Missouri River Breaks area — John Ordway: May 18, 1805
The party caught a beaver and killed a rattlesnake overnight before setting off at 7 a.m. They traveled through a stretch of steep, mountainous-looking hills crowding the river on both sides, with narrow bottoms sparsely covered in pitch pine, rose bushes, and rabbit berry. They stopped to dine at a timbered bottom teeming with buffalo, elk, and deer, where Captain Clark killed a fat deer and others took elk and beaver. The afternoon turned pleasant and warm. They passed a large creek on the north side, noted the Missouri running clearer over a gravelly bottom, made 19 miles, and camped in a cottonwood bottom on the south side.
party caught a beaver last night, another killed a rattle Snake
this morning at 7 oClock Set off and proceeded on passed
verry high rough hills, which look mountainous and make in to
the River on each Side, the bottoms verry narrow, but little
1 Twenty and one-half miles. The camp was in Dawson County, 48f miles,
according to the leaders’ measurements, below the mouth of Musselshell River.
214 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS [May 19
timber only Spots of pitch pine on Sd hills, the bottoms are gen-
erally covered with rose bush68 & Rabbit berry bushes [two
lines illegible] to dine at a large bottom covered with timber on
N. S. which was filled with buffaloe Elk deer &. C. Cap1 Clark
killed a fat deer, one of the party killed 2 Elk. another killed
a beaver about one oC. P. M. cleared up pleasant, about 2 we
proceeded on passed pitch pine hills on each Side of the River
about 3 oC. we passed a large Creek1 on N. S. & a large timbered
bottom on the S. S. the Missourie is gitting clear and gravelly
bottom, & Shore we passed no falling in banks as we did below
these pitch pine hilly country, a pleasant warm afternoon. Cap*
Clark killed three deer, we came 19 miles to day and Camped in
a Smooth bottom thinly covered with c. w. timber on the South
Side.
Read this entry in modern English AI-translated
The party caught a beaver last night, and another man killed a rattlesnake this morning. At 7 o'clock we set off and proceeded on, passing very high, rough hills which look mountainous and come down to the river on each side. The bottoms are very narrow, with little timber—only patches of pitch pine on the hills. The bottoms are generally covered with rose bushes and rabbit berry bushes [two lines illegible] to dine at a large bottom covered with timber on the north side, which was filled with buffalo, elk, deer, etc. Capt Clark (Capt. Clark) killed a fat deer, one of the party killed two elk, and another killed a beaver.
About one o'clock P.M. it cleared up pleasant, and about 2 we proceeded on, passing pitch pine hills on each side of the river. About 3 o'clock we passed a large creek on the north side and a large timbered bottom on the south side. The Missouri is getting clear, with a gravelly bottom and shore. We passed no falling-in banks as we did below in this pitch pine hilly country. It was a pleasant, warm afternoon. Capt Clark killed three deer. We came 19 miles today and camped in a smooth bottom thinly covered with cottonwood timber on the south side.
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