[218]This appears to be an error, reflected in all of Audubon's published works. The Cayenne Tern of Audubon, as described and figured by him, isSterna regia, which has never been known to occur in Labrador. Audubon never knew the Caspian Tern,S. tschegrava, and it is believed that this is the species which he saw in Labrador, and mistook for the Cayenne Tern—as he might easily do. See Coues, Birds of the Northwest, 1874, p. 669, where the case is noted.—E. C.[219]Or Willow Ptarmigan,Lagopus albus—the same that Audubon has already spoken of procuring and drawing; but this is the first mention he makes which enables us to judge which of two species occurring in Labrador he had. The other is the Rock Grouse, or Ptarmigan,L. rupestris.—E. C.[220]This is the bird which Audubon afterward identified withTyrannula richardsoniiof Swainson, Fn., Bor.-Am., ii., 1831, p. 146, pl. 46, lower fig., and published under the name of the Short-legged Pewee or Pewit Fly-catcher,Muscicapa phœbe, in Orn. Biogr., v. p. 299, pl. 434; B. Am., 8vo ed., i. p. 219, pl. 61. The species is now well known as the Western Wood Pewee,Contopus richardsoni; but it has never since Audubon's time been authenticated as a bird of Labrador. Audubon was of course perfectly familiar with the common Wood Pewee,Contopus virens, and with the Pewit Flycatcher,Sayornis phœbe. We can hardly imagine him mistaken regarding the identity of either of these familiar birds; yet there is something about this Labrador record of supposedC. richardsoniiwhich has never been satisfactorily explained.—E. C.[221]Harelda hiemalis, the Old Squaw or Long-Tailed Duck.—E. C.[222]Histrionicus histrionicus, the Harlequin Duck.—E. C.[223]The Washington Eagle, or "Bird of Washington," of Audubon's works, is based upon the young Bald Eagle,Haliaëtus leucocephaluis. The bird here noted may have been either this species, or theAquila chrysaëtus.—E. C.[224]See Episode "A Labrador Squatter."[225]Or Labrador Duck,Camptolæmus labradorius. This is a notable record, considering that the species became extinct about 1875.—E. C.[226]This is the White-winged Coot or Scoter just mentioned above,Œdemia deglandi.—E. C.[227]Brown or Northern Phalarope.[228]The Curlew which occurs in almost incredible numbers in Labrador is the Eskimo,Numenius borealis; the one with the bill about four inches long, also found in that country, but less commonly, is the Hudsonian,N. hudsonicus. See Coues, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci., Philada., 1861, p. 236.—E. C.[229]Pomarine Jager, or Gull-hunter, now calledStercorarius pomarinus.—E. C.[230]A small village on the coast of Labrador, latitude 51°;notthe Bras D'Or of Cape Breton Island.[231]Empetrum nigrum.[232]The Purple or Rock Sandpiper,Tringa (Arquatella) maritima.—E. C.[233]NotEreunetes pusillus, but the Least Sandpiper,Tringa (Actodromas) minutilla, which appears asTringa pusillain Audubon's works.—E. C.[234]This is the bird figured by Audubon asFalco labradoraon folio pl. 196, 8vo pl. 19, but which he afterward considered to be the same as hisF. islandicus. It is now held, however, to represent a dark variety of Gyrfalcon, known asF. gyrfalco obsoletus, confined to Labrador and thence southward in winter to New England and New York.—E. C.[235]Sheep laurel.[236]See Episode, "A Ball in Newfoundland."[237]Dr. George Parkman, of Boston, who was murdered by Professor J. W. Webster in Boston, November 23, 1849.[238]See Episode, "The Bay of Fundy."[239]A fallen tree that rests on the root end at the bottom of a stream or river, and sways up or down with the current.[240]See Episode "Great Pine Swamp."[241]The celebrated taxidermist. Born Sparkhill, New York, July 12, 1812, died at the same place, October, 1879.[242]J. T. Bowen, Lithographer of the Quad. of N.A.[243]Samuel G. Morton, the eminent craniologist.[244]Described and figured under this name by Aud. and Bach., Quad. N. Am. i., 1849, p. 332, pl. 44. This is the commonest Pocket Gopher of the Mississippi basin, now known asGeomys bursarius.—E. C.[245]Aud. and Bach., Quad. N. Am. ii., 1851, p. 132, pl. 68. The plate has three figures. This is the Fox Squirrel with white nose and ears, now commonly calledSciurus niger, after Linnæus, 1758, as based on Catesby's Black Squirrel.S. capistratusis Bosc's name, bestowed in 1802.—E. C.[246]TheEngagésof the South and Southwest corresponded to theCoureurs de Bois, of whom Irving says, in his "Astoria," p. 36: "Originally men who had accompanied the Indians in their hunting expeditions, and made themselves acquainted with remote tracts and tribes.... Many became so accustomed to the Indian mode of living that they lost all relish for civilization, and identified themselves with the savages among whom they dwelt.... They may be said to have sprung up out of the fur trade."[247]One of the oldest settlements in Missouri, on the left bank of the river, still known by the same name, and giving name to St. Charles County, Mo. It was once called Petite Côte, from the range of small hills at the foot of which it is situated. When Lewis and Clark were here, in May, 1804, the town had nearly 100 small wooden houses, including a chapel, and a population of about 450, chiefly of Canadian French origin. See "Lewis and Clark," Coues' ed., 1893, p. 5.—E. C.[248]The species which Audubon described and figured as new under the name ofPelecanus americanus: Ornith. Biogr. iv., 1838, p. 88, pl. 311; Birds of Amer. vii., 1844, p. 20, pl. 422. This isP. erythrorhynchusof Gmelin, 1788, andP. trachyrhynchusof Latham, 1790.—E. C.[249]No other species of Marmot than the common Woodchuck,Arctomys monax, is known to occur in this locality.—E. C.[250]The actual distance of Jefferson City above the mouth of the river is given on the Missouri River Commission map as 145-8/10 miles. The name of the place was once Missouriopolis.—E. C.[251]Turkey-buzzards (Cathartes aura) and Bald Eagles (Haliæëtus leucocephalus).—E. C.[252]What Cormorants these were is somewhat uncertain, as more than one species answering to the indications given may be found in this locality. Probably they werePhalacrocorax dilophus floridanus, first described and figured by Audubon as the Florida Cormorant,P. floridanus: Orn. Biog. iii., 1835, p. 387, pl. 251; B. of Amer. vi., 1843, p. 430, pl. 417. The alternative identification in this case isP. mexicanusof Brandt.—E. C.[253]In present Cooper County, Mo., near the mouth of Mine River. It was named for the celebrated Daniel Boone, who owned an extensive grant of land in this vicinity. Booneville followed upon the earlier settlement at Boone's Lick, or Boone's Salt Works, and in 1819 consisted of eight houses. According to the Missouri River Commission charts, the distance from the mouth of the Missouri River is 197 miles.—E. C.[254]Say, in Long's Exped. i., 1823, p. 115, described from what is now Kansas. This is the well-known Western Fox Squirrel,S. ludovicianusof Custis, in Barton's Med. and Phys. Journ. ii., 1806, p. 43. It has been repeatedly described and figured under other names, as follows:S. subauratus, Aud. and Bach. ii., 1851, p. 67, pl. 58;S. rubicaudatus, Aud. and Bach. ii., 1851, p. 30, pl. 55;S. auduboni, Bach. P.Z.S. 1838, p. 97 (dusky variety); Aud. and Bach. iii., 1854, p. 260, pl. 152, fig. 2;S. occidentalis, Aud. and Bach., Journ. Philada. Acad. viii., 1842, p. 317 (dusky variety);S. sayii, Aud. and Bach. ii., 1851, p. 274, pl. 89. The last is ostensibly based on the species described by Say, whose namemacrourawas preoccupied for a Ceylonese species. The Western Fox Squirrel has also been calledS. rufiventerandS. magnicaudatus, both of which names appear in Harlan's Fauna Americana, 1825, p. 176 and p. 178.—E. C.[255]Audubon underscores "city" as a bit of satire, Glasgow being at that time a mere village or hamlet.—E. C.[256]This is the stream then as now known as Grand River, which at its mouth separates Chariton from Carroll County, Mo. Here is the site of Brunswick, or New Brunswick, which Audubon presently mentions.—E. C.[257]From the French "Mulots," field-mice.[258]P. J. de Smet, the Jesuit priest, well known for his missionary labors among various tribes of Indians in the Rocky Mountains, on the Columbia River, and in other parts of the West. His work entitled "Oregon Missions and Travels over the Rocky Mountains in 1845-46" was published in New York by Edward Dunigan in 1847. On p. 39 this book will be found mention of the journey Father de Smet was taking in 1843, when met by Audubon.