246 
NAVIGABILITY OF THE MISSOURI. 
manner the work should be done, as well as in superintending all arrangements made to facilitate 
the navigation. 
Any system which might be adopted should, of course, bear a proper relation to the import¬ 
ance of the objects to be attained, and to the interests concerned. 
If I am not mistaken, the merchants in some of our large seaport towns have systems anal¬ 
ogous to the above for securing the safety of their vessels and goods. 
By the adoption of some such arrangement as I have mentioned, it appears to me that the 
prosperity of the Missouri might be greatly enhanced, and its importance developed as part of a 
line of communication from the heart of the Mississippi to that of the Columbia, and to Puget 
sound. In your instructions to me, you remarked that the principal object of the survey of the 
Missouri was to ascertain the reliance to be placed upon it for the transportation of supplies for 
the construction of the proposed northern Pacific railroad. The extent to which it may be relied 
upon may be judged of by combining with what is known of it the prices of labor and supplies 
at its lower depot or depots, and then comparing it with the other means of transportation which 
are likely to come into competition: these are, transportation from the Mississippi by wagons, 
and that from the same by the railroad itself. Into this discussion or comparison it is not my 
province to enter. 
Your instructions required me to report as to the kind of steamboat which should be used for a 
future detailed survey of the river. I came to the conclusion that it should be a high-pressure 
western river steamboat, of as light draught as practicable, so made as to obey very quickly the 
rudder, and equipped with powerful engines. The upper wood-work should have as little eleva¬ 
tion above the hull as would be consistent with convenience and with the space required for the 
machinery. I almost inclined to the opinion that the usual second story should be dispensed with, 
if it were found possible to place elsewhere the cabin accommodations. 
In concluding the report upon the Missouri, I have to express my regret at the incompleteness 
of the survey. The members of the party of which I had charge were but passengers on the 
steamboat, who made the best use of the time and facilities at their command to fulfil the duties 
indicated in your orders. 
Your instructions required that, on arriving at Fort Union, I should reconnoitre the country in 
the vicinity of that post. 
Preparations were accordingly made on the 9th, 10th, and 11th of July, by procuring the 
necessary horses and saddles, preparing a wagon, &c. The party consisted, besides myself, of 
Lieutenant Mullan, Mr. Graham, five of the sappers, and four employes. One of the sappers, 
artificer White, I left at the fort, to keep up a series of meteorological observations, and to take 
care of the provisions and other stores in depot for the use of the survey. 
We started on the morning of the 12th, travelled nearly north-northwest to a point about 
opposite the head of the Big Muddy; then nearly north-northeast to the Grand Coteau and a 
point near the head of the White Earth; then nearly south-southeast until we struck that stream; 
then down it for some miles, and then back to Fort Union; the entire distance travelled being 
two hundred and thirty-five miles. We had no barometer. 
The following is a general description of the country passed over: 
The country between the Big Muddy and White Earth rivers may be characterized as being a 
vast plain, destitute of timber, and covered with boulders and pebbles of granite, mountain lime¬ 
stone, &c., broken towards the north by innumerable hillocks, the depressions between which are 
occupied by ponds and lakes, and intersected towards the south by valleys, through which flow 
the tributaries of the Missouri. 
The smaller of these streams, and the Big Muddy, take their rise south of the parallel of 4S° 
3S', while the Miry and White Earth have theirs not far from the foot of the Grand Coteau. 
The summit of this range, where we struck it, was in latitude 4S° 45' 46", and its general 
direction was, as I had been informed, a little to the north of west. When we were about six 
