May 4, 1834
Misty air, a little wind, no rain. Early [in the morning], on the left side of the river, we saw water streaming over the banks [and] down into the Missouri. [It] came from the flooded prairie and literally formed cascades, [because] the rain had been so heavy in this area. We were stuck for a long time on a sandbar opposite Bijou Hills. At seven thirty, 52°F [11.1°C]. [The boat crew] made up a sail from a skin lodge, since the wind blew favorably out of the northwest hora 8, but [it] abated a little. The prairie here was a fresh, bright green; after the rain [there] were also such spots on the hills—the beautiful young green of May. The hills themselves were very dark in color because of the moisture. A little farther downriver, we saw the first swallows, without doubt Hirundo [——], with a completely whitish belly. The cottonwoods and willows here [were] already completely green. In the afternoon we stopped at Cedar Island and heated some food. The hunters roamed through the rugged, woody island in the meantime. A dark, wild forest of cedars covered [this island]; [there were] dark shadows everywhere. This rugged, beautiful virgin forest is mixed with Prunus padus [and] Celtis; the latter was sprouting, the former had flower buds, [and] the ground [was] green [and] covered with plants, [including] a blanket of Convallaria growing about one foot high. The vines (Vitis) were just coming out, and old fallen trees were covered with moss [and] moldering in this romantic wilderness. [A] mixture of cedars and deciduous trees is very attractive. An agreeable fragrance is spread by the cedars; the red cedar wood scent is [recognizable] and predominates everywhere in the forest. The fruits of these trees lie around everywhere on the ground. At the upper end of this wild island is a solid cottonwood forest (Populus angulata). The fruits of the hops (Humulus) frequently lie around on the ground. In this dark, dreadful forest, where hardly a ray of sun penetrates, we found tracks of elk (Cervus canadensis) and deer (Cervus virginianus) everywhere, crossing in all directions, coming mostly across from the mainland. Below the roots and old [tree] trunks, we found the burrows of the wood rat ([——]) but could not get any, despite all our efforts. The [migrating?] birds had not arrived yet, [and] I found no species other than a few woodpeckers (Picus pubescens) and the little titmouse (Parus atricapillus)—both are sedentary birds of the winter.
After a stop of about an hour, we left beautiful Cedar Island. Close to evening we saw some elk on various islands, and we missed [shooting] one of them that came to the river to drink. In the evening we put in on the left bank. After midnight a severe wind rose.