—E. C.[259]Captain Clark of the U.S.A.[260]The distance of Independence from the mouth of the Missouri is about 376 miles by the Commission charts. In 1843 this town was still, as it long had been, the principal point of departure from the river on the Santa Fé caravan route. Trains starting hence went through Westport, Mo., and so on into the "Indian Territory."—E. C.[261]This is the bird which Audubon first discovered in Labrador, in 1833, and namedFringilla lincolniiin honor of his young companion, Thomas Lincoln. It is described and figured under that name in Orn. Biogr. ii., 1834, p. 539, pl. 193, and asPeucæa lincolniiin B. of Am. iii., 1841, p. 116, pl. 177, but is now known asMelospiza lincolni. It ranges throughout the greater part of North America.—E. C.[262]Apparently the very first intimation we have of the beautiful Finch which Audubon dedicated to Mr. Harris asFringilla harrisii, as will be seen further on in his journal.The other birds mentioned in the above text were all well-known species in 1843.—E. C.[263]Black Snake Hills (in the vicinity of St. Joseph, Mo.). "On the 24th we saw the chain of the Blacksnake Hills, but we met with so many obstacles in the river that we did not reach them till towards evening. They are moderate eminences, with many singular forms, with an alternation of open green and wooded spots." (Maximilian, Prince of Wied, "Travels in North America," p. 123.)[264]The measurements in pen and ink are marked over the writing of the journal. As already stated, this bird isFringilla harrisii: Aud. B. of Am. vii., 1844, p. 331, pl. 484. It had previously been discovered by Mr. Thomas Nuttall, who ascended the Missouri with Mr. J. K. Townsend in 1834, and named by himF. querulain his Man. Orn. 2d ed. i., 1840, p. 555. Its modern technical name isZonotrichia querula, though it continues to bear the English designation of Harris's Finch.—E. C.[265]That is, the Green-backed or White-bellied Swallow,Hirundo bicolorof Vieillot,Tachycineta bicolorof Cabanis, andIridoprocne bicolorof Coues.—E. C.[266]The surmise proved to be correct; for this is the now well-known Bell's Vireo,Vireo belliiof Audubon: B. of Am. vii., 1844, p. 333, pl. 485.—E. C.[267]No doubt the species named Brewer's Blackbird,Quiscalus breweriiof Audubon, B. of Am. vii., 1844, p. 345, pl. 492, now known asScolecophagus cyanocephalus.—E. C.[268]The Prairie Hare,Lepus virginianusof Richardson, Fauna Boreali-Americana, i., 1829, p. 229, later described asL. campestrisby Bachman, Journ. Philad. Acad. vii., 1837, p. 349, and then described and figured asL. townsendiiby Aud. and Bach., Quad. N.A. i., 1849, p. 25, pl. 3. This is the characteristic species of the Great Plains, where it is commonly called "Jack-rabbit."—E. C.[269]Not a good species, but the dusky variety of the protean Western Fox Squirrel,Sciurus ludovicianus; for which, see a previous note.—E. C.[270]Or Bellevue, in what is now Sarpy County, Neb., on the right bank of the Missouri, a few miles above the mouth of the Platte.—E. C.[271]Vicinity of present Omaha, Neb., and Council Bluffs, Ia., but somewhat above these places. The present Council Bluffs, in Iowa, is considerably below the position of the original Council Bluff of Lewis and Clark, which Audubon presently notices. See "Lewis and Clark," ed. of 1893, p. 66.—E. C.[272]The journals of Captain Joseph A. Sire, from 1841 to 1848, are extant, and at present in the possession of Captain Joseph La Barge, who has permitted them to be examined by Captain Chittenden. The latter informs us of an interesting entry at date of May 10, 1843, regarding the incident of the military inspection of the "Omega" for contraband liquor, of which Audubon speaks. But the inside history of how cleverly Captain Sire outwitted the military does not appear from the following innocent passage: "Mercredi, 10 May. Nous venons trés bien jusqu'aux côtes à Hart, où, à sept heures, nous sommes sommés par un officier de dragons de mettre à terre. Je reçois une note polie du Capt. Burgwin m'informant que son devoir l'oblige de faire visiter le bateau. Aussitôt nous nous mettons à l'ouvrage, et pendant ce temps M. Audubon va faire une visite au Capitaine. Ils reviennent ensemble deux heures après. Je force en quelque sorte l'officier à faire une recherche aussi stricte que possible, mais à la condition qu'il en fera de même avec les autres traiteurs." The two precious hours of Audubon's visit were utilized by the clever captain in so arranging the cargo that no liquor should be found on board by Captain Burgwin.—E. C.[273]John Henry K. Burgwin, cadet at West Point in 1828; in 1843 a captain of the 1st Dragoons. He died Feb. 7, 1847, of wounds received three days before in the assault on Pueblo de Taos, New Mexico.—E. C.[274]The question of the specific identity of the American and European Magpies has been much discussed. Ornithologists now generally compromise the case by considering our bird to be subspecifically distinct, under the name ofPica pica hudsonica.—E. C.[275]No doubt Thomas C. Madison of Virginia, appointed Assist. Surg. U.S.A., Feb. 27, 1840. He served as a surgeon of the Confederacy during our Civil War, and died Nov. 7, 1866.—E. C.[276]Council Bluff, so named by Lewis and Clark on Aug. 3, 1804, on which day they and their followers, with a number of Indians, including six chiefs, held a council here, to make terms with the Ottoe and Missouri Indians. The account of the meeting ends thus: "The incident just related induced us to give to this place the name of the Council-bluff; the situation of it is exceedingly favorable for a fort and trading factory, as the soil is well calculated for bricks, there is an abundance of wood in the neighborhood, and the air is pure and healthy." In a foot-note Dr. Coues says: "It was later the site of Fort Calhoun, in the present Washington Co., Neb. We must also remember, in attempting to fix this spot, how much the Missouri has altered its course since 1804." ("Expedition of Lewis and Clark," 1893, p. 65.)[277]This Wolf is to be distinguished from the Prairie Wolf,Canis latrans, which Audubon has already mentioned. It is the common large Wolf of North America, of which Audubon has much to say in the sequel; and wherever he speaks of "Wolves" without specification, we are to understand that this is the animal meant. It occurs in several different color-variations, from quite blackish through different reddish and brindled grayish shades to nearly white. The variety above mentioned is that named by Dr. Richardsongriseo-albus, commonly known in the West as the Buffalo Wolf and the Timber Wolf. Mr. Thomas Say named one of the dark varietiesCanis nubilusin 1823; and naturalists who consider the American Wolf to be specifically distinct fromCanis lupusof Europe now generally name the brindled varietyC. nubilus griseo-albus.—E. C.[278]Little Sioux River of present geography, in Harrison Co., Iowa: see "Lewis and Clark," ed. of 1893, p. 69.—E. C.[279]Otherwise known as the Mule Deer, from the great size of the ears, and the peculiar shape of the tail, which is white with a black tuft at the tip, and suggests that of the Mule. It is a fine large species, next to the Elk or Wapiti in stature, and first became generally known from the expedition of Lewis and Clark. It is theCervus macrotisof Say, figured and described under this name by Aud. and Bach. Quad. N.A. ii., 1851, p. 206, pl. 78, and commonly called by later naturalistsCariacus macrotis. But its first scientific designation isDamelaphus hemionus, given by C. S. Rafinesque in 1817.—E. C.[280]Wood's Bluff has long ceased to be known by this name, but there is no doubt from what Audubon next says of Blackbird Hill, that the bluff in question is that on the west or right bank of the river, at and near Decatur, Burt Co., Neb.; the line between Burt and Blackbird counties cuts through the bluff, leaving most of it in the latter county. See Lewis and Clark, ed. of 1893, p. 71, date of Aug. 10, 1804, where "a cliff of yellow stone on the left" is mentioned. This is Wood's Bluff; the situation is 750 miles up the river by the Commission Charts.—E. C.