UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
THE GIFT OF
MAY TREAT MORRISON
IN MEMORY OF
ALEXANDER F MORRISON
I M F
Ph.D.
PPOGRE5S PUBliSHiriG CO.
LQU1S-
•'f:'V.
•-
'
IOUISIANA
'
AN EXPOSITION OFTMEWORLD
ITS PEOPLE AND THEIR
ACHIEVEMENTS.
J.WBUEL, Ph.D
fcDITOR..
WODLD'S PROGRESS PUBLISHING CO .SAINT LOUIS.
Copyright 1904,
by j! W. BDEL
St. Louis.
INTRODUCTION.
VOLUME IH.
ETTLEMENT of the West is a subject at once thrilling and fascinating, with romance, adventure, sufferings, and experiences as diversified as befel the Jasonian Argonauts of legendary his- tory. While these failed in their quest of the golden fleece, pioneers of America who were inspired by a like ambition found in the West a new Eldorado, in which wealth of all that nature carries in her am- ple storehouse was the reward of their strivings. The story has been seldom told, for history has dealt par- tially with the East and almost ignored that vast region which commanded attention after the nation was estab- lished.
In this volume will be found a record of trans-Mississippi exploration and development in which appears, probably, the first consecutive narrative that has been published of territorial organization, state admissions, extension of set- tlements, and industrial inauguration whereby the West has become not only the granary of the world, but the sinew of America. To very few now living is the history
of river navigation known, and the number is not great who are familiar with the railroad enterprises that brought into quick communication with the East the empire that was acquired by purchase from France. This information is supplied in Volume III., which forms one of the most interesting and important divisions supplementing the his- tory of our country, with which it is the patriotic duty of every American to be acquainted.
The story herein recounts the heroism of those explorers who were first to make a passage of the Rocky Mountains, of Lewis and Clark, to whose efforts the West — the world — owes so much that homage should be paid to their names, and of such as come after them blazing ways for the advance of that industrious host that has reclaimed to civil- ization and development the western half of the United States, and thereby made of this confederacy a compact and impregnable nation, resourceful, virile, potential.
In the narrative of the exploits of such western explorers and pioneers as La Salle, Joliet, Marquette, La Vendryre, Hennepin, Tonti, Lyiclede, Pike, Fremont, De Smet, and others whose lives are told in these volumes, there is ample to satisfy the appetite for adventure while serving to instruct in American history, and no less interesting will be found the story herein of early days of boating, the pirogue, the keel-boat, the Mackinaw, the flatboat, and the steamboat on our western waters, followed by the founding of trading posts, many of which have become thriving cities, teeming with population and noisy with the whirr of busy factories turning out products that compete in the markets of the world. It has been a marvelous transfor- mation, and one which may well inspire us with feelings of self-felicitation, as it has won the admiration of all peoples.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
VOLUME III.
DIVISION XLIII.
PAGE
THE FOUNDING OF ST. LOUIS—
New Orleans founded — Earlier settlements — Laclede's jour- ney up the Mississippi — St. Genevieve and Fort Chartres — First news of the treaty between France and England — Laclede establishes a trading-post at St. Louis — General de Belle Rive removes to St. Louis — Building the town — Civil administration and land grants — Founding of other posts in the vicinity — Pontiac's heroism — His reception at St. Louis — Murder of Pontiac — Governors of Upper Louisiana — St. Louis attacked by Indians — Population of settlements in Upper Louisiana — Bellefontaine post — Jefferson Barracks established — Great speculation in real estate 827-854
DIVISION XLIV.
THE PURCHASE OF LOUISIANA TERRITORY—
Serious disputes over the question of free navigation of the Mississippi — Minister Genet's proposal — Jefferson con- fronted with a perplexing problem — New Orleans as a port of deposit — The secret treaty of San Udefonso — Proposition made to acquire Louisiana — Livingston and Monroe at the Court of Napoleon — An unexpected counter proposition — French spoliation claims — Conclusion of the negotiations — Violent opposition to confirmation of the Purchase — Imme- diate effects of the Purchase — Some astonishing statistical
information — A story of amazing development 855-887
I
CONTENTS
DIVISION XLV.
TRANSFER OF UPPER LOUISIANA—
The Capitol Building at St. Louis — The mixed population of St. Louis— The fur trade— Spanish hostility to the trans- fer— The ceremony of transfer — Captain Stoddart represents two nations — Official orders that completed the transfer 888-898
DIVISION XL VI.
BOUNDARY OF THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE—
Indefiniteness of lines of delimitation — Disputes arise over the demarcation of Florida and Louisiana — No maps made of the country — The plot of King and Hamilton — The ac- quisition of Florida — Contention with England over the north boundary — Story of a Natchez Indian explorer — The valid titles of Spain and France to the Northwest — The acquisition of Oregon 899-909
DIVISION XLVII.
LOUISIANA AFTER THE SESSION—
Organizing the territory^of Louisiana — Dissatisfaction over the territorial ordinances — Prohibition of slavery — Assem- bling of the first legislature — The suffrage provision — Antag- onisms between Spaniards and Americans — War imminent — The Aaron Burr conspiracy — General Wilkinson under sus- picion—Martial law declared in New Orleans — Object of Pike's expedition — Hostile attitude of England — Efforts to protect Upper Louisiana — Troops sent to Natchez — A terri- ble malady destroys the greater number — Baton Rouge dis- trict still held by Spaniards — Americans attack the Spanish garrison — Occupation of West Florida — An uprising of slaves — The Insurrection put down — War with England — New Or- leans exposed to an attack — English sympathizers in control of the courts — General Jackson fined for contempt of court.. 910-929
DIVISION XLVIII.
EVENTS PRECEDING THE LEWIS AND CLARK EX- PEDITION—
The Spanish Conquistadores — Intrepidity of the French ex- plorers— Founding of New France — A charter for exclusive
II
CONTENTS
trade privileges in Louisiana given to Crozat — John Law his successor — The Mississippi Bubble — Importing women to become wives of the settlers — Great events which the French failed to profit by — The English conquest of Canada — Amer- ica lost to France — The rise and setting of Napoleon — Spain forced to accept Napoleon's proposals — The San Ildefonso treaty brings opportunity to the door of the United States . . 930-942
DIVISION XLIX.
THE LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION—
A story of adventure that ranks with that of early African ex- plorations— Wonders of a century of development — Jeffer- son's remarkable foresight — His determination to acquire in- formation of the Northwest — Selection of Captains Lewis and Clark to command an expedition — The two proceed to St. Louis — Enlistment of men for the journey — Departure of the expedition — Adventures on an ascent of the Missouri — Many tribes of Indians that are now extinct — First council with Indians — Introduction to the Sioux country — A re- markable mound — Zoology of the region — An entertainment by the Yanktons — Beautiful imagery of certain Indian tribes — Punishment of a deserter — The Mandans — Singular tradi- tions and religious beliefs — The expedition winters among the Mandans — Methods of hunting the buffalo 943-965
DIVISION L.
PROGRESS AND ADVENTURES OF THE EXPEDI- TION—
Engagement of Chaboneau and Sacajawea as guides — Herd of buffaloes attacked by wolves — Big game of many kinds abounds— First view of the Yellowstone — Beavers' huts choke the lateral streams — Strength and ferocity of white bears — Captain Lewis chased by a bear — How wolves hunt the antelope — Killing a brown bear — Driving a herd of buf- faloes over a precipice — Arrival at the mouth of Maria's River — Scenic wonders of the Upper Missouri — The Great Falls — A park in which buffaloes, bears and wolves abound — Narrow escape from a cloudburst — Difficulty encountered in trying to build canoes — In the country of the Shoshones
— A journey of intense sufferings 966-989
III
CONTENTS
DIVISION LI.
PASSAGE OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS—
The three forks of the Missouri — Ascent of the Jefferson branch — Beaver villages obstruct the stream — Animal life becomes scarce and hunger ensues — Reduced to a sorry con- dition—Trying to find an Indian camp — Meeting with a band of Shoshones — Friendly reception by the chief — An antelope hunt — Famished Indians feast off the entrails of a deer — Meeting of Sacajawea and her brother — York, a negro servant, highly regarded by Indian women — Reports of Columbia River — The Shoshones furnish horses — Extreme barrenness of the country 990-1004
DIVISION LII.
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE NORTHWEST INDIANS— Subsistence on roots and berries — Fish-seins made of willow — Afflicted with poverty the Shoshones still remain honest and unselfish — Their morality and decorum — Vindictively pursued by the Pawnees — Domestic life — Value of scalps as tokens of prowess — Indians frequently change their names — Meeting with a band of Salish — Dreadful mountain climbing — Miseries of the expedition multiply — Food obtained from a party of Nez Perec's — Negotiations for dried salmon and roots — Directed to the Columbia — Afloat on the Clearwater — Many Indian villages on the river — Bartering with the natives — In the land of salmon — Indians believe Captain Clark to be a great magician — Strange customs of the Pish- quitpaws — Disposition of their dead 1005-1021
DIVISION LIII.
PASSAGE OF THE CONTINENT COMPLETED—
The expedition reaches the falls of the Columbia — A difficult portage — Indian method of preserving fish — Members of the expedition acquire a liking for dog flesh — Shooting the Dalles — Effects of violin music upon Indians — Desire to adopt negro York into their tribe — Real purposes of the ex- pedition— Singular houses and habits of the Chilluckitte- quaw tribe— A bunch of forefingers offered for beads— The
IV
CONTENTS
ocean is sighted — Establishing a camp and building a fort in which to spend the winter — Exploring the adjacent coun- try— Trade and social relations with the Chinnooks — A shocking custom — Gambling games 1022-1035
DIVISION LIV.
THE RETURN TRIP BEGUN—
A supply of food obtained from Chief Coboway — For which Captain Lewis gives the Indians the seven huts his expedi- tion occupied — Certificates attesting kindness also bestowed — Notices of the Overland Passage accomplished set up — The expedition leaves Fort Clatsop amid the wails of friendly Indians — Ascent of the Columbia — Exploring the Willamette country — Gathering wappatoo — Weapons of the Multnomah nation — Manner of disposing of their dead — Cordelling canoes through the Dalles — Troubles with Indians — Negotia- tions conducted for horses— A dispute with Chief Twisted Hair — Subsisting on horse and dog flesh — Forced to go into camp to await the melting of a heavy snow — Captain Clark a great medicine man — The expedition is divided — McNeal has a narrow escape from a bear — Meeting with a party of Blackfeet — A surprise, and battle, in which two Indians are killed — Captain Lewis accidentally shot 1036-1056
DIVISION LV.
EXPLORATION OF THE YELLOWSTONE—
Captain Clark's journey overland — His party divided — Seri- ous accident to one of the men — Half their horses stolen by Crow Indians — Afloat on Yellowstone river — Potnpey's Pil- lar— Big Horn sheep and beaver abound — Progress inter- rupted by vast herds of buffaloes — Bears become troublesome — A plague of mosquitoes — Building bull-boats — Reunion of the expedition — A council with the Minnetarees — Chief per- suaded to visit Washington — The guides discharged — Arrival at Mandan — Progress down the Missouri — A post recom- mended to be built where Kansas City now stands — Delight inspired by a sight of cows — Arrival and reception at St. Charles — Completion of the journey, and celebration of the
return to St. Louis 1057-1072
V
CONTENTS DIVISION LVL
PAGE
SUBSEQUENT CAREERS OF LEWIS AND CLARK— An empire added to the nation— One of the world's greatest expeditions— Jefferson's purposes and his remarkable fore- sight— First proposals as to a Northwest expedition — Peculiar fitness of Captain Lewis as a leader— Captain Lewis' report to Congress — Appointed Governor of Louisiana— Captain Clark made general of the territory militia — Jefferson's tribute to Lewis — The president's account of the Lewis tragedy — Suicide in a wayside tavern — Captain Clark ap- pointed Governor of Missouri territory— His death in St. Louis — Careers of other members of the expedition 1073-1083
DIVISION LVIL
EXPLORATIONS OF PIKE AND FREMONT—
Lieutenant Pike sent to discover the source of the Missis- sippi— A council with Sioux Indians — Portage around St. Anthony Falls — Winter spent in Minnesota — Pike's return to St. Louis, and departure on an expedition to the West — Seeking the source of Arkansas river — Discovery of Pike's Peak — Vain attempt to reach the summit — In search of the source of Red river — Pike is arrested by Spaniards — Ugly insinuations, reflecting on General Wilkinson — Fremont's expeditions to the far West — Fremont's Pass — Exploration of Salt Lake — In the Columbia River country — Fremont's services in California — Other explorers of the West 1084-1097
DIVISION LVIII.
THE MISSIONARY LABORS OF FATHER DE SMET— Effects of Missionary work among the Indians — Heroes of the Cross — De Smet's arrival at Astoria — Setting up a mis- sion boarding-school — Creating bonds of sympathy— Cus- toms of Oregon Indians — How Camish root is cooked — A fish banquet — Disgusting food of certain Indians — Cannibal- ism during famines — Fight between Crees and Blackfeet — Interesting Indian legends — How men and women first came to be mated — Propitiating gods of good and evil — The Indian idea of Creation — Echoes of Norse and Egyptian
VI
CONTENTS
mythology — The god of judgment — The medicine spirit — Superstitious rites and strange beliefs — The Pawnees sacri- fice a young girl — Description of the sacrifice — Affinity with the Toltec and Aztec religious customs — Are the Pawnees descendants of the Mound Builders ? — The great good ac- complished by De Smet 1098-1119
DIVISION LIX.
EXTENSION OF SETTLEMENTS AND DISPUTES WITH
ENGLAND—
Pioneers pour into the Mississippi Valley — St. Louis a French town — Settlements along White, Arkansas and St. Francis rivers — Organization of Arkansas territory — Missouri applies for statehood — Vexatious questions delay her admis- sion— Rapid increase of population — Arkansas becomes a state — The Black Hawk war — Settlement of Iowa — A treaty with the Sauk and Fox Indians — Seeking an Eldorado in the farther West — The Star of Empire moves to Oregon — " Fifty-four-forty or fight ' ' — Admission of Oregon 1120-1 13 1
DIVISION LX.
WAR WITH ENGLAND,— BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS— Louisiana a storm center of dispute with England — Break- ing faith with France — Jay's treaty an affront to France — The War of 1812 and its causes — Jackson's victory at the Horse-Shoe — Jackson made major-general — He places New Orleans in a state of defense — Lafitte and his band of pirates enlisted — Invasion of Louisiana by General Packenham — Plan of the British attack — Description of the battle — Pack- enham killed and the British routed — Failure of the English fleet to cooperate — Louisiana enters upon a career of great prosperity — Her constitutions of 1812 and 1844 1132-1146
DIVISION LXI.
DEVELOPMENT OF WESTERN COMMERCE—
Infinite natural resources of the West — Navigation by pi- rogue and keel-boat — Character of boatmen — Earliest freight
VII
CONTENTS
service on the Ohio and Mississippi — Recklessness of flat- boatmen — How keel-boats were navigated — Hardships of an up-river trip — An interesting advertisement — First voyage from Pittsburg to New Orleans — Coming of the steamboat — Record of steamboat building — Packet lines established on the Mississippi, Red and Arkansas rivers — Navigation on the Missouri — Remarkable erosion of its banks 1147-1167
DIVISION LXII.
DEVELOPMENT OF WESTERN COMMERCE (Continued)— First post established on the Missouri — Founding of West- port and Independence — The rise of Kansas City — Import- ance of the Santa Fe trail — Fort Leavenworth, St. Joseph, and Omaha — The great overland route — Gold discoveries in the West — Uprising of Sioux Indians in Minnesota — A campaign of dreadful massacre — Capture and execution of thirty-eight Indians — The Minnesota tragedy of 1862 — The Sioux are driven to Dakota — Caster's fight on the Little Big Horn— Killing of Sitting Bull — The first railroad into St. Louis — Building of roads through the West — History of the transcontinental lines — A vast empire of fruitful plenty. . . 1 168-1186
VIII
LIST OF PHOTOGRAVURES.
VOLUME III.
PAGE
JEAN BAPTISTE I/A MOYNE, SIEUR DE BIENVILLE 829
THOMAS JEFFERSON 849
ROBERT R. LIVINGSTON 857
MARQUIS DE TALLEYRAND 861
MARQUIS DE BARBE-MARBOIS 867
JAMES MONROE 873
CEREMONY OF TERRITORIAL TRANSFER AT ST. Louis 897
WILLIAM C. C. CLAIBORNE 913
CAPTAINS LEWIS AND CLARK 939
GREAT FALLS OF THE MISSOURI 983
SACAJAWEA GUIDING THE LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION 991
CAPE DISCOVERY, MOUTH OF THE COLUMBIA 1031
AT THK MOUTH OF THE MISSISSIPPI 1167
LIST OF MONOGRAVURES.
VOLUME III.
PAG8
A PIROGUE ON THE MISSISSIPPI 831
STATUE OF ST. Louis 837
FIRST CAPITOL BUILDING OF UPPER LOUISIANA 889
A KEEL-BOAT ON THE MISSOURI 947
MANDAN VILLAGE AND BULL-BOATS 961
FORT PIERRE 967
FORT UNION 967
HUNTING THE BROWN BEAR 973
WHITE CASTLES, UPPER MISSOURI 977
SCENIC SHORES OF THE MISSOURI 977
NORTH FORK OF COLUMBIA RIVER 1001
INDIAN WICKEYUP IN THE UMATILLA RESERVATION 1001
DALLES OF THE COLUMBIA 1025
FALLS OF THE KOOTENAI 1025
MULTNOMAH FALLS 1039
INDIANS BREAKING CAMP 1039
HERD OF BUFFALOES CROSSING THE YELLOWSTONE 1061
BIG GAME ALONG THE UPPER MISSOURI 1061
Sioux INDIANS HORSE-RACING 1067
TRADING WITH THE MANDANS 1067
A MISSOURI PIONEER'S HOME ... 1093
MAP OF THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS 1 133
XI
LIST OF MONOGRA VURES
TAGB
BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS 1139
OLD CABILDO AND CATHEDRAL, NEW ORLEANS 1143
CHALMETTE NATIONAL CEMETERY, NEW ORLEANS 1 143
JACKSON SQUARE AND MONUMENT 1149
MOVERS, BY FLATBOAT, DOWN THE MISSISSIPPI 1155
A DANCE OP JOLLY FLATBOATMEN 1159
STEAMBOATING ON THE MISSOURI 1163
A GOVERNMENT STEAMBOAT ON THE YELLOWSTONE 1163
RIVER VIEW OF KANSAS CITY, 1860 1 169
CHIEF CROW'S FIGHT WITH THE Sioux 1175
AN INCIDENT IN THE MINNESOTA WAR, 1862 1179
COLORED MAP OF LOUISIANA PURCHASE TERRITORY AND ALL ACQUISITIONS 965
XII
DIVISION XLIII.
The Founding of St. Louis.
WE have seen, by facts set forth in preceding divisions of this work, that notwithstanding the tide of emigration that flowed towards the valleys of the Mississippi and its tributaries between the years 1750 and 1800, that if we ex- cept New Orleans there was not a single town of much im- portance west of Indiana at the latter date. This is due to obvious causes, chief of which may be named the French and English war, and the power of the Indian tribes, that still claimed title to the whole region and resolutely resisted efforts to dispossess them. By treaty of 1763 France re- linquished all territory, theretofore claimed by her in North America, but this relinquishment failed to give peaceable possession, for practically all the great Indian tribes had been loyal to France, and defeat had not changed this friendship. It therefore fell to the fortune of England after vanquishing the French to set about the harder task of subduing the Indians. Then followed the war for Independence, which, though largely confined to the eastern section, disturbed the entire country and ar- rested for a time the westward march of emigration.
New Orleans was founded by Bienville in 1717, who
827 "
TERRITORY
in the\fejRJwtt%} year, : being' appointed governor, sent a force of 80 convicts from the prisons of France to clear the tract and trace out a plan for the town, but as early as 1679 Fort Crevecoeur was established on the Illinois, near where Peoria now stands; in 1695 Kaskaskia, on the Miss- issippi, was settled, which soon after was made the capital of the territory of Illinois, followed by the building of Fort Chartres, twenty miles above, in 1720, which furnished a de- gree of protection to white settlers of that section. The last vestiges of Fort Chartres were destroyed by caving banks in 1777, while Kaskaskia, though still on the map, is a small village, cut off from the main-land by a chute, and is now difficult to approach either by land or water.
Natchez existed as a place of some size at the time of De Soto's expedition, for it was the capital of the Natchez nation, a people in many respects the most interesting, and more nearly civilized of all the aborigines north of Mexico. This town, after its occupation by the French, under Bien- ville, assumed some importance, both as a fort and an entrepot, next to which in consequence on the Mississippi was Ste. Genevieve, the founding of which is traditionally said to have occurred in 1735. Other villages, notably Cahokia, existed on the banks of the river, but they were insignificant and have long since passed into oblivion. But though there were few towns in the Mississippi Valley, there was considerable commerce in furs, peltries, and lead- ore, which articles were shipped from the north to New
828
JEAN BAPTISTE LE MOYNE, SIEUR DE 'BIENVILLK.
BIENVILI.E was a member of a distinguished family of Colonizer*, aad accompa- nied Ibervi He to this country in 1761 to assume direction of the French Colony of Louisiana. In 1718 Bienville founded New Orleans and in the same year he was appointed governor, but in 1720 was removed, to be rcappointcd again there several times, until disgusted with the jealousies that beset him be returned to France in 1743. The date of the founding of New Orleans it m dispute, some authorities fixing 171733 the year, others maintain that tfcc time was 1718, while several insist that the date was 1719.
AQ *\mi UAV^CXV
-•• icrtt <i<K>
'«^, sllivmil bain .
"alley,
THE FOUNDING OF ST. LOUIS
Orleans by way of the river, and thence sent in ships to France.
The fur industry early assumed marked importance, through the operations of French traders in the North and Northwest, and New Orleans derived much of her wealth from that source. Among the residents of New Orleans at this time, who had contributed much to her growth and com- merce, was Pierre Liguest Laclede, a Frenchman, who came to America about 1750 with a small patrimony which he invested in an indigo-plant plantation, but with no success, so that he cast about for other means of subsistence. In- deed, he engaged in many undertakings which though each in turn proved profitless, gave him, nevertheless, the repu- tation of being an enterprising and resourceful man, to whose energies New Orleans was indebted for the establish- ment of industries that added measurably to her im- portance.
In 1762 the fur and peltry business attracted Laclede's attention, and he conceived the idea directly of securing a charter for a company to trade with Indians of the North for products of the chase. His purpose having been settled Laclede applied to and obtained from D'Abbadie, the civil and military Director-General of New Orleans, such a license as gave him practically a monopoly of the fur trade with Indians of that part of Upper Louisiana now embraced by the limits of Missouri, as far north as the river St.
Peters. This limitation is indefinite, as no such river exists
829
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
in Missouri, and the geography of the country being little known at the time it was possible to extend the monopoly claim to a large extent of territory.
Having obtained a liberal charter that covered, in fact, every kind of trading, Laclede interested a wealthy mer- chant of New Orleans named Maxent in his enterprise and organized a company, the title of which was Maxent, Laclede & Co. All preliminaries of the enterprise having been per- fected Laclede engaged seventy-five men, hunters, boatmen, and artisans, and providing a large store of provisions, arms and ammunition, which he loaded into a forty ton Mackinaw boat, in the latter part of August, 1763, he em- barked for the Upper Mississippi in quest of a suitable situation on the river to establish a trading-post. Besides the employes engaged for the expedition Laclede was accom- panied by his wife, one daughter, and two stepsons, Pierre, the younger, and Auguste Chouteau, the latter having been born in September, 1750, and was therefore only thirteen years of age at this time. This lad very soon assumed an important part not only in the expedition, but in the history of St. Louis, as the sequel will disclose. The wife of Laclede is called Madame Chouteau in all annals of the city, a circumstance quite confusing, in the absence of information that explains the cause: Madame Chou- teau was divorced from her first husband and afterwards married Laclede, but the Catholic Church refuses, except in rare instances to recognize divorce, and being unable to
830
DEVELOPMENT OF NAVIGATION.
'JT'HE accompanying illustration presents a scene once familiar on western waters ^» when the art of navigation had progressed from the first stage of canoeing to that of. the use of pirogues, by employment of which all freight transportation was for a long while conducted, or until superceded by the Mackinaw and kee boat.
fC country bei'<£ little ;x)ly
Laciede <*)
seven
iijjl Lns v/snix
.
-au, the , ann
THE FOUNDING OF ST. LOUIS
obtain a dispensation from the church sanctioning her mar- riage to Laclede, Madame Chouteau continued to be called after the name of her first husband.
Progress up the river was slow, for propulsion of the large heavy craft was by cordelling, warping, rowing with heavy sweeps, and the small aid that a sail gave when the wind was strong from the south. The party being numer- ous sleeping accommodations could not be provided on the boat for all, so it was necessary to tie up at night and camp on shore. The trip was therefore not only tedious and laborious but was alleviated by few pleasant happenings and aggravated by many misadventures.
It was not until November that the expedition reached Ste. Genevieve, a place of some consequence, deriving its chief support from lead mines in the neighborhood that had been opened and worked by Indians as early as 1735. Though the town had a population of nearly 500, Laclede was unable to secure accommodations for his party, or storage-room for his goods, which compelled him to con- tinue his journey until he reached Fort de Chartres, where he accepted the kindly offer of the commandant, Neyon de Villers, who gave him the use of a building ample for his needs. The fort at this time was in the form of an irregular quadrangle, the sides of which were 490 feet in length, built of stone and more than two feet thick, pierced with loop-holes for muskets and port-holes for cannon, which made it the strongest fort in North America, a 833
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
At the time of Laclede's arrival at Fort Chartres the treaty by which France had relinquished to England that immense region which comprised all her one-time rich pos- sessions east of the Mississippi, was several months old, but news traveled so slowly that not until he arrived at Fort Chartres did he receive any knowledge that a termination of the war was even imminent. The report, however, was soon confirmed, and led to an entire change of Laclede's plans, for his original intention had been to establish a post in the vicinity of Fort Chartres, and on the east side of the river, where his station might have protection of the French garrison, but being inveterate in his hatred of the English, Laclede resolved to settle at some point on the west side of the river, because that part of North America was in possession of the Spanish, though at the time Laclede supposed it was French territory, not included in the treaty.
Laclede stored his goods, and left his family at Fort Chartres, during the months of December and January, but improved the time by proceeding up the river in an open boat, accompanied by several of his men, as far as the mouth of the Missouri. On this trip he made a careful exami- nation of the country and at last found a site suitable to his purpose opposite the French village of Cahokia and marked the spot by blazing several trees that stood upon the river bank. Having fixed upon a location for his trading-post, Laclede returned to Fort Chartres, where he found that de Villers had meantime relinquished command to St. Ange de
834
THE FOUNDING OF ST. LOUIS
Belle Rive, who was greatly disturbed by prospects of hav- ing- to surrender the fort to the English, which fear was soon after confirmed by the arrival of Captain Sterling with authority to take possession. Laclede was pleased to find St. Ange favorable to a proposal to remove the garrison to the spot chosen for a trading-station, and to facilitate matters he gave his stepson, Auguste Chouteau, instructions to take a company of his employers and pro- ceed by boat to the spot marked by blazes on the trees, and begin at once the construction of log houses. The youth entered upon these responsibilities with ardor, and acquitted himself in a manner that would have done credit to one of mature years and large experience. This work of build- ing was begun on the I5th of February, 1764, upon which date the city of St. Louis may be said to have been born. Laclede remained at Fort Chartres two months longer, attending to a transfer of stores to St. Louis, a name which he gave to the station in honor of Louis IX of France, who as a crusader of the Thirteenth Century displayed so much valor that he was canonized by the church.
The boats all being employed in a removal of the stores, in the latter part of April Laclede proceeded to St. Louis overland through Illinois, a trip which gave him oppor- tunity to enlist the interests of several French families whom he persuaded to settle in the town he had established. Upon approaching within sight of the new settlement and seeing so much activity displayed in the building of houses,
835
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
(enthusiasm prompted him to predict that the place he had chosen for a trading-post would one day become a great city, the capital or metropolis of the West.
The first substantial structure completed was built of stone, with a clapboard roof for use as a place of busi- ness and residence of Laclede and his family, but work pro- ceeded at the same time on temporary houses of shelter for the workmen, and when spring set in several log houses were quickly finished to provide homes for settlers who came to the place in such numbers that by the close of the year St. Louis had become a village of nearly one hun- dred souls, exclusive of the men employed by Laclede. The settlement was at first confined to a small space, so that mutual protection might be afforded in case of an attack by Indians. These first houses, accordingly, were located back of the bluff, on a piece of ground which is now bounded by Main and Second streets east and west, and by Market and Walnut streets north and south.
A fresh impetus to the growth of the settlement was given by orders issued by the French government directing General St. Ange de Belle Rive to remove his troops to St. Louis and to assume military command of the new post, but no provision was made at this time for a civil adminis- tration. St. Ange accordingly transferred his company to St. Louis in July, 1765, and proceeded at once to build a fort, of brush and dirt, and to erect barracks, in the mean- time using Laclede's house for his headquarters, the small
836
STATUE OF ST. LOUIS.
ST. Louis, having been chosen as the first Colonial Headquarters of Upper Louisiana, has a pride in the Exposition somewhat greater than the interest of other cities, and this idea Mr. Niehaus has sought to personify in a statue entitled "The Apotheosis of Saint Louis", 'which is one of the decorative features of the Grand Court. The city was named in honor of Louis IX of France, a bold Crusader, who for deeds of valor in an effort to reclaim Jerusalem in the thirteenth centurv \\u> canonized bv the church.
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THE FOUNDING OF ST. LOUIS
garrison being housed in the cellar. St. Ange was wel- comed with much satisfaction by the fast-growing popu- lation, for besides affording protection he was very highly regarded personally.
In the absence of provisions for a civil administrator, of which great need was felt, the inhabitants of the village memorialized St. Ange, in a petition signed by every resi- dent, to assume the duties of chief magistrate, which position he was induced to accept though without author- ity from his government. As civil commandant, as well as military, St. Ange not only acted as magistrate, but performed the duties which belonged to governors of the time, among others that of conferring grants of land, and conveying parcels, trusting his government to confirm his acts, since necessities of the situation demanded that some one should assume these duties, for otherwise the people would have no color of title to property, or any inducement to become permanent settlers. His confidence was in no wise misplaced, for though St. Ange never re- ceived a commission as civil commandant, his acts as such were subsequently officially approved and his grants of land confirmed by the Spanish government to the very great relief of those who had improved property in St. Louis.
In 1768 the second stone house was built in St. Louis by a mechanic named Martini, who had been one of Laclede's company on the trip up from New Orleans. This building being the largest in the town was soon made the colonial
839
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
capitol of Upper Louisiana, and it was on the porch of this house that the ceremonies of transfer, 1804, took place.
The town of St. Louis prospered greatly almost from the day that work of cutting trees and hewing logs for the first house was begun. Not only was the site well chosen, both from a health and commercial point of view, but occu- pation by the English of the territory east of the Missis- sippi contributed greatly to the town's prosperity. The French settlements, which were of considerable extent on the east side, were promptly abandoned when the English came, and moved to the west side of the river, which con- tinued to be occupied by the French until its transference to Spain in 1770. Not only did this change serve to aug- ment the population x>f St. Louis, but caused the found- ing of other towns in the neighborhood, such as Vide Poche (empty pocket), afterwards called Carondelet, in 1767, Petites Cotes (little hills), now St. Charles, in 1769, and Florissant (flourishing), in 1776.
About the time of the founding of St. Louis the fame of Pontiac was so great that it was on the lips of every French- man to cheer and upon every Englishman's to abuse. Pontiac was not only a chief of the Ottawas, but he was a statesman, orator, and great warrior as well, whose equal in these respects is not to be found among his race. It was Pontiac who formed a mighty confederacy of the Ottawas, Ojibways, and Potawatamies, and whose influence extended to almost every Indian nation in North America. It
840
THE FOUNDING OF ST. LOUIS
was Pontiac who destroyed Braddock, who overwhelmed the Canadians, who valorously besieged Detroit, burned Fort Sandusky, and performed a hundred other acts of prowess and terror that caused the English to look upon him as a devil in power and cruelty. Among the many ambitious acts and schemes that distinguished Pontiac was one formed in the winter of 1762-63, which contemplated not only an overthrow of the English but the establishment of French military dominion in the west, and confirmation of an Indian confederacy as the balance of power between the French and English. This ambition is known in history as " Pontiac' s Conspiracy."
When the siege of Detroit was one month old rumors reached Pontiac of a treaty having been signed whereby France surrendered abjectly to England all claims to terri- tory in North America. But the implacable chief re- fused to believe the report and continued the siege until an answer came to his demand for ammunition made upon the commandant of Fort Chartres, which not only confirmed the news, but ordered him to accept the treaty terms. This order threw Pontiac into the greatest rage, and so far from accepting it, he became more implacable and determined, so that it was not until 1766 that the English were able to break his power, after several massacres and unspeakable atrocities had been perpetrated on both sides.
After the complete extinguishment of his ambition by
subjugation to English rule, Pontiac fell into evil ways,
841
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
and soon became a confirmed drunkard, a dangerous man when inebriated, and a cunning, plotting Indian when sober, so that he was dreaded by the English, who regarded him as a menace to the peace of the northwest territory.
In 1769 St. Ange sent Pontiac a cordial invitation to visit him at St. Louis, promising such entertainment as hospi- tality and his resources might make possible. This in- vitation the great chief accepted and his reception was marked by the most cordial greetings and evidences of ad- miration. He was entertained at Laclede's mansion, the largest in the town, where the citizens congregated to pay their respects and to thank him for the distinguished ser- vices he had rendered the French in their war with England. Pontiac was greatly pleased with this flattery, and showed his pride of position in several ways, chief of which was by appearing in the uniform of a general, which had been given him, by Montcalm, at the siege of Detroit and, when in- toxicated, which was often, by boasting of his prowess.
Pontiac had spent nearly two weeks in St. Louis, feted and favored by the citizens, when he learned that a ball was to be given by the English residents of Cahokia, and forth- with he determined to attend it. St. Ange tried in vain to persuade him to abandon such a purpose, representing the danger which he would incur in venturing himself among his enemies who would be glad of an opportunity to des- troy him. But Pontiac, regardless of all warnings, dressed
himself in the gorgeous costume of an Indian chief, and
842
THE FOUNDING OF ST. LOUIS
evading the watchfulness of St. Ange he crossed the river and was welcomed by English residents. Their cordiality, however, was insincere, disguising a sinister design which was speedily consummated. Pontiac was encouraged to imbibe until scarcely able to stand upon his feet, when he was lured into a thicket and there assassinated. His mur- derer is said to have been a Kaskaskia Indian, hired to do the deed by the promise of a barrel of whiskey, but this assertion cannot be verified.
The tragic death of Pontiac produced the greatest ex- citement, and feeling ran high, which for a while threatened to result in hostilities between the French of St. Louis, and the English of Cahokia, but happily better counsel pre- vailed to avert threats of retaliation. The body of the dead chieftain was brought to St. Louis by St. Ange, who made preparations to give it a military funeral such as he thought so famous a warrior deserved. Accordingly the body was dressed in the uniform of a general, which had been worn with so much pride during the last days of the chief, and exposed to public view for four days, during which time hundreds of persons, Indians, French, and Spaniards viewed the remains, many coming from long distances for the purpose. When the day announced for the funeral arrived the town was crowded with people, and the ceremonies involved a military display such as had never been equaled on the frontier. The body was borne to the grave by a committee of prominent citizens, followed
843
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
by all the troops of the garrison, carrying their arms re- versed, to the beat of muffled drums, and the occasional boom of cannon served instead of tolling bell. The grave- yard in which the distinguished chief was laid was located at the time on the property that is now bounded by Fourth street and Broadway, and beginning about one hundred feet north of Walnut street extended north to a ravine fifty feet south of the south line of what is now Chestnut street. This graveyard had been used by Indians before the found- ing of St. Louis, and continued to be so used by non-Catholic citizens until the property, which had been granted to Au- guste Chouteau, was required for building purposes. There was also at the time a Catholic burying ground on Walnut street between First an.d Second street, where the Cathedral now stands. The grave in which the body of Pontiac was laid was dug near the southwest corner of the cemetery, according to the traditions of those whose ancestors par- ticipated in the ceremonies. Later (1774) the body of St. Ange de Belle Rive was buried in the Catholic cemetery, but no monument or gravestone was erected to mark the site of either. Subsequently the burial place of de Belle Rive was located and the remains were removed to Calvary ceme- tery, where they still repose.
The year following the death of Pontiac brought fresh excitement to St. Louis when Alexander O'Reilly, an Irish- man by name, but a Spaniard by birth, arrived at New
Orleans with three thousand men, who after suppressing a
844
THE FOUNDING OF ST. LOUIS
revolt there by the exercise of rigorous means, proclaimed the supremacy of Spanish authority over both Lower and Upper Louisiana. This act was followed by the appoint- ment of Don Pedro Piernas as governor of Upper Louis- iana, who in 1770 reached St. Louis and took possession of the territory. The French citizens saw in this act another humiliation, coming soon after their subjection by the English, but they were soon reconciled to the change by reason of the consideration shown them by the new gov- ernor. Piernas not only appointed St. Ange a captain of Infantry, but established boundary lines and confirmed all the land grants, conveyances, and judicial acts performed by him in the absence of legal authority.
Francisca Cruzat succeeded Piernas in 1775, an amiable man and a just governor, but in 1778 his successor was ap- pointed, an unpopular Spaniard named Fernando Leyba, during whose administration effects of the war of the Revo- lution began to be felt in the west. In the latter part of this year Laclede died, and his possessions, including all his land grants, being claimed by his partner, Antoine Max- ent, they were sold at public vendue for the sum of $3,000, the purchaser being Auguste Chouteau.
War between England and her colonies, in which all the western Indians were allies of the English, brought great suffering upon the people of St. Louis and upon all Ameri- cans living east of the Mississippi. St. Louis might have escaped had it not been for the fact that Spain sympathized
845
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
with the colonies, and aided them in many ways. This secret affiliation greatly incensed the English and prompted them to incite an Indian attack upon St. Louis. Meantime, however, Colonel George Rogers Clark, acting under the authority of Virginia, captured Cahokia, Kaskaskia, and all English posts along the east shore of the Mississippi in the vicinity of St. Louis, and then proceeded upon an ex- pedition against Vincennes. His departure left the people of St. Louis practically at the mercy of the Indians because the Spanish garrison was a small one and the fortifications were such only by courtesy, as they afforded little or no de- fense against the attack of an enemy. The people, there- fore, to protect themselves, joined with the soldiers in build- ing more substantial fortifications, and being unmolested while engaged in the work, which was prosecuted through- out the winter, by spring they had a strong fort made of palisades and dirt, and so well defended that there was a general feeling of security.
In May, 1780, fifteen hundred Indians, comprising in nearly equal proportions Ojibways, Winnebagoes, and Sioux set out to attack St. Louis, carefully concealing their inten- tion, and moving with such celerity that the people of the town had received no intimation that an enemy was ap- proaching. May 25 was a day of church celebration, the festival of Corpus Christi, and as the inhabitants of St. Louis were very devout Catholics, their observance of the
day was universal. The religious ceremonies took place
846
THE FOUNDING OF ST. LOUIS
about the middle of the day, after which the people enjoyed themselves in various ways, a large number going some dis- tance beyond the village to gather strawberries. Fortunately for the inhabitants the Indians, though they had reached the vicinity, did not know of the festival or of the opportunity it offered them to massacre the unsuspecting people. On the following day the entire force landed at what is now Bremen, some three miles above the fort, and made a cir- cuitous route, passing where the Fair Grounds are now located, with the intention of attacking the village from the rear. Near the Fair Grounds the Indians surprised two Frenchmen, one of whom they killed and took the other prisoner, but this act was witnessed by others who escaped and promptly gave the alarm, fleeing towards the fortifica- tions. In a few moments excitement was intense, as guns were firing in all directions, and men, women and children were screaming as they fled from pursuing Indians and sought safety in the fort.
The garrison consisted of a body of militia from Ste. Genevieve under the command of Silvia Francisco Carta- bona, as cowardly a set of poltroons as ever bore arms. In- stead of meeting the attack, each and every one of these uniformed dastards concealed themselves and basely refused to make the slightest defense. It therefore devolved upon the citizens to do all the fighting, which, praise to their courage, they right manfully and valorously did, using guns of every kind, and firing the cannons with such good results
847
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
that the Indians were finally beaten off, or frightened into a retreat by the great noise of the cannons, which they heard for the first time. After the fight it was ascertained that twenty-seven persons, nearly all women and children, had been killed by the Indians, their bodies being found between the present location of the Fair Grounds and the fort. If any Indians were killed St. Louis annals contain no account of the number.
Governor Leyba was removed from office soon after the attack upon St. Louis and Cruzat was again appointed, under whom the fortifications of St. Louis were extended and strengthened, which Switzler thus describes :
" Cruzat established half a dozen or more stone forts, nearly circular in shape, about fifty feet in diameter and twenty feet high, connected by a stout stockade of posts. On the river bank, near the spot formerly occupied by the floating docks, was a stone tower, called the ' Half Moon/ from its shape, and westwardly of it, near the present in- tersection of Broadway and Cherry street, was erected a square building called the ' Boston/ and south of this, on the line of Olive street, a circular stone fort was situated. A similar building was built on Walnut street, intended for a fort and prison. There was also a fort near Mill Creek, and east of this, near the river, was another circular fort. The strong stockade of cedar posts connecting these forts were pierced with loop-holes for small arms. The efficiency of this well devised line of defense was not subjected to the
848
THOMAS JEFFERSON.
Jefferson, Third President of the United States, was born in Albemarle ^•^ County, Virginia, 1743. and died in his home at Monticello, July 4, 1826. He was educated at William and Mary College, adopted the law as a profession, and entered politics in 1765 when he was elected to the Assembly, where he served with distinction as a member of the Committee of Safety. An earnest advocate of separation of the Colonies from England he drafted the Declaration of Inde- pendence and when independence war achieved he was elected Governor of Virginia but soon after was made Minister to France, returningto America in 1789 to accept the portfolio of Secretar\ of State in the second Washington administra- tion. In the presidential election of 1796 he was chosen vice-president with John Adams, and in 1800 succeeded t<> the presidency. It was during his first term an the nation'* executive that i\\- f- .M h^«e uf Louisiana territory was accomplished.
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test of another attack, for although during the continuance of the Revolutionary War, and even after the treaty of peace of 1783, other settlements on the Mississippi and Missouri rivers had to contend against the savages, St. Louis was not
again molested." Cruzat was succeeded in 1788 by Manuel Perez, who five
years later gave place to Zenon Trudeau, who instituted sev- eral measures calculated to increase immigration into Upper Louisiana. He resigned in 1798 and Charles Dehault De- lassus de Delusiere, a Frenchman, was named his successor. The latter caused a census to be taken, in 1799, of Upper Louisiana settlements, which showed the following: St. Louis, 925; Carondelet, 184; St. Charles, 875; St. Ferdi- nand, 276; Marius des Leard, 376; Meramec, 115; St. An- drew, 393; Ste. Genevieve, 949; New Bourbon, 560; Cape Girardeau, 521; New Madrid, 782; Little Meadows, 72. Of this total of 6,028 souls, 4,948 were whites. Of these twelve towns, six no longer exist, while of the other six only St. Louis has shown any great degree of prosperity.
During the governorship of Delassus immigration was mightily increased, and this influx of population was followed by an era of what may be called frenzied spec- ulation. As Spain had small appreciation of the value of her possessions in America it became her practise to make large grants of land without consideration, and with little regard to who might be the applicant. This disposition to give away land caused a wave of immigration to roll in
849
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
upon Upper Louisiana, and men asked for large grants with- out any intention of making improvements, or any thought of becoming permanent settlers. Among the several thus made was a grant of 30,000 acres to the officer in command at St. Charles; 8000 acres to Francis Xavier, and consid- erable bodies were given to Pierre Laclede, one of which beginning at what is now Fourth and Walnut streets ex- tending west as far as Grand Avenue, and south to Hickory street — 1031 acres. This large tract was given Laclede as a bonus for erecting the first flour mill — on Chouteau's Pond — built in St. Louis, or in upper Louisiana. Another of these grants to Laclede was seventy-five acres of land, the south line of which was what is now Market street and extended east and west from what is now Fourth to Sixth street, and north to Olive street, a tract which possesses enormous value at this time. Both of these tracts were purchased by Auguste Chouteau at the forced sale of Laclede' s effects.
Desire to avail themselves of this golden opportunity to acquire land induced thousands to come to St. Louis, and for a while speculation in securing, buying and selling was so great as almost to rival, in a smaller way, the riot of in- vestment in securities of John Law's Mississippi Company. This mania led to many disturbances, for metes and bounds were not observed, or were ill-defined, and litigation was the consequence, nor was settlement of titles possible until
850
THE FOUNDING OF ST. LOUIS
final ratification by act of Congress after the purchase of Louisiana from France.
It is interesting to note in this connection, because United States history contains no reference to the fact, that an important post was established near the mouth of the Mis- souri as early as 1804, which the founders believed at the time might become a large city because of the advantages of its location, as respected the fur trade. This station was called Bellefontaine, after a fine spring of water about four hundred yards from the Missouri River bank. But long before, viz., in 1768, the Spanish Captain Rios, with a small detachment of troops from New Orleans, arrived at St. Louis, where the French inhabitants were not especially cordial to him. He selected Bellefontaine, fourteen miles north of the settlement, as the site for his post, and named it Fort Charles, the Prince, in honor of the son of the Span- ish King. It was afterward used as a factory or trading- post with the Indians, and still called the Fort.
Governor Zenon Trudeau on September 10, 1797, granted to Hezekiah Lard (or Lord) a concession of 1,000 arpents of land on the Missouri River, through which runs the " Cold Water " or Bellefontaine Creek ; on this property Lard built a house, saw and grist mill, and cleared a farm, and on this land was also the old fort or factory. Lard died in 1799, and in 1803 his estate was sold at public sale in partition and 600 arpents of the tract were purchased by
851
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
William Massey, upon which were the old factory and build- ings.
The post was never of much consequence to the Span- ish, but after the acquisition of Louisiana by the United States, it very quickly assumed importance by reason of a stipulation of a treaty made at St. Louis November 3, 1804, between William Henry Harrison, Governor of Indiana Ter- ritory, and the District of Louisiana, and the head chiefs of the Sacs and Fox tribes of Indians, by which the United States agreed to establish a trading-house or factory at a point where these tribes " can be supplied with goods at a more reasonable rate than they have been accustomed to pro- cure them." In accordance with this agreement, in August, 1805, General Wilkinson, then commanding the army, was directed to select a site for the proposed factory and occupy the same with troops, and on August 10, 1805, he reported that he had encamped the troops at Cold Water, " on a high, dry, narrow bottom of the Missouri, near a fountain of pure water, competent to supply 1,000 men daily; where they are now actively engaged on the work of the canton- ment, and in collecting materials for the building of the factory."
This point is the site of the present village of Froisante, St. Louis County, fourteen miles north of the St. Louis city court house, and the troops in question were six companies of the First Infantry, under the command of Colonel
Thomas Hunt. To this cantonment was given the name of
852
THE FOUNDING OF ST. LOUIS
Bellefontaine from the abundant spring of pure water in its midst.
From a rude drawing of the cantonment, made in 1806, on file in the War Department, it would appear that it was lo- cated on a low, flat, sandy bottom, some 300 yards from the river bank, beyond which, at a distance of 150 yards, was a bluff some twenty feet higher, covered with scattering timber. It was to this bluff that the cantonment was moved some four years later, on account of the unhealth fulness of the original site.
The buildings, when completed, were huts or cabins built of logs put up in green state, with the bark on, and without nails or underpinning; the roofs covered with oak clapboards, kept in place by the weight of logs laid on them ; the quarters for the men without flooring; the magazine of hewed logs, and the factory and store-house rudely boarded, but of like hasty and ill-adapted material.
From 1809 to 1815 Bellefontaine was the headquarters of the Department of Louisiana, which included Forts Madi- son, Massac, Osage and St. Vincennes, and during the War of 1812-15 was frequently threatened by marauding bands of Indians in the pay of the enemy, but its proximity to the strong settlement at St. Louis appears to have deterred them from making the attempt.
In 1817 the garrison was occupied by Captain O' Fallen's company of a rifle regiment, 159 officers and men. For
853
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
the following ten years the establishment at Bellefontaine was one of varying strength.
Its abandonment was contemplated with the intention of erecting a larger and permanent fort near the city of St. Louis, but owing to the exorbitant prices demanded for land in the vicinity, a site was not secured until 1826, when the city of Carondelet, having donated a large tract for military purposes, the troops at Bellefontaine were removed to that point and entered upon the construction of what is now Jefferson Barracks.
The last return from Bellefontaine is dated June 30, 1826, at which time the garrison consisted of companies A, B, H and I of the First Infantry, under the command of Brevet Major S. W. Kearney, and on July 10 of that year the point was finally abandoned as a military post, although a small arsenal of deposit was maintained there until 1834. Two years later the Government disposed of its interest to certain citizens of St. Louis County, and the property passed from the control of the United States.
The spot upon which the post and fort stood is no longer to be seen, having long ago been washed away by the cur- rent of the Missouri, but the graveyard, which was on the hill, in which many officers, men, and members of their families were buried still exists, though most of the bodies were removed to Jefferson Barracks.
854
DIVISION XLIV.
The Purchase of Louisiana Territory.
