Show when T wolo K knives S reached walte toward IF the bett gettins sa ins sun U nm ia C V 0 r HING TOlf 1 PRO Q MOTA pt GON laah it 4 1 dyolf I 1 ILL NEVADA Z tah COLO OLO DO N 9 an el j eula pi belh SY P 0 e by ELMO SCOTT WATSON T IVA S just deais ye a ago alint two komg youn A americans n ie ricans reached hie file gool of a 2010 mile 11 L trailblazing trail blazing blas Iiii expedition through a vast wild wilderness eriless and came to 1 the I 1 ie halfway mark of what v hat lim ha been han at aptly 1 fly called a magnificent adventure for it was mas on november No emler 7 isoa perlether Mer lether lewis ciul all william clark captains of the long knives and the lie first white men to aseena the missouri river to its source and to descend tile lie columbia river to the pa ia alle ocean oi enn first caught sight bight of the big wilier water toward the file setting selling sun pun chic b for so many months tind beckoned atheni on in tile the story of tile the lewis and chirk expedition Is not only one of the great erent romances ron anies of american history but it Is on nn exploring epic of 01 oil all time in the early days das of the american republic the file mississippi river was not the western boun dary of the new nation hut but it was also the jumping off place into an unknown almost us as mysterious ns as that which confronted columbus when hen he be set the sails of his fits caravell caravels car avels to voyage across the atlantic rrue a few french brench traders end and venturesome american trappers trap had gone up the mississippi to the courtry coi coultry itry of the sioux rind and mandahs and there had find epard vague titles tales of the lie regions beyond from other traders who had find ventured south or southwesterly from the lie canadian empire where the british fur companies reigned true in capt robert gray of tile the ship columbia out of boston had blundered into the harbor of a vast rive rsvp flowing cowing inac tile the pacific and had called this river lifter after ills ats ship but what ft hat lay between the ali mouth of the mis alls and the mouth of tile columbia was practically unknown to tile the man they knew vaguely that there vas n vast area of grassy plains but what lay beyond them was not even een guessed at the rocky mountains were not wn to exist although under the name of Sl St onles their northern extensions in the part of america held by tile the british appen appeared appended red on some maps but where was that first thin trickle which grew larger and larger as it t wound its way south finally to pour the waters of tile the big muddy into the father of waters above the lie old french town of st loula no one knewl knew I 1 then Na bonaparta planning another war var with great britain a war it in which lie would need a great amount of money and realizing that the All mistress stress of the sens could readily seize and hold the vast territory tory of louisiana frances only territory in america decided upon a 0 double edged stroke at his hated late enemy lie he would sell Loul louisiana slana to tile the americans president thomas jefferson JefTer holding its his ideal of a nation that should be as brond broad us its tile it republic under one flag front from ocean to ocea was quick to see the opportunity so the louisiana purchase Pur chuse the hie biggest real estate deni in history wais made napoleon got his an and the infant tic lie doubled its expanse o gien even before the purchase treaty was signed jefferson was planning the audacious nuda clous enterprise of exploring tile wilde wilderness riess which lay between the mississippi and the c lie he ila had been disturbed by the reports that the english were plan sing an expedition to study the geography of the lie western coast and possibly to colonize colon lye it in jan nary 1803 tie he had find secure secured front from congress a secret promise proui lse to send a party of ton men across what was still F rench french territory to explore the lie missouri river and whatever river heading with that runs into the western sen for the I 1 lei ier of liti hi elli tion jefferson had chosen his fits secretary secre nry redheaded red headed young Alert wether lewis a twenty seven year old virginian who had already made his mark as n soldier under mad alad anthony wayne lewis in turn selected another virginian his friend william clark brother of george rogers clark the conqueror of tho the old northwest during tile the revolution resolution as his fill Is second in command rind and substitute commander in case of need meed both were commissioned captains to lu the regular army lewis had already al realy begun his preparations rations for foi the journey when louisiana was surrendered to the Amerl sr in april A N I 1 I 1 R I 1 t 16 in the full fail of 1803 lewis wint went to tile the mouth of wood river near st louis und and there on the soil of illinois headquarters and began raising its his force of men the p arty was to number 41 45 men and durle all that winter the young commander command fr hardened lin bened the men to rigid discipline superintended super intended the building of bonts boats and the making of arms accouterments scientific apparatus and nil all equipments on may hilly 14 1801 the expedition expedit lon set out to in three boots boats up the missouri at tile the prow of the is maln aln boat a buteau 65 55 feet long manned by roars floated the american tit other boats were open pirogues pl pi rogues with about sli six ours clars each horses were left led along the inal by members of the party for daily use of the tind for emergencies if attacked by ind indians lans on may alay 22 the explorers hid had their first contact with the lie Ind indians lans a party of oos who gave them four deer on good mans river it was aa not anti inti more than a month later inter june 28 26 that they reached ren chel the lie present site bite of kansas city 13 43 flap in hissing crossing the state of missouri a journey wilch can an nov noi be mode made over 01 er night here the explorers held i t council with the kansas indians and here for hie file first time tiley they saw buffalo on oil july 21 eliy rent tied the mouth of the platte river and their dangers begun heretofore the indians choin they tind find nut met were friendly but the tribes wh lived ti biond yond tills this point were nere an unknown quantity at ai a plot dif if their duly as outlined by jefferson they next dispatched tiles mes with jtb gifts to flip ininee and otoe villages to tile west inviting the chiefs