YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

1941

(J^X^^

MEN OF ACHIEVEMENT
EXPLORERS AND
TRAVELLERS

GENERAL A. W. GREELY, U.S.A.
GOLD MEDALLIST OF ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY AND SOCIETE DE
GEOGRAPHIE, PARIS

NEW YORK
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
1894

Copyright, 1893, by
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS

TROW DIRECTORY
PRINTING AND BOOKBINDING COMPANY
NEW YORK

PREFACE
The compiler of a series of sketches of Ameri
can Explorers and Travellers experiences at the
very outset a serious embarrassment from the
superabundant wealth of original material at his
command. The history of America for two
hundred years after the voyage of Joliet has
been the history of courageous, persistent, and
successful exploration, wherein the track of the
explorer, instantly serving as a trail for the pio
neer, has speedily broadened into the wagon-
road of invading immigrants.
Explorations and journeys of such an extent
as in other and older lands would have excited
praise and merited reward have been so fre
quent in this continent as to pass almost unno
ticed. Hence the scope of this modest volume
is necessarily confined to explorations of great
importance or peculiar interest, and when made
by men of American birth who are no longer
living. In deference to the author's advisers, two ex
ceptions have been made — Du Chaillu and Stan
ley, Americans by adoption — otherwise African
exploration, so wondrously successful in this
generation and so fruitful in its results, would
have been unrepresented. Again, the unparal-

i PREFACE
leled growth and progress of our American re
public owes no small debt to the wealth of phys
ical vigor and strong intellectuality contributed
by its sturdy emigrants. These men, American
in idea, purpose, and action, whose manhood
outgrew the slow evolution of freedom in their
natal country, merit recognition. What thou
sands of other naturalized citizens have indus
trially wrought of the wonderful and great in
this country, these selected representatives have
equalled in African exploration.
A chronological arrangement appeared best
suited to these sketches, which from Joliet to
Fremont exhibit the initiation, growth, and de
velopment of geographic discovery in the in
terior and western portions of the United States.
Since the sketches rest very largely on original
narratives some current errors at least have
been avoided.
Generalization and criticism have been made
always with reference to later exploration, which
necessarily enhances or diminishes the impor
tance of any original work.

CONTENTS

FACE

I. Louis Joliet, Re-discoverer of the Mississippi, . 9
II. Peter le Moyne, Sieur d' Iberville, Founder of
Louisiana, ..... 41
III. Jonathan Carver, the Explorer of Minnesota, . 71
IV. Captain Robert Gray, the Discoverer of the Co
lumbia River, ... ... 88
V. Captain Meriwether Lewis and Lieut. Will
iam Clark, First Trans-Continental Explorers of
the United States, . . . 105
VI. Zebulon Montgomery Pike, Explorer of the Sources
of the Mississippi and Arkansas Rivers, . . . 163
VII. Charles Wilkes, the Discoverer of the Antarctic
Continent, ..... . . 194
VIII. John Charles Fremont, the Pathfinder, . . . 212
IX. Elisha Kent Kane, Arctic Explorer, . . 240
X. Isaac Israel Hayes, and the Open Polar Sea, . 272
XI. Charles Francis Hall, and the North Pole, 293
XII. George Washington De Long, and the Siberian
Arctic Ocean, . . . . 312
XIII. Paul Belloni Du Chaillu, Discoverer of the Dwarfs
and Gorillas, . . ... 330
XIV. Stanley Africanus and the Congo Free State, 349

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
FULL-PAGE
FACING
General A. W. Greely, U. S. A., (Frontispiece.) page
On the Shores of the Pacific,
A Blackfoot Tepee,
Castle Rock, on the Columbia River,
Charles Wilkes, ...
Paul Belloni du Chaillu,
Henry M. Stanley, 

96
112 140
194
33°349

ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT PAGE
Signature of Jolliet (Old Spelling), . . . .10
"Marquette's Map," . ... 15
The Reception of Joliet and Marquette by the
Illinois, ...  25
De Soto, . .  34
Signature of le Moyne  42
Bienville, . . . ... 57
Bienville's Army on the River, . . . . 63
New Orleans in 1719, .... 70
Indian Tomahawk, . . . . -74
The Falls of St. Anthony in the River Mississippi, 77
A Calumet, .... 80
Naudowessie Indians, ...... 85
Indian Maul, .  0,3
Captain Meriwether Lewis  119
Buffalo Head, .  125
Lieutenant William Clark,  132

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Buffalo Skull 
General Z. M. Pike,
Indian Snow-shoes, .
The Ice-barrier,
The Vincennes in a Storm, .
View of the Antarctic Continent,
In an Ice-field,
John Charles Fremont,
Jessie Benton Fremont, .
Ascending Fremont's Peak, .
Kit Carson,
Lake Klamath,
Elisha Kent Kane, .
The Arctic Highway,
A Sleeping-bag for Three Men,
The Coming Arctic Night,
Esquimau Boys Fishing,
An Arctic Stream, .
Isaac Israel Hayes, 
Upernivik, . . .
Hayes's Winter-quarters,
Adrift on a Berg, .
Charles Francis Hall, .
Igloos, or Esquimau Huts,
In Winter-quarters,
An Arctic Fiord,
A Woman of the Arctic Highlanders
from Life, .
Esquimau Woman. Sketched from Life,
George Washington De Long,
Herald Island, . . . .
In the Pack, . . . .
Where the Bodies were Found,

Sketched

page 162165172 199
202 205
20S2142152IS
226231242
2462512562602642732762S0
285294299302 305308310
3X3
3*7 321
323

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

noros and nlndemann, ....
Finding the Bodies, ....
The Gorilla (Troglodytes Gorilla),
A Village of Dwarfs,
A Pigmy Warrior, . ...
A Dwarf Prisoner, ....
Arrows of the African Pigmies, .
The Hut where Livingstone Died,
Map showing Position and Boundaries of the Congo
State, . . .
Tippu Tib 
Emin Pasha,
Finding Nelson in Distress at Starvation Camp,
A Stockaded Camp, .
Ruwenzori (The Snowy Mountain), Identified by
Stanley with "The Mountains of the Moon,"

326
328 334 339342345348352
355
3593^336637°
372

EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
i.
LOUIS JOLIET,
Re-discoverer of the Mississippi.
If one should ask which is the most important
river basin in the world, there is no doubt that
the Mississippi would be named, with its million
and a quarter square miles of area and its twenty-
five or more billions of aggregated wealth. Fa
vored in climate, soil, and navigable streams, and
endowed with practically inexhaustible veins of
coal, copper, iron, and silver, feeding the world
with its hundreds of millions of bushels of corn and
wheat, and clothing it by other millions of bales
of cotton, it is hardly so astonishing that within
217 years from its discovery by Joliet this great
est of river basins should be the abiding-place
of twenty-seven and a half millions of people.
Speaking of Joliet, Bancroft wrote that his
short voyage brought him immortality ; but in
the irony of fate his explorations have not even
given his name a place in the last edition of the
Encyclopaedia Britannica. In writing on Ameri
can explorers, it seems most fitting that this se-