THE question of free navigation of the Mississippi was a serious one as early as 1790, and became more so as the country developed and commerce on that stream increased. Franklin, in 1782, before the treaty was signed that renewed peace between England and America, strongly advocated, in a letter to Jay, the acquisition of the Mississippi River as a thing of vital importance to the peace and prosperity of the United States. Washington, in 1790, declared, "we must have and certainly shall have the full navigation of the Mississippi," a necessity which Jefferson insisted upon, and which Alexander Hamilton, in 1799, not only confirmed but he advocated the acquisition of both Louisiana and the Floridas. Thus the foremost statesmen of that period, and some who were in opposition upon all other public policies of the time, were in full agreement upon the Mississippi River question. More than this, the sending of Edmond C. Genet, as minister to this country was with the view to obtaining the aid of the United States to further the ends of France in her ambition to reacquire certain territory wrested from her by England, in which a proposal was made that for such aid Louisiana and the Mississippi river should
855
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
be our reward, through France's cooperation. This propo- sition was rejected and Genet's recall was demanded, but while the east, generally, reprehended the proposals made by Minister Genet, the west regarded them with so much favor, so far as they promised control of the Mississippi River, that a large body of Kentuckians advocated a resort to arms and held themselves in readiness to follow the coun- sel of the French minister.
The Mississippi question increased in intensity until in 1800 it was used in the campaign which the Federalists waged against Jefferson. When, therefore, Jefferson be- came President, 1801, he was confronted with a dilemma that might well cause the most courageous executive grave concern. Our refusal to countenance the proposals of Genet was regarded as an affront to France, when she had reason to hope for acquiescence, and threats of war were freely made, and generally anticipated. While our relations with France were strained almost to a breaking tension, by refusal to join her in consummating plans which among other things promised to give the United States full control of the Mississippi, the West and South demanded that the government take immediate action to relieve what was practically an embargo placed by Spain upon American com- merce on that stream, by refusing to allow Americans to use New Orleans as a port of deposit.
Jefferson was deeply perplexed by the situation, but being
opposed to war he set about devising means whereby both
856
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ROBERT 2t LIVINGSTON.
R. Livingston, eminent lawyer and politician, was born in Ne\v York, in 1746, and died in the same city in 1813. He was one of the five mem- bers of a committee appointed to draft the Declaration of Independence, his next great public services being as minister plenipotentiary in negotiating the purchase of Louisiana Territory from France. After returning to America he r.i^plie ! the funds with which Robert Fulton constructed the first steamboat, an 1 there- after was associated with Fulton in many steamboat enterprises which continued to the time of his death.
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THE PURCHASE OF LOUISIANA TERRITORY
parties to the contention might be conciliated, without any loss of prestige to the government. Fortune soon favored his purpose, for in January, 1802, Robert R. Livingston, America's minister to France, learned that by a secret treaty executed at San Ildefonso, December, 1800, Charles IV. of Spain had ceded to Napoleon all of Louisiana, in consideration of the relinquishment of certain French pos- sessions in Tuscany. The ascertainment of this diplomatic move was kept secret for a while through fear that England, learning that Louisiana had become French territory, would make an attack upon New Orleans and other exposed ports on the coast and the Mississippi River, for England and France were upon the point of war at the time.
The opportunity was promptly seized by Jefferson to pro- pose acquisition of Louisiana, by an act of purchase, from France, as he had contemplated making overtures to Spain to the same end, and to accomplish this purpose he sent full instructions to Livingston as minister plenipoten- tiary, and appointed James Monroe special envoy, with powers extraordinary, to proceed to France and conduct ne- gotiations of purchase. At this time desire was confined to acquisition of Florida and a purchase of New Orleans, for it was not then definitely known that France had received title only to Louisiana.
No doubt Livingston, being clothed with ample power, and given authority to pay the fixed sum of $2,000,000 for New
Orleans and Florida, was fully competent to act in the
859
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
premises, and it was therefore natural he should feel that a doubt had been cast upon his ability by the appointment of Monroe to perform, or cooperate in performing, duties which he could do as well without assistance. However, Livingston was too much a patriot to manifest, publicly, his feelings. On the contrary, he set himself resolutely to the task, and throughout the negotiations he took the larger part.
Livingston first approached Talleyrand, Minister of Foreign Affairs, a man noted for subtlety, shrewdness, and other qualities less praiseworthy, who at the first interview denied existence of the San Ildefonso treaty, but when con- vinced that the terms had become known, he practised eva- sion and would give no answer. Turning therefore from Talleyrand, Livingston addressed his arguments to Joseph Bonaparte, and then to Barbe-Marbois, minister of the treasury, neither of whom, however, appeared to be influ- enced by a proposal to purchase. Finding all these in- disposed to favor negotiations, Livingston made bold to predict that should an attempt be made by France to occupy any part of Louisiana or the Floridas, and especially should that country try to hold the mouth of the Mississippi, the United States would resent such action even to the point of using force.
For two months Livingston beseiged Napoleon's minis- ters and counselors, trying to persuade them to consider his proposition, when most unexpectedly, on April u, 1803,
860
MARQUIS DE TALLE YRANT).
'?T'ALLEYRAND, Prince of Benevento, who has the distinction of having been the ^•^ most subtle of modern diplomats, was horn in Paris, 1754. Eschewing the church, for which he had been fitted, he still used it for political advancement, and in 1789 he was elected to the convocation to represent his diocese. He at- tracted the attention of Napoleon by whom he was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs, 1797, and held this position at the time of the Cession of Louisiana Ter- ritory to the United States. His death occurred at Paris, 1838.
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^
THE PURCHASE OF LOUISIANA TERRITORY
Talleyrand approached Livingston with a proposal that an offer be made by the United States for the whole of Louis- iana! This suggestion was startling and precipitated a dilemma, for President Jefferson had not thought of ac- quiring all the territory, and consequently Livingston had no authority to negotiate such an extensive purchase. It developed very Soon that while Napoleon had been averse to parting with any part of Louisiana, circumstances had sud- denly arisen which caused him to change his mind. These were several, viz., France was anticipating a great struggle with England, and Napoleon wisely foresaw that if for any reason the United States should become an ally of his powerful adversary the result must be disastrous to France. Besides these threatening contingencies, an insurrection in San Domingo, led by the redoubtable Toussaint L'Ouver- ture, who in the same year was imprisoned by the Bonapart- ists and starved to death, caused Napoleon the greatest irritation by requiring troops to suppress the outbreak whose services he needed so much at home. These, and perhaps other causes, prompted Napoleon to decide hurriedly to dispose of all his American possessions.
In a letter written to Madison, Jefferson's Secretary of State, reporting the initiative of the French Government in the transaction, Livingson says : " M. Talleyrand asked me this day { April n) when pressing the subject whether we wished to have the whole of Louisiana. I told him no ; that our wishes extended only to New Orleans and the
863
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
Floridas ; that the policy of France, however, should dictate (as I had shown in an official note) to give us the country above the river Arkansas, in order to place a barrier between them and Canada. He said that if they gave New Orleans the rest would be of little value, and that he would wish to know what we would give for the whole. I told him it was a subject I had not thought of, but that I supposed we should not object to twenty million francs (nearly $4,000,- ooo) provided our own citizens were paid (referring to war claims amounting to $5,000,000 preferred against France). He said this was too low an offer and he would be glad if I would reflect upon it and tell him to-morrow. I told him that as Mr. Monroe would be in town (Paris) in two days, I would delay my further offer until I had the pleasure of introducing him."
The negotiations which were opened so unexpectedly by Talleyrand involved much secrecy and artful diplomacy, for the fear was present that Spain might discover the disposi- tion of France in the matter, and incensed at her duplicity would offer strenuous opposition to the transaction. Be- sides this danger, Lucien and Joseph Bonaparte vigorously opposed the proposition and carried their opposition so far as to make a personal protest to Napoleon, and to threaten to carry their antagonism into the Chamber should he persist in his resolution. This flagrant opposition to the Consul's will roused him to a pitch of passionate indignation in
which he declared he would punish their insolence and carry
864
THE PURCHASE OF LOUISIANA TERRITORY
his purpose into effect even in spite of the Chamber or the Constitution.
When Livingston recovered somewhat from the shock which Talleyrand's proposal produced, he retired to his chamber and seriously considered the matter. He realized at once not only the circumstances which had prompted Talleyrand's suggestion, but he likewise foresaw the tre- mendous benefits which might accrue to the United States from acquisition of the vast territory embraced in the un- surveyed and unexplored tract vaguely defined as " Louis- iana." While, as reports represented, this great extent of practically unknown country might be generally unproduc- tive, and infested with wild animals and cruel savages, yet its purchase would nevertheless be of almost incalculable advantage to Americans, who would thereby acquire control of the Mississippi and at the same time the nation would be placed in a position favorable for controlling all the trade and territory between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The more Livingston revolved the matter in his mind the larger grew his estimate of the opportunity pre- sented, and though he was without authority to negotiate for the whole of Louisiana, he resolved nevertheless to venture something in the emergency, and to reach an understanding with Talleyrand before the arrival of Monroe.
The following day, April 12, Livingston visited Talley- rand with the view to making terms for the purchase, but to
his astonishment he found the wily French minister ap-
865
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
parently indisposed to definitely fix a price, evidently as- suming reluctance with the hope of disguising Napoleon's anxiety to part with the territory, and to drive the best bargain possible.
Special Minister Monroe arrived at this stage of the pro- ceedings and entered at once into the negotiations, the two presently securing from Marbois an offer to sell the whole territory in question for the sum of one hundred million francs (about $20,000,000) but with the proviso that the United States should assume the obligation of paying the claims of American citizens against France for depredations committed by French privateers, (1798) which aggregated $4,000,000. This offer Livingston and Monroe refused as being an excessive price, and also because they had fears that an act of purchase by them, outside of their specific in- structions, might not be ratified by Congress or approved by President Jefferson.
His first proposal being rejected Marbois, showing for the first time a real anxiety to consummate a sale, presented a modified offer, whereby he agreed that for the sum of eighty million francs ($16,000,000) France would convey title to the territory and from this sum the United States should be permitted to deduct the amount claimed by Americans for French depredations. This second offer was taken under consideration by Livingston and Monroe, who, after carefully weighing the responsibility they must assume, but
never losing sight of the golden opportunity at hand, ac-
866
'EARBE-MARBOI&.
BARBE-MARBOIS, Count, Marquis, and celebrated French politician, was born at Metz, 1745, and died 1837. He served in diplomatic positions at the German Courts, and in 1775 was sent as Counsel General to the United States where he resided for ten years, and married the daughter of William Moore, Gov- ernor of Pennsylvania. Returning to France, after serviqe as Intendant of San Domingo, he was banished to Guiana during the Revolution but was recalled in 1801 and made Director of the Treasury, and the following year was advanced to tlie post of Minister of the Treasury, a position which he h*W atnthe time of the LomMana Cession and negotiated that treaty for his government.
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THE PURCHASE OF LOUISIANA TERRITORY
cepted the terms on April 29, and on the following day the proposal was ratified by Napoleon, and the purchase of Louisiana by the United States became an accomplished fact, though the treaty of cession was not actually signed until a week later.
It was ascertained some years afterwards that the French spoliation claims, as they were called, amounted to more than $4,000,000, so that the actual amount paid to France for the whole of Louisiana territory was $11,250,000, a sum which the government provided by issuing six per cent, bonds. It has also been asserted that the United States never paid all the spoliation claims, and there may be some reason for the statement. Bills which passed both houses of Congress in 1846, providing for the payment of these claims, was vetoed by President Polk, and when similar bills were passed in 1855, President Pierce put his stamp of disap- proval on the act. In the meantime, however, a large number of the well-established claims were paid by the government and those which remained on file were finally, in 1885, referred to the Court of Claims, where several thousand are still pending. Allegations of fraud were set up and in several cases were established by the government, so it may be said with reason that practically all the just claims were satisfied, in the payment of which the full amount, originally estimated that it would require to dis- charge them, was disbursed.
Although, as will be shown in a subsequent division of this
869
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
work, there was violent opposition made by Federalists to the cession treaty, there were few statesmen of the day who really comprehended the substantial possibilities involved in the purchase. Those who opposed the act limited their contention to declarations that the territory was fruitless, and that while being without value it would require large ex- penditures to keep control of the territory. They pointed out, too, that, the nation being practically in a formative state, and still struggling to recuperate from the ravages of the war with England, the condition of the government's finances made it unwise to incur an obligation so large, and to assume expenses of maintenance far beyond the proba- bility of future returns.
It is interesting to learn at this date that Jefferson and his supporters had some apprehension of the value of the terri- tory which the nation had acquired, but it was abstract, vague, and in some respects fanciful. This fact is es- tablished by the credit which Jefferson gave to the report that somewhere in the northwest there was an inexhaustible, if not unlimited, mine of salt, the value of which was almost beyond computation, and this mine it was his ex- pectation Lewis and Clark would discover to confound those who maintained that the country was without value. There were other conceits and false hopes connected with the ter- ritory, but very few if any at the time had the least regard for the possible agricultural and pastoral resources of the country. But beyond the commercial considerations, specu-
870
THE PURCHASE OF LOUISIANA TERRITORY
lative largely, there lay political questions in which Louis- iana must inevitably play a determinative part.
Readers of our national history have never failed to find interest and patriotic inspiration in the story of our conti- nental expansion. For a long while our sphere of influence, so to speak, was confined to the Atlantic sea-board, a limi- tation that prevented growth and at the same time exposed the nation to encroachments from the west. Indeed, so long as the nation was confined within that narrow strip there was constantly present a real danger that some foreign power might establish an empire between the Alleghenies and the Mississippi. It was therefore a master stroke when the United States burst her bonds and with rapid development, as the political exigency demanded, spread her power west- ward to the Mississippi.
In the critical years of Louisiana's history there were dangers by no means fanciful which threatened the in- tegrity of the nation. After the Revolution, which left many scars, and jealousies that survived for a long while, new perils succeeded, in threatenings of war with Spain, France, and England. Had these well defined dangers materialized in hostilities before the purchase of Louisiana, as it was expected they would do, the United States would have been at the mercy of her more powerful naval antago- nists which, ascending the Mississippi against any opposition we were able at the time to make, could keep command of
871
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
that stream and strike therefrom at all our feeble posts west of the Alleghenies.
From the view point therefore of its being a political safeguard, the acquisition of Louisiana was a master stroke, for it not only gave the United States absolute control of the Mississippi, but in doing so it closed that avenue to hos- tile vessels and made our frontier secure against invasion from the west.
Purchase of the Louisiana Territory, while it closed the long contest for ascendency in the Valley of the Mississippi, led the way to securing a permanency of power over all the country that is embraced by the present limits of the United States, for it emphasized the importance of adding Florida, Texas, and California to the national domain. It was an act that completely nationalized the empire of America and established the United States as a great world-power. As professor Turner aptly states it : " The Monroe doctrine would not have been possible except for the Louisiana Purchase. It was the logical outcome of that acquisition. Having taken her decisive stride across the Mississippi, the United States enlarged the horizon of her views and marched steadily forward to possession of the Pacific Ocean." These are the fruits of contiguous annexation, which have made the nation compact and complete, with boundless resources, mineral and agricultural, capable of supporting four times our present population, and sea-
872
J.IMES MO\ ROE.
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3 AMES Monroe, Fifth President of the lrnited States, was born on a farm in Westmoreland County, Virginia, 1758. He enteredthe Revolutionary Army at the age of 18 and participated in several battles. In 1779 he began the study of law under Jefferson and two years later he was elected a member of the Virginia Genera' Assembly. In 1782 he was elected to Congress where he remained for several years a leader, though he failed in his efforts to prevent ratification of the Constitution of 1787. He was appointed Minisu. to i ranee by Washington, but was recalled for manifesting extreme French sympathies. Elected Governor of Virginia, 1799. he was restored to political favor of his party and in 1803 he wus
§t as Minister to France by Jefferson to assist Livingston in negotiating the lisiana Purchase Treaty. Monroe held many other responsible po*t» and in 6, and again in iSao, he >v as elected to the Presidency. Hediird in New York. July 4. 1*31.
'ERRITORY
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872
THE PURCHASE OF LOUISIANA TERRITORY
board facilities that have made us the industrial, export, and creditor nation of the world.
Statistics may not be read with sustained interest, but they are always valuable and are often needful for reference, for which reason their total omission from this work, and in this connection, would be unpardonable. The following are therefore given to show the development and character of the territory which we acquired from France for the com- paratively insignificant sum of less than $15,000,000. From what was known as Lower and Upper Louisiana there have been developed twelve states and two territories, the aggre- gate area of which is 864,944 square miles, or 533,564,160 acres.
Louisiana, named for Louis XIV, which was the first state formed within the territory, admitted to the Union 1812, has an area of 45,420 square miles. At the time of the Purchase it had a population of 49,475, and the total number of inhabitants in New Orleans was 8,056. By the census of 1900 the population of Louisiana was 1,381,625, and that of New Orleans 287,104, while the value of real and personal property was $301,275,222.
Arkansas, which signifies a " bow of smoky water," has an area of 53,850 square miles. Population in 1803, esti- mated, 4,500; in 1900, 1,311,564. Total value of real and personal property, $189,999,050. It was organized as a state 1836.
Colorado, signifying " red earth," only half of which was
875
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
in the purchase territory, has an area of 103,645 square miles. Earliest estimate of population, 1860, was 34,277, at which time the number of souls in Denver was 4,749. By census of 1900 the state's population was 539,700, and of Denver, 138,859. Value of real and personal property, represented by total assessed valuation, $465,000,000. Admitted to statehood 1876.
That part of Indian Territory included in the purchase has an area of 31,000 square miles. No white population until about 1860. Population in 1900, 392,060. In 1838 the five civilized tribes were removed to Indian territory. In 1893 tne Cherokee strip was opened to settlers and in- corporated with Oklahoma. 1901 witnessed the opening for settlement of the Kiowa, Comanche and Apache reserva- tions. Valuation real and personal property $94,000,000.
Iowa, which signifies " beyond," has an area of 55,475 square miles. There was no enumeration of the population until 1840, when the number was 43,112. In 1900 it was 2,231,853, and the total valuation of real and personal property was $2,106,615,620. Admitted to the Union 1846.
Kansas, which signifies " Smoky Water," has an area of 81,700 square miles. First white settlement was made by missionaries at Osage 1820. First enumeration of popula- tion, 1854, was 7,890; in 1900 it was 1,470,495, and the value of real and personal property was $363,156,045. Admitted to statehood 1861.
Minnesota, " Cloudy Water," has an area of 79,205
876
THE PURCHASE OF LOUISIANA TERRITORY
square miles. Only about two-thirds of Minnesota, that part west of the Mississippi, was included in the purchase. Population in 1850 was 6,077; in 1900 1,751,394. Valua- tion of real and personal property $585,083,328. Admitted as a state 1858.
Missouri, " Big Muddy," has an area of 68,735 square miles. Population in 1810 was 20,845, and that of St. Louis 2,500; in 1900 population of the state was 3,106,665, and of St. Louis, 575,238. Value of real and personal property $1,004,469,071. Admitted to the Union, 1821.
Montana, signifying " mountainous," has an area of 145,310 square miles. First trading-post established at Fort Union, mouth of the Yellowstone, 1827. Gold discovered in 1852 and 1861. First estimate of population, 1864, was 10,500; in 1900 it was 243,329. Organized as a territory distinct from Idaho, 1864. 1892 surplus lands of the Crow Indian reservation opened to settlement. Valuation of real and personal property $153,441,154.
Nebraska, " Shallow Water," has an area of 76,340 square miles. First settlement at Bellevue, 1810. Popula- tion 1860, 28,841; in 1900, 1,006,300. Valuation of real and personal property $171,747,593. Became a state 1875.
North Dakota, "United Tribes," has an area of 70,195 square miles. First land acquired from Sioux Indians, 1851. Population in 1860, 4,837; in 1900, 319,146. Value of real and personal property, $143,000,000. Admitted to statehood, 1889.
877
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
South Dakota has an area of 76,850 square miles. First settlement at Sioux Falls, 1857. In 1890 the Sioux reser- vation, containing 9,000,000 acres, was opened to white settlers. In 1889 it was separated from North Dakota and admitted to statehood. At that time the population was 328,808. In 1900 it was 410,570, and the total valuation of real and personal property was $172,225,085.
Oklahoma, which signifies " home of the red man," with an area of 38,830 square miles, was an Indian reservation from 1838 until 1850, when it was ceded to the United States by the tribes and remained " No Man's Land " until 1889, when it was opened for settlement. Nearly all of the territory was included in the Purchase. Population in 1890 was 61,834; in 1900, 398,331; value of real and per- sonal property $150,000,000.
Wyoming has an area of 97,883 square miles, much the greater part of which was included in the purchase. Or- ganized as a territory in 1869. Population in 1870 was 9,118; in 1900, 92,531. Total assessed valuation of all property $39,581,216. Admitted to the Union, 1890.
A recapitulation of the above shows that the Louisiana Purchase Territory has been organized into twelve states and two territories, the total area of which is 1,024,938 square miles, or 655,960,320 acres, that have an aggregate population, according to the U. S. census of 1900, of n,- 548,898, with real and personal property worth $5,476,-
598,148.
878
THE PURCHASE OF LOUISIANA TERRITORY
The statistical information contained in the foregoing was obtained from publications credited to the government, but examination of and comparison with more recent official reports reveal discrepancies of a striking character and likewise furnish additional facts appertaining to the Pur- chase Territory which add greatly to the interest of the story of political expansion, commercial growth, and in- dustrial productivity of the empire we acquired from France.
The chronological data of state formation, and develop- ment, as presented by the Bureau of Statistics, is as follows :
1804. The Territory of Orleans established with boun- daries practically identical with those of the present State of Louisiana. The remainder of the Louisiana purchase was designated as the District of Louisiana.
1812. The Territory of Orleans admitted to the Union as a State under the name of Louisiana and name of the territory known as Louisiana District changed to the Mis- souri Territory.
1819. Territory of Arkansaw formed, including the present State of Arkansas and a large part of the present Indian Territory and Oklahoma. In 1824 an act was passed fixing the western boundary and excluding from the limits of Arkansaw Territory practically all of that territory now known as Oklahoma and a part of that now known as the Indian Territory. In 1828 the western boundary line was again changed and made practically identical with the present western boundary of Arkansas, and the territory
879
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
thus defined was admitted as the State of Arkansas June 15, 1836.
1821. State of Missouri formed, the boundaries nearly identical with those now existing (except as to the nothwest corner), the remaining undivided area of the Louisiana pur- chase retaining the title of Missouri Territory until 1834, when it was given the title of The Indian Country.
1838. Territory of Iowa formed, including the present State of Iowa, and extending thence northward to the Cana- dian line and including all territory between the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, comprising most of the present State of Minnesota and the eastern portion of the present States of North and South Dakota. In 1845 an enabling act was passed for the admission of Iowa as a State, its northern boundary being somewhat farther north than at present, and its western boundary an arbitrary line running due north and south, excluding all that portion fronting upon the Missouri river and including in the then limits of Iowa about two-thirds of the eastern portion of the State as at present defined. This, however, was not accepted, and in 1846, another enabling act was passed by which the western boundary was extended to the Missouri river and the present northern boundary established.
1849. Territory of Minnesota organized, comprising the area of the present State of Minnesota and that part of North and South Dakota lying east of the Missouri river.
In 1858 Minnesota was admitted as a State and the western
880
THE PURCHASE OF LOUISIANA TERRITORY
portion of the territory not included in the State was in 1 86 1 combined with a part of Nebraska and organized as the Territory of Dakota. The State of Minnesota also in- cludes about 52,319 square miles of the area of the original thirteen States.
1854. Territory of Kansas organized, with practically its present boundaries, except that its western limit extended to the summit of the Rocky Mountains and included a part of the present State of Colorado. In 1861 Kansas was ad- mitted as a State, and the western boundary line changed to its present location.
1854. Territory of Nebraska formed, with its southern line identical with the southern line of the present State of Nebraska, but extending westward to the Rocky Mountains, the Territory thus including all that area between the south- ern line above described and Canada on the north, the Mis- souri river on the east, and the Rocky Mountains on the west. The northern portion of this area was designated in 1 86 1 as the Territory of Dakota, and in the same year the formation of the Territory of Colorado removed a section from the southwestern portion of the area then designated as Nebraska, while in the formation of the Territory of Idaho in 1863 the western boundary of Nebraska was fixed at about its present location. Admitted as a State March i, 1867.
1861. Territory of Dakota organized from parts of Ne- braska and Minnesota Territories. Its eastern boundary
881
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
was practically identical with that now separating the State of Minnesota from North and South Dakota, and its south- ern boundary identical with that separating Nebraska from South Dakota, and extending westward to the summit of the Rocky Mountains, and thence northward to the Canadian line. In 1863 the western portion of Dakota was trans- ferred to the Territory of Idaho, and in 1889 the boundary between North and South Dakota was named, and the two sections severally admitted as States.
1 86 1. Territory of Colorado organized boundaries iden- tical with those of the present State of Colorado, being made up from portions of Idaho, Utah, New Mexico, Kansas and Nebraska, the northeastern section being taken from the Louisiana purchase, the central and southeastern portion from the Texas annexation, and all of the remainder from the Mexican cession.
1863. Territory of Idaho, formed from parts of Ne- braska, Dakota, and Washington Territories, and included, besides the present State of Idaho, all of the territory now known as Montana and Wyoming. Its boundaries were* therefore, Dakota and Nebraska on the east, Colorado, Utah, and Nevada on the south, Oregon and Washington on the west, and Canada on the north, the portion east of the Rocky Mountains being taken from the Louisiana purchase, and that West of the Rocky Mountains from the Territory
of Oregon.
882
THE PURCHASE OF LOUISIANA TERRITORY
1864. Montana Territory was formed from the north- eastern portion of Idaho Territory.
1868. Wyoming Territory formed from the southeast- ern part of Idaho Territory; in 1890 Idaho and Wyo- ming admitted as States. Wyoming has the unique distinc- tion of being the only State which contains within its boundaries territory originally included in four different additions to the territory of the United States, viz. parts of the Louisiana purchase, the Texas Territory ceded to the United States, the Mexican cession, and the Oregon Territory.
The land area of the Louisiana purchase exceeds that of the original thirteen States, being 864,944 square miles, against a total land area of 820,944 square miles in the original thirteen States. The States and Territories which have been created in whole or in part from its area number fourteen, and their population in 1900 was 14,708,616, against a population of less than 100,000 in the territory at the time of its purchase. Their total area is nearly one- third that of the entire Union, and their population about one-fifth that of the entire United States. They produced in 1890 164,000,000 bushels of wheat, and in 1900 264,- 000,000 bushels, at a value in 1900 of $152,000,000, their total wheat production being over 50 per cent, of that of the entire United States. They produced 603,000,000 bushels of corn in 1890 and 1,013,000,000 bushels in 1900, with a
value in 1900 of $314,000,000, their total corn crop forming
883
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
in 1890 40 per cent, and in 1900 48 per cent, of the total corn crop of the United States. Of oats they produced in 1900 311,000,000 bushels, or 38 per cent, of the total prod- uct of the country, with a valuation of $71,000,000. Their production of barley in 1900 was valued at over $10,000,000, and of rye at over $2,000,000; while their production of potatoes in 1900 amounted to over $25,000,000, of hay $130,000,000, and of cotton $50,000,000. The total value of the agricultural products of the States formed from the Louisiana purchase, including in that category simply wheat, corn, oats, barley, rye, hay, potatoes and cotton, was in 1890 $670,000,000 and in 1900 $755,000,000. The wool product of these States amounted in 1894 to 61,871,357 pounds, and in 1900 to 100,396,982 pounds, or 35 per cent of the total wool product of the United States, with an esti- mated value of about $15,000,000, or equal to the cost of the entire area. The value of the farm animals in these States in 1890 was $772,000,000 and in 1900 $825,000,000. Add to these easily measured farm products the estimated value of the wool, the sugar, the dairy and poultry products, and the proportion of the live stock annually turned into provisions, and it may be safely estimated that the agricul- tural products of a single year amount to one hundred times the original cost of the area; or, in other words, that its cost is repaid by i per cent of the agricultural productions of each recurring year.
The product of the mines is also of very great value.
THE PURCHASE OF LOUISIANA TERRITORY
The coal product in this area in 1899 amounted to 22,000,- ooo tons, against 14,000,000 tons in 1890; the iron ore to 8,491,000 tons in 1900, against 1,269,000 tons in 1890; the silver product of 1899, $50,300,768 in coining value, against $44,799,998 in 1890, and gold, $37,712,400 in 1899, against $10,650,000 in 1890.
The prosperity shown by these figures is further evidenced by the banking institutions of the States formed from this territory. Their capital stock amounted in 1900 to over $80,000,000; their circulation to $36,600,000, against $15,- 644,000 in 1890; their loans and discounts in 1900 to $317,563,000, against $269,016,000 in 1890, and their total resources in 1900 to $1,099,111,000, against $746,903,000 in 1890, while a still more gratifying evidence of the pros- perity of this section is the fact that individual deposits in national banks in 1900 amounted to $329,699,000, against $216,609,000 in 1890, an increase of more than $110,000,- ooo in individual deposits during the decade.
A study of educational conditions shows equally rapid and gratifying development. The pupils enrolled in the public schools in the States in question in 1890 numbered 2,580,495, and in 1899, 3,161,112; the teachers employed numbered, in 1899, 89,558, and in 1899, 102,202 and the expenditure for public schools in 1890 was $30,284,752, and in 1899, $37,185,881. The number of pupils in at- tendance at high schools in 1899 was 113,847, with 4,937
teachers; normal schools, 15,843 students, with 625 teach-
885
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
ers, and at higher educational institutions, 40,249 students, and 3,925 teachers. The total figures for schools and educational institutions in the twelve States and two terri- tories formed from the Louisiana purchase show : Teachers, in 1890, 95,365; in 1899, 111,689; attendance, in 1890, 2,670,541; in 1899, 3,331,051.
The number of newspapers and periodicals published in this area in 1890 was 4,759, and in 1900, 5,618; the number of post-offices in 1890, 12,919; in 1900, 16,228; the miles of railway in operation in 1890 numbered 51,823, and in 1899, 59,324, or 31 per cent of the total railway mileage of the country.
The power of this vast area with its agricultural and mineral wealth to sustain a population much greater than that which it now supports is suggested by a comparison of its area with the area and population of the prosperous countries of Europe. The total area is 875,025 square miles and is slightly less than that of the United Kingdom, Nether- lands, Belgium, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, and Switzer- land, whose total area is 885,978; with a present population of 202,363,573, as against a present population of 14,708,- 616 in the territory under consideration, whose agricultural and mineral possibilities fully equal those of the European States named.
Such figures as these tell more strikingly of the marvel- lous development of the West, and of the excellence of the
bargain made by Jefferson in 1803, than any oratorical com-
886
THE PURCHASE OF LOUISIANA TERRITORY
parisons or perfervid utterances. A story in figures that is more inspiring than blare of bugle or beat of drum, for it rouses the legions of civilization and quickens ambition to noblest effort in rivalries of industry and to highest achievements in the arts of peace.
887
DIVISION XLV.
Transfer of Upper Louisiana, at St. Louis.
ALTHOUGH the formal ceremonies of transfer of Louis- iana Territory from France to the United States took place at New Orleans, December 20, 1803, by which act the cession of all the vast tract comprised within the Purchase was con- firmed and completed, conditions existed at the time that made a similar formal transfer of Upper Louisiana, of which St. Louis was the Capital, at least advisable. By this latter act, which took place March 9, 1804, St. Louis, and Upper Louisiana passed from Spain to France, and from France to the United States within the short space of twenty-four hours, and with this bloodless transaction there was similarly transferred the allegiance of sixty thousand souls.
The capitol building at St. Louis was a single story stone structure that stood upon the southwest corner of what is now Main and Walnut streets, but which at the time of the transfer were known as Rue de Principale and Rue de la Tour. Immediately in front of the Capitol, across the street, was the Place de Armes, which was both a public square and parade ground, while one square's length to- wards the east was a bluff twenty-five feet high, at the foot
888
FIRST COLONIAL HEADQUARTERS OF . UPPER LO U I SI AN A .
E first building erected in the settlement of St. Louis was for the accommoda- tion of Laclede, and which served the double purpose of a residence and store. Three years later, 1768, the second stone house was built, which is shown in the accompanying illustration. This building was used as Colonial Head- quarters, by the French, Spanish and Americans, and upon the porch of which took place the ceremony of transfer of Upper Louisiana to the United States, March 9, 1804. The picture was made from a sketch now in the possession of tyfr. Pierre Chouteau of St. Loui*.
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TRANSFER OF UPPER LOUISIANA.
of which the turbid Mississippi flowed. A few hundred feet to the west were two ridges, upon the apex of one of which was the fort, strongly constructed by making a double stockade of logs set vertically in the ground, and the space between the two rows packed with earth. Within the fort was a two-story log building, the conspicuous feature of which was a round tower of stone that rose to a height of fifty feet, surmounted by a peaked cap ten feet higher. At intervals the palisaded walls were pierced with loop-holes and embrasures, from which latter projected brass cannons thought to be extremely formidable at the time.
In 1804 St. Louis had a population of about one thou- sand souls, and the houses, one hundred and eighty in number, were nearly all one-story log structures, built in the vicinity of the fort to insure greater protection to the few inhabitants, for at that time Indians were numerous in the neighborhood and especially so across the river, in Illinois, whose hostility was with good reason much feared. The population was a mixed one, of Spanish, French, American and negroes, of typical frontier char- acters, and there being neither national nor property interests in common among them, race prejudices prevailed that fre- quently manifested themselves in brawls that greatly dis- turbed the public peace. The town was supported exclu- sively by the fur trade, for though the northwest had not yet been explored, enterprising and adventurous traders,
French, Spanish and American, ascended the Missouri and
891
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
its tributaries every year, and by trading with the Indians brought back to St. Louis great quantities of furs, which were baled there and thence shipped by keel and flat-boat to New Orleans.
It was not until February 19, 1804, that an order of noti- fication of a retrocession of the territory to France was is- sued by Don Carlos Dehult Delassus, colonel in the Spanish Army and Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Louisiana, sta- tioned at St. Louis. A year previous, however, March, 1803, Pierre Clement de Laussat, the colonial prefect com- missioned by Napoleon to take possession of Louisiana under the terms of the St. Ildefonso treaty, arrived in New Orleans to execute the orders appertaining to the cession, and the purpose of his mission was quickly made known. The treaty which transferred the territory to the United States was signed April 30, and in August following the news reached St. Louis through an unofficial communication sent by Laussat to Pierre Choteau informing him of the facts.
Great displeasure was felt by the people of St. Louis and of all Upper Louisiana when they learned that Spain had conveyed the territory to France, because Spanish rule had been so satisfactory that a change of government was regarded with grave fears of abridging the liberty and license they had enjoyed; but though displeasure was expressed no serious opposition to the transfer was mani- fested.
892
TRANSFER OF UPPER LOUISIANA
November 3Oth Lower Louisiana was surrendered to the French at New Orleans, and on the 2Oth of December fol- lowing (1803), France formally transferred all Louisiana .Territory to the United States. But Spain, while partici- pating in this latter transfer, at New Orleans, influenced no doubt by objections raised by her subjects in Upper Louis- iana, made a show of opposing the treaty in so far as it applied to that part of the territory. While the claim was never openly put forth by the Spanish Government that Upper Louisiana was not a part of the territory conveyed, Jefferson thought it advisable to profit by conditions then existing and secure a separate surrender of Upper Louis- iana, to accomplish which it was necessary to have some one appointed to act as a Commissioner of France, who with such authority might accept the title from Spain and thereupon formally transfer it to the United States.
Several persons were mentioned for the post of commis- sioner to represent France, but objection was found, either to their citizenship or sentiments, until at length Captain Amos Stoddart, of the United States artillery, was named to receive the surrender in the name of the United States, whereupon he was duly commissioned by Laussat to act also for the French Republic.
Having received his commission as agent for both France and the United States, Captain Stoddart, with an escort of one hundred men, commanded by Captain Meriwether Lewis, who were to garrison St. Louis, proceeded at
893
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
once to the post, where he arrived March 8th, and found posted, in Spanish, a written notification to the people that the transfer of the territory would be made the following day.
Very few accepted the proposed change of government with any degree of resignation, while a great majority de- nounced the King of Spain, the First Consul of France, and the President of the United States, as a triumvirate of conspirators and oppressors. This feeling was due to reports that had been extensively circulated to the effect that Congress would refuse to respect titles to property granted in the name of Spain and France. This false rumor had caused a panic in real estate and led to a whole- sale disposal of property without regard to values, so the angered state of mind of those who had invested in real estate in Upper Louisiana is not at all surprising.
When the day announced for making the formal transfer arrived St. Louis presented a scene of unwonted animation. The news had spread far, and brought to the town nearly every Indian and settler living within two hundred miles, who at the appointed time gathered about the Capitol, com- pletely packing the Place de Armes. Captain Stoddart had camped at Cahokia, opposite St. Louis, and on the morning of the 9th he crossed the river with his troops, and in the company of Meriwether Lewis made a formal call upon Colonel Delassus and other officers of the post. When, in making his visits, he entered the fort, he was surprised to
894
TRANSFER OF UPPER LOUISIANA.
find the Spanish garrison in dress uniform as for inspection, with " arms at shoulder, and knapsack on the back ready to march out when the signal should be given."
At noon Colonel DeLassus, flanked by his officers, ap- peared on the piazza of the Government house and ad- dressed the people, telling them briefly that by his sover- eign's command it had become his duty to surrender the post and all the territory of Upper Louisiana; that in mak- ing this surrender all those within the territory who were subjects of Spain were absolved from their further alle- giance to the mother country, but, feelingly, he expressed the hope that the flag under which they had lived for thirty- six years might still be lovingly cherished as their fidelity and courage would never be forgotten by Spaniards. Hav- ing thus spoken to the people he made a formal relinquish- ment of the territory by reading the proclamation, and concluded by expressing kindly wishes for the nation that had supplanted Spain in this possession.
Captain Stoddart made a suitable reply, and acceptance of a copy of the treaty completed the official transfer, where- upon at a signal from DeLassus a cannon was fired from the fort, followed immediately by lowering of the Spanish flags from both the fort and Government house and their replace- ment by the colors of France. The new ensign was greeted with salvos from guns of the fort as the gates opened and the Spanish garrison marched out in full surrender of the post. Lieutenant Worrall, upon the order of Captain Stod-
895
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
dart, formed the American troops in line and marched them into the fort, taking possession of the post in the name of France. The French flag flew from the tower until noon of March 10, when it was lowered in token of surrender to the United States, and Old Glory was sent aloft never to give place to the ensign of another power.
The ceremony of transfer of Upper Louisiana to our na- tion having been completed, Captain Stoddart ceased to be a pro tern French officer and was immediately appointed by Jefferson to be the first American military and civil com- mandant of the territory of Upper Louisiana.
Following is the Proclamation of February. 19, and the official notices, order, and receipt that consummated the transfer : —
TO THE INHABITANTS OF UPPER LOUISIANA, BY THE ORDER OF THE KING.
I am about to deliver up this Post and its dependencies.
The flag under which you have been protected for nearly thirty-six years to be withdrawn. From this moment you are released from the oath of fidelity you took to support it.
The fidelity and courage with which you have guarded and defended it will never be forgotten, and in my character of representative I entertain the most sincere wish for your prosperity.
DELASSUS. PUBLIC NOTICE.
The reading of the " Public Notice " was :
We notify the public that to-morrow, the ninth of the present month, between the hours of 1 1 and 12, we will deliver Upper Louisiana to Captain Amos Stod-
896
:REMOWY OF TERRITORIAL TRANSFER
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TRANSFER OF UPPER LOUISIANA.
dart, Agent and Commissioner of the French Republic, in accordance with our public announcement dated nineteenth of February last.
St. Louis of the Illinois, March 8th, 1804.
By order.
(Signed) CHARLES DEHAULT DsLASSUS.
Published by the Public Notary.
(Signed) JH. HORTIS.
The order of the Spanish Commission to Delassus to de- liver the Louisiana Territory to France was as follows :
*
The King, our Sovereign, having determined to retrocede this Province of Louisiana to the French Republic, according to the announcement in the royal order issued at Barcelona on the i5th of October, 1802, to that effect; and having also commissioned us to carry the same into effect, by his subsequent royal order dated at Madrid, the i8th of January, 1803, we have put in execu- tion the intentions of the Sovereign, by delivering up the government of this place, and the command of the Province to the Colonial Prefect, Pedro Cle- ment Laussat, Commissioner of the French Republic, on the thirtieth day of November of the present year, and you are hereby requested to deliver up to the agent or officer of the said Prefect who may be authorized by him to receive from you the command of the post and its dependencies, now under the orders of your Excellency, as soon as he shall present himself before you under the formalities of an inventory and valuation to be made by skilful per- sons in that post, upon oath to act with due impartiality, of the buildings which belong to the King, not including the artillery and other munitions of war, •which must be remitted entire to this place.
Under the same formalities of an inventory the archives with the papers and documents which concern only the inhabitants of the district and their property shall be delivered, taking for the whole a receipt, in order that there always may be evidence of what has been delivered upon our part to the French Re- public and cause the same to appear on the general inventory.
We particularly enjoin upon your Excellency the punctual execution of the foregoing, for which you are authorized to avail yourself of all the means that may be found in the district under your charge."
THE MARQUIS OF CASO CALVO, MAHUEL DE SALCEDO.
To Don Carlos DeLassus, Comte de Illinois.
897
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
Below is the order of the French Commission to trans- fer the Louisiana territory to the United States, and Cap- tain Stoddart's receipt for the same.
In consequence of a letter sent from New Orleans of the jist of December of last year (1803) by the Marquis de Caso Calvo and Don Juan Manual de Calcedo, Brigadier-General of the royal armies and commissaries for his Catho- lic Majesty, for the transfer of the Colony and Province of Louisiana to the French Republic, addressed to Don Charles DeLassus, Colonel in the same armies. Lieutenant-Govemor of Upper Louisiana and Commissioner appointed by the said Caso Calvo and Calsedo for its transfer, according to the contents of said letter requiring him to give full and entire possession of said dependen- cies, to wit : Pedro Clement Laussat, appointed by the French Republic to take possession of the said colony and Province of Louisiana, or any other persons which may have been named to that effect, according to the treaty of cession, and as by letter also sent from New Orleans, dated I2th of January of the cur- rent year, the said Commission of the French Republic appoints, constitutes and nominates as sole agent and commissar)' in behalf of the nation Amos Stoddart, Captain of artillery of the United States of America, for the purpose of demanding and receiving the said Upper Louisiana, comprehending the said post St. Louis and its dependencies in virtue of the respective powers as ex- plained above :
" Now be it known that I, the above Don Carlos Dehault DeLassus, in quality of Lieutenant-Governor of the same, at the requirements duly made to me by the said Amos Stoddart, agent and commissary of the French Re- public, have delivered the full possession, sovereignty and government of Upper Louisiana, with the military posts, quarters and fortifications thereto belonging : and I, Amos Stoddart, commissary as such, do acknowledge to have received the said possession on the terms mentioned, of which I ac- knowledge myself satisfied as possessed of on this day. In testimony whereof the Lieutenant-Governor and myself have signed these presents, sealed with the seal of our arms, being attested with the witnesses signed below, of which proceedings six copies have to be made out, to wit, three in the Spanish and three in the English languages.
Given in the town of St. Louis, of Illinois, gth March, 1804.
AMOS STODDART, CARLOS DEHAULT DELASSUS.
In presence of : Meriwether Lewis, Captain First United States Regiment Infantry ; Antoine Soulard, Surveyor-General ; Charles Gratiot.
898
DIVISION XLVI. Boundary of the Louisiana Purchase.
THERE has always been more or less doubt about what constituted the real boundary lines of the Louisiana Terri- tory, and but for the fact that both France and Spain re- garded the region as being of little value up to the time of the cession of 1803, it is not at all improbable that the United States might have been called upon to defend her title to a considerable part of it. The first article of the Louisiana Purchase treaty reads as follows : " His Catho- lic Majesty promises and engages on his part to retrocede to the French Republic * * * the colony or province of Louisiana with the same extent that it now has in the hands of Spain, and that it had when France possessed it, and such as it should have after the treaties subsequently entered into between Spain and other States." Napoleon thereupon makes a grant of the territory in the following words : " Desiring to give to the United States a strong proof of his friendship, doth hereby cede to the United States in the name of the French Republic, forever and in full sovereignty, the said territory, with all its rights and
appurtenances as fully and in the same manner as they had
899
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
been acquired by the French Republic, in virtue of the above mentioned treaty concluded with his Catholic Majesty."
The indefiniteness of boundary in this absolute convey- ance is quite remarkable, and was so understood at the time. Thus when Marbois pointed out to Napoleon the uncer- tainty of the limits he answered, " if obscurity did not al- ready exist it would perhaps be good policy to put one there." Similarly, Don Antonio de Alcedo, in his " Geographical and Historical Dictionary of the West Indies " published in Madrid, 1786, declares that "the limits of Louisiana have been precisely fixed." Hence it was that Benton truly said, " When the United States purchased Louisiana they acquired with it an open question of boundaries for that vast province."
While there was little dispute concerning the western boundary of Louisiana Territory, because the country was practically a terra incognita, considerable controversy de- veloped over the eastern line of demarcation, since that region, especially near the coast, had been pretty fully ex- plored. Both Americans and Frenchmen maintained that the western boundary was, in a general way, the continental dividing line, or water-shed, between the rivers which flowed eastward into the Mississippi and westward into the Pacific; in other words the Rocky Mountains. While holding these views respecting the western limits of Louisiana, Jefferson, Madison, Gallatin, and many other prominent Americans
set forth the claim that the eastern line of Louisiana was at
900
BOUNDARY OF THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE
the Perdido River, which now constitutes the western boundary of the State of Florida. But notwithstanding this contention the real eastern boundary, as the several treaties between France and Spain show, was the Mississippi River, as far south as the Iberville, and thence southeast- ward through the Iberville and along the north line of Lakes Maurepas and Pontchartrain to the Gulf of Mexico. That is to say, by the cession treaty of 1803, that part of Louis- iana which was east of the Mississippi, included in what was known and defined as the New Orleans district, was the east limit of the grant.
While the treaties between France and Spain seemed to approximately establish the eastern boundary of Louisiana, other conditions were present which gave at least a color of justice to the contentions of Jefferson and other states- men. To those who have interested themselves in the sub- ject it is no surprise to be told that the first Florida of Spanish maps comprehended all that vast region which ex- tends north to the Arctic, and west to the Pacific Ocean, which was in fact all North America. When, however, La Salle descended the Mississippi to the Gulf, in 1682, France interposed her claim to all the region drained by that river and its tributaries, a claim subsequently strengthened by a settlement established by La Salle, in 1685, at Matagorda Bay, Texas, and also by occupation of Louisiana by Iber- ville, Bienville and other Frenchmen. The territory to
which France claimed title, by exploration and occupation,
901
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
extended from the Perdido River and Allegheny mountains on the east to the Rio Grande River and Rocky Mountains on the west.
It will be recalled that at the conclusion of the French and Indian War, in 1763, France divided the Province of Louis- iana, ceding to England all that part east of the Mississippi, except a small tract described as the New Orleans district. This district, together with all her territory west of the Mississippi to the Rio Grande and Rocky Mountains, France relinquished to Spain; it was this latter part that bore the name Louisiana in aftertime. By the secret treaty of St. Ildefonso, 1800, Spain retroceded this territory to France, and three years later it passed from France, by purchase, to the United States.
History usually records these transactions in a manner as above, taking no account of intervening cessions that took place between the years 1763 and 1803, and this omission has naturally caused some confusion and misunderstanding, which even statesmen have lacked the knowledge to explain. When France surrendered to England all her territory east of the Mississippi, except the New Orleans district, that na- tion directly separated the newly acquired country into two administrative divisions. One of these was defined by a line from the mouth of the Yazoo River eastward to the Chattahoochie, and thence south to the Gulf of Mexico, and the territory therein was called West Florida. East of this
division, which comprised the present State of Florida, was
902
BOUNDARY OF THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE
the district called East Florida. Confusion followed from this administrative division by reason of the fact that dur- ing the war of the Revolution, Spain, as a quasi ally of the American Colonies, captured Pensacola, and one or two other British ports in Florida, whereby in the treaty of 1783, by which England recognized the independence of America, that nation ceded to Spain both Floridas, or the two administrative divisions described above.
Jefferson had a conception of the importance if not of the value which might be developed from the possible resources of the country west of the Mississippi, but the general con- sensus of opinion among statesmen of the time was that the great territory of what is now the northwest was of relatively small consequence as compared with Florida and the southwest. The conspiracy of Burr was restricted to an effort to found an empire in the southwest, and the Miranda plot was concerned with acquisitions in the same region, no thought being entertained of expansion towards the northwest. There was, however, among Federalists and Whigs alike, — though they were in antagonism upon all other lines of national policy, — a desire to add Florida to the national domain. It was m pursuance of this ambition that King and Hamilton in 1798 concerted a scheme to join England in obtaining possession of all the French and Spanish lands in America. With the design of inciting revolution, as a preliminary step to inaugurating hostilities that would furnish an excuse for taking forcible possession
903
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
of the territory, they engaged a Spaniard named Miranda, at the time a resident of Caracas, Venezuela, to foment dis- cord and incite disaffection among the Spanish provinces. By this joint enterprise Great Britain was to obtain the West Indies, while to the United States should fall Florida and all of Louisiana east of the Mississippi. The plot no doubt would have succeeded had it not been that President Adams promptly stamped it with his emphatic disapproval. It follows from what has been explained, that Spain pos- sessed a good title to all that territory embraced within the present State of Florida, the southern ends of Alabama and Mississippi, as well also all the region westward. The lines, however, were so imperfectly drawn, and the geography of the country so little understood, that Jefferson himself was misinformed, and therefore when in 1800 Spain ceded to France Louisiana, he falsely believed that the grant included West Florida as far as the Perdido, and when in 1803 Louisiana was purchased by the United States Jefferson asserted title to all territory west of that line. Both France and Spain denied the claim, and therefrom arose a conten- tion which several times threatened to result in open hos- tilities. Spain held possession of the territory in dispute, however, until 1810, when President Madison sent troops and expelled most of the Spanish, but expulsion by force failed to quiet the title to this region, nor did the title, under the convention of 1803, cover any lands east of the Missis- sippi, except a small triangle bounded by the Iberville and
904
BOUNDARY OF THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE
Lakes Maurepas and Pontchartrain on one side and the Mississippi on the other. Finally, in 1819, a treaty was concluded with Spain whereby that nation, in consideration of a relinquishment of all claim upon Texas, ceded to the United States all of Florida.
