Snags (Sunken Trees ) on the Missouri
Engraved by Weber and Hurlimann Printed by Bougeard
Tableau 6. Snags (Sunken Trees ) on the Missouri
$1,300.00

Beyond the confluence of the Independence River above Fort Leavenworth on April 24, 1833, the Yellow-Stone entered another snag-infested section of the river in the vicinity of what is now St. Joseph, Missouri. More than an hour was spent in navigating carefully through the piled masses of driftwood before the steamer once again was able to make headway against the Missouri's powerful, downward current.

On April 26 the steamer passed the mouth of the Nemaha River, where it again encountered snags and sandbars. In something of an understatement, Prince Maximilian noted in his journal entry for the day that "navigation is very dangerous on the Missouri."

A pencil drawing in Joslyn's collection dated this same day formed the basis for the later aquatint published in Europe. The print includes a depiction of the boat which was not pictured in Bodmer's original sketch.

Vignettes XI, XII and Tableau 4 represent other views of the lower Missouri, based on studies Bodmer made in late April and early May, 1833.

Tableaux 4 and 6 are related both geographically and chronologically, documenting incidents of the voyage through the present state of Missouri in late April, 1833. Vignettes XI and XII represent views farther upriver, below and above the mouth of the Big Sioux River near the modern Sioux City, Iowa, in early May. Later studies of the upper Missouri beyond Fort Union, in what is now Montana, made during the fall of this same year are reproduced in the atlas as Vignettes XVII, XVIII, XXIII, and Tableaux 29, 34, 35 through 38, 40, 41, 43, 44, and 47.

Text by David Hunt, Director, Stark Museum, Orange, Texas, USA

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