Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1942-09-05
La Verendrye, First Man to Explore
West, Rewarded With Financial Ruin

; ner as the mighty river which flows
onward to the sea Is composed oa
mingled waters carried by many txib-
utaries from rs many sources, so the
stream Of civilization Is merely the
mingiing Of many elements, the result
Of many combined forces. IL has been
a turbulent evolution Down through
the years following the first settle
ment Of the c0ioniaIs on our most
eastern shores, current and counter
current have mingled and inter
mingled, have risen and fallen, have
blended together, now In confusion,
now In harmony, until In c0ntempla-
ton Of the finished whole, the impress
Of any single element is hardly dis
cernable. Out Of this seeming chaos,
though, there Is one element which
has been stronger than. the rest.
The most dominant, the most sig
nificant and the most constructive act
which has had TO do with the expan-
sion of the Anglo-Saxon race and the
civilization which that race typifieS
has been the white invasion of the
vast country which lies west Of the
Mississippi river in the United States.
In less than a century and a half,
with reSistleSs energy, the American
| people have secured, occupied and de-
| veloped this great northwest, and at
the same time established the char
acteristic and permanent ideals.
In 1870, the center of population in
the United States was in eastern
Maryland; In 1900 it was Just north of
Washington City; by 1920 it had
moved to West Virginia; in 1860 it
So
comparative steadineSs it has moved
in line almost due west from Wash
ington.
This westward movement has been
a vast accomplishment; it has neces-
STATED toll, sweat, misery and blood
and review of the process Of this
great invasion, the movement which
has been responsible for the develop
ment of Montana, discloSes many in
teresting characters whose exploits in
Drawing the dangers of the forest and
the plains, constitutes a retrospection
of the romance that was typical alone
of the old west.
Search for Western Sea
In the days when half of North
America was part of the domain Of
France, the dream of many of the
more daring spirits among the French
explorers and voyageurs was the dis
covering of a northwestern passage to
the Great Sea Of the West" (the Pa
cific ocean,. To this end, many an
adventurous and unsuccessful expedi- |
ton was commissioned and recorded |
in history. These journeys wended
their way courageouSly into country |
infested with wild and ferocious beasts /
and savage natives who guarded their
domains with Jealous ardor.
1t was one of these daring expedi- |
lions which led the first white men |
into what is now Montana, 199 years
ago, and resulted in the discovery Of
the Rocky Mountains.
Among the most prominent Of these
French explorers was Sieur La Veren-
drye. His entire life had been spent
at the outposts Of civilization, much
Of his earlier experiences being con-
nected with the fur trade In Canada,
where he trekked through the un-
known wilds, going many times where
white men had never before trod.
Early in his career he had set his
heart upon the finding Of this north
western route to the sea, but died ere
his task had been accomplished.
Before he was forced to retire from
active life because of old age and ILL
ness, in one of his expeditions, he
went far into the west, reaching what
S now North Dakota. It was here, on
the banks of the Missouri river, that
be found the Mandan Indians He was
the first white man they had ever
seen. These Indians, La Verendrye
discovered, lived in villages, in COM
Portable huts; we're tillers of the soil
and raised Indian corn, melons and
which they traded to the
lomadic tribes Of the plains.
Friendly With Indians
La Verendrye was successful in es-
,ablishing friendly relations with this
.ribe, and it might be here noted that
he favorable impression made upon
.hese red men by this explorer re-
Tulted in Lewis and Clark (who later
,ame that way, being able to pro-
,ure food and shelter for their party.
During his stay with these natives,
he older Mandan chiefs told La Yer
,ndrye many things which interested
lin intensely. They stated that far ]
o the west there was a great body
u Salb WAFER, dl1 UlAu4ClloC AdAC WAAOcC
waters rose and fell, and on the shores
f which dwelt men who wore boards ]
md who worshipped the master Of
lie, In great houses which they had
'uiIt for this purpose, holding books, I
he leaves Of which were like the In
ian corn, and singing in their wor-
hip" !
From this story La Verendrye as s
umed two things. Indians who had t
isited the Mandans had been on the B
hore Of the sea for which he was ;
boxing, and had come in contact with Z
spanish settlements to the west. 1t
1as natural for him to presume that /
be Spaniards were gaining a foothold Z
90 far north, thus putting French .
interests in jeopardy. Thus, he at !
nee made the long trek back to '
FontreaI to acquaint his government I
nth the facts he had learned, and I
D seek authority and funds to lead K
n expedition further west to block n
be SpaniardS.. His story fell on dis c