Although Texas was given to Spain by the treaty of 1819, it was subsequently restored to the United States, and should therefore with good reason be considered as one of the Louisiana Purchase States.
The northern boundary of Louisiana was also made the subject of dispute between England and the United States, the latter claiming that the 49th parallel of latitude had been adopted by the tenth article of the Peace of Utrecht in 1713, beginning at the coast of Labrador and continuing indefinitely west, or to the Pacific. It was contended by England that the commissioners, upon whose report the Peace of Utrecht was negotiated, did not definitely agree upon the 49th parallel as a boundary line between the two countries. This contention could not be reconciled because no maps were made that showed the boundary, and the question was suffered to remain in statu quo until 1794, when an attempt at amicable adjustment was made but failed of ratification. Another effort, made in 1803, im- mediately before the Louisiana purchase, failed because of that act, and the treaty of 1807 was likewise without con- firmation because it omitted to extend the 49th parallel west
of the Rocky Mountains. But while England refused to
905
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
confirm our claim to the 49th parallel beyond the great con- tinent-divide, she acknowledged that line to be the northern boundary of Louisiana eastward to Lake Superior, by which act a large portion of territory now comprising parts of the States of Montana, North Dakota and Minnesota was se- cured. It may therefore be asserted that all that region lying north of the 47th degree 30 minutes parallel, and west of a line drawn from the Lake of the Woods and the Missis- sippi was acquired by our purchase of Louisiana Territory, and by reason of the uncertainty of the northern boundary at the time.
Fixing of the north and east boundaries of Louisiana in-
•
volved more or less discussion and dissension, but the dif- ficulties attending the settlement of the western line were infinitely greater, even though disputes growing out of the question were less acrimonious. Secret instructions issued to General Victor regarding the extent of Louisiana contain the following : " The limits of the territory are well de- termined on the south by the Gulf of Mexico, bounded on the west by the river Bravo, from its mouth to about the 3<Dth degree parallel. The line of demarcation stops on reaching this point, and there seems never to have been any agreement in regard to this part of the frontier. The fur- ther we go northward the more undecided the boundary. This part of North America contains little more than un- inhabitable forests or Indian tribes, and the necessity of
fixing a boundary has never yet been felt there/'
906
BOUNDARY OF THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE
The uncertainties respecting the western boundaries of Louisiana were due wholly to the indifference of France as to her claims to that region, though broadly speaking that nation maintained title to all territory westward to the Pacific Ocean. And had she chosen to do so France might easily have succeeded in establishing her claims, for not only did St. Lusson, in 1671, at a great gathering of Indian tribes at Sault Ste. Marie take possession, with due for- mality, in the name of his sovereign, Louis XIV. of all the country bounded upon the two sides by the Atlantic and the Pacific, and on the south by the Gulf of Mexico, but French exploration confirmed St. Lusson's proclamation.
In 1731 Sieur de la Verendrye proposed to establish a chain of forts across the continent, which proposal he partly fulfilled by building fort La Reine, and in 1742 he pene- trated the West as far as the Yellowstone. His son, Peter, is said to have continued westward to the Rocky Mountains and near the present site of Helena took possession of the valley of the Missouri in the name of France.
M. La Page du Pratz relates, in his " History of Louis- iana " that in 1758 a Yazoo Indian gave him a particular account of a journey made by this remarkable native up the Missouri, thence across the Rocky Mountains and down the Columbia River to the Western Sea, from which he re- turned to Natchez after an absence of five years. This story obtained so much credence that it stimulated French am- bition to cross the continent, and prompted several attempts
907
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
to that end. Indeed, the story was known to Jefferson, as is made plainly evident by reading his instructions to Cap- tain Lewis. According to old documents quoted by Mar- bois, the Bishopric of Louisiana extended to the Pacific Ocean, which shows that the whole country, though un- explored, was within the French sphere of discovery.
Though the French had priority of claim to the north- west, where, besides discovery and exploration, they main- tained several trading-posts, the Spanish were also active in extending their knowledge of the region, but the Spanish government was so illiberal that reports of exploration were rarely published, though they found permanent lodgement in the national archives. It is known, however, that Don Jaque Claymorgan formed a company, by royal permission of Spain, in 1792, to conduct the fur trade on the Upper Mis- souri, and to establish forts and to garrison them with one hundred men at the royal expense. For his services as an explorer Claymorgan was granted a large body of land. Subsequently, after the acquisition of Louisiana, to secure a confirmation by Congress of this grant, it was asserted that Claymorgan crossed the Rocky Mountains, explored the head waters of the Missouri, and proceeded westward to the Pacific Ocean.
It is shown by the facts as stated that France and Spain, by their discoveries and claims, held a valid title to all the northwest, and though they might have contested their re- spective rights of possession to the territory it is very clear
908
BOUNDARY OF THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE
that jointly and severally they had the unquestioned power to cede the territory and to convey a valid title to the United States. It must therefore be apparent, if this reasoning be accepted, that all of Montana, Idaho, Washington, and Ore- gon, are a part of the Louisiana Purchase, notwithstanding official maps represent that Washington was acquired by discovery, 1792, and Oregon became ours by the Astoria settlement of 1811, and by the Florida treaty of 1819, while south of Oregon the dividing line followed, in a zigzag course, what was regarded as the water shed, or ridge, on the east side of which the tributaries of the Mississippi or Missouri had their source, and on the west side were the sources of those streams that flowed westward, towards the Pacific. Considering the limited geographic knowledge at the time, it is not surprising that this boundary line was established upon false presumptions, though these inaccura- cies lost their importance through acquisitions since made which gave us the entire contiguous west, out of which states have developed and fruitful plenty, peace, unity and national strength are our heritage to now enjoy.
909
DIVISION XLVII. Louisiana after the Cession.
IMMEDIATELY after the transfer of Louisiana to the United States, William C. C. Claiborne was appointed gover- nor of the territory, and Brigadier-General James Wilkin- son was made commander-in-chief of the army. With the establishment of a permanent form of government a rapid settlement began both of Upper and Lower Louisiana, and as the new settlers were chiefly from the eastern States, at- tracted by opportunities offered in the rich valley of the Mis- sissippi, American officials were very soon substituted for the Spanish authorities that had theretofore administered the affairs of the Province. But very much still remained to be done to prepare the territory for a peaceful occupation, for Spanish influence continued great, and the many Indian tribes on the east side of the Mississippi had to be reckoned with, conditions which caused the general government much anxiety.
By act of Congress approved March 26, 1804, a territorial form of government was established, whereby it was de- clared, in the first section of the act that " all that portion of the country ceded by France to the United States under the name of Louisiana, which lies south of the Mississippi
910
LOUISIANA AFTER THE CESSION
territory, and of an east and west line to commence on the Mississippi River at the thirty-third degree of north latitude, and extending westward to the western boundary of said cession, shall constitute a territory of the United States, under the name of the Territory of Orleans." The plan of government, however, was far less democratic than that pro- vided for the Northwestern Territory by the act of July, 1787, in that for the Territory of Orleans the legislative power was vested in a governor, and a legislative council of thirteen nominated by the governor for appointment by the president. This provision withheld from the citizens the right of popular suffrage guaranteed by the Constitution and provoked great dissatisfaction. Another feature of the or- dinance objected to by the French was found in a prohibition of the introduction of slaves, which they regarded as a blow at the agricultural prosperity of the territory. These objec- tions took form in remonstrances made at public meetings by the French settlers, who demanded immediate admission of the territory into the Federal Union as an independent State. But notwithstanding these remonstrances the territorial government was organized according to the act of March 26, and the first legislative body convened in the city of New Orleans December 4 following. One of the first acts of the Assembly, after providing a code of judicial proceedings, and forming laws for the general government of the terri- tory, was to create the Bank of Louisiana, with a capital of
$600,000, with privilege to increase to $2,000,000, and to
911
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
continue its charter for a period of sixteen years. There was immediate need for such a bank, to relieve the embar- rassment caused by a depreciated paper currency, or govern- ment script called liberansas, with which the Spaniards had flooded the country.
General dissatisfaction continuing with the suffrage pro- vision of the territorial organization act, Congress was pre- vailed upon to repeal the obnoxious law, and a new ordinance was accordingly adopted March 2, 1805, which was identi- cal with that of the law governing the northwest territory. When the first legislature met, June 20, 1805, under the revised act, several modifications were made in the terri- torial laws, which were retained until the adoption of the State Constitution of 1845.
It is not surprising that in the organization and adminis- tration of the new government great difficulties and em- barrassments were encountered, for Louisiana had been under the control of Spain, France, and the United States re- spectively, the subjects of which were at great variance as respects their ideas of liberty. In some districts, notably that of Baton Rouge, the Spaniards were still predominant and their assumption of authority so antagonized the Anglo- Americans that armed conflicts were imminent on several occasions. At the same time, it must be remembered, Spain surrendered Louisiana with great reluctance, nor would she have done so, probably, had not the belief generally obtained that France would retrocede the country to Spain as soon as
912
WILLIAM (
- , and died in N \vthe profession of lu\v, t; t- ''e*; -eminent, beini; ntri
tcr represented ( ongreas
;ppi ter'itory ami it. 1804 became n he retained for eigut years and
•>st-nt 1, : kinjj
IBOt
County, Virginia, bora «••. Having prepared himself to fo!- ce in Nashville, where he soon becam • the State Constitutional Convention aiii! Iu i Soi he \vas iiiade CJovernor <>; :iorof Louisi.ir, t territory, whii-U jje territory was erected into astatr A! the close of his term, in i8i6,8.>- " nited State" Senate, Imt dii-d hef... •
iSIANA TERRITORY
r for a peri. xteen years. There
•J for sucli a bank, to relieve the embar-
a deprec, currency, or govern-
ied libcranza: h the Spaniards had
:try.
the suffrage pro- pre- new 01
1 1 ,
.-:ing the
•en the June 20, ;
revised act, .^#«VMrt&i\$cAJiQUs VkUtei A¥Nfe in the terri- ribwiiliiiilf^1' .vtoatx!BioJ!i4lo«jkt'Jat>j^ioiii.iodjr|tfir
•iotol^l^/npiif .Lxj^'jy;)^ i/iiy^H, ^ :i?i ,«fi63hO wa'/ nt bsib Lue ,%\\i *&*
itiosiq nsgad srf ,wsl lo nocaea^oiq t« < '
r.ntniAn^m^'JfirtdriMJ'Jta^-' -adrtWf arfciaala^it
*-. •
;ie districts/ notably
Baton • re still predominant
n of authori: riized the Anglo-
ned conflicts uient on several
>ame time, it mu nembered, Spain
vith great r< r would she
have di- not the !. obtained
cede the country soon as
LOUISIANA AFTER THE CESSION
hostilities with England ceased and conditions should make it politic or practicable for her to do so. Spain therefore did not cease to look forward to the time when the integrity of her possessions in America should be restored, in which desire Spanish settlers in Louisiana and the west partici- pated, even to the point of offering insolence to Americans as interlopers who would soon be dispossessed. Indeed, the Marquis de Casa Calvo had the boldness to inform Governor Claiborne that " the Court of Spain desired to make the Mississippi River the boundary line, and that in time this .object would be obtained."
There was not only a firm belief maintained by the Span- ish that all the territory would be retroceded to Spain, but many Americans shared in this opinion through fear that the United States, in a show of force, would be unable to retain the country. The situation at length grew so acute that Governor Claiborne appealed to the President, Jefferson, to take measures to compel withdrawal of the Spanish forces from all Louisiana in three months.
Jefferson, however, perceived the waning power of Spain, and noted also that the extension of Spanish settlements was westward into Texas, so he very wisely refrained from precipitating a rupture, since his ends might be more easily attained by waiting until the Americans had more populously occupied the ceded territory. But there was constant fric- tion between the Spanish and Americans regarding the western boundary line of Louisiana, which the latter claimed
915
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
should be the Arroyo Honda, a deep ravine seven miles west of Natchitoches. This line, however, was not fully respected, and repeated threatened invasions required con- stant vigilance upon the part of the Federal troops that were held in readiness to meet any Spanish force that might attempt to establish themselves within the ceded domain. After several months spent in watching the Spanish, General Wilkinson marched to the east bank of Sabine River, by which action hostilities appeared more imminent than at any time before, but feeling that his forces, and probably his authority, were inadequate to engage the Americans, the Spanish commander referred the dispute to Governor Co- dero, who consented to submit the settlement of the boundary question between Texas and the territory of Orleans to the respective governments.
In this connection it is both interesting and important to refer, at least, to the effects of the Aaron Burr conspiracy upon the negotiations for a settlement of the boundary ques- tion. The emissaries of Burr had been particularly active in Louisiana and Texas, and with such results as led many to believe that his ambition to found an empire in Mexico, of which he aspired to be the head, would be realized. For some time Burr had been in New Orleans secretly promot- ing his scheme, and had enlisted the cooperation of many influential persons. It was currently reported at the time that General Wilkinson had extorted a large sum of money
from the Spanish governor by exciting his fears as to the
916
LOUISIANA AFTER. THE CESSION
powerful invasion contemplated by Burr, and that the move- ment couid not be arrested except by the most energetic action of the American Commander (Wilkinson) with the army then at his disposal. These charges were explicit and direct, which the Spanish Intendant preferred in the follow- ing language: " General Wilkinson first communicated in- telligence of the general nature of this plot to Governor Codero, upon the Sabine, and proposed to him that if he would withdraw his forces from that river, and prevail upon the vice-king to furnish him (Wilkinson) with $300,000 he would undertake to frustrate the designs of the conspira- tors, and save the province of his Catholic majesty from invasion, employing for that purpose the forces and other resources, naval and military, of the United States."
Whatever may be the truth of these ugly charges, the primary object of General Wilkinson's expedition was ac- complished, for the Spanish forces withdrew from the limits of the territory of Orleans, and thus the aim of the Sabine expedition was completed without bloodshed, and General Wilkinson, with his staff, proceeded to New Orleans to place the city in a state of defense against the revolutionary designs of Burr and his confederates.
Rumors of the most alarming character concerning the designs of the conspirators were in swift circulation, which
represented that New Orleans would be the first point of
^^"
attack, for which purpose a flotilla was descending the
Mississippi. These reports exhibited a degree of exaggera-
917
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
tion, of course, but they still had considerable basis of fact. The whole west was feverish with excitement and there was a wide popular desire to engage in an expedition against the Spanish of the Southwest, while thousands of adventurous Americans were ready to enlist in any under- taking that promised spoils. Conditions were such as jus- tified the severe measures which General Wilkinson was prompt to employ. Knowing that New Orleans contained many Burr adherents, public safety required that these be arrested as expeditiously as possible in order to avert an outbreak. Martial law was accordingly declared and whole- sale arrests were made of all suspected persons, which brought forth fierce denunciations from the large number who were in sympathy with the revolutionary plottings ; but General Wilkinson was sustained in all the measures he inaugurated, and when the militia and volunteers of the city were organized into the " Battalion of New Orleans " the traitorous project became at once less pronounced, followed by the restoration of tranquillity when Governor Claiborne issued his proclamation December 16 , 1806. Very soon afterwards Aaron Burr, with one hundred men, arrived at Bayou Pierre, where he surrendered himself to the civil au- thorities, and gave bond. This he promptly forfeited, how- ever, and being declared a fugitive from justice was captured on the Tombigbee and sent to Richmond, Virginia, to stand trial, charged with a high misdemeanor. " Thus terminated
the excitement and alarm which had pervaded the whole
918
LOUISIANA AFTER THE CESSION
West relative to the contemplated separation of the Union, and the invasion of the Spanish provinces."
During the diversion of the United States troops in sup- pressing the Burr conspiracy, Spanish officers were active in extending their explorations along the tributaries of the Red and Arkansas Rivers, and in forming alliances with Indian tribes in that region. To counteract Spanish in- fluence Lieutenant Zebulon M. Pike, of the first regiment of U. S. Infantry, was commissioned June 24, 1806, to lead an exploring party to the Red and Arkansas rivers and to follow these streams from their head waters to their junc- tion with the Mississippi. Though this was the declared object of the expedition, the primary purpose was to estab- lish an understanding with the Comanche Indians, a tribe so powerful that their friendship was essential to the exten- sion of American influence in the Southwest.
Though Lieutenant Pike had been particularly enjoined by General Wilkinson to avoid trenching upon Spanish ter- ritory, he proceeded so far west as to find himself near the sources of the Rio del Norte, where he was apprehended by Spanish troops and detained, with his attendants, for sev- eral months. In the following summer, however, he was released and escorted to the province of Texas, and then permitted to make his way to Natchitoches, where he arrived in July, 1807. A portion of Lieutenant Pike's expedition having been detached from the main body, descended Red
919
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
River and reached Fort Adams, on the Mississippi, Febru- ary preceding.
It has been declared and maintained by evidence which it is quite impossible to controvert, that Lieutenant Pike's ex- pedition was planned by General Wilkinson to obtain a more perfect knowledge of the southwest country, with the view to utilize the information in planning a campaign against Spain. In other words, that General Wilkinson was in secret communication with Colonel Burr and General Adair, and aspired to leadership of the forces being collected to in- vade Mexico. No doubt General Wilkinson believed that Burr was operating with the knowledge, if not under secret authority of the Federal government, an opinion which might well be entertained not only because of the political prominence of Burr, but also by reason of the fact that the entire West was a unit in desiring war with Spain, a senti- ment being general that because of incessant border diffi- culties American interests demanded that the Spanish should be driven out of America. Subsequently, General Wilkin- son discovered the traitorous character of Burr, and at once exercised his energies to destroy the conspiracy, but notwith- standing his fidelity to the Federal Government, and his distinguished patriotic services in the field, his reputation has greatly suffered with the taint of commercial intrigues with the Spaniards and encouragement at least indirectly given to the scheme of Burr.
Scarcely had a rapprochement with Spain been estab-
920
LOUISIANA AFTER THE CESSION
lished, on the boundary question, when disputes with Great Britain began to presage a rupture in the near future, in anticipation of which President Jefferson caused measures to be taken to protect Louisiana from invasion by way of the Mississippi. General Wilkinson was ordered with a large force of regulars to New Orleans, but exposure of un- acclimated troops to the malarious atmosphere of Terre Aux Bceufs, where the encampment was made, caused such a spread of diseases among them that they were removed, by boats, to Forts Adams and Natchez. This latter place had been selected by La Moyne for a French settlement, in 1700, and was called Rosalie; but it was not until 1716 that a fort was built by Bienville, on the bluff, and the place occupied by whites. In 1729 the settlement was destroyed by Natchez Indians, but the fort was soon rebuilt and the town grew so rapidly that in 1798, when the territory of Mississippi was created, Natchez was made the capital. In 1803 it was incorporated as a city but declined in importance after re- moval of the capital to Jackson in 1820. The trip up stream was so tedious, having to be made by rowing or cordelling pirogues, that forty-seven days were consumed in the pas- sage, the hardships being so great that two hundred and forty men died on the way, and not more' than one hundred men were fit for duty upon their arrival at the forts. Weak- ened by exposure and maladia, nearly every man in the com- mand, of about two thousand, was attacked by a malignant
scurvy, which rendered the victims a mass of putrefaction.
921
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
The surgeon of the division has left a report of the dreadful havoc wrought by the disease in which among other things he asserts that he saw many men, in their agony and despair, actually tear their peccant tongues out and exult in being rid of the festering mass. So fatal was the malady that seven hundred and sixty-four died at the forts in the fall, which, added to the deaths that occurred on the up trip, makes a total loss by disease in a few months of 1004, or more than one-half the entire command, while of the re- mainder five hundred and sixty-three were invalided and sixty-six deserted. This unprecedented mortality, charge- able to what seemed to be a total disregard of precaution, caused the President, James Madison, to suspend General Wilkinson, and the temporary appointment of General Wade Hampton was made in his "stead. General Wilkinson was thereupon summoned to appear before a board of inquiry at Washington, where his official conduct for five years was reviewed, upon conclusion of which he was restored to his command on the Lower Mississippi.
It is remarkable that as late as 1810, long after the delimi- tation of the Louisiana boundary had been settled, the Span- iards held possession of the Baton Rouge district, which extended from the Mississippi River to Bayou Iberville and thence eastward to the Pearl River. Within this territory a large number of Anglo-Americans had settled, and be- tween these and the Spaniards there was constant friction
until in 1805 an attempt was made to set Spanish authority
922
LOUISIANA AFTER THE CESSION
at defiance and destroy the power exercised over the Ameri- can settlers. This effort failed, but the object was still cherished, hope being entertained that the incoming of more settlers would soon give opportunity to successfully renew the revolt. Conditions favored this ambition in the summer of 1810, when the Spanish garrison at Baton Rouge was reduced to a small detachment, no thought being entertained of a probable attack.
At a signal the settlers near Bayou Sara rallied, and being reenforced by volunteers from Mississippi and St. Francisville, they placed themselves, two hundred strong, under the leadership of Captains Thomas and Depassau. This force marched upon Baton Rouge and demanded the immediate surrender of the garrison, commanded by Colonel de Grandpre. Almost simultaneous with the command to surrender, the attacking party of Americans fired upon the Spaniards and with much yelling charged through the south gate, which the Spaniards, being taken by surprise, had not closed. Colonel de Grandpre fell dead at the first fire, at sight of which the Spaniards, who numbered about one hundred and fifty, were so dismayed that they immediately surrendered at discretion. The following day the garrison was paroled and with the Spanish civil authorities were per- mitted to retire to Pensacola.
Having destroyed Spanish authority in Louisiana, a pro- visional government was set up and a convention called to assemble at Baton Rouge in September (1810) at which
923
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
a Declaration of Independence was adopted on the 26th of the month. A constitution was formulated and a state gov- ernment organized under the name o'f the State of Florida, and on the eleventh of October formal application was made to the Federal authorities of the United States for imme- diate admission to the American Union.
West Florida had never ceased to be regarded as a part of Louisiana, but Spanish authority and occupation, had been permitted from a conciliatory policy which it was be- lieved would ultimately result in a peaceful yielding of the territory by Spain; but renunciation of Spanish dominion by citizens of the United States brought the question of authoritative possession to an acute issue. To secure good government and tranquillity Congress directed the president to take possession of the territory, in pursuance of which William C. C. Claiborne was, by proclamation of October 27, 1810, empowered to occupy the territory in the name of the United States, and to act as governor of the same. Act- ing upon authority and instructions thus conferred, Gover- nor Claiborne repaired to St. Francisville with a volunteer troop of cavalry, where, on the seventh of December, he raised the American flag as a token of possession.
There was a cheerful acquiescence upon the part of the people in the authority of Governor Claiborne, who by a subsequent proclamation annexed the " Florida District " to the jurisdiction of the " Territory of Orleans," which was
soon after subdivided into six parishes, but the district of
924
LOUISIANA AFTER THE CESSION
Mobile, with Fort Charlotte, was not included, being per- mitted to continue under Spanish authority. 'At this time (1810) the total population of the Territory of Orleans, exclusive of the six Florida parishes, was 76,550, of which number New Orleans contained 24,552.
In January following (1811) the territory was agitated with great alarm by reason of an uprising of slaves in the parish of St. John Baptist, thirty-six miles above New Orleans, who, to the number of five hundred, formed them- selves into companies and with flags and music started a campaign of devastation in the parish. The whites were placed in imminent jeopardy by the revolt, for being fewer in number than the blacks, and without organization, they could oppose but a feeble resistance to the marauders. Gen- eral Hampton acted with all possible celerity in ordering reg- ular troops from Baton Rouge and Fort St. Charles to the seat of trouble, who were soon reen forced by the militia and in an encounter that then took place fifty of the insurgents were killed and the rest dispersed. The escaping insurrec- tionists were hunted in the swamps, to which they fled for refuge, where several were shot to death and sixteen others captured. These prisoners were taken to New Orleans, where they were tried, convicted and hanged. After execution the bodies were exposed to many indignities, with the view to discouraging the blacks from undertaking another upris- ing, or offering any opposition to the will of their masters.
The heads of more than twenty of the killed and hanged
925
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
were cut off, and set up on poles at as many points along the river, where they were suffered to remain for several months as ghastly reminders of the fatal attempt made by the blacks to throw off their yoke of bondage.
On account of the insurrection, which left the people in a greatly disturbed state of mind, the legislature did not assemble until the fourth Monday in January. During the session several acts were passed necessary to the annexation and administration of the Florida parishes, and on the 8th of April, 1812, Louisiana was admitted into the Union, with the new limits fixed as they now appear. In June following the two houses of the legislature chose William C. C. Clai- borne Governor of the State, whose administrative services had actually continued from 1803.
At the beginning of the year 1813 the population of the State numbered about eighty-five thousand souls, nearly one-half of whom were negro slaves, while the others were a mixture of French, English, Spanish and Americans.
Notwithstanding the war with England, which was largely fought on the sea, and on the Atlantic Coast, Louisiana pros- pered markedly, for, being far from the seat of hostilities, the people of the State scarcely knew that a war was in progress. This unmolested condition continued until near the close of 1814, when report was spread that England contemplated an attack upon New Orleans. This rumor of England's designs served to put the people into a state
of great alarm, for they realized how very weak were the
926
LOUISIANA AFTER THE CESSION
defenses -of the city, and how unprepared the militia and few regulars of the State were to meet an enemy.
As early as March, 1812, General Wilkinson had sent a lengthy communication to President Madison informing him fully of the assailable nature of the Southern Coast, which was almost wholly destitute of forts, and recommended that immediate measure be taken to establish effective fortifi- cations at several important points. In addition to these recommendations he urged that adequate defenses be promptly provided for the protection of New Orleans; that not only should fortifications be built below the city, com- manding both sides of the river, but that a force of ten thou- sand regulars, thoroughly equipped, should be stationed in the immediate vicinity of New Orleans. These valuable suggestions received so little attention from the President that General Wilkinson publicly remonstrated and expostu- lated against the inefficiency of the Secretary of War, John Armstrong, for which he was accused of insubordination and removed from command of New Orleans.
When, in the fall of 1814, there was reason to believe reports that the British were about to attack New Orleans with a powerful fleet and army, the city was practically un- protected, and but for the courage and intrepidity of Gen- eral Jackson, who was suddenly called from his home in Ten- nessee to take up arms to repel an invasion, New Orleans would, undoubtedly, have been captured, sacked and probably destroyed by Packenham's forces. How this calamity was T 927
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
averted, and some unpleasant facts connected with the war of 1812, will form the subject matter of another division. It is a remarkable fact, rarely mentioned in history, how- ever, that although General Jackson saved New Orleans from sack and rapine his invaluable services were vigorously condemned by many English sympathizers in the city. Among the number of malcontents and traitors was a Judge of the United States District Court, Dominic A. Hall, by name, who himself preferred a charge of contempt of court against Jackson with the intent to embarrass his plans for defending New Orleans. The situation was a desperate one, when we consider that the city was not only without ade- quate means for opposing resistance to an enemy, but the populace was a mixed one, with a large number of French and English actually hostile in sentiment to the American cause. For this reason Jackson declared martial law, which of course suspended the writ of habeas corpus; never- theless Judge Hall granted many such writs, and these be- ing ignored by Jackson he was proceeded against upon charges formulated by Judge Hall, who in default of the General's appearance sentenced him to pay a fine of one thousand dollars. Although the civil might have been sub- ordinate to the military authority under the circumstances, General Jackson chose to recognize the superiority of the former, and despite the offers of citizens to contribute the amount of the fine he patriotically insisted upon paying it from his private funds; but Judge Hall soon after retired
928
LOUISIANA AFTER THE CESSION
from the bench which he had dishonored, amid the con- tempt of his fellow citizens. Thirty years later, upon the recommendation of President Tyler, Congress ordered that the thousand dollars fine paid by Jackson, together with in- terest for the time that had intervened, be refunded to the aged soldier.
929
DIVISION XLVIII.
Events Preceding the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
WE have told, in a brief, but sufficiently exact way to serve the purpose of the general reader, how the Mississippi River was discovered, and the region which it drained was explored, following which will come the story of settlement and development of that vast extent of country now known as the Louisiana Purchase Territory. It is especially in- teresting now to briefly recapitulate the historical vicissi- tudes through which it passed before becoming part of our national domain.
To those who are familiar with the history of European colonizing schemes in America it will be no surprise to be told that during what may be designated as the Columbian period the French were quite as adventurous as the Spanish in pushing their conquests among savages of the New World, though their attempts were less successful. And it may be mentioned also that the chivalry of Spain in no way exceeded the brilliant intrepidity of the French, who were as full of initiative, and as romantically inclined, as the Spanish Conquistadores. But unlike the Spanish, the French were wanting in cooperative spirit, and to this fault they added that of jealousy, which influences combined to
930
PRECEDING THE LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION
antagonize the government, first or last, against nearly every enterprise in America undertaken by French explorers and settlers. It thus happened that while many things were attempted by the French in the New World, and with be- ginnings that promised immense results for France, they all eventually came to naught or passed to another nation to be completed. And if we care to pursue the subject fur- ther we will find examples elsewhere of the inharmony among French pioneers that defeated their plans of bril- liant discoveries, explorations, and attempts at settlement.
Thus we call to mind that Jules Cartier, a bold navigator and a resolute explorer, sailed up the St. Lawrence as far as the Plains of Abraham as early as 1534, but there was no appreciation of his discoveries .by his government so that it was not until 1603 that New France was founded by Samuel de Champlain. And it is worth considering, that Champlain was a man cast in a heroic mold, the greatest no doubt of his class, whose courage, reenforced by matchless dreams of conquest, would, if he had been properly supported by his sovereign, have made France supreme in North America, by establishing an empire here so productive and impregnable as to defy the jealous assaults of all other powers. Among his ambitious and sagacious projects was that of uniting the Atlantic and Pacific by a tide-water canal at Panama and extending French settlements from the St. Lawrence to the Mississippi. But grand as were his conceptions, and wise as was his foresight, Champlain
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
was compelled, through lack of sympathy and support from his sovereign, to forego his plans, a disappointment which crushed the great spirit that had so long dominated and inspired him. He had founded Quebec in 1608, and it was in the little fortress of that place that he yielded up his life in 1635, a tragedy of disappointed ambition.
There was a long hiatus in the history of French ex- ploration in America following the death of Champlain, for his successor did not appear until 1666, in the person of Robert Chevalier, Sieur de La Salle, a man descended of noble Norman stock, who was as distinguished for haughty overbearing as Champlain was beloved for courtesy, affa- bility, modesty, and sympathy.
La Salle was a man wanting nothing in courage, activity, and purpose. His plans were well devised and his energies might readily have carried -them into execution had he not been opposed by an unfortunate disposition, the intolerance of which was such that he made enemies of those upon whom he had to depend most. Refusing to regard others, and thus rendering himself offensive, hatred was engen- dered which found at length a murderous expression from his own men by whom he was assassinated, 1687, though not until he had accomplished more, perhaps, than any of his predecessors. His dream was of a route to Cathay, but though he did no more to realize this than Columbus, he traversed the Great Lakes, discovered the Illinois and Ohio rivers, floated down the Mississippi, and besides mapping
932
PRECEDING THE LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION
the country from the St. Lawrence to the Gulf, projected a chain of forts over the same route, and planned to build a city at the mouth of the Mississippi.
Though La Salle fell a victim to his own harsh and im- perious manners and did not live to see his ambitious con- ceptions take form, his plans were so well regarded that his work was taken up by Iberville and Bienville, who planted colonies in Lower Louisiana, and though poorly assisted by their king they established settlements which survived all vicissitudes and flourish to this day.
It is extremely interesting in this connection to note the fact that the successful settlement of Louisiana was due to an experiment very like that adopted later by England in colonizing Australia with ticket-of-leave men. A monopoly of trade had been given to Antoine Crozat in 1712, who pros- pered for a time by it, but his charter was surrendered in 1718 and passed to John Law, who exploited his privileges in what has ever since been known in history as the " Missis- sippi Bubble."
The disaster wrought by John Law's schemes, while im- poverishing many, brought much advantage to Louisiana, for, in pursuance of the scheme and allective promises held forth by the Mississippi Valley Colonization Company, not only were a good class of settlers induced to take up homes in the new land, but criminals were deported to swell the colony, while yet others were kidnapped and sent across the water, and return passaee was generally refused. Very
933
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
soon conditions quite similar to those which obtained at Jamestown confronted the Louisiana colonists, for though satisfied with their exile the men required wives to make their condition more comfortable, and to insure the in- crease and prosperity of the settlements. To provide for this emergency, " a small dowry and one fine dress and a free passage" was offered to every respectable young woman of France who would cross the ocean and consent to become the bride of a Louisiana settler. Before this time, however, the Urseline nuns had become established in Biloxi, Mobile, and also in New Orleans directly after its founding, 1717, and these played an important part in furnishing wives to the new colonists. The Catholic Church, ambitious to promote the interests of the settlements discouraged all young women who came to Louisiana from entering the convents, and entreated them to become wives instead, by which counsel many women were influenced to select husbands from the large number of candidates, and not less strange is the fact that these marriages, largely for convenience, generally resulted happily. Not a few families of the South are able to trace their lineage back to these unions, while in the North, and indeed in every part of the United States, there are distinguished descendants of the first settlers of Louisiana.
While in lower Louisiana there was considerable develop- ment, all marks of civilization and industry were lost above where Natchez now stands. Farmers tilled the soil along
934
PRECEDING THE LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION
the river, but none were induced to invade the interior, which was for several years left to adventurous explorers, such as Du Tisne, Bourgmont, and Mallet, who followed the Red and Arkansas Rivers, crossed previously unknown valleys, plains and deserts of the great Southwest, and brought back from these wonderlands stories of many hair- breadth escapes and descriptions of Indians of the regions, for which the reading world has not yet lost interest.
It was La Verendrye, son of an intrepid grenadier and a veritable D'Artignan, who, in 1742, while ranging the trackless plains of the west, discovered the Missouri and followed it to where its head waters cleave the Rocky Mountains. These discoveries, afterwards so well utilized by Lewis and Clark, might have made France mistress of the northwest had she shown such sagacity as Thomas Jefferson manifested when he proposed an exploration of that vast region. But France failed to improve her op- portunity, as she had done before. When, in 1755, General Braddock was entrapped on the banks of the Monongahela and he and nearly his entire army was destroyed by a Franco-Indian force, the victory seemed to establish for all time the supremacy of France in the Ohio and Mississippi valleys. Similarly, when Montcalm, by seizing Oswego, se- cured possession of Ontario as a French lake ; and when by reducing forts William and Ticonderoga he placed himself in a position to overwhelm New England, had his victories been followed by plans to that end, France might have es-
935
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
tablished a French empire in America. But though France had great generals they fought without definite purpose because the government failed to apprehend the value of America as a possession, except as it afforded a base of operations against the English, which it was the studied purpose of France to harass. On the other hand, the English wanted Canada, and as much of America as their valor could win, not because the territory was contested by the French, but for the larger reason that they considered the country well worth fighting for. Propelled by this higher consideration, General Wolfe was sent to America to wrest Canada from the French, and attacking Montcalm in his stronghold at Quebec (1759), the two armies fought to a finish on the Plains of Abraham. Both Wolfe and Montcalm were killed in the battle, but the victory was with the English and the fruits were great, for humiliated France not only ceded all of Canada to England, but also all that vast territory which she had acquired by discovery east of the Mississippi.
France saw her mistake when it was too late to rectify the error of her purblind policy. She had lost America beyond all hope of recovering it again, and fearing that her slender hold on Louisiana and New Orleans might at any time be forced by England, in 1762 she ceded that ter- ritory to Spain, thus relinquishing her last frail tenure to any part of North America.
But France, while remarkably short-sighted, so far as
936
PRECEDING THE LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION
respects her operations in India and America, by which she lost both countries to England, never lacked spirit or ag- gressiveness in her affairs on the continent. A long while before she had been overwhelmed at Crecy, and again at Agincourt, but she refused to trail her banner more than an hour, for with amazing patriotism and recuperation she was redeemed by the Maid of Orleans, and her glory was again reestablished by Louis XIV., thus attesting her amaz- ing vitality as well as proving her unquenchable courage.
A generation after her relinquishment of America to the victorious English, France reappeared in war panoply with Napoleon leading her legions, and the ensign of the lilies was carried with a martial spirit rarely exhibited before or since. The story of Napoleon's rise, his meteoric dash across the sky of Europe, and his extinction in the lonely isle of St. Helena, is one so often told that it need not be repeated here, but it is meet that the facts be men- tioned how for a pittance, and to satisfy a jealousy, he gave to America an empire infinitely greater than his own.
France had long before been frustrated in her ambition to acquire India, and Napoleon now revived the desire and likewise a plan for regaining New France in America. The idea which actuated Napoleon was no doubt to provoke a pretext for measuring arms with England, with which France was ever at war, in heart if not in actual hostilities. France had ceded Louisiana to Spain for no greater con- sideration than to prevent it being wrested from her by
937
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
England. In the meantime, Spain had been in a state of decadence, and therefore conscious of his power to recover the territory from so weak an opponent, Napoleon gave Spain the alternative of exchanging Louisiana for a small Italian possession, or submitting the question to the arbitrament of war. Spain did not hesitate to accept the former terms, whereupon Napoleon prepared to send a fleet and army to confirm his acquisition in America. About this time, how- ever, some unforeseen difficulties arose, among which was a revolt in San Domingo, under the great leader Toussaint 1'Ouverture, which required first to be suppressed. While this revolt was occupying his attention Napoleon discovered an ominous war-cloud overhanging Europe, threatening his power, and to avert the storm he perceived the necessity of at once abandoning all foreign emprises, and concentrating his energies at home.
At this time, about 1801; the United States was upon the point of being embroiled with Spain, over the question of navigation rights to the Mississippi River. There were constant disputes and frequent fights between small parties of Americans and Spaniards, the former insisting on using the river as a free highway and the latter demanding toll of every boat that floated upon it. When therefore the news was reported in America that Spain had retroceded Louis- iana to France, there immediately followed an urgent demand upon Congress to declare war, and a plan was proposed by Federalists to appropriate $5,000,000 and to raise an army
938
CA1>. 'v'A.
CAPTAIN Meriwether Lewis, born in Chaflottsviile, V.-i August 18, 1774, en~ listed with the troops called fortosuppr^^|^;$lflii«key Rebellion in Western Pennsylvania, 1794, and entered the regular servke in the following year as lieu- tenant of the line. In 1797 he was promoted to a captaincy and in 1801-3 was private secretary to President Jefferson, resigning the latter position to accept the position of Commander of the Lewis and Clark expedition. He committed suicide near Nashville, October 8, 1809.
Captain William Clark was also a Virginian, born about 1770, and died in St. Louis, September i, 1838. He was a brother of the famous frontier fighter, General George Rogers Clark, and served in the army with Meriwether Lewi? between whom a warm friendship subsisted, but little else is known of his early history. His subsequent career is recorded in the volume in which the Lewis and Clark expedition is described.
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PRECEDING THE LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION
of 50,000 men to seize the mouth of the Mississippi and fortify it before the French could arrive.
The excitement which the retrocession caused was due to a widely prevalent belief that France had instigated Spain to blockade the Mississippi, because the insistence of Spain that all Americans navigating the Mississippi should pay a large toll had not been nearly so great before as it was during the last years of the century. But the general belief regarding the hostility of France towards the United States was not shared by President Jefferson, and to avert all dan- ger of war, and at the same time to satisfy the demands of his western constituents, very soon after his inauguration he 'sent Robert Livingston to Paris to arrange an amicable settlement of difficulties, which navigation of the Mississippi might provoke. The excitement over the ques- tion so increased, however, that Jefferson concluded to send James Monroe to reenforce Livingston, and gave him $2,000,000 in hand with full power to negotiate a treaty of purchase for New Orleans and Florida, but having at the time no thought of attempting to acquire the whole of Louisiana territory, though of its inestimable value to the Union he had the clearest conception.
No sooner had Monroe reached Paris when to his pro- found astonishment, and to Livingston's as well, he was presented by Marbois, minister of the French treasury, with a proposition to sell not only New Orleans but the whole of Louisiana territory for the sum of 80,000,000 (about
941
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
$16,000,000) francs. The proposal was so astounding that Monroe and Livingston might well hesitate, especially as they had no authority to buy the territory, much less to obli- gate the United States for so large a sum. But time was an essential thing in the negotiation, for Napoleon, like his predecessor, was possessed with a great fear that being about to engage in a war with England the enemy would most likely seize French colonies, the most attractive of which, and poorest defended, was Louisiana.
Livingston and Monroe appreciated the value equally with the gravity of the proposition that Napoleon had made, and decided to transcend their authority for the gain to the Union which the act would entail, and the bargain was accordingly closed.
The purchase of Louisiana territory for the small sum of $16,000,000 was a bargain such as no nation may ever again .make with another, yet it was clamorously condemned by people in the east, and Jefferson's approval brought down upon his head a veritable cyclone of vituperation and oblo- quy, notwithstanding which abuse, the president and the purchase was sustained by Congress that met in October, 1803. Louisiana had been acquired, by which the national domain had been increased one half, but the character of the country remained as yet to be ascertained, and to determine this important question, doubtful as many were of its value, was the immediate purpose of President Jefferson in send- ing Captains Lewis and Clark to explore it.
942
DIVISION XLIX. The Lewis and Clark Expedition.
THE story has been told of Speke, Grant, Baker, Living- stone and Stanley's expeditions through Central Africa,, and millions have been thrilled and fascinated by the nar- ratives. As a boy and as a man I, in common with others, have treasured these tales of astonishing adventure, and when, subsequently, I was called upon to write of them my- self the duty became a pleasure which will abide all the re- maining days of my life. Strange enough it appears that while nearly every person takes keen delight in perusing the diaries and annals of explorers, until we are all more or less familiar with the discoveries made in Arctic and tropic regions, few of us have much acquaintance with the remark- able story of the Lewis and Clark expedition, which for excitement and thrilling adventure equals that told by the Argonauts themselves. And the interest should be greater because of the fact that these two distinguished explorers were the first white men to make a journey across the vast and trackless wilderness of the great Northwest territory, to mark a way which is now traversed by railroads, and to set up the sign posts of civilization which are now occupied
943
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
by thriving cities, where the merry hum of industry, pros- perity, and contentment pervades and fills the air.
If interest be sustained in the history that tells us of elephants, lions, and other fierce animals that roam the stretches of Equatorial Africa; and if we are spellbound by stories of cannibals, dwarfs, and savages of little known lands, why should we not be equally enravished by the nar- rative of first exploration of the West, replete as it is with adventures with formidable wild beasts and yet more dan- gerous Indians, those merciless nomads that roamed over western plains and long bid defiance to the march of empire ?
In previous divisions of this work information is given of the causes that led to our acquisition of what was known as the territory of Louisiana. It is hardly comprehendible that one century ago — the span of an exceptionally long life — the region west of the Mississippi, which is now the granary of America, was absolutely unknown. Previous to the Louisiana purchase all of this vast and fertile terri- tory was generally supposed to be composed of jungle, swamp, and desert, fit only, for all time, to be the haunt of reptiles, and ferocious creatures. With this belief prevalent it was not wholly unreasonable that violent party objection should be made to the action of President Jefferson when, exceeding his authority, he committed the honor of the United States to the unauthorized initiatives of Livingston and Monroe, as has been particularly explained.
Emergencies often produce genius, or the measures to
944
THE LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION
best meet them. Jefferson was unquestionably designed by nature to be the means to a great and beneficent end, and the emergency in which he and his party were now involved developed the ability to turn to good account the very evils that were freely predicted to be impending. Unlike the majority, Jefferson was gifted with rare foresight, by which not only was he able to perceive the very probable advan- tages of contiguous territorial expansion, but he supported the opinion that the Northwest especially was a country capable of being cultivated, and which, in due time, might become a valuable section of the United States. But to en- tertain this belief served to expose him to the derision of his political enemies, and to relieve himself of opprobrium and calumny he resolved to determine the character of the North- west, whether it were a country such as his opponents de- clared it to be or one which possessed natural resources worth the effort to develop.
In pursuance of the views and purposes which President Jefferson entertained, in the summer of 1803 he planned an expedition to explore the head waters of the Missouri, and to discover if possible a practicable water communication thence with the Pacific ocean. At this time Captain Meri- wether Lewis, twenty-nine years of age, was acting as the President's private secretary. He was a gentleman of fine Virginia family, and having had some army experience, and withal was so eager to obtain the commission that Presi- dent Jackson decided to appoint him one of the leaders of
945
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
the proposed expedition. Captain William Clark, who like Lewis was an officer in the Army of the United States, was chosen by the President as associate in the command of the expedition. Captain Clark, who was four years the senior in age of Captain Lewis, was a brother of that famous George Rogers Clark, who in 1775 was a leader against the hostile Indians and British in the war for possession of what was then the Northwest. His most distinguished and in- trepid exploits were the defense of Harrodsburg, the capture of Kaskaskia and Vincennes, in the expedition of 1778, the relief of Cahokia, invasion of the Shawnee country, and de- feat of the Miamies.
It was not possible for President Jefferson to have selected two men, from any walk of life, who were better equipped by nature and training for so hazardous an enterprise than Captains Lewis and Clark, and in making the appointment he again showed that remarkable accuracy of judgment for which he was ever distinguished.
The two intrepid officers met at Louisville and proceeded to St. Louis, where they arrived in the month of December, 1803. Being prevented by the Spanish commandant from wintering at La Charrete, on the Missouri, the two went into camp at the head of Chouteau Slough, below the mouth of the Missouri river, where they enlisted a body of men and made their preparations for starting upon the long upriver journey at the approach of spring. The
party consisted of nine hardy young men from Kentucky,
946
A SCENE ON THE UPPER MISSOtfRf.
BEFORE the applicaticn of steam, and immediately preced;ngthe steamboat, the use of keel-boats was general on western rivers for the conveyance of freight from the head of navigation on the Missouri to the port of New Orleans. The scene herewith represents the voyage of a keel-boat up the Missouri earfyr in the nineteenth century, when Indian villages occupied the shores at frequent intervals, -iiid danger from attack was almost constant.
/ BK K ! T0t< Y
etptsiifrkia., Captain William Clark, who like <« '-jflaefT m t/?* Army of the Umted States, was e Prc^dtefrt vs a$.%oct7ite in the ty>mmatnd of the
«. ai^atn O*ifc, *h-.» was four platri I^WI.H, was a brother -' nous
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THE LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION
fourteen volunteer soldiers, two French watermen, an in- terpreter, a hunter, and one black servant. In addition to these there were six soldiers, one corporal, and nine water- men, or rowers, engaged to accompany the expedition as far as Mandan. These were needed to assist in carrying stores, and to aid in repelling any attacks which might be made by Indians along the river, whose hostility" was anticipated.
Outfitting for the expedition occupied considerable time, for a special keel-boat, fifty-five feet long, had to be pro- vided. This boat was decked over for ten feet at both the bow and stern, which formed a forecastle and cabin, while in the center of the boat there were lockers which might be quickly raised to form a breastwork in a sudden emergency. This large barge, which drew three feet of water, was pro- pelled by twenty-two oars, and a square sail was raised whenever a favorable wind blew. Besides the great boat there were two pirogues, or long skiffs, one of which had three pairs of oars and the other four pairs. Into these boats the necessary stores were securely placed, consisting of clothing, provisions, utensils, guns, flints, powder, balls, and a great quantity and variety of articles designed to be used as presents in conciliating, and gaining the favor of Indians.
All the necessary preparations having been completed, the party broke camp on the morning of Monday, May 14, 1804, and by means of oars and sail began their laborious and slow ascent of the Missouri River. Nothing occurred
949
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
to greatly disturb the peace of the party for several weeks, although tribes of Indians occupied both shores of the river, who showed displeasure at the announcement that the coun- try had been ceded by France to the United States. Fre- quent landings were made, to hunt and meet parties of In- dians, whose friendship Lewis and Clark made it a prime purpose of their expedition to cultivate. On June ist they arrived at the mouth of Osage River, a few miles below where Jefferson City now stands, and visited one day with the Osage Indians, who numbered about 7,500 warriors, but who residing in villages and being engaged in agriculture were peaceably disposed. The Osages, as Lewis and Clark were told, believed that the founder of their nation was a snail, which being swept away by a flood was left exposed upon a sand-bank where the sun beat down so fiercely that the snail was speedily developed into a man. In this new form, but with none of the instincts of a man, the creature started to return to the place that had been its original habi- tation, and was met on the way by the Great Spirit who clothed him with a mind and gave him a bow and arrows, in the use of which he was instructed. Proceeding further he was met by a beaver who disputed his way, and the conten- tion waxed so great that a daughter of the beaver recon- ciled their differences by offering herself in marriage to the man. This proposal being consented to, the union was performed from which the tribes of the Osages sprang. This belief was so general that a pious reverence was paid
950
THE LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION
by the tribe to beavers, until the skins of these animals became so valuable that the Osages lost their sanctity for the animal in the profit obtained by sacrificing it.
