Note 27 — Chapter XVII · VOYAGE FROM FORT UNION TO MUSCLESHELL RIVER, FROM THE 6TH TO THE 28TH OF JULY

Big Dry River, which retains the name assigned it by Lewis and Clark, is the largest southern tributary of the Missouri between the Yellowstone and the Musselshell. It is, as described by Maximilian, a vast coulée, stretching to the Yellowstone watershed. When Lewis and Clark passed (May 9, 1805), there was no running water within it, although the bed was as wide at this point as that of the Missouri.—Ed.