Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center
Charles LeRaye, a Canadian fur trader, left Canada in 1801 to begin trading on the Missouri River. In 1802, he joined a Canadian named Pardo, who was already trading in the area, on a trip which would take them into Montana. They ascended the Missouri River from the Arikara village in April 1802 in company with a small party of Gros Ventres. On 15 July, they reached the Yellowstone River and ascended this River to the mountains reaching a tributary of the Bighorn. They descended the Bighorn to its mouth and camped at this location from 11 October to March 1803. They then descended the Yellowstone River to the Missouri River and back down to the village of the Gros Ventre.
LeRaye, C. 1926. The journal of Charles LeRaye. South Dakota
Historical Collections. IV, 150-180.
Nasatir, A.P. 1952. Before Lewis and Clark. Documents
illustrating the history of Missouri 1785-1804. St. Louis, St.
Louis Historical Documents Foundation. 375 pp.