Game abounded, and on June 7, when the expedition was near the site now occupied by Booneville, the first herd of buffaloes was met with, and three bears were killed. Snakes, too, were extremely plentiful, including a species which was said to produce a noise like a turkey gobbling, a report con- firmed by Frenchmen, but no specimens could be obtained. Wolves, a few elk, great flocks of swan and geese, and an .abundance of deer, with occasionally a herd of buffalo, were a part of the panorama which moved before the party as they toiled up the swift and treacherous river, or made side excursions up smaller streams to obtain a better idea of the country beyond the Missouri Valley. Indians were con- stantly met with, but of the scores of tribes — many of con- siderable size — mentioned by Lewis and Clark as living along the Missouri, very few now exist, and a large ma- jority have so long ago disappeared that their names, when mentioned, are utterly unknown by all save those who have made a special study of Indian life. Who is it that can recall remembrance of having seen or heard of such tribes as the Kaninaviesch, the Staitan or Kite, the Wetapahato, Cataka, Castahana, Dotaini, etc.? And yet one time these tribes populated Missouri territory in such numbers that there was rarely an interval of a dozen miles between their villages.
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
Council Bluff takes its name from a council which was held near that point between the Lewis and Clark expedi- tion and a party of fourteen Ottoes and Missouri Indians. The frequency of chiefs, or the number which appears in proportion to the tribe, is indicated by the fact that of the fourteen present at the council six were chiefs. There was considerable speech-making at the meeting at which an- nouncement was made of the change in government. Among the presents distributed was a pair of garters, a canister of powder, a bottle of whiskey, and an air gun was exhibited. The latter excited the liveliest interest, some of the Indians evidently, by the fear they exhibited, regarding it as an instrument of magic, and could not be persuaded to touch it. This council took place August 3, 1804.
A few days after leaving. Council Bluff the expedition reached a point, probably 100 miles north, where they ob- served a great mound rising from the bluff, and upon in- vestigating they discovered it to be the grave of a great Mahas chief known as Black Bird. The mound was twelve feet in diameter and raised to a height of six feet, in the center of which a pole was placed, and round it were offer- ings of food, supplied regularly by the superstitious Indians who held his memory, or spirit, in reverential respect. Black Bird had died of smallpox, which disease had raged with such fatality among the Indians of that section of country that the tribes were almost entirely destroyed. In
one village, that consisted of three hundred cabins, four
952
THE LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION
hundred warriors and a proportionate number of women and children fell victims to the epidemic. The warriors, seeing their strength thus rapidly wasting, became so frenzied that they burned their village and by way of propitiation, or to save them from the affliction, put their wives and children to death.
By August 25th the expedition had ascended the Missouri to a point some twenty miles above where Sioux City now stands. Their introduction to what was then the Sioux Indian country was startling, if not fearsome, for one of the first mysterious objects to attract and hold fast their atten- tion was a remarkable mound on the north bank of a small confluent of the Missouri which Lewis and Clark care- fully examined. They found it to be in shape a perfect par- allelogram, about 900 feet long by 200 feet wide, rising by a steep ascent to a height of 70 feet, thus leaving on the summit a level plain from which a wide sweep of vision was to be had of the low-lying country thereabout. This mound was so symmetrical, and rose so sharply out of a level and extensive valley, as to suggest its being artificial, but the greatest interest of the party lay in the superstitious fear in which it was held by the Sioux Indians, a terror which likewise extended to the Mahas and Ottoes. These tribes called it the mountain of Little Spirits and stoutly declared that it was the abode of devils who never exceeded eighteen inches in height but had amazingly large heads and were extremely skilful with the bow. These devils always went
953
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
well armed and maintained such a vigilant watch on the mound that any person who had the hardihood to approach it would be immediately set upon and killed, as many adven- turous Indians had been. Captains Lewis and~ Clark climbed to the top of the mound, but were unable to persuade any Indians to accompany them, who watched from afar the result of their daring, confident that a tragedy was im- pending. The only confirmation of the tradition which the two explorers could find was discovery of several small holes penetrating the earth to considerable depth, and which not being used by any kind of wild animals seemed to be well suited to serve as outlets for little devils, if any inhab- ited the mound.
The expedition made fair progress, passing from time to time up lateral streams to better study the country, which was generally treeless but nearly always abounding with game, which lent great animation to the otherwise lonely landscape. Buffaloes were particularly plentiful, as were also black-tailed deer, goats, elks, wolves, and antelopes. Villages of prairie dogs were frequently met with, which being for the first time seen by members of the expedition excited much interest. There were also beavers, squirrels, hedgehogs, and such feathered game as turkey, grouse, geese, brants and ducks, which were so tame as to be easily approached, so that for provisions of meat there was no scarcity. At many places parties of Indians were met, with whom peace councils were held, and their favor obtained by
954
THE LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION
gifts of beads, little bells, jackknives, tobacco, small orna- ments, cloth, and gewgaws, but the most highly prized of all presents were flasks of whisky, which the Indians called " white man's milk."
At a point now occupied by the city of Yankton the expe- dition met with the first signs of hostility, from a party of Yankton Sioux with whom a council was held and some whisky given to the chiefs. This gift so delighted the In- dians that they persisted in their requests for more, and being refused they attempted to detain the boat and made other hostile demonstrations. Observing that an emergency was at hand, Captain Clark drew his sword and commanded that the full charged swivel gun be turned upon the chiefs, at which, seeing their imminent danger, the chiefs made overtures for peace. When the expedition moved again the Indians followed, entreating that another stop be made in order to give the squaws and children opportunity to see the boats and white men. Finally these importunities pre- vailed and the party went on shore, where they met with such a kind reception that Captains Lewis and Clark ac- cepted an invitation to remain over night and attend a dance to be given by the Indians in honor of their distinguished guests.
The entertainment provided by the Yanktons took place in a large council house, made of buffalo and deer skins sewed together, capable of accommodating the company of more than seventy that assembled. Lewis and Clark were
955
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
met upon landing by ten well-dressed young men acting as a reception committee who carried them, upon a dressed buffalo skin, to the place of entertainment and seated them beside the head chief. Under the shelter of the tent about seventy Indians were seated in a three-quarter circle, in the center of which, in a space six feet in diameter, was placed the pipe of peace elevated six inches, by being laid on two forked sticks, under which a quantity of swan's-down was scattered. Beside the pipe of peace there was a fire, and 400 pounds of buffalo meat designed as a present to the white men. At the proper time the old chief arose and ad- dressed Captains Lewis and Clark, commending what they had done, and begging them to take pity upon his people's poverty; having delivered his speech, and received assur- ances of protection from his guests, he took some choice parts of a dog that had been cooking, and offered them to a small flag that had been set in the ground ; this done he took up the pipe of peace and pointing it towards heaven and the four quarters of the globe lighted and presented it in turn to each one in the assemblage, haranguing them meantime. After performing these ceremonial acts the chief tendered choice morsels of dog to every one present, together with some pemmican (buffalo meat, dried or jerked and then pounded and mixed raw with fat), and a kind of ground potato that tasted like corn hominy. Captains Lewis and Clark partook sparingly of the dog meat, but ate with much relish the other food provided. After eating and smoking
956
THE LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION
for an hour, everything was cleared away for the dance. For orchestra there were ten Indians who beat upon a kind of tambourine and made a jingling noise with long sticks to which the hoofs of deer and goats were attached. An- other instrument was a small and well-dried skin bag in which pebbles were placed that made a sharp rattle, and some of the men furnished vocal accompaniment which was wholly discordant. When the music started several highly decorated young men came forward bearing poles, on which were hung scalps of their enemies, and yet others that carried spears and other trophies of victory. Arrang- ing themselves in two columns they advanced towards each other, until meeting in the center they gave a great shout and returned again to their former positions, but all the while shuffling their feet along the ground while the noisy orchestra kept up a fierce din. During short pauses in the dance, young men came forward and in gutteral tones re- cited stories or incidents, some of which were martial, while others were ludicrous and indecent. The men alternated with the women, the two sexes never dancing together. During the progress of the entertainment one Indian became offended by believing that he had not received a due share of the tobacco distributed among them, and broke one of the tambourines, threw two others into the fire and then left the party, in a tower of passion. Offensive as was this conduct, no notice was taken of it by any of the other In- dians, who kept up the carnival of noise until midnight,
957
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
when Captains Lewis and Clark, fatigued by these attempts to amuse them, withdrew to their boats, accompanied by four chiefs, two of whom spent the night with tBem.
The several branch tribes of the Sioux were found to be cruel, avaricious, and otherwise untrustworthy, while of the women the least that may be said is that they were horribly ugly. Further up the river, however, the expedition met with a tribe known as the Ricarees, who though very poor were as honest as they were hospitable, besides showing a superiority in their general manners. They refused to accept gifts of whisky because, as they said, it made fools of them, a wisdom which very few Indians are known to manifest. The women possessed some marks of comeliness, but they had so little regard for virtue that it really did not exist among them. Some of their traditions, on the other hand, indicated a degree of beautiful imagery which placed them very far in advance of other tribes of the North- west, and which might take rank with the best of Roman and Greek mythology. For example : A youth being greatly enamored of a maiden and refused the consent of her parents to marry her, withdrew from his people, resolved to give himself up to perish on the plains. A sympathy of feeling led the maiden to similarly sacrifice herself. After wandering for a time, the two met and casting in their fortunes together continued their wanderings until hunger and fatigue was no longer supportable, when they lay down
to die. The Great Spirit had compassion on their suffer-
958
THE LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION
ings and converted them into stone, the metamorphosis be- ginning at the feet and gradually extending to the body, until the change was complete. And there the lovers stand to this day, reverently regarded by the Ricarees, who never pass these twain sacred stones without making pious offer- ings to them as deities. This fable calls to mind that of Niobe, who was petrified with grief for the loss of her children, and of Daphne, who to escape the amorous pur- suit of Apollo was changed into a tree.
Another example of the sympathetic and humane char- acter of the Ricarees is presented by Captain Lewis, who re- lates that for desertion he was compelled to execute the sen- tence of a court martial by inflicting corporal punishment upon one of his soldiers. The sentence was carried out in the presence of a Ricaree chief, who was so deeply affected that he cried aloud during the infliction of the punishment, and told Captain Lewis that while he had found it necessary to execute malefactors among his own people, no one of his tribe ever whipped even children from their birth.
The Ricarees were later discovered by Captain Clark to be another name for the Pawnees, a tribe that from time immemorial has been implacable enemies of the Sioux, and through incessant wars with that more powerful nation had become reduced from a great people to an almost insig- nificant remnant.
About November ist the expedition had advanced as far north as the Mandan country, and ice appearing in the river
959
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
admonished the party to prepare for winter now near at hand. Accordingly a place was chosen three miles below the present site of Bismarck, capital of North Dakota, where some cabins were built, and the party made them- selves comfortable, while Captains Lewis and Clark con- tinued their investigations of Indian life and in extending the influence of the United States authority among the sev- eral tribes. The Mandans were found to be a people partic- ularly interesting, for their intelligence, traditions, and su- perstitions. It has been asserted by some ethnologists that the Mandans bear an affinity, at least, to the Jewish race, and that there is much evidence to support the theory of their descent from the Lost Tribes of Israel. It is quite true that the nation, now practically extinct, had a tradition of the deluge very similar to that contained in the Genetic account, but they also had another which is thus told by Captains Lewis and Clark :
" Their belief in a future state is connected with this tra- dition of their origin : The whole nation resided in one large village under ground near a subterranean lake; a grapevine extended its roots down to their habitation and gave them a view of the light ; some of the most adventur- ous climbed up the vine and were delighted with the sight of the earth, which they found covered with buffaloes, and rich with every kind of fruit. Returning with grapes they had gathered, their countrymen were so pleased with the
taste of them that the whole nation resolved to leave their
960
A MANVAN TILLAGE ANT) BULL-BOATS.
7J| T the time of Lewis and Clark's expedition the Mandan Indians, next * i» Sioux, were probably the strongest aboriginal nation in the Northwest, numbering more than 1000 fighting men. These people however wert friendly. and gave assistance to Lewis and Clark when they wintered among them, The village shown in the accompanying illustration stood on the River bank opposite the site now occupied by Bismarck, North 'Dakota, boats, which were used extensively by the Indians,.:were made by stretching ii-e skins of bull-buffalo? over a frame work, and cementing the seams. ^flp* boats were capable of carrying two person* safely and were practically indeKntt"' bit.
i SI AN A TERRITORY
-ty to prepare f- T now near at
a place was ohoxt-i three miles below
<> of Bismat ome cabins were built.
• ble, while i -cd thei; ations .
.>{ North Dakota, ty made them-
ubK
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.. •
The whole ns-
'.uund near a so
roots down to '
iventtir-
il -were delighted with the sight
'.tnd covered with buffaloes, and
it, Reti: ;th grapes they
t were d with the
i resolved to lenve their
THE LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION
I
dull residence for the charms of the upper region; men, women, and children ascended by means of the vine; but when about half the nation had reached the surface, a cor- pulent woman, who was climbing up the vine broke it with her weight, and, falling, closed upon herself and the rest of the nation the light of the sun. Those who gained the earth made a village below the nine villages which we saw; and when the Mandans die they expect to return to the original seats of their forefathers, the good reaching the ancient village by means of the subterranean lake, which the bur- dens of the wicked will not allow them to cross."
Many curious things are related "in Captain Lewis's nar- rative of the customs and beliefs of the Mandans, one of which is to the effect that the wife of a French interpreter, being seized with labor pains, endured intense suffering until a Mandan Indian prepared a portion of pulverized rattle of the rattlesnake, which he gave her with some water, whereupon in the space of ten minutes she was safely and easily delivered.
The winter was intensely cold, the thermometer fre- quently dropping to 40 degrees below zero, yet the Indians, poorly clad as they were, suffered little from exposure, and kept up their hunting of buffalo, and also their dances, in which it was not an uncommon thing for women to par- ticipate almost entirely devoid of clothing. Some of the dances were really orgies, description of which is so im- proper in print that Captain Lewis, in one instance, uses
963
. LOUISIANA TERRITORY
Latin to narrate what he saw. But if immorality be com- mon among the Mandans it is not considered a crime, though inconstancy by a married woman was very fre- quently punished by death, at the hands of the wronged husband, a vengeance which custom gave him the right to inflict. But their improprieties in this respect must not make us mindless of their ingeniousness and their really generous traits of character. The Mandans, like other Indians, were superstitious to a degree, but they were also hospitable and kindly disposed towards strangers, and withal intensely sympathetic for the suffering. They were regarded as being especially skilful in the practise of medi- cine, through the use of compounds made from plants and minerals, and if the tales of travelers, including accounts given by Lewis and Clark, be true, their success in the treat- ment of sickness, poisoning, and injuries was remarkably great. They were distinguished also for their inventive genius and mechanical skill. Unacquainted as they were with the processes of producing glass, they contrived to man- ufacture beads of a superior quality, and likewise to fashion from crude minerals very serviceable articles for domestic use.
In the latter part of March, when several warm days had broken up the ice in the river and left it filled with floating floes, Lewis and Clark were witnesses to a unique buffalo hunt by the Mandans, which they thus describe:
" Every Spring, as the river is breaking up, the surround-
964
PHILIPPINE
Ceded by
1899. -
x
THE WIDER PINK SHADING
ALONG THE ATLANTIC COAST COVERS ALL THE
SETTLED
TERRITORY IN THE \ UNITED STATES AT THE CLOSE OF THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR,
n=M5?rr PORTO RICO
SnL Ceded by Spain 1899
SM^!>..y.anV-96«;^1"
SCALE:
Statute Miles, 252 = 1 Inch.
0 50 100 ISO 200 250
Coprrlfht, 1904. bT R.. McN. 1 (
ing plains are set on fire, and the buffalo are tempted to cross the river in search of fresh grass which immediately succeeds to the burning. On their way they are often iso- lated on a large cake or mass of ice, which floats down the stream. The Indians now select the most favorable points for attack, and, as the buffalo approaches, dart with astonish- ing agility across the trembling ice, sometimes pressing lightly a cake of not more than two feet square ; the animal is of course unsteady, and his footsteps insecure on this new element, so that he can make but little resistance, and the hunter who has given him his death wound paddles his ice raft to the shore and thus secures his prey."
965
DIVISION L.
Progress and Adventures of the Expedition.
BY the 7th of April, 1805, the weather had so greatly moderated that it was decided to break camp and proceed upon the journey of exploration. Before doing so, however, the bateau, or keel boat, was sent back to St. Louis, with thirteen men, ten of whom were attaches of the expedition. The others, comprising thirty-two persons, embarked in six small canoes and two large pirogues, to proceed upon the hazardous undertaking which they had been commissioned to perform. The party had been increased at Mandan by the engagement of a Frenchman named Chaboneau, who having lived among the Indians of the North for many years, had acquired a speaking knowledge of several Indian tongues. Chaboneau himself proved to be both cowardly and inefficient, but one of his wives, called Sacajawea — signifying the " Bird Woman " — accompanied the expedi- tion and made herself so useful as guide and interpreter that Lewis and Clark freely acknowledge the extreme value of her services. She was taken captive, when a child, from the Shoshones and sold as a slave to Chaboneau, according
to a custom prevalent at the time, but her intelligence and
966
FORTS PIERRE ANT) UNION.
'TT'HE fur trade of the Upper Missouri, with the Sioux, Pawnee and Mandan ^•^ tribes especially, was large long before the Lewis and Clark expedition, but it received a great impetus when forts were established by the government to pro- tect traders against the Indians. Upon the recomendation of Captain Lewis, Fort Union was built at the confluence of the Yellowstone with the Missouri, and soon after Fort St. Pierre was erected at a point twenty-five miles below the mouth of : Cheyenne River, upon which now stands Pierre City, the capital of South Dakota.
7t
bnr, 9«0ws<i ,*u<M srii telM isqq'J^H} io s
«! J l.nf. eiwQ^trflnneJW s'rftfl^^ ii^/ ^Ijfef
u§ 3/il i(d badsildjiieg .i»iaSBJ|ip«jji
,ii£gs eiabfi
.
She wa
.
PROGRESS AND ADVENTURES OF THE EXPEDITION
fidelity would have reflected honor upon one more worthily reared.
The journey continued up the Missouri without interrup- tion or special incident, through the country of the Assini- boins, in which game of many kinds abounded, both animal and feathered, and a sight was had of two white bears, which, however, made off into the woods before they could be approached within rifle range. Buffaloes, antelopes, elk, deer, and wolves were so plentiful that there was no time for many days when members of the expedition could not see great numbers on the shores. At one point discovery was made that a band of wolves had attacked a herd of buffaloes, which afforded an interesting sight, for it was perceived how valorously the cows defended their young, while the bulls fled ingloriously.
On April 26th, Captains Lewis and Clark had their first view of the Yellowstone river, and made a careful inspec- tion of the country near the confluence of the two streams. Except for clouds of dust that filled the air, so thick at times as to obscure the landscape, the valley appeared extremely fertile and the region delightful. Coal and limestone was found to be fairly plentiful, while the banks and surrounding country were so well wooded that the place of union of the rivers was recommended as a particularly eligible site for a trading-post, afterwards acted upon by the founding of Fort Buford, and a chain of posts which included Forts
Randall, near the line that separates Nebraska and South
969
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
Dakota, Pierre, Sully, Yates, Rice, Lincoln, Stevenson, Union, Berthold, Assiniboin, Peck, and Benton, the latter being the head of navigation on the Missouri.
Good progress was made by the party, except for occa- sional delays caused by sand-bars, and considerable cold weather was experienced, but otherwise the journey was one of unmixed delight. The wonderful abundance of both large and small game still met with led Lewis and Clark to suppose that the Indians were either not so numerous as along the river farther south, or else the tribes in this sec- tion were less given to hunting. Beavers were so plentiful that the lateral streams were choked with their houses, and the forest was almost devastated of small trees by their work of gnawing.
On the 29th of April Captain Lewis, who was on shore with one hunter, met two white bears, the strength and ferocity of which he describes as follows :
" The Indians never attack this animal unless in parties of six or eight, and even then the hunters are often defeated. Having no weapons but bows and arrows, or the bad guns with which traders supply them, the Indians are obliged to approach very near to the bear, as no wound except through the head or heart is mortal, and missing their aim they fre- quently fall a sacrifice to their temerity. The white bear rather attacks than avoids a man, and such is the terror he has inspired that the Indians who go in quest of him paint
themselves and perform all the superstitious rites cus-
970
PROGRESS AND ADVENTURES OF THE EXPEDITION
tomary when they make war on a neighboring nation. Hitherto those we had seen did not appear desirous of en- countering us, but although to a skilful rifleman the danger is much diminished, the white bear is still a terrible animal."
Approaching within rifle range of the two white bears met with, Captain Lewis and the hunter fired and wounded both animals. One of them escaped, but the other, more hurt, probably, than his companion, charged with the great- est ferocity and pursued Captain Lewis for a distance of nearly one hundred yards; and but for being somewhat disabled by his wound, might have caught and killed the in- trepid Captain before either hunter was able to load and fire again. When the animal was finally shot to death it was found to be not quite full grown, yet it weighed three hun- dred pounds, and was armed with tusks and talons equal to those of a grizzly, while its vitality was fully as great. Although the animal which Captain Lewis describes was not white, but, as he elsewhere asserts, " is yellowish brown in color," it is difficult to distinguish the species, for though the description given applies to the Cinnamon bear, it is not known that this animal is found so far north, being con- fined to the mountain regions of the southwest.
Captain Lewis relates the following curious fact about the antelope, swiftest of all creatures that scour the plains: " This fleet and quick-sighted animal is generally the victim of its curiosity ; when they first see the hunters they flee with great velocity; if he lies down on the ground and lifts his
971
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
arm, his foot, or his hat, the antelope returns on a light trot to look at the object, and sometimes goes and returns two or three times, till they approach within reach of the rifle; so, too, they sometimes leave their flock to go and look at the wolves, who crouch down, and if the antelope be fright- ened at first, repeat the same manceuver, and relieve each other till they decoy it from the party and then seize it."
The country now traversed by the party was park-like, abounded in game, and besides being very fertile was rich in mineral resources, especially coal, which cropped out of the earth, and showed veins as much as six feet in thickness in places along the river banks. On the 5th of May Captain Clark had his first sight of a brown or grizzly bear, which he and his companion managed to kill, but not until they had fired ten bullets into its vitals. The length of this ani- mal was eight feet, and its weight about six hundred pounds.
No Indians were met with, but evidences of their pres- ence in the vicinity were to be seen in abandoned lodges, sac- rificial mounds, and occasionally scaffolds upon which their dead were laid, for it is the custom of the Sioux and Assini- boin nations, as it is of others, to dispose of the dead by laying them upon a scaffold ten feet or more in height, out of the reach of carnivorous animals.
As the expedition approached a stream called Muscle- shell, the country became more broken, the bluffs higher and the river turbulent. Game also was less abundant, but still
plentiful enough to yield meat sufficient for the party. At
972
HUNTING THE TIROWN 'BEAR.
E grizzly bear has held his place as the most formidable animal of North America, next to which is the brown bear, a next of kin, whose numbers as well as ferocity constituted a real menace to travellers in the northwest. Lewis and Clark make frequent mention of their adventures with this powerful and coura- geous beast, in the hunting of which they had several almost miraculous escapes, for being difficult to kill the brown bear is prompt to charge and persistent in l<i* attacks, especially when wounded.
arn«
ter;/5/ ANA TERRITOR Y
•~» his i^i the antelope returns on a light
•<*jcct, ant! sometimes goes and' returns two
a, till they approach within reach v of the rifle;
^emetimes leave their flock to go ancUook at
ch
they decoj it from the party aad tfeea Mil thft- country now traversed by the : foc-uwie'1 • ar'i« k^des being
tu tnHitral resowngfc .especially &®k *lw* i the earth, *a«! showed veins as modi a« six feet i)
in places akmotar^^^ fe^^W^ '
, . »> .: of -i brown or 1C
(jOMfl Ikliimn* vMc'lttalim' ^orh >nt ra >9*iq •iri'blaH «£d issd ^Issi^a SH*^^
. tTsrJmwT eHfodv -o»«{ an*di4c>rfkkiljiiJHt aTi^^Vi'/iMi^tiJAy l«r
«»w3kl .iRswrirjori idi ai eisflavBi) oJ aDcaarn IB^TI £ l»jitJAttW)3^J»biisJ e&-H»w ec
/* 1 1 * 1«-vJ - • T.T1 U/* triTTT *T* •••
J>fKirtttstedtliiHi4^i«^TdftV^ift^n3vb^ii3rfHono s^Km iidD bne
'Svfciuil4>9Ipi|^^Om^5,^Bl»X!9^v^d 5J3. ' fli|fi9#fta^093
!>HE n^isrl? oJ ttjfnoaq zi ijsad n 'fu-jrt>ib ao«<! iol
i >ns were met wit )cns
. v were to be ^^': MS ami occasionally for it is the ens;- M it is of ochers.
-., ft t£affo}d ler> • -' in heit
ous anin
-.preached a stream called Musde- ,« more bro> ->Hi£fs higher and
[•m<r al«;n xv.'i' 't'lt, but still
'
party. At
'
PROGRESS AND ADVENTURES OF THE EXPEDITION
one point a large brown, or grizzly, bear was discovered, and as its formidableness was now known ten men with guns set out to kill it. The bear had no mind to avoid battle, and when a volley of balls was shot into its body instead of succumbing, as might have been expected, turned hunter and pursued the men with such ferocity that they were forced to retreat with precipitancy. Finding themselves close pressed, and their guns now empty, the panic-stricken hunters divided and ran in different ways. The bear there- upon selected three to be his victims, whom he pursued so relentlessly that they leaped down the river bank, a sheer descent of ten feet, followed by the bear, which would cer- tainly have caught at least one of them had he not been now attacked by the other hunters, who, having had opportunity to reload their rifles, luckily dispatched him as the three men were swimming for their lives.
A little further west, near the point where Judith River empties into the Missouri, Captains Lewis and Clark dis- covered the remains of a great number of buffaloes that had been driven over a precipice by Indian hunters. This method of destroying these animals is thus described : " The mode of hunting is to select one of the most active and fleet young men, who is disguised by a buffalo skin round his body, the skin of the head, with the ears and horns, fastened on his own head in such a way as to deceive the buffaloes; thus dressed he fixes himself at a convenient distance between the herd of buffaloes and the river bluffs,
975
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
which sometimes extend for some miles. His companions in the meantime get in the rear and sides of the herd, and at a signal show themselves and advance towards the buffaloes ; they instantly take alarm, and finding the hunters beside them, run towards the disguised Indian decoy, who leads them on at full speed towards the river, when suddenly se- curing himself in some crevice, or behind some object, the herd is left on the brink of the precipice. It is then in vain for the foremost to retreat, or even to stop ; they are pressed on by the hindmost rank, who, seeing no danger but from the hunters, goad on those before them till the whole are pre- cipitated over the brink. The Indians then select from the crushed buffaloes as much meat as they can carry away, leaving the rest to the wolves."
The river had now become little more than a succession of rapids, with a current so strong that it was often im- possible to row the boats, and resort to poling and cordelling was necessary. This made their progress slow, besides ex- posing the waterman to great hardships, for the banks were slippery, and often so steep that those who pulled upon the ropes were compelled to wade in water up to their arm- pits while the temperature was only a few degrees above freezing. The scenery, however, at these points was beautiful and interesting, for the cliffs were of white sand- stone which had become worn, by water flowing in rivulets over the ledges, into figures that were often grotesque and
more frequently wonderful for architectural and sculptural
976
WHITE CASTLES AND SCENIC SHORES OF THE
MISSOURI. ^.J
E Upper Missouri is distinguished by its cleavage through precipitous bluff* which often rise to a height of 509 feet. In Dakota and Montana the bankt are sometimes castellated, and from a distance resemble the ruins of palaces, or towers, domes, minarets, keeps, donjons, and other stately bits of baronial and aspiring architecture. These regions besides being attractive to the eye were favorite haunts of mountain goats which fifty years ago were almost at plentiful as elk in the northwest.
, ft --1
TERRITORY
.'•« miles. His companions in tS» *c nd sides of the herd, and at
a *;;, :• towards the buffaloes;
tlie hunter* beside
• H*; i decoy, wh
. when sudd< >me ob]
•he precipice. It is then to retreat, or even t ed
. }
1
»^i!sd srfl JtasJnoM bqs sJoisQ nl .isaJ.QOj Jo tdgbrf 2 ot 3«n mllo rioidw
ii s/Jt aJf': ,'<iJb « moil bne .balEllalKsa Mmbainoa 3is
>itiy» »Y3 ^rf» 01 avjtDsins snisd eabiead snoigr^
,,: M-orW« ft»«lfiSPflfc^*fiB *
w the b;. resort r
\e temp beau
;ul for a and sculptural
976
vas
ivulets •fc and
PROGRESS AND ADVENTURES OF THE EXPEDITION
magnificence, until there appeared towers, pillars, pedestals, columns, castles, and other fantastic forms suggestive of enchantment.
After numerous adventures and perilous escapes from drowning, and from being dashed to pieces over precipices which had to be scaled by the hunters, the expedition at length, on June 5th, cached a large part of their stores, tools, ammunition, etc., near the mouth of Maria's River, and dividing the party Captain Lewis with four men set out to ascend the Maria's River, while Captain Clark, with the others of the expedition, continued on up the Missouri. After proceeding up stream in light canoes for a distance of thirty miles, Captain Lewis discovered that the river swept sharply from the south, and fearing that by continuing in the boats he would pass the Great Falls of the Missouri, of which he had heard many reports, he made a portage across the plains until the sound of roaring water fell upon his ears, and he felt that one of the objects of his quest was about to be attained. A few hours later his heart was glad- dened by a sight which, as he describes it, " since creation had been lavishing its magnificence upon the desert, was unknown to civilization."
" The river immediately at its cascade is three hundred yards wide, and is pressed in by a perpendicular cliff on the left, which rises to about one hundred feet and extends up the stream for a mile; on the right the bluff is also perpen- dicular for three hundred yards above the falls. For
979
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
ninety or a hundred yards from the left cliff, the water falls in one smooth, even sheet, over a precipice of at least eighty feet. The remaining part of the river precipitates itself with a more rapid current, but being received as it falls by the irregular and somewhat projecting rocks below, forms a splendid prospect of perfectly white foam, two hundred yards in length and eighty in perpendicular elevation." The Falls of the Missouri comprise four great cataracts, two or three miles apart, which in their entirety compose one of the grandest sights in nature.
After studying the Falls and making some observations, Captain Lewis ascended the bank and passed over into a valley beyond, where he saw a herd of buffalo grazing, one .of which he shot, but almost at the same moment, to his great terror, he caught sight of a huge brown bear not more than twenty steps distant and evidently intending to attack him. His gun being now without a charge, Captain Lewis retreated towards the river, which it proved fortu- nate for him was so near at hand, whereupon the bear was more emboldened and pursued at top speed the retreating hunter. It was a hard run of more than one hundred yards before the Captain reached the water and plunged in, believing he could make a better fight for his life in the river than on the land. The bear hesitated at the bank, and being more frightened by the Captain's pike than by his gun, presently turned about and made off for the woods.
Almost immediately after escaping from the bear Captain
980
GREAT FALLS OF THE MISS'JL'RL
SECOND to Niagara, in America, are the great falls of the Missouri, three in number, scattered over a distance of twelve miles, where the confining walls of the stream rise vertically to a height, in places, of 500 feet. The firstis Blaclt Eagle Falls, that have a descent of 26 feet; next'ih' succession is Rainbow Falls, where the river hurls itself over 3 declivity of 50 feet; six miles below are the Great Falls, where the. river is narrowed by walls 200 feet high to a width of 300 feet, and where a-volume of water equal to that of the Mississippi dashes over a brink 90 feet high and throws up a spray/,as dense as thai irnni Niagara.
ninety or a UttftlfeK! y • -iff. the water falls
in one *!***)&. «ww 4ss^i, **** '-e of at least eighty
fet*. T1>s >ff -v : precipitates itself
•vci-'-r. .- •«=* eived as it falls by
r -8jtli ,v. »ij rocks below, forms a
i^rBv H white foam, two hundred , . : : •&5*i f :i» perpc \:,c - el
. - -. ': • • • •
.
to|tai*qw&ffl
S
*iUw , .;i9i9ri^ ? t4)
)sr lo Jnaa*?^ B ave
>:. M*«vih>T*!c rawt
or ?o fiihi 193] oos ellfi?' vd bawoiicn ai layii arfl a»«riw. .•U*''!
^ipraUi
an I, '.'
_>re than or.-
; ' ' - . '•
for his life in the
-itated at the bank,
3 pike than by
; for the woods.
? bear Captain
PROGRESS AND ADVENTURES OF THE EXPEDITION
Lewis had an adventure with a creature which, though it was of a brownish yellow color, the Captain declares was of the tiger species. But perilous adventures seemed to multi- ply, for a few hours later he was charged by three bull buffaloes, which he escaped by almost a miracle, and the following morning as he awakened he discovered an enor- mous rattlesnake coiled upon a tree trunk under which he had been sleeping.
Captain Clark joined Lewis at the Falls on June i6th, where after consultation they decided to make a portage around the cataracts, but as the two large boats were too heavy to be carried they improvised a vehicle, with wheels made from a cottonwood tree, upon which the boats were securely fastened and conveyed over land, not -however without much difficulty, for the country was extremely rough, the ravines deep, and the banks high.
In passing along the river bank and watching the great falls, which afforded a sight of almost incomparable grand- eur, members of the expedition were surprised to see a great number of carcasses and parts of buffaloes floating down the stream, the cause of which, however, they were not long in ascertaining. The valley abounded with these ani- mals, as well also with bears, wolves, and foxes, the rich grasses being the attraction for the former, and the presence of these readily accounted for the abundance of bears and wolves. Buffaloes, when they existed in almost incredible numbers, had the very destructive habit of moving en
983
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
masse, so that when one became thirsty the entire herd moved rapidly in a body to the water, and this habit of the creatures above the Falls of the Missouri led to the death of hundreds every day, for as the foremost would gain the river's edge through a steep and narrow passage in the bank, the vast herd behind would crowd them into the swift stream which whirled them away and mangled their bodies as they were swept over the lofty cascade. As the carcasses floated ashore at points between the falls, they afforded unlimited food to beasts and birds of prey, so that for these reasons wild animals of the carnivorous species were markedly abundant here.
The expedition set out June 19 to drag their boats across the country, but soon found the large pirogues too heavy to transport, and with reluctance they were abandoned, after making another cache of the things which they contained. In place of the heavy pirogues it was decided to build a boat of skins, the iron frame of which had been prepared for the purpose at Harper's Ferry. While some were building the new boat others were sent out to hunt, a service which might have been pleasant enough but for the abundance and ferocity of bears which, being chiefly of the brown and grizzly species, constituted such a peril as the hardiest and best armed hunters might well shrink from meeting, and from which in fact members of the expedition had many hair-breadth escapes.
On Saturday, June 29, while the party was encamped on
984
PROGRESS AND ADVENTURES OF THE EXPEDITION
Portage Creek, accompanied by his black servant York, his interpreter Chaboneau, and the latter's slave wife, Saca- jawea, Captain Clark made an excursion towards the Mis- souri Falls, but on the way they discovered an ominous cloud, and to escape the threatening storm took refuge under a ledge in a deep ravine, where, protected from the rain, they felt themselves to be quite secure. In a few moments, how- ever, a very torrent of hail descended, followed by a cloud- burst that swept everything before it like an avalanche and so quickly converted the dry ravine into an impetuous, dash- ing, leaping, terrifying current that all the party were in imminent danger of being carried away. Captain Clark was first to give the alarm, and grasping the Indian woman tightly was pushing her up the bank, she holding her child in her arms, when it was discovered that his compass, gun, and umbrella were on the bank. Attempt to recover these put him in a fresh danger, for as he turned back the waters caught him and rose above his waist before he could retrace his steps, the total rise in five minutes being more than fifteen feet, so that a moment more of delay must certainly have resulted in their being carried away into the river and thence dashed over the falls.
On July 4 the skin-boat was completed, the dimensions of which were 36 feet long, 41-2 feet breadth of beam, and 26 inches wide at the bottom, which being light was capable of carrying 8,000 pounds, besides her complement of men. In celebration of both the natal day of our independence and
985
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
completion of the boat a table was spread on the plains and a great feast of elk and beaver meat was prepared. At night all that remained of their stock of spirits was distributed among the men, who were thereby infused with such hilarity that a riddle was brought forth, to the inspiring music of which they danced until their festivities were interrupted by a heavy shower of rain. A strange sight, indeed, and a memorable one as well, in which the irrepressible instinct of exuberant boyhood manifested itself amid the savagery of environment, and the physical hardships which explora- tion through a wild country entails.
Notwithstanding the jubilant feeling of the expedition at completion of the large boat, upon which many days of hard labor had been spent, it was found, after floating and load- ing, that the vessel leaked so badly, due to a lack of pitch or tar with which to close the seams, it was necessary to abandon her and rely upon canoes, though wood suitable for such a purpose was not to be found in the vicinity. In their extremity they had no other choice than to use cotton- wood trees, which though ill adapted, because the green wood is very heavy, and trees that were found to be large enough, and hollow, were so badly split as to be almost wholly unserviceable, nevertheless a fleet of ten canoes was constructed, the largest of which was 33 feet in length. As the expedition numbered in all thirty-two persons, the weight of these, with the baggage necessary to be carried,
loaded them to a depth that rendered navigation treacherous.
986
PROGRESS AND ADVENTURES OF THE EXPEDITION
On July 15 the party duly embarked, following up the Missouri River, finding the country still abounding with game, and meeting with no accidents or adventures until on the 1 7th their passage was obstructed by rapids, while the banks were so precipitous that cordelling was impracticable. Finally, by double maneuvering the canoes, and the use of head-lines carried out and attached to trees along the shore, the boats were brought over the rapids without damage. A few Indians were met, but they showed small disposition to exchange civilities or cultivate the friendship of the white men. In two places were found the ruins of what had no doubt once been council houses, large circular structures of wood, bark, and skins, near which were relics of several lodges, evidently occupied at the time the council was in session. The expedition also noticed at several places an abundance of sunflowers in bloom, and ascertained that this plant is frequently cultivated by tribes of Indians in the northwest, who make use of the seed for bread and for thick- ening soup. To prepare the seed for their purposes they first parch and then pound them between two stones until reduced to a fine meal, in which condition water and marrow-grease is added in proper proportion, till the mass is reduced to a thick dough in which manner it is eaten, and is said to be a most palatable dish.
The expedition had now penetrated the country occupied by the Shoshones or Snake Indians, but none of these had
98;
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
yet been encountered. It was desirable to meet with and establish friendship with this nation, for besides being de- pended upon to furnish information they were likewise relied on to supply horses which were much needed, as the head waters of the Missouri were indicated by a growing shallowness of the stream, and cross-country traveling would soon be necessary. Accordingly, Captain Clark set out with three men over a mountain in search of an Indian camp or village. The country was extremely rugged, for the expedition was now nearing the Rocky Mountains, the bold peaks of which, glistening with snow under a July sun, were plainly to be seen apparently only a short dis- tance to the west. Buffaloes were no longer to be seen, but big horn sheep were very plentiful, while beaver were so abundant that the creeks were choked with their dams. After traveling for a distance of thirty or more miles, Cap- tain Clark and his men found themselves almost entirely disabled, and suffering greatly from cactus thorns that pierced through their moccasins and wounded their feet in the most dreadful manner. Neither had they met any In- dians, nor were they likely soon to do so, because a party of Indians had heard the report of Captain Clark's rifle, and thinking their enemies were approaching set fire to the grass as a warning to all their people.
Conditions being so unfavorable for a further effort to meet any Shoshones, Captain Clark turned to the river again,
PROGRESS AND ADVENTURES OF THE EXPEDITION
and on the 22d rejoined Captain Lewis, when together the ascent of the Missouri continued, though slowly and labor- iously, for the river was now not only shallow but the bed of the stream was a succession of rapids, and the current very rapid.
989 10
DIVISION LI.
Passage of the Rocky Mountains.
ON July 27, the expedition discovered the three forks of the Missouri, to which were given the names Jefferson, Madison, and Gallatin, all shallow streams, but they were each found to be navigable for crafts as small as those used by the expedition. At this junction of the streams a camp was made to give some of the men opportunity to dress deer-skins for clothing, of which they were in great need. It was on this spot that the Shoshones, or Snake In- dians, had their village five years before when they were attacked by the Minnetarees, and being driven out and pur- sued three miles four men and as many women of the Shoshones were killed, while four boys and all the women, of whom Sacajawea was one, were made prisoners.
On the 3Oth, the canoes were reloaded and the ascent of Jefferson River began, as from observation taken of the sur- rounding country and direction of the stream it was hoped that this route would lead most quickly to a pass through the Rocky Mountains. The river, however, was so inter- rupted by islands and blocked by beaver dams that progress was extremely slow and laborious, which induced Captain
Lewis to leave the boats for the others to propel as best they
990
sac.-/j.Jir/-;.j f;r/7>/vc; THE AA//V.V
E success of the l^rwis aim Clark expedition wa« of Sacaiawea, the Shoshone Indian slave wife of a Fr- engaged to guide the party from Mandan' through th< remarkable woman cudurffd.all the hardships and shared me
perils and pmar atfrdition. rarrs-ini: an infant a9lr I^Hr m
yet never a complaint Reaped iicr ,.P-. and her s>intx jfltfc ^Bi the From the heail-v jtXt througfc tfce
Mountai: \;
of
camp \v
«*w»e 4t9i qte'ib; >?il* 4j
.
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I baT! -ttS1'!
route \\
lands ar
was extremely slow an Captain
Lev. - c tlte b». best they
PASSAGE OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS
could, while he proceeded overland in advance, to examine the country and character of the river. The channel was found to improve several miles above the forks, not in depth, but in freedom from obstruction as the beaver village was passed; but a fresh difficulty was met with, as game be- came much scarcer, until there was real seriousness in the situation. The scenery was generally imposing, for Jeffer- son River broke its way through gorges in which the cliffs rose at times precipitous, or overhanging, to a height of more than one hundred feet. Beyond these towering bluffs the country was often level and very fertile, but except for an occasional big-horn goat, rarely accessible to the rifle, there seemed to be an utter lack of animal life.
Fortune had favored the expedition many times, nor did the fickle jade forsake them in their present extremity, for when hunger severely pressed the party Captain Clark dis- covered a herd of elk, and so skilfully managed as to kill two, while Captain Lewis had the good luck to shoot a brown pheasant, upon the flesh of which the party broke their fast and derived fresh courage to continue their journey through an unknown land. Fifteen miles beyond game reappeared, and the hunters killed five deer and one big-horn goat all in the space of an hour, and on the following day one of the men shot a panther which measured seven and one-half feet from the nose to the extremity of the tail.
The river becoming shallower at every mile of advance, and game likewise failing somewhat, Captain Lewis took
991
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
with him two of his men, Drewyer and Shields, and set off with a resolution to find the Indians who, he was sure, were in the neighborhood but were avoiding members of the ex- pedition through doubt of their pacific intentions. This timidity was not a matter for surprise, considering how har- rowed the Shoshones had been by the Minnetarees for sev- eral years, until their fighting strength and courage had fallen to the lowest ebb. After following a trail for thirty or more miles the party of three discovered a lone Indian, armed with a bow and arrows, riding towards them, and their hopes arose at the sight; but the Indian stopped short and despite every effort to attract him, by spreading a blanket — a sign of peace — and by holding up to his view the most alluring trinkets, the horseman refused to draw nearer, and when the party moved towards him he wheeled his horse quickly and fled away at topmost speed.
The men who were left to proceed with the boats were reduced to a sorry condition at length, for the banks being precipitous, the current swift, and the shoals a constant men- ace, the men were unable to make any progress except by wading and dragging the canoes after them. This labor and exposure, with insufficient food, brought on fever, while their feet, protected with thin moccasins, were so bruised that every step became a fresh agony. Notwithstanding these grave hardships the men continued their exertions without one murmur of complaint, save such as came from
the lips of Chaboneau, whose slave wife, Sacajawea, on the
992
PASSAGE OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS
contrary showed the most undaunted heroism, and was a real inspiration to the expedition.
On Monday, August I2th, Lewis, Drewyer and Shields found fresh evidences of Indians, and struck a path that led into a valley through which Jefferson Fork flowed, but as a greatly diminished stream, until five miles further on they reached a point where the rippling water ran in a course so narrow that in a fit of enthusiasm Drewyer set one foot on each side of the stream and thanked God he had lived to bestride the Missouri. Two miles further they .reached the source of that river, which had never before been seen by civilized man.
Captain Lewis reluctantly left this place and ascending a mountain stood upon a ridge that forms the dividing line between the waters that flow eastward to the Atlantic and westward to the Pacific ocean, and thence descending, came to a silvery stream of cold, clear water, which was found to be the source of Columbia River.
Discovering another Indian trail on the I3th, Lewis and his companions followed it a distance of four miles, until they saw, upon an eminence one mile distant, two women, a man and some dogs, whom he approached with great care, all the while in a state of great anxiety lest they should be- come frightened and move off, nor were his fears unfounded, for though he unfurled an American flag and shouted " tabba bone " — which signifies white man — the Indians fled; but a mile further Captain Lewis came upon three
993
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
female Indians, one of whom took flight, but the others, an old woman and her little girl, believing escape impossible, sat down on the ground and bent their heads low as if ex- pecting the white men — strange creatures to them — would massacre them, a custom, which Lewis asserts, is common in Egypt to this day. To their happy relief and astonishment Captain Lewis laid down his rifle and raising up the woman repeated the words " tabba bone," at the same time offering her some beads, a mirror, and a little red paint. These over- tures dispelled the woman's alarms and obtained her confi- dence. The other woman also returned, whereupon Captain Lewis also gave her several trinkets, and then painting the cheeks of the three females with vermillion red, a ceremony suggesting peace, sent them away to apprise their people of his presence and to solicit their friendship. Two miles fur- ther on the party met a troop of sixty Shoshone warriors who had been notified of the white men's coming on a mission of peace. The chief was first to approach, who, being assured by Captain Lewis of his friendly intentions, embraced him cordially with effusive caresses, and imme- diately afterwards received Drewyer and Shields with sim- ilar demonstrations. The warriors now came forward and, dismounting, seated themselves in a circle. Captain Lewis lighted a pipe and offered it to the chief, but before receiving this mark of friendship the Indians took off their moccasins, which was a custom that marked the sacred sincerity of their professions when they smoke with a stranger.
994
PASSAGE OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS
Captain Lewis very appropriately notes in his diary the analogy which some of the customs of these wild people of the wilderness bear to those of holy writ, mentioning, for example, the injunction given to Moses to pull off his shoes, for the place on which he stood was holy ground.
After smoking a few pipes, and distributing some trinkets and paint among the Indians, Captain Lewis gave the chief an American flag which was to be a covenant of peace and union between them, and these being received with great satisfaction he was invited to visit the Indian camp four miles distant. Upon reaching the lodge the white men con- ducted them inside where the ceremony of pipe-smoking was repeated, from a pipe that was made of transparent green-stone, after which the chief placed before his three guests cakes of service-berries and choke-berries baked in the sun, the only food he was able to offer, upon which a hearty meal was made.
On the following morning an Indian brought some boiled antelope and a piece of salmon, the latter furnishing the proof sought, viz., that the stream near which the camp was made led directly to the Pacific. The chief gave Captain Lewis information respecting the streams of the country and of one large enough to float their considerable sized crafts, but declared that there was no timber in that region sufficiently large for building canoes, though the chief gen- erously offered to supply the white men with horses, of which the Shoshones had large numbers.
995
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
Captain Lewis concluded to remain with the friendly In- dians until time was given for Captain Clark to reach the head waters of Jefferson Fork, where he would again join the expedition and with information acquired meantime they might make a portage to. the Columbia, or else leave the canoes and convey their luggage by horses to that stream. During this stay with the Shoshones Captain Lewis had opportunity of witnessing an antelope chase by the Indians. Game of all kinds was extremely scarce, and as the Indians had no better weapons than bows and arrows, and a few fusils obtained from traders through Indians on the Yellow- stone, they were at such disadvantage in hunting as to be more often without meat than otherwise. Their resource therefore was to bring down antelopes by the strategy of surrounding a herd and driving them to a common center. In attempting this feat fifty or more mounted Indians would surround a herd, and by furious riding and shouting keep the animals running from one side to the other of the circle, hoping to tire them or to shoot those that might try to dash through the enveloping line. These hunts rarely yielded more than two or three antelopes, and more frequently the Indians returned on jaded horses without having bagged so much as one animal.
Despite the travail of dragging canoes through scores of miles of heavy current, of torn feet, feverish and half-fam- ished bodies, Captain Clark made such progress that on
August 1 7th, he reached the junction of Red Rock and
996
PASSAGE OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS
Beaverhead branches with Jefferson Fork, where the whole expedition was united, together with Cameahwait, chief of the Shoshones, and eight of his warriors.
On the way back to meet Captain Clark a singular ex- perience befell Captain Lewis. The Indians, like the white men, were unable to procure game, on account of its ex- treme scarcity, and famine was staring them in the face, when by good chance Drewyer killed a deer. Immediately this piece of splendid fortune threw the Indians into the greatest excitement. " They dismounted in the utmost con- fusion and ran tumbling over each other like famished dogs ; each tore away whatever part he could, and instantly began to devour it ; some had the liver, some the kidneys, in short no part on which we are accustomed to look with disgust escaped them; one of them who had seized about nine feet of the entrails was chewing at one end, while with his hand he was diligently clearing his way by discharging the con- tents at the other; yet though suffering with hunger they did not attempt, as they might have done, to take by force the whole deer, but contented themselves with what had been thrown away by the hunter."