[281]Blackbird Hill. "Aug. 11 [1804].... We halted on the south side for the purpose of examining a spot where one of the great chiefs of the Mahas [Omahas], named Blackbird, who died about four years ago, of the smallpox, was buried. A hill of yellow soft sandstone rises from the river in bluffs of various heights, till it ends in a knoll about 300 feet above the water; on the top of this a mound, of twelve feet diameter at the base, and six feet high, is raised over the body of the deceased king, a pole about eight feet high is fixed in the centre, on which we placed a white flag, bordered with red, blue, and white. Blackbird seems to have been a person of great consideration, for ever since his death he has been supplied with provisions, from time to time, by the superstitious regard of the Mahas." ("Expedition of Lewis and Clark," by Elliott Coues, 1893, p. 71.)"The 7th of May (1833) we reached the chain of hills on the left bank; ... these are called Wood's Hills, and do not extend very far. On one of them we saw a small conical mound, which is the grave of the celebrated Omaha chief Washinga-Sabba (the Blackbird). In James' 'Narrative of Major Long's Expedition,' is a circumstantial account of this remarkable and powerful chief, who was a friend to the white man; he contrived, by means of arsenic, to make himself feared and dreaded, and passed for a magician.... An epidemical smallpox carried him off, with a great part of his nation, in 1800, and he was buried, sitting upright, upon a live mule, at the top of a green hill on Wakonda Creek. When dying he gave orders they should bury him on that hill, with his face turned to the country of the whites." ("Travels in North America," Maximilian, Prince of Wied.)Irving, in chap. xvi. of "Astoria," gives a long account of Blackbird, based on Bradbury and Brackenridge, but places his death in 1802, incorrectly; and ends: "The Missouri washes the base of the promontory, and after winding and doubling in many links and mazes, returns to within nine hundred yards of its starting-place; so that for thirty miles the voyager finds himself continually near to this singular promontory, as if spell bound. It was the dying command of Blackbird, that his tomb should be on the summit of this hill, in which he should be interred, seated on his favorite horse, that he might overlook his ancient domain, and behold the backs of the white men as they came up the river to trade with his people."[282]"Aug. 20th, 1804. Here we had the misfortune to lose one of our sergeants, Charles Floyd.... He was buried on the top of the bluff with the honors due to a brave soldier; the place of his interment was marked by a cedar post, on which his name and the day of his death were inscribed." ("Expedition of Lewis and Clark," by Elliott Coues, p. 79.)"On the following day [May 8, 1833] we came to Floyd's grave, where the sergeant of that name was buried by Lewis and Clark. The bank on either side is low. The left is covered with poplars; on the right, behind the wood, rises a hill like the roof of a building, at the top of which Floyd is buried. A short stick marks the place where he is laid, and has often been renewed by travellers, when the fires in the prairie have destroyed it." ("Travels in North America," p. 134, Maximilian, Prince of Wied.)—M. R. A.Floyd's grave became a landmark for many years, and is noticed by most of the travellers who have written of voyaging on the Missouri. In 1857 the river washed away the face of the bluff to such an extent that the remains were exposed. These were gathered and reburied about 200 yards further back on the same bluff. This new grave became obliterated in the course of time, but in 1895 it was rediscovered after careful search. The bones were exhumed by a committee of citizens of Sioux City; and on Aug. 20 of that year, the 91st anniversary of Floyd's death, were reburied in the same spot with imposing ceremonies, attended by a concourse of several hundred persons. A large flat stone slab, with suitable inscription, now marks the spot, and the Floyd Memorial Association, which was formed at the time of the third burial, proposes to erect a monument to Floyd in a park to be established on the bluff.—E. C.[283]Which separates Iowa from South Dakota. Here the Missouri ceases to separate Nebraska from Iowa, and begins to separate Nebraska from South Dakota. Audubon is therefore at the point where these three States come together. He is also just on the edge of Sioux City, Iowa, which extends along the left bank of the Missouri from the vicinity of Floyd's Bluff to the Big Sioux River.—E. C.[284]This is Captain Joseph La Barge, the oldest living pilot on the Missouri, and probably now the sole survivor of the "Omega" voyage of 1843. He was born Oct. 1, 1815, of French parentage, his father having come to St. Louis, Mo., from Canada, and his mother from lower Louisiana. The family has been identified with the navigation of the Western rivers from the beginning of the century, and in 1850 there were seven licensed pilots of that name in the port of St. Louis. Captain Joseph La Barge still lives in St. Louis, at the age of eighty-two, and has a vivid recollection of Audubon's voyage of 1843, some incidents of which he has kindly communicated through Captain H. M. Chittenden, U.S. army.[285]Vermilion is still the name of this river, and also of the town at its mouth which has replaced old Fort Vermilion, and is now the seat of Clay County, South Dakota. On the opposite side of the Missouri is Dixon Co., Nebraska. The stream was once known as Whitestone River, as given in "Lewis and Clark."—E. C.[286]As Audubon thus gently chides the extravagant statements of George Catlin, the well-known painter and panegyrist of the Indian, it may be well to state here that his own account of the putridity of drowned buffalo which the Indians eat with relish is not in the least exaggerated. Mr. Alexander Henry, the fur-trader of the North West Company, while at the Mandans in 1806, noticed the same thing that Audubon narrates, and described it in similar terms.[287]"The Puncas, as they are now universally called, or as some travellers formerly called them, Poncaras, or Poncars, the Pons of the French, were originally a branch of the Omahas, and speak nearly the same language. They have, however, long been separated from them, and dwell on both sides of Running-water River (L'Eau qui Court) and on Punca Creek, which Lewis and Clark call Poncara. They are said to have been brave warriors, but have been greatly reduced by war and the small-pox. According to Dr. Morse's report, they numbered in 1822 1,750 in all; at present the total number is estimated at about 300." ("Travels in North America," Maximilian, Prince of Wied, p. 137.)"Poncar, Poncha, Ponca or Ponka, Punka, Puncah, etc. 'The remnant of a nation once respectable in point of numbers. They formerly [before 1805] resided on a branch of the Red River of Lake Winnipie; being oppressed by the Sioux, they removed to the west side of the Missouri on Poncar River ... and now reside with the Mahas, whose language they speak." ("Lewis and Clark," p. 109, ed. 1893.)[288]Wm. Laidlaw was a member of the Columbia Fur Company at the time of its absorption by the Western Department of the American Fur Company, his service with the latter being mainly at Fort Pierre. With the exception, perhaps, of Kenneth McKenzie, also of the Columbia Fur Company, Laidlaw was the ablest of the Upper Missouri traders.[289]This is Andrew Dripps, one of the early traders, long associated with Lucien Fontenelle, under the firm name of Fontenelle and Dripps, in the Rocky Mountain Fur Trade. In later years he was appointed Indian Agent, and was serving in that capacity during the "Omega" voyage of 1843.—E. C.[290]This is the largest river which enters the Missouri thus far above Big Sioux River, coming from the north through South Dakota. The origin of the name, as given by Audubon, is known to few persons.Jacquesis French for "James," and the stream has oftener been known as James River. Another of its names was Yankton River, derived from that of a tribe of the Sioux. But it is now usually called Dakota River, and will be found by this name on most modern maps.—E. C.