Note I-12 — Chapter I · ITINERARY: ST. LOUIS TO ST. PAUL, AUGUST 9TH-SEPTEMBER 21ST, 1805.

About 20 m., setting Pike in the vicinity of Cincinnati, Pike Co., Ill.; camp perhaps a little beyond this town, but just about opposite the boundary between Pike Co., Mo., and Ralls Co., Mo. On the Illinois side we have nothing worthy of note but the snaky Snicarty, back of which are the villages Atlas and Rockport. But the Missouri side offers some interesting things. On decamping from Krider's isl., Pike passes in quick succession two creeks, Louisiana and Salt river, all on his left, all within 6 m. 1. Pike elsewhere cites both these creeks, and says the first of them is the one he calls Bar r.; this is now Buffalo cr., falling in 2 m. below Louisiana; the bar at its mouth, whence the name, is present Buffalo isl. 2. The next creek is that immediately above, whose mouth is Louisiana; this is called Noir cr. on most of the maps before me, but Bear cr. on the latest G. L. O. map; which name the natives prefer I am not informed. 3. Louisiana is quite a town, which dates back to Nicollet's time, at least, as he marks it on the beautiful map he made before 1840. The Chic. and Alton R. R. bridges the river at the mouth of Noir or Bear cr. This was built 1872-73 (Act of Congr., Mar. 3d, 1871); the town or station Pike is on the Illinois side, opp. Louisiana. The C. B. and Q. R. R. sends a branch here; the St. L., Keok. and N. W. R. R. also runs through Louisiana. 4. Next is Salt r., which Pike elsewhere calls Oahahah, and others Auhaha, 2 m. above Louisiana. This seems to have been known long before the time Pike's remark would suggest; if I mistake not, it is laid down on some maps before 1700. It is a large river; the French were along here in 1680-90, and I can put my finger on an old F. Rivière au Sel. Salt r., with its branches, is big enough to water five or six modern counties, before it falls in through Pike Co. Present islands in Pike's course of to-day, from Salt r. upward, are Angle, South, and North Fritz between Hickory chute and Scott's ldg., Atlas, Blackbird, and Denmark, between a couple of Snicarty openings and Mundy's ldg. or Ashburn sta.; then the very large Gilbert's isl., 2½ m. long, which lies between Gilbert's and Tompkins' ldg. on the Missouri side, and Cincinnati ldg. on the other. A good deal of engineering work was done at this bad place to close Gilbert's chute and throw the main channel over against the Illinois side.