May 2, 1834

The morning [was] very cool; fog on the river. At seven thirty, 49° [9.4°C]. Wind southwest. We sailed past the White River this morning. At ten or eleven o’clock, we saw a muskrat on the bank; Mr. Bodmer went after [it] and shot [it] in the water. The elm trees in the ravines on the riverbank had already formed their seeds. Wind strong—where it did not reach, [the air] was warm. Finally it became so strong that we put ashore, and I [went on] a slow excursion. I saw Picus auratus [and] Fringilla grammacca on the creek, [where there were] some green bushes. On the hills at both sides, Yucca angustifolia were numerous. Their seed capsules were already empty. The plant grows three to four feet high. Old antelope and [other] game trails were often visible. Some plants were blooming, among them the purple papilionaceous flower with narrow, lance-shaped pinnate leaves [and] the pale yellow, tubular-shaped flower with lanceolate leaves. Very large leaves [pads?] of the Cactus ferox grew beside the creek, which was almost dry. Dreidoppel went out after I did and saw a black-tailed deer, which ran out of a ravine. Dauphin saw one antelope and asserted that he had spotted fresh indications of Indians.

The wind became severe and blew out of the southeast hora 8. It dashed the boat so hard against the rocks [on] the riverbank that it started to leak. The [men] tied pieces of tree trunks to [the boat] in order to hold it back from the bank. The wind greatly abated in the evening, but it was too late to continue the journey. The wind rose again in the night, so we still could not depart on

Current Location

Journal Location: Missouri River