98 Expedition to the 



to be encountered, that many were of opinion our progress 

 would soon be arrested. It sometimes happened, that mis- 

 taking the channel, we ran our boat aground in shoal 

 places, and in some instances it was necessary to fall back, 

 in order to extricate ourselves from these difficulties. In 

 this way much time was consumed. 



The expansions of the Missouri bottom above Franklin 

 have, since their settlement, received distinctive names. We 

 pass on the south the Chney au Barre, Tabeau, Titesaw, and 

 Miami bottoms; on the north, those of Charaton, Sugar tree, 

 and Grand river. These are wide and fertile plains, usually 

 covered with heavy forests of cottonwood, sycamore, asrmand 

 sugar maple, and partly encircled by the bluffs, rising ab- 

 ruptly, about to the elevation of the highest trees, thence 

 sloping gradually to the prairies, the region of the Grami- 

 na, and the Cyperaceea. Eighteen miles above Charaton 

 is the entrance of Grand river, an important tributary to the 

 Missouri, from the north. This river is one hundred and 

 fiftv yards wide at its mouth, and is navigable, for boats of 

 small burthen, about two hundred miles. Its waters are 

 transparent, except in times of high floods, and its current 

 less rapid than that of the Missouri. There are no settle- 

 ments on its banks, except at the mouth where is a trading 

 house, and the residence of a single family. The lands are, 

 however, of a good quality, and the adequate supply of tim- 

 ber, and numerous springs of water, will ensure their speedy 

 settlement. The Sauks, Foxes, and Ioways, hunt in the 

 plains towards the sources of Grand river, where elk, and 

 deer are still numerous, and the latter dispose of their pej- 

 tries to the traders on the Missouri. 



The navigation of the Missouri, for a few miles above and 

 below the mouth of Grand river, is supposed to be more 

 difficult than at almost any other place, owing to the rapidi- 

 ty of the current, and the numerous sand bars and snags. 

 Two miles above the confluence, is the channel called Grand 



