Missouri River near Porcupine River — John Ordway: May 5, 1805

proceeded on one hunter who stay[ed] on the S. S. all night came
to us at breakfast time, had killed two buffaloe Calfs which we
took on board, we proceeded on. passed bottoms of timber on
each Side, passed a large handsom plains on the N. S. where we
saw a great nomber of buffaloe and white geese, we halted for to
dine about 2 o. C. on the S. S. at a bottom of timber where we
saw buffaloe and Goats our officers gave the party a half a Gill
of ardent Spirits. Jo. Fields who was taken sick yesterday is some
worse to day. jest as I went [to] set off with the canoe the bank
fell in & all most filled it. we directly took out the Sand & bailed
out the water and proceeded on towards evening Cap* Clark
and Several more of the party killed a verry large bair which the
natives and the french tradors call white but all of the kind that
we have seen is of a light brown only owing to the climate as we
suppose, we shot him as he was Swimming the River.3 the place
where he dyed was Shallow or perhaps he would have Sunk to the
bottom, with the assistance of Several men was got on board a
perogue and took him to the Shore on N. S. and dressed it after
taking the measure of him. he was verry old the tushes most
wore out as well as his claws, the measure of the brown bair is as
follows round the head is 3 feet 5 Inches, do the neck 3 feet
11 Inches do the breast 5 feet 10| Inches, do the middle of
the arm 1 foot 11 Inches, the length from the nose to the extremity
of the hind toe is 8 feet 1 Inches, the length of tallons better
than four feet [inches], we found a cat fish in him which he had
eat. we Camped and rendered out about 6 gallons of the greese
1 Shown on the M. R. C. map as Antelope Creek.
1 In the vicinity of Chelsea, Sheridan County.
3 “it was a most tremendious looking animal and extreemly hard to kill.”
Clark.
208 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS [May 6
of the brown bair. he was judged to weigh about 4 hundred after
[being] dressed, one of the party went out and killed an Elk, and
Saw another brown bair. we Came 16 miles to day before we
killed the brown bair. we Sailed considerable in the course of the
day with an East wind.