April 22, 1833

[22 April:] At a quarter to five we left this place; the officers and several other individuals said good-bye to us. Then we navigated barely several thousand paces to the place where wood had been cut for us and loaded it. The hill chain, on which the military post is located, recedes from the river. To the left there are willows and cottonwoods with new foliage; to the right, mountains with very multicolored forest. Farther on, to the right, limestone rocks in the hills alongshore, also individual turrets. Here redbud was blooming; it is also called rosebud or bouton de rose. High up on the Missouri there is an arm of the Yellowstone River so full of redbud that it is called Red-Bud Fork.M1It is incomprehensible that Michaux in his Sylva Americana has forgotten this, the most beautiful of native trees.

Soon an island appears to the left and hills to the right, which are called Wåssóbä-Wakándagä [Bear Medicine] by the Osages and Kansa, according to the landscape. Thus they call [a] place Bear Medicine and then add “hills” or “islands” to [the phrase].M2Bear Medicine Mountain—Páhü-Wassóbä-Wakándagä; Bear Medicine Island—Rumätschi-Wassóbä-Wakándagä; Bear Medicine River—Wålischka-Wassóbä-Wakándagä.

In this region lived the Kansa. They call themselves Kån-sä (‘an’ as in French). Just recently the Kansa living in the vicinity paid a visit to Leavenworth.

In late afternoon we ran into such a large number of snags in the narrows of the river [called] Wåssóbä-Wakándagä that a fortunate outcome seemed problematic. Some snags were cut off under water with the axe; several branches penetrated the ship, which was fastened with ropes and [thereby] gradually forced and wound through [the obstacles]. On the other side, we soon halted for the night.

Date: 
Monday, April 22, 1833
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Cory Taylor (Automatically Generated)
Zachary Joyce