An Illustrated History of Missouri Comprising Its Early Record, and Civil, Political, and Military History From the First Exploration to the Present Time

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Excerpt from An Illustrated History of Missouri Comprising Its Early Record, and Civil, Political, and Military History From the First Exploration to the Present Time: Including an Encyclopedia of Legislation During the Administrations of the Governors From M'nair, 1820, to Hardin, 1876, With the Topography, Geology, and Geography of the State, Historical Sketches of Religious Denominations, Of Schools and CollegesFully equipped and instructed for his arduous undertaking, Captain Lewis left Washington on the 5th of July, 1803, _and proceeded at once to Pittsburgh, where many of the articles prepared and fitted for the use of the expedition had been forwarded. The men to accompany him were to be selected from the military posts on the Ohio river. Many causes conspi'red to retard the movement of the expedition, among which not the least was the difiiculty of navigation down the Ohio. Hence the party did not arrive at Cahokia until the season was too far advanced to enter the Missouri with safety, and the movement was delayed until the succeeding spring. Accord ingly, in the early part of the spring of 1804, due preparation having been made, the party started forth on their arduous and hazardous expedition. It consisted of Captain Lewis, Captain Clark, nine young men from Kentucky, fourteen United States soldiers, two Canadian boatmen and a negro servant of Captain Clark's. The little party commenced their journey by slowly ascend ing the then unexplored Missouri river, and, after the severest labor and many sufferings and dangers, reached the country of the Mandans, where they spent the second winter in latitude 47 deg., 21 min. N. On the 2d of April, 1805, they. Resumed their movement up the Missouri, and reached the great falls about the apoint of June. Above the falls, toward the last of July, they reached middle where three streams, nearly equal in size, con verged into one. These they named Jefferson, Madison and Gallatin, in honor of the President, Secretary of State, and Secretary of the Treasury. From this point, they ascended the Jefferson, the largest of the three streams, and the northern branch, to its source. Procuring horses and a guide from the Shoshone Indians, in the month of August, they struck for the mountains and traveled through them until the 22d of September, when they entered the plains of the great western slope. On the 7th of October, they embarked in canoes on the kooskoosky, a left branch of the Columbia river, and, on the 15th of November, reached the mouth of that great river. In their journey ings, they had now traveled over four thousand miles from the con¿uence of the Mississippi and the Missouri. They passed the third winter in an entrenched camp on the south bank of the Columbia river, and, on the 23d of March, 1806, broke up camp and began to re-ascend that river. Find ing the ascent of the river perilous and very laborious, they left. Their boats on the 2d of May, and traversed the country across the mountains on horseback, with the greatest difficulty, suffering many hardships and pri vations, and subject at all times to great danger. They at last succeeded in reaching the Missouri river, on the 12th ofaugust, and reached St. Louis on the 23d of September, after an absence of two years and four months. Mr. J etibrson, in his sketch of Lewis, speaking of the return of the expe.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com