Missouri River near Niobrara River — John Ordway: September 4, 1804

eairly, proceeded on passed a Small Creek on S. S. where we took
breakfast found some plumbs & hack burrys &. C. passed a
high yallow red ceeder Clift on the S. S. & above the clift we passed
the m° of a creek called white paint3 C. the wind Shifted to
the South & blew verry hard we hoisted Sail ran verry fast a
Short time Broke our mast, we [the] Sand flew from the Sand
bars verry thick we landed at 12 o. C. to dine at a large bottom
prarie on S. S. opposite to a yallow & blew Clift N. S. we passed
the Mouth of the Big Rapid River4 & ponkias village on S. S.
the water Shoots in to the Missouri verry Swift, & has thrown the
Sand out, which makes a Sand bar & Sholes from the mouth a
considerable distance we Saw 2 Deer, & large flocks of geese up
the m° of this river; we proceeded on passt a handsom Bottom
covered with different kinds of Timber Such as red Ceeder, honey
locas, oak arrowwood Elm, Coffee nut &. C. we Saw an Indian
raft where they had crossed not long before; Drewyer killed one
1 Modern Emanuel Creek, its mouth a mile above Springfield, Bonhomme
County, S. Dak.
2 In Knox County, Nebr., near the 933 mile point of the Missouri as shown
on the M. R. C. map.
3 Modern Bazile Creek, Knox County, Nebr.
4 The Niobrara River; it rises in Wyoming and runs in a general easterly
direction across northern Nebraska.
126 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS [Sept. 5
Turkey & one duck; we Camped on the South Side in a ceeder
Bottom back of which are Steep Cliffs covered with ceeder.
N. B. a Smoke was made to find where Shannon had passed, but
no tracks found.1