According to Maximilian, the Yellow Stone passed the mouth of the Nemaha River on the morning of April 26, although a dim pencil sketch by Bodmer inscribed as having been made at or near this juncture is dated two days later. Inscriptions on Bodmer's sketches may in some instances have been added later, or Maximilian himself may have been confused.

The Yellow Stone spent the night of May 3 anchored in the river below Bellevue. On the morning of May 4 the steamer departed upriver toward Council Bluffs (not to be confused with the modern city of Council Bluffs, Iowa)-a well-known landmark on the Nebraska side of the river above present Omaha. Despite recent rains the water level was low, and Maximilian reported in his journal entry that the Yellow Stone knocked against several sandbanks lying just beneath the surface.

The Yellow Stone reached the mouth of the Nodaway River on the morning of April 25. Woodcutters landed at Nodaway Island to obtain a supply of fuel, and Bodmer and Maximilian went ashore to gather botanical specimens. They discovered in the forest a pair of abandoned frame shelters that Maximilian surmised had probably been made by the Sauks or Iowas. In describing Nodaway Island, painted by Bodmer this morning, Maximilian wrote that it was "large and beautifully wooded. Before we reached it, we saw on the right ... the loveliest blooming trees, particularly redbuds."

Identified as a distant view of the Indian agency at Bellevue, this sketch is dated May 2, but was probably made around noon on May 3 as the Yellow Stone made its way above the mouth of the Platte toward Dougherty's post.

The morning of April 23 dawned bright and fair, and Bodmer made this sketch of the Missouri River above Fort Leavenworth. Early in the afternoon the steamer reached the mouth of the Independence River. Maximilian wrote in his journal that "the forest was very green here.... To the left from lovely forested banks the Independence River opened up in a highly picturesque fashion into the Missouri."

This undated view of the Missouri is believed to have been made by Bodmer near Fort Leavenworth where the Yellow Stone stopped to take on wood on the afternoon of April 22. Maximilian described Leavenworth as "built for four companies of regular military who are altogether only 120 men strong.... In order to reinforce them, 100 more rangers have been added ... who in emergencies must make raids against the Indians."

The Yellow Stone spent the night of April 19 near Fort Osage and on the following afternoon arrived at Liberty, Missouri, where Major Dougherty took another boat and traveled ahead to Fort Leavenworth. Above the mouth of the Blue Water River, the steamer again ran aground later this afternoon and spent the night at the right bank.

On the afternoon of April 18, the Yellow Stone encountered a stretch of water so densely packed with snags that it could proceed no further under its own power. Maximilian recorded in his journal for this day, "Again we lay still for a long time, fathomed and cut off dangerous trees, then 26 men were put on a sandbank on the left to pull the steamboat." At around two o'clock the,steamer was under way, but again ran aground in less than half an hour on a large sandbank. Here it remained overnight.

Past Tavern Rock on the Missouri on April 12, the Yellow Stone encountered low water and had to be pushed along by poles. At noon a stop was made to take on wood. Bodmer meanwhile continued to make studies of the river. Maximilian spent much of the afternoon engaged in discussions with Major Dougherty relating to the current state of Indian affairs and activities on the upper Missouri. This sketch of the Missouri River above St. Charles is dated April 12.

At half past ten on the morning of April 10, the travelers left St. Louis aboard the American Fur Company steamer Yellow Stone. The next day they arrived at St. Charles, Missouri, approximately twenty-five miles above the mouth of the Missouri River, where Pierre Chouteau and several women passengers disembarked to return by coach to St. Louis. Kenneth McKenzie and Major John Dougherty, Indian agent from Bellevue, came aboard for the next leg of the voyage upriver. Above St. Charles on April 12 the steamer made its way past Bonhomme Isle.