10 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
ries of sketches should be headed by this Cana
dian, whose name is scarcely known by one in a
thousand. That aught is obtainable concerning
the details of his life is due to the investigations
of Shea, which
later were admira
bly summed up by
Parkman. Louis Joliet, the
, _ son of John Joliet
Signature of Jolliet (Old Spelling). and Mary d Aban-
cour, was born at Quebec, September 21, 1645.
His father was a wagon-maker, in the service of
the Company of One Hundred Associates, then
owners of Canada.
The son in youth was imbued with devout
feelings, which, possibly fostered by the elder
Joliet as certain to bring station and influence in
manhood, led to his being educated in the Jesuit
College for the priesthood, in which indeed he
received the minor orders in 1662. Four years
later, in the debates on philosophy, which were
participated in by the Intendant and listened to
by the colonial dignitaries, Joliet showed such
skill as to elicit especial commendation from the
Fathers. His future career shows that his studies with
the Fathers were not lost on him, and doubtless
they contributed largely to make Joliet that
intelligent, well-poised leader who filled with
credit all duties and positions incident to his
varied and adventurous life.
It is probable, however, that during all these

LOUIS JOLIET 11
years he was at heart a true voyageur, and that
his thoughts turned continually from the cloister
and books to the forest and its attractive life.
Be this as it may, he practically abandoned all
ideas of the priesthood at the age of twenty-two,
and turned to the most certain, and indeed, in
Canada, the only path to wealth, that of a trader
in furs with the Indians. In this trade only the
hardy, shrewd, intelligent, and tireless subordi
nate could hope to thrive and rise. Success
meant long and hazardous journeys into the very
heart of the Indian country, where were needed
great physical courage and strength, perfect skill
with gun, paddle, axe, sledge, or snow-shoe, a
thorough knowledge of wood-craft, indomitable
will or casuistry and tact according to the occa
sion. To paddle a canoe from sunrise to sunset
of a summer day, to follow the sledge or break a
snow-shoe path before it as far as a dog can
travel in a march, to track a moose or deer for
leagues without rest, to carry canoes and heavy
packs over long portages through an untrav-
elled country, were the ordinary experiences of
a voyageur, which were accomplished for the
great part on a diet of smoked meat and boiled
Indian corn, with no shelter in fair weather and
the cover of an upturned canoe or bark hut in
stress of storm.
Joliet did not long remain in private adventure,
for in 1669 Talon, then Intendant of Canada, sent
him to discover and explore the copper-mines of
Lake Superior, in which quest he failed. It was
on his return trip that Joliet met with La Salle

12 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
and the priests Dolier and Galinee, on Septem
ber 24, 1669, near the present town of Hamilton,
in which direction Joliet's Indian guide had mis
led him when returning from Lake Erie, through
fear of meeting enemies at the Niagara portage.
Joliet's facility for map-making in the field is
evident from the fact that at this time he showed
to the priests with La Salle a copy of the map
that he had made of such parts of the upper
lakes as he had visited, and gave them a copy of
it. He moreover evidenced continued interest
in religious matters by telling them that the
Pottowattamies and other Indian tribes of that
region were in serious need of spiritual succor.
La Salle later, in November, 1680, repaid this
frank tender of information of the little-known
west by intimating his belief that Joliet never
went but little south of the mouth of the Illinois,
and is also stated to have declared that Joliet
was an impostor.
In his account of La Salle's last journey,
Father Douay, referring to Joliet's discoveries as
related by Marquette, says : " I have brought
with me the printed book of this pretended dis
covery, and I remarked all along my route that
there was not a word of truth in it."
The efforts to deprive Joliet of the credit of
the original discovery of the Mississippi falls be
fore the despatch of Count Frontenac to Colbert,
then Minister, dated Quebec, November 14, 1674:
" VI. Sieur Joliet, whom Monsieur Talon advised
me, on my arrival from France, to despatch for
the discovery of the South Sea, has returned

LOUIS JOLIET 13
three months ago, and discovered some very fine
country, and a navigation so easy through the
beautiful rivers he has found, that a person can
go from "Lake Ontario and Fort Frontenac in a
bark to the Gulf of Mexico, there being only one
carrying-place, half a league in length, where
Lake Ontario communicates with Lake Erie.
. . . He has been within ten days of the Gulf
of Mexico. ... I send you by my secretary
the map he has made of it. . . . He has lost
all his minutes and journals in the shipwreck he
suffered in sight of Montreal. . . . He left
with the Fathers at Sault St. Marie copies of his
journal." But to return to the circumstances under
which Joliet made the voyage. Among other
orders of Louis XIV. regarding Canada was a
charge to discover the South Sea and Missis
sippi, and Jean Talon, Intendant of Canada, lost
no chance of furthering this object. La Salle's
journey of 1670 had failed to reach the great
river, though he descended the Ohio to the falls
at Louisville, and at his recall in 1672 Talon had
the subject of further exploration in hand. Joliet
had lately returned from his unsuccessful efforts
to discover copper mines on Lake Superior,
during which he had probably been the first
white man to pass through the Straits of Detroit.
Despite his late failure he had impressed Talon
as the man best fitted to lead such an expedition,
and so before sailing for France the Intendant
recommended Joliet for the work to Count
Frontenac, the new Governor.

Ii EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
In those days the Church and Government
went hand in hand, and but few French expedi
tions went westward from Montreal without a
priest to carry the faith to such Indian tribes as
were allies of France or liable to be won over.
As Joliet's priest-associate, James Marquette, 'a
young Jesuit, then a missionary at St. Esprit, La
Pointe, Lake Superior, was chosen.
No better man could have been sent. Mar
quette was in the prime of life, an expert linguist
— as he had learned in six years to speak fluently
six Indian languages — gentle, patient, and tactful
with the natives, devout in faith, singularly holy
in life, fearless, imaginative, nature-loving and
observant, as shown by his journal, which, owing
to Joliet's shipwreck, is the only original story
of the voyage. His enthusiasm is shown by the
opening sentences of his journal: "I have ob
tained from God the favor of being enabled to
visit the nations on the Mississippi River, . . .
and find myself in the happy necessity of expos
ing my life for the salvation of all these tribes,
especially the Illinois."
Joliet followed the St. Lawrence to Fort Fron
tenac, at the entrance of Lake Ontario, and with
the exception of the portage at the Falls of
Niagara, skirted in his canoe the shores of the
Great Lakes until he reached the Straits of Mack
inaw, on the north side of which, at Point St.
Ignace, he found the enthusiastic Marquette de
votedly laboring for the spiritual welfare of the
Hurons and Ottawas there gathered.
The contemplated line of travel was that of

ft
Oionttmdz

A Part of the Map Published in Paris by Thevenot as " Marquette's Map." It shows the route taken by
Joliet across Wisconsin from the Baie des Puans (now Green Bay) to the Mississippi River, also part
of the return journey, that is, from the present site of Chicago, northward along Lake Michigan.

