 1808 to 1816 there was quite a colony, whence were drawn the settlers for Boone's Lick, Howard Co. On the N. mainland the colonists, when the war broke out, were killed in part, and the rest driven to the island to be "forted up" till the peace. Fort Clemson was a Rangers' hdqrs. in the war, and from this post Capt. James Callaway, grandson of Daniel Boone, set out in March, 1815, on the expedition up Loutre r., during which he and others were killed. Daniel Boone's Spanish grant from Gov. Delassus was about 15 m. up the Loutre, and included a salt spring--the original and only genuine "Boone's Lick"; Boone's adopted son Van Bibber kept a tavern there, where Washington Irving stopped some time in the '30's; it is now reputed a medicinal spring in the little village Mineola, near Danville, seat of Montgomery Co.

[I-18] Passing McGirk's ldg. and isl. N., Cole's or Coles' cr., S., Rineland and Kallmeyer's ldgs., S., to the mouth of the Gasconade, which falls in on the S., opp. Cuyler's pt., 107⅓ m. up the Missouri: see L. and C., ed. 1893, p. 9. This is much the largest tributary of the Missouri thus far reached; Pike elsewhere allows it 200 yards' width at the mouth, and navigability at times of 100 m. He also notes that the Sac boundary started opp. its mouth: see note 14, p. 11. Gasconade City is a place on the tongue of land that makes into the Missouri on the upper side of the Gasconade; being a mere village or hamlet, is as appropriately named as the river itself, which got its name from the way some persons bragged about their exploits when they returned to St. Louis. Beck's Gaz. speaks of pine which was cut and rafted down, but there has been none for 60 years within 150 miles.

[I-19] One of these letters, given beyond, formed No. 7, p. 36, of the App. to Pt. 2. of the orig. ed.

[I-20] Pike's map marks no camp for the 26th. The distance between Gasconade and Osage rivers is exactly 30 m. by the channel. Pike says he goes 15 m. to-day; I doubt that he went so far if he did not leave the Gasconade till 6.30 p. m. But to take the record on its face would be to set him a mile above Fisher's ldg., on the S., in the vicinity of the hamlet called Chamois, in Osage Co. On decamping and ferrying over the Gasconade, Pike first passed the mouth of Bailey's cr. (Deer cr. of L. and C.), on the S., whence the channel took him obliquely to Bluffton on the N., 5 m. above the Gasconade. The bluffs border the river for about 4 m. along here, and at one place in them is the cave which used to be known as Montbrun's Tavern: see L. and C., _l. c._ At 1 or 1½ m. above Bluffton the line between Montgomery and Callaway cos. comes to the Missouri just about opp. the line between Gasconade and Osage cos. on the S.; this last strikes the river-bottom just where Bailey's cr. also does. At 5 m. above Bluffton is Portland, Callaway Co., before reaching which Pike passes Little Tavern and Big Tavern creeks, which are a mile apart, on the N., and both opp. Portland isl., 2 m. long; while a mile above Portland is the mouth of Logan cr. On the S. along here is a creek whose mysteries I have never been able to fathom. This is Rush cr. of L. and C., _l. c._, given by them as 4 m. above Montbrun's Tavern, on the S. It is called Greassy cr. by the Mo. R. Comm., and Greasy cr. by the U. S. G. S.; the latter name is probably correct. It comes into the bottom in the vicinity of Chamois, about the 121st river-mile point, meanders down for several miles, and finally discharges behind Portland isl., somewhere between the 117th and 115th m. of the Mo. R. Comm.