The meeting between Lewis and Clark was associated with an incident quite worth recording. The Indians were extremely suspicious, nor could they be induced to accom- pany Lewis on his return trip, except by promises of reward and many appeals to their courage. When at length the meeting took place it was found that some Indian women,
997
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
fearing treachery to their people, had followed in the rear. When the canoes were dragged on shore Sacajawea was first to greet the Indians, whom she immediately recognized as her own people. Her joy was multiplied, however, when a woman rushed through the crowd and fervently embraced her, and saw that she was one who had been her companion in childhood, and who like Sacajawea herself, and at the same time, had been taken captive by the Minnetarees. But a greater surprise and happiness was in store for Sacajawea, for in the person of Cameahwait she recognized her brother, who escaping the Minnetarees at the battle five years before had meantime been elevated to the dignity of a chief of his tribe. Sacajawea embraced her brother with the greatest fervor while tears of joy fell in streams from her eyes, but though the chief was moved by his sister's caresses, it was in a much less degree.
After the congratulations and ceremonies attendant upon the meeting a council was held at which Captain Lewis ex- plained the needs of his party, and with promises of abun- dant reward for any service the Indians might render the expedition, requested Cameahwait to supply horses and guides to transport their baggage across the mountains.
The Indians, no doubt regarding the white men as having some of the attributes of celestial beings, and being influ- enced also by gifts of knives, tobacco, leggings, medals, beads, looking-glasses, shirts, handkerchiefs and particu- larly by the appearance of the negro York and the operation
998
PASSAGE OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS
of the air-gun readily consented to supply the expedition with what was needed.
It was directly seen that portage of the canoes over the mountains for so great a distance was impracticable, so Captain Lewis directed Captain Clark to take eleven men, with such tools as he had, and proceed with an Indian guide to the Columbia River where/ if possible, he was to select timber and build canoes. Meantime Captain Lewis would explore the country, leaving Chaboneau and Saca- jawea to go back with the Shoshones to their village and secure the horses that had been promised. Lewis was ever seeking information, as it became him well to do, respecting the river which he hoped would take him to the sea, and of the territory he must traverse. The Indians seemed well disposed to tell him all they knew, but their real knowledge was so little and their fears and ignorance so great, that it was impossible to place reliance in their statements. All were agreed, however, in the assurance that great dangers must be encountered in any attempt to pass further west- ward. The country was represented to be without game, desert-like, and so rough that horses could not travel over it, while it was so infested with a fierce and warlike people called the Broken Moccasins, who lived like bears in holes, that it was declared a party so small as the expedition must surely be annihilated.
Although accounts given by the Indians of obstacles and dangers that lay in the way might well have deterred a
999
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
brave man, they did not change the resolution of Captain Lewis, who made an extended excursion into the country to determine its character, and to meet other Indians from whom he hoped to obtain information of a less discouraging nature. While Captain Lewis was thus engaged, Captain Clark proceeded in a westward direction, to a stream to which he gave the name Lewis River, in which he found great quantities of fish which the Indians caught by means of weirs. He also met many Shoshones who were in- variably kindly disposed, but the rivers were so rapid and obstructed with boulders that canoeing on them would have been impossible.
Captain Lewis having satisfied himself somewhat of the general character of the country and that journeying by water would be perilous until the Columbia could be reached at a point below the cataracts and rapids, obtained twenty- nine horses from the Shoshones, and loading these with his baggage, set off with guides after Clark, who was now following Bitter Root River, which flows northward until it empties into Missoula River.
Although traveling through a well-watered country and generally keeping within the valley of Bitter Root, the journey was one of great hardship and severe privation. After crossing the mountains at Ross' Hole, practically no game was to be found except small fish and a few salmon which could not be obtained in quantities sufficient to stay
the hunger of Captain Clark's party. Several Nez Perce In-
1000
NORTH FORK OF THE COLUMBIA, ANT) UMATILLA iriCKEYUP.
E Columbia River is divided into two main streams near Walla Walla, one branch rising in southern Idaho, and known as Snake River, the other having its source in northwestern Idaho, where it is called the North Fork. It was this latter branch that Lewis and Clark struck after passing Bitter Root Mountains and they followed the stream down to its mouth. The Umatilla Reser- vation is in Umatilla County, Oregon, where a few of the tribe, an offshoot of the Nez Perces, are still to be found, living largely by fishing for salmon, but a few are also engaged in agriculture, in which however the) are too indolent to succeed
aua. IN* 4td not change the resolution of Captain Mk ar» extended excursion into the country W*n**«t its character, and to meet other Indians from >oped to obtain information of a less discouraging While Captain Lewis v , ••weeded in a westward ch
c g-avt the :i i.i . Le^ • •t <jtiantitie« of fiih \vhfch th *f weirs. He also KM-I n
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PASSAGE OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS
dians were met from time to time, but these were quite as starved and miserable as were the white men, and though the Indians were hospitably disposed they were unable to do more for their white visitors than give them information respecting difficulties and obstructions which lay in the route they were now pursuing. At one place Captain Clark wrote in his diary : " These Indians, to whom this life is familiar, seem contented, although they depend for subsistence on the scanty production of the fishery. But our men, who are used to hardships, but have been ac- customed to have their wants of nature regularly supplied, feel very sensibly their wretched situation ; their strength is wasting away; they begin to express their apprehensions of being without food in a country perfectly destitute of every means of supporting life except a few fish." As if to make their condition more intolerable the weather, though it was August, turned so cold that ice a quarter of an inch thick formed on still water, and the air was filled with frost, which was felt more severely by reason of the poor nourish- ment the men had.
A messenger was dispatched by Captain Clark to Captain Lewis to acquaint him with the situation, and camp was made to give his party opportunity to make pack-saddles for the horses which he was expecting Captain Lewis to bring. Having some superfluous baggage Captain Clark- decided to prepare a cache and deposit it therein, which he accomplished without being discovered in the act by the
1003
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
Indians by secretly sending three of his men to a point nearly one mile below the camp to make the necessary excavation. Three days later Captains Lewis and Clark united their parties, and continued their travels together, through a country from which nature seemed to have withdrawn all her favors, and with harsh judgment afflicted it with barren- ness and almost impassable obstacles. Mountains were gathered to oppose a passage westward, vegetation was blasted, great stones lay everywhere in tumultuous con- fusion, and animal life could find such poor support amid the surroundings of desolation that it shunned the country, or was to be met with at rare intervals. The prospect was therefore gloomy in the extreme for the expedition, but this fact in no wise diminished the enthusiasm or resolution of the heroic captains and their no less courageous followers. They argued that if Indians could exist in such a region it must be traversed by them in quest of means of subsistence, and where Indians could live or travel white men might do as well. Besides, they had several Shoshones, including Cameahwait, with them, hired, it is true, by the payment of many trinkets as well as of articles of value, and with these as guides the party proceeded with grim determination to explore and pass through the land, however unforbidding it appeared.
1004
DIVISION LII.
Characteristics of the Northwest Indians.
DURING the time that Captain Lewis was with the Sho- shones, which was for two weeks, or more, he had abundant opportunity to observe their customs, and to become ac- quainted with their means of living. Very poorly provided with weapons, and the country almost entirely barren of game, the Indians were in a constant condition of semi- starvation, but necessity had driven them to many expe- dients to procure food, and taught them to use everything procurable that might afford nourishment to their bodies. In their season service and choke-berries were gathered in quantity, so that the surplus above present needs was pressed into cakes and then dried in the sun, for use at other times of the year. Roots of many kinds were also made to serve as food, some of which were boiled and eaten like potatoes; others were used in the green state, while several varieties after drying were reduced to a meal by pounding and then made into a dough. To the taste of white men these root foods were generally bitter and often nauseating, but the Indians had acquired a great liking for them, and had nothing to deplore except their scarcity.
The mountain streams contained many fish of the trout
1005
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
and salmon species, and these constituted the principal re- liance for animal food. The Indians not being able to buy hooks or nets were compelled to employ crude appliances, and to adopt means for capturing fish that are not seen else- where. From willows, found at places near creeks, they made both nets and seines which were used to good purpose, even though they were extremely clumsy and often broke under the pressure of dragging against the current. The seines were necessarily short, too, and these were therefore most frequently used in dragging narrow streams. The In- dians showed greater expertness in constructing weirs, which, however, were soon destroyed when the streams were raised by heavy rains. At a narrow outlet of the weir, left for the purpose, the Indians built a netting of interlaced wil- lows, large at the entrance and gradually diminishing to a point into which fish would drift with the rapid current until at times they were found collected in a compact mass, pro- vided the netting was strong enough to support the pressure.
Several species of fish were taken by means of seins, but salmon could rarely be captured in that way. The usual means of securing these was by shooting with arrows, though at the spawning season the well-known habit that salmon have of moving up-stream was taken advantage of by the Indians, who made a double-chambered willow net and set it in a narrow run with the mouth laid down stream.
The Shoshones had no other weapons than bows and
arrows, but these they constructed with great skill. The
1006
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE NORTHWEST INDIANS
wood used was generally mountain ash, or cedar, not found in their country, however. Knives were rarely owned by these Indians, and hence this most useful article was es- teemed above price, to gain which a Shoshone would barter all his other possessions. Lacking knives they used bone in- struments for fashioning flints and in manufacturing arrow- heads, which were of obsidian, that resembles black glass, and possessing like properties may be broken so as to leave a fine point and sharp edges.
Lewis and Clark found in use among these Indians a farinaceous root which when boiled tastes very much like the Jerusalem, or Sunflower artichoke; but as this tuber was of rounded form, and about the size of a nutmeg, its species could not be determined, especially as it does not grow in that country, and whence obtained Captain Lewis was unable to ascertain.
Unlike the character of other Indians met with below Mandan, the Shoshones, though extremely poor and al- ways half starved, were strictly honest, hospitable, and reliable. Though they set great value upon knives, they never failed to return any loaned to them by Lewis and Clark, which was the very highest proof of their honesty. Neither were they a selfish people, for however hungry they might be, any food which came to them, either by gift or from the chase, was freely divided, so that there existed among them, in perfect realization of the ideal philosphy,
a true community of interest.
1007 11
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
Captain Clark relates a curious fact about the Shoshones,. as follows : " One of the women who had been leading two of our pack-horses halted at a rivulet a mile behind, and sent on the two horses by a female friend. On in- quiring of Cameahwait the cause of her detention, he answered, with appearance of unconcern, that she had just , stopped to lie in, but would soon overtake us. In fact we were astonished to see her in about an hour's time come on with her newborn infant and pass us on her way to the camp in apparent good health. We have been several times informed by those conversant with Indian manners, and who asserted their knowledge of the fact, that Indian women pregnant by white men experience more difficulty in child-birth than when the father is an Indian."
It may also be noted that the Shoshones are distin- guished, in character, from many other nations and tribes by their superior morality and decorum. They never through selfish desire permit their conduct to become offen- sive, but are deferential, and kindly considerate among themselves as well as to others, while chastity is rigorously enjoined among both sexes.
The Shoshones are migratory to an extent, as Lewis and Clark found them, residing on the head waters of the Columbia during summer, and in the fall cross the ridge to the Missouri until, reaching the three forks, they are joined by the Flatheads, and being then strong in numbers
they venture eastward of the mountains to hunt buffaloes-
1008
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE NORTHWEST INDIANS
At all times, however, they live in the greatest dread of the Pawnees, their implacable enemies, from whom they seem to be ever in flight, and are thus driven to take refuge in Bitter Root mountains where subsistence is so precarious.
In their domestic economy, among the Shoshones the man holds his wives and daughters as chattels, and may dispose of them accordingly. A plurality of wives is common, but consanguinity is respected; children are fairly numerous, but the girls are rarely chastised and the boys never, as it is believed that whipping would destroy courage. Infant daughters are often betrothed or sold to a grown man, either for himself or to become wives for his sons; compensation is usually in horses, and the pur- chaser permits the father to retain his daughter until she is thirteen or fourteen years of age. While chastity is en- joined, a husband uses his wives in any manner that may bring him profit, even to hiring them to any one willing to pay his price, a practise which has ever been prevalent among nearly all Indian tribes.
Bravery is the first of virtues among the Shoshones, and therefore no male of the nation is distinguished who has not killed a white bear, stolen a horse from the enemy, or taken an enemy's scalp. To kill an adversary is ac- counted a good deed, but the larger honor lies in bearing away his scalp, which is ever afterwards retained as a trophy and proof of power.
The Shoshones are not given as much to superstitions as
1009
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
other Indians, though they hold to some singular beliefs, one of the most remarkable of which pertains to the making of a shield of buffalo hide. This defensive article they always prepare from the skin of a two-year old animal, which is spread over a hole in the ground in which hot stones are laid and water thrown upon them. As the skin becomes heated the hair separates and is removed by hand. After the hide has been well dried and is contracted to the required size a party is invited to perform the ceremony of pounding the skin by dancing upon it, which partakes somewhat of a festival, that may last several days. After conclusion of these performances jugglers, or medicine- men, of the tribe put a spell on the hide which is supposed to render a shield made from it impervious to arrows or bullets. The shield that is now made from the enchanted skin is circular in form, about two and one-half feet in diam- eter, adorned with crudely painted figures and fringed with dressed leather.
. Besides using the shield to ward off blows and arrows the Shoshones also prepare an armor formed of many folds of dressed antelope skin glued together, with which they cover their bodies and also those of their horses, finding it an excellent protection against arrows.
"The names of Indians vary in the course of their life; originally given in childhood, from some accidental resem- blance to external objects, the young warrior is impatient
to change it by some achievement of his own. Any im-
1010
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE NORTHWEST INDIANS
portant event, the stealing of horses, scalping of an enemy, or killing a bear, entitles him at once to a new name, which he then selects for himself, and it is confirmed by the na- tion. Sometimes two names may subsist together; thus Chief Cameahwait, which means, ' one who never walk,' has the war name of Tooettecone, or ' black gun,' which he required when he first signalized himself. As each new ac- tion gives a warrior the right to change his name, many of them have several in the course of their lives. To give to a friend his own name is an act of high courtesy, and a pledge, like that of pulling off the moccasin, of sincerity and hospitality."
It was on Friday, August 3Oth, that departure was made up Salmon Creek, leave having been taken of the Shoshones, who set out on a trip to the Missouri. Six Indians, how- ever, were engaged to accompany the expedition to act as guides, though their knowledge of the country which Lewis and Clark determined to traverse was not great, nor were they without misgivings. Indeed, as the way became more fatiguing and game scarce, the Indians lost their courage entirely, and all deserted except one old man.
On September 5th, the expedition, by good fortune, ar- rived at an encampment of Ootleshoots, or Salish, Indians, comprising thirty-three tents and four hundred souls, who occupy a considerable region extending from the head wa- ters of the Missouri to those of the Columbia. A council was held with these Indians, whose friendship Lewis and Clark
IOII
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
secured by a distribution among them of medals and to- bacco, after which seven horses were exchanged and thirteen were purchased at the expense of a few articles of merchan- dise, for the Indians possessed great numbers, and set much less value on them than did the Shoshones.
Spending one night with the Salish, who had no better food than berries to share with their visitors, the expedition proceeded on their journey, traveling due north along Clark River until the 9th, when they reached a point about twenty miles below where the town of Missoula now stands, and here going into camp named the place Traveler's Rest. Having obtained much refreshment by a day's stoppage at this spot, the expedition departed on the I2th, turning their course due west along a stream now known as Lola Creek. The mountains increased in both size and steepness until passage over them with heavily loaded animals became so laborious as to fairly exhaust both men and horses and no more than five miles could be accomplished in twenty-four hours. At one point several horses lost their footing in making the ascent, one of which, that was loaded with a table and small desk, rolled over down the mountain for a distance of forty yards before His fall was arrested by bring- ing up against a tree, an accident which happened to other horses afterwards.
The mountains, which belonged to the Bitter Root range, were covered with a scant vegetation and in every respect
the region was unfavorable for animal life. The streams,
1012
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE NORTHWEST INDIANS
too, while pellucid and sweet, contained no fish, from which fact Captain Lewis concluded that large falls below must exist, preventing fish from ascending. As the difficulties in traveling increased, the miseries of the men multiplied, for being unable to shoot any kind of game, or to find any fish, their small store of provisions failed rapidly, particularly as the party was a large one. The horses, too, being insuffi- ciently fed, and exposed to the exertion of climbing very steep and lofty mountains, lost flesh and strength until one after another succumbed to their insupportable hardships, or were killed to furnish food for the famished men.
The situation of the expedition became so desperate that on the i/th of September Captain Clark was sent ahead with six hunters to explore the country in advance of the main party, and to kill some game if possible. In this ad- vance expedition Captain Clark was so unsuccessful that finding a small stream upon which he camped to be destitute of fish and the valley equally so of game he named it Hungry Creek. Two days later Captain Clark came upon a village of Nez-Perces (Pierced Nose) Indians who gave him some buffalo meat, dried salmon, berries and several kinds of roots, which, considering their long abstinence, furnished a sumptuous repast, for which the Indians were recompensed with a few small presents. Overeating made Captain Clark quite ill and he decided to remain in the village until some- what recovered, while his hunters proceeded in their quest
for game.
1013
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
On the following day Captain Clark was visited by the chief of another band, with whom, he smoked, and suc- ceeded in purchasing a quantity of dried salmon, roots, and berries which he sent back by one of his men and an Indian to Captain Lewis. In addition to these supplies the hunters found a stray horse which they shot and ate so much of the flesh as satisfied their hunger, leaving the remainder hang- ing in a tree in the path which Captain Lewis would be compelled to travel, and which he soon afterwards found, much to the satisfaction of his starving party.
News of the presence of white men in the country spread in a few days to several tribes of Indians, who came to the village where Captain Lewis was stopping, and who also sought for and met Captain Clark. Among these Indians was a chief named Twisted Tail who informed Clark that at a distance of five-days journey was a large river into which Lewis River emptied, and that a further journey of five days down the river would bring them to the falls where some white men had established themselves. This infor- mation infused the men with fresh courage, which was in- creased by their ability to purchase as much fish, berries and roots as their horses could carry in their famished and worn condition. Meantime Captain Lewis had proceeded and likewise come upon an Indian village where his party ate so heartily of the fresh food furnished them that nearly all were seized with illness and for several days were barely
able to sit on their horses.
1014
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE NORTHWEST INDIANS
At length, after almost incredible hardships, the expedi- tion reached the Clearwater, where camp was made to build canoes, the stream being large enough to permit the safe passage of such small crafts. But the food procured by purchase from the Indians was soon exhausted, and as game could not be found in quantities to suffice for their needs one of the horses was killed for food, and to provide soup for the sick. As the canoes were nearly finished the horses, to the number of thirty-eight, were branded and turned over to the keeping of three Indians, who agreed to care for them until Captain Lewis should return. The saddles were buried in a cache, with other things, and on October 7th the full expedition, which Captain Clark had joined three days be- fore, set off afloat on the Clearwater, which empties into Snake or Lewis River and thence into the Columbia.
Several rapids were encountered, and in passing these nearly half the number of canoes were so damaged as to leak badly and wet their stores, so that frequent stops be- came necessary in order to repair the injuries. Indians were engaged from time to time to act as guides, but they in- variably deserted. Nevertheless, the expedition continued despite all disappointments, greatest of which still con- tinued to be scarcity of food, in which extremity the men ate crows, dogs, prairie wolves, and a root which directly after being taken into the stomach caused the body to swell to remarkable proportions. This soon subsided, however,
and no after-consequences were felt.
1015
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
Chopunnish, or Nez Perce, Indian villages were found at frequent intervals along the river, but these people while peaceable were extremely selfish, and would make no return for presents, being indisposed to traffic. They had count- less herds of horses and kept great numbers of dogs for domestic purposes. They refused to sell fish, but would part with their dogs for knives and paint, considering it a dis- gusting thing, however, that white men should eat the flesh of dogs. These Indians were better clothed and better look- ing than any others met with by the expedition, and were distinguished for their cleanliness. Sickness among them was uncommon, except that many were afflicted with scrofula, for the cure of which they resorted to vapor baths.
Though the channel was interrupted by rapids which at times were perilous to pass, the expedition made from twenty to thirty miles each day. The Indians met with were all engaged in fishing, fish in fact being almost their sole article of food. Among the tribes, which are nearly all branches of the Nez Perces, or Flatheads, Captain Lewis pauses in the narrative of his journey to make special men- tion of the Solkulks, a tribe not easily distinguishable by this name. These Indians were found to be not only hospitably disposed, but possessed some marked traits in common with civilized people. The men were not only monogymous but shared with their wives the labor of providing subsistence as well as of all other laborious duties. They had also
marked respect for old age, to such an extent, in fact, that
1016
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE NORTHWEST INDIANS
the senile were cared for in the most sympathetic and gen- erous manner, and their counsel prevailed to govern in nearly all things.
It was noticeable that, while otherwise a robust and ath- letic people, the Solkulks were nearly all afflicted with sore eyes, caused no doubt by their occupation on the water, where the sun reflected so powerfully as to in time produce blindness. Their teeth, too, were found to be decayed, in every case of grown persons especially, and very frequently worn down to the gums, a condition which Captain Lewis observes is caused by the manner in which these people eat roots and fish. The former they devour freshly dug from the ground, covered with sand and dirt, and the latter they do not pretend to cook or dress, but warming the fish whole eagerly bolt the skin, scales, and fins with the flesh.
As the expedition moved down the Columbia salmon be- came more plentiful, until, by October I7th, they had reached a place in the river where this species of fish fairly crowded the water in incredible numbers, and at places were so con- gested as to be pushed out on the shore, where the Indians had only to gather, split, and dry them on scaffolds provided for the purpose.
As it was essential to learn as much as possible of the river in advance of the approaching canoes, Captain Clark frequently left the boats and went on ahead to kill such game as he might find and spread report of the coming expedition so as to allay what might otherwise cause apprehension on
1017
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
the part of the natives. At one point, therefore, he ascended a lofty hill above the river from which a wide expanse of country was viewable, and in the far distance caught sight of Mount St. Helens, laid down on a map prepared by Van- couver as visible from the mouth of the Columbia. Return- ing thence to the river and continuing in advance of the party he passed a rapid at the lower end of which he shot a crane that was flying over, and soon after a duck fell to his gun, feats of skill which some Indians observed from the shore. Captain Clark then having a mind to visit the vil- lage which was on the bank opposite to where he shot the duck, landed before five houses close to each other. To his surprise the doors were closed, so going from one to the other with his pipe in hand, as an overture of peace, he en- tered a lodge in which were thirty-two persons, chiefly men and women, who betrayed the greatest consternation, cry- ing, and hanging their heads as if expecting death at the hands of their visitors. By pacific means Captain Clark succeeded in quieting their fears, which however were re- newed when he lighted his pipe by means of a sun-glass. By presenting the glass to a chief and distributing some presents among the women, he presently restored tran- quillity, but was not able to obtain the confidence of the Indians until other canoes of the expedition appeared, in which a woman was seen. This sight served to completely reassure them, for they knew that women were never per- mitted to accompany an Indian war party. The astonished
1018
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE NORTHWEST INDIANS
Indians therefore explained that Captain Clark must be a celestial being, just fallen from the clouds, for they had seen a crane and duck fall in the water near him, and the sound of the gun, which they had never heard before, was considered by them as a phenomenon announcing so extra- ordinary an event. The belief was strengthened by his bringing down fire from heaven with which to light his pipe, a conviction which could not be removed until a chief was persuaded to try the experiment of using the sun-glass.
These Indians, whom Lewis calls the Pishquitpaws, be- came most hospitable when they had learned the true character of their visitors, and enjoyed the music of two violins played by the white men quite as much as they did the trinkets that they received. Although living in a cold country the Pishquitpaws wear few clothes, and three- fourths of them have scarcely any robes at all. The fe- males dress equally scanty, their covering being no more than a robe that extends from the neck down the back to the waist, where it is attached to a belt of leather drawn tight around the waist. Their breasts are therefore fully ex- posed to view, and being excessively large and pendant they present a disgusting sight. Their cheek bones are very high and their foreheads so flattened as to extend sharply back from the nose, a shape obtained by compressing the heads of their infants by means of a short board bound, at the desired angle, on the forehead.
The manner in which they dispose of their dead is differ-
1019
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
ent from that practised by nearly all other Indians, and is thus described by Captain Lewis :
" The place in which the dead are deposited is a building sixty feet long and twelve wide, and is formed by placing in the ground poles or forks six feet high, across which a long pole is extended the whole length of the . structure. Against this ridge-pole are placed broad boards and pieces of canoes, in a slanting direction, so as to form a shed. It stands east and west, and neither of the extremities are closed. On entering we observe a number of bodies wrapped carefully in leather robes, and arranged in rows on boards, which were then covered with mats. This was the part destined for those who had recently died. A little further on the bones, half decayed, were scattered about, and in the center of the building was a large pile of them heaped promiscuously on each other. At the eastern extremity was a mat on which twenty-one skulls were placed in a circular form, the mode of interment being first to wrap the body in robes, and as it decays the bones are thrown into a heap and the skulls placed together. From the different boards and pieces of canoes which form the vault were suspended, on the inside, fish-nets, baskets, wooden bowls, robes, skins, trenchers, and trinkets of various kinds, obviously intended as offerings of affection to deceased relatives. On the out- side of the vault were the skeletons of several horses, and a great quantity of bones in the neighborhood, which induced
1 020
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE NORTHWEST INDIANS
us to believe that these animals were most probably sacri- ficed at the funeral rites of their masters."
These people nearly all pierce the nose, especially the men, who wear in the perforation a long tapering fragment of shell, bead, or piece of porcupine quill. It is a strange co- incidence, perhaps, that several tribes of Africans practise the same custom, in which single respect there is an affinity which might be taken as an evidence of common, though remote, association, for otherwise it is difficult to conceive how the painful and ludicrous habit could have obtained between wild peoples who are now so widely separated.
1021
DIVISION LIII.
Passage of the Continent Conipleted.
THE expedition continued without special adventure, find- ing the right bank of the river well occupied with Indian villages, until October 22d, when they reached the great falls of the Columbia, now called Calico Falls, from which point to the Cascades the river is scenically grand beyond few comparisons. " The black lava palisades rise in noble ter- races, towers, chimneys, further down becoming merged in the overtowering range. The frozen product of the volcano runs athwart the stream and seemingly, also, with it, form- ing a series of gigantic obstructions, across and through which the river has eaten its way in a succession of rapids, swirls, falls and cross currents."
Notwithstanding the tumultuous character of the river, and the precipitous bluffs that lined the banks, Captain Lewis found the shores, wherever they shelved, occupied by In- dians who proffered him whatever assistance he might re- quire. As a long and difficult portage was made necessary by the falls, which had a sheer descent, at one place, of forty feet, the services of these Indians was most gratefully ac- cepted, for they provided horses upon which were conveyed
all the heavy baggage of the expedition.
1022
PASSAGE OF THE CONTINENT COMPLETED
A remarkable method of preparing fish for market was employed by the Indians, which is thus described : " The fish is first opened and then exposed to the sun on a scaffold. When sufficiently dried it is pounded between two stones till it is pulverized, and is then placed in a basket about two feet long and one in diameter, neatly made of grass and rushes, lined with the skin of salmon stretched and dried for the purpose. Here they are pressed down as hard as possible and the top covered with skins of fish, which are secured by cords through holes in the basket. These bas- kets are then placed in some dry situation, the corded part upward. The whole is then wrapped in mats and made fast by cords, over which other mats are again thrown. Twelve of these baskets, each of which contains ninety to one hun- dred pounds, form a stack, which is exposed till it is sent to market ; the fish thus preserved are kept sound and fresh for several years, and great quantities of it are sent to Indians below the falls, whence it finds its way to the whites who visit the mouth of the Columbia."
It must have been that the members of the Lewis and Clark expedition formed a special liking for the flesh of dogs, notwithstanding the great plenti fulness of fish, and many water-fowl, for the journal of Captain Lewis makes frequent mention of the purchase of dogs for food.
Having accomplished a passage around the falls the expe- dition made camp, being nearly exhausted by their exertion,
when to their surprise it was found that the Indians had
1023
12
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
stolen so many articles which had been entrusted to them to carry that the place was called Robber's Roost. A greater trouble was encountered, however, when the expedition reached the Dalles, a place where the river is so nearly choked by a huge and high black rock that the width of the great stream is narrowed to forty-five yards, through which the current dashes in a riot of agitation positively appalling. Portage around the Dalles was so difficult that though the peril of attempting to shoot the cascade was imminent and extreme, decision was taken to hazard the chance, to the great amazement of the Indians. By skilful steering and rare fortune the canoes were sent through the whirlpools and tempestuous waters with no other damage than the wetting of some of their contents, a piece of good luck which was repeated a few miles further down the turbulent river. Though there still remained before them several difficult passages in the river, Captains Lewis and Clark were grati- fied to find the rapids growing less dangerous as the stream broadened, and such game as deer, water fowl, and bear was becoming more plentiful. The Indians, too, continued to show hospitality notwithstanding some of the chiefs above the falls predicted that the expedition would certainly be attacked by the Nez Perces tribes below the falls. There were, indeed, Indians in large numbers occupying the north bank of the river all the way, and some of them manifested a disposition to resent the white men's invasion, but their
hostility was conciliated by friendly overtures and a liberal
1024
DALLES OF THE COLUMBIA ANDKOOTENA1 FALLS.
moOTENAl Falls are a beautiful cascade formed by the Pend d' Oreille dashing over a ledge forty feet high before the river discharges its waters into Pend d' Oreille Lake, in Northern Idaho. This stream empties into the North Fork of the Columbia, passing through charming scenery, which grows more tumultuous and inspiring as the Columbia pursues its way towards the Pacific. The culmi- nation of scenic beauty and interest is at the Dalles, about seventy miles above Portland, where the bluffs narrow the river and the passage is obstructed by huge rocks which nature in some one of her convulsions seems to have dashed down from the mountain in a vain effort to choke the impetuous stream.
V ^
TERRITORY
ft di had been entrusted to them to
car-1 Jed Robber's Roost. A greater
ever; when the expedition
irly
the
: which.
-gtnttesfi sif&
.Hi tbiEv
ofe 4>»tU,
.H
^{f^8 .f
') anl BE gnhioeni bnu
.
the attacked
were, in
bank of the rive
a disposition to
ingerous as the
:-«inly lie ;is> 7,,,
PASSAGE OF THE CONTINENT COMPLETED
bestowal of gifts among the chiefs. Equally salutary, we must believe, was the effect of the violin music which never failed to put the Indians in excellent humor. At many of the villages, therefore, where it seemed most important to establish friendship, the two violinists in the expedition would be asked to produce their instruments and to the music of these a dance would be performed in which Indian women were sometimes induced to join. Generally, however, in- stead of showing desire to participate, the Indians would sit in mute astonishment, seemingly entranced, or charmed into immobility of countenance or expression. These enter- tainments were often varied by the jig-dancing of York, the negro, whose color, amazing strength, hair, and motions were a source of infinite wonderment to the Indians, who would gladly have adopted him into their tribes.
The tribes that occupied the north shore of the Columbia are offshoots of the Flatheads, or Salish, but they each speak a different tongue and are frequently at war with each other, though on the opposite side of the river are the more powerful nation of Snake Indians, who are the constant and dreaded enemies of the Salish and Chilluckittequaw nations. It was one of the instructions given by President Jefferson to Lewis and Clark to use their influence and every power of persuasion they might be able to exert, not only to win the friendship of all Indians for white men and for the govern- ment, but also, so far as possible, to harmonize the nations and tribes with each other, that peace instead of war might
1027
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
prevail among them. This duty the leaders of the expedi- dition performed not only in the letter and spirit of their instructions, but so efficaciously that through their friendly negotiations life-long enmities were terminated, and the peace-pipe spread its incense of reconciliation along the passageway of the white men.
By November ist the expedition had descended the Colum- bia to within one hundred miles of where the City of Port- land now stands, and the proximity of white men was in- dicated by seeing kettles, pans, muskets, and brass vessels for which the Indians had traded furs with white men who in ships paid annual visits to the mouth of the Columbia. There was also a difference in their villages, for the Chilluck- ittequaw nation, which was now reached, showed the effects of association with whites. Their houses bore some resem- blance to civilized habitations, though this was in exterior appearance rather than in interior accommodations. The houses, which were made of boards and logs, were often as much as fifty feet long by thirty wide, sunk in the ground six to ten feet and raised as high above. To reach the floor, therefore, a ladder was used, and as the beds were about five feet above the floor these, too, were gained by the use of a stepladder.- Under the beds is considerable space which is utilized for the storage of fish, roots, nuts, and berries. The fireplace, eight feet long, was sunk a foot below the floor, before which were mats for the family to sit on.
There was no chimney, but a hole in the roof directly above
1028
PASSAGE OF THE CONTINENT COMPLETED
the fire allowed most of the smoke to escape. On the walls were hung images of men, and bags that contained strange things, which were to the Indians fetishes, the touching of which was a sacrilege they would not permit. One of these bags, the property of a chief, was the sacred repository of fourteen forefingers, which the chief pompously and vain- gloriously declared he had cut from the hands of as many enemies. This constituted a powerful amulet worn about his neck when going to war that gave him, as he believed, immunity from danger. But great as was the chief's esti- mate of the magic efficacy of the bag, he set a yet greater value upon beads, possibly believing that it were easier to obtain another bunch of forefingers than a handful of beads. As Lewis writes : " But their great object is to obtain beads, an article which holds the first place in their ideas of relative value, and to procure which they will sacrifice their last article of clothing or the last mouthful of food."
On Thursday, November 7th, 1805, the eyes of Lewis, Clark, and their hardy followers were greeted with the glo- rious vision of old ocean, which broke into view when they were yet several miles distant from it, but the roaring music of its breakers served to confirm that it were no fancy wrought from the fabric of their desires. They brought their canoes ashore at a spot which afforded small protection from the tide and waves of the ocean, and there remained wet, and in the utmost misery, for ten days before they dis- covered the mouth of a small stream, half hidden by thick
1029
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
brush, into which they brought their boats for greater safety, and then began to explore the neighboring country. The weather was so stormy, and raining almost constantly for several weeks, that the expedition was exposed to hardships equally as great as those they had experienced in the Bitter Root mountain region. For though there was no scarcity of game, the beating rain made hunting almost impossible, and their stores were so damaged, being without shelter, that the party suffered from hunger and cold, and a general weakening such as a long spell of sickness might produce. They were from time to time visited by Chinnook Indians, but these had no mind to sell food or enter into any trade relations, though they showed no particular hostility.
Finally, the weather growing more settled and the canoes being well secured, Captains Lewis and Clark made a jour- ney up the coast, on a reconnoissance for several miles, but rinding the country mountainous and unsuited for a camp they doubled Cape Discovery, and proceeding southward established a winter quarters on the river Netul — -now the Columbia River — at a point six miles below the site upon which Astoria stands. This place of encampment they called Fort Clatsop, after a tribe of neighboring Indians, a situation thirty feet above high tide and one that com- manded a good view of what is now called Young's Bay, and in the midst of a game-bearing country. The men were put to work without delay preparing for winter, and by Decem-
1030
CAPE "DISCOVERY, MOUTH OF THE COLUMBIA.
E accompanying monogravure illustration affords an excellent photographic view of the tongue of land at the mouth of Columbia River, Oregon, upon which Lewis and Clark built Fort Clatsop— named for an Indian tribe— in which they passed the winter of 1805-6, as particularly described in this volume. A re- production of this fort sensed as the Oregon State building at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition.
f TERRfTC
ht their boats for greater safety, the neighboring country. The
raining almost constantly for
ition was exj.^^d to hardships
y had expericr the Bitter
•'ough there *,-., ,,o sea; ahm
r.tflq.
rioqu .nogai
'
- canoe,
IIODDE 3ft
*
i3lnii«( «*. ifa<6ii e
9
eve put
PASSAGE OF THE CONTINENT COMPLETED
ber 24th had built seven log huts that afforded comfortable habitation.
Christmas and New Year's day were celebrated by the firing of guns and a dinner of elk flesh, eighteen of these animals having been killed in one day by six of the men who had been sent out to hunt. But while there was an abun- dance and great variety of game all the members of the ex- pedition preferred the flesh of dogs, concerning which taste Captain Lewis writes : " Besides roots and berries, chief Comowool and six Clatsops brought for sale three dogs and some fresh whale-blubber. Having been so long accustomed to live on the flesh of dogs, the greater part of us have acquired a fondness for it, and our original aversion for it is overcome by reflecting that while we subsisted on that food we were fatter, stronger, and in general enjoyed better health than at any period since leaving the buffalo country."
Captains Lewis and Clark made excellent use of their time during their winter encampment by familiarizing them- selves with the adjacent country and in acquiring informa- tion respecting the customs of the score or more of Indians of several tribes who almost daily visited them. Most of these tribes were small in number, and all were poorly pro- vided with weapons, their dependence being in bows and arrows, in the manufacture of which they were astonishingly expert, as they were also in the making of canoes. The Chinnooks were most numerous, as they were the most intelligent of the coast natives, and of these Captain Lewis
1033
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
gives very particular account in his diary. He speaks com- mendingly of their character, as a people generally honest and sympathetic, attributes which are not commonly found among Indians.
Among many of the nations east of the Rocky Mountains, such as the Sioux, Assiniboines, Minnatarees, etc., old age is so little regarded that it is the practice when starting out upon a long journey, to hunt, or migrate, those unable by reason of their age to travel with the party are left behind with meat enough to last a single day and bidden, even by their children, to starve quickly. The Chinnooks, on the contrary, pay the greatest respect for the senile, and absolv- ing them from all labor or responsibility provide most gener- ously for them to the end of their days. While polygamy is not prohibited by the Chinnooks it is very rarely practiced, nor do they sell their women and children. But they are guilty of the custom of selling the favors of their females, a habit which appears to be equally agreeable to both sexes. They had not learned to use intoxicants of any kind at the time of Lewis and Clark's visit, but they had the vice of gambling to such a degree that it was a common thing to see an Indian or family completely despoiled by another by the laying of wagers upon being able to guess in which hand a small pebble, shifted quickly from one hand to the other, might be found. Their other games of hazard are equally simple, in which every Indian participates so that fully half their time is spent in gambling.
1034
PASSAGE OF THE CONTINENT COMPLETED
The Chinnooks in trafficking are alert and cunning, but withal so suspicious that they never accept the first offer made them for any article they may have to barter, even though the price be double what they had expected to re- ceive. Similarly they demand much more than they are really willing to take, so that in negotiating with them white men make their first offers as much too low as the Chinnooks place theirs too high, the two coming finally to an agreement through mutual concessions.
1035
DIVISION LIV.
The Return Trip Begun.
As winter wore away game gradually disappeared, water-fowl going north, fish ascending the rivers to spawn, and elk, deer and other animals upon which the expedition depended migrated to the interior, leaving the men without means of subsistence. It was the desire of Lewis and Clark to remain at Fort Clatsop until traders, who annually anchored their ships at the mouth of the Columbia, should appear, but their situation would not permit of longer delay, so they began, shortly after the middle of March, to pre- pare for making the return journey. Through the kind- ness of chiefs Commowool (or Cobaway) and Delashwilt, of the Chinnooks, canoes were obtained and also a supply of food sufficient to last for several days. To recompense them for this hospitable act Captain Clark divided among the Indians the seven huts occupied during the winter, to- gether with the furniture used therein. As a further mark of appreciation of their services he gave to each a certifi- cate attesting the kindness he had received at their hands. With the hope that traders might soon appear off the coast and learn through the Indians of the expedition, Captain
Lewis prepared several copies of a notice announcing the
1036
THE RETURN TRIP BEGUN
successful overland passage of the expedition, pursuant to instructions given by President Jefferson, with dates of arrival and departure, to which he appended the names of all those who participated in the trip. One of these he posted up in the fort and the others were circulated among the natives who were charged to see that they were not destroyed but delivered into the hands of foreign traders.
After much leave-taking with the Indians, who came in great numbers to pay their respects and express regrets at the parting, the expedition left the fort at noon of March 23d, 1806, and set out in well-loaded canoes to ascend the Columbia. The route was out of the mouth of the Nutal and thence around Point Williams, a dangerous passage for canoes but accomplished without accident. And it is worth noticing, too, that though the expedition had numbered thirty-two persons, and hardships almost intolerable had been borne for nearly two years, there had been little sick- ness and not a single death, except that of Sergeant Floyd, which occurred on August 2Oth, 1804, at a point where Sioux City now stands, and where his remains, once re- moved, repose under a large stone slab appropriately inscribed.
The trip up the Columbia was made with less difficulty than the descent, for the information acquired on the down passage served the expedition most usefully, while a second meeting with Indians living along the river was invariably cordial and confidential. The current offered
1037
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
some resistance, but the canoes were not heavily loaded, and expert rowers sent them forward at an average speed of twenty miles per day. Game, however, was scarce, and reported to be especially so above the falls, nor were fish found to be so abundant as in former years, for which reason large parties of Indians were met coming down the river on their way to the coast.
It had been impracticable, while descending the river, for Lewis and Clark to learn much of the geography of the country, for it was a struggle with them to obtain sub- sistence for their large party, and this fact, added to un- certainty as to the friendliness of nations who might be met with, discouraged them from making excursions far from the river. On the return trip, however, they had less to fear from the Indians, those throughout the country having lea/ned of the white men's visit. On making their return journey, therefore, they gave more particular attention to the outlying region. Reaching the Multnomah, now called the Willamette River, Captain Clark passed up that stream a distance of seven miles where he came to an island twenty miles long and from five to ten miles wide, a large piece of land that lies between the Multnomah and an arm of the Columbia. The chief wealth of this island, and what really renders it especially noteworthy, consists of nu- merous ponds in the interior which abound with a plant which Captain Clark called arrow-head, but to which the
Indians give the name wappatoo. This bulb he found to
1038
MULTNOMAH FALLS AND INDIANS 'BREAKING CAMP
XMVuLTNOMAH Falls are like a stream falling out of the sky for they have a per- * •I*' pendicular descent of 850 feet, and dashing out of this amazing height in a solid stream, from a distance they resemble a cleft in the mountain through wliidi the horizon is seen beyond. These beautiful falls are visible from the Columbia River which receives their discharge and tlience goes madly racing to the cascades only a few miles away. This region, \vhic h is one of the most picturesque in the world, is still occupied by Multnomah Indian^, whose numbers however, arc few whereas at the time of the Lewis and Clark expedition they were a powerful nation.
loaded, average speed
rce, and
..ere fish
r which
. down the
- u
• va .
« ealiro, Wtfj.t.ylnb rjo liila ei ,bhow
•)vnri v-jdj "Joi •{>'« 2(fl 1o Juo irf ynisEffit iifit ^o JIH> ii^uoirlj aicJnuom 31!
•jii) ni aupifiiutoiq l«oi. ;i;
• fo
• itnomah
(
.^%-».r :> o an island
\ride, a large J an arm of I, and what -{ nu- a plant ^.he ,- ! to
THE RETURN TRIP BEGUN
constitute a chief article of food and is the principal staple of commerce among Indians on the Columbia, of which he writes :
" It is never out of season ; so that at all times of the year the valley is frequented by the neighboring Indians who come to gather wappatoo. It is collected chiefly by women, who employ for the purpose canoes from ten to fourteen feet in length, about two feet wide and nine inches deep, tapering from the middle, where they are about twenty inches wide. They are sufficient to contain a sin- gle person and several bushels of roots, yet so very light that a woman can carry one with esae. She takes one of these canoes into a pond where the water is breast deep, and by means of her toes separates from the root this bulb, which on being freed from the mud rises immediately to the surface of the water, and is thrown into the canoe. In this manner these patient females remain in the water for several hours even in the depth of winter."
Two days journey from the Columbia, Captain Clark came in sight of Multnomah Falls, a beautiful cataract, in the vicinity of which was a village of the Multnomahs which Captain Clark visited and learned much concerning their customs and domestic life. Though there were numer- ous tribes, of many names, settled along the rivers, he ex- presses the opinion that they are all branches of the Multnomah nation, which is a powerful one. These people live in log houses usually sunk in the ground two
1041
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
or three feet like those heretofore described on the Colum- bia. They have for weapons, besides bows and arrows, and occasionally a musket, swords made of iron, very thin, and sharp on the edges and at the point. They also have heavy bludgeons of hard wood, which they hang at the heads of their beds as a protection against intruders.
Among the singular habits of the Multnomah Indians is that of bathing their bodies every morning with urine, though they make use also of hot, cold and vapor baths.
Their mode of disposing of the dead is to deposit them in a structure formed of boards slanting, like a roof, from a pole supported by upright posts. The bodies are laid horizontally on boards under this crude protection and are then covered with mats. In some places it was found that in order to dispose of the bodies under this shelter they were laid in rows one on top of the other as many as four courses deep.
By April I5th, the expedition had ascended to the Dalles, which owing to a rise in the river were much more difficult to pass than when the party made the descent in the Novem- ber preceding. Being poorly provided with ropes and the current dreadfully swift, it was necessary to drag one canoe at a time, and the labor of thus cordelling five canoes was so great as to quite exhaust the strength of every one in the party. To add to their distress, one of the canoes was swept away and irrecoverably lost, while the Indians mani- fested a disposition to take advantage of the situation and
1042
THE RETURN TRIP BEGUN
plunder them. In three days the expedition were able to make only seven miles, so it was decided that the remainder of the distance, by the Dalles, a distance of twenty-eight hundred yards should be made by a portage, which was safely accomplished and with much less exertion than had been expended in the effort to cordell the boats.
Game was fairly plentiful, of deer, elk, and mountain sheep, but Captain Lewis continues to mention the pref- erence of the party for dog flesh, so that whenever they could do so numbers of these animals were purchased of the Indians for food.
Other rapids still remained to be passed before reaching the falls, and as further portage was therefore necessary Captain Clark was sent forward to endeavor to buy horses. These animals being scarce along the Columbia he had great difficulty in pursuading the Indians to sell him any of their stock, nor did he succeed in buying four head until he had offered more than twice their real value. A few days later, however, Captain Lewis had greater success in negotiating with some Eneeshurs, from whom he obtained six more horses at a much less price than Captain Clark had been obliged to pay. By the use of these the expedition was able to make better progress, for the canoes were relieved of so much of their load, transferred to the horses, that they were easily paddled through places where the current was gentle, or carried around such rapids as they had to pass. But though relieved of one trouble the expedition met with
1043
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
another quite as harassing. Their first appearance in the country served to awe the Indians, who regarded the white men as beings almost if not quite supernatural, but acquain- tance had dispelled this belief and the Indians now ex- hibited their propensities to steal. Despite the watch- fulness of every one in the party, as well also the vigorous resentment which they visited upon those caught pilfering, knives, tomahawks, and other articles continued to disap- pear until several times Lewis and Clark were on the point of inflicting the death penalty upon some of the thieves, but were as often prevented by the intercession and good prom- ises of chiefs.
The care of their horses at night was a matter of great concern to the expedition, for though every precaution of tying and hobbling was employed, some of the horses es- caped almost every night and were not always recovered, besides delaying the march in searching for them. But as the journey eastward continued, the loss of horses was not severely felt, as they were found to be so plentiful among the Chopunnish that any desired number could be readily purchased for a small recompense, in simple articles, be- sides several were presented as gifts, until Captain Lewis had accumulated a herd of twenty-three.
April 27th the expedition reached the mouth of Walla Walla river, where, obtaining fresh guides, they crossed the Walla Walla country, having now abandoned their canoes, and on May 5th arrived at the junction of the Snake and
1044
THE RETURN TRIP BEGUN
Gearwater. At this point they met Twisted Hair, the chief in whose keeping they had left their herd of horses in November, when they took to canoes to journey thence by water. A dispute had arisen meantime between Twisted Hair and two other chiefs, named respectively Cut Nose and Broken Arm, over the care of the horses, the result of which was that the animals had been permitted to run loose and were now so scattered that their recovery would occupy much time and cause great trouble. But by the practise of diplomacy Captain Lewis so adroitly managed as to completely reconcile the chiefs, and by repeating his prom- ise to Twisted Hair to give him two guns, with their com- pliment of ammunition, when the horses left with him should be produced, the old man sent out a party of his young men to collect and bring them in. By this means twenty of the horses were recovered, the most of which were found to be in good condition. Half the saddles, that had been buried with some powder and lead the previous fall, were also recovered, and on Saturday, May loth, the expedi- tion set out across country for Traveler's Rest, though at the time the ground was covered with eight inches of snow.
Food soon failed the party, for being now in a very mountainous country and with spring advancing game had gone to the plains. Fortunately the Chopunnish were ex- tremely friendly, and had such a large number of horses that they very generously supplied these for food and also some dogs, for which the white men continued to show a
1045
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
marked fondness. It is related by Captain Clark that while the expedition was at dinner in camp they were visited by a band of Chopunnish Indians, among whom was a young man carrying a puppy. Seeing Captain Lewis eating the leg of a dog, the young Indian was so disgusted by the sight that he threw the puppy into the Captain's plate say- ing, in his language, " Eat that." The Captain was so in- censed by the insult that he dashed the pup into the Indian's face and threatened to brain him with a tomahawk.
