River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1904-05-05
TRAIL OF LEWIS AND CLARK.
OIin ID. Clark, of the Northern Pacific Is.
uses a Delightful Book Regarding
the Pioneers of the Northwest.

| 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 18O4-6.
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 it's headwaters,
| crossed the mountains to the Column
! bia, and descended that stream to its
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's
Sons, New York, stands peculiarly
and uniquely alone. This edition is
a two volume, 20. one, called ''The
Trail of Lewis and Clark, 18O4-1904."
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 railway 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
illustrated in color and half tone from
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
the Lewis and Clark report with an
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-B eek
enridge, Bradbury, Maximilian, Cat
| lin, Henry, Chittenden and a host of
other historical and narrative writers
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 a 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
| anu, practically: Is 1udcceSSlDIc 10
! 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.
1.-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
its pages of large, clear type that
truth is, indeed, stranger than fic-
| ton.
MUSIC AND DRAMA