Near Platte River, Council Bluffs area — John Ordway: July 27, 1804

Horses Swam over the River. We Set out under Sail about one
oClock proceeded on verry well passed along high wood land
on the South Side & praries on the N. Side hills 2 miles back of
those low bottom praries. Shannon killed one Deer today,
towards evening we Saw Sign of Elk on the South Side Cap’
Clark went out to hunt on Shore little above we passed along a
prarie on S. S. We passed many Sand bars, the River verry
crooked, we came about 15 miles & and Camped on the bank of a
high handsome prarie on the S. S.2 Some lofty Cotton wood in
1 Here the party went into camp for several days in order to hold a council
with the Oto Indians on the lower Platte, “to let them know of the Change of
Government the wishes of our government to Cultivate friendship with them,
the Objects of our journy and to present them with a flag and Some Small
presents.” Clark. Clark states that the day’s journey was one of ten miles,
which would place the camp a mile above the old mouth of Mosquito Creek and
fourteen miles below the Union Pacific Railway bridge across the Missouri at
Omaha.
2 On the site of Omaha. Coues mistakenly states that the expedition was
already past the sites of Omaha and Council Bluffs.
102 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS [July 28
Groves along this bank the 2 men which were with the Horses
did not join us to night.