11 AprilM9At 7:30, 14 1/2°R [64.6°F, 18.1°C]; at noon, 17°R [70.3°F, 21.3°C].: In the morning, very pleasant weather; slightly overcast sky. Endless forests; behind them are said to be some attractive prairies. Islands, in the upper tips of which much driftwood lies. To the left, limestone hills; to the right, lowland, wildly entangled forests, which are becoming beautifully green here and there. Snags and driftwood in the river. In the morning our wash water was completely brown, as was the drinking water, but this river water is very cool and healthful. Along the bank to the left, the blossoms of dogwood (white) contrast beautifully[Page 2:5] with those of redbud (red). A limestone hill, steeply cut through, borders on an area with a settlement and a creek; this place bears the name Charbonnière, and the inhabitants of St. Louis and vicinity are said to have obtained bituminous coal here. Here the trees were beautifully green; the cattle briskly ran away from the bank. Nice view of the cottonwood strips; they are beautifully green at the tips of their branches. Sandy island with willows to the right; crows and urubus in the air above it.

Before us in the distance, lone white houses on gently sloping hills; this is St. Charles. Brisk, contrary wind. Tip of the island to the right with a large wood deposit; soon a similar island to our left with willows and driftwood. To the right, a channel; behind the islands, [the channel] mouth is completely clogged with driftwood—a remarkable sight! We approach St. Charles, a town of about three hundred houses, where the massive limestone church, with its short steeple, stands out attractively in particular. After breakfast we reach the town. The riverbank, to which we were sailing closely, is steep, 15 to 20 feet high, so that we could see only the spire of the church. This scattered town has a pleasant location. The European fruit trees stood in full bloom. Houses mostly of wood, but some attractive ones of brick. On the elevation behind the town stands a short, old tower; towers like this formerly served to protect towns against the Indians. In St. Louis there are five such old towers. The one here is short and wide. It is 25 miles from St. Charles to the mouth of the Missouri. The town is situated on the northeast bank.

We sail over to the opposite bank and put ashore to take on wood and to wait for Mr. McKenzie and Dougherty, who are to come by land from St. Louis. Here in the woods there are several houses with their fenced-in fields; in their gardens blooms a very pretty Ribes with yellow, fragrant blossoms (Ribes [— —]), which we added to our collection. We immediately undertook a short excursion into the forest, and although we could not go far, we nevertheless found redbud (Cercis), box elder (Acer negundo), plum trees (Prunus [— —]), a short bulbous plant of three leaves with violet-brown flowers,M10And dark mottled leaves. the yellow and a sky-blue viola (Viola [— —]), etc., in bloom. A yellow plant similar to the Ranunculus; a small rose, the small leaves of which were just opening, with round, scattered fruit.

After about two hours, Mr. Chouteau and his ladies took leave of us; the traders fired jubilantly, though only scattered shots. Since the wind was blowing from the other bank, we sailed across the river.

Above St. Charles the bank is covered with cottonwood forest. Here the bank is sandy, and the wind stirs up sand like clouds. Mr. Chouteau walked along the bank to watch us move off. [Presently] the wind became stormlike; one could barely discern the shore because of clouds of sand. To the left, forest permeated with green. Redbud everywhere.

On board we now have Messrs. McKenzie, Dougherty, Sanford, Pilcher, and several employees of the Fur Company, mostly of French descent. Mr. Pilcher is famous because of his long journeys through the Rocky Mountains, to the Columbia, and around the sources of the Missouri. He has very much experience. Sanford is subagent for the Indian nations of the Arikaras, Mandans, Gros Ventres, and Blackfoot. Major Dougherty is in charge of the Pawnees, Otoes, and Omahas, and Major Bean, who will soon come aboard, of the Sioux and Poncas.

[Page 2:6]To the right we see great deposits of driftwood on the sandy shore; farther on, the end of St. Charles Island. Farther on, after about an hour and a half, we have to our right an eddy, which is named “remoux à baguette”; before it, a small run. Here there are limestone rocks again. A lone house on the hill facing the eddy; beyond the eddy, a island sandbar that the wind conceals from us with clouds of sand. The elevations on this side have banks of limestone boulders with dense forest on top of them. We leave the eddy—which seems very insignificant, when one does not see it—to the right and sail along close to the southern bank. During lunch the ship is made fast to the high bank because of the ever-increasing wind. Before us to the right was a beautiful island with tall forest, and before it a border of beautifully green willows. The wind was blowing dust from our bank to such a degree that we could not bear it on this side. Mr. Bodmer returned with butterflies and plants, and since we could not continue all afternoon, he went out again that afternoon with Dreidoppel. They brought back several interesting plants, butterflies, and Picus carolinus.

We halted there until about five o’ clock, then sailed on. The wind remained constantly strong. Shortly before dusk we reach Isle au Bon Homme to the right but run aground and remain there. Shortly afterward we are afloat again and continue. Here the direction of the river is S 2 W. 39 To the right, several sandbars; to the left, also an island on which cottonwoods grow. At dusk we put in for the night. From here to the mouth of the Missouri it is 37 miles.