Note I-21 — Chapter I · ITINERARY: UP THE MISSOURI AND OSAGE RIVERS, AND THROUGH KANSAS TO THE PAWNEE VILLAGE ON THE REPUBLICAN RIVER, JULY 15TH-SEPT. 30TH, 1806.

To an interesting locality—that of the old French village, Côte sans Dessein, so called from the celebrated long narrow ledge of rocks of the same name immediately above, isolated on the N. bank of the river opposite Dodd's isl. In approaching the Osage, Pike maps two streams from the N., respectively lettered "Gr. R. au vase" and "L. R. au vase." The first of these is Grande Rivière au Vase or Grande Rivière Vaseuse of the F., which appears on the best modern maps as Au Vasse and Auxvasse r.—better talk English than such Missouri French as this, and say Big Muddy r., as L. and C. did! This considerable stream falls in a mile above Harrison's ldg., about 123½ m. by the channel from the mouth of the Missouri. The other is Little Muddy r. of L. and C., who translated Petite Rivière au Vase (or Petite Rivière Vaseuse) better than those do who now style it Au Vasse cr. or Auxvasse cr. This creek joins in the bottom-land another now called Middle r. or cr., and the two fall in together a mile above the village of St. Aubert, Callaway Co. Moreover: between the Big and the Little Muddy there is a third creek, distinct from both the others, falling in 1½ m. below St. Aubert. This is simply called Muddy cr. on the Mo. R. Comm. map; on that of the U. S. G. S. it is lettered Ewing's cr. A branch of this is lettered by the U. S. G. S. East Wing cr.—a name which I suspect originated in mistaking "Ewing" for "E. Wing." On the S. side of the Missouri Pike passes two small streams, both historically notable. The first of these is the one which L. and C. called Grindstone cr., when they camped at its mouth May 30th, 1804; but it is now known as Deer cr. It falls in behind St. Aubert's isl., a mile below St. Aubert station on the Mo. Pac. R. R., or the village now called Medora, 126⅔ m. up the Mo. r. One Carr has or had his home at the mouth of this creek. The other creek is 4¾ m. above Grindstone or Deer cr., and 1¼ m. above Shipley's ldg.; it is the one L. and C. called Bear cr., May 31st, 1804; Pike charted it "Bear R.," and it is now called Bear or Loose cr. I suppose "Loose" cr. to be a loose translation of F. R. à l'Ours or à l'Ourse, according to whether it was a he-bear or a she-bear which the Frenchman who first named the creek killed there. In any event this stream has given name to the village of Loose Creek and to Bear Creek isl., opposite its mouth. Four miles higher on the S., opposite the foot of Dodd's isl., is the village of Dauphine at the place where one Benêt, Bénite, Benoit, Bennet, Bonnet, Bonnot, or Bennight built his mill, 15-20 years ago. Dauphine is almost exactly opposite the site of the old French village above named, which started about 1808 and had a dozen or more families in 1811. There is a sort of settlement in this vicinity immediately at the lower end of the Côte sans Dessein, at one time known as Bennet's ldg.; people named Gray, Crews, and Maddox live or lived there. Behind the Côte are some small lakes or ponds discharging by R. aux Riveaux or Riveaux cr. (as it is called) around the upper end of the Côte, near Dearing's ldg. Hence it is only 1½ m. diagonally across the Missouri to Glenn's ldg. at the mouth of the Osage r. See L. and C., ed. 1893, p. 11.