16 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
Jean Nicollet, an interpreter who had spent many
years with the Indian tribes, who was sent in
1638 to bring about a peace between the Hurons
and Winnebagoes who lived near Green Bay.
After his negotiations he ascended the Fox River,
and making a portage to the Wisconsin, de
scended that stream some distance, so that, as he
thought, from the designation of " the great
water " by the Indian guide to the Mississippi, he
was within three days of the South Sea.
Joliet, however, was too practical to trust
entirely to tradition or oral description. He had
already carefully charted all that was definitely
known of the western lake regions, and now at
St. Ignace, with Marquette's invaluable assist
ance, gathered all possible information from such
Indians at the mission as had frequented the un
known country. This information being duly
weighed and considered, Joliet extended his map
to cover all the new country, marking thereon
the navigable rivers, the names of nations and
villages along their proposed route, the course of
the great river, and other useful information.
Their means of subsistence and travel were the
simplest imaginable, two canoes and as large
quantities of smoked meat and Indian corn as
could be conveniently carried. Their canoes
were of the usual Canadian pattern, of birch-bark
covering, stayed with spruce-root ribs and cedar-
splint, with white-pine pitch smeared over the
birch-bark joints so as to render them water
tight. Such canoes were of astonishing strength
and carrying capacity, and of such lightness that

LOUIS JOLIET 17
four men could carry the largest across por
tages. On a bright spring morning, May 17th, Joliet
and Marquette, with five other men, left behind
them the palisaded post and chapel of St. Ignace.
Plying briskly their paddles from sunrise to sun
set, they made rapid progress, coasting the lake
shore until they turned aside to visit the Menom-
inees, or Wild-rice Indians, whose village was on
the river of that same name. Here inquiries for
information of the " great river " brought from
the savage allies strenuous efforts to dissuade
them from visiting this Mississippi, where, they
said, the unsparing ferocity of the tribes brought
unfailing death by the tomahawk to even inoffen
sive strangers, and that war now raged among
the intervening nations. They further recited
the dangers of navigating the rapids of the Great
River, the presence of frightful water monsters
who swallowed up men and canoes, the roaring
demon who engulfed all travellers, and lastly the
existence of such excessive heat as to ensure cer
tain death. After religious instruction and ser
vice the explorers embarked in their canoes and
soon reached the southern extremity of Green
Bay, where, says Marquette, " our fathers labor
successfully in the conversion of these tribes, hav
ing baptized more than 2,000."
Joliet from Green Bay entered Fox River,
finding it a gentle, beautiful stream, promising
easy and pleasant passage and abounding in wild
fowl. Soon, however, these agreeable aspects
gave way to the sterner phases of exploration,
2

18 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
for sharp rapids were fallen in with where the
strong and uncertain cross-currents often threat
ened the total destruction of their frail canoes,
which would have proved fatal to their plans, by
dashing them against the sharp bowlders.
A serious but lesser evil to these enduring voy
agers was the injury to their mocassin-shod feet,
which were cut and bruised by the sharp edges
of the rocky bed of the river over which they
slowly and painfully dragged their canoes for
long distances.
The many rapids were safely passed, and on the
7th of June, 1673, our explorers reached an Indian
town which marked the extreme western limits
of French discoveries, being the farthest point
reached by Nicollet in his adventurous journey.
In this town dwelt bands from three different
tribes, the Miamis, Maskoutens, or Fire Nation,
and Kickapoos. The latter two were inferior in
manners and appearance to the Miamis, who, more
civil, liberal, and well-made, wore two long ear-
locks that Marquette thought becoming; besides
they were reputed warriors, who rarely failed in
their forays. They proved docile, attentive, and
interested in religious matters, as was shown not
only by their talk with Father Allouez, but also
by a cross standing in the centre of the town,
which was adorned with votive offerings of skins,
belts, bows and arrows to the Great Manitou for
an abundance of game during the dreaded famine
time of winter.
The Indians used for their beds mats, probably
made of rushes, which in default of bark also

LOUIS JOLIET 19
served as material for the walls and roofs of their
unsubstantial shelters. Since Marquette refers
to the advantage of such building material as
capable of being rolled up and easily moved
during hunts, it is probable that this town was
of a temporary character. It appears to have
been well located, being on an eminence, whence
the approach of an enemy or the presence of
game could be readily observed in the open
country. Marquette says of it : " The view is
beautiful and very picturesque, for from the
eminence on which it is perched are seen
stretching out on every side, as far as eye can
reach, prairies broken by thickets or groves of
lofty trees." The Indians grew much corn, and
gathered wild plums and " grapes, from which,"
his thoughts turning to home, he says, " good
wine could be made if they chose."
Joliet lost no time, but immediately on arrival
assembled the sachems and told them that he
was sent by his Governor to discover new coun
tries. He made them a present and asked that
two guides be sent to show him the way, which
resulted in the gift to Joliet of a mat to serve as
a bed, and the sending of two Miamis as guides.
The next day, June ioth, they proceeded, two
Miamis and seven Frenchmen in two canoes, up
the river to the portage, through a net-work of
marshes, little lakes, and meandering channels
so hidden by the wild rice that their guides were
very useful. Conducting Joliet to a portage of
2,700 paces, and assisting in the transportation of
the canoes across it, the Miamis then returned,

20 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
leaving the explorers " alone in an unknown
country, in the hands of Providence."
Before launching their canoes into strange
waters, which were to bear them into unknown
lands, they knelt on the bank and offered up de
vout aspirations to God for continued success.
The new river was the Weskousing (Wisconsin),
whose broad shallows and sandy bottom, while
rendering navigation slow and very laborious,
yet contrasted delightfully with the rocky rapids
of the Fox.
Father Marquette sets forth delightfully the
ideal voyage down this stream, past vine-clad
islets, along sloping banks, now bordered by the
lovely prairie, with its sweet odors of fresh
grasses and blooming flowers, and anon fringed
by the primeval forest, beautiful with its tangle
of shrubbery and in its June foliage. The gnarled
oak, the straight walnut, the elegant whitewood,
and other stately trees of unknown species met
their vision at times, while again their eyes
scarcely separated from the heavens the distant
horizon of the green level plains, whose luxu
riant vegetation afforded the richest pasturage
for numerous herds of deer and moose, and in
spots showed the fertility of its alluvial soil by
the fields of Indian corn.
Each morning, before they relaunched their
canoes, they attuned their voices to the praise of
God, and, in their unique joy of successful dis
covery, must have felt on those delightful June
days that their devotions had not been uplifted in
vain. From sunrise to sunset they labored un-

