John Ordway: July 21, 1804

out at Sun rise under a gentle Breese from the South or S. E. We
1 “a little below Nebraska City.” Coues. The Iowa-Missouri boundary
was passed during the day.
2 There are numerous islands in the stretch of the river immediately above
and below Nebraska City. The names given by Ordway do not appear on
modern maps. Nicollet’s map shows Upper and Lower Oven Islands.
3 Two or three miles below the mouth of Weeping Water Creek, in the vicinity
of Nebraska City.
4 Shown on Perrin du Lac’s Carte Du Missouri I’An 1802 as ‘Teau qui pleure”;
on modern maps as Weeping Water Creek.
5 About midway between the northern and southern boundaries of Cass
County, Nebr.
100 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS [July 22
proceded on verry well, passed Several Islands &. C. Some high
lands covered with Timber in this hill is semented rock & lime-
stone some fine Springs &. C. we arived at the mouth of the
platte River1 S. S. about 1 oClock this River Runs out and forms
Several large Sand bars thrown out by their is Some high hand-
some praries about this River, the Piatt River, the Rapidity of
the River Piatt which is much greater than that of the Missouris,
its width at the mouth across the bars is about f of a mile, higher
up we are told by one of our French Rowman that he was 2 years
up or on this River and that it does not rise four feet but Spreads
open 3 miles at Some places, we proceeded on round a large Sand
bar S. S. a hard wind from N. W. we put Relow past the last
mentioned Sand bar we passed a creek on S. S. called pappeo2
R. praries in p* between the Missouris & the Great R. Piatt but
flat Subject to overflow. Some large cotten wood Timber but
thin on the point, we Camped on the South Side of the River, a
prairie on the N. Side of the Missouris the party who were with
the Horses joined us with four Deer.