The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1904-05-05
TRAIL OF LEWIS AND CLARK.
DIN ID. Clark, of the Northern Pacific IL.
uses Delightful Book Regarding
the Pioneers Of the Northwest

plete, nor can one understand as one
should, the imperial dimensions of
that vast domain or its real present
and future greatness, without some
knowledge of the wonderful explora-
ton of Lewis and Clark in 1SO4-6.
That historic expedition consisting
of As men Cater, at Fort Mandan,
reduced to 81 men and 1 Indian
woman with her three months old
papoose) left st. Louis, assembled the
Missouri river to its headwaters.
crossed the mountains to the Column
bia, and descended that stream to it's
mouth, and returned, within less than
two years and half. One winter they
spent in North Dakota, near Bis
marck, and another in Oregon, near
Astoria.
The results of the exploration, the
valuable discoveries made, the mani
fold adventures met with, not only
stamp the exploration as the greatest
of modern times, but render accounts
of it as interesting as a novel.
There have recently been issued
several reprints of the old, original
Lewis and Clark report of 1914, which
was not, by any means, a publication
of the real journals of the explorers,
but an edited edition of them by out
siders, and it was incomplete and de-
fective in many ways. Other publ
cations relating to the expedition
have also been issued recently one of
which, published by G. p. Putnam
Sons, New York, stands peculiarly
and uniquely alone. This edition is
a two volume, 8 vo. one, called THE
Trail of Lewis and Clark, 1SO4-19O4."
The author, Mr.. Olin d. Wheeler, is
well known as the writer of the pop
ular Wonderland series of the North
ern Pacific Railway, in connection
with which he made his studies and
researches for this more pretentious
work.
Mr.. Wheeler has travelled several
thousand miles over the old route of
Lewis and Clark, on rail ay trains
and steamboats,, in rowboats, afoot,
on horseback and in buggies or wag-
ons. He has travelled with pack trains,
camped out, and climbed mountains,
in following the old Indian trails that
the explorers followed and in visiting
remote points made memorable by
them. He has sojourned among In
dian tribes, some of them now almost
extinct, that Lewis and Clark visited,
and he has talked with one old squaw
who, as a child. saw Lewis and Clark.
The explorers route across the Bit
terroot mountains, from the headwa-
tiers of the Missouri river to the
sources of the Snake river and thence
to the Kooskooske, or Clearwater
river, which has always been an I'M
solved problem full of uncertainties
and gaps, has been carefully followed
and completely solved and mapped.
''The Trail of Lewis and Clark" is
paintings, drawings, and maps made
under Mr.. Wheeler's direction, and
from photographs taken by profess
sional photographers who accompa-
MED him for the purpose. The work
is not made up of quotations from
tllC 1<S"lo anu Vain lSpol Will
notated comments, but the writer
tells his own story and supplements
it with brief and pertinent extracts
from Lewis and Clark, Gass,-one of
the sergeants of Lewis and Clark
whose journal was published-Breck-
enridge, Bradbury, Macmillan, Cat
lin, Henry, Chittenden and host of
other historical and narrative writer's
that connect the past with the pre-
sent.
The original manuscript journals of
Lewis and Clark were studied by the
author, and exact excerpts and photo
graphic reproductions, in half tone,
of their pages and drawings are Civ
en-. A chapter is devoted to the Loui-
siana Purchase, another to the pre-
paratory measures for the exploration
and yet another to the history of each
man of the expedition so far as
known, including detailed discussion
of the causes and circumstances of
the death of Captain Lewis.
There is gathered within the COW
ers of these volumes, and made avail
able, a vast amount of history, mar
rative and incident of the last CEN
fury that is of great value, is almost
unknown to the present generation
and, practically, is inaccessible to
them.
The Louisiana Purchase Exposition
at ST. Louis. and the Lewis and Clark
Centennial to be held at Portland,
Oregon, in 1905, to commemorate the
great exploration itself, make this
work by Mr.. Wheeler peculiarly time
ly and apropos, because it is written
by the only person who, from actual
travel over. and investigation of, the
Lewis and Clark route. can write from
the standpoint of actual knowledge of
past and present conditions of the
old trail and country.
"The Trail of Lewis and Clark"
should be found in every public and
private library in the land. not only
for purposes of reference, for stu
dents, but for use of the general read
er, who will find in reading through
it's pages of large, clear type mat
truth is, indeed, stranger than fic-
tiOn.