NAVIGABILITY OF THE MISSOURI. 
237 
of for purposes of navigation. The Missouri, near the mouth of the Platte, varies in width from 
five hundred to a thousand yards. From that point to the mouth of the Kansas its general course 
is south-southeast, and length two hundred and thirty-six miles. 
The two ranges of hills which limit the valley of the Missouri continue, above the mouth of 
the Kansas, to be from seven to fifteen miles distant from each other, the eastern range touching 
the river at Parkville, Weston, St. Joseph and Elizabeth, after which it does not approach it 
until at Sergeant’s hill; the western ranges at Fort Leavenworth and Independence prairie, after 
which it is within three-quarters of a mile of the river to a point five miles below the mouth of 
the Platte. These hills are from seventy-five to two hundred and fifty feet in height. 
It has been remarked that at Fort Leavenworth, and for some miles above that point, both 
banks of the river are well wooded. The timber on the banks diminishes in quantity from 
that place to near the mouth of the Platte. Thence northward it may be said that, while 
the hills are thinly wooded with scrub oak, elm, and ash, and the immediate river banks skirted 
with a belt of cotton-wood and willow, varying in width from a few hundred yards to two miles, 
the space between this belt and the loot of the hills consists for the most part of prairies that 
are level and bare of timber. 
What has been said with reference to the occurrence of ponds, sloughs, &c., in the river 
bottoms, applies to this section of the river, although, I think, not to the same extent as in the 
former case. 
The carboniferous limestone and coal measures form the principal geological formation of this 
portion of the river. 
There is a ferry at Platteville, below the mouth of the Platte, which connects with a road to 
the west. 
It may be well to state here that above St. Joseph our steamboat ceased to travel at night, 
on account of the increased difficulties of the navigation. This necessity will, I think, be obvi¬ 
ated when the dangerous obstructions are removed, and a more thorough knowledge of the river 
gained. It was found necessary to clean the boilers of the boat every second night, for the reason 
that, as she stopped every night, there was a great deal of sediment from the muddy water. Or¬ 
dinarily, steamboats run from St. Louis to St. Joseph without having to stop for that purpose. 
The next section of the river to be considered is that which is included between the mouth 
of the Platte and Fort Pierre. 
The Missouri, from Fort Pierre to the mouth of the Big Sioux, pursues a southeasterly direc¬ 
tion; and from the last-mentioned point to the mouth of the Platte it pursues a south-southeast¬ 
erly direction. The length of this section is about six hundred and thirty-eight miles. The dis¬ 
tances I have used are adopted from Nicollet’s report, and are different from those in my former 
report to you, which were the distances as estimated by the captains and pilots on the Missouri. 
We reached Bellevue at about seven o’clock on the evening of the 2d of June, and remained 
there all night. 
Good coal has been found on both banks of the river near this place. 
Council Bluff city, situated on the left bank, not far above Bellevue, is the last town seen in 
ascending the Missouri. It is the ordinary head of steamboat navigation. At present there are 
but about two steamboats which make regular voyages to Council Bluff city, and about twenty 
which trade between St. Louis and St. Joseph. 
The river is open all the year as high as Boonville; above and to Council Bluff city there is 
sometimes about a month in winter when it is closed by ice. 
On the 3d of June we passed a place called the Mormon Winter Quarters, which is a great 
rendezvous for the Mormons prior to their starting for the Great Salt lake. 
There is a ferry here, as also at Bellevue and St. Mary’s, Iowa. The road with which 
they connect leads up the Platte to the fork, and thence up the North fork, uniting with the main 
Oregon and California route near the Sweetwater, and not crossing the Platte at all. 
