Journals of the
Lewis & Clark Expedition

1. Probably the Platte River in northwest Missouri, meeting the Missouri River in Platte County, rather than the stream of that name in Nebraska. It is not clear from the passage whether the captains had gone as far as the Platte on this trip, but it seems unlikely, and they probably went no farther than the vicinity of St. Charles. If it was a trading vessel that Clark caught to return to River Dubois , it could have been coming down from either the Nebraska or the Missouri stream. Appleman (LC), 73. (back)

2. This could be either René Auguste or Jean Pierre Chouteau, but perhaps the latter since Lewis was writing of visiting his garden within the next week. Lewis to Jefferson, March 26, 1804, Jackson (LLC), 1:170. On the Chouteaus, see Foley & Rice. (back)

3. By the time of the Lewis and Clark expedition some Kickapoos were moving west from Illinois, across the Mississippi River, to escape advancing European settlement. Some eventually moved as far as northern Mexico, where they still remain; most of the tribe are now located in Kansas and Oklahoma. Gibson; Callender, Pope, & Pope. For the Osages, see May 31, 1804. (back)