[I-21] To an interesting locality--that of the old French village, Côte sans Dessein, so called from the celebrated long narrow ledge of rocks of the same name immediately above, isolated on the N. bank of the river opposite Dodd's isl. In approaching the Osage, Pike maps two streams from the N., respectively lettered "Gr. R. au vase" and "L. R. au vase." The first of these is Grande Rivière au Vase or Grande Rivière Vaseuse of the F., which appears on the best modern maps as Au Vasse and Auxvasse r.--better talk English than such Missouri French as this, and say Big Muddy r., as L. and C. did! This considerable stream falls in a mile above Harrison's ldg., about 123½ m. by the channel from the mouth of the Missouri. The other is Little Muddy r. of L. and C., who translated Petite Rivière au Vase (or Petite Rivière Vaseuse) better than those do who now style it Au Vasse cr. or Auxvasse cr. This creek joins in the bottom-land another now called Middle r. or cr., and the two fall in together a mile above the village of St. Aubert, Callaway Co. Moreover: between the Big and the Little Muddy there is a third creek, distinct from both the others, falling in 1½ m. _below_ St. Aubert. This is simply called Muddy cr. on the Mo. R. Comm. map; on that of the U. S. G. S. it is lettered Ewing's cr. A branch of this is lettered by the U. S. G. S. East Wing cr.--a name which I suspect originated in mistaking "Ewing" for "E. Wing." On the S. side of the Missouri Pike passes two small streams, both historically notable. The first of these is the one which L. and C. called Grindstone cr., when they camped at its mouth May 30th, 1804; but it is now known as Deer cr. It falls in behind St. Aubert's isl., a mile below St. Aubert station on the Mo. Pac. R. R., or the village now called Medora, 126⅔ m. up the Mo. r. One Carr has or had his home at the mouth of this creek. The other creek is 4¾ m. above Grindstone or Deer cr., and 1¼ m. above Shipley's ldg.; it is the one L. and C. called Bear cr., May 31st, 1804; Pike charted it "Bear R.," and it is now called Bear or Loose cr. I suppose "Loose" cr. to be a loose translation of F. R. à l'Ours or à l'Ourse, according to whether it was a he-bear or a she-bear which the Frenchman who first named the creek killed there. In any event this stream has given name to the village of Loose Creek and to Bear Creek isl., opposite its mouth. Four miles higher on the S., opposite the foot of Dodd's isl., is the village of Dauphine at the place where one Benêt, Bénite, Benoit, Bennet, Bonnet, Bonnot, or Bennight built his mill, 15-20 years ago. Dauphine is almost exactly opposite the site of the old French village above named, which started about 1808 and had a dozen or more families in 1811. There is a sort of settlement in this vicinity immediately at the lower end of the Côte sans Dessein, at one time known as Bennet's ldg.; people named Gray, Crews, and Maddox live or lived there. Behind the Côte are some small lakes or ponds discharging by R. aux Riveaux or Riveaux cr. (as it is called) around the upper end of the Côte, near Dearing's ldg. Hence it is only 1½ m. diagonally across the Missouri to Glenn's ldg. at the mouth of the Osage r. See L. and C., ed. 1893, p. 11.

[I-22] Arising in the Ozark mts. of Kansas, the Osage r. leaves that State and enters Missouri in Vernon Co., which it delimits in part from Bates Co.; traverses St. Clair and continues past the corner where this, Henry, and Benton cos. adjoin; traverses Benton, enters Morgan, forms a part of the boundary between this and Camden, makes a loop through the latter and again separates it for a short space from Morgan, then for a little distance separates Camden from Miller, traverses the latter, enters Cole, and finally runs to the Mo. r. between this last and Osage cos. We shall learn much more of this stream as we follow it up in Pike's wake. There is a village called Osage City at its mouth on the west bank; Pike's camp is also on this side, in Cole Co., past two small tributaries known as Caddy and Sandford's creeks, and not far above Maries r., which comes from Pulaski through Maries (named for two French girls) and Osage cos. to fall in on the E. or right (left hand) bank. A Spanish fort (trading-house) was built about 1795 near the mouth of the Osage.

[I-23] No further indication of camp of 29th, which is also omitted by the draughtsman or engraver from Pike's map; nor is there any notable modern locality along here. But it must be short of where the Osage, after coursing in Cole Co., begins to separate the latter from Osage Co. Nearest present settlements, Babbtown, Osage Co., and St. Thomas, Cole Co.

