a
8 'Che Conservative *
SERGEANT FLOYD.
Wo give below some extracts from the
journal kept iii 1804 by Sergeant Charles
Floyd , n soldier iu Lewis & Clark's ex
ploring expedition , touching that part
of their voyage up the Missouri which
took them past Nebraska , City. The
recent discovery of the manuscript of
Floyd's diary , after it had lain unknown
for nearly a century , is one of the most
astonishing things that has come to the
writer's knowledge. Captains Lewis
and Clark encouraged their men to keep
independent journals , and mentioned at
one time that seven of them were so
doing ; but only one of these , if they
were completed , has been known hither
to , namely that of Sergeant Patrick
Gass , which was published immediately
on the return of the expedition.
Sergeant Floyd was a Kentuckian ,
being one of the "nine young men"
whom the explorers took from that state.
His spelling no doubt reflects faithfully
the pronunciation to which ho was ac
customed , which seems to resemble the
dialect of New England more than one
would suppose.
On the 20th of June he records that
they "eucampt at the mouth of the Kan
sas River , in the pint. " They Lay By
there for two days and proseeded on
the 29th. "The Land is Good on Booth
Sides of thes Rivers and well timberd
wellwaterd. " They passed in succes
sion the Littel River platte , Biscuit
Creek , Frog Tree Creek , parkques Creek ,
Turkey Creek and "a old French fort
who had setled hear to protect the Trade
of this nation in the valley ; " and on
July 4th "set out verry erlay this morn
ing , passed the month of a Beyeu lead
ing from a lake on the N. Side ( opposite
Atchison , doubtless ) this Lake is Largo
and was once the Bead of the River , it
reaches Parrelel for Several miles ; Came
to on the South Side to Dine , rest a Short
time ; a Snake Bit Jo. Fieldes on the
Side of the foot which Swcled much , ap
ply Barks to Coor ; passed a Creek on
South ( West ) Side about 15 yards wide ,
Coming out of an extensive Prario , as
the Creek has no name and this Day is
the 4th of July wo name this Indepen
dence Creek ( possibly this is the stream
a few miles above Atchison , now called
Deer Creek ) above this Creek the wood
Land is about 200 yards , Back of these
woods is an extensive Pi-aria open and
high whigh may be seen Six or Seven
( miles ? ) below ; saw Grat nomber of
Goslins to day nearley Grown ; the Last
Mentioned prairie I call Jo. Fieldes
Snake prarie. Capt. Lewis walked on
shore , wo camped on one of theButifules
Prarios I ever Saw , open and butifulloy
Divided with Hills and vallies all pre
senting themselves. "
On the 8th they "passed a Creek on
the N. ( Iowa ) side , it came in Back of
Island , it is a Bout 70 Yards wide Called
Nadawa Creek ; " this of course is the
Nodaway at Amazonia ; on the 9th ho
mentions Wolf Creek , which comes in
below Iowa Point ; and on the 10th "a
Small Creek on the South ( Kansas ) Side
Called pope Creek , it Comes through
Bottom Laud , it is called after a man
who by drawiiiug his Gnu out of the
Boat Shot him Self. " So that oven in
1804 the country already had its tra
ditions.
"Wednesday July lit , 1804. Set out
en-ley this morning , prosed ( proceeded )
on , passed a Creek on the N. Side Called
Tarcio Crock , ( the Little Tarkio ) it
Comes in Back of an Isd on the N. Side ;
Came to ( halted ) about 12 o'clock P. m.
for the porpos of resting on or two days ,
the men is all Sick ; encamt on an Isd ;
on the Southe Side flees in Creek called
Grannm Mohug Creek ( the Grand , or
Big , Nenialm ) it is about 100 yards wide ,
the Land is good and well timberd , High
and well waterd , this Creek Runs up and
Hods near the River platt. "
This brings thom'to Nebraska.
On the 18th ; "prosed on our Joruey ,
passed a Creek on the N. Side Called the
Big Tarkuo River , it is about 40 yads
wide and verry miroy for Horses to
Cross , the Land is Low. " On the 14th ;
"Set out at day Lite , Came one mile and
} , Came a Dredfulle hard Storme from
the South which lasted for about one
ouer and half which Cosed us to Jump
out and hold hir , She Shipt about 2
Barrels of water. Came one mile , the
wind fare , Sailed ; passed a Creek on the
N. Side Called Neeshba Creek , it is
about 40 yards wide , the Land is Low. "
This will be the old mouth of the eccen
tric Nishnabotua , below Longdon.