Visiting a band of Chopunnish, who were found in a hut one hundred and fifty feet long, and nearly one-third as broad, in which twenty-eight fires were burning, indicating its occupation by as many families, Lewis and Clark called a council of the three principal chiefs to whom they ex- plained the purpose of the expedition, the power of the United States, and the wishes of the President to cultivate the friendship of the Indians who by a transfer of the terri- tory of Louisiana had become subjects of the nation, and among whom it was desirable that trading stations should be established. Communication with the Indians was by a circuitous route, for as Lewis and Clark spoke in English to one of the men who understood French, the words were repeated to Chaboneau, who in turn interpreted to his wife Sacajawea, in the Minneteree tongue, who repeated the language to a Shoshone and by him it was spoken again in Chopunnish dialectf But this laborious circuit did not
diminish the effect, for the chiefs appeared greatly delighted
1046
THE RETURN TRIP BEGUN
at the information and good wishes thus communicated. At the conclusion of the council Lewis and Clark amused the Indians by showing to them a compass, spy-glass, mag- net, watch and air-gun, all of which seemed to impress the natives with the extraordinary power of white men, as it was intended the exhibition should do.
After securing promises from the Chopunnish chiefs to promote amicable relations with neighboring tribes and to give adherence to the interests of white men and the nation, Lewis and Clark were eager to continue their homeward journey, but they were informed by the chiefs that passage across the Rocky Mountains would be impossible at this time of the year because of the great depth of snow and inability to subsist their horses. This information was con- firmed by the fact that the streams had but little water in them, which indicated that the snow had not yet begun to melt. Influenced by the counsel they had received, and the reports of hunters they had sent out, Lewis and Clark decided to establish a camp on the opposite side of the river and there remain until the snow should abate so as to permit a crossing of the mountain to be made. By swimming their horses the expedition succeeded in gaining the oppo- site bank of the Kooskooskee, where a camp was soon es- tablished on a spot which the Indians had recommended. Here they remained until June 24th beset by many diffi- culties, of which that of procuring food was greatest, for
the salmon had not yet appeared so far up the river and
1047
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
game was so scarce that means of living was reduced to roots and horse-flesh. During their stay at this place the camp was visited daily by many Indians who brought their sick to be treated, Captain Clark having become famous among them as a great Medicine Man. As most of the Indians were afflicted with sore eyes and scrofula Captain Clark ministered to these with an eye-wash he had learned to prepare in the form of a decoction made of herbs, which had considerable efficacy in reducing inflammation. He also lanced boils and posthumes of many suffering from such afflictions, but his largest success was obtained by recommending hot and vapor baths for those who were troubled with scrofulous sores and partial paralysis. In order to better administer this form of treatment ex- cavations were made in the bank, which being tightly cov- ered over with timber and earth left a space large enough for one or more afflicted persons to dispose themselves com- fortably. The enclosure was then heated with stones that had first been placed for a sufficient time in the fire, and upon these water was thrown in order to produce a steam. When the patient had been left for a while enveloped by vapor, or until perspiration was profuse, he was taken out and plunged quickly into the icy water of the river. This was frequently repeated two or three times, but though seemingly severe this administration never produced in- jurious effects and in a majority of cases proved highly
efficacious. During the entire time that they were in camp
1048
THE RETURN TRIP BEGUN
Lewis and Clark received the most kindly treatment from the Indians, notwithstanding their store of merchandise had now become so much reduced that they no longer had any articles to barter, except a few guns which they re- served as rewards for guides to the Missouri.
At length the rising river gave to them the glad signs for which the expedition had so long waited, and with their baggage securely packed, they set out with sixty-two horses and two Indian guides for the Great Falls of the Missouri. The snow, however, was still very deep in places, but so firm that the horses could walk without sinking, and on July i they reached Traveler's Rest, where their future operations were planned as follows: Captain Lewis with nine men was to pursue the most direct route to the Falls. At this point three men were to be left to prepare for trans- porting the baggage and canoes across the portage, while with the remaining six he was to ascend Maria's River to explore the country. The rest of the men were to accom- pany Captain Clark to the head waters of Jefferson River, which Sergeant Ordway was to descend for the canoes and other articles that had been deposited there in a cache on the westward journey. Captain Clark's party, which would then be reduced to ten men, was then to proceed to the Yellowstone at the nearest approach to the three forks of the Missouri. He was instructed to build canoes at that point and go down that river with seven of his party
to its mouth and there wait until he should be joined by
1049
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
the others. Sergeant Pryor with two others were then to take the horses and proceed by land to Mandan, whence he was to go to the British posts on the Assiniboine with a letter to Mr. Henry, a trader, asking his efforts to persuade some of the Sioux chiefs to accompany him to Washington City.
With their plans thus adopted, and all preparations com- pleted, on July 3d the expedition separated, with anxious hopes of mutual success, and many expressions of regret at the parting, which constituted a scene affecting for the brotherly solicitude that was manifested. The bond of fellowship and fraternal feeling had been firmly established by nearly two years of hardships and perils shared in com- mon and as the purposes of the expedition had not yet been fully accomplished, the sorrow at separating was greater because privations must still be endured and there would henceforth be lacking the support which union of the whole party had provided.
Captain Lewis with nine men and five Indians followed down Clark's, now called Bitter River, to its junction with Hell Gate River, and thence to Black foot River. Proceeding after a short stop they crossed the Rocky Moun- tains at Lewis and Clark's Pass, and thence to Medicine, or Sun, River, which they followed down to their old camp at White Bear Islands in the Missouri River near Great Falls. At this point the Indian guides left the party, well
1050
THE RETURN TRIP BEGUN
satisfied in being paid for their services by a gift of two guns and some ammunition.
At the Great Falls Captain Lewis divided his party, leaving Sergeant Goss with five men to attend to the port- age, while he with three men proceeded on horses to ex- plore Maria's River and its valley. His route was towards the northwest, across the Tansy, — now called Teton — River to the upper Maria's and thence to the Blackfeet Reservation, a distance of more than one hundred miles. Game of many kinds was abundant, but not a single person was met with. There being no occasion to follow the river further, the head waters of which they had reached, Captain Lewis decided to retrace his steps to Medicine River Fork where it empties into the Cutbank, a branch of the Teton.
On Tuesday, the I5th, while pursuing their route towards the Cutbank, an accident befel McNeal, one of Captain Lewis' men, that came very near culminating in a tragedy. Bears were so plentiful that it was a daily occurrence to meet them, singly and in pairs, in the woods along the streams, and as these animals were generally of the brown species their ferocity made it dangerous for men to attack them, as one shot was almost never fatal, and before time was given to reload the enraged bear would invariably charge. McNeal had been sent in the morning to examine the cache at the lower end of the portage, but on the way, and just as he reached Willow run, he passed through a
thicket in which he suddenly came within ten feet of a large
1051
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
bear. Sight of the animal so frightened his horse that wheeling quickly McNeal was thrown almost immediately under the bear. As the savage creature raised himself to seize his victim McNeal, having no chance to shoot, struck the bear with his gun such a savage blow on the head as to break the stock, and knock the bear down. The interval of respite from what had seemed to promise his inevitable destruction was quickly improved by the hunter who ran with his utmost speed to a near-by willow tree up which he clambered with such agility as to escape the pursuing bear, who however kept a close guard at the foot until late in the afternoon, when he made off. McNeal waited a consider- able time before venturing from his refuge, and then spent the rest of the afternoon looking for his horse, which he finally found two miles from the spot where the adventure had taken place. Commenting on this incident Captain Lewis observes : " These bears are, indeed, of a most ex- traordinary ferocity, and it is a matter of wonder that in all our encounters we have had the good fortune to escape." Upon reaching the confluence of Medicine River and the Teton, Captain Lewis discovered a band of eight Indians, with thirty horses, on an eminence one mile towards his left. This was a most unwelcome sight, for with his horses al- ready jaded he could not hope to escape by flight, as the Indians were resting and were in fresh condition to make pursuit. He therefore advanced and made signs of friendly
intentions, hoping to conciliate any hostile feeling which the
1052
THE RETURN TRIP BEGUN
Indians might have by making them presents, a means which he had employed successfully many times before. Nor did it wholly fail in this instance, for the Indians, who proved to be of the Blackfeet tribe, notorious for perfidy and their propensities to rob, received their visitors with much show of friendliness and decision was made to camp with them during the night. Captain Lewis, however, warned his men to keep a sharp watch and to resist the Indians to the last ex- tremity should any attempt at robbery be made, which he counted upon as being likely. Fortunately the Indians had only two guns among them, and as their number was not in- creased by the arrival of other companions, which he had at first feared, Captain Lewis considered that his force of four men was equal, with their superior arms, to the eight Indians with whom circumstances had brought him in unexpected contact.
A greater part of the night was spent in smoking, nor was any attempt at molestation made until after sunrise, when the Indians insolently crowded around the fire and then stealthily one of them seized two rifles and made off rapidly with the booty. Fields, who was on watch at the time, promptly gave the alarm and set out in quick pursuit. Be- ing very fleet of foot Fields soon overtook the thief and drawing his hunting knife stabbed him to the heart. An- other Indian had seized Drewyer's rifle but it was wrested from him. The noise aroused Captain Lewis who, finding his own rifle gone, drew a pistol from his belt and started to
1053
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
pursue the Indian in whose possession he discovered the missing rifle. Meantime the other Indians were stampeding the horses with the design of catching them afterwards, for being well mounted themselves, while the whites were left afoot, they counted this an easy thing to do. When it was found that nothing else would now avail them except to give the Indians a wholesale punishment, Captain Lewis, who had meantime recovered his rifle, after giving them warning of his intention unless they surrendered his horses, fired at one of the Indians, at a distance of thirty paces, and with an aim so true as to strike him in the belly, from which he soon expired. The other six Indians made their escape with one of Captain Lewis' horses, but in doing so their flight was so precipitate that they left behind four of their own, so that the party was in no wise disadvantaged by the encounter.
Realizing his danger, as he regretted the circumstance that had compelled him to take human life, Captain Lewis lost no time in getting out of the country, as pursuit might be expected from two bands of Indians who were known to be hunting somewhere in the vicinity. So rapid was their retreat that by ten o'clock the next morning they were at the mouth of Teton River, fully one hundred miles from where the fight took place.
Reaching the Missouri River Captain Lewis hastened to the place where he expected to find Goss and his men, but' to his surprise met Sergeant Ordway and party instead, who
1054
THE RETURN TRIP BEGUN
had come down the Missouri from the Three Forks in canoes used by Captain Clark. Soon after, however, Goss appeared, whereupon opening the cache that they had made there more than one year before they loaded their luggage into canoes, at the mouth of Maria's River, and turning their horses loose on the prairie they started down the Mis- souri, passing the mouth of the Yellowstone August /th. Upon reaching the Yellowstone Captain Lewis was dis- appointed by his failure to meet Captain Clark, but as the place was favorable for making necessary repairs to the canoes, the party went into camp, where besides accomplish- ing other duties they made some clothes of deerskin, of which all the men were greatly in need. Here they remained until the loth, when they moved forward to Burnt Hills. At this place a herd of elk was discovered on a sand-bar that was thick with willows, whereupon Captain Lewis and Cruzotte, one of his men, crossed over to attack the game. They each shot an elk, and then reloading again went in pursuit of the herd, but in a few moments Captain Lewis heard the report of a gun and simultaneously felt a sharp stinging sensation in his thigh, followed by a gush of blood. Calling to Cruzotte and receiving no reply the Captain had no doubt that he had been shot by an Indian, and retreated to his canoe. The men were called to arms quickly and ordered to prepare for defense, but investigation soon dis- abused their fears of Indians being in the vicinity and con- clusion was reached that the shot had been fired by Cruzotte,
1055
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
whose eyesight being bad had been mistaken by the color of Captain Lewis' clothes into thinking him an elk. The wound was a very painful one and bled profusely, though for- tunately neither bone nor artery was ruptured, but he was thrown into a high fever, and being unable to stand upon his feet he was taken on the following day to the camp of two Illinois traders, where, a few miles beyond, Captain Clark and his party were found.
1056
DIVISION LV.
Explorations of the Yellowstone.
HAVING followed the fortunes of Captain Lewis and his party upon their expedition to the valley of the Maria River, we turn now to a consideration of the journeying and dis- coveries of Captain Clark, who had set out on July 3d, with fifteen men, including his Indian guides, and fifty horses, to explore the Yellowstone.
The route pursued by Captain Clark was up the Bitter Root River, and the first day's traveling, of thirty miles, brought him to the Nez Perce fork, where the party camped and celebrated the national holiday with a feast of venison and quamish root. Sacajawea was the main dependence of Captain Clark in guiding him through the country, for she had many times traversed it with her people, who still occu- pied the region at certain seasons of the year, when the buffalo resorted to its plains to graze. By the 7th the party had made such good progress that they reached Hot Springs valley, one of the most delightful and fertile spots in the northwest, distinguished as well for the hot springs that are to be found in the plains, from which the water issues at such a high temperature that Captain Clark boiled meat in it to his satisfaction in twenty-five minutes.
1057
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
On the following day, July 8th, Captain Clark's party passed from Shoshone cave to the west branch of Jefferson River, down which they proceeded nine miles to the forks where in the previous August they had cached a quantity of merchandise, the most highly prized of which was to- bacco, for the men had suffered from a deprivation of this luxury until their desire for it was almost madness. Most of the articles were found to be in good condition, except that the dampness, caused by long burial in the earth, had produced a mold offensive to smell and taste.
The canoes taken from the cache were loaded with the baggage and sent down the river with a part of his force, while with the others Captain Clark proceeded overland, on horseback, to the Yellowstone. The country was beautiful and abounded with deer, antelope, bear, beaver, big-horn sheep and otter. The party again formed a junction at the mouth of Gallatin River, where another separation took place, Sergeant Ordway with nine men and six canoes being instructed to descend the Missouri and join Captain Lewis at the mouth of Maria River, while Captain Clark with ten men and Sacajawea would proceed with fifty horses to the Yellowstone.
The journey lay along the river bank for a considerable distance and through a country generally level and amaz- ingly productive. No incident of interest befel the party until the i8th, when Gibson, one of the hunters, in attempt- ing to mount his horse after shooting a deer fell on a snag
1058
EXPLORATIONS OF THE YELLOWSTONE
•which penetrated two inches into the muscular part of his thigh. The wound was so severe and painful that it was necessary to carry him on a litter between two horses, until they could find trees suitable for canoes. Three days later they had the misfortune to lose twenty-four of their horses, that were stolen by a band of Crow Indians who had been hovering on the flank of the party for several days. This loss of half their horses was a special hardship, because severe and continuous traveling had worn the horses' feet so much that they were now scarcely able to carry any bag- gage, while necessity compelled Captain Clark to impose upon the horses that remained twice the burden they had borne before.
On July 24th, canoes were made, in two of which Ser- geant Pryor and three men embarked for Mandan, as al- ready described, while Captain Clark and the remainder of his party continued down the Yellowstone, in a flotilla of canoes until they reached a spot where the town of Livings- ton now stands. The journey was thenceforth one of much delight and few hardships, for the expedition drifted on the rapid current through a country of great diversity, in which the landscape shifted from plain to mountain, and from shelving beaches to beetling bluffs.
On July 25th, Captain Clark landed to make an examina- tion of a remarkable rock that rose abruptly from the bottom land two hundred and fifty paces from the river shore. This
strange formation was found to be a light-colored gritty
1059
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
rock, four hundred paces in circumference, two hundred feet high, with the summit inaccessible except on the north- east. On the sides Indians had carved figures of animals, and other objects, and on the summit two piles of stones were raised by them, but for what purpose it was not possi- ble to ascertain. The prospect from this truly remarkable elevation is thus described by Captain Clark : " From this height the eye ranged over a large extent of variegated country; on the southwest the Rocky Mountains covered with snow ; and at the distance of thirty-five miles, the south- ern extremity of what are called the Little Wolf Mountains. The low grounds of the river extend nearly six miles to the southward, when they rise into plains reaching to the mountains. The north side of the river for some distance is surrounded by jutting cliffs ; these are succeeded by rugged hills, beyond which the plains are again open and extensive ; and the whole country is enlivened by herds of buffaloes, elk, and wolves." To this great rock, which is about ten miles east of the present town of Billings, Montana, Captain Clark gave the name Pompey's Pillar, upon which he cut his name and the date of his visit. On the following day, when they were one hundred and twenty miles below Pom- pey's Pillar, the party reached the Big Horn River, the bank of which Captain Clark ascended on foot a distance of seven miles, and which he found abounding with beaver, and the shores with big-horn sheep.
As the party continued their descent of the Yellowstone
1060
HERD OF BUFFALO CROSSING THE YELLOWSTONE. AND BIG GAME ON THE MISSOURI.
XEWIS and Clark, in their reports to the government, make mention of several instances of their expedition having been obstructed by vast herds of buffalo crossing the route before them. This was a century ago, but as late as 1870 count- less numbers of these animals roamed the plains, as did also elk and antelope, which were particularly numerous along the Yellowstone and Upper Missouri, upon the flesh of which the Indians of those regions largely subsisted. No where else in the world, perhaps, was big game* so plentiful as in certain sections of the west before the white man's invasion converted the virgin plains into farms and cities.
LOWSIAM TERM'
rcYJf, it/*,*: K«fidred paces in cue'. , two hundred
led -V.^rit »ith the summit iijACi^B^feg except on the north- faetst. O» the sides Indians »a4 cfcfv«d figures of animals, in*** r£!s*r objects, and on (he fftflnmit two piles of stones «W!Ns «b»ed by them, but for wfeat purjK as not possi-
. -A cm.-: tble
'AVVK OVA^^S^j^^^j^ ^C
ws v .3 ^ng to the
BDiart J88V x« bsjouiJgdo 11990 jnivfiif ntiiiibsqxs iis v tfc 5)i
bpr, ^ ;./lJ bsmcoi eiflminc s«3riJ laetidmi,
. isqqu one anoiawoilsY an* gnolc tuowmwn ^FicmDi
du» Yl»J?i6l «ft«-.|«M
"135 ill ''K lulhf.- '
IMIK ern -n'tj-iv 9/fl •
' .
party rea- the bank
•ot a distance of seven with beaver, and the -horn sheep.
; their d»- e Yellowstone
EXPLORATIONS OF THE YELLOWSTONE
many objects of interest and of animate nature claimed their attention, so that the trip was an excursion of successive attractions and changeful pleasure. At one place, where the river spread out very broad, they struck some shoals in which a buffalo seemed to be fast in a quicksand and on which account the name Buffalo shoals was given to this part of the river. At another spot where the banks were high a large bear was seen standing upon a cliff as if sur- veying the scene, and at yet another a wolf was perceived meditating upon his surroundings, circumstances that were seized upon to select names for points along the stream.
On August ist progress was retarded by such a multitude of buffaloes that passage of the river was quite obstructed by them, of which Captain Clark writes in his journal as follows : " So great was the number of these animals that although the river, including an island over which they passed, was a mile in width, the herd stretched, as thick as they could swim, completely from one side to the other, and our party was obliged to stop for an hour. Forty-five miles below were two other herds as numerous as the first crossing the river." And again he writes : " Bears which gave us so much trouble on the head waters of the Missouri are equally fierce in this quarter. This morning one of them, which was on a sand-bar as the boats passed, raised himself on his hind feet, and after looking at the party plunged in and swam towards us. He was received with three balls in the body, whereupon he turned round and made for the
1063
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
shore. Towards evening another entered to swim across. Captain Clark ordered the boat towards the shore, and just as the animal landed shot it in the head. It proved to be the largest female we had ever seen, and so old that its tusks were worn smooth. The boats escaped with difficulty be- tween two herds of buffaloes, which were crossing the river and would probably have again detained the .party."
On Tuesday, August 3d, Captain Clark completed his journey of eight hundred and thirty-seven miles down the Yellowstone and landed at its confluence with the Missouri, going into camp at a spot where the expedition had rested April 26, 1805. But the mosquitoes plagued the party so intolerably that with the hope of escaping these pests Captain Clark had the canoes reloaded, and after writing a note ap- prising Captain Lewis of his intention stuck it on a pole at the river's mouth, and proceeded down the Missouri and made another camp on a sand-bar. This move did not give them the relief sought, so the necessities of their sufferings from the mosquitoes compelled the party to continue down the river until the 7th, when a rain and high wind left the air clear and cold and relieved them of their tormentors.
On the following day Sergeant Pryor, accompanied by Shannon, Hall, and Windsor, arrived but without the horses, for, as they reported, soon after leaving Captain Clark a band of Indians had stolen the horses, and diligent pursuit had failed to recover them. Nothing else therefore could
be done than to pack such baggage on their backs as they
1064
EXPLORATIONS OF THE YELLOWSTONE
could carry and pursue their course towards the Yellowstone. On the next night as they lay asleep a wolf bit the hand of Sergeant Pryor severely, and another had attempted to seize Windsor when Shannon was aroused and shot the bold marauder. Reaching the river near Pompey's Pillar they made two skin canoes, such as they had seen in use among' the Mandans and Ricarees, and which Pryor described as follows : " Two sticks of one inch and a quarter in diame- ter are tied together so as to form a round hoop, which serves for the brim, while a second hoop, for the bottom of the boat, is made in the same way, and both secured by sticks of the same size from the sides of the hoops, fastened by thongs at the edges of the hoops and at the interstices of the sticks; over this frame the skin is drawn tightly and tied with thongs, so as to form a perfect basin seven feet and three inches in diameter, sixteen inches deep, and with sixteen ribs or cross-sticks, and capable of carrying six or eight men with their loads."
Being unacquainted with the river, they thought it pru- dent to build two skin-boats thereby to divide their guns and ammunition, so that in case of accident all might not be lost. In these frail vessels they embarked, and were surprised at the perfect security in which they passed through the most difficult shoals and rapids of the river, without once taking in water even during the highest winds.
In passing the confluence of the Yellowstone and Mis- souri, Sergeant Pryor removed the note from the pole, sup-
1065
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
posing that Captain Lewis had passed ; and learning where Captain Clark might be found he pressed on in the skin canoes to join his party.
On August 1 2th, Captain Clark continued to descend the Missouri but an accident to one of the skin canoes com- pelled them to halt to repair the damage. While thus en- gaged they were rejoiced to see Captain Lewis' boats heave in sight about noon, but their joy was turned to grief when they learned of the wounding of Captain Lewis, who was being comfortably transported on a bed in one of the canoes.
The entire expedition being now happily reunited, with Dickson and Hancock, the Illinois traders, added to the party, the trip down the river was renewed until a stop was made at the grand village of the Minnetarees, just below the mouth of the Little Missouri, near where Fort Berthold afterwards stood. Here Captain Clark called a council which was attended by many Indians, whom he sought to persuade to send two or three of their chiefs with him to Washington to meet the great father. The Indians might have been readily induced to make the visit by promises of gifts that Captain Clark had made them had it not been for the fact that the Minnetarees were at war with the Sioux and Ricarees, and they were afraid to venture any of their chiefs within or passing through Sioux territory.
In the evening one of the men, named Coulter, applied to Captain Clark for his release from further service, in
order that he might join Dickson and Hancock in a trap-
1066
SIOL'X HORSE-FACING AND TRADING WITH THE MANDANS.
'TT'HE Sioux natiou has for a hundred years or more been the most war-like of ^ all North American Indians/and their fighting propensities long tested the ;>ower of the government, but though fierce, and nearly always engaged in depre- dations or actual war, as a people they were fond of amusements, and no safer passport among them was needed than a musical instrument. They were also great p-amblers and took special delight in horse-racing on which heavy wager* were laid. The Mandans, who while neighbors of the Sioux, possessed none of their characteristics, for they were peaceful and to an extent -refined, as Lewis and (Mark describes them. They were excelrent traders however, and gave travellers a hearty welcome tP their country, always ready to bargain furs, pottery, beadwork, apd other articles of their manufacture for whatever white? might have toexchange.
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EXPLORATIONS OF THE YELLOWSTONE
ping expedition up the Yellowstone. The offer which he received was an advantageous one, and as the purpose of the expedition was almost accomplished Coulter received his discharge, upon which circumstance Captain Clark com- ments as follows : " We supplied him, as did his comrades also, with powder and lead and a variety of articles which might be useful to him, and he left us the next day. The example of this man shows how easily men may be weaned from the habits of a civilized life to the ruder but scarcely less fascinating manners of the woods. This hunter had now been absent for many years from the frontiers, and might naturally be presumed to have some anxiety, or some curiosity at least, to return to his friends and his country; yet just at the moment when he is approaching the frontiers, he is tempted by a hunting scheme to give up those delight- ful prospects and go back without the least reluctance to the solitude of the woods."
It may be added that Coulter was the man who in 1807 discovered National Park, or rather the country which has since been made the great National Park of the Yellowstone.
After infinite persuasion, and many promises of reward, and particulary by a present of the swivel gun to Chief Borgne, one of the principal chiefs, known as Big White, with his wife and son, agreed to make the trip to Wash- ington. Chaboneau and his wife, Sacajawea, were also ur- gently solicited to accompany Captains Clark and Lewis to
Washington, but he refused all offers to do so, preferring
1069
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
to remain with the Indians, among whom many years of his life had been passed. As he could be of no further use to the expedition Captain Lewis paid him the full sum of his wages, amounting to $500.33, but nothing was given Sacajawea, whose services the bargain with Chaboneau included.
The purpose of their stop with the Minnetarees having been completed, Captain Lewis gave orders to break camp, whereupon there was a great wailing set up by the Indian women, and all the warriors as well exhibited the utmost grief at seeing their chief Big White, with his wife and child, about to leave them, for they made no doubt that he would never return. The parting scene was therefore a sadly affecting one, and continued for some time, though happily without changing Big White's resolution. Finally, all being in readiness for the departure the boats were pushed off shortly after noon, and in the evening of the 1 7th Mandan was reached, where a stoppage was made until the following day.
As the returning expedition proceeded down the river, they met several encampments of Ricaree, or Pawnee, Indians and came also to a large village of Cheyennes, with whom Captain Lewis held friendly councils, at all of which he adjured the Indians to live at peace with one another and so reconciled their differences by gifts and promises that there was always acquiescence in his proposals and pledges to follow his advice.
1070
EXPLORATIONS OF THE YELLOWSTONE
Meeting with no mishaps or detentions the expedition made good progress down the Missouri, the channel of which they found to be much changed since they ascended it one year before. Game continued plentiful, though the approach to civilization was indicated by meeting from day to day traders who were passing up the river in pirogues, or bateaus, laden with merchandise of many kinds to be ex- changed for hides and furs with the Indians.
On September I5th, the party passed the mouth of the Kansas, or Kaw River, which was a favorite rendezvous at the time for Kansas Indians who lay in wait to plunder the boats of traders. Captain Clark noted in his journal that " About one mile below the Kansas we landed to view the situation of a high hill, which has many advantages for a trading house or fort ; while on the north shore we gathered great pawpaws and shot an elk." It may be of interest to
observe that the high hill referred to by Captain Clark is now occupied by the very rich, flourishing, enterprising and important city of Kansas City.
On September 2Oth the party saw some cows grazing on the shore, at sight of which there was great joy, for it be- tokened their quick return to the delights of home, and the following day Captain Lewis, who had by this time quite recovered from his wound, and Captain Clark were given a great welcome by the citizens of St. Charles, who detained them until the following day with receptions and other public
civilities. But it was on the 23d, that upon their arrival at
1071
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
St. Louis these now famous argonauts received ovations such as their heroism and achievements had most worthily deserved. For several months there was almost univer- sal belief throughout the nation that the adventurous ex- plorers had been lost, and to have them return suddenly all in good health and with the purpose for which they set out completely performed brought infinite satisfaction to the whole nation which it was the proud privilege of St. Louis to first celebrate. As the party rounded to in their boats, at noon, they fired a salute from all their guns which quickly brought a large number of people to the shore, who being apprised of their visitors quickly spread the news until every person in the city, which at that time numbered about two thousand souls, flocked around Lewis and Clark to do them homage and to hear reports of their wonderful journeyings of 2555 miles, from the mouth of the Missouri to where the Columbia discharges its waters into the Pacific. The tale is as fascinating as Ulysses might have told, for of adven- tures, thrilling, touching and picturesque there is hardly an end, with savage men, ferocious beasts, and the wildest forces of nature, until we come to regard Lewis and Clark as the boldest of heroes whose names most proudly embel- lish American history.
1072
DIVISION LVI.
Subsequent Career of Lewis and Clark.
EVERY American should be as familiar with the heroic deeds and beneficent accomplishments of Lewis and Clark as they are with the story of Robinson Crusoe. The nar- rative of their travels is not a whit less interesting, while the result of their explorations comprehended the greatness of the west and led to its settlement and rapid development. In effect it added an empire to the nation.
But as we have briefly followed the expedition across the continent, and are now able to draw conclusions as to its mighty consequences, it remains to be told what were the subsequent fortunes of the two hardy explorers, for it is much to be regretted that, worthily great as were Lewis and Clark, comparatively few there are who realize what they did, or who indeed are the least acquainted with the history of their performances. The fact may frankly be stated that the annals of the nation contain surprisingly little concern- ing the Lewis and Clark expedition, notwithstanding in many respects it was one of the most pregnant incidents of national expansion, and government establishment, con- nected with our career as a people. If the reader has a mind to test the truth of this observation, let him examine any his-
1073
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
tory of the United States and note with what elaboration the story of the colonies is recounted, and likewise that of every portion of the country lying east of the Mississippi; then compare the meager attention given by historians to the discovery, exploration and settlement of the great West ! He is certain to be struck with astonishment at the partiality, and wonder why this equally great field has been so slighted, or, rather, that it should have been giver over, apparently, to romances of the Indian story-teller.
As was stated in the first pages of this almost cursory ac- count of the Lewis and Clark expedition, Captain Meri- whether Lewis besides holding a captaincy in the army was President Jefferson's private secretary, a man who not only had a distinguished ancestry, but who had the edu- cational and natural qualifications of a gentleman. These ac- complishments were so marked that not only was he ap- pointed, at his request, to lead the expedition, the success or failure of which was destined to bring public appreciation or denunciation upon Jefferson, but the President subsequently chose to be his biographer, and to give him such meed of praise as his distinguished services deserved.
It is important that the fact be mentioned, since it very clearly indicates the great foresight of President Jefferson, who, standing almost alone in the opinion, perceived the im- portance of territorial expansion to preserve the homogene- ousness, so to speak, of the nation, that directly upon the
close of the Revolution he publicly declared the great west
1074
SUBSEQUENT CAREER OF LEWIS AND CLARK
should be made a part of the national domain. It was with the view to this end, that as early as 1792, when he was Secretary of State, Jefferson proposed to the American Philosophical Society a measure whereby funds should be raised and a competent person engaged to explore the north- west, " ascending the Missouri, crossing Stony (Rocky) Mountains, and descending by the nearest river to the Pacific." At this time Captain Lewis was stationed at Charlottesville, and learning of Mr. Jefferson's proposal solicited the appointment of leader of the expedition. But Mr. Andre Michaux, a professed botanist, offering his ser- vices at the same time was chosen, but was recalled by the French minister when he had reached Kentucky, and the expedition was thereupon abandoned.
" In 1803," as President Jefferson writes, " the act for establishing trading houses with the Indian tribes being about to expire, some modifications of it were recommended to Congress by a confidential message of January i8th, and an extension of its views to the Indians on the Missouri River. In order to prepare the way, the message proposed the sending of an exploring party to trace the Missouri to its source, to cross the Highlands, and to follow the best water communication which offered itself from thence to the Pacific Ocean. Congress approved the proposition, and voted a sum for carrying it into execution. Captain Lewis, who had then been near two years with me as pri- vate secretary, immediately renewed his solicitations to have
1075
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
the direction of the party. I had now opportunities of knowing him intimately. Of courage undaunted; possess- ing a firmness and perseverance of purpose which nothing but impossibilities could divert from its direction; careful as a father of those committed to his charge, yet steady in the maintenance of order and discipline; intimate with the Indian character, customs and principles; habituated to the hunting life; guarded, by exact information of the vege- tables and animals of his own country, against losing time in the description of objects already possessed; honest, dis- interested, liberal, of sound understanding, and a fidelity to truth so scrupulous that whatever he should report would be as certain as if seen by ourselves; with all these qualifica- tions, as if elected and implanted by nature in one body for this express purpose, I could have no hesitation in confiding the enterprise to him."
In April, 1803, President Jefferson sent a draft of his instructions to Captain Lewis, which however were not signed until the 2Oth of June, and meantime the negotia- tions for a transfer by France to the United States of Louisiana territory had been concluded. Though the treaty of transfer was executed in Paris, April 3Oth, official in- formation of the fact did not reach the United States until about July ist.
It was the middle of February, 1807, before Captains Lewis and Clark reached Washington with their Indian
charges and reports. Congress being in session at the time,
1076
SUBSEQUENT CAREER OF LEWIS AND CLARK
the two heroes and their followers were presented to that body and to the President, and in compliance with the Presi- dent's recommendation there was voted immediately a liberal donation of land which they had been encouraged to expect for their services. Soon after this Captain Lewis was appointed Governor of Louisiana, and Captain Clark was made a general of the Louisiana territory militia and agent of the United States for Indian affairs in that de- partment.
Considerable time elapsed before Captain Lewis departed to assume his official duties as governor, and when he reached St. Louis he found the territory distraced by feuds and contentions among the officers of the government, in which respects politics and office-holding is not greatly dif- ferent in our day from what they were then. Governor Lewis, however, without taking sides with either, so adroitly managed as to win the approval of both factions, and his administration, though short, proved highly suc- cessful.
We come now to the last days of this most talented and courageous man, which his distinguished biographer, and friend, President Jefferson, thus sympathetically and sadly describes:
" Governor Lewis had, from early life, been subject to hypochondriac affections. It was a constitutional disposi- tion in all the near branches of the family of his name, and
was more immediately inherited by him from his father.
1077
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
They had not, however, been so strong as to give uneasi- ness to his family. While he lived with me in Washing- ton, I observed at times sensible depressions of mind; but knowing their constitutional source, I estimated their course by what I had seen in the family. During his westward expedition, the constant exertion which that required of all his faculties of body and mind, suspended these distressing affections ; but after his establishment at St. Louis in sedan- tary occupations, they returned upon him with redoubled vigor, and began seriously to alarm his friends. He was in a paroxysm of one of these when his affairs rendered it necessary for him to go to Washington. He proceeded to Chickasaw Bluffs, where he arrived on the sixteenth of September, 1809, with a view of continuing his journey thence by water. Mr. Neely, agent of the United States, with the Chickasaw Indians, arriving there two days after, found him extremely indisposed, and betraying at times some derangement of mind. The rumors of war with England, and apprehensions that he might lose the papers he was bringing on, among which were the vouchers of his public accounts, and the journals and papers of his western expedition, induced him here to change his mind, and to take his course by land through the Chickasaw country. Although he appeared somewhat relieved, Mr. Neely kindly determined to accompany and watch over him. Unfortu- nately, at their encampment, after having passed the Ten- nessee, one day's journey, they lost two horses, which
1078
SUBSEQUENT CAREER OF LEWIS AND CLARK
obliged Mr. Neely to halt for their recovery, while the Governor proceeded, under a promise to wait for him at the bouse of the first white inhabitant on the road. He stopped at the house of a Mr. Grinder, who, not being at home, his wife, alarmed at the symptom of derangement she dis- covered, gave him up the house and retired to rest herself in an out-house, the Governor's and Neely's servants lodg- ing in another. About three o'clock in the night he did the deed which plunged his friends into affliction, and deprived his country of one of her most valued citizens, whose valor and intelligence would have been now employed in aveng- ing the wrongs of his country (the war of 1812-15), and in emulating by land the splendid deeds which have honored her arms on the ocean. It lost, too, to the nation the benefit of receiving from his own hand the narrative now offered them of his sufferings and successes, in endeavoring to ex- tend for them the boundaries of science, and to present to their knowledge that vast and fertile country which their sons are destined to fill with arts, with science, with free- dom and happiness.
" To this melancholy close of the life of one whom posterity will declare not to have lived in vain, I have only to add that all the facts I have stated are either known to myself, or communicated by his family or others, for whose truth I have no hesitation to make myself responsible."
Such above is the tribute which President Jefferson paid
to the life of Meriwether Lewis, and the imperfect account
1079
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
which he gives of the tragedy that ended the distinguished services of what history must perpetuate as the most re- doubtable, sagacious and successful American explorer.
The spot where Captain Lewis killed himself (by shoot- ing) was about seventy miles southwest of Nashville, and remains of the tavern in which the tragedy occurred are still to be seen. Thirty-three years after his death, or in 1843, the Tennessee Legislature formed Lewis county, in honor of Captain Lewis, whose body was buried there, and in 1848, $500 was appropriated to erect a monument over his grave, which is almost in the center of the county. A report was made by the monument committee to the General Assembly of 1849-50, casting doubt on the suicide theory, and ex- pressing belief that Captain Lewis was assassinated. Others have since made investigations that led to the conclusion that Lewis was murdered and robbed by his body servant, but the preponderance of proof still favors the first report of his death, at his own hands, though his servant fled, carrying off Captain Lewis' papers, and was never seen again by any one who knew him.
Amos Stoddard served as governor of the territory of Upper Louisiana from 1804 to 1805, and was succeeded by James Wilkinson, 1805 to 1807, who in turn was succeeded by Meriwether Lewis whose service continued from 1807 to 1813. In the meantime, or in tne year 1812, the name of Upper Louisiana was changed to the Territory of Mis- souri, and the following year, upon the death of Governor
1080
SUBSEQUENT CAREER OF LEWIS AND CLARK
Lewis, President Madison appointed Captain William Clark governor of the new territory. By reappointment Clark continued to serve as governor until 1821, when Missouri was made a State. He offered himself as a candi- date in that year, but was defeated at the State election by Alexander M'Nair, who thereby became the first governor of the State of Missouri.
In 1822, Captain Clark was named by President Monroe to be Superintendent of Indian Affairs, a position he held for sixteen years, or until his death, which occurred Septem- ber i, 1838, at the house of his eldest son, Meri wether Lewis Clark, in St. Louis, aged 68 years. Captain Clark was born in Virginia in 1770, but I have not been able to learn the place. When a lad his parents moved to Louis- ville, and in 1791, he entered the army with his distin- guished brother, General George Rogers Clark, and rose to the place of captain, but his health failed and he was com- pelled to resign in 1796. During this five years of service Lewis was a subordinate under Clark, which comradeship in the army caused Captain Lewis to urge the appointment of Captain Clark as his associate in command of the expedition.
Not much is recorded in history of the men who followed Lewis and Clark. Of Ordway and Pryor we know nothing. Floyd died near Council Bluffs. Patrick Goss succeeded Floyd as sergeant, and besides being a man of
invincible courage kept a journal of the expedition that was
1081
16
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
published in 1807, and is scarcely less interesting and valu- able than the records of his superiors. He died at Wells- burg-, W. Va., at the ripe age of ninety-nine years. John Coulter loved the life of an explorer and trapper so well that he never returned to civilization. He made a trip to the head waters of the Yellowstone, and thence he pene- trated the region now known as the Yellowstone Park, in which he spent some years trading and trapping. It was while thus engaged in this region that he and a single com- panion were attacked by Indians. The story is to the effect that the fight lasted for some hours, when his companion was shot to death, whereupon finding further defense im- possible Coulter retreated, pursued hotly by a large band of savages. He was wounded several times, but managed to reach the cover of a dense forest into which he plunged and finally eluded the Indians. There is another story of the same incident which represents that Coulter was shot down, with his companion, and scalped. Believing him to be dead the Indians left. A few hours afterwards he is said to have revived and found his way to a trapper's cabin, where he was cared for until quite recovered.
The two Fields brothers and Shields were especially commended by Lewis and Clark for their usefulness to the expedition, but history is silent as to their doings after their return. Shannon, who was a Pennsylvanian, and the best educated man in the party, seems to have been largely
1082
SUBSEQUENT CAREER OF LEWIS AND CLARK
relied upon to revise the report of his commander. He re- turned to Pennsylvania and afterwards held the positions of United States Attorney, State Senator, and Circuit Judge. Of the other members of the expedition we know nothing.
1083
DIVISION LVII.
Explorations of Pike and Fremont.
THE Lewis and Clark expedition was the real beginning of effort to determine the character and resources of the great West, and results of that expedition were immediately apparent in a rapidly developing interest and a growing be- lief in the probable productivity, in furs, minerals, and agri- culture, of the vast territory acquired by purchase from France.
The second expedition sent into the territory was a mili- tary one, dispatched in 1805, before the return of Lewis and Clark, with a view to acquainting the Indians and Cana- dian traders of the North with the facts concerning the purchase from France, and inducing them to accept the sovereignty of the United States. This military expedition, for which General James Wilkinson, commanding officer of the army of the United States, was responsible, was placed in charge of Lieutenant Zebulon M. Pike, born in Lamber- ton, New Jersey, 1779, who was instructed to proceed north carrying notification of the purchase treaty to all the people of that section, and to discover if possible the source of the Mississippi. Pursuant to his orders Lieutenant Pike with
twenty men embarked at St. Louis, August 9, 1805, in a
1084
EXPLORATIONS OF PIKE AND FREMONT
keel-boat to ascend the river to its head waters. As the boat was seventy feet long, and well loaded with provisions for a four months journey, the up-river trip was slow and fatiguing, so that it was not until September 22 that the party reached the Falls of St. Anthony.
Lieutenant Pike held a council with a large body of Sioux near the Falls, who received him civilly and ex- pressed themselves as being pleased to transfer their alle- giance to the United States. They also gave Pike such, information as they possessed respecting the source of the Mississippi, which, however, was not considerable, for their hunting grounds extended west, and very few of them ever went north of Mille Lacs. After a short stay at this point Pike made a portage around the Falls and continued his ascent of the river to Leech Lake. Winter coming on the ice prevented use of the keel-boat when he had reached a point about fifty miles above St. Anthony, which compelled him to have recourse to sleds the rest of the way. The cold was so severe, and the route was beset with so many difficul- ties, chief of which was a lack of provisions, that it was not until February that the party came in sight of Leech Lake upon the south shore of which a camp was established and maintained until March i. Meantime Pike met several bands of Indians, with all of whom he held councils and dis- tributed presents, by which pacific means he gained their friendship and confidence, and obtained their assurances of
fidelity to the new government. He also made an examin-
1085
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
ation of the country, from which he concluded that Leech Lake must be the source of the Mississippi, and with this belief he returned to St. Louis, April 30, and so reported.
In July, 1806, Lieutenant Pike was commissioned by General Wilkinson to conduct another exploring expedition, to seek the head waters of the Arkansas, and to visit and make a report on the mountains of what is now Colorado. In obedience to these instructions Pike departed again from St. Louis, with a company of twenty-three men, proceeding by keel-boat up the Missouri as far as the mouth of Osage River, in order to escort fifty-one Osage and Pawnee chiefs, who had been on a visit to Washington, to their villages on the Osage. From this point he left the river and continued his journey overland to a Pawnee village in Kansas, where, however, instead of being kindly received, some hostility was shown by the Indians towards the expedition. This ex- hibition of unfriendliness was due to Spanish influence, which was dominant throughout the West and Southwest, for there was pronounced objection to the act of France in making a transfer of the territory, and in some places threats were made boldly that the Spaniards would never accept or acknowledge United States dominion over the territory.
The Pawnee Indians were in sympathy with the Spanish, having given it, so to speak, in exchange for many presents and the profits of trade that had long been maintained, but
they offered no other opposition to the expedition than a
1086
EXPLORATIONS OF PIKE AND FREMONT
threat to intercept it. Pike disregarded these manifes- tations and continued his journey of exploration, seeking the source of the Arkansas. He halted at a point where Great Bend, Kansas, is now located, and dividing his party sent ten men down the river to examine the country, while with the others he followed the stream as far as the place where Pueblo now stands. This brought him into view of the Rocky Mountains and toward the north he discovered a peak which towered so high above all the others that his adventurous spirit immediately appealed to him to scale its lofty heights. The rare atmosphere of that region renders distances very deceiving to those who are not accustomed to traveling in Colorado. Upon his first view of the moun- tain therefore Pike thought the distance was not more than four or five miles, when in fact it was more than fifty in an air line, and half as much more by the route necessary to travel in order to reach it.
Pike had made a camp on the river, at Pueblo, and on the 24th he set out with three men to climb the mountain, be- lieving it possible to accomplish the feat in one day. They pushed on, astonished to find the mountain apparently re- ceding, and unable to understand why so little exertion should exhaust their strength. Taking few provisions with them, and being scantily clothed, the party suffered greatly, and after three days of fruitless effort to reach the great mountain they returned to their camp on the Arkansas.
Thus was the first attempt to scale Pike's Peak, by which
1087
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
name it has ever since been called, defeated, nor was it until discovery of gold in the vicinity, 1858, that its summit was reached by a white man, George F. Ruxton having that honor.
Breaking camp at Pueblo, Pike continued his explora- tions, through the Grand Canon of the Arkansas, and thence up Oil Creek to South Park, the most magnificent scenic cection of Colorado, where he made a camp and spent some time examining the country. He found game of many kinds in great abundance including a few animals, such as moun- tain lions and grizzly bears, with which no one of his party desired to come in contact. It was here, however, that moun- tain goats were found particularly numerous, the only region in North America where the few survivors of this once plentiful animals are now to be found.
Leaving South Park, Pike continued westward, following the South Platte for a while, until he reached the head- waters of the Arkansas, near where Leadville now stands, and then descended it for nearly fifty miles, where he went into camp, for the weather continued very cold and snow was so deep as to render traveling extremely difficult.
Having discovered the source of the Arkansas, Pike set about the undertaking, even though it was now midwinter, of seeking the rise of Red River, it being desirable to ascer- tain the sources of these two streams in order to fix the western boundary of Louisiana territory, as elsewhere ex- plained. The weather somewhat moderating, and con-
1088
EXPLORATIONS OF PIKE AND FREMONT
ditions in camp being almost intolerable, by reason of a great and growing scarcity of food, Pike set out, on Janu- uary 14, 1807, up Grape Creek and through Wet Mountain Valley, thence over the Sangre de Cristo Range into San Luis Valley. In performing this journey the hardships of the party were terrible, for their feet were frost-bitten, and life was barely sustained by the little food that was left them, for game was no longer to be found.
Reaching the Rio Grande del Norte a descent of that stream was made to the junction of the Rio Conajos on January 3ist, where another camp was made and a stock- ade was built, for the party was now in Spanish territory. While encamped here Pike received an invitation from the Spanish Governor to visit him in Santa Fe which he accepted without suspicion of any ulterior design upon the part of that official. It developed very soon, however, that the Governor's purpose was to lure him well within the lines of Spanish dominion, for he was taken prisoner, without any explanations being vouchsafed to his importunities, and after being led about from one post to another through New Mexico and Texas, at length he was delivered to the United States garrison at Natchitoches, Louisiana, July i.
A mystery which has never been unraveled surrounds this transaction. Though held as prisoners, Pike and his small party were treated with many courtesies, as though an understanding might have existed between General
Wilkinson and the Spanish Governor. Many have main-
1089
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
tained that Wilkinson was a party to Burr's plotting to found an empire in the Southwest, or Mexico, and that his object in sending Pike to explore the sources of the Arkansas and Red River was to acquire information, not so much concerning the country as to ascertain the feeling of the Spaniards living in the Southwest towards Burr's ambition, which had become well known. It is also asserted that Spanish influence had been courted by Wilkinson by the proffer of a large sum of money to the Spanish Gov- ernor as a consideration for his support of Burr's enterprise.
These assumptions were subsequently made the subject of court-martial proceedings against Wilkinson, who was charged with being a confederate of Burr, but Wilkinson was acquitted and restored to command of the army. Sus- picion of Pike's complicity with the conspiracy was never entertained, however, and the results of his expedition served to distinguish him as one of the boldest and most sagacious explorers that have penetrated the West. He was rapidly promoted, to a brigadier-generalship, and in the war of 1812 he led the attack on York, Upper Canada, and was killed by an explosion of a magazine within the captured fortifica- tions.
The explorations of Colonel John C. Fremont were far removed, in point of time, at least, from those of Pike, and yet though undertaken thirty-five years later, in a sense they represent a continuation of the efforts of Pike to ac- quire geographic and topographic information respecting
1090
EXPLORATIONS OF PIKE AND FREMONT
the mountain country that was regarded, indefinitely, as the western boundary of Louisiana Territory.
Fremont was born in Norfolk, Virginia, 1813, and was educated for the navy, receiving his degrees in 1835 and soon after became professor of mathematics in that branch of the service, and was assigned to the training ship Inde- pendence. Leaving the navy he joined the U. S. corps of topographical engineers and was engaged for a while in the government survey of the Mississippi, during which time he married Senator Benton's daughter. His service in sur- veying the Mississippi and Des Moines rivers created in him a strong love of frontier life and an ambition to explore the unknown regions of the far West. This desire was grati- fied by a commission appointing him a second lieutenant, and receipt of instructions from President Van Buren order- ing him to make an exploration of the Rocky Mountains, and to find, if possible, a practicable route through that great continental range.
Lieutenant Fremont with a force of eighty men outfitted at St. Louis for the trip, upon which he departed in the spring of 1842, and passing directly west, over the plains of what is now the great State of Kansas, he struck the South Platte River near the spot where the large and enter- prising city of Denver was a few years later (1858) located. He conducted his expedition into South Park, and kept along the east side of the Rocky Mountains until he reached a point in North Park, where a passage-way was discovered
1091
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
through the range at what was thereafter, for several years, called Fremont's Pass, but which is known now as South Pass, a name by no means appropriate for it is not the most southerly pass through the Rockies, and the change robs its discoverer of a credit which the nation should take a pride in perpetuating.
Fremont extended his explorations north to the Wind River country, Wyoming, where the Shoshones have their reservation, and it is probable that he advanced a distance into Yellowstone Park. He also ascended to the summit of the loftiest mountain of the Wind River Range (13,750 feet) which has ever since borne the designation of Fre- mont's Peak.
Having gathered much information concerning the geog- raphy and character of the West as far as the Rocky Mountains, thereby fulfilling all his instructions, Fremont returned and submitted a report of his discoveries, which was laid before Congress and attracted very great attention throughout the United States and Europe.