LOUIS JOLIET 21
ceasinglv, now paddling briskly along the deep
reaches, and then strusfgrlinir stoutly through
mazes of shallows and sand-bars, where tedious
and frequent portages were patiently made.
Each evening their hearts rejoiced and their
tired limbs found delightful repose at some spot
where Joliet's judgment directed the canoes to
be drawn out, inspected, and upturned by some,
while others started the camp-fire and prepared
the evening meal. This camp was always so
placed that the approach of an enemy could be
seen from afar, and where fuel for fire and
branches for bedding were at hand. The best
hunter was told off for game, and rarelv did the
meal lack fresh meat or fruit and berries in
season. After supper the soothing pipe, prayers
and songs of praise, and then under the over
arching trees such sound slumber as only comes
to men sleeping under the open sky.
As they advanced it was often possible to use
sail and relieve the men to some extent from the
fatigue of the paddle, and such rapid progress
was made that, on June 17th. thev safely entered
the long-desired Mississippi, " with a joy, writes
Marquette, " which I cannot express." Thev
were then in latitude 430 03' X., opposite the
site of the present city of Prairie du Chien.
Turning eagerly southward, their progress
facilitated by the gentle current of the Missis
sippi, they journeyed more than a hundred
leagues without seeing on the land aught save
birds and beasts. The solitude of the great
river appalled them : a vast torrent of rolling

22 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
water, bordered bv forest and plain, so well fitted
for the happiness of man, and yet no human
being in all this land ! What could it mean, and
what would be the outcome ? Joliet, of long ex
perience with savage tribes, and astute in forest
craft, distrusted the silence and solitude, and
kept as keen guard as though on the war-path.
A tinv camp-fire was built only for meals, and
the nights were passed in the crowded canoes
as far from shore as it was possible to anchor
them in the deep river. Even then strict watch
was kept, and every strange or unusual noise
excited feelings of trepidation lest a hidden foe
be the cause.
Their journey by day was not entirely de
void of incident and excitement, says Mar
quette. " From time to time we met monstrous
fishes, one of which struck the canoe so violently
I took it for a large tree. Another time we
perceived on the water a monster [probably an
American tiger-cat] with a head like a tiger and
a pointed snout like the wild-cat, with beard and
ears erect, a gravish head, and entirely black
neck." Thev cast their nets successfully, and
once caught a spade-fish, whose appearance
caused much astonishment. In 410 2S' N. lati
tude ( near Rock Island), wild turkeys took the
place of wild fowl ; while as to animals, only
buffalo were seen, being so numerous and fear
less as to be easily killed, and thus offering a wel
come change of food. These new beasts presented
themselves to our explorers as hideous, especially
those with thick, long manes falling over their

LOUIS JOLIET 23
eyes in such tangles as to prevent their seeing
clearly. Marquette records that the Indians tan
buffalo-skins into beautiful robes, which they paint
into various colors; and further recites the fe
rocity of the buffalo as yearly causing the death
ot some Indian. When near the present city of
Keokuk, at the mouth of the Des Moines River,
on June 25th, they perceived the first signs of
man in all this solitude: foot-prints by the river
side, and then a beaten path, which, entering a
beautiful prairie, impressed them as leading to
some Indian village.
They had journeyed seventeen days without
seeing the face of man, and so, after deliberation,
they resolved to visit the village ; this decision
doubtless being urged by Marquette, who for
years had sought by prayer " to obtain of God
the grace to be able to visit the nations on the
river Mississippi," and who now would allow no
danger to deter him. Joliet was fully aware of
the great risk, and took most careful precautions
to ensure the safety of their canoes and people
by charging them strictly to beware of sur
prise, while he and Marquette ventured to put
themselves at the discretion of an unknown
savage people. Cautiously following the little
path in silence across the beautiful prairie and
through the thickets for a distance of two
leagues, they suddenly came in view of an Indian
village, picturesquely placed on a river bank,
and overlooked by two others on a neighboring
hill ; they pressed on with successful caution
and silence, but with much doubt and fear.

24 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
Having, as Marquette says, " recommended our
selves to God with all our hearts," and " having
implored his help, we passed on undiscovered,
and came so near we even heard the Indians
talking." Stepping into the open, they halted
and announced themselves by a loud cry ; at
which the Indians rushed out of their cabins, and
recognizing them as French, and seeing a " Black-
gown " (the well-known Indian name for a Jesuit),
sent four of their chief warriors forward. Two
chiefs, carrying calumets, or tobacco-pipes, elab
orately trimmed with various feathers, advanced
very slowly and in silence, lifting their calumets
as if offering them for the sun to smoke. Mar
quette, encouraged by their friendly attitude, and
still more on seeing that they wore French cloth,
broke the silence ; to which the Indians answered
that they were Illinois, who, in token of peace,
presented their pipes to smoke and invited the
strangers to their village.
Joliet and Marquette were received at the door
of a wigwam, as'was usual for strangers, by an
old chief, who stood perfectly naked, with out
stretched hands raised toward the sun, as if to
screen himself from its rays, which nevertheless
passed through the open fingers to his face. As
they came near him, he said : " How beautiful is
the sun, O Frenchmen, when thou comest to visit
us. All our town awaits thee, and thou shalt
enter all our cabins in peace." After smoking the
calumet, they went by invitation to visit the Great
Sachem of all Illinois, at a near village. With
good nature and childish curiosity, a throng of

The Reception of joliet and Marquette by

the Illinois.

26 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
Indians went along, and says Marquette, " could
not tire looking at us ; they threw themselves on
the grass by the wayside ; they ran ahead, then
turned and walked back to see us again, all in si
lence, with marks of great respect." They were
received by the Great Sachem and two old chiefs,
all naked and with their calumet turned to the
sun. After smoking the calumet, Marquette,
speaking in Algonquin, said that they marched in
peace to visit the nations on the river to the sea;
that God their Creator had pity, and had sent his
messenger to make him known as their Creator,
whom they should acknowledge and obey ; that
Frontenac had spread peace everywhere ; and
last asked for all the information they had of the
sea and the nations between them and it.
The Sachem answered in a beautiful speech
worthy of the occasion :
" I thank thee, Blackgown, and thee, French
man," addressing M. Joliet, " for taking so much
pains to come and visit us ; never has the earth
been so beautiful, nor the sun so bright, as to-day ;
never has our river been so calm, nor so free from
rocks, which your canoes have removed as they
passed ; never has our tobacco had so fine a
flavor, nor our corn appeared so beautiful as we
behold it to day. Here is my son, that I give
thee, that thou mayst know my heart. I pray
thee to take pity on me and all my nation. Thou
knowest the Great Spirit, who has made us all ;
thou speakest to him and hearest his words : ask
him to give me life and health, and come and
dwell with us, that we may know him."