On the next day , which was Sunday ,
they passed a Nebraska creek which he
called Plumb Run , and later "a Creek on
the South Side Called Nemahaw Creek ,
it is about 80 yards wide , the Land is
High and Good ; encamt on the South
Side. " It was therefore in the neigh
borhood of NemahaCity that they passed
this night ; but it is curious that he
should spell the two Tarkios and the two
Nemahas diiforently as he comes to
them ; it suggests that the names may
not have been the same originally.
There is not much resemblance between
Nemahaw and Granma Mohug.
"Monday July 16th , wo Set out verry
early and pressed on the Side of a Prario ,
the wind from the south ; Sailed , ouer
Boat Run on a Sawyer ; Sailed all day ,
made 20 miles , passed Sevrall Isd , Camt
on the North Side. "
This camp , being twenty miles from
some point above the Neinaha , must
have been a little below Hamburg , some
where on the eastern portion of the big
bond that swings from Peru to Miners-
ville. At an early day , this bond ex
tended further to the east than it does
at present : there is an old river-bed that
comes nearly to the track of the K. 0.
St. J. & O. B. railroad. If the river
was in this bed when Lewis & Clark
passed up , it would account for some of
their mileage in this stretch. They
tarried a while at this camp. "Lay by
all this day for to kill Soin fresh meat ,
Capt. Lewis & Go. Druger ( George
Drewyer ) went out Hunting , Drugher
killed 8 Deer. ( A doer was lulled in
the Hamburg bottoms in the winter of
1900. ) The Laud is prarie Laud , the
Blufs puts in about 2 miles from the
River and all Prario Laud betweu , which
Runs up and Down for Som distance
from 20 to 80 miles. " All this is very
plain.
The next day , Wednesday , July 18th ,
they must pass Nebraska City ; there
seems to be no doubt that they did so ,
and encamped either here or a very
short distance above. "We set out at
Sun Rise , the day Clear , wind fair ;
Sailed the Side of the Prarie. Hear we
toed ( towed ) for about 5 or 6 miles. The
Elke Sine is verry plenty , Deer is not as
plenty as it was below. Passed Som
High Clifts on the South ( Nebraska )
Side which hose the apperance of Iron
ore , the Clay is Red ; passed a verry
strong pace ( piece ? ) of Water. Saw a
Dog on the Bank Which we sopose to be
Indians had ben Lost , this is the first
Sine of Indians we have Saw. Camptd
on the South Side , the Laud is Low ,
that on the N. Side is prario Laud. "
These high cliffs of red clay can be no
other than the rocky bluff between the
starch factory and the railroad bridge. !
They do not present a noticeably red ap
pearance now ; but it is said that they
did in 1854 , when the town was settled.
This rod clay was sometimes mixed iu
oil and used as paint ; one house on Sixth
street is mentioned which was painted
with this mixture , and it proved very
durable , lasting some twenty-five years.
Here too the channel is very narrow and
the current violent , which agrees perfect
ly with the story.
"Thursday July 19th , we Set out errly
this morning , prosed on , passed a Run
on the South Side has no name , we
Called Cherry Run , the Land is High
Cliftes and pore , wharo a Grate nomber
of those Ohorres they Gro on Low
Bushes about as High as a mans hed. "
Possibly some old settler may be able to
locate this spot by these cherries , what
ever they may have been ; it must
necessarily have been either North Table
or Walnut Creek ; and their camp of the
night before must therefore have been
this side of Walnut Creek. Further ,
"Came 9 miles , past Several Isd , water
( current ) Strong , Campt on the South
( Nebraslca ) Side on a Small willow Isd. .
near the South Side ; the Land on the N.
is Low , that on the South is High prarie
Land. " The Swalloy neighborhood ,
very likely.
"Friday July 20th , Sot out at 6 o'clock ,
proseded on , passed the mouth of a
Creek on the South Side Called Orys
Creek , it is about 85 yards wide , it
Comes in above Olif ts oppsot a willow
Isd. , at this Olift tharo is a fine Spring ,