marker Erected by: Perry County Historical Society, the Bois Brule and Drainage District, Michael Haynes, and the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency.
County of Marker: Perry County.
Location of Marker: MO-51, Horse Island Chute, MO side of Chester Bridge.
Marker Text:
"Set out this morning of 8 oClock from the lower point of the horse Island, which Island is Situated opposite the mouth of Kaskaskie River..."
William Clark, November 28, 1803
On Nov.27,1803, Lewis and Clark camped near this point, which at that time was the lower portion of Horse Island. Horse Island was located just below the mouth of the Kaskaskia River at the beginning of a sharp bend in the Mississippi. As a result of changes in the course of the river, Horse Island has been absorbed into the Missouri shoreline in the vicinity of this marker, and the Mississippi River has shifted its course eastward, carrying away the original village of Kaskaskia.
When the party reached Horse Island, Capt. Meriwether Lewis left his co-commander, William Clark, in charge of the keelboat and pirogues, while he was put ashore to walk the six-mile distance to Fort Kaskaskia. The fort was now an American Army post situated on the high ground on the east side of the Kaskaskia River opposite the village of Kaskaskia.
Clark and the rest of the men, meanwhile, pushed their boats into the Mississippi and begin to work their way around a long and difficult bend, known as Coco Bend. Clark had wanted to make calculations of latitude with his sextant but a thick morning mist obscured the sun. The west side of Coco Bend hugged the Missouri shore and Clark observed a range of highlands next to the river. At 1 p.m., the party passed Joseph Donahoe's landing. Boats loaded salt from the salt works in Saline Creek at this place. Two hours later, Saline Creek itself was passed. In addition to the salt works on this creek, there was also a thriving settlement. The party rounded Coco Bend and pulled up to Kaskaskia Landing on the Illinois shore. On the opposite side of the river was the former west bank community of Old Ste. Genevieve, known locally as "misar" (phonetic for misère in French, or misery in English). This community was relocated after disastrous floods in the 1780s.
KASKASKIA
Lewis and Clark remained at Fort Kaskaskia for several days. (The remains of this fort have been preserved as the Fort Kaskaskia State Historic Site). Their primary reason for stopping at the fort was to select suitable men for the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Captains Amos Stoddard and Russell Bissell, who were assigned to the fort, had been ordered by Secretary of War Henry Dearborn to aid Lewis in selecting suitable men from their companies to join the expedition. Among the 12 soldiers who joined them were John Ordway and Patrick Gass. Both of these men were destined to become sergeants in the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The addition of the men at Fort Kaskaskia enlarged the upstream bound party to between 21 and 23 men who would soon become members of the Pacific-bound Corps of Discovery.
While at the fort, the captains also acquired a store of provisions, including 75 pounds of gunpowder. Lewis left Kaskaskia on Dec. 5, and proceeded to Cahokia, Ill. on horseback. He was eager to meet with Spanish officials in St. Louis on a number of important matters. Clark and the rest of the party had departed two days earlier to work the slower moving boats up the river and rendezvous with Lewis at Cahokia.