[291]It is not difficult to identify these five streams, though only one of them is of considerable size. See "Lewis and Clark," ed. of 1893, pp. 106-108.1st. "Manuel" River is Plum Creek of Lewis and Clark, falling into the Missouri at Springfield, Bonhomme Co., S.D. It is Wananri River of Nicollet and of Warren; to be found on the General Land Office maps as Emanuel Creek, named for Manuel da Lisa, a noted trader on the Missouri in early days.2d. "Basil" River is White Paint Creek of Lewis and Clark, falling in on the Nebraska side, a little below the mouth of the Niobrara, at the 935th mile point of the Missouri. The modern name is variously spelled Bazile, Basille, Bozzie, etc.3d. L'Eau qui Court is of course the well-known Niobrara River.4th. Ponca River falls in a mile or two above the Niobrara, on the same side of the Missouri.5th. Chouteau Creek is present name of the stream next above, on the other side of the Missouri, at the 950th mile point.—E. C.[292]L'Eau qui Court River has been called Rapid River, Spreading Water, Running Water, and Quicourt. "This river rises in the Black Hills, near the sources of Tongue River, and discharges itself into the Missouri about 1,000 miles from its mouth. The mouth is said to be 150 paces broad, and its current very rapid. There are said to be hot springs in this neighborhood, such as are known to exist in several places on the banks of the Missouri." ("Travels in North America," Maximilian, Prince of Wied, p. 141.)[293]"'Cedar' is the name which has been applied by various authors to several different islands, many miles apart, in this portion of the river.... We reached an island extending for two miles in the middle of the river, covered with red cedar, from which it derives its name of Cedar Island." ("Lewis and Clark," ed. of 1893.)"Cedar Island is said to be 1075 miles from the mouth of the Missouri. On the steep banks of this long, narrow island which lies near the southwest bank, there were thickets of poplars, willows, and buffalo-berry; the rest of the island is covered with a dark forest of red cedars, of which we immediately felled a goodly number. The notes of numerous birds were heard in the gloom of the cedar forest, into which no ray of sun could penetrate. Here, too, we found everywhere traces of the elks and stags, and saw where they had rubbed off the bark with their antlers." ("Travels in North America," Maximilian, Prince of Wied, p. 144.)[294]Translating the usual French name (pomme blanche) of thePsoralea esculenta.[295]This is Audubon's first mention of the Western Meadow Lark, which he afterward decided to be a distinct species and namedSturnella neglecta, B. of Am. vii., 1844, p. 339, pl. 487. It is interesting to find him noting the difference in the song from that of the Eastern species before he had had an opportunity of examining the bird itself.—E. C.[296]"Grand Town" is perhaps the large prairie-dog village which once covered several acres on the right bank of the Missouri, in the vicinity of the butte known as the Dome, or Tower, between Yankton and Fort Randall.—E. C.[297]May 24 is the date given by Audubon, B. Amer. viii., p. 338, as that on which Mr. Bell shot the specimen which became type ofEmberiza Le Conteii, figured on plate 488. This bird is nowAmmodramus(Coturniculus)lecontei; it long remained an extreme rarity.—E. C.[298]The common Prairie Hare,Lepus campestris, for which see a previous note.—E. C.[299]La Rivière Blanche of the French, also sometimes called White Earth River, and Mankizitah River; a considerable stream which falls into the right bank of the Missouri in Lyman Co., South Dakota, at the 1056 mile point of the Commission charts.—E. C.[300]So called from its size, in distinction from the Cedar Island already mentioned on p.505. This is Second Cedar Island of Warren's and Nicollet's maps, noticed by Lewis and Clark, Sept. 18, 1804, as "nearly a mile in length and covered with red cedar." It was once the site of an establishment called Fort Recovery. The position is near the 1070th-mile point of the Missouri.—E. C.[301]Audubon probably refers to the brief description in his own Synopsis of 1839, p. 103, a copy of which no doubt accompanied him up the Missouri. He had described and figured what he supposed to beEmberiza pallidain the Orn. Biogr. v., 1839, p. 66, pl. 398, fig. 2; B. Amer. iii., 1841, p. 71, pl. 161, from specimens taken in the Rocky Mts. by J. K. Townsend, June 15, 1834. But this bird was not the truepallidaof Swainson, being that afterwards calledSpizella breweriby Cassin, Pr. Acad. Philad., 1856, p. 40. The truepallidaof Swainson is what Audubon described asEmberiza shattuckii, B. Amer. vii., 1844, p. 347, pl. 493, naming it for Dr. Geo. C. Shattuck, of Boston, one of his Labrador companions. He speaks of it as "abundant throughout the country bordering the upper Missouri;" and all mention in the present Journal of the "Clay-colored Bunting," or "Emberiza pallida," refers to what Audubon later named Shattuck's Bunting—not to what he gives asEmberiza pallidain the Orn. Biog. and Synopsis of 1839; for the latter isSpizella breweri.—E. C.[302]Situated on the right bank of the Missouri, in Presho Co., South Dakota. See "Lewis and Clark," ed. of 1893, p. 127.—E. C.[303]This "cabin on the opposite shore" was somewhere in the vicinity of Rousseau, at or near the mouth of present Little Medicine Creek (formerly East Medicine Knoll River, originally named Reuben's Creek by Lewis and Clark, after Reuben Fields, one of their men).—E. C.[304]Or Antelope Creek, then as now the name of the small stream which falls into the Missouri on the right bank, about 10 miles below the mouth of the Teton. It has also been known as Cabri Creek, Katota Tokah, and High-water Creek, the latter being the designation originally bestowed by Lewis and Clark, Sept. 24, 1804. It runs in Presho Co., S. Dak.—E. C.[305]Theoldfort of this name was three miles above the mouth of the Teton River; this was abandoned, and another fort built, higher up, on the west bank of the Missouri. The Prince of Wied reached this fort on the fifty-first day of his voyage up the Missouri, and Audubon on the thirty-third of his; a gain in time which may possibly be attributed both to better weather and to the improvement in steamboats during ten years. The Prince says: "Fort Pierre is one of the most considerable settlements of the Fur Company on the Missouri, and forms a large quadrangle surrounded by pickets. Seven thousand buffalo skins and other furs were put on board our boat to take to St. Louis.... The leather tents of the Sioux Indians, the most distinguished being that of the old interpreter, Dorion (or Durion), a half Sioux, who is mentioned by many travellers, and resides here with his Indian family. His tent was large, and painted red; at the top of the poles composing the frame, several scalps hung." ("Travels in North America," p. 156, Maximilian, Prince of Wied.)[306]W. G. Bakewell was Audubon's brother-in-law; James Hall, brother of Mrs. John W. Audubon; J. W. H. Page, of New Bedford. Thomas Mayo Brewer, who became a noted ornithologist, edited the 12mo edition of Wilson, wrote Part I. of the "Oölogy of North America," which was published by the Smithsonian Institution in 1857, and was one of the authors of Baird, Brewer, and Ridgway's "History of North American Birds." He died in Boston Jan. 23, 1880, having been born there Nov. 21, 1814. He is notorious for his mistaken zeal in introducing the English Sparrow in this country.—E. C.[307]The Teton, or Bad River, has long ceased to be known as the Little Missouri,—a name now applied to another branch of the Missouri, which falls in from the south much higher up, about 23 miles above present Fort Berthold. Teton River was so named by Lewis and Clark, Sept. 24, 1804, from the tribe of Sioux found at its mouth: see the History of the Expedition, ed. of 1893, p. 131, and compare p. 267. The Indian name was Chicha, Schicha, or Shisha.—E. C.[308]Wilson's Meadow Mouse. This is the name used by Aud. and Bach. Quad. N. Am. i., 1849, p. 341, pl. 45, for theArvicola ripariusof Ord, now known asMicrotus riparius. But the specimen brought to Audubon can only be very doubtfully referred to this species.—E. C.[309]This is spelt thus in the Journal, and also on Tanner's map of 1829: see also Lewis and Clark, ed. of 1893, p. 152. The "Moroe" River of the above text is present Moreau River, falling into the Missouri from the west in Dewey Co., S. Dak. Grand River was also known by its Arikara name, Weterhoo, or Wetarhoo. Rampart River is about two miles above Grand River; it was also called Maropa River.—E. C.