LOUIS JOLIET 27
It is interesting to note the condition of the
Illinois when first visited. Their chiefs wore
over the left shoulder a belt, ingeniously made
of the hair of bear and buffalo, which passed
around the waist and ended in a long fringe ;
arm, knee, and wrist bands of deer or buffalo-
skin, and the rattles of deer hoofs were also worn,
and the face was painted with red ochre. In ad
dition to abundant game, they raised beans, mel
ons, squashes, and Indian corn. Their dishes were
of wood, their spoons of the bones of buffalo,
their knives stone, their arms, bows and arrows
with an occasional gun bought from other tribes.
The word calumet is due to Father Marquette,
and his description of this interesting Indian
pipe and its uses among the Indians over two
hundred years ago is best given in his own words :
" It now remains for me to speak of the calu
met, than which there is nothing among them
more mysterious or more esteemed. Men do
not pay to the crowns and sceptres of kings the
honor they pay to it. It seems to be the god of
peace and war, the arbiter of life and death.
Carry it about you and show it, and you can
march fearlessly amid enemies, who even in the
heat of battle lay down their arms when it is
shown. Hence the Illinois gave me one, to serve
as my safeguard amid all the nations that I had
to pass on my voyage. There is a calumet for
peace and one for war, distinguished only by the
color of the feathers with which they are adorned,
red being the sign of war. They use them
also for settling disputes, strengthening alliances,

28 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
and speaking to strangers. It is made of a pol
ished red stone, like marble, so pierced that one
end serves to hold the tobacco, while the other
is fastened on the stem, which is a stick two feet
long, as thick as a common cane, and pierced in
the middle ; it is ornamented with the head and
neck of different birds of beautiful plumage ;
they also add large feathers of red and green
and other colors, with which it is all covered.
They esteem it peculiarly, because they regard
it as the calumet, or pipe, of the sun ; and, in
fact, they present it to him to smoke when they
wish to obtain calm, or rain, or fair weather."
Leaving the Illinois one afternoon, about the
end of June, they embarked in sight of the whole
admiring tribe, and, following the river, reached
the mouth of the muddy Missouri. They were
the first white men who had ever gazed on the
turbulent waters of this mighty stream. Im
pressed by the size and majesty of the Missouri
Marquette believed and hoped that later, by
making a prairie portage of twenty or thirty
leagues, he could reach a deep westerly running
river that would carry him to the Red Sea (the
Gulf of California).
The Missouri, or Pekitanoui, as Marquette
called it, was evidently at the flood stage, for he
says : "A mass of large trees, entire with branches,
real floating islands, came rushing from the
mouth of the river so impetuously that we could
not pass across without exposing ourselves to
great danger. The agitation was so great that
the water was all muddy."

LOUIS JOLIET 29
Immediately above the site of Alton, 111., they
came in sight of the famous Piasa pictograph,
which was totally destroyed about fifty years
ago. Of it Marquette wrote : " As we coasted
along rocks, frightful for their height and length,
we saw painted thereon two monsters, which
startled us at first, and on which the bold
est Indian dare not gaze long. They have a
fearful look, are as large as a calf, have red eyes,
the horns of a deer, the beard of a tiger, and the
face of a man, while around the scale-covered
body was a fish's tail twice encircling it. The
two monsters were very well painted in green,
red, and black colors, and so high upon the
rocks that they were apparently inaccessible to
man." Later they discovered a very rich iron-mine of
many veins, one a foot thick, and large masses of
metal combined with pebbles ; also purple, violet,
and red clay, which colored the water a blood
red. They now passed the dreaded home of the
Manitou, or demon, who devours all who pass ;
which proved to be a frightful rapid where large
detached rocks and a narrow channel caused a
furious commotion of the waters tumbling over
each other, and a tremendous roaring, which
struck terror to the Indian's heart. Passing
this, they reached the mouth of the Ohio, which
Marquette calls " Ouaboukidou," on which there
were no less than thirty-eight villages of the
Chaouanons (Shawnees). A little beyond, Mar
quette's eye was delighted by the. appearance of
breaks, wherein the canes were of an exquisite

30 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
green, with knots crowned by long, narrow-
pointed leaves. At every landing the keen eyes
of the Canadian explorers searched out every
thing that was new or that seemed suitable for
food ; so we find the persimmon and the chicopin
and other fruits and nuts described in detail.
By this time, in early July, they found them
selves suffering from the double annoyance of
mosquitoes and the excessive and insupportable
heat of the sun, from which they sheltered them
selves as best they could by making a kind of
cabin with their sails, while their canoes were
borne on by the current.
Finally they perceived on the river-bank
Indians armed with guns, who awaited their
approach. Joliet, ready either for peace or war,
put Marquette forward with his feathered peace
calumet upraised, while the rest stood to arms,
ready to fire on the first volley of the savages.
Marquette hailed them in Huron, and the party
was not only peacefully received, but invited to
their village and presented with food of various
kinds. Joliet found among them guns, axes,
hoes, powder, etc., and was assured that they
bought cloth and other articles from Europeans
to the east, doubtless the Spaniards of Florida.
Marquette was troubled to find they had received
no instruction in the faith, which, as far as he
could, he gave them.
Being assured that the sea was not more than
ten days' journey distant, they were greatly
encouraged, and instead of drifting with the cur
rent, took up their paddles with renewed ardor.

LOUIS JOLIET 31
Passing beyond the prairie land, they found
both sides of the river lined with dense woods,
wherein the cotton-wood, elm, and white-wood
were of such height and size as to excite their
admiration. That the forests were not dense
seemed evident from the bellowing of cattle be
hind the fringe of trees, which were enlivened for
our travellers by flocks of quail along the water's
edge and an occasional parrot with its brilliant
coloring of red, yellow, and green.
Xearing the mouth of the Arkansas, thev saw
on the river-bank an Indian village called Mithi-
ganea, near which Joliet and his party had an
exciting and fearful experience, which Marquette
thus describes :
" We heard from afar the Indians exciting one
another to the combat by continual yells. They
were armed with bows, arrows, axes, war-clubs,
and bucklers, and prepared to attack us by land
and water. Some embarked in large wooden
canoes, a part to ascend, the rest to descend, the
river, so as to cut our way and surround us com
pletely. Those on shore kept going and coming,
as if about to begin the attack. In fact, some
young men sprang into the water to come and
seize my canoe, but the current having compelled
them to return to the shore, one of them threw
his war club at us, but it passed over our heads
without doing us any harm. In vain I showed
the calumet, and made gestures to explain that
we had not come as enemies. The alarm con
tinued, and thev were about to pierce us from all
sides with their arrows, when God suddenly