The success of his expedition, and especially the large interest which it aroused, prompted Fremont to plan another without delay, his second purpose being to explore the country between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific. The journey thus projected was into a land that lay wholly outside the Louisiana Territory, but being contiguous it has a connected interest, since to Fremont the credit must be
given of finding a way to the Pacific which in some respects
1092
A MISSOU'PJ PIONEER'S HOUSE.
E first settlements formed in Missouri were along the main rivers, in the valleys where the land was richest and where a means of reaching St. Louis was furnished by the current. The picture herewith is that of a typical bouse of a Missouri pioneer, built substantially of logs and covered with clapboards, be- cause neither lumber nor shingles were obtainable in such remote sections fifty years ago. Houses of this character may occasionally still be seen in the country districts of Missouri, which have survived and continue to be habitable even a century after they were built.
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EXPLORATIONS OF PIKE AND FREMONT
is more valuable to commerce than that discovered by Lewis and Clark, for it led to a more rapid development of Louis- iana Territory.
Fremont started on his second expedition in May, 1843, and from Independence, Missouri, he followed the Kaw or Kansas River to the junction of the Republican and Solomon rivers. He found these streams so low that no attempt was made to ascend them, but kept on the trail west, as he had done the year before. At this time the country was full of game and Indians, pursuit of the former fur- nishing as much excitement as flight from the latter, but Fremont's party was large and well armed, and had small reason to fear attacks, especially as he was careful to give no offense to the Indians.
In his second expedition Fremont crossed the Rockies at the Pass he had discovered in 1842, and on September 6th he came in sight of Great Salt Lake, of which, though it had been seen by earlier explorers, no reliable knowledge ex- isted as to its real extent and character. Fremont crossed the lake and thence traveled northward to the head-waters of the Columbia, suffering almost insupportable privations and hardships on the way, for the country was extremely mountainous, the snows deep, and the thermometer usually away below zero, and the region was never before traversed by a white man. When at length he reached the Columbia his situation became deplorable in the extreme, for his pro- visions were almost exhausted, game was not to be found,
1095
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
and his Indian guides deserted. In this extremity he did not waste time in repining, but with the courage of despera- tion he broke camp and determined if possible to make his way to San Francisco though without guides, a bold resolu- tion which he accomplished in forty days, reaching Sutter's Fort on the Sacramento March, 1844, but both he and his men were so much reduced by their sufferings as to appear more like mummies than like live men.
For his valuable services in exploring so large a part of the West, Fremont was promoted to be a captain upon his return to the United States in January, 1845, an^ m tne spring of the same year he set out upon a third expedition to explore Great Salt Lake basin and the coast of California. Having accomplished the former he pushed on to California, where he arrived in time to take part in the troubles which followed a declaration of war (1846) against Mexico. Fremont organized the settlers of North California and led them against the Mexicans of that section who were soon expelled. His activity in the war continued and he cooperated effectively with Commodore Stockton in com- pleting the conquest of California, but he fell under the displeasure of General Kearney, and was court-martialed by that officer upon a charge of disobedience. The sen- tence, however, was directly set aside, and when he again returned to the United States, in 1847, it was as a popular idol.
Fremont led two other expeditions across the Continent,
1096
EXPLORATIONS OF PIKE AND FREMONT
viz., 1848, 1853-1854, in which he discovered new routes across the Rockies, and contributed greatly to the geographic knowledge of the far West, so that he came to be called the " Pathfinder." So famous and popular did he become, that in 1856 he was made the Republican party's candidate for the Presidency, but was defeated. In 1861 he was placed in command at St. Louis but was removed for issu- ing an emancipation proclamation. In 1878 he was ap- pointed Governor of Arizona. His death occurred in 1890. Besides the explorers whose expeditions have been thus briefly described there were many others, unofficial, who- crossed the continent in prosecuting their business as fur- traders or with other commercial objects in view. Among this number entitled to mention, at least, were the following : John D. Hunter, 1821 ; Wilson Price Hunt, who made the trip from St. Louis to Astoria in 1811; General William H. Ashley, 1824 and 1825; Nathaniel J. Wyeth, in 1832;: George Catlin the same year; Maximilian, Prince of Wied,. 1833; Captain Bonneville, U. S. A., 1832 to 1835, who was the first man to drive a wagon through South Pass. But there is a literature dealing with individual expeditions and adventure of almost boundless extent and almost corre- sponding fiction.
1097
DIVISION LVIII.
The Missionary Labors of Father De Smet.
THE explorations which we have followed in the preced- ing divisions relate almost wholly to expeditions which were under the direction of the governments of Spain, France and the United States, and therefore represent the steps of civic development of the great West. But while these brought about reclamation and settlement of the trans-Mis- sissippi country, there is coincidently another force, strictly moral and religious, that was being put forth to reclaim the savage hordes that held priority in that vast region, and to the influence of missionary labors must be credited very largely the honor and glory of having brought the peace and prosperity of Christianity which must precede permanent settlement and the fruitage of tranquillity, content and do- mestic happiness.
High among the names on the roll of honor as advance agents of civilization, who have braved the dangers of foe and forest in the northwest must be written those of the Christian fathers of the Catholic church, as well also the missionaries of other denominations, those gentle civilizers who went, not for ambition, or gain, or adventure, but to
carry the message of peace to savage tribes, their only
'1098
MISSIONARY LABORS OF DE SMET
weapon the cross, and their only armor a love for humanity. Gentle, tolerant and kind they met with gentleness, toler- ance and kindness among the Indians whose character spelled murder, rapine and revenge to all who were not as pure in heart as Sir Galahad. It is well to have their testi- mony, for without it they would have no defense and the old aphorism " the only good Indian is a dead Indian " would never have been refuted. Father De Smet was one of " those quiet teachers who worked to heaven's own ends," and was a splendid example of the self-sacrificing Jesuit missionaries who, when every white pioneer was prepared to treat the aborigines as a mortal enemy, spent his life in an endeavor to instil the gospel of love and brotherliness into the hearts of the savages.
Peter John De Smet was born in Dendermond, Belgium, in 1 80 1. In company with five other students he sailed for America in 1821, and went direct to the Florissant Missions, near St. Louis, where he completed his education. He was one of the founders of the University of St. Louis, and was a professor in that institution from 1828 to 1838, in which latter year he became a missionary among the Pota- watamies and afterwards a very zealous and successful one among the Flatheads and other tribes of the Northwest. In a series of what he calles " Rocky Mountain Letters " he tells of his work mong the Indians in the Oregon country. " The Indians," he writes, " are in general carelessly judged and little known in the civilized world; people will form
1 099
16
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
their opinions from what they see among Indians of the frontier, where fire-water and all the degrading vices of the whites have caused the greatest havoc ; the farther one pene- trates into the forest the better he finds the aborigines, illus- trating the poet's sentiment that " while the ocean in the in- most depths is pure, yet the salt fringe which licks the shore is foul with sand." So stirred was De Smet with mission- ary zeal that he went to Belguim for help in 1844, returning to Oregon after an eight months voyage around the Horn with four priests and six religious ladies of Notre Dame of Namur, who aided him in his subsequent labors among the American Indians. He gives a graphic description of the danger they encountered in crossing the dreaded bar off the mouth of the Columbia. The captain of their vessel, The Indefatigable, had no chart, and taking the wrong channel soon found his vessel was in very shallow water, having only two and a half feet under the keel. The hearts of all on board sank with despair, with shipwreck staring them in the face, when unexpectedly they fell into deeper sound- ings; the bar was crossed — miraculously as they believed — effecting a landing at Fort George, or Astoria. They were received with great demonstrations of joy by the few whites who were there and taken in Hudson Bay Company's boats to the settlement of Willamette. Here the sisters opened a boarding Academy for girls, in a house which was being prepared for them, but which as yet had neither doors nor sashes. Owing to the scarcity of mechanics some of the
IIOO
MISSIONARY LABORS OF DE SMET
good Sisters set to work themselves handling the plane, glazing, painting windows and doors, etc., until by zeal and heroic effort they completed the building and soon had fifty boarders.
The grandeur of the scenery turned the gentle-hearted priest into a poet, and many are the beautiful descriptions interspersed in his faithful chronicles of converts made among the Flatheads, Assiniboins, Pend d'Oreilles, Cceurs d'Alenes, and other tribes of the far northwest. At one time he regards an illness with which he was visited as sent upon him in punishment for the too natural pleasure he felt in contemplating the beautiful scenery by which he wa3 surrounded. He describes the peaks of the Cascade Moun- tains, several of which rise sixteen thousand feet above the level of the sea. " From one single spot," he says, " I con- templated seven of these majestic summits whose dazzling white and conic form resembles a sugar loaf." It is esti- mated that Father De Smet in the course of his labors trav- eled five times the circumference of the globe, building schools translating prayers into the Indian language, teach- ing agriculture, and in other ways creating bonds of sym- pathy between the races. When he went to establish new stations he always carried with him simple implements of agriculture, and he gives many instances of having in- fluenced wandering tribes to abandon their itinerant lives and build permanent abodes.
The Indians of Oregon, as the entire northwest country
HOT
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
was then called, subsisted on game and fish, but when these were exhausted they lived on roots, grain, berries and fruits, such as blackberries, mountain cherries and service berries. The camash root was a very important edible with them; Indian women laboriously dug it up by means of long crooked sticks, and when a certain quantity was thus obtained they excavated a trench and covered the bottom with a closely cemented pavement, which they heated with live coals; upon these was placed a layer of wet hay, then a layer of camash roots successively, until the trench was filled. The whole was then protected by a layer of bark on the bed thus formed whereupon the Indians having thus prepared for the baking, they built a fire which was overlaid with earth and was kept burning for fifty-six and sometimes for seventy hours. By this process of cooking the camash acquired a consistency equal to that of thick paste. It was then made into loaves or boiled with meat and made a very palatable dish.
The Arcs-a-plats tribe of Flatheads De Smet found to be extremely improvident, changing from the greatest abundance to extremest scarcity. They feasted one day and passed the next in total abstinence. Once a year they celebrated the grand fish festival. Only the men had the privilege of assisting at this function. Around a fire fifty feet long, partially overlaid with stones the size of a tur- key's egg, eighty men ranged themselves; each man was provided with an ozier vessel cemented with gum and
1 102
MISSIONARY LABORS OF DE SMET
filled with water and fish. All preparations being com- pleted and each man at his post, the chief, after a short harangue of encouragement to his people, finished by a prayer of supplication to the " Great Spirit," whom he petitioned for an abundant draught. Having performed this preliminary the chief gave the signal to commence, and each one, armed with two sticks flattened at the ends made use of them instead of tongs to draw the stones from the fire, and put them in a large kettle. This process was twice gone through with, and in five minutes the fish were cooked. The party now squatted around the kettle in the most profound silence to enjoy the repast, trembling lest a bone be disjointed or broken, an indis- pensable condition to insure a large catch. Should a sin- gle bone be broken it would be regarded as a bad omen, and the unlucky culprit would be banished from the feast lest his presence should entail some dreadful evil.
Agriculture was found to be wholly unknown to many of the tribes whom De Smet reports were living almost entirely by hunting and fishing. The hunters, among the Assiniboins, set out in the morning, kill all the game they can find and suspend it to trees as they pass along. Their poor wives, often bearing two children on their backs, tardily follow their husbands and collect what game has been killed and carry it, however great the distance, to their lodges. On the subject of the cuisine a la sau- vage the good father describes a certain dish which is
1103
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
considered by Indian epicures as a great delicacy. They first grease their hands and then collect in them the blood of some animal, which is transferred to a kettle half- filled with boiling water. Into this mixture of blood and water a quantity of fat and hashed meat is placed, the latter being prepared by a dozen old women who use only their teeth for the purpose. This mincing the meat requires much time and patience, as mouthful after mouthful is slowly masticated and conveyed to the cauldron to com- pose the choice ragout of the Rocky Mountain Indians, another evidence that the Indian wife is the industrious member of the family. They add to this piece de resis- tance, by way of a dessert, an immense dish of crusts, com- posed of pulverized ants, grasshoppers, and locusts, that have dried in the sun. Cleanliness is by no means an Indian virtue, and it must certainly have been a diffi- cult matter not to have shown a natural disgust when in- vited to partake of their hospitality. De Smet relates how an old woman whose face was anointed with blood- (the Indian's mourning weeds) presented him with a wooden platter filled with soup, and observing with a care- ful hostess' concern for her guest that the horn spoon she had given him was dirty and covered with grease, she had the complaisance to apply it to the broadside of her tongue before putting it into his broth.
Cannibalism was not unknown among the Indians in time of great famine. One of the chiefs of the Assini-
1104
MISSIONARY LABORS OF DE SMET
boins told the " black gown " that one of his nation having been reduced to starvation had eaten successively his wife and four children. As an offset to this story another missionary relates that at Akena, one of the Gam- bia isles, he had seen an old woman who having had eight husbands had eaten three of them during a famine plague. The Cree nation was considered a very powerful one, numbering more than six hundred wigwams, and were for- midable enemies of the Blackfeet, a tribe noted for its cruelty and rapacity, against whom they were meditating a raid at the time of De Smet's visit. As a preparation for the foray they resorted to every kind of jugglery and witchcraft to in- sure the success of their expedition before setting out. The woodcraft of the Indian is proverbial, and being an instinct they are seldom confused as to direction, but in the present instance the Crees decided superstitiously to blindfold a young girl and trust her to serve them as a guide, for she was so invested as to excite their belief that she would be directed by the Manitou of war. In case the expedition succeeded she was destined to become the bride of the bravest warrior leading the attack. The blinded girl led them a wild march, now east, now west, north or south, it mattered not to the superstitious followers, but after two days of this vain marching they finally were discovered by a party of seven Blackfeet who prepared an ambush, from which they attacked eight hundred Crees, in which seven
1105
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
were killed and fifteen wounded. The arrows of the Black- feet having been expended they were at the mercy of the Crees, who cut them to pieces. But their own losses filled them with consternation and they removed the bandage from their young leader's eyes and having decided that the Manitou of war was unpropitious they hastily dispersed, taking the nearest road back to their villages.
The Crees were the only nation that had the custom of staining the faces of their warriors who had fallen in com- bat, clothing them in their richest ornaments and exposing them in places where they might easily be found by their enemies and cut to pieces, an opportunity which an enemy never suffered to neglect, but which a Cree warrior consid- ered a most fitting end. Other nations carried away and hid their dead, considering it a dishonor to be mutilated after death.
Indian legends and traditions bear a strong resemblance to the mythologies of more ancient and highly civilized races, which argues a common origin. The good father relates them as they were told to him, with Indian imagery and dignity, some of which embrace the following :
In the country of the Blackfeet there are two lakes, one called the lake of man, the other the lake of women. From the first of these issued a band of young men, handsome and vigorous, but poor and naked. From the second emerged an equal number of young women, industrious and
ingenious and who made themselves clothing. They lived
1106
MISSIONARY LABORS OF DE SMET
a long time separate and unknown to each other, until the great Manitou, Wizakeschak, visited them. This good chief taught the young men to slay animals in the chase and conducted them to the dwellings of the young women, who received their guests with many manifestations of pleasure. Each young woman selected a guest, before whom she set a dish of seeds and roots, but not to be outdone in the matter of entertainment the men arose and sought the chase, returning soon with an abundance of game which they cooked and set before the women, who feasted upon the meat, the while admiring the strength and skill of the hunters. The men were equally delighted with the industry and ornaments of the women. Both sexes began to think they were necessary to each other, whereupon Wizakeschak presided at the nuptials, at which it was agreed that the men should become the protectors of the women and pro- vide the necessaries for their support, whilst all other family cares and labors should devolve upon the weaker sex. The Blackfeet women, after " the eternally feminine " habit, bitterly complained of the astonishing folly of their mothers in accepting such a proposition, declaring if it were to be done over they would know much better how to arrange it.
The Pottawatamies, who dwelt where Omaha and Council Bluffs now stand, had a pretty legend, handed down from their remote ancestors, which runs thus :
There are two Great Spirits who are constantly at war with each other. One is called Kchemnito, the Spirit of
1107
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
Good, and the other Mchemnito, the Spirit of Evil. Some believed the two to be equally powerful, and through fear of the wicked spirit a few Indians offer to him their honor and adoration, whilst others, doubtful which is the more puissant, endeavor to propitiate both. The greater part, however, believe Kchemnito is the first principle, the first great cause, to whom alone is due all worship and Mchemnito should be despised and rejected.
Kchemnito at first created a world which he filled with a race of beings having nothing but the appearance of men — " perverse, ungrateful, wicked dogs " — who never raised their eyes in prayer to the Great Spirit. Such ingratitude aroused him to anger and he plunged the world into a great lake whereby all the people were drowned. His anger thus appeased, he created anew a beautiful young man, who, however, appeared very sad and dissatisfied with his solitary condition. Kchemnito thereupon pitied his condition and gave him, during sleep, a sister as a companion to cheer his loneliness. When he awoke he rejoiced exceedingly and the two lived together for many years in a state of innocence and perfect harmony. At length, however, the young man had a dream, which he communicated to his sister. " Five young men," said he, " will come this night and rap at the door of the lodge. The Great Spirit forbids you to laugh, to look at them, or give an answer to any of the first four, but laugh, look and speak when the fifth presents himself.
She acted according to his advice, and when the first four
1108
MISSIONARY LABORS OF DE SMET
came she gave them no recognition, but when she heard the voice of the fifth she opened the door to him and laughed, spoke, and welcomed him; whereupon he entered imme- diately and became her husband. The first of the five strangers, called Sama (tobacco), having had no answer, died of grief; the three others, Wapekone (pumpkin), Esh- ketamok (watermelon), and Kojees (the bean), shared the same fate. Taaman (corn), the bridegroom, buried his four companions, and from their graves there sprung up shortly after pumpkins, watermelons, beans and tobacco. From this union between Taaman and the woman are de- scended the American Indian nations. In these legends we perceive many traces, though much obscured, of the tradi- tions of the deluge, of the Creation, of God and the Devil, Adam and Eve.
Another legend of the Pottawatamies is an echo of the Norse and Egyptian mythology: A great Manitou came on earth and chose a wife from the daughters of men, who bore him four sons at a birth. Nanaboojoo, the first born, was a friend of the human race and a mediator between man and the Great Spirit. The second was Chipeapoos, the man of the dead, who presides over departed souls. The third was Wabossa, who was changed to a white rabbit ; he fled to the north and was there considered a great Manitou. The fourth was Chakekenapok, the man of flint or fire-stone. His mother died in giving him birth.
Nanaboojoo, having arrived at the age of manhood, re- nog
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
solved to avenge the death of his mother, for among the Indians revenge was considered honorable; he pursued Chakekenapok all over the globe. Whenever he came within reach of him he fractured some member of his body, and finally destroyed him by tearing out his entrails. Each fragment of the body of this stone man became a large rock, his entrails were changed into vines of every species, and the flint stones indicate where the combats between the two took place.
Nanaboojoo taught the art of making weapons, hatchets, lances, and arrowheads. He was the intercessor with the Great Spirit; the Manitous who dwell in the air taught him the art of medicine, which mysteries, by order of the Great Spirit, he confided to the sons of men. He left the care of roots and herbs, which are endowed with the virtue of curing maladies, to Mesakkumnikokwi, the great-grand- mother of the human race, and in order that she be not in- voked in vain it was strictly enjoined on the old woman never to quit the dwelling. For this reason when an In- dian makes a collection of roots and herbs for medicines he deposits at the same time on the earth a small offering to Mesakkumnikokwi.
Among his many beneficent deeds Nanaboojoo placed four spirits at the four cardinal points of the earth, for the purpose of contributing to the happiness of mankind. That of the North produces ice and snow, in order to aid in dis- covering and following wild animals. That of the South
mo
MISSIONARY LABORS OF DE SMET
causes the pumpkins, melons, maize and tobacco to grow. The spirit of the West gave rain ; that of the East gave light and commands the sun to make his daily walks around the globe. The thunder was to the Indian mind the voice of spirits having the form of large birds, which Nanaboojoo had placed in the clouds. When the cry of these birds was very loud the Indians burnt tobacco as smoke offering to appease them.
Nanaboojoo still lives, resting himself after his labors upon a cake of ice in a great lake, where many Indians fear one day the whites will discover and drive him off; then the end of the world is at hand, for as soon as this god puts foot on the earth the world will take fire and not a soul shall escape the flames.
The Indians of the Northwest perpetuate these fables in nearly all their songs. They also believe that the souls of the dead, in their journey to the great prairie of their ances- tors, pass a rapid current, over which the only bridge is a single tree, kept constantly in violent agitation, but managed in such a way that the souls of perfect men cross in safety, whilst those of the wicked slip off into the water and are lost forever.
The Pawnees had nearly the same ideas concerning the universal deluge as those of the Pottawatamies. In rela- tion to the soul they believed that it resembles the body in form, but is the dual, inextinguishable part, which detaches
itself when the breath expires. If a man has been good
i in
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
during his life, kind to his parents, a good hunter, a brave warrior, his soul, or simulacrum, is transported into a land of delights and abundance. If on the contrary he has been wicked, hard-hearted, cruel and cowardly, his soul passes through narrow straits, difficult and dangerous, into a country full of confusion and unhappiness.
In their religious ceremonies they sang and danced before a bird stuffed with all kinds of roots and herbs used in their practise of medicine and incantations. They have a tra- dition that the morning star sent this bird to their ancestors, with orders to invoke it on all important occasions. Before the invocations they filled the calumet with a sacred herb contained in the bird, puffed out the smoke toward the star, and invoked its aid for success in hunting or in war, and to petition for snow, in order to make the buffalo descend from the mountains, or to appease the Great Spirit when calamity befel the nation. De Smet believed that the Paw- nees were one of the few aboriginal tribes, descended from the ancient Mexicans, from whom was borrowed the cus- tom of human sacrifices. They justified it by saying that the morning star, by means of the bird, taught them that such sacrifices were agreeable to it, and would bring down upon their nation the favor of the " Great Deliberator," another name for the Great Spirit. So when a Pawnee took a vic- tim he dedicated it to the morning star, but at the time of the sacrifice he turned the prisoner over to the hands of the jugglers and medicine men for execution. An eye-witness to
III2
MISSIONARY LABORS OF DE SMET
one of these sacrifices related to De Smet in detail the mar- trydom of a young Sioux girl named Dakotha, fifteen years old, who had been taken prisoner by the Pawnees six months before. During the time of her captivity she was treated as a highly favored visitor, receiving every mark of regard that savages are capable of bestowing. She was the guest of honor at all the fetes and festivals of the village, for it was the Pawnee custom to conceal their horrible de- sign from their victims. The month of April, being the season for planting, was the one selected for the sacrifice, as according to their belief a human offering was rewarded by the " Great Deliberator " with an abundant harvest. After all their grotesque dances, their cries, chants and vocifera- tions, preceded by ten musicians who made the most ex- cruciating music, the savages went to present the calumet to the buffalo heads placed on the tops of the lodges of the vil- lage, which were preserved as trophies of their skill in the chase. At each puff the multitude raised a furious cry, the whole village joining in the procession. They stopped be- fore the lodge of the Sioux god and made the air resound with horrible imprecations against their enemies and the unfortunate victim who represented them. From this mo- ment the girl was carefully guarded and beguiled from the slightest suspicion that she was to be the victim of the com- ing sacrifice. They told her a great feast was to be pre- pared in her honor, and they fed her well that she might be more acceptable to the " master of life." The second day of
1113
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
the ceremonies two old female savages, who with pipes in their mouths, ornamented with scalps their husbands had taken from their enemies, passed through the village, danc- ing meantime around each akkaro, solemnly announcing that " the Sioux girl has been given to the master of life by wise and just men, that the offering was acceptable to him, and that each one should prepare to celebrate the day with festivity and mirth."
About ten o'clock the morning of the third day all of the young women and girls, armed with hatchets, repaired to the lodge of their victim and invited her to go into the forest with them to cut wood. She unsuspectingly accepted the in- vitation ; a tree was selected by one of the old squaws for her to cut down. Unconscious that the tree was to supply the wood for her own sacrifice the poor child worked away as though a great honor had been reserved for her until the tree was felled, which being cut up into sticks was carried to the village, the others giving her very little assistance. On the morning of the fourth day a savage visited all the lodges to announce that each family, in the name of the Master of Life, must furnish two billets of wood about three feet long for the sacrifice." Then thirty warriors, decked in all sorts of ornaments, their heads adorned with deer and buffalo horns, presented themselves at the hut of their captive, who had been prepared for their coming by being arrayed in the choicest finery known to Indian taste. She was delighted
that the time of the great feast had come, for she had been
1114
MISSIONARY LABORS OF DE SMET
made to believe that she would be the honored guest. At the first cry of the Indians appointed to be her executioners the poor child came out and placed herself at their head. The warriors followed in single file. They entered succes- sively into all the huts, where the utmost silence reigned. The Sioux girl walked around the fireplace followed by the warriors, and upon leaving the principal squaw gave her two billets of wood which she in turn presented to two of the sav- ages. The refinement of cruelty was attained in causing her to collect the wood for her own cremation. After gathering the sticks she took her place in the rear of the band. On the fifth day an aide-de-camp of the chief of sacrifice went about the village announcing the necessity of preparing the red and black paint. After the colors had been collected with many ceremonies the men and women, boys and girls, painted and decked themselves with whatever they possessed that seemed valuable to their savage fancy, and thus equipped they lis- tened attentively for the signal for the sacrifice. To shorten a long and painful story, the young girl was conducted by a band of warriors to the fatal spot. She was still unsuspect- ing and happy, but when she saw no evidence of a feast, only a solitary fire and the three posts which she herself had car- ried from the forest, an awful presentiment flashed across her mind. There were none of her own sex present. She wept and implored them not to kill her, but while trying to calm her fears they compelled her to mount the three posts where
she was secured with cords, thus no longer concealing their
1115
17
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
intentions. She wept and prayed, but her cries and supplica- tions were drowned in the melee, while in a furious and tri- umphant manner they danced and exulted around her, and divested her of all her ornaments and dress, after which the chief of sacrifice advanced and having first painted half her body black and half red, he scorched her arm-pits and sides with a pine-knot torch. After these preparatory rites, amid the screams of the tortured girl the chief gave the signal for the entire tribe to participate, who came rushing to the spot, filling the air with their horrible cries. In the twinkling of an eye their bows were bent and their arrows adjusted. The arrow of the chief of sacrifice was the only one barbed with iron. It was his province to pierce the heart of the victim. For a moment a profound silence reigned; no sound broke the stillness but the moans and sobs of the girl, who hung trembling in the air, while the chief of sacrifice made a last offering of her to the Master of the Universe. Then his arrow sped to her heart, and upon the instant a thousand arrows quivered in the body of the hapless child, until the body was as full of arrows as are the quills upon a porcupine. While the howling and dancing continued the great chief of the nation mounted the post and plucked out the arrows which he threw into the fire, all except the iron barbed one which he reserved for future sacrifices. He then collected the blood from the mangled flesh to saturate maize and other seeds which stood around in baskets ready to be
planted. As a last rite the chief plucked out the still palpi-
1116
MISSIONARY LABORS OF DE SMET
taling heart and ate it while uttering the fiercest impreca- tions against his enemies. The sacrifice was completed and the satisfied savages spent the remainder of the day in feast- ing. The example of fanatical cruelty called for retaliation from the Sioux who, burning with a desire for vengeance, resolved to destroy as many Pawnees as there are bones in the body, and a war between the two nations was precipi- tated, in which the Sioux made good their resolution, nor has reconciliation been established between the two peoples to this day.
This story of sacrifice, to which Father De Smet gave credence, might have been related, without fear of doubt, had it applied to an Aztec, or Toltec, ceremony, even at the time of the Cortez invasion of Mexico (1520), describing their manner of sacrificing prisoners to the sun god by pluck- ing out the heart and holding it aloft as an offering to the great orb of life. If the report which De Smet takes pains to give with such amplitude be that of an actual occurrence, a link is thereby forged which connects the ancient civiliza- tion of the Mexicans with the Indians of the North. And in this connection it is interesting to recall that the Mound Builders, who built such extensive earth tumuli in Illinois and Ohio, migrated westward and appear to have separated at the Mississippi, one branch of the nation proceeding south- west, through Kansas, Arkansas, New Mexico and thence into Mexico, while the other division traveled northwest to
Oregon, both divisions leaving earth mounds that mark the
1117
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
courses of their journeys. If this theory be a correct one it is possible that some communication existed between mem- bers of the two branches, in which case the customs of one branch may have influenced the other, or both may have followed, in modified forms, the superstitious practises of their ancient progenitors. It is singular, however, that no other traveler, whether missionary or explorer, has left us any reports in the least similar, or related in any wise to that of the sacrifice which De Smet has borrowed from what he called an eye-witness.
Father De Smet accomplished more perhaps than any other missionary in his day, not only in converting Indians but in conciliating tribes that were at enmity and in estab- lishing among them churches, schools, and industries. He succeeded even in persuading several tribes to cultivate the soil, and by raising cereals and fruits to prepare themselves against famines when game should become excessively scarce.
So large was his influence among the Indians that on several occasions he was commissioned by the United States Government to settle differences that had provoked uprisings in the Northwest. His labors as a missionary extended over a period of forty years, during which time, however, he made several visits to Europe to collect funds for the sup- port of missions he had founded and to enlist young men in the same field of effort. The pious work in which he en- gaged required him to travel by horse, foot, and canoe
1118
MISSIONARY LABORS OF DE SMET
through the valleys of the Missouri, Yellowstone, Platte, Columbia, Humboldt, and Saskatchewan, and though com- pelled to meet all the tribes of those regions, at all times, his black gown caused him to be respected and by his man- ners there was quickly won first the admiration and then the veneration of all the Indians of the North.
The entire Northwest was for a long time dotted with log mission houses which were built under Father De Smet's direction; and the simple cross that rose above their front gable was to the Indians a symbol almost as much of the piety of the man as a sign of redemption. These houses of the faith, which were near streams in which thousands of red men were baptized and the solemn service of mass which spread peace upon the wilderness, have disappeared, but in their places, in many instances, fine churches have been erected and thriving towns have been established, the wilder- ness and savagery being converted into fruitful fields, peace- ful plenty, and domestic content.
Father De Smet quitted his earth labors at St. Louis May 23, 1873, and his body was committed to the God's Acre of St. Stanislaus, Florissant, where it reposes with no other mark of distinction than a modest slab that recounts the simple annals of his birth and death.
1119
DIVISION LIX.
Extension of Settlements and Disputes with England.
WHEN the " Territory of New Orleans " was established the remainder of the province was designated as the " District of Louisiana " until Congress should set up a separate government for the two districts. During this period the country was occupied by United States troops, which were stationed at or in the vicinity of the largest settlements along the Mississippi River. The first civil and military commandant of the " District of Louisiana v was Major Amos Stoddard, whose headquarters were at St. Louis, the capital of Upper Louisiana. Besides being a most capable officer Major Stoddard was a fine scholar, to whose services as a distinguished executive he added the equally important work of preparing a splendid history en- titled " Stoddard's Sketches of Louisiana," from which many of the facts used in this compilation were obtained.
It will be seen by the foregoing that the nucleus for two States existed west of the Mississippi and south of the Mis- souri, for settlements followed the rivers, a greater number occupying the valley of the Arkansas, which necessitated the establishment of a military post on the Arkansas fifty
miles above where it empties its waters into the Mississippi ;
1120
EXTENSION OF SETTLEMENTS
but at this time the population of the Arkansas district, ex- clusive of the garrison, was less than four hundred persons, while the number of persons that occupied the east and west banks of the Mississippi, between Cape Girardeau and St. Louis, was fully six thousand, thus showing that the great tide of immigration into the Louisiana territory was flow- ing northward along the Mississippi valley. Settlement of the northwest territory, which included the vast district com- prising what are now Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin, was very much more rapid until 1815, when the war with England and the northwestern tribes being ter- minated, Americans from Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee began to pour across the river boundary and locate in the fertile districts west of the Mississippi, so that very soon French customs, language and laws, which had previously predominated in that section of our country, were materi- ally changed and gradually gave way completely to usages and manners wholly American. But up to 1815, and even for some time later, as Monett in his " History of the Mis- sissippi Valley " observes, " St. Louis was a French town, extending along the river in long, narrow, and sometimes filthy streets, lined with frail modern tenements, contrasting strongly with the few large stone houses, plastered and white-washed, near the river, and the romantic circular stone forts in the rear, also white-washed with lime."
Before the end of 1816 pioneers advanced into the terri- tory now comprised by the State of Missouri, for a distance
II2I
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
of nearly one hundred miles west of the Mississippi, and ex- tended along the Missouri as much as two hundred miles above its mouth; and at the same time settlements spread rapidly along the White, Arkansas, and the St. Francis rivers, the increase being so great as to reqire some change in the administration of laws which were found to be poorly adapted to the mixtures of French, Indians, and Americans in so large a district, for Catholics were in the ascendency in the vicinity of St. Louis, while Protestants predominated in the region embraced by the present State of Arkansas. Accordingly, Arkansas, which at the time included what is now Indian territory, with an aggregate population of four- teen thousand, of whom 1700 were slaves, was organized as a separate territory in 1819, while Missouri, with a popula- tion of nearly seventy thousand, of whom ten thousand were slaves, was thought to be entitled to statehood.
When St. Louis, in 1804, was first occupied by the United States, upon the cession of Louisiana Territory, it did not contain more than one thousand inhabitants, which in- creased to twice that number in 1816, but its growth was more rapid thereafter when its advantageous situation be- came better known, and the fur-trade with western tribes more fully developed. Indeed, by 1818 the city was re- garded as the great western emporium of a fast increasing commerce with Santa Fe and the northwest, and by the census of 1820 its population was given at four thousand six hundred inhabitants.
1 122
EXTENSION OF SETTLEMENTS
The importance of St. Louis, its situation, commanding position and rapidly growing commerce were factors in Missouri's application for statehood, which would have been readily granted without contention but for the fact that ad- mission was sought as a slave State. This opened the door to a dispute so bitter that for a time it actually threatened a disruption of the Union. Throughout the territory of Louisiana African negroes had been recognized as chattel property, upon the labor of which the people felt themselves dependent for agricultural prosperity. The cession treaty secured to the inhabitants of the territory not only the pro- tection of the United States but guaranteed to them the full enjoyment of their religious and property rights, under which guarantee the people contended that Congress had no power to disturb the relations existing between master and slave.
Regardless of treaty stipulations the enemies of slavery zealously opposed the legal extension of servitude west of the Mississippi, and urged that the admission of Missouri as a State should be made only upon condition that renuncia- tion of the right to hold slaves within her limits be ex- pressed in the application. After two years of fierce debate in Congress, and an angry agitation between North and South, that many times broke into factional hostilities, a compromise was reached whereby it was mutually agreed that the institution of slavery should be recognized in Mis- souri, but that it should not be extended further west or
1123
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
north, but only south of latitude 36° 30', which was the established southern boundary of the State. With this agreement Missouri was admitted to the sisterhood of com- monwealths in 1821. But it is worthy to be noted here that an obnoxious provision was inserted by Congress in the bill, which provided that the legislature of the new State should declare by act of legislation, " That the Constitution should never be construed to authorize the passage of any law (and that no law shall be passed in conformity thereto) by which any citizen of either of the States of this Union shall be excluded from the enjoyment of any of the privi- leges and immunities to which such citizen is entitled under the Constitution of the United States." This clause very clearly extended the right of suffrage to free negroes, a con- dition too repugnant to Missourians, accustomed to hold slaves, for their peaceful acquiescence, and though it was assented to, under the force of circumstances, the provision was not enforced, nor was the spirit of the limitation of slavery observed.
So rapid was the increase of the population of Missouri, t>y settlement therein of emigrants from Kentucky, Tennes- see, and Ohio, that by 1830 two counties had been organized and the total number of inhabitants was shown to be 140,- 445, of which about 26,000 were slaves, or persons of color. Six years later fifty-eight counties had been organized with a population of 244,208 souls, of which number 50,000 were
slaves.
1124
EXTENSION OF SETTLEMENTS
Settlement of Arkansas was less rapid than of Missouri, but the growth of population in that territory was neverthe- less astonishingly large, especially in the valleys of the many streams that flow towards Mississippi River. Indeed, by 1834 the tide of emigration westward advanced with such force as to sweep across Missouri and Arkansas until in a few years it was arrested by the Rocky Mountains, and thence spread south to Texas and the Republic of Mexico.
In 1836 Arkansas was admitted to statehood, at which time the population was 60,000, of which number 10,000 were slaves. Thereafter her increase was in proportion to that of Missouri, for a liberal constitution, adopted at Little Rock, June I3th, 1836, as well as the fertility of her lands, attracted to the State so large a number of thrifty American settlers that by 1840 the population had grown to 97,574, of whom 19,935 were slaves, distributed among the forty organized counties of the State.
Up to 1832 the attention of pioneers from eastern States had been directed to Missouri, Arkansas, the farther west, and Texas, so that the very fertile territory of Iowa had been left wholly neglected, in the possession of native tribes. It will be remembered that in 1829 a fierce war broke out be- tween the whites of Illinois and the Indians who resisted the advance of settlers in that State. This struggle, known as the Black Hawk War, continued with great fierceness for three years, when Black Hawk and his confederates
1125
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
were routed so effectually that to escape their pursuers they fled into Wisconsin, but were soon after driven across the Mississippi into Iowa. By a treaty of peace concluded be- tween the Federal government and Black Hawk, in Sep- tember, 1832, the Indians signed a relinquishment of all lands for a distance of fifty miles west from the Mississippi River, and from the Des Moines River on the south to the Yellow (or Upper Iowa) River on the north, a tract of land which comprised nearly one-third of the present State. By the terms of this treaty the Indians stipulated to with- draw from the territory thus relinquished by June, 1833.
Retirement of the Indians was promptly followed by an invasion of the territory by a host of pioneers who quickly occupied the west bank of the Mississippi and the rich al- luvial valley of the Des Moines. The first white settlement was made in November, 1832, at Fort Madison, where a colony led by Zachariah Hawkins and Benjamin Jennings was established, but it was not until 1835 that Fort Madison was town-platted and lots were exposed for sale. It is proper in this connection to mention the fact that Fort Madison was established as a post in 1808, upon a recommendation made by Lieutenant Pike in 1805. Being in the heart of the Indian country and the garrison a small one, the post was attacked in 1813 by a large force of Indians, who being un- able to reduce the fort by assault, beleaguered the garrison for almost a month until threatened starvation compelled
its evacuation. Being beyond the reach of American set-
1126
EXTENSION OF SETTLEMENTS
demerits the garrison contrived to open a covert way from the southeast blockhouse to the river, and upon the ap- pearance of a night favorable to their purpose set the fort in flames and then made good their escape down the river.
In the autumn of 1833 a town-site was established at Bur- lington, which four years later became the capital of the territory of Wisconsin. In the following year Dubuque was laid out into town lots, this name being given the place in honor of Julien Dubuque, a Canadian who visited the region as early as 1786, and having discovered considerable mineral wealth in the country, in 1788 obtained from the Indians a formal grant of land comprising one hundred and forty thousand acres on the west bank of the Mississippi. This grant was confirmed in 1796 by Baron Carondelet, and the king's title was duly issued, in which the boun- daries of the tract were fixed. Dubuque acquired great wealth by mining operations in the vicinity of what is now the city of Dubuque, and dying in 1810 he was buried on the bluff one mile below the city. Many years after a monument was erected over his grave, which still remains to mark the spot.
The District of Iowa, with the District of Wisconsin, was attached to the Jurisdiction of Michigan territory until 1836, when the latter was erected into a State. At this time the aggregate population of Iowa District was 10,531, although only two counties, Des Moines and Dubuque, had
been organized.
1127
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
The very rich agricultural lands of Iowa soon became noted, and such a tide of immigration followed that it quickly overflowed the boundaries fixed bv the Black Hawk treaty of 1832. To prevent conflict between the settlers and Indians a treaty was concluded with the Sauks and Foxes in 1837, by which the Indians relinquished title and all rights to practically all the territory now comprised by the State, and retired west, to the Dakotahs. The growth of settlement continued so rapid that in 1838 the District was subdivided into sixteen counties with a total population of 22,860 and a territorial government formed, the boundar- ies of the territory of Iowa being fixed to comprise " all that region of country north of Missouri which lies west of the Mississippi River, and of a line drawn due north from the source of the Mississippi to the northern limit of the United States." The following year the capital was es- tablished, on a beautiful spot of ground, from which the Indians had not yet retired, and called Iowa City, and seven years later (1846) the territory, which then had a popula- tion of nearly 90,000 persons, was admitted to statehood.
The rapid increase of settlement in Iowa, and Wisconsin territory, the sources of which were almost entirely from northern States, soon caused the attention of pioneers to be directed to the country further west; for though opportu- nities for occupying rich lands were still abundant in Iowa, pioneers were ever seeking an Eldorado that lay beyond
their immediate vision. About 1840, therefore, there sud-
1128
EXTENSION OF SETTLEMENTS
clenly developed an ambition upon the part of border set- tlers to locate in the valley of the Columbia River, which at that time was the westernmost limit of the Louisiana Pur- chase Territory. This desire no doubt was created by re- ports of the explorations of Lieutenant John C. Fremont, who had passed through the Territory of Nebraska, to the sources of the Platte, and thence across the Rocky Mountains at South Pass, which opened a way to the Pacific. His glowing reports of the beauty and fertility of the country, not in the least exaggerated, were reenforced by equally alluring descriptions given by missionaries who were labor- ing among the Indians along the Willamette River, and the restless tide of men moved forward confident of finding in the far west country a land blessed with a bounty which nature had bestowed in her most generous mood.
So great was the movement westward that by 1842 a good wagon-road was marked out to South Pass, through which thousands of emigrants poured and distributed them- selves in the valley of the south fork of the Columbia. At this time there was a dispute between the United States and Great Britain over the possession of Oregon. That coun- try was first visited by Drake in 1558, and by Juan de Fuca, a Portuguese, in 1592. In 1792 Vancouver, an English officer, surveyed the coast from 30° to 60° north latitude, but previous to this latter date Robert Gray, of Boston, a coast-trader had discovered the Columbia River, up which
he sailed several miles. The Federal Government con-
1129
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
tended that no landing had been made in Oregon territory by either Drake or Vancouver, and that penetration of the interior by Gray, an American citizen, entitled the United States to priority by discovery and occupation. This con- tention was reenforced by the contention that Lewis and Clark had surveyed the country in 1804-06, which further confirmed the title to America. England refused to recog- nize any of these claims, but in 1818 the United States and England agreed upon a treaty of joint occupation, which was renewed in 1827. Dr. Whitman, a missionary, made a perilous journey on horseback to Washington territory in 1842-43, and the reports of his travels and discoveries served to renew agitation of the question of territorial title, which grew in fierceness, by reason of the formation of a provis- ional government by the new settlers in 1843. I*1 tne pres- idential campaign of 1844 the Democratic platform de- manded the reoccupation of Oregon, and opposition by Eng- land led to the political war-cry " fifty-four-forty or fight." War with England over the " Oregon Question," which seriously threatened, was averted by the treaty of 1846 whereby the northern boundary of the United States was extended to the strait of Juan de Fuca, along the 49th de- gree of latitude.
With settlement of the boundary dispute the growth of Oregon's population increased amazingly, and in 1848 the territory of Oregon was established, which included the
present States of Washington and Idaho, from which, how-
1130
EXTENSION OF SETTLEMENTS
ever, it was divorced in 1853. A State Constitution was adopted in 1857, which forbade slavery, but the anti-negro provision prevented admission of the State into the Union until February, 1859.
113*
18
DIVISION LX.
War With England,— Battle of New Orleans.
LOUISIANA, like New England, was for more than two score years a storm center of conflict between England and America. It will be remembered that by the treaty of 1778, made in recognition and for recompense of the services ren- dered by France in our revolutionary war with England, the United States became bound to assist France in case of rup- ture between that monarchy and England. But notwith- standing this treaty obligation, when war was actually de- clared between France and England, in 1793, President Washington issued a proclamation of neutrality, an act which Jefferson made bold to declare " was in truth a most unfor- tunate error.'' Aside from the question of violation of na- tional honor, opponents of the Washington administration believed that France would triumph in the conflict even with- out the assistance we had pledged, and they therefore strongly urged that the only certain way to compel Great Britain to observe the rights of justice touching the nav- igation of the Mississippi was by strengthening the arm of France and thus holding her to an alliance, defensive and offensive, with America. It presently fell out that this con- tention had been well made.
After Napoleon's great campaign of 1796-97, England
1132
MAP OF THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS.
^T'HB map which is printed on the accompanying page was made, directly after ^•^ the Battle of New Orleans was fought, by an artist who was an eye witness, and it has been accepted as an accurate illustration of the disposition and move- ments of the American ami British forces in that memorable engagement. The picture is a part of the bistoricalrecords of New Orleans, loaned to the author to be reproduced for use in "Louisiana and the Fair."
.ii, «
pf VISION LX. War Wm Eft£iiH4r-&ftit!e of New Orleans.
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WAR WITH ENGLAND
made overtures for peace, which resulted in the treaty of Amiens, upon terms dictated by France. But our bad faith towards the country that had befriended us in the greatest hour of our national peril lost us the sympathy and interest of France, and by such loss England was encouraged to acts of hostility that culminated in the war of 1812. More than this, we would have been plunged into war with Eng- land much sooner had we not cringingly consented to Jay's treaty, that seriously compromised both our dignity and honor, and which compelled us at last to secure full nav- igation rights to the Mississippi by a purchased treaty.
England, finding herself free from continental opposi- tion, became at once eager to engage in war with America, hoping thereby to retrieve what she had lost by the revolu- tion, and began to provoke strife, first by refusing to sur- render western posts according to the treaty of 1783, and then by encouraging Indians on our frontier to open hos- tility. At the same time she seized French goods in Ameri- can vessels, and even worse than this she claimed and en- forced the right to impress British-born seamen found any- where outside the territory of a foreign State. In exercis- ing this unwarranted privilege she halted our ships on the high seas and also impressed American sailors, a policy so outrageous that the Jay treaty was powerless to prevent re- taliation upon the part of Americans, and the war of 1812 was soon precipitated.
France was so distinctly unfriendly, smarting under the
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
offense of her violated treaty, as well also indignant because of the terms of the Jay treaty, that we might have found her arrayed against us had it not been that Napoleon had quite enough at home to fully engage his activities, for meantime war had broken out between Russia and France.
It does not belong to this history to follow the fortunes of our last war with England, except so far as the effects appertain to Louisiana, nor to describe Major-General Jackson's campaign against the Creek Indians, which was confined to Alabama. But the renown which General Jackson obtained by his victory at the Horse-Shoe, or To- hopeka, on the Tallapoosa River, March 27, 1814, which crushed the Creeks, made him, logically, commander of our forces at New Orleans, against which the British had planned an attack, with the design of making a conquest of Louisiana.
Learning of the purpose of the British, after reducing Pensacola, and expelling the enemy from Florida, Jackson hastened to New Orleans to place that city in a state of de- fense. Finding great apathy existing among the Spanish residents and the French Creoles, Jackson declared martial law, mustered the militia, and began enlisting volunteers, among whom to offer their services were many free colored men, but despite his energy and patriotic appeals his force was alarmingly inadequate in numbers; the volunteers and militia were also wholly without military training, and there
was also great lack of arms. Under such exigencies every
1136
WAR WITH ENGLAND
possible means were employed to augment his army. Boun- ties were offered to volunteers who would serve on the armed brig Louisiana and the schooner Caroline, an em- bargo for three days was decreed by the Legislature, and several convicts confined in the city and State's prisons were liberated upon their oaths to serve in the ranks. At this time Lafitte and his band of pirates, who had long ravaged the Gulf commerce, came forward and offered their services to Jackson upon condition that Governor Claiborne would grant them amnesty for their past crimes, a proposal which was eagerly accepted, and, it may be added, these men, under their daring leader, rendered such services in the defense of New Orleans as well merited their pardon by the civil government. By these several inducements Jack- son increased his total force to about 6000 men, a greater part being unacquainted with military discipline but other- wise qualified, by indomitable courage and ability to use a rifle with deadly accuracy.
Jackson wisely chose to establish his position, for the most effective defense of New Orleans, at Chalmette, two miles below the present city limits, anticipating that the enemy would ascend the river, and hastily fortifying that point he waited the approach of the invading army..
On December 14, General Sir Edward Pakenham, the hero of Salamanca, entered Lake Borgne with a fleet of sixty vessels that brought 7,000 well drilled British vet- erans, who had served under him in Spain. This large
H37
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
force being landed operations began at once, and several small engagements took place between outposts of the two armies before January I, upon which date Pakenham was reenforced by 4,000 more men, when a general advance on the city was begun. Jackson disposed his force in three detachments, two on the north bank, of twenty-five hundred men each, and one on the south bank, under General Morgan, of eight hundred men. This double line was pro- tected by several batteries and redoubts, and cooperating with them was the armed brig called Louisiana, accom- panied by the schooner Caroline that carried two pieces of heavy artillery.
General Pakenham decided to make the attack in three divisions, and in pursuance of this plan on the night of January 7 he ordered Colonel Thornton forward to attack General Morgan, and at dawn of the 8th the British second division, under General Gibbs, made an assault on Jackson's left, which opened an engagement memorable for its fierce- ness. Jackson's men fought behind hastily constructed breastworks of cotton-bales and sand-bags, which afforded them such excellent protection that they resisted many at- tempts to dislodge them, while the accuracy of the Amer- ican fire was so great that the attacking columns were swept away with fearful havoc. Being frustrated in his first attempt to carry Jackson's position Pakenham ordered up his third division, commanded by General Keane, which fell
with such force upon Jackson's right as to spread some dis-
1138
WATTLE OF \EI-r ORLEANS.
