THE NORTHERN PACIFIC ROUTE. 
47 
western part of the United States and which was first thoroughly 
explored by Lewis and Clark.! 
1 One of the most noteworthy explora- 
tions that was successfully carried out in 
ourl 
rivers by Meriwether Lewis and William 
Clark in the years 1804-1806, and as the 
Northern Pacific Railway follows in a 
general way a partof the same route and is 
the indirect result of their efforts it seems 
appropriate to give herea brief sketch of 
the expedition and of the commanders. 
It is so easy now to cross the continent 
in comfort and even in luxury that the 
difficulties and hardships of such a jour- 
ney in 1804 can not readily be realized. 
Meriwether Lewis was born August 18, 
1774, near Charlottesville, Va., of one of 
the distinguished families of the State. 
He had been for two years the private 
secretary of President Jefferson and was 
serving in that capacity when he was 
selected by the President as commander 
of the exploring expedition to the Pacific 
coast. Upon the completion of his long 
. Lewis returned to Washington, 
but soon afterward (Mar. 3, 1807) he was 
appointed governor of Louisiana and de- 
parted for St. Louis to assume the duties 
of that office. These occupied his atten- 
tion for two years, when he again found it 
necessary to visit Washington. He first 
planned the trip by water, but after going 
as far down the river as Chickasaw Bluffs 
aha he changed his mind and 
tarted east across the country. On the 
wis he committed suicide or was mur- 
dered October 11, 1809, in Lewis County, 
Tenn. 
illiam Clark was born in Caroline 
County, Va., August 1, 1770. He hada 
number of brothers and sisters, of whom 
George Rogers Clark, an elder brother, 
achieved distinction as a milit 
mander. 
years old the family moved to the place 
then called the Falls of the Ohio, now 
Louisville, Ky. The town at that time 
consisted siaroly of a few cabins clustered 
around a fortification which had been 
erected by Clark’s elder brother. When 
the exploring trip to the Pacific coast was 
undertaken Clark was selected by Lewis 
as joint head of the party. Soon after his 
return he was made Indian agent for 
Louisiana, with headquarters at St. Louis, 
and on February 27, 1811, he was ap- 
pointed by President Madison brigadier 
general of the militia of Louisiana. On 
July 1, 1813, he was made governor of 
Mssoutl, an office which he held until 
the Territory was admitted to the Union 
in 1821. In May, 1822, President Monroe 
appointed him Superintendent of Indian 
Affairs, and he held that post until his 
death at St. Louis September 1, 1838. 
His funeral was the most impressive that 
had ever been held in that city. 
United States regarding the navigation of 
that stream. Jefferson fully realized that 
for the complete development of the Mis- 
sissippi Valley it was necessary that we 
should control the mouth of the river. 
Accordingly he began negotiations with 
Spain for the purchase of New Orleans 
and the Floridas.” 
Louisiana was originally a French pos- 
session siete the perish of La Salle. 
It had nan roublesome 
province for France and for this reason it 
other secret treaty ceded ba 
It was therefore a surprise to our negoti- 
ators to find that it was France and not 
Spain with which they would have to 
treat. 
At the time negotiations were opened 
Napoleon was expecting a declaration of 
war by England and the seizure by her of 
the mouth of the Mississippi. This threat- 
ened his supremacy in America as well as 
in Europe, and in order to anticipate this 
move he decided to cede to the United 
States not only New Orleans and the Flor- 
idas but the entire province of Louisiana, 
Ww. was an empire in extent. Out of 
it has been formed the States of Arkansas, 