32 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
touched the hearts of the old men on the water
side, doubtless at the sight of our calumet, which
at the distance they had not distinguished ; but
as I showed it continually, they were touched,
restrained the ardor of their youth, and two of
the chiefs, having thrown their bows and quivers
into our canoe, and as it were at our feet, entered
and brought us to the shore, where we disem
barked, not without fear on our part."
An old chief was at last found who spoke a
little Illinois, and through him they were told
that they could get full information regarding
the sea at another great village called Akamsea,
about ten leagues down the river. Presents were
exchanged and the night passed among them
with some uneasiness. The loving missionary
spirit of Marquette is shown here for, he says :
" I know not whether they understood what I
told them of God and the things which con
cerned their salvation. It is a seed cast in the
earth which will bear its fruit in season."
At Akamsea (Arkansas) they were received by
the sachem holding up a peace calumet, after
which they had the customary smoke and a repast
of different dishes made of Indian corn. Presents
were interchanged and speeches made through
a young Indian who understood Illinois. The
whole day was spent in feasting, and the dishes
of Indian corn were continuously supplemented
by pieces of dog flesh
Joliet and Marquette learned from them that
the sea was only ten days' journey distant for the
Indians, which meant five days for our explorers

LOUIS JOLIET 33
in their birch canoes. They further set forth the
very great danger of passing on, owing to the
continual war parties moving along the river.
A secret council ol the sachems with a view to
killing the party for plunder was only broken
up through the influence of the chief, who, send
ing for the explorers, danced a calumet dance as
a mark of perfect assurance, and then to remove
all fears, presented his peace calumet to Mar
quette as a guarantee of safety.
The famous calumet dance is performed only
on important occasions — to strengthen peace, for
a war assembly, at public rejoicings, and in honor
of important personages or invited strangers.
The principal features are, first, a dance ; second,
a mock combat; third, a self-laudatory speech,
during all of which the pipe plays an important
part, being smoked and handled to the measured
cadence of voices and drums.
Joliet and Marquette now took counsel to
gether as to whether they should continue their
voyage in face of such adverse conditions or
turn back. Finally, after long and careful con
sideration it was decided to return.
They realized that in their present latitude,
33° 40' N., they could not be more than two
or three days from the sea, and that the Mis
sissippi, by its general course, undoubtedly
flowed into the Gulf of Mexico, and not into the
South Sea through California.
Neglecting the dangers from warlike Indians
along the lower river, they considered, more
over, that they risked losing the fruit of this
3

34 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
voyage if they should throw themselves into the
hands of the Spaniards, who would at least im
prison them.
Joliet's farthest was on the east bank, opposite
a river, probably the Arkansas, and could not
have been far from the point where De Soto more
than a hundred years before, in April, 1541,
reached the Mississippi. What a contrast be

tween the means and experiences of these two
explorers ! De Soto, a noble Spaniard, with an
armament of ten vessels equipped with all the
paraphernalia of war, having, with three hundred
and fifty horsemen, a thousand picked men in
mail who had been chosen from the flower of
the Spanish and Portuguese nobility. His fol
lowers were animated by ambition, eager seekers
for wealth and power, their track marked by fire
and sword, their action often treacherous and

LOUIS JOLIET 35
always characterized by the savageness of their
age. They reaped the natural harvest, and al
though they reached the Mississippi, yet constant
warfare, continued privations, toil, and disasters
had sadly wasted their strength and numbers,
and finally not one man in four ever reached
again a Spanish settlement. Joliet, an American
of humble birth, with two frail canoes equipped
only with an ordinary hunting outfit, had six
followers who, inspired by neither hope of gold
nor desire of conquest other than that of a spir
itual kind, came with peace and confidence,
were received by all tribes with hospitality,
and returned to their own without harm or con
tumely. The result of De Soto's work was an un
profitable, soon - forgotten discovery, utterly
barren of results. Joliet reduced the fables of
the Indians to facts, discovered the muddy Mis
souri, and what is more, gave definite knowledge
to the world of the fertile valleys of the Missis
sippi basin, wherein he planted the first germs of
civilization, which speedily took the practical
form of missions and settlements.
After a day's rest, Joliet and his party left
Akamsea July 17th, and tediously retraced their
course against the strong currents of the Missis
sippi. Through the advice of the Indians they
quitted the great river at the mouth of the Illi
nois, which greatly shortened their way and
brought them with little trouble to the present
site of Chicago, they passing on the way through
an Illinois town, Kaskaskia, of seventy-four cab-

36 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
ins, from which an escort of braves guided them
to Lake Michigan.
Marquette appears to have had a prophetic eye
for the great future of the present State of Illi
nois, for he says, " We have seen nothing like
this river for the fertility of the land, its prai
ries, woods, wild cattle, deer, wild-cats, bustards,
swans, ducks, parrots, and even beaver ; its many
little lakes and rivers."
Coasting the shores of Lake Michigan, the end
of September, 1673, brought them to Green Bay,
where the rude comforts of a frontier mission
and the solace of friendly intercourse were once
more theirs. They had been absent four months,
and in that time had paddled their frail canoes
more than twenty-five hundred miles. Here
Marquette remained to recruit his health, im
paired by physical hardships, continued exposure,
and lack of suitable food. The hardy Joliet lost
no time, however, but pressed on, too eager to
report his grand discoveries to Frontenac.
As mentioned in Frontenac's dispatch, the mis
fortunes of Joliet began when his long and peril
ous voyage was practically ended. In the rapids
of La Chine, near Montreal, his canoe overset;
three of his party were drowned, all his papers
lost, and he himself narrowly escaped. In a let
ter to Frontenac he says : " I had escaped every
peril from the Indians ; I had passed forty-two
rapids, and was on the point of disembarking,
full of joy at the success of so long and difficult
an enterprise, when my canoe capsized after all
danger seemed past. I lost two men, an Indian

LOUIS JOLIET 37
boy and my box ol papers within sight of the first
French settlements, which I had left almost two
years before. Nothing now remains to me but
my life and the ardent desire to employ it on any
service which you may be pleased to direct."
We have to rest content with the graphic ac
count written by Marquette, as it was impossible
for Joliet to reproduce his lost journal. As re
gards the map, his natural and acquired skill in
cartography was such that Joliet reproduced his
discoveries in the shape of a small map, which
he presented to Frontenac, by whom it was sent
to Colbert, with a despatch dated November 14,
1674, and now is in the famous Chart Office at
Paris. It is entitled, " Map of the Discovery of
Sieur Joliet," etc., and has a brief explanatory
letter thereon, from which I have quoted above.
Joliet's discoveries were most joyfully received
in France, Colbert especially appreciating their
value and importance both as regards the extent
and fertility of the countries traversed and also
as to the easy water communication therewith.
It afforded an opportunity of extending the lim
its of French possessions in America, which was
not neglected. It did not fall, however, to Joliet
to play any part in this great work, which was
the lot of his great rival, the energetic, persistent,
and far-seeing La Salle, who received in 1678 a
royal patent with seignorial rights over all lands
which he might discover and colonize within
twenty years, and who gave Louisiana to the
French crown.
The natural despondency of Joliet over the

