104 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis. 



who explored a great part of northern Mexico and the 

 southwestern United States. At the instance of Senator 

 Benton, the United States Senate ordered printed five 

 thousand copies of his journal, together with the accom- 

 panying tables and maps. Dr. Engelmann worked up the 

 flora from the specimens collected by Dr. Wislizenus on 

 this trip. 



From 1844 to 1860 more than twenty expeditions were 

 sent out by the government with the object of determin- 

 ing the best route for a railroad to the Pacific coast. The 

 information obtained through these expeditions was pub- 

 lished by the government in a large series of maps and 

 reports. 23 For the later expeditions under King, Wheeler, 

 Powell, Hayden, and others, gotten up for the purpose 

 of studying the topography, geology, and natural his- 

 tory of the country, St. Louis was no longer the point of 

 departure and return, on account of the advent of rail- 

 roads west of the Mississippi river. 



From the earliest days the history of science in St. 

 Louis has been more or less intimately connected with 

 the institutions for higher education in the city. The 

 oldest institution of this character is the St. Louis Uni- 

 versity, 24 founded in 1818, three years before Missouri 

 was admitted to statehood, when the Eight Eeverend 

 Louis William Du Bourg, Bishop of Louisiana, opened 

 the St. Louis Academy, which grew into the St. Louis 

 College, and finally developed into the St. Louis Uni- 

 versity. The university charter was granted by a special 

 act of the legislature in 1832. St. Louis University is 



23 Warren, G. K. Memoir to accompany the map of the territory of 

 the United States from the Mississippi river to the Pacific Ocean, giv- 

 ing a brief account of the exploring expeditions since A. D. 1800. Re- 

 ports of explorations and surveys, to ascertain the most practicable 

 and economical route for a railroad from the Mississippi river to the 

 Pacific Ocean. 11. 1859. 



24 Hill, W. H. Historical sketch of the St. Louis University. 1879. 

 Fanning, W. H. W. Historical sketch of the St. Louis University. 



Bull. St. Louis Univ. 4: 4. 1908. 