£| LTHOUGH not to be classed with the most sanguinary or desperately fought cn- *» gagements that have taken place in the United States, the Battle >•• Orleans, fought January 8, 1^15, nay be regarded ,as being one of the most impor taut. It is rightly thus classed because of the fact that while the city was defend by only 5000 generally raw levies, and \vithouttime being given to put the place n> a >.tate of strong defense, it was attacked by 10,000 of Wellington's veterans, frr tr om their victory at Waterloo. Notwithstanding this disparity the English wt :ecisively defeated with a loss of 700 killed and 1400 wounded, while the .• can casualties were only 8 killed and 13 wounded. ^.ickenham.
:r,ander of the British forces, was mortal Iv wounded.
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
e being tar . n at once, and several
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WAR WITH ENGLAND
may among the Americans, and caused them to abandon a part of the works. At this critical juncture Jackson's bat- teries were turned upon the enemy with such deadly pre- cision, reenforced by a concentrated fire of musketry, that the British were thrown into disorder and lost more ground than they had gained by the assault.
Recovering from their reverse the British prepared to renew the attack, by reenforcing Gibbs with one-half of Keane's division, with which large force a charge was or- dered against Jackson's strongest position. Their advance was in solid lines, sixty men deep, and with great resolu- tion, firing by platoons, and showing the highest state of military training, as if executing manceuvers unattended by peril1. The Americans reserved their fire until the enemy had approached within effective range, when sud- denly artillery and musketry burst forth in one awful deadly roar, the effect of which was horrible to behold, while a con- centrated fire from the guns of the Louisiana and Caroline was scarcely less effective. But though the British ranks were decimated, the survivors rushed on, so inflamed by war's excitement as to be mindless of all else save ambi- tion for victory. The Kentucky and Tennessee riflemen, upon whom Jackson placed his chief reliance, formed four ranks deep and when the still advancing British came within a few feet of the parapets, fired line by line a steady stream of musketry, so fearfully galling that no bravery could with- stand it. General Pakenham and Gibbs were both mor-
1141
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
tally wounded, and General Keane and Major Wilkinson, next in command, also fell and were borne from the field, at sight of which the British immediately lost courage and fell back in great confusion. In the meantime, however, Colonel Thornton had captured General Morgan's position on the south bank of the river, but this victory was dearly obtained, and of no advantage because the main army of the British, on the north side of the river, had been so com- pletely routed that Thornton was recalled, and a retreat to the ships was at once ordered by General Lambert. In this remarkable battle, which was concluded by 9 a. m., the British lost 700 killed, 1,400 wounded, and 500 prisoners, while almost incredible to relate, the total American loss was only seven killed and thirteen wounded. This battle is also famous for its having been fought fifteen days after the treaty of Ghent had been signed, by which peace between England and the United States was concluded.
It had been intended by General Pakenham that the fleet should cooperate in the attack, for which purpose a squadron of two bombarding vessels, also a big schooner and sloop armed with heavy artillery had besn ordered out of Lake Borgne, to ascend the Mississippi and reduce forts St. Philip and Jackson, seventy miles below the city. These vessels, however, found so much difficulty in overcoming the strong current that they did not approach within sight of Fort St. Philip until the Qth inst. Although the British
army had been decisively defeated before New Orleans the
1142
- •
• "-•'"•'• '— ^f jf\,
' '. • 1-....4. .j.
OLD CABILDO, -CltTHE'DRAL AN'D CIULMETTE
CEMETERY, NEH' ORLEANS.
. ,.;•:.
Cabildo and Cathedral at New Orleans have a pjnce among the most historic buildings of America. It was in ti,e fejrmer that the Spanish Municipal Legislature held their sessions, (.1722) when ; organizati n of the city was completed, and in the latter were celebrated f!ir church ( eleb that early day. Serving as a city hall and rapitol it was in and before th< ( that the ceremony of transfer took place when the territory of Louisiana wai formally conveyed to the United States, December 20, 1803. Chalmette Ceme- tery, near New Orleans, was the sir* upon which an 'engagement was fought between Jackson and Packenhahv J?Kcerrtber 14, 1814,. which. was preliminary to the battle of New Orleans. The monument marks thvjtpot upon which Jackson is said to have stood when directiiig>the fight in. which the English were defeated with a loss of 1 50 men.
I Major Wilkinson,
c from the field,
lost courage and
e, however,
sition
I
* ••-••'
>i^
rfeinsq2 atfl Hull larmo! sdl m KKW ll .jtorismA ' >i^
9,lt to nJJ«8)itf^'^6 featt^t- -^-'^^': ./AVk the
k> enuiici^i i^^^faftideQ8,
'
oiilidc'J M(I sioVj.' '/ )i loJiu^a bns Ilfid yli^B «B gniviaS .^fib. ^Iira JcriJ
(fXcftiJMe^aifeto 1ih«i^t^,<4^i^^^ to was -9m»: ^H^ffi^l? ^^flHd^l.01 "Wtf^barftte1^ also
/ nciqu atie arft ecw .ancahO waVI lean (^iat
the
of
.< ^ycri ol i. .
•W0f nv^eol G niiw
fte* or whir;
'
hese
coming
within sight
- :.-i the British
N'ew Orleans the
WAR WITH ENGLAND
day before, a vigorous bombardment was begun against Fort St. Philip, which was met with a no less energetic fire from the water batteries that soon compelled the attacking squadron to withdraw a distance of two miles. From this safe position the enemy continued to throw shells at the fort until the i/th, when a heavy mortar was mounted and turned against the ships with such effect that they abandoned the enterprise on the i8th, and the following day the entire British army embarked and hastily retreated, leaving be- hind fourteen pieces of artillery, a large quantity of am- munition, and sixteen wounded men, two of whom were officers.
At the time the battle of New Orleans was fought the total population of Louisiana was less than one hundred thousand souls, about one-half of whom were blacks, and of the whole one-half were concentrated in the city of New Orleans, and along the river thirty miles below and seventy miles above the city. The inhabitants were largly Creole French, with a mixture of Anglo-American and Spanish, the latter being fewest in number. Some attempt had been made to settle the delta of Red River, between Alexandria and Natchitoches, and to extend French influence along the Washita, but these efforts were not attended with much success. But by defeat of the British fears of foreign in- vasion were dispelled, and with assurance of peace Louis- iana began a prosperous career that has continued to this
day. Steam navigation of the Mississippi was promoted
1145
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
and with commerce and agriculture engaging the activities of the people New Orleans became the great repository of the valley and grew in population and wealth at an amazing" rate. Immigration from England and the States rapidly increased until by settlement and intermarriage Anglo- Americans predominated not only in New Orleans but also throughout the State, and development of the agricultural resources of Louisiana, especially the production of cotton, sugar, and molasses, made her one of the richest States in the Union, and New Orleans one of the most important cities in Americaa which as a port of export has stood second to New York since 1840.
The first constitution of Louisiana, adopted in 1812, ex- hibited a strong French sentiment favoring a monarchical form of government, and partook also, in many of its feat- ures, of the aristocratic character that distinguished the Spanish dominion. This was found to be inconsistent with the democratic spirit of our republican institutions, and so poorly adapted to the new regime that after much debate a new constitution, liberal in its character, was drafted in 1844 and went into operation in January, 1846.
1146
DIVISION LXI.
Development of Western Commerce.
EXPLORATION of the great West, which occupied more than two centuries — from the time of De Soto — was fol- lowed by slow development, for a long while, because of primitive methods employed in the arts of navigation. Na- ture provided amply by supplying conditions more favorable than are to be found in any other part of the world, but men were unable to avail themselves of natural advantages to a degree that would make development rapid. The great rivers of the West invited effort to utilize them as highways of commerce, but until the application of steam to means of navigation was discovered these splendid waterways re- mained practically neglected except as they were used to float canoes of savages and pirogues of voyageurs.
It is wonderful to the minds of this generation that no steamboat appeared on any of the rivers of the world until the initial service instituted by Fulton on the Hudson in 1807, although the theory of steam navigation had been evolved more than two hundred years before, and such a patent was obtained by John Fitch in 1791. Credit for the invention, to which America, and the West especially, owes so much, is given to many persons, who support their re- spective claims with creditable evidence, but there is general
1147
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
acceptance of Fulton's priority, because his employment of the principle was its first practical commercial application.
Prior to the use of steamboats commerce on the western rivers was conducted by means of pirogues, keel-boats, barges, mackinaws, and flatboats, the two former kinds being propelled by oars, while the latter were loaded at upper points on the river and floated to their destination below.
As early as 1794 a mail service was put into effect on the Ohio, in which boats of twenty-four feet length and manned by five boatmen were employed, but was so little profitable that the enterprise was abandoned in 1798. Long before this date, however, keel-boats were used not only on the Ohio, but also on the Mississippi, a freight service being maintained between Kaskaskia and New Orleans as early as 1740. Keel-boats were navigated by a class of men who achieved more or less fame through their dissoluteness and fighting propensities; nor is this surprising when we re- flect that they were not only subjected to hardships as pio- neers, but their employment was hazardous in the extreme. There were few settlements along the rivers, and conse- quently but little intercourse with civilization was possible, while to the dangers of navigation were the added perils, to which the boatmen were subjected, of being attacked by Indians, or by murderous pirates that rendezvoused at points where they would be least likely to be discovered. The mode of life therefore naturally developed a reckless spirit,
for there were neither the restraints of law nor the in-
1148
JACKSON SQUARE, NLlt ORLEANS.
B of the handsomest of the many beautiful hpots in New Orleans is Jackson Square, which occupies a place of historic prominence, directly opposirt the Cabildo (City Hall) and Cathedral. In the center is an equestrian statue .it General Andrew Jackson, whose pallant and victorious defense of the city ir. is thus commemorated.
acceptance of Fulton's the principle \va* *u £
Prior
«
!*ftcause his employment of
; mercial application.
••*e on 'the western
•trues, keel-boats,
'>eing
th;
*»••• '-^.Y on the
h>
i ni
<i<l»iilfcaskWi>art«P
i vijp sritio MqsHUtiiQOOlMV bne inclifi^ ?«orfw .noejl-
>ats were navigMed % a
their dissoluteness and
.
ed by
oints
ed. The
^s spirit,
nor the in-
DEVELOPMENT OF WESTERN COMMERCE
fluence of society. But while these early boatmen were often of bad character, they as frequently showed to ad- vantage as a jolly, rollicking, and contented class, loyal in their comradeship, and faithful in the service of their em- ployers, while their lives, though almost constantly in danger, were rendered agreeable by the good fellowship that was maintained.
A trip from Pittsburg to New Orleans usually occupied one month ; from St. Louis the time was about three weeks ; but the return journey required more than four months, and the hardships were proportionately greater. Trusting the boats to the current, little labor was necessary to keep them in the channel, and landings were not frequently made ex- cept at settlements, but the up-trip involved privations, dangers, and exertions that only the stoutest hearts and the most rugged natures could endure. Keel-boats were pro- vided with sails but these were not often of much service, reliance in other means of propulsion being necessary. The crew, thirty or forty in number, under the command of a resolute master, were compelled to expose themselves to such fatigues as few persons could be engaged to bear in these days. The favorite means employed for drawing the boats up stream was known as warping, which required three or four shore-men to carry a cable in advance and make one end fast to a tree, whereupon others on board would attach the other end to a capstan and wind up the
cable, or by sheer strength pull the boat until it was nearly
1151
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
abreast of the point where the fastening had been made. This process was repeated so long as the character of the shore permitted, but very ofter sand-bars, shoal water, and precipitous banks made warping impossible, at which times poling and cordelling was necessary ; this required that some of the men divest themselves of clothing and wade through mud and water, drawing the boat by the application of all their strength, while exposed to attacks of mosquitoes, pirates, and Indians. Pirogues were open boats propelled by oars, but these, while being capable of transporting furs, were not sufficiently large for the commercial needs of heavy cargoes that passed between New Orleans and the north.
It is extremely interesting to read at this time the in- ducements offered to the traveling public by managers of transportation companies prior to the use of steamboats, for though keel-boats were designed primarily for freight, im- provements were presently introduced which adapted them to passenger traffic. One of the bills posted by a Pitts- burgh and Cincinnati Company in 1809, evidently prepared by a crude hand, reads as follows :
" Two boats for the present will start from Cincinnati for Pittsburgh, in the following manner :
" First boat leaves Cincinnati this morning at eight o'clock and will return to Cincinnati so as to be ready again to sail four weeks from this date.
" Second boat will leave Cincinnati on the 3oth inst, to re-
1152
DEVELOPMENT OF WESTERN COMMERCE
turn in four weeks as above. And so regularly each boat performing the voyage to and from Cincinnati to Pitts- burgh once in every four weeks.
" The proprietor of these boats has naturally considered the many inconveniences and dangers incident to the com- mon method hitherto adopted by navigating the Ohio, and being influenced by a love of philanthropy and a desire of being serviceable to the public, has taken great pains to render the accommodation on board the boats as agreeable and convenient as they could possibly be made.
" No danger need be apprehended from the enemy, as every person on board will be under cover made proof against rifle or musket balls, and convenient port-holes for firing out of. Each of the boats are armed with six pieces carrying a pound ball ; also a number of good muskets, and amply supplied with plenty of ammunition ; strongly manned with choice hands, and the masters of approved knowledge.
" A separate cabin from that designed for the men is partitioned off in each boat, for accommodating ladies on their passage. Conveniences are constructed on board each boat, so as to render landing unnecessary, as it might, at times, be attended with danger.
" Rules and regulations for maintaining order on board, and for the good management of the boats, and tables accurately calculated for the rates of freightage, for pas- sengers and carriage of letters to and from Cincinnati to Pittsburgh ; also a table of the exact time of the arrival and
H53
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
departure to and from the different places on the Ohio, be- tween Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, may be seen on board each boat, and at the printing office in Cincinnati. Passengers will be supplied with provisions and liquors of all kinds' of the first quality, at the most reasonable rates possible. Persons desirous of working their passage will be admitted on finding themselves; subject, however, to the same order and directions from the master of the boat as the rest of the working hands of the boats' crew."
It was in such vessels as these, propelled wholly by mus- cular strength in the various ways of cordelling, warping, poling, rowing and sailing, that commerce on the western waters was carried on prior to the year 1811. It was in 1809 that the first flat-boat, or " broad horn," as it was often called, was floated with a cargo from Pittsburgh to New Orleans, and two years later the first steamboat was built at Pittsburgh, by Nicholas J. Roosevelt, at the expense of Livingston and Fulton, proprietors of the Hudson River line, and sent upon her maiden trip. This boat, which was named New Orleans was one hundred and sixteen feet in length with a beam of twenty feet, and cost $38,000. Her hull was fashioned like that of a ship. She was pro- vided with a single boiler, and a thirty-four inch cylinder, but with this small power she was capable of making ten miles per hour down stream, and a four miles speed against the current. Very naturally grave doubts were entertained
as to her safety, while the appearance of such a craft excited
1154
MOVERS fBY FLAT-BOAT O\ THE^IISSISSIPPL
||VRECED1KG the use of steam for navigation purposes, transportation was carried li*^ on by means of pirogues, keel-boats, Mackinaws and Hatboats. When the tide of emigration poured out of the eastern states into the .valleys of the Ohio ami Mississippi, the use of flatboats became extensive, not onry -for conveying freight. but equally so for transporting families and their poseasions from river points i;i the north to destinations below. In these journeys it was a common thing to sec boats floating from the upper Ohio and Mississippi laden with household utensil? nplement*, horses, oxen, and cows, *o that apon making a landing the etui grant could homstead a tract of valley lam! and immediately begin farming.
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
departure to and fro places on the Ohio, be-
tween ( iv be seen on board .
boat, a. .-;;-: .^ti. Passerti
of all kind rates possible, cted
It Y
•Bfrvfc^.
ootntiMff fe^ '«JTP t if 1 w ' WW-^lli
bild
arfj ftjdW..,, .elfiodlfifl box BW£fli3bj;M-,ei£Qcf-b;ul .eausoiiq
waKrs Tvas earnea on pribr to me v^t J
hue ojrfO 3ri) io e^sllfiv srfi oini eaftrtR msleSa »r1J lo4Lr^b9t
ei({3iSr»§int|iaidthft)ifi|ifib 4krf,4)d««^x3r9^iw4^(hia)^
n; ftJfUOfjLJipvn m^iWnojasMoci Haifa bns esilimsjl gnina^enBil 10! oe vllsuoilud 39« o) gnin/ nomrrioo'E ecw ji e3rnuo sSjnl^Wl .woiaci nronBnnasE/of n:
i3 -T:' ' :a? 'ine n'XP ,e3«iorf ,
t jtA
•
v Under,
'-•ing ten
against
>ts were entertained f. of such a craft excited
DEVELOPMENT OF WESTERN COMMERCE
both fear and ridicule among those on shore who saw it for the first time. But the voyage was completed successfully, though not without several mishaps, and inauguration of steam navigation quickly followed the experiment, upon both the Ohio and Mississippi rivers.
The same year, 1811, a steamboat was built in New Orleans for the New Orleans and Natchez trade, and three years later a four-hundred-ton boat, called the Vesuvius, with cabin accommodations for one hundred persons, began plying regularly between Pittsburgh and New Orleans, the up-trip consuming about thirty-five days.
The sixth steamboat that was built for the western river trade, in 1815, was the Zebulon M. Pike, which has the dis- tinction of being the first steam vessel to ascend the Mis- sissippi above the Ohio, and the first to touch at St. Louis. This boat had a barge-hull, with cabin on the lower deck, and was driven by a low pressure engine, with a walking beam. She was unable to overcome a strong current, so that the crew were frequently compelled to reenforce her steam power by the use of poles. The trip from Louis- ville occupied six weeks, for the boat did not run after dark, and she arrived at St. Louis August 2d, 1817. The master of this craft, Jacob Read, reporting the incidents of this remarkable trip, wrote the following : " The inhab- itants of the village (St. Louis) gathered on the bank to welcome the novel visitor. Among them was a group of Indians. As the boat approached, the glare from the fur-
1157
19
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
nace, and the volume of murky smoke, filled them with dis- may. They fled to the high ground in the rear of the vil- lage, and no assurances of safety could induce them to go nearer the object of their fears. They ascribed supernatural power to a boat that could ascend a rapid stream without the aid of sail or oar. Their superstitious imaginations beheld a monster breathing flame and threatening extinction of the red man. In a symbolic sense their fancy was prophetic, the progress and civilization of which the steamboat may be taken as a type is fast sweeping the Indian race into the grave of buried nations."
The thirty-eighth steamboat built was the Independence, launched at Pittsburg in 1819 and intended to carry the Yellowstone expedition. At the same time another boat, of the same capacity, 50 tons, was built at Pittsburgh and named Expedition, because she was designed, like the Inde- pendence, for the Yellowstone trip. These two crafts were the first two steam vessels that attempted to combat the strong current of the Missouri, which they successfully ac- complished as far as old Chariton (Glasgow), as did also the Western Engineer in the same year, 1819, which latter, in fact, carried the expeditionary force to the mouth of the Yellowstone. The rapid improvement in the construction of vessels for western rivers and development of commerce is indicated by the fact that between and during the years 1815 and 1819 sixty steamboats had been built and were in
operation on the Ohio, Mississippi, and Red rivers, the
1158
A DANCE 'BY JOLLY FLA'l BOATME\\
'JT'HE Flatboatmen of the Ohio and Mississippi constituted a class which bore ^•^ much resemblance to that recklessly adventurous division of frontiersman knbwn as Courreurs des bois, for what cue was to the river the other was to the- wuods, bold to a degree and as riotous in disposition as they were courageous in emergencies. The flatboat came into use as a necessity to river transportation, before steam was employed, but it survived as a means of cheap carriage of freig foil nearly fifty years after steamboa'ing wa;« successfully inaugurated.
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
nace, and the volume of murk/ smoke, filled them with dis- may. They fkd to $MS tu^ 3* wad in the rear of the vil- lage. and ru> a*kfcr-. £" M^r could induce them to .go
nearer t*v' b^ ? :?\ rr< -v r^i They ascribed supernatural
po*«xr to # btjB.i ihafei *^ys4 »i*:*ijj. » rapid stream without the
a^-d r+f sail i*r.«5*r, Thtir sapefsthk»(us sroagias^om beheld
a i master breafhicg ftam« and threatenmg txn^:
rexi man. In a symbolic sense tittnr fancy was jp
.the or X'r"< onboat may
he r;*kisn a;s a ty» •' ;s j';-.^ ,-^« ...
grave of buried nations."
jW«^i^q^
io noieivib zinnLiinavhs ,vj(!«slao3i JcHj ol s^nEldrfiaeai rloi/m 1
,noi}». p*.^tin9p9a A CB MU olni amc-j )S9di£ft srIT .tai an 9
&&
4'^Wamiw^^dm«rfte^^3 'Wl
the
Khey su( (Glasg« year, 18:
' the
>ent ^t ruction
ommerce
s-'Sf the years
1815 and 1819 ;md were in
operation on the Ohi ! rivers, the
DEVELOPMENT OF WESTERN COMMERCE
greater number of which were constructed in the latter year.
While many boats plied regularly between St. Louis, New Orleans and points on the Ohio, in 1819, it was not until May, 1823, that navigation of the Upper Mississippi was attempted, when the steamer Virginia ascended the river to Fort Snelling, and it was not until January i, 1842, that a packet company was formed to operate boats between St. Louis and Keokuk, nor till 1857 that the service was ex- tended to St. Paul.
At this time Quincy was the most important town north of St. Louis, and south of St. Paul, in which the first house was built in 1822, became a town in 1834, and was incorpo- rated as a city in 1839. Alton was also of some consequence for an Indian trading station had been established there in 1807, and the town laid out in 1817.
Development in river service was so rapid that in 1832 the number of packet boats in regular service was two hun- dred and thirty, with an aggregate tonnage of thirty-nine thousand. But besides this great fleet of steamers there were four thousand flat-boats descending the Ohio and Mis- sissippi annually, that carried one hundred and sixty thou- sand tons of freight, the estimated values of the annual car- goes of steam and flat-boats being somewhat in excess of $26,000,000.
With the foregoing facts before us, information respect- ing the development of western river navigation may be
condensed as follows: The schooner Griffin, built by La
1161
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
Salle, was the first considerable craft that was launched on the Great Lakes, an event that took place in 1679. On the rivers canoes were the sole dependence until about 1720, when Mackinaw boats were first built, capable of carrying as much as three tons, followed ten years later by the barge, with a capacity of forty tons. This unwieldy vessel gave place to the keel-boat, a fleet of four being constructed at New Orleans in 1751 and started with full cargoes for Fort Chartres. Two of these, however, met with accidents on the way, so that only two reached their destination, but the enterprise nevertheless yielded a profit and this method of transportation therefore continued on the Ohio and Mis- sissippi until it was superseded by the steamboat. It may be noted, also, that while the energies of steamboat-men were largely devoted to the Ohio and Mississippi, settlement of northern Louisiana and Arkansas likewise attracted so much attention that in 1815 the steamer Enterprise made a trip up Red River as far as Natchitoches, and in 1822 the Eagle ascended the Arkansas River to Little Rock, where she discharged a cargo and then proceeded one hundred and thirty miles further up that stream to a station called Dwight, where the Cherokee Mission was established.
Steam navigation of the Missouri though undertaken by the government, in 1819, and proved to be possible, did not attain to any importance until about 1840 when packet com- panies were organized to transport the vast number of em- igrants that were pouring out of the eastern States into
1162
1*c*"-W3W*«&
STEJ
I-.L
THE MISSOURI A STOXF
HE illustrations
'•jr on tiie ;j . .in excellem
understanding of the difficulties and perils which attend*- u of thr
Missouri and Yellowstone natural
j highways of commerce between the Northwest and St. Louis. The rapid j current washing alluvial shores kept the Mi>souri channel obstructed with •najM j upon which hundreds of steamboats were \\recked. The Yellowstone also has a j very rapid current, an i .:,a... snoals that render navigation so ha/ardous, an i during low water impossible, 'hat at no lime ha* there ever be^
.
Salle, was the first as launched on
the place in 1679. On the
?nce until about 1720, •ying as
.
v Orlear Chartrc
the vttfc^jfc,, Avre°^ iMttfe
enterprise neverthele^^Y^c^^jpj^: and this method of
iMMgttrtatiaiHilftp^
"<J&> fflBf ^f i^^^^sWflMktetf $^^b£&frhtK&? ««f^¥i ^
hnulcu 9To« 3111 baluiilsnoo eiB^yVfiBrmol rbiiiw .envii snoJewoltaY fans i
bi^e, mated, alw^hrt mkm^m^^S^^ **t£(£lfy b^H!^l^C¥fi>cilQIHy ^rilF'JMi^f^to
c >Bn Belr anoJ^woflsy 311 I •// 913W elEodm£3)»! 10 abaibnud
K*^td o« ^..tc^vtrt v,(\^4*lh^^JW^^ i^^^,
'i *)i no gniiBCK^i
ailed
txlertaken by
the g<jve.nmt;! iible, did not
• ny imp'^ -n packet com-
panies were organized to ' .umber of em-
igran- were pouring o iStern States into
DEVELOPMENT OF WESTERN COMMERCE
Missouri, Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska. This great tide of humanity rose higher in 1849 and 1850 by reason of the gold discoveries in California, so that notwithstanding the dangerous character of the investment, steamboats mul- tiplied on the Missouri until five companies were operating a total of sixty boats at one time on that stream. Out of this number one or more would be sunk almost every week, but others were quickly made ready to take the places of those lost, for it was not an uncommon thing for a boat to reap a profit on a single trip twice as great as her origi- nal cost.
A very large business was done between St. Louis and Westport, which latter place, now absorbed by Kansas City, was the western terminus of the Santa Fe Overland line, which transported, by ox-teams, an enormous amount of freight, and continued in operation, with varying fortune, until construction of the Union Pacific railroad, 1869. There was also immense traffic between St. Louis and St. Joseph from which latter point the pony express and stage lines started, the former carrying the mails, and the latter conveying passengers to all points on the route as far west as California. Other lines were formed shortly before the close of the Civil War to carry freight, chieflv, as far north as Fort Benton, whence it was transported by teams to Oregon and Washington, a trade that was immensely profitble until the Northern Pacific Rilroad extended its line westward to
1165
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
Bismarck, when steamboating on the Missouri rapidly de- clined until by 1880 it had practically ceased to exist..
Although the Missouri river is no longer the highway of a considerable commerce, railroads having sapped its vitality, so to speak, the fact must not be forgotten that the credit of the first rapid development of the northwest is most largely due to that stream, which though treacherous and dangerous to navigate yet offered the most convenient and expeditious means for both travel and freight transportation that was possible before railways superseded the slower and more hazardous expedients of boats.
The Missouri-Mississippi has a total length of 4221 miles, and is therefore the longest river on the earth's surface. At Fort Benton the waters are 2565 feet above sea-level, an elevation so great as to create a current of such rapidity that the banks are fairly devoured, so that there is a constant shifting of the channel, so great in fact as to frequently change the course of the stream and to do enormous dam- age to farms along its shores. It has been computed by hy- drographic surveyors that the amount of earth carried away by the Missouri annually is 550,000,000 tons, a quantity, measured by weight, which is almost twice the tonnage of freight hauled yearly by all the railroads of the United States. This terrible erosion of its alluvial banks is natur- ally followed by corresponding deposits, by which islands are formed in a night, cut-offs are created, and uprooted trees,
whirled down the stream at its flood, are grounded when the
1166
./'/•' THE MOU^THh M/SSfSS/PP/.
~f\ FTER the unfortunate expedition of Narva*/ 'r, DeVaca, bot:
** of whom must have seen the Mississippi, tHHBHFgenern! belief in the i istence of a large stream that bisected North America, but strange enough (' impression prevailed that this supposititious river taking its rise in Illinois How^ •
••.ird to the Pacific. It was reserved for DeSoto to remove this'false l>el; but Spaniards made small use of the discovery until the French fo < Orleans and began to settle along the river. Then Spanish interest began a- to intensify, for Florida belonged to Spain and jealousy wa« ar acquisition of adjoining territory. The Mississippi accordingly soon beramr . 'vous for Spanish ships, attracted by coi: 'portunities t>ffr
Orleans and trade of the vallev.
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
Bismarck, when steam; >ri the Missouri rapidly de-
clined until by 1880 it had pra<. reused to exist..
Although the Missouri >. -r the highway of
aeons; • ipped its vitality,
'. :n that the credit of ;?:ost largely * yet offered the
travel and freight transportation that was
^bmmfrm^vV&^b vftf, #Bff • , hazardous expedients of boats.,
mud .*DB /3U ,3iBi:*e*fi MftbnB VSBVIK/ 10 noilibsqxa aisnuttolnii ari> am"
ia totai4engfch«0£ 4^/4 xni
<i
inj Jsrit D»lisv9
idinb\a^65ecSect r^
gnoie s
515T!o •itnrumtqqo n5f5TWilTro'j a *ra6iJl
change the course o* th« stream'titfei^rt»id<5» «f.*ri»«-
>ng its shores. It has been
'
•
es. This u.i ^>ank» is natur-
; followed by corresp ^nds are
ned in a night, cut-offs and uprooted trees,
whirled down the stream at its ftuud, arc grounded when the
ii
DEVELOPMENT OF WESTERN COMMERCE
high waters subside, thus choking the channel and shifting the bed.
But though the river offered many dangers to those en- gaged in navigating it, nevertheless it was an agency of in- computable importance for many years, and to its valley was accordingly attracted settlers in great numbers, while its waters bore onward, towards the expanding west, that great multitude who sought gold and homes beyond the Continental Divide.
1167
DIVISION LXII.
Development of Western Commerce— Continued.
THE first structure built by whites on the Missouri River was Fort Orleans, established by the French two hundred miles above its mouth as early as 1750, but this post was soon abandoned, and is now so nearly forgotten that it is rarely mentioned in any annals of the west. A few years after the founding of St. Louis, and soon after the death of Laclede, his two step-sons, August Chouteau and his younger brother Pierre, in prosecuting the fur trade located several posts along the Missouri, and in about 1790 Independence, and Westport, Missouri, were made trading stations. These two places survived and grew steadily, though slowly, until the opening of the Santa Fe trail, when being made the western terminus of that great overland freight line they soon after became second to St. Louis in importance, a posi- tion which they held for many years.
Westport was much more convenient to the river than Independence, and when therefore water transportation, by keel-boats, was inaugurated on the Missouri, the business of Westport, though it was five miles from the river, rapidly increased until that town took decided precedence of its rival, and so continued for a long while even after the found-
1168
KANSAS CITY AND 'RIVER P/Effr, 1-SW.
of a gazetteer of 1850, show* that no such town as Kaasas City ' existed, though Westport, which is now a suburb of that thriving metropo Us, was a town of importance, deriving its consequence from a large trade whir it eajoyed as the eastern terminus of the Santa Fe trail. Steamboating on tl Missouri, in conjunction with the building of the Missouri Pacific railroai brought Kansas City to the front, because it was on the river, while Westport la rive miles from the south shore. Though only a post village in 1860, shadowed by the greater importance of Westport, Kansas City began from that date to grov at an amazing pace, nor has its increase had any interruption since, until toda it is one of the great cities of America.
XII. De\ merce— Continued,
:;e Fren. miles above
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Wftaft o
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|rf^1^&*^
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«iia*ri^ . I4i«ti^i*3^ W
n after i
Ind>
ness
:ver, rapidly
increased until ience of its
rival, and so continued . after the found-
DEVELOPMENT OF WESTERN COMMERCE
ing of Kansas City, in 1838, with which it is now incor- porated. Indeed, owing probably to bluffs, that afforded a poor landing for boats, Kansas City remained a post village until 1860, when steamboating on the Missouri began to assume a prominence that grew so rapidly as to quickly supersede all other means of transportation. Car- goes of freight destined for the Southwest had to be dis- charged at Kansas City, and this immense trade caused the town to grow at an amazing rate until in a short while it took rank as the leading city west of St. Louis, a position which it continues to hold, if we except San Francisco.
The Santa Fe trail was, in its day, a commercial highway of the most vital consequence to the west. There was an enormous extent of uninhabited territory between Westport and Santa Fe, but at one end was the outlet to Mexico, and at the other lay the approach to the resources of the East, and these inducements were ample for pioneers though re- ward for the dangers, hardships, and expense incidental to overland freighting at the time were in no sense commen- surate with the investment or occupation. The greatest amount of traffic on the overland trail was during the war with Mexico, or from 1846 to 1848, when a great part of the government stores for the army operating in northern Mex- ico were transported by that route.
Fort Leavenworth was established in 1839, and St. Joseph was founded two years later, followed by the locating of Omaha in 1845, places which quickly sprang into prominence
1171
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
and greatly increased their importance immediately follow- ing discovery of gold in California. Westport, Leaven- worth, and Omaha became outfitting points for all overland parties going to California, and later, when the excitement over reported gold discoveries in the vicinity of Pike's Peak, Colorado, was at its height, these three towns furnished sup- plies for all the gold-seeking expeditions to that camp.
The fur-trading interest of the northwest yielded such large returns for the money invested that comparatively few persons engaged in that pursuit were seduced from their satisfactory engagements at the time to follow the hosts of gold-seekers that poured into and across the Rocky Moun- tins. On the contrary, they improved their opportunities to the utmost with the result that the industry flourished amaz- ingly, and may be said to have been at its height in the early fifties. In 1850 Fort Benton was established, which af- forded protection to fur-traders from the hostile Indians that infested that region, and soon became an important post by reason of its location at the head of navigation on the Missouri, which also made the station headquarters for the fur-trade of the Northwest.
This was the condition of affairs in the West up to 1856, in which year the situation was suddenly changed by dis- covery of gold on Deer Lodge River, Montana, which caused a stampede to that region, in which excitement many fur- traders participated, though the strike proved to be a dis- appointing one. Seven years later, 1863, the Alder Gulch
discovery, in Nevada, furnished fresh excitement, and the
1172
CHIEF LITTLE LKOIfS ITGHT // 7777 77/7 v'O ;
•ff.N the accompanying pages are contained an actoui ,.r the on use and resuk' •• the Sioux uprising in Minnesota in 1862. Marauding bands of India: ctnsed by delay of the Government in paying1 their allowance in accordance -.\ treaty terms, attacked several small settlements and kijltai of \»hitr«
I.ktle Crow, a SiotU^lflH, • -. u!iich he -t:
resolutely i tinj; a conoidera! -c- ;
\vhile thev were upon the point of attacking S*l« of tiie \>
*
AJFter this ri^ht however. Little Crow not only refu»ei! to procteii fu: the renr<;-adi->, hut jo. 'id thu« caused a fmt-Til iipn-ing of Siuuflnich
wps not suppressed until nearly one i. white population rled dHBrur
from the State.
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
and greatly increased their importance immediately follow- ing discovery of g »"ornia. Westport, Leaven- worth, and Omaha f*ing points for all overland parties goiru, r, when the excitement ovc« :uity of Pike's Peak,
furnished sup-
i\WSV
persons engaged u\
)o tlluew bnc ueuif-j 5711 TO JIIIIOODE nff bsniMno ; |j
J
i Ofli t&hft iciMiftnaBy ? .^ey i iln^x^ved'theitooppeitututtesi itw
iwtJfiiilYl'Ll'JsiflP'isbi'ncp ft3iiJlE»l3b.niJ)3bMD'jtu bnr,.oL> oj.vli:
tiiTmost wlm; me result mat me industr\' Hounsned urna?.-
banoxmcg vlnsM snl fo sno gniiTofinGTo Tflloq am noqu siSw xfsnT STInw
ua^gl^iaaaclififibyibe ^a>kl)t(>/haiveHb«ei&a4nU hei^htinl^theHeari^
H'->irf*i>tiix>i2 1»*-S(iiai»ui IsiMi^m c La^ur/i ^uili bris aiifjl Laaioi iiuf ,*;-jL)ft^'i3i »(i>
limes... in Icy> Fort Hentqn .was .estauli^neaj, wnicn af-
i«na) in LsH aoticluqvq tMnti if)o> siif ifcn sno vlTftn TiTiiu Bt
forded protection to fur-traders from the hostifcnimto*n«i • m, and see: :ant
f navijTi
the Missouri, which also made the station headqua: the fur-trade of the Northwest.
. was the condition of ai; .856,
in whir .,tion w< dis-
covery of gold o ; caused
a stampede to that re* !i excitement many fur-
traders participated, th ike proved to be a dis-
appointing one. Seven years later, 1863, the Alder Gulch
discovery, in Nevada, furnished fresh excitement, and the
1172
DEVELOPMENT OF WESTERN COMMERCE
mines proving even richer than the first reports indicated, Virginia City was founded and became the most flourish- ing mining center in the West. In the succeeding year an- other gold discovery was made in Montana, on what was called " Last Chance Gulch," and the town of Helena was established in the immediate vicinity, which grew so rapidly that in a year it had become a place of marked importance and has never since ceased to thrive as a mining center.
Commercial development of the country lying west of the Mississippi was rapid and uninterrupted for many years, or until 1862, when an uprising of Indians in Minnesota placed a temporary check upon immigration into that terri- tory and seriously affected the prosperity of the whole North- west for many years thereafter. The trouble had its be- ginning in 1857, when a band of fifteen renegade Indians, under Inkpaduta, made a sudden descent upon settlers on the shore of Lake Okechobee, an arm of Spirit Lake, Iowa, and murdering forty-seven men carried three white women into captivity, only one of whom contrived to effect her escape, several years afterwards.
Report of this outrage produced intense excitement, and was promptly followed by the government making a demand upon the Sioux to deliver up the murderers, to be dealt with by the constituted authorities. In pursuance of this demand Chief Little Crow, with one hundred warriors, went in pur- suit of the red-handed villains, three of whom were over- taken and shot to death, but having accomplished this much
1175
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
Little Crow refused to make further effort to punish the murderers, and the government permitted the outrage to go unavenged. This exhibition of apparent indifference upon the part of the United States authorities emboldened Little Crow to organize his people who hoped by a show of force to intimidate the government into making prompt payments of annuities which he claimed were long overdue. He shrewdly estimated that the government being at the time engaged in a war for the Union could afford small resistance to a revolt of the great Sioux nation, and he believed oppor- tunity was at hand for the Indians to recover possession of lands in Iowa and Minnesota relinquished by treaties with the tribes of the North. The government, acknowledging that the annuities were due, pleaded inability to meet these obligations at once, and sought by many promises to placate the Indians, but without avail.
On July I4th, 1862, Little Crow with 5000 Sioux appeared before the agency at Yellow Medicine and demanded rations for his people, which of course could not be supplied, where- upon he retired sullen and threatening. No disturbance, however, was made until the 4th of August, when 150 armed Indians forced their way into the parade grounds of the post and breaking down the door of the warehouse took away all the provisions stored therein. On the same day another well armed party of Indians presented themselves before the com- mandant at Fort Ridgely and asked permission to enter the
fort and hold a dance. Their real intent was to massacre
1176
DEVELOPMENT OF WESTERX COMMERCE
the garrison, as it was afterwards learned, and this suspicion being felt by the officer, instead of granting the request he assembled his force of thirty men under arms and pointing a well loaded howitzer towards the Indians ordered them to be gone at once.
About the same time an uprising took place at the town of Acton, where stores were plundered, and a man named Hun- ter was shot dead. This act precipitated war at once. The settlers rallied to make all the defense possible, but their num- bers were small as compared with that of the Indians, who began a riot of massacre and outrage horrible to contemplate even at this time. House after house was burned, the men murdered, and the women taken captive, or subjected to indignities worse than death. The story of heroism, suffer- ing, torment, and murder of the war of 1862-3, as waged by the Indians against the pioneers of Minnesota, is one too tragic to be followed in all its ghastly details, the most terri- ble feature of which perhaps was the massacre at Big Stone Lake and the heroic defense of New Ulm. The Indians moved with such celerity and struck so remorselessly that eighteen counties, with a population of perhaps 40,000 were completely desolated. Terror seized the people, who fled precipitately, spreading panic, until they reached the Mississippi, and thousands left the State never to return.
After months of massacreing, almost without meeting resistance, the Indians, as if surfeited with killing, relaxed their hellish efforts to exterminate the whites, and began to
1177
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
consider means for their own existence, for the country had been devastated and starvation seemed to threaten every living thing. This lull in hostilities was taken advantage of by Colonel Sibley to organize an expedition of sufficient force (2,500) to cope with the Indians. It was now war indeed, not massacre, but fierce battles in which the Indians were invariably worsted and gradually driven west until not a Sioux warrior was left to contest upon the soil of Minne- sota. Little Crow and a large party of his people managed to escape, but three hundred were captured, who being tried for murder were condemned to death. Two hundred and sixty-two of this number had their sentences commuted, but the other thirty-eight were sent to the gallows at Mankato, December 26th, chanting a death song. Little Crow was soon afterwards shot near Hutchinson, by a man who claimed that he mistook the chief, who was gathering berries at the time, for a wild animal. No one ever attempted to investi- gate the -circumstances, general relief and satisfaction being felt that the savage was dead. The results of the uprising were some compensation for the lives lost and two millions of dollars of property destroyed, for the Sioux were com- pelled to surrender their lands along the Minnesota River, and to accept a reservation in southwestern Dakota. In writing a history of the Minnesota tragedy of 1862, A. L. Mason sums up the results as follows:
" The Great Sioux Massacre stands completely without
a parallel in all the bloody history of the conflicts between
1178
/ \C1DL\T IX THE MINNESOTA IN'DIAN WJR. OF 1862.
'T^'HE Sioux outbreak which wrought such terrible havoc in Minnesota in 1862.
^^ was not entirely confined to that state, but spread to Iowa where a masiacn
ites occurred on Lake Okebojee. The Indiana killed all the men, some
in number, and carried off three women, two of whom died from the abuse
vhich they were subjected, but the third after enduring captivity for severs
managed to escape, or rather her liberation u. Siou*
"ere placed upon a reservation in Dakota.
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
consider means for their own existence, for the country had been devastated and s- i seemed to threaten every
living thing. This lull in hostilities was taken advantage of .by Colonel SiWey to ot;. n expedition of sufficient
force (2,500) to c it was now war
indeed, not n\i-
a S
.rge par SV&WWft iHT^mftWW^^la^rWMB'Wkg^
for murder were conden^ft&T^ death. Two hundred and
i3£eE£m JS aisrfw cwol oJ biwiqe Jud ,9lBl« JcHl ol banrtnoD
TOT yliviiqBD ^niiubna latls Tnint arlJ Jud ,b3m[due 9i3W yanJ noinw oJ
aiiw tvaifiU ahetn£Kiti>dH&fth*n6OTi<b,yq3:daaji
that he mistook the
time, for a wild animal. No one ever attempted tc
gate the circumstances, general relief and satisfaction being
fe!' •> of the
we-
of om-
pelled iver,
air In
wr ustory of the Minn«.- ', A. L.
urns up th<
;je Great Sioux Massacre stands completely without ilel in all the bloody history of the conflicts between 1178
DEVELOPMENT OF WESTERN COMMERCE
the red and white men on the American continent. In its suddenness and extent, in its monstrous atrocity, and its Satanic perfection of details, it must take rank with the greatest massacres of all time. Occurring as it did at a period when the people had no more apprehension of our Indian war than do the inhabitants of any farming region of the Middle States, it found its victims utterly unprepared for resistance or defense. There are no means of accurately knowing the number of persons who were slain on the terri- ble 1 8th of August and the succeeding five days. If the estimates of the best authorities are to be received the num- ber ranged between one and two thousand people who were massacred in cold blood. Besides the actual bloodshed, the massacre resulted in the total depopulation of a territory larger than the State of Vermont."
Colonel Henry M. Sibley, who drove the Sioux nation from Minnesota, was the first governor of the State, elected upon its admission to the Union in 1858.
It may be mentioned in this connection that a missionary post was established at St. Paul in 1838, and that the first house erected in Minneapolis was built by a man named Stevens, in 1842. From these beginnings the twin cities have developed into metropoli of the North, and the latter now holds the distinction of being the greatest producer of flour in the world, while the former is the capital of the State.
Though the great Sioux nation was compelled to leave
nSi
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
Minnesota, and several were punished for joining in the up- rising of Little Crow, as a people they still retained their reputation of being the strongest and most warlike of all the tribes of North America. Prior to their expulsion from Minnesota the Sioux were the predominant nation of the North, whose range was east to the Mississippi and west to the Rocky Mountains. Defeated by Colonels Sibley and Sulley the main body retired to their reservation on the Missouri and in the Black Hills, but though diminished in numbers and curtailed in power they did not relinquish hope of one day regaining the lands of their fathers. Next there- fore to the Apaches, of the Southwest, the Sioux were the most hostile with which the government had to deal, and most of the campaigns thereafter were directed against them. They hung on the flanks of civilization's progress, harassed the builders of railroads, and committed excesses of every kind, culminating in the battle on the Little Big Horn in 1876, where the Sioux under Sitting Bull annihilated Custer and every one that composed his heroic company. It re- mained for General Miles to finally break the power of that savage nation, whose strength failed utterly and their hope expired with the death of Sitting Bull at Wounded Knee, killed by one of his own people who was employed as a mem- ber of the government police.
In the meanwhile the work of reclamation went on and development of the West continued despite opposing obsta- cles of nature and savagery. St. Louis, the great entrepot of
1182
DEVELOPMENT OF WESTERN COMMERCE
the West, received an impetus to its prosperity with the advent of the railway, the first to reach the Mississippi at that point being the Ohio & Mississippi Railroad, in 1849. Jefferson City was laid out as early as 1822, and was at once made the seat of State government, the territory of Missouri having been admitted to statehood in 1821. When there- fore St. Louis got a railroad on the east, the people of the State clamored for rail connection with the capital. Out of this demand grew the Missouri Pacific Railroad, which being organized in St. Louis began construction westward in 1851, and in 1856 the line reached Jefferson City, and was ex- tended to Kansas City in 1865.
The first line of railroad to reach the Missouri River was the Hannibal & St. Joseph, which crossed the State and made its western terminus at St. Joseph in 1859. Thereafter railroad building in the west assumed great activity. In 1867 the Chicago & Northwestern completed its western line to Council Bluffs, and in the following year the Sioux City and Pacific entered Sioux City. But the greatest of all railroad enterprises in America was the construction of the Union Pacific, which starting from Omaha completed its connection with the Pacific in 1869. During the building of this line, which penetrated hostile territory, and ran across a stretch of two thousand miles of unsettled country, the workmen were exposed to attacks of Indians who resented this invasion of their hunting grounds, and might have de- layed completion of the line for many years had not the gov-
1183 20
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
ernment sent troops to guard the men engaged in the work. Nor did the presence of soldiers wholly prevent depredations on the road, for Indians made frequent attacks and continued to menace the operation for several years after the line was finished.
A short while before the completion of the Union Pacific another great transcontinental line was projected to connect Duluth with Portland and Pacific coast cities. A company was organized and work of building was begun in 1870, which was prosecuted with so much vigor that in the fall of 1872 the line had extended as far west as Bismarck.
To speak with accuracy, projection of a railroad across the continent existed in the condition of an abstract proposal as early as 1834, when the idea was promulgated by Dr. Samuel B. Barlow, who favored a northern route. To this same end a memorial was presented to Congress in 1846 which received so much attention that a bill providing gov- ernment aid for the building of a transcontinental line came to a vote and received such strong support that it was de- feated by a small majority. But interest was fully aroused, to such an extent that the United States Government, in 1853, sent out five expeditions to explore the country between the Missouri River and the Pacific, along the lines of the 32d, 3$th, 38-39^, 4ist-42d, and the 47 and 49th par- allels of latitude, to make report on the most feasible route. These surveys and explorations, under control of the War
Department were accordingly made, and sent to Congress
1184
DEVELOPMENT OF WESTERN COMMERCE
in 1855, upon the reports of which many Pacific railroad bills were prepared and introduced, providing government land subsidies and money appropriations for two lines, viz., one on the 38-39^ and another on the 47-48^1 parallels. These bills were debated, amended, referred, and otherwise delayed until political exigencies, in 1862, made rail con- nection with California imperative, and accordingly the Union and Central Pacific railroads, one starting west from Omaha, and the other east from San Francisco, were sub- sidized and financed so that the work of construction was begun in 1863, and finished in 1869.
The Northern Pacific was incorporated by act of Congress in May, 1864, but surveys^vere not begun until 1867, and it
B
was not until three years later that the work of building was entered upon, this delay being due to difficulties encountered in financing the enterprise notwithstanding the liberal grant of lands made by the Government to promote the under- taking. Work was begun from both ends of the proposed line, as in that of the Union Pacific, and was pushed with great expedition until the panic of 1873 put a temporary em- bargo upon further operations, at which time the road was operating the east end from Duluth to Bismarck, and the west end from Columbia River to Tacoma. Then came bank- ruptcy to the company and a reorganization in 1875, but re- sumption of construction did not begin until 1879, and it was not until 1883 that the road was completed, at which time the eastern terminus was established at St. Paul.
1185
LOUISIANA TERRITORY
To these two pioneer railroads development of the great West is essentially due. Before their coming the country west of the Missouri River was practically inaccessible ex- cept to the hunter, trapper, and gold-seeker, and the land was unavailable for any purposes of cultivation. How like magic the results appear. The buffalo, elk, bear, wolf, ante- lope which so abounded on the plains forty years ago have disappeared, but the lonely landscape of that time has become vivified and resonant with the stirring activities and cheer- ing clamor of thriving towns, and stately cities. Where the prairies were formerly wooed only by sweeping winds, and wild animals and reckless savages held sway, there are now to be seen infinite stretches of wheat-fields, vast herds of cattle, and fruitful industry is sowing and reaping while peaceful content, following development and prosperity, possesses the land.
1186
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