38 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
loss of his maps and journals soon gave way to
happier experiences ; for the following year, Oc
tober 7, 1675, he married Clare Frances Bissot.
His father-in-law, a Canadian, was a wealthy In
dian trader, so Joliet naturally resumed his for
mer occupation, and in 1679 made a journey to
Hudson Bay by way of the Saguenay. He found
the English strongly intrenched in their success
ful efforts to monopolize the Indian trade of
that quarter. The usual attempts to draw Cana
dians into their service were made in Joliet's
case. He not only declined service, but on his
return to Quebec made such representations of
the inevitable effect of English rivalry, if unop
posed, on the trade of Canada, that a competing
company was organized by French merchants.
Joliet in the meantime had only received fair
words, but after strenuous efforts he succeeded
in 1679 in obtaining a grant of the Islands of
Mignan, and in the following year the French
Government granted him the Island of Anticosti,
in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Here he estab
lished himself with his family, and with six ser
vants engaged in fisheries.
In the course of time he added to his buildings
and extended his interests, but his peaceful pur
suits were destined to interruption and devasta
tion. In 1690 an English fleet, under command
of Sir William Phipps, sailed to attack Quebec,
and in course of time anchored at Anticosti. In
those days war was waged with utter disregard
of the rights of private property. Joliet was
then absent. A detachment from the English

LOUIS JOLIET 39
fleet landed on the island, devastated Joliet's es
tablishment, destroyed his buildings by fire, and
even carried away as prisoners his wife and
mother-in-law, who fortunately were soon ex
changed. Deprived in a day of the accumulation of years,
his future actions showed that age and adversity
made but small inroads on his manly spirit.
Obliged to exertion for the support of his family,
he turned again in his fiftieth year to a voyage
of exploration and adventure. A Canadian
company contemplated the extension of its seal
and whale fisheries to the rugged and danger
ous coast of Labrador, then little known, and in
1694 Joliet explored the greater part of this ice-
covered and rock-bound coast under the auspices
and in the interest of this company.
Some years earlier Joliet had shown his merits
as a skilful surveyor and navigator by charting
the waters of the St. Lawrence, and when, on his
return from Labrador, occupation failed, Fron
tenac recognized his deserving abilities by nam
ing him for the post of royal pilot of the St. Law
rence, still later appointing him hydrographer at
Quebec. The emoluments of his royal offices were a
mere pittance, and in 1695 he is found on Mignan
Islands, where, with his wife, he contracted with
his brother-in-law Bissot and other parties with a
view of developing his interests both on land and
at sea. In 1697 he was granted by the Crown
the Seignory of Joliet. This honor he did not
long enjoy, for he died, apparently a poor man,

40 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
in 1699 or 1700. He was fortunate in his burial
place, one of the Mignan Islands, which is for
ever associated with his fame, having been
granted him by the French Crown for that great
and dangerous voyage which gave to the world
its first definite knowledge of the location, extent,
and fertility of the great valley of the Mississippi.
While Joliet followed the rugged and peaceful
pursuits of his island-home, ill fared it with his
vigorous Norman successor. The great La Salle
fell under the hand of a mutinous follower, while
his fated Texan colony perished totally by deser
tion, betrayal, and massacre. So relapsed the
lower Mississippi into its primal savagery and
grandeur, until the domineering energy of the
great Canadian, Iberville, awakened it into a
vast dominion, to the glory, if not to the profit,
of France.

II.
PETER LE MOYNE, SIEUR DTBERVILLE,
Founder of Louisiana.
Among the very earliest settlers of Hochelega,
now Montreal, was the son of a Norman innkeep
er, a young French lad of fifteen, Charles le
Moyne, who came to this Indian village in 1641.
Apt, strong, daring, and zealous, he soon became
one of the most efficient aids to French power.
The language, the woodcraft, the arts of the sav
age soon became his, and added to these such
suavity of manner, clearness of perception, and
native kindness as made him loved equally by
French and savage. As interpreter, soldier, ne
gotiator, and captain of the guard, he rendered
such great service to the young and exposed
colony as caused him to be made captain of Mon
treal, and later, in 1668, to be ennobled by Louis
XIV. under the title of Sieur of Longueuil. For
four years service in the country of the Hurons
he received for his entire pay the sum of twenty
crowns and his clothing, but he gained also such
a knowledge of the possibilities of the country,
such an insight into Indian character, and such a
wealth of vigorous manhood as enabled him to
acquire during his life an estate that was princely.
He did better than this, he married a woman

42 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
worthy of him, whose family is scarcely known,
Catherine Tierry, an adopted daughter of An-
toine Primot.
In all the history of American families there is
none that has as distinguished and brilliant a his
tory as the twelve sons and two daughters born
of this French peasant and the son of a Norman
innkeeper in the forests of Canada. The two
daughters married nobles, and of the twelve sons
nine live distinguished in history, three of them
were killed in the service of France, ten of them
were ennobled, and four, Iberville, Serigny, Cha-
teauguay, and Bienville the younger, played im
portant parts in the founding of Louisiana.
There were many brilliant and picturesque
figures among the actors in the founding of a New
France in the wilds of North America, but among
them all there was scarcely one whose personality
and deeds excited more admiration among his
contemporaries, or whose services and career
are more deserving of recognition by posterity,
than Peter le Moyne, Sieur d'lberville, third son
Signature of le Moyne.
of Longueuil, who was born on the extreme fron
tier, at the outpost of Montreal, July 16, 1661.
As a soldier he rose to be the leader and idol of
his fellow-Canadians ; as a sailor he became an ex
tremely skilful navigator, who was acknowledged
as one of the greatest of French naval command-

PETER LE MOYNE 43
ers ; and as an explorer and administrator he so
successfully accomplished his plans as to merit
and receive the title of the Founder of Louisiana.
The freedom, vigor, and wildness of Canadian
life developed men early, and Iberville entered
the French Navy as midshipman at the age of
fourteen. His first service of note, however, was
as a soldier in the wilds of his native land, in the
Canadian overland campaign to recover posses
sion of an Indian trading post on Hudson Bay,
which it was claimed the English had illegally
seized. Iberville volunteered for this campaign
under De Troye, and exhibited such judgment
and vigor as caused him to be put in command
of a small party of nine, some say twelve, men
with two canoes, wherewith he did not hesitate
to attack and compel the unconditional surrender
of an English ship manned by fourteen, including
the commander of Hudson Bay. St. Helene, his
brother, meantime captured another vessel, and
with the two as means of transport, the two
brothers pushed on to Fort Quitchitchouen,
which surrendered after withstanding a sharp
cannonade. These victories not only insured to the French
the command of the entire southern part of Hud
son Bay, but put them in possession of a vast
amount of stores. Indeed, so destructive to Eng
lish interests were the campaigns of Iberville in
1687-88, that the Hudson Bay Company declared
that their actual losses amounted to 108, 520 pounds
sterling, an enormous sum in the young colonies
of that day. The consequential losses must have

