2 EARLY EXPLORATION OF RED RIVER. 



and unknown, no white man having ever ascended the stream to its 

 sources. The only information we had upon the subject was derived 

 from Indians and semi-civilized Indian traders, and was of course very 

 unreliable, indefinite, and unsatisfactory; in a word, the country em- 

 braced within the basin of Upper Red river had always been to us a 

 "terra incognita." Several enterprising and experienced travellers had 

 at different periods attempted the examination of this river, but, as yet, 

 none had succeeded in reaching its sources. 



At a very early period, officers were sent out by the French govern- 

 ment to explore Red river, but their examinations appear to have ex- 

 tended no further than the country occupied by the Natchitoches and 

 Caddoes in the vicinity of the present town of Natchitoches, Louisiana. 

 Subsequent examinations had extended our acquaintance with its upper 

 tributaries, but we were still utterly in the dark in regard to the true 

 geographical position of its sources. 



Three years after the cession to the United States, by the First Consul 

 of the French republic, of that vast territory then known as Louisiana, 

 a small party, called the "Exploring expedition of Red river," consisting 

 of Capt. Sparks, Mr. Freeman, Lieut. Humphry, and Dr. Custis, with 

 seventeen private soldiers, two non-commissioned officers, and a black 

 servant, embarked from Saint Catherine's landing near Natchez, Missis- 

 sippi, with instructions to ascend Red river to its sources. They de- 

 scended the Mississippi, and on the 3d of May, 1806, entered Red river, 

 expecting to be able to ascend in their boats to the country of the 

 Pawnee (Pique) Indians. Here it was their intention to leave their 

 boats, and, after packing provisions on horses, which they were to pur- 

 chase from the Pawnees, to proceed (as expressed in their orders) to the 

 top of the mountains, the distance being, as they conjectured, about 

 three hundred miles. 



It is evident from the foregoing that Red river was supposed to issue 

 from a mountainous country, and the preparations for this expedition 

 were made accordingly. This party encountered many difficulties and 

 obstructions in the navigation of the river among the numerous bayous 

 in the vicinity of the great raft, but finally overcame them all, and 

 found themselves upon the river above this formidable obstacle. They 

 were however, soon met by a large force of Spanish troops, the com- 

 mander of which ordered them to proceed no further ; and as their 

 numbers were too small for a thought of resistance, they were forced to 

 turn back and abandon the enterprise. 



Another expedition was fitted out in 1806 by our government, and 

 placed under the command of that enterprising young traveller, Lieut. 



