The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1902-02-23
LEWIS AND CLARK
1EcoRDs OF THEIR FAMOUS
EXPEDITION
TO Oregon Pressrved-1Gay Be Seem
in Archives Of Philadelphia
Philosophical Society.
Philadelphia Press.

Philadelphia Press.
II taxes the imagination in, these days to
States preparing for jou.n to- the Rocky
Mountains or the Pacinc Coast was Obliged
2 obtain passports from representatives Of the
French and English Governments.
There was such a time. The ten-dollar note
issued by the United States treasury It the
beginning of the year bears the engraved por-
once on journey Of memorable Importance
70 the country. q journey that almost riyaled
These men, whose portraits in oil by Charles
Wilson Peale, adorn the walls Of Independence
n. new note Wsss tae nsao, . on
Captain Meriwether Lewis and Captain will
liam Clark. They were the first white men.
except possibly some French missionaries In
Canada, to cross the Rocky Mountains within,
the boundaries Of the United States.
are int.n nsaas TO on ,ne NEW issu. OF
Of that period in which they began and COM
pieted their great task Of establishing link
sation and the far-off Pacific slope Congress,
n e as for
shores Of the Pacific in the Summer Of COS.
after more than a years journey through the
While the whole Pacific eoas. Is prepsrtns
e cSmmemora.s the trip ths CITY Of Phils.
p, beginning Of this great enterprise. 1t was
here that the plan was first proposed Il IL
nsy lie covered with the dust Of a century in
the vault of the American Philosophical So
Getty. a. Fifth and Chestnut streets
the Mississippi River was probably tho last
and greatest ambition of the life of Thomas
Jefferson, He cherished it for years before Il
the end Of IT fulfilled While United States
minister at Paris. in I7ss. Jefferson enaour;
Of Captain Clark on his voyage. to the Pa,
cihc to make a journey from the shores Of
Russia to Nootka sound. in British Columbia
He was to endeavor to eros. the Rocky Noun
tans and penetrate to the headyaters OF the
Missouri River. After the lapse Of several
arrested by the Russian Government The
exten. and character Of the Pacific coast wns
asls Of George vancouver. who settled British
Columbia, and other maritime explorers
But it fell to the lot Of an American sea
Of the Columbia River in Oregon. which l,e
named and renewed the determination OF Jef
fesscn to explore the unsne ,S legion a, M,
Missouri River were different from those OF
the Mississippi into which they flowed. show
source a II I. was believed that If the hcadwa.
ters of the Missouri were traced they would
be found among the gorges OF the ROCKY
Mountains, then '-nown the Highlands, ana
that the Columbia Colorado River now
ing toward the shores of the Pacific from its
western slope offered a channel Of exploration
All the territory between the Mississippi
River and the Rocky Mountains in Jefferson
day was Louisiana and belonged to France
Spanish agencies We're still located along the
frontier. During his residence abroad Jener.
son conceived the great purpose of acquiring
this dominion from France.
The next attempt to explore 1t was an OK.
petition started from Kentucky, accompanied
by French scientist. Officially representing
the Government Of France but for diplomats
reasons this emissary was recalled and the
e 5 asssp Mho haa the
United States. appealed to the American
Philosophical Society. in this city. of which
IN expedition to explore the Missouri. River
to its source - the aid of public suhsc-ip-
tons 81 this time ;,s was ns se CENTER
Of learning and national progress But the
Philosophical society,H founded by Franklin,
Of that period. felt itself unequal to the task
Of promotins Q national INCREASING Or sue. suGn
Again ns psc eoass faded from
few wears later when he became Presi-
whole power and energy Of his administration
to occurring from Frsnce its unexplored pos
sessions In Nnrth Amsrica task IN wn Tse
treaty. was signed at Paris April 80. 1908
BY which Napoleon Bonapsrte. then first con,
81 sa.ts Of o ooo Tss TO is
commerorsfed ct 81 Louis next year by an
international exposition. At one sweep ,he
borders Of the infant republic were extended
from tho banks of the Miseissinri to the root
of the Great Divide. Part Of the Territory west
OF the Rocky Mountains Yves coded to the
United States the Spanish Government OF
Mexico in after years. and the part which
Of t tSe settlement Of a boundary dispute be-
tween the United States and Great Britain.
The signing of the treaty was not known
in the United States until July but jefferson.
in the absence of news from abroad. which In
those DAYS was matter Of six weeks or two
pedition to explore the Missouri River by the
aid of an appropriation from Congress. At
the head Of this expedition was Meriwether
Lewis Jefferson's private secretary, who. for
the purpose of commanding 1t had been com
missloned a captain in the United States
az, STy arr W,'n Of private soldiers from military
posts in Ohio and Indiana. he started by
boat down the Ohio River from Pttsburg.
reaching the mouth nj the Missouri early In
the fall. The expedition wintered on the cast
benk Of the Mississippi until the Spring OF
OF the fact that the United States had expand
"a some miles in width.
II Is strange that the accounts left by these
men Of their journey have never been pub
iished word for word. A narrative written
fyom the manuscript notes OF the explore-s bv
Nicholas Biddle. the father of JUICE C~aiR
Of this CITY. was published in 1914. after two
Philadelphia booksellers had met with imam
ctal disaster in the effort to print the work.
The pubiicstion was a pecuniarv failure yet
a single volume of the Biddie edition of Lewis
i ana rarity. is worth a hundred dollars The
failure OF the book was attributed to the
fnsncisl stringency which followed the war
since the publication Of the Isidde MARIA
tive in 1914. the notebooks of the explorers,
IN old leather have reposed In the
vault Of the American Philosophical Society.
in this city, where thew were placed at the
request of Thomas Jefferson. They were
BROUGHT hack from the journey in tin boxes
eealed with solder tn preserve them In the
eyent OF attacks bv the Indians other
disaster that might have overtaken the expe,
The historical committee Of the society. Of
which BENJAMIN Tilehman. Chief Justice of
Yoennsylvania, was chairman.
what was nrscticallv q fenuhlcaton Of
the Piddle edition appeared in 1898. edi'ad br
Or Elliot F. Coues formerly of the United
gates geological survey, rnd this Is the onlv
complete published narrative Of the e-pedi-
zion ~ Lewis and Clark in existence today
But the actual account as written nv the men
themselves heA ressr been Published.
by Thomas 1effer-on that srho'arl' states
man said Of his nroteTe; He wanted moth
cal LANGUAGE Of the natural sciences, and resA-
tness IN astronomical observations necessary
-. tha geography Of his route To ACQUIRE