Missouri River near Vermillion area — Patrick Gass: August 23, 1804

fair wind. ‘The river here becomes more straight than we
had found it for a great distance below. Captain Clarke and
22 GASS’S JOURNAL OF THE
one of the men killed a deer and a buffaloe, and some of the
men were sent to dress and bring the buffaloe to the boat.
We stopped at a prairie on the north side, the largest and
handsomest, which I had seen. Captain Clarke called it Buf-
faloe prairie. The men having returned, we again went on;
but the wind changed and we were obliged to halt for the
present. While we were detained here we salted two barrels
of buffaloe meat. At five in the evening we proceeded some
distance and encamped on the south side.