234 
NAVIGABILITY OF THE MISSOURI. 
the slightest ripple on the surface of the water above a sand-bar, and the divergence of the 
current, which occurs near a concealed snag, however unapparent to an ordinary eye, are uner¬ 
ringly detected by him, when he can distinguish objects at the supposed distance. But some¬ 
times the channel has an oblique direction, and over the entire cross section of the river indica¬ 
tions of obstructions may be seen. It may accordingly be inferred how much more dangerous is 
the navigation by night than by day, and how great must be the difficulties when the night is 
entirely dark. We reached Lexington a little after noon on the 26th, and obtained there about 
five hundred bushels of coal. Just above this town the river was found to be very rapid. The 
points which in this report are mentioned as being particularly rapid, were generally such that 
our steamboat, when struggling directly against the current, made very little or no progress. 
We passed them in taking advantage of the current by diagonal steering, and by using rosin, 
pitch, &c., to increase the tension of the steam. Not far from Lexington, we passed, on the 
26th, a short turn in the river with a rapid current, and called “ Devil’s Bend.” 
The permanent obstructions in the river below the mouth of the Kansas are a chain of rocks 
about twelve miles below St. Charles, and one a little below Sibley. I could obtain no facts 
as to the effect these now have upon the navigation. 
I have thus, with the exception of stating some facts as to the climate, statistics of navigation, 
&c., which will be done farther on, described that portion of this river which lies within the 
State of Missouri. As most of the characteristics I have mentioned are applicable to the other 
portions of the river over which we travelled, I shall, as a general thing, enter, in the following 
part of this report, into a particular description only when the character of the country or river 
is essentially different from that which has been considered. I have dwelt somewhat on the 
changes which take place in the positions of the banks of the river and its channel. These 
occur in a similar manner, but in different degrees, at successive points along the whole of the 
Missouri that was surveyed. 
As the lower subdivision of this river is far more important than any other, so also is the 
State of Missouri than any other part of the vast tract of country watered by this stream. That 
State, with its great agricultural and mineral resources, from its central position, its connexion 
by travelled roads with all the territories as well as the two great harbors of the Pacific, and 
the facility of communication by navigable streams with the extreme northern and southern 
portions of the Union, will, it seems to me, be very important as a source of supply to any line of 
railroad which may be directed across the continent. 
The next portion of the river to be considered is that which is included between the rivers 
Kansas and Nebraska or Platte; this division of the subject into parts being adopted more for 
convenience than anything else. 
The Missouri, from near the mouth of the Kansas to near the parallel of 40° 38' north latitude, 
or about the middle of the island of Grand Lebouter, separates the State of Missouri from the 
Indian territory, and from that point to the mouth of the “ Big Sioux” it separates the State of 
Iowa from the Indian territory. 
We passed the mouth of the Kansas at about forty minutes past 4 o’clock p. m. on the 27th. 
Fort Leavenworth we passed at about half-after 10 o’clock a. m. on the 28th. This place is 
beautifully situated upon a commanding eminence on the right bank of the Missouri. The coun¬ 
try to the west of it, for some twenty or thirty miles, to the vast prairies, is an alternation of hills 
and valleys, of prairies and woodland. The valleys are fertile, and some of them under culti¬ 
vation. The occurrence of woods here, for many miles back from the river, serves in some 
degree to show that throughout a great part of its extent the country adjacent to the Missouri 
would be sufficiently wooded were it not for the annual fires. 
We had some difficulty in stemming the current above and below Weston. Not far above 
that point a marked change took place in the appearance of the river. The water seemed clearer, 
the current less rapid, and the islands, which were nearly all on the left side, were fewer and 
