May 7, 1834
(Today we were exactly two years absent from Neuwied.) We left very early. Melone, Descoteaux, and Fecteau were still drunk, and the trip went badly, as they made much noise. We passed a dangerous turn in the river with a great many snags. Blackbirds [were] on the bank. At seven thirty, 46°F [7.8°C]. Wind northwest hora 8. About eleven o’clock, we passed la rivière à Jacques [James River]. We put in on the right side, because the wind was again very strong, but our position was without any shelter.
There was a lake one mile [away], where Dreidoppel and Dauphin went to look for waterfowl but found nothing except some ducks. In the willows along the Missouri, they roused two deer (Cervus virginianus). I went through the dense thicket [composed] of narrow-leafed willows alternating with bands of roses, far onto the now verdant prairie. I saw a red fox (Canis fulvus) [and several birds:] two or three kinds of swallows (especially the white-bellied [kind]) gliding in small numbers [and] solitary pairs above the plain, and a Cypselus above the hills. In addition, I found a large lark on the prairie, the yellow-headed troupial (Icterus icterocephalus Bonap.), [and] a pair of hawks with white uropygia (F. [——]). In the willows [were] the triple yellow warbler (Sylvia [——]) and Fringilla [——], as well as Picus auratus, Corvus corax and corone; Papilio plexippus and Libellula were flying in the warm upwind.
At the [camp]fire, we had no [discipline]. Most of the men, even the patron, were lying around drunk in the high grass. Melone, formerly a soldier in the service of the United States [and] a native of Liberty on the Missouri, a bad person, [tried] to persuade the others to leave us last night. Because he assumed it [was agreed upon], he made his move [and] carried all his belongings off the boat—it was obvious that he had prepared for this. He had sold his rifle on the steamboat and had traded it for whiskey, several hams, and other provisions. Now he demanded that the others keep their word and abandon us. When he saw that they did not agree, he exhausted himself in abusive speech against them. He finally gave in and asked me for passage, which I categorically refused. He could now carry out his earlier intention to build a boat on his own.
About six o’clock the wind abated somewhat, [and] we continued on, but since the patron was drunk, Dauphin had to take the rudder. Melone stayed behind, alone on the land. Today we made about twelve to fifteen miles more. The region is rather flat but has nice forests on both banks.
When the sun had set, we put ashore on the right bank at a nice, secure place. A narrow band of beautiful, high forest filled the space between the river and the steep, whitish colored clay hills. The red willow (Cornus sericea) shrubs in the underbrush had just begun to bloom. Soon our fires blazed brightly at this pleasant spot, and we walked around with the gun for a while. The finch with the yellow eyebrows and cutaway white throat (Fringilla [——]) was here in numbers, and [there were] fresh tracks of game on the ground in all directions.
At dusk many whippoorwills (Caprimulgus [——]) came [and] deafened our ears with their calls [as they] flew around the fire [at just] three paces away. A few of them were shot. They frequently sat on tree branches. I had not observed [this behavior] in any species of this family, [at least not] to such a degree—it makes them easy to shoot down. Their calls [were] unceasing [and] uttered very rapidly and intensely, one after another. When this bird approaches at dusk, the three large, white tips of the feathers on each side of its tail are especially noticeable. Smoke and flames rose in two places on the bank of the Missouri opposite us, probably started by the people from the Assiniboine. Today we heard our first whippoorwill, [but] from here on downriver they are common, and we heard their calls often.
Our mouse and rat traps were set in vain.