[218]This appears to be an error, reflected in all of Audubon's published works. The Cayenne Tern of Audubon, as described and figured by him, isSterna regia, which has never been known to occur in Labrador. Audubon never knew the Caspian Tern,S. tschegrava, and it is believed that this is the species which he saw in Labrador, and mistook for the Cayenne Tern—as he might easily do. See Coues, Birds of the Northwest, 1874, p. 669, where the case is noted.—E. C.
[219]Or Willow Ptarmigan,Lagopus albus—the same that Audubon has already spoken of procuring and drawing; but this is the first mention he makes which enables us to judge which of two species occurring in Labrador he had. The other is the Rock Grouse, or Ptarmigan,L. rupestris.—E. C.
[220]This is the bird which Audubon afterward identified withTyrannula richardsoniiof Swainson, Fn., Bor.-Am., ii., 1831, p. 146, pl. 46, lower fig., and published under the name of the Short-legged Pewee or Pewit Fly-catcher,Muscicapa phœbe, in Orn. Biogr., v. p. 299, pl. 434; B. Am., 8vo ed., i. p. 219, pl. 61. The species is now well known as the Western Wood Pewee,Contopus richardsoni; but it has never since Audubon's time been authenticated as a bird of Labrador. Audubon was of course perfectly familiar with the common Wood Pewee,Contopus virens, and with the Pewit Flycatcher,Sayornis phœbe. We can hardly imagine him mistaken regarding the identity of either of these familiar birds; yet there is something about this Labrador record of supposedC. richardsoniiwhich has never been satisfactorily explained.—E. C.
[221]Harelda hiemalis, the Old Squaw or Long-Tailed Duck.—E. C.
[222]Histrionicus histrionicus, the Harlequin Duck.—E. C.
[223]The Washington Eagle, or "Bird of Washington," of Audubon's works, is based upon the young Bald Eagle,Haliaëtus leucocephaluis. The bird here noted may have been either this species, or theAquila chrysaëtus.—E. C.
[224]See Episode "A Labrador Squatter."
[225]Or Labrador Duck,Camptolæmus labradorius. This is a notable record, considering that the species became extinct about 1875.—E. C.
[226]This is the White-winged Coot or Scoter just mentioned above,Œdemia deglandi.—E. C.
[227]Brown or Northern Phalarope.
[228]The Curlew which occurs in almost incredible numbers in Labrador is the Eskimo,Numenius borealis; the one with the bill about four inches long, also found in that country, but less commonly, is the Hudsonian,N. hudsonicus. See Coues, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci., Philada., 1861, p. 236.—E. C.
[229]Pomarine Jager, or Gull-hunter, now calledStercorarius pomarinus.—E. C.
[230]A small village on the coast of Labrador, latitude 51°;notthe Bras D'Or of Cape Breton Island.
[231]Empetrum nigrum.
[232]The Purple or Rock Sandpiper,Tringa (Arquatella) maritima.—E. C.
[233]NotEreunetes pusillus, but the Least Sandpiper,Tringa (Actodromas) minutilla, which appears asTringa pusillain Audubon's works.—E. C.
[234]This is the bird figured by Audubon asFalco labradoraon folio pl. 196, 8vo pl. 19, but which he afterward considered to be the same as hisF. islandicus. It is now held, however, to represent a dark variety of Gyrfalcon, known asF. gyrfalco obsoletus, confined to Labrador and thence southward in winter to New England and New York.—E. C.
[235]Sheep laurel.
[236]See Episode, "A Ball in Newfoundland."
[237]Dr. George Parkman, of Boston, who was murdered by Professor J. W. Webster in Boston, November 23, 1849.
[238]See Episode, "The Bay of Fundy."
[239]A fallen tree that rests on the root end at the bottom of a stream or river, and sways up or down with the current.
[240]See Episode "Great Pine Swamp."
[241]The celebrated taxidermist. Born Sparkhill, New York, July 12, 1812, died at the same place, October, 1879.
[242]J. T. Bowen, Lithographer of the Quad. of N.A.
[243]Samuel G. Morton, the eminent craniologist.
[244]Described and figured under this name by Aud. and Bach., Quad. N. Am. i., 1849, p. 332, pl. 44. This is the commonest Pocket Gopher of the Mississippi basin, now known asGeomys bursarius.—E. C.
[245]Aud. and Bach., Quad. N. Am. ii., 1851, p. 132, pl. 68. The plate has three figures. This is the Fox Squirrel with white nose and ears, now commonly calledSciurus niger, after Linnæus, 1758, as based on Catesby's Black Squirrel.S. capistratusis Bosc's name, bestowed in 1802.—E. C.
[246]TheEngagésof the South and Southwest corresponded to theCoureurs de Bois, of whom Irving says, in his "Astoria," p. 36: "Originally men who had accompanied the Indians in their hunting expeditions, and made themselves acquainted with remote tracts and tribes.... Many became so accustomed to the Indian mode of living that they lost all relish for civilization, and identified themselves with the savages among whom they dwelt.... They may be said to have sprung up out of the fur trade."
[247]One of the oldest settlements in Missouri, on the left bank of the river, still known by the same name, and giving name to St. Charles County, Mo. It was once called Petite Côte, from the range of small hills at the foot of which it is situated. When Lewis and Clark were here, in May, 1804, the town had nearly 100 small wooden houses, including a chapel, and a population of about 450, chiefly of Canadian French origin. See "Lewis and Clark," Coues' ed., 1893, p. 5.—E. C.
[248]The species which Audubon described and figured as new under the name ofPelecanus americanus: Ornith. Biogr. iv., 1838, p. 88, pl. 311; Birds of Amer. vii., 1844, p. 20, pl. 422. This isP. erythrorhynchusof Gmelin, 1788, andP. trachyrhynchusof Latham, 1790.—E. C.
[249]No other species of Marmot than the common Woodchuck,Arctomys monax, is known to occur in this locality.—E. C.
[250]The actual distance of Jefferson City above the mouth of the river is given on the Missouri River Commission map as 145-8/10 miles. The name of the place was once Missouriopolis.—E. C.
[251]Turkey-buzzards (Cathartes aura) and Bald Eagles (Haliæëtus leucocephalus).—E. C.
[252]What Cormorants these were is somewhat uncertain, as more than one species answering to the indications given may be found in this locality. Probably they werePhalacrocorax dilophus floridanus, first described and figured by Audubon as the Florida Cormorant,P. floridanus: Orn. Biog. iii., 1835, p. 387, pl. 251; B. of Amer. vi., 1843, p. 430, pl. 417. The alternative identification in this case isP. mexicanusof Brandt.—E. C.
[253]In present Cooper County, Mo., near the mouth of Mine River. It was named for the celebrated Daniel Boone, who owned an extensive grant of land in this vicinity. Booneville followed upon the earlier settlement at Boone's Lick, or Boone's Salt Works, and in 1819 consisted of eight houses. According to the Missouri River Commission charts, the distance from the mouth of the Missouri River is 197 miles.—E. C.
[254]Say, in Long's Exped. i., 1823, p. 115, described from what is now Kansas. This is the well-known Western Fox Squirrel,S. ludovicianusof Custis, in Barton's Med. and Phys. Journ. ii., 1806, p. 43. It has been repeatedly described and figured under other names, as follows:S. subauratus, Aud. and Bach. ii., 1851, p. 67, pl. 58;S. rubicaudatus, Aud. and Bach. ii., 1851, p. 30, pl. 55;S. auduboni, Bach. P.Z.S. 1838, p. 97 (dusky variety); Aud. and Bach. iii., 1854, p. 260, pl. 152, fig. 2;S. occidentalis, Aud. and Bach., Journ. Philada. Acad. viii., 1842, p. 317 (dusky variety);S. sayii, Aud. and Bach. ii., 1851, p. 274, pl. 89. The last is ostensibly based on the species described by Say, whose namemacrourawas preoccupied for a Ceylonese species. The Western Fox Squirrel has also been calledS. rufiventerandS. magnicaudatus, both of which names appear in Harlan's Fauna Americana, 1825, p. 176 and p. 178.—E. C.
[255]Audubon underscores "city" as a bit of satire, Glasgow being at that time a mere village or hamlet.—E. C.
