NAVIGABILITY OF THE MISSOURI. 231 



E. 

 NAVIGABILITY OF THE MISSOURI. 



14. REPORT OF LIEUTENANT A. j. DONELSON, CORPS OF ENGINEERS UNITED STATES ARMY, OF 

 HIS SURVEY OF THE MISSOURI TO FORT UNION, AND OF HIS RECONNAISSANCE OF THE COUNTRY 

 IN THE VICINITY OF FORT UNION BETWEEN THE WHITE EARTH AND THE BIG MUDDY RIVER. 



OLYMPIA, WASHINGTON TERRITORY, 



March 8, 1854. 



SIR : Having already rendered you a general description of the Missouri river from its mouth 

 to the Poplar, and of the country in the vicinity of Fort Union, I have the honor to submit the 

 following report, which, with the accompanying map and tables, comprises all the information 

 obtained by the party under my charge in the months of May, June, and July, 1853. 



The party for the survey of the Missouri consisted of Lieutenant John Mullan, first artillery, 

 Mr. W. M. Graham, and one sergeant, two artificers, and three privates of the United States 

 company of sappers and miners. Lieutenant Mullan was placed in charge of the meteorological 

 observations, in addition to which he assisted in making the topography. Mr. Graham was 

 the astronomer ; Sergeant Collins assistant topographer; and the remainder of the sappers aided 

 in the several duties. 



The steamboat Robert Campbell, in which we had engaged passage, was propelled by a 

 double engine, and had been a first-class Missouri river packet. Her tonnage was about three 

 hundred, and she had on board near the maximum load, drawing about five feet of water. 



The operations pursued in making the survey were briefly as follows: Meteorological observa 

 tions were generally taken at every halt. Astronomical observations were made whenever prac 

 ticable at the halts. A topographical sketch was taken to the mouth of the Poplar, from a point 

 about twenty miles above St. Joseph. For this purpose, Lieut. Mullan, myself, and Sergeant 

 Collins generally performed in turn the work of running courses, estimating distances, and of 

 mapping. The sketch is continuous, except what should correspond to the portions of the map 

 of the river drawn in dotted lines: as for these, the notes were in one case lost; and for the rest, 

 the courses were travelled after dark. The connexion was made by drawing the portions in 

 dotted lines from our notes, and from the maps of Lewis and Clark, Nicollet, and others. 



Hourly soundings were taken from near the mouth of the Big Sioux to Fort Union. Notes 

 were made of all the features of the river and adjacent country, as observed from the steamboat, 

 and all information practicable was obtained from gentlemen of the Fur Company, and traders 

 and voyageurs. In constructing the map, the data obtained by Nicollet and others, who formerly 

 surveyed the river, have been freely used, as the object was to obtain accuracy by combining all 

 the reliable results which have ever been obtained. The map of all that portion of the river 

 below the point at which we commenced sketching has been drawn by adding our own observ 

 ations to the best maps already published. Having left St. Louis at half-after twelve o clock on 

 the 21st of May, we entered the Missouri a little while before sunset, and found that river high, 

 the water muddy, and current rapid. 



The Missouri enters the Mississippi in latitude 38 50 50&quot; north, and in longitude 90 13 

 45&quot; west of Greenwich. Below the mouth of the Kansas it pursues a direction nearly east, lies 

 almost entirely within the State of Missouri, and is about three hundred and eighty-two miles 

 long. Its banks are here almost continuously settled, while all the more prominent localities 

 are occupied by flourishing cities, towns, or villages. The soil is of surpassing fertility, and the 

 adjacent country rich in coal, iron, and other minerals. Cotton- wood is the prevailing growth in 

 the bottoms, while willow is very abundant at the water s edge, and sycamore near the river 

 and its tributaries ; but there are also found, in great abundance, principally on the slopes which 

 limit the immediate valley of the Missouri, the oak, walnut, ash, elm, and maple. The islands 



