The Lewis and Clark Expedition Across Missouri

The Lewis and Clark Expedition Across Missouri. .

'In the first bend to the left [location of present-day Big Lake State Park is Situated a Butifull and extensive plain, Cover'd with Grass resembling Timothy except the Seed which resembles Flax Seed, this plain also abounds in Grapes of different Kinds. Some nearly Ripe.", William Clark, July 12, 1804

, On its way upriver, the Lewis and Clark Expedition camped two nights - July 11-12, 1804 - on a sand island opposite the mouth of the Big Nemaha River, a short distance south of here. July 12 was a day off the river for the boat crews who had been battling not only the swiftly flowing Missouri River but also heat exhaustion. Capts. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark wanted to take astronomical observations and "rest the men who are much fatigued." Indeed, Sgt. Charles Floyd wrote that "the men is all Sick.", A court-martial that afternoon tried Pvt. Alexander Willard for sleeping on guard duty the night before. Coming up the Missouri, Lewis and Clark had seen signs of Indian war parties crossing the river, so they were on a high state of alert. Sleeping on duty was a serious offense that could have endangered the entire party so Lewis and Clark presided at the court-martial in person. Willard was found guilty of all charges and sentenced to 100 lashes, 25 per day for the next four days., The next morning, July 13, the boats passed the Tarkio River. In the early 1800s, the Tarkio River entered the Missouri much farther downstream than today. The party then worked their way around a bend that is today's Big Lake. Now isolated form the river, it is the largest oxbow lake in Missouri. Adjacent to this bend, Clark observed a "Butifull and extensive plain." This prairie was covered in a grass that resembled timothy and it abounded in nearly ripe grapes of different kinds. Clark killed two nearly grown goslings, and several others were killed or caught on the shore. On July 13, the wind was favorable and the expedition was able to travel under sail for 20.5 miles. This was the longest day of travel on the Missouri leg of the (marker text was cut off), Bountiful Prairies , Two centuries after Lewis and Clark, it is hard for us to imagine wide expanses of prairie and open woodlands in western Missouri. Judging by the descriptions of the journal keepers, the beauty and abundance of these landscapes impressed the Corps of Discovery. Nearing camp on July 4, Capt. William Clark wrote that "the Praree had a most butifull appearance Hills and Valies interspsd with Coops [copses] of Timber gave a pleasing deversity to the Senery." The next day, Clark noted fewer deer: "Elks are plenty about those Praries. Some Buffalow Sign.", Below are quotes from the journals of Clark and others describing the incredibly rich land they saw during the midsummer of 1804: , -"a butifull bottom Plain of about 2000 acres Covered with wild rye and Potatoes, intermix[t with the grass" - July 10, Capt. William Clark , -"we found here wild Rice, strawberry's and Red and white Roses growing along the bank of the River" - July 10, Pvt. Joseph Whitehouse , -"great numbers of Goslins [goslings] on the Banks and on the Ponds near the River" - July 10, Sgt. John Ordway , -"the under groth and vines wer So thick that I could not get thro: with ease" - July 11, Clark , -"In those Small Praries or glades I saw wild Timothey, lambs-quarter, Cuckle burs; and rich weed. On the edges Grows Sumr. [summer] Grapes, Plum's, and Gooseberries" - July 14, Clark