[256]This is the stream then as now known as Grand River, which at its mouth separates Chariton from Carroll County, Mo. Here is the site of Brunswick, or New Brunswick, which Audubon presently mentions.—E. C.
[257]From the French "Mulots," field-mice.
[258]P. J. de Smet, the Jesuit priest, well known for his missionary labors among various tribes of Indians in the Rocky Mountains, on the Columbia River, and in other parts of the West. His work entitled "Oregon Missions and Travels over the Rocky Mountains in 1845-46" was published in New York by Edward Dunigan in 1847. On p. 39 this book will be found mention of the journey Father de Smet was taking in 1843, when met by Audubon.—E. C.
[259]Captain Clark of the U.S.A.
[260]The distance of Independence from the mouth of the Missouri is about 376 miles by the Commission charts. In 1843 this town was still, as it long had been, the principal point of departure from the river on the Santa Fé caravan route. Trains starting hence went through Westport, Mo., and so on into the "Indian Territory."—E. C.
[261]This is the bird which Audubon first discovered in Labrador, in 1833, and namedFringilla lincolniiin honor of his young companion, Thomas Lincoln. It is described and figured under that name in Orn. Biogr. ii., 1834, p. 539, pl. 193, and asPeucæa lincolniiin B. of Am. iii., 1841, p. 116, pl. 177, but is now known asMelospiza lincolni. It ranges throughout the greater part of North America.—E. C.
[262]Apparently the very first intimation we have of the beautiful Finch which Audubon dedicated to Mr. Harris asFringilla harrisii, as will be seen further on in his journal.
The other birds mentioned in the above text were all well-known species in 1843.—E. C.
[263]Black Snake Hills (in the vicinity of St. Joseph, Mo.). "On the 24th we saw the chain of the Blacksnake Hills, but we met with so many obstacles in the river that we did not reach them till towards evening. They are moderate eminences, with many singular forms, with an alternation of open green and wooded spots." (Maximilian, Prince of Wied, "Travels in North America," p. 123.)
[264]The measurements in pen and ink are marked over the writing of the journal. As already stated, this bird isFringilla harrisii: Aud. B. of Am. vii., 1844, p. 331, pl. 484. It had previously been discovered by Mr. Thomas Nuttall, who ascended the Missouri with Mr. J. K. Townsend in 1834, and named by himF. querulain his Man. Orn. 2d ed. i., 1840, p. 555. Its modern technical name isZonotrichia querula, though it continues to bear the English designation of Harris's Finch.—E. C.
[265]That is, the Green-backed or White-bellied Swallow,Hirundo bicolorof Vieillot,Tachycineta bicolorof Cabanis, andIridoprocne bicolorof Coues.—E. C.
[266]The surmise proved to be correct; for this is the now well-known Bell's Vireo,Vireo belliiof Audubon: B. of Am. vii., 1844, p. 333, pl. 485.—E. C.
[267]No doubt the species named Brewer's Blackbird,Quiscalus breweriiof Audubon, B. of Am. vii., 1844, p. 345, pl. 492, now known asScolecophagus cyanocephalus.—E. C.
[268]The Prairie Hare,Lepus virginianusof Richardson, Fauna Boreali-Americana, i., 1829, p. 229, later described asL. campestrisby Bachman, Journ. Philad. Acad. vii., 1837, p. 349, and then described and figured asL. townsendiiby Aud. and Bach., Quad. N.A. i., 1849, p. 25, pl. 3. This is the characteristic species of the Great Plains, where it is commonly called "Jack-rabbit."—E. C.
[269]Not a good species, but the dusky variety of the protean Western Fox Squirrel,Sciurus ludovicianus; for which, see a previous note.—E. C.
[270]Or Bellevue, in what is now Sarpy County, Neb., on the right bank of the Missouri, a few miles above the mouth of the Platte.—E. C.
[271]Vicinity of present Omaha, Neb., and Council Bluffs, Ia., but somewhat above these places. The present Council Bluffs, in Iowa, is considerably below the position of the original Council Bluff of Lewis and Clark, which Audubon presently notices. See "Lewis and Clark," ed. of 1893, p. 66.—E. C.
[272]The journals of Captain Joseph A. Sire, from 1841 to 1848, are extant, and at present in the possession of Captain Joseph La Barge, who has permitted them to be examined by Captain Chittenden. The latter informs us of an interesting entry at date of May 10, 1843, regarding the incident of the military inspection of the "Omega" for contraband liquor, of which Audubon speaks. But the inside history of how cleverly Captain Sire outwitted the military does not appear from the following innocent passage: "Mercredi, 10 May. Nous venons trés bien jusqu'aux côtes à Hart, où, à sept heures, nous sommes sommés par un officier de dragons de mettre à terre. Je reçois une note polie du Capt. Burgwin m'informant que son devoir l'oblige de faire visiter le bateau. Aussitôt nous nous mettons à l'ouvrage, et pendant ce temps M. Audubon va faire une visite au Capitaine. Ils reviennent ensemble deux heures après. Je force en quelque sorte l'officier à faire une recherche aussi stricte que possible, mais à la condition qu'il en fera de même avec les autres traiteurs." The two precious hours of Audubon's visit were utilized by the clever captain in so arranging the cargo that no liquor should be found on board by Captain Burgwin.—E. C.
[273]John Henry K. Burgwin, cadet at West Point in 1828; in 1843 a captain of the 1st Dragoons. He died Feb. 7, 1847, of wounds received three days before in the assault on Pueblo de Taos, New Mexico.—E. C.
[274]The question of the specific identity of the American and European Magpies has been much discussed. Ornithologists now generally compromise the case by considering our bird to be subspecifically distinct, under the name ofPica pica hudsonica.—E. C.
[275]No doubt Thomas C. Madison of Virginia, appointed Assist. Surg. U.S.A., Feb. 27, 1840. He served as a surgeon of the Confederacy during our Civil War, and died Nov. 7, 1866.—E. C.
[276]Council Bluff, so named by Lewis and Clark on Aug. 3, 1804, on which day they and their followers, with a number of Indians, including six chiefs, held a council here, to make terms with the Ottoe and Missouri Indians. The account of the meeting ends thus: "The incident just related induced us to give to this place the name of the Council-bluff; the situation of it is exceedingly favorable for a fort and trading factory, as the soil is well calculated for bricks, there is an abundance of wood in the neighborhood, and the air is pure and healthy." In a foot-note Dr. Coues says: "It was later the site of Fort Calhoun, in the present Washington Co., Neb. We must also remember, in attempting to fix this spot, how much the Missouri has altered its course since 1804." ("Expedition of Lewis and Clark," 1893, p. 65.)
[277]This Wolf is to be distinguished from the Prairie Wolf,Canis latrans, which Audubon has already mentioned. It is the common large Wolf of North America, of which Audubon has much to say in the sequel; and wherever he speaks of "Wolves" without specification, we are to understand that this is the animal meant. It occurs in several different color-variations, from quite blackish through different reddish and brindled grayish shades to nearly white. The variety above mentioned is that named by Dr. Richardsongriseo-albus, commonly known in the West as the Buffalo Wolf and the Timber Wolf. Mr. Thomas Say named one of the dark varietiesCanis nubilusin 1823; and naturalists who consider the American Wolf to be specifically distinct fromCanis lupusof Europe now generally name the brindled varietyC. nubilus griseo-albus.—E. C.
[278]Little Sioux River of present geography, in Harrison Co., Iowa: see "Lewis and Clark," ed. of 1893, p. 69.—E. C.
[279]Otherwise known as the Mule Deer, from the great size of the ears, and the peculiar shape of the tail, which is white with a black tuft at the tip, and suggests that of the Mule. It is a fine large species, next to the Elk or Wapiti in stature, and first became generally known from the expedition of Lewis and Clark. It is theCervus macrotisof Say, figured and described under this name by Aud. and Bach. Quad. N.A. ii., 1851, p. 206, pl. 78, and commonly called by later naturalistsCariacus macrotis. But its first scientific designation isDamelaphus hemionus, given by C. S. Rafinesque in 1817.—E. C.
