riverscape

While en route to Fort McKenzie on August 7, Maximilian noted in his journal for that day that he had glimpsed what he supposed to be the distant summits of the Rocky Mountains. On September 9, shortly before his departure from the fort, he again reported that he and Bodmer went into the hills above the river "to paint... the Bear's Paw and to make a drawing of the first chain of the Rocky Mountains," actually an isolated uplift known today as the Highwoods.

First Chain of the Rocky Mountains above Fort McKenzie

Bodmer's sketch of the river landscape featuring the figures of bears and wolves devouring the carcass of a bison at the river's edge is presumed from the appearance of high bluffs pictured in the background to have been done at some point above Fort Union en route to Fort McKenzie in the summer of 1833. Such sights were common on the upper Missouri of that day, and Maximilian frequently mentioned in his account the presence of wolves near the buffalo and elk herds above Fort Union.

Landscape with Bears and Wolves

Identified by the letter W at the upper right of the illustration, this watercolor is probably one of a series of views made by Bodmer in the general region of the Mauvaises Terres on August 2 according to Maximilian's journal entry for the day. Throughout this stretch of the Missouri, the travelers observed high summits eroded by water, split by extremes of temperature, and sculpted by the wind into fantastic shapes.

Rock Formations on the Upper Missouri

Beyond Citadel Rock on the afternoon of August 6, Maximilian reported, "We came to a most remarkable place. The strata of sandstone ... run along both banks of the river, which is rather narrow. ... At some distance before us, the eye fell on an apparently narrow gate, the white walls of the two banks approaching so near to each other, that the river seemed to be very contracted between them.

View of the Stone Walls

On August 7 Maximilian's party continued upriver toward Kipps Rapids and other, later-named landmarks such as the Dike and LaBarge Rock, both pictured by Bodmer on the same watercolor sheet. Located approximately six miles above Citadel Rock, LaBarge Rock was named for Joseph LaBarge, a Missouri riverboat captain who came into the region after Bodmer's time. Bodmer's depiction of this landmark is the lower of the two views on this sheet.

Remarkable Elevations on the Banks of the Missouri

Above Fort Union, game became plentiful and hunters from the boat were successful in supplying meat for passengers and crew. On July 10, four days out from Fort Union, buffalo appeared near the river and several were taken. On July 14 near the junction of Porcupine Creek below the mouth of the Milk River, more buffalo approached the banks and a white wolf was reported in the vicinity of the herd. Bodmer subsequently produced a landscape with buffalo grazing on the Missouri bottoms that includes the figure of a white wolf skulking in the lower left foreground.

Landscape with Herd of Buffalo on the Upper Missouri

Shallow water delayed the steamer's progress on May 14 above the mouth of the Niobrara. When the Yellow Stone ran aground on a submerged sandbank, several of its passengers went ashore to stretch their legs and explore the banks. While Bodmer made another of his Missouri River landscapes at this place, Maximilian caught a softshelled turtle and collected a specimen of wild turnip to add to his North American collection

Missouri River landscape

Having gone aground on another sandbank on the afternoon of Mays, the Yellow Stone was again moving upstream on the following morning. On the morning of May 7 it passed within sight of the Blackbird Hills, named for a prominent chief of the Omahas whose grave was located there. According to local legend, the chief had, by his own instructions, been buried in a mound seated upright on a live mule. Bodmer made a watercolor study of the river in this vicinity later reproduced as Vignette XII in the aquatint atlas.

View on the Missouri, Blackbird's Grave

Above Fort Union on July 8, the voyagers passed the mouth of Martha's River, named by Lewis and Clark nearly thirty years before. This day Maximilian noted in his journal that Bodmer made several views of unusual land formations and strangely eroded banks in the vicinity, including a view identified by the letter B in the upper right corner. Similar views made the following day and designated by the letters C, D, and E are found on the same watercolor sheet.

rock formations on the Upper Missouri

Maximilian expressed great admiration for the variously colored strata and eroded rock formations observed along the Missouri embankments below the mouth of the Musselshell River. He remarked in particular about the visual effect of prominent layers of clay and white sandstone outcroppings topped with crumbling brown strata. These he described as resembling "white mountain castles with brownish roofs.... We came closer to the white mountain castles, as we called them.... As soon as one comes closer, the resemblance naturally vanishes; but from Mr.

The White Castles on the Missouri

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