THE MISSOURI RIVER JOURNALS 503 



names are as follows : 1 Manuel, Basil, L'Eau qui Court, 

 Ponca Creek, and Chouteau's River, all of which are indif- 

 ferent streams of no magnitude, except the swift-flowing 

 L'Eau qui Court, 2 which in some places is fully as broad 

 as the Missouri itself, fully as muddy, filled with quick- 

 sands, and so remarkably shallow that in the autumn its 

 navigation is very difficult indeed. We have seen this 

 day about fifty Buffaloes; two which we saw had taken 

 to the river, with intent to swim across it, but on the ap- 

 proach of our thundering, noisy vessel, turned about and 

 after struggling for a few minutes, did make out to reach 

 the top of the bank, after which they travelled at a mod- 

 erate gait for some hundreds of yards; then, perhaps smell- 

 ing or seeing the steamboat, they went off at a good 

 though not very fast gallop, on the prairie by our side, 

 and were soon somewhat ahead of us ; they stopped once 

 or twice, again resumed their gallop, and after a few 



1 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. 



* 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 neighbor- 

 hood, 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.) 