[280]Wood's Bluff has long ceased to be known by this name, but there is no doubt from what Audubon next says of Blackbird Hill, that the bluff in question is that on the west or right bank of the river, at and near Decatur, Burt Co., Neb.; the line between Burt and Blackbird counties cuts through the bluff, leaving most of it in the latter county. See Lewis and Clark, ed. of 1893, p. 71, date of Aug. 10, 1804, where "a cliff of yellow stone on the left" is mentioned. This is Wood's Bluff; the situation is 750 miles up the river by the Commission Charts.—E. C.
[281]Blackbird Hill. "Aug. 11 [1804].... We halted on the south side for the purpose of examining a spot where one of the great chiefs of the Mahas [Omahas], named Blackbird, who died about four years ago, of the smallpox, was buried. A hill of yellow soft sandstone rises from the river in bluffs of various heights, till it ends in a knoll about 300 feet above the water; on the top of this a mound, of twelve feet diameter at the base, and six feet high, is raised over the body of the deceased king, a pole about eight feet high is fixed in the centre, on which we placed a white flag, bordered with red, blue, and white. Blackbird seems to have been a person of great consideration, for ever since his death he has been supplied with provisions, from time to time, by the superstitious regard of the Mahas." ("Expedition of Lewis and Clark," by Elliott Coues, 1893, p. 71.)
"The 7th of May (1833) we reached the chain of hills on the left bank; ... these are called Wood's Hills, and do not extend very far. On one of them we saw a small conical mound, which is the grave of the celebrated Omaha chief Washinga-Sabba (the Blackbird). In James' 'Narrative of Major Long's Expedition,' is a circumstantial account of this remarkable and powerful chief, who was a friend to the white man; he contrived, by means of arsenic, to make himself feared and dreaded, and passed for a magician.... An epidemical smallpox carried him off, with a great part of his nation, in 1800, and he was buried, sitting upright, upon a live mule, at the top of a green hill on Wakonda Creek. When dying he gave orders they should bury him on that hill, with his face turned to the country of the whites." ("Travels in North America," Maximilian, Prince of Wied.)
Irving, in chap. xvi. of "Astoria," gives a long account of Blackbird, based on Bradbury and Brackenridge, but places his death in 1802, incorrectly; and ends: "The Missouri washes the base of the promontory, and after winding and doubling in many links and mazes, returns to within nine hundred yards of its starting-place; so that for thirty miles the voyager finds himself continually near to this singular promontory, as if spell bound. It was the dying command of Blackbird, that his tomb should be on the summit of this hill, in which he should be interred, seated on his favorite horse, that he might overlook his ancient domain, and behold the backs of the white men as they came up the river to trade with his people."
[282]"Aug. 20th, 1804. Here we had the misfortune to lose one of our sergeants, Charles Floyd.... He was buried on the top of the bluff with the honors due to a brave soldier; the place of his interment was marked by a cedar post, on which his name and the day of his death were inscribed." ("Expedition of Lewis and Clark," by Elliott Coues, p. 79.)
"On the following day [May 8, 1833] we came to Floyd's grave, where the sergeant of that name was buried by Lewis and Clark. The bank on either side is low. The left is covered with poplars; on the right, behind the wood, rises a hill like the roof of a building, at the top of which Floyd is buried. A short stick marks the place where he is laid, and has often been renewed by travellers, when the fires in the prairie have destroyed it." ("Travels in North America," p. 134, Maximilian, Prince of Wied.)—M. R. A.
Floyd's grave became a landmark for many years, and is noticed by most of the travellers who have written of voyaging on the Missouri. In 1857 the river washed away the face of the bluff to such an extent that the remains were exposed. These were gathered and reburied about 200 yards further back on the same bluff. This new grave became obliterated in the course of time, but in 1895 it was rediscovered after careful search. The bones were exhumed by a committee of citizens of Sioux City; and on Aug. 20 of that year, the 91st anniversary of Floyd's death, were reburied in the same spot with imposing ceremonies, attended by a concourse of several hundred persons. A large flat stone slab, with suitable inscription, now marks the spot, and the Floyd Memorial Association, which was formed at the time of the third burial, proposes to erect a monument to Floyd in a park to be established on the bluff.—E. C.
[283]Which separates Iowa from South Dakota. Here the Missouri ceases to separate Nebraska from Iowa, and begins to separate Nebraska from South Dakota. Audubon is therefore at the point where these three States come together. He is also just on the edge of Sioux City, Iowa, which extends along the left bank of the Missouri from the vicinity of Floyd's Bluff to the Big Sioux River.—E. C.
[284]This is Captain Joseph La Barge, the oldest living pilot on the Missouri, and probably now the sole survivor of the "Omega" voyage of 1843. He was born Oct. 1, 1815, of French parentage, his father having come to St. Louis, Mo., from Canada, and his mother from lower Louisiana. The family has been identified with the navigation of the Western rivers from the beginning of the century, and in 1850 there were seven licensed pilots of that name in the port of St. Louis. Captain Joseph La Barge still lives in St. Louis, at the age of eighty-two, and has a vivid recollection of Audubon's voyage of 1843, some incidents of which he has kindly communicated through Captain H. M. Chittenden, U.S. army.
[285]Vermilion is still the name of this river, and also of the town at its mouth which has replaced old Fort Vermilion, and is now the seat of Clay County, South Dakota. On the opposite side of the Missouri is Dixon Co., Nebraska. The stream was once known as Whitestone River, as given in "Lewis and Clark."—E. C.
[286]As Audubon thus gently chides the extravagant statements of George Catlin, the well-known painter and panegyrist of the Indian, it may be well to state here that his own account of the putridity of drowned buffalo which the Indians eat with relish is not in the least exaggerated. Mr. Alexander Henry, the fur-trader of the North West Company, while at the Mandans in 1806, noticed the same thing that Audubon narrates, and described it in similar terms.
[287]"The Puncas, as they are now universally called, or as some travellers formerly called them, Poncaras, or Poncars, the Pons of the French, were originally a branch of the Omahas, and speak nearly the same language. They have, however, long been separated from them, and dwell on both sides of Running-water River (L'Eau qui Court) and on Punca Creek, which Lewis and Clark call Poncara. They are said to have been brave warriors, but have been greatly reduced by war and the small-pox. According to Dr. Morse's report, they numbered in 1822 1,750 in all; at present the total number is estimated at about 300." ("Travels in North America," Maximilian, Prince of Wied, p. 137.)
"Poncar, Poncha, Ponca or Ponka, Punka, Puncah, etc. 'The remnant of a nation once respectable in point of numbers. They formerly [before 1805] resided on a branch of the Red River of Lake Winnipie; being oppressed by the Sioux, they removed to the west side of the Missouri on Poncar River ... and now reside with the Mahas, whose language they speak." ("Lewis and Clark," p. 109, ed. 1893.)
[288]Wm. Laidlaw was a member of the Columbia Fur Company at the time of its absorption by the Western Department of the American Fur Company, his service with the latter being mainly at Fort Pierre. With the exception, perhaps, of Kenneth McKenzie, also of the Columbia Fur Company, Laidlaw was the ablest of the Upper Missouri traders.
[289]This is Andrew Dripps, one of the early traders, long associated with Lucien Fontenelle, under the firm name of Fontenelle and Dripps, in the Rocky Mountain Fur Trade. In later years he was appointed Indian Agent, and was serving in that capacity during the "Omega" voyage of 1843.—E. C.
[290]This is the largest river which enters the Missouri thus far above Big Sioux River, coming from the north through South Dakota. The origin of the name, as given by Audubon, is known to few persons.Jacquesis French for "James," and the stream has oftener been known as James River. Another of its names was Yankton River, derived from that of a tribe of the Sioux. But it is now usually called Dakota River, and will be found by this name on most modern maps.—E. C.
[291]It is not difficult to identify these five streams, though only one of them is of considerable size. See "Lewis and Clark," ed. of 1893, pp. 106-108.