[I-24] In Cole Co., and a mile or two above Proft's cr.; about 2 m. N. E. of St. Thomas, and 4 m. S. E. of Osage Bluff.

[I-25] Camp a little above Big Tavern cr., from the E., in Miller Co., on whichever side of the river it was pitched. There is no mark on Pike's map for this camp, nor those of Aug. 2d and 3d. The nearest named places to the camp of July 31st and Aug. 1st, and that of Aug. 2d (only 2 m. further), are St. Elizabeth, on Big Tavern cr., and Mary's Home, west of the Osage--both in Miller Co., but both some miles away from the river. On breaking camp this morning, Pike passed on his right the bluffs from which the hamlet of Osage Bluff takes its name; this is about a mile north of the river. He later passed Babruly cr., from the W., whose name is obviously a corruption of Bois Brûlé; then Sugar cr., from the E., and next Little Tavern cr., falling in from the W. a mile or two below Big Tavern cr. There was more than one cave or "tavern" in the bluff near the creek: see figure of one, where the early Osage boatmen used to put up, in the Mo. Geol. Reports.

[I-26] Passing Cub cr., right; Humphrey's and Panther creeks, left; then the present Saline cr., on the right. This is laid down and lettered "Saline R." on Pike's map; but observe that it is _not_ the Saline r. of Aug. 7th: see that date. Above Saline cr. Pike passes Dog cr., left, and then present site of Tuscumbia, seat of Miller Co., on the right; and camps at or near present site of Brockman, on the right, a mile above Bear cr., in the same county.

[I-27] Taking Pike past a place called Bagnell, on the right, just below present Little Gravois cr., in Miller Co., and setting him somewhere about the point on the river where Miller, Morgan, and Camden cos. come together--the latter on the S., the two former on the N. side, as the river is here running E. His camp of Aug. 4th and 5th is marked on his map, on the left, just below the mouth of his Little Gravel r., which he passes on the 6th: see next note.

[I-28] On the right hand as Pike ascends, left bank of the Osage, and rather on the N. than W., as the general course of the river is to the E. The "Gravel" rivers of Pike require attention in identifying them with ours. The Osage is here making an ox-bow bend, which reverses points of the compass so far as a traveler's right and left are concerned. The stream now in question, Gravel r. of the above text, lettered "L. Gravel R." on the map, is that now known as Big Gravois, Gravis, or Gravel cr., running in Morgan Co., with a place called Gladstone near its mouth, one known as Gravois Mills higher up, and some of whose branches are called Indian, Soap, and Mill creeks. Cape Galena is 2½ m. above the mouth of this river. Present Little Gravois cr. is that one with Bagnell just below its mouth; it is laid down by an unlettered trace on Pike's map. The correct form of the word is Gravois, being F. _gravois_, rubbish, rubble, whence "Gravel."

[I-29] _Not_ the Saline r. of Pike's map, which was passed on the 3d. "Saline river" of the present text is a slip of the pen or memory; Pike meant to say Great Gravel r., as correctly laid down by this name on his map on the left or south, being lettered "G. Gravel R." This is not the Great Gravel or Big Gravois cr. of present maps, but the considerable stream now known as Grand Auglaise cr.--a name also perverted from the F. word _glaise_, clay, into Glaize or Wet Glaize cr. It heads in Laclede and Pulaski cos., in close relation with sources of the Gasconade, and runs about N. N. W. through Camden Co. to fall into the Osage from the S., on the right bank of the river, on Pike's left, at or near a place called Blackman's Mills. The Osage is here turning from its E. course to N., whence it soon bends W., then loops N. and again E., where it receives present Big or Pike's Little Gravel r., and completes another ox-bow bend. Camp of the 7th, opposite the notable bluff called "La Belle Roche," is marked on Pike's map, not far above a place now called Damsel, on the other side of the Osage; whence the Yungar is reached for breakfast on the 8th.