to it a oun coun ell cil on n bluff on the lie prest present rit site ol of calhoun belf net called council n nut nt t council oui bluffs iowa the ilie council was held field oil in august 3 and afeei giving the chiefs gifts of verlous sorts received rei ched their assurance of a friendly attitude toward the hie ft lilles the only tell in flip parly purls during the he entire expedition took ploce tit nt tills this time thia hut of sergt chorles lin rles floyd who ln us hurled on HIP flip lop of a 11 bluff which liali still hears Hs name a short dista ince behia jlii city lt oa it tile explorers ceru now coming coining to the lie terri tory lory of it the hie sioux In dinni not nor u for their feril ity ty all and tren treachery chery lih lewis and clark lurk held successful councils with the yankton sioux on oil august 30 and with tile helmio on in sui 21 within the next tl v lind find the hie country of the Arl hums and alinne tares here they decided dewildt d it lo 10 the lie near the present site of if N D they established a n bost flip called fort M alin mil in by this time they luid half nine come I 1 nilles ellei and 11 hir r ing their journey they hail kept records of all they lii seen during the winter inter they worked thorl cd on their reports tile hie first written records of tills this region that lint biad been made and when spi spring ing opened the lie next year it 11 det of 14 men ins as chosen to carry tills this report back to president jefferson JelT cison on april 7 this the baity left fort mandan having built new canoes cannes and laid hild up tip a large sup ply of provisions mi inn rily pemmican the lie dried meat of buff buffalo illo the party now numbered 32 ocel occupying spying six canoes and two pl rogues the canoed were made from green cottonwood the only material mate ilal available arid and although it avns sen scarcely reely suitable for the lie purpose yet it la Is a part of lewis and Cl arkes brilliant ochle achievement that they traversed over 1000 miles of the roughest water ot of the Blisso missouri url to such makeshift craft as these assa taj 0 abo the departure depar tue from run fort Alati clan was us marked by another high spot in the history of the tion for it was there that they engaged n halfbreed C ha boneau ns as gulle gul le ie an and with will this ninn man went its his indian wife alf ilia ale bird woman a captive from froin tile the indians indiana of the Ro brockles ckles Amer amerlois loin history might have hae been different in ninny many rei if the file lives of fills indian girl and ilie t ino 0 young virginians had not been johneil on HIP file of north dakota 12 i years ago it HIIS as lio tic told them ol of the sinning shining mountains which lay iny beyond and on 01 may 20 26 1805 bernether Mer merhi Nether ether lewis climbed 1 to 0 the top of a high cliff an and f for r alie fir arst t time lime a while the 8 ann looked upon those IN n ilits the difficulties of tile the lili autv ty were ere constantly increasing the river had become too deep fol foi poles and too swift for paddles so ao they were vert forced to pull tile the boats upstream oth i ith low lines despite all of the hand handicaps lealis under which they the were laboring flie he expedition D pushed on on july lul 19 they entered the lie hae of tile Ro brockles ckles and six lays days infer captain clark discovered the three forks of the 1 I which he aavo tit the e names of three american statesmen jefferson Ain madison dison and gallatin continuing on journey on august 12 they came to a fountain fount nin or spring front ley icy water trickled chiti yas alie of tile lie mighty All one if the goell an ot nt illein edven turing in the chirt or if it a kllc urther further on they the found they as 9 bold creek running 1 n the hie it was the river n branch of iha from now on J t was essentially a down clown hill journey tit 1 though their birther was to hr he in some of the roughest country tip op HIP flip anserlian Ani erlian conff sent nent rhen too a new danger tippen ipen red they cattle came into with flip shoshone andl ans whose hostile atil ludo asis clinti ined ged to friend leco aly d tile the dawalt ns as tier her brother whom ahr sh had not seen since she had linn stolen froin flip lh snakes sho sl iones several inars lief lieford orp assured now ol of supplies which had become B u serious problem as tile the sra relly ot of game increased reused the americans hought horses li irps from tile and continued their way crossing the they reat fied a ellige of nez fez perce berce indians who gave them list and fill cill arnitt ilits rout root IV eat finding tile he river herc navigable they liol hot owed loed logs with tire and ruin pur linsley linsing from tile the indians indiana as many als for dmd ns as they could carry the lie explorers pel pall fall inn the Kons Kori kiKis skims kee or Clea moler river on oil 10 16 they reached tile the boulli of the file snake river und and floated out into inlo the columbua Colum bla their journey on these westward flowing low lii bid liver hru a astren strenuous bolls one their canoes agocs were upset bips in tile the whirlpools or ersi ras liMl shed into inlo of their baggage was lust lost will MU virtually nothing to eat except dog local tind HIP flip routs roots which taught thecil heip edible they were hungry and weary and labing lail nt 11 an fn cully carly everything berv tiling b but 11 t a strong resolution to lo to on oil S sailed rn on down own the columbia a nal nd on oil november 7 their courage was rewarded rewan lel ir on in ahat dalt daff they first sight of the flip elloit ocean the object of all our labora la iora the lie reward of all our anxieties 1 this I his cheering view lew exhilarated the spirits of tile the party who etere ere still more inore delighted on li hearing tile the distant roar of brenners bre breal ers They had been gone front roni st louls 1 more than 18 months they had find covered by land ono hy by water through perlis perils of every description more than 4 MX miles after spending the lie winter in a rude forill fortelka ica tion named fort clatsop chiy the set out nut on march n 1 ISDO to retrace their steps eastward the journey which hud token taken ther 18 months to complete took them six in ni otillis illis to return on september 23 they arrived arrive at st louis ao 10 0 o receive tile the congratulations of their fellow americans and to find their names permanently enrolled among the great adventurers of tile world florid 0 Q by wearn alir unoji |