1st. "Manuel" River is Plum Creek of Lewis and Clark, falling into the Missouri at Springfield, Bonhomme Co., S.D. It is Wananri River of Nicollet and of Warren; to be found on the General Land Office maps as Emanuel Creek, named for Manuel da Lisa, a noted trader on the Missouri in early days.
2d. "Basil" River is White Paint Creek of Lewis and Clark, falling in on the Nebraska side, a little below the mouth of the Niobrara, at the 935th mile point of the Missouri. The modern name is variously spelled Bazile, Basille, Bozzie, etc.
3d. L'Eau qui Court is of course the well-known Niobrara River.
4th. Ponca River falls in a mile or two above the Niobrara, on the same side of the Missouri.
5th. Chouteau Creek is present name of the stream next above, on the other side of the Missouri, at the 950th mile point.—E. C.
[292]L'Eau qui Court River has been called Rapid River, Spreading Water, Running Water, and Quicourt. "This river rises in the Black Hills, near the sources of Tongue River, and discharges itself into the Missouri about 1,000 miles from its mouth. The mouth is said to be 150 paces broad, and its current very rapid. There are said to be hot springs in this neighborhood, such as are known to exist in several places on the banks of the Missouri." ("Travels in North America," Maximilian, Prince of Wied, p. 141.)
[293]"'Cedar' is the name which has been applied by various authors to several different islands, many miles apart, in this portion of the river.... We reached an island extending for two miles in the middle of the river, covered with red cedar, from which it derives its name of Cedar Island." ("Lewis and Clark," ed. of 1893.)
"Cedar Island is said to be 1075 miles from the mouth of the Missouri. On the steep banks of this long, narrow island which lies near the southwest bank, there were thickets of poplars, willows, and buffalo-berry; the rest of the island is covered with a dark forest of red cedars, of which we immediately felled a goodly number. The notes of numerous birds were heard in the gloom of the cedar forest, into which no ray of sun could penetrate. Here, too, we found everywhere traces of the elks and stags, and saw where they had rubbed off the bark with their antlers." ("Travels in North America," Maximilian, Prince of Wied, p. 144.)
[294]Translating the usual French name (pomme blanche) of thePsoralea esculenta.
[295]This is Audubon's first mention of the Western Meadow Lark, which he afterward decided to be a distinct species and namedSturnella neglecta, B. of Am. vii., 1844, p. 339, pl. 487. It is interesting to find him noting the difference in the song from that of the Eastern species before he had had an opportunity of examining the bird itself.—E. C.
[296]"Grand Town" is perhaps the large prairie-dog village which once covered several acres on the right bank of the Missouri, in the vicinity of the butte known as the Dome, or Tower, between Yankton and Fort Randall.—E. C.
[297]May 24 is the date given by Audubon, B. Amer. viii., p. 338, as that on which Mr. Bell shot the specimen which became type ofEmberiza Le Conteii, figured on plate 488. This bird is nowAmmodramus(Coturniculus)lecontei; it long remained an extreme rarity.—E. C.
[298]The common Prairie Hare,Lepus campestris, for which see a previous note.—E. C.
[299]La Rivière Blanche of the French, also sometimes called White Earth River, and Mankizitah River; a considerable stream which falls into the right bank of the Missouri in Lyman Co., South Dakota, at the 1056 mile point of the Commission charts.—E. C.
[300]So called from its size, in distinction from the Cedar Island already mentioned on p.505. This is Second Cedar Island of Warren's and Nicollet's maps, noticed by Lewis and Clark, Sept. 18, 1804, as "nearly a mile in length and covered with red cedar." It was once the site of an establishment called Fort Recovery. The position is near the 1070th-mile point of the Missouri.—E. C.
[301]Audubon probably refers to the brief description in his own Synopsis of 1839, p. 103, a copy of which no doubt accompanied him up the Missouri. He had described and figured what he supposed to beEmberiza pallidain the Orn. Biogr. v., 1839, p. 66, pl. 398, fig. 2; B. Amer. iii., 1841, p. 71, pl. 161, from specimens taken in the Rocky Mts. by J. K. Townsend, June 15, 1834. But this bird was not the truepallidaof Swainson, being that afterwards calledSpizella breweriby Cassin, Pr. Acad. Philad., 1856, p. 40. The truepallidaof Swainson is what Audubon described asEmberiza shattuckii, B. Amer. vii., 1844, p. 347, pl. 493, naming it for Dr. Geo. C. Shattuck, of Boston, one of his Labrador companions. He speaks of it as "abundant throughout the country bordering the upper Missouri;" and all mention in the present Journal of the "Clay-colored Bunting," or "Emberiza pallida," refers to what Audubon later named Shattuck's Bunting—not to what he gives asEmberiza pallidain the Orn. Biog. and Synopsis of 1839; for the latter isSpizella breweri.—E. C.
[302]Situated on the right bank of the Missouri, in Presho Co., South Dakota. See "Lewis and Clark," ed. of 1893, p. 127.—E. C.
[303]This "cabin on the opposite shore" was somewhere in the vicinity of Rousseau, at or near the mouth of present Little Medicine Creek (formerly East Medicine Knoll River, originally named Reuben's Creek by Lewis and Clark, after Reuben Fields, one of their men).—E. C.
[304]Or Antelope Creek, then as now the name of the small stream which falls into the Missouri on the right bank, about 10 miles below the mouth of the Teton. It has also been known as Cabri Creek, Katota Tokah, and High-water Creek, the latter being the designation originally bestowed by Lewis and Clark, Sept. 24, 1804. It runs in Presho Co., S. Dak.—E. C.
[305]Theoldfort of this name was three miles above the mouth of the Teton River; this was abandoned, and another fort built, higher up, on the west bank of the Missouri. The Prince of Wied reached this fort on the fifty-first day of his voyage up the Missouri, and Audubon on the thirty-third of his; a gain in time which may possibly be attributed both to better weather and to the improvement in steamboats during ten years. The Prince says: "Fort Pierre is one of the most considerable settlements of the Fur Company on the Missouri, and forms a large quadrangle surrounded by pickets. Seven thousand buffalo skins and other furs were put on board our boat to take to St. Louis.... The leather tents of the Sioux Indians, the most distinguished being that of the old interpreter, Dorion (or Durion), a half Sioux, who is mentioned by many travellers, and resides here with his Indian family. His tent was large, and painted red; at the top of the poles composing the frame, several scalps hung." ("Travels in North America," p. 156, Maximilian, Prince of Wied.)
[306]W. G. Bakewell was Audubon's brother-in-law; James Hall, brother of Mrs. John W. Audubon; J. W. H. Page, of New Bedford. Thomas Mayo Brewer, who became a noted ornithologist, edited the 12mo edition of Wilson, wrote Part I. of the "Oölogy of North America," which was published by the Smithsonian Institution in 1857, and was one of the authors of Baird, Brewer, and Ridgway's "History of North American Birds." He died in Boston Jan. 23, 1880, having been born there Nov. 21, 1814. He is notorious for his mistaken zeal in introducing the English Sparrow in this country.—E. C.
[307]The Teton, or Bad River, has long ceased to be known as the Little Missouri,—a name now applied to another branch of the Missouri, which falls in from the south much higher up, about 23 miles above present Fort Berthold. Teton River was so named by Lewis and Clark, Sept. 24, 1804, from the tribe of Sioux found at its mouth: see the History of the Expedition, ed. of 1893, p. 131, and compare p. 267. The Indian name was Chicha, Schicha, or Shisha.—E. C.
[308]Wilson's Meadow Mouse. This is the name used by Aud. and Bach. Quad. N. Am. i., 1849, p. 341, pl. 45, for theArvicola ripariusof Ord, now known asMicrotus riparius. But the specimen brought to Audubon can only be very doubtfully referred to this species.—E. C.
[309]This is spelt thus in the Journal, and also on Tanner's map of 1829: see also Lewis and Clark, ed. of 1893, p. 152. The "Moroe" River of the above text is present Moreau River, falling into the Missouri from the west in Dewey Co., S. Dak. Grand River was also known by its Arikara name, Weterhoo, or Wetarhoo. Rampart River is about two miles above Grand River; it was also called Maropa River.—E. C.