44 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
been very great, for we are told that the value of
furs obtained in the trade of one year amounted
to 400,000 livres (francs).
Iberville remained in charge of the country
which his valor had recaptured, and in 1688,
while the Iroquois were ravaging Canada, waged
successful war in Hudson Bay. One of his
lieutenants, capturing an English official, found
on him an order from the London Company
to proclaim English sovereignty over the whole
bay. Later two ships, with twenty-eight cannon
and eight swivels, appeared before St. Anne in
order to expel the French. Eventually Iberville
compelled the surrender of the English ships, and
releasing the smaller vessel for the safe transport
of such prisoners as he paroled, himself navigated
the larger ship, with eleven Hudson Bay pilots
held prisoners, to Quebec through Hudson Strait.
In 1690 Iberville volunteered, under his brother
St. Helene, for the retaliatory expedition in mid
winter against Schenectady, wherein a large
number of the inhabitants of that unhappy town
were ruthlessly massacred by the French and
their Indian allies. Iberville seems to have exer
ted his influence to restrain the savagery of the
Indians, and saved the life of at least one Eng
lishman. It seems that the successes of the young Cana
dian had attracted attention in France, and when
in 1 69 1, through the efforts of the Northern
Company, Louis XIV. had decided to recover
Port Nelson, Hudson Bay, from the English, Du
Tast came to Quebec with fourteen sail, it was

PETER LE MOYNE 45
with express orders that Iberville should be en
trusted with a share of the work and glory. Du
Tast objected to such division of honor, and by
plausible objections as to the lateness of the
season, although it was only the 16th of July,
succeeded in delaying the departure of the ex
pedition for that year.
Iberville seemed determined to show the
speciousness of the reasons, for he made a trip to
the bay and brought back in 1691 two ships
loaded with furs, much to the consolation of
Frontenac. He immediately went to France to
advance the expedition against Port Nelson,
which he knew was much favored at court.
Iberville found favor with the king, who gave
him two ships for the reduction of Port Nelson,
and orders to guard it after reduction.
Delays in France and contrary winds on the
Atlantic brought Iberville to Quebec only in
October, far too late for the safe navigation of
Hudson Bay. To fill in his time he set forth to
take Pemaquid, but did not make an attack, this
being the only instance in his long career where
he failed to show extreme daring, even against
desperate odds. The delay of the vessels was
unfortunate for France as far as Hudson Bay
was concerned, for in 1693 three English vessels
attacked and captured St. Anne, with fifty thou
sand peltries, and again the control of the bay
passed from France.
In September, 1694, Iberville, with two ships,
la Poli and la Charante, the former commanded
by his brother, de Serigny, appeared before Port

46 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
Nelson, which he was six weeks in approaching
owing to the heavy moving ice, which nearly
destroyed his vessel. The fort had a double
palisade, thirty-two cannon and swivels in the
main body, and fourteen cannon in outer works,
the whole manned by fifty-three men. Iberville
landed without hesitation, invested the fort with
forty Canadians, worked with his usual energy
and skill, and in fourteen days he had his out
works established, his batteries placed and mor
tars in position. His final summons for sur
render resulted in the capitulation of the fort,
on condition that personal property should be
spared and safe transport be given the garrison
to England the coming year. His success was
saddened for Iberville by the death of the elder
Chateauguay, the third of his brothers to fall in
the service of his king, who perished while gal
lantly repelling a sortie of the beleaguered gar
rison. The name of Port Nelson was changed
to Fort Bourbon, and the river was re-christened
St. Therese, because, says Jeremie, in his Relation
de la Bale de Hudson, the capitulation was made
on October 14th, the day of that holy saint.
The victory did not prove to be cheap, for
scurvy, then the dreaded scourge of the sailor,
broke out during the long, dark, excessively cold
winter, and caused the death of twenty men.
Late the next summer, after waiting to the last
moment for the English ships he counted on
capturing, and leaving a garrison of sixty-seven
at Fort Bourbon, Iberville sailed for Quebec ;
but the winds were so contrary and his crew so

PETER LE MOYNE 47
debilitated by scurvy, that he turned his prows
to France and fortunately arrived at Rochelle,
October 9, 1695.
His victories in Hudson Bay so commended
him to the king that Iberville was charged with
the reduction and destruction of the strong fort
which James II. of England had erected at Pem
aquid, Maine. While on this cruise our Cana
dian fell in with three English ships near the
mouth of the St. John. He unhesitatingly at
tacked them, dismasted, fired, and captured the
flag-ship of the squadron, the Newport, a ship of
eighty men and twenty-four guns.
Reinforced by several hundred Indians, as a
land and besieging force, Iberville arrived at
Pemaquid, August 13, 1696, and invested the
fort the next day. He summoned the com
mander, Colonel Chubb, to capitulate, but that
officer replied that, " if the sea was covered with
French vessels and the land with Indians, he
would not surrender until compelled to do so."
Iberville promptly landed, and used such ex
pedition that within the short space of thirteen
hours he established his batteries in position
and opened fire, when the garrison surrendered
on honorable terms. Iberville, doubtless mind
ful of his experiences at Schenectady, took the
wise and humane precaution of quartering his
prisoners under the guns of the royal ships, so
as to secure them from the fury of his blood
thirsty allies, the Indians, who desired to supple
ment the entire destruction of the fort by the
slaughter of the garrison.

48 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
In withdrawing from the demolished post,
while doubling the island at the mouth of the
Penobscot, he had an opportunity of justifying
his reputation as the most skilful officer in the
French service; for, falling in with an English
squadron of seven sail, he successfully evaded
them by bold seamanship along the very coast
line of that dangerous and rock-bound shore.
His capacity as a military commander was now
to be tested. Charged by the king to co-oper
ate in the reduction of Newfoundland to French
power, Iberville found himself viewed with jeal
ousy by his colleague, Brouillian, governor of
Placentia, who assumed entire command, inter
fered with Iberville's contemplated movements,
and declared that his own troops, the Canadians,
should not accompany him on the opening cam
paign. Iberville realizing the necessity of zealous and
concerted action in an enterprise of such impor
tance, decided to leave the field free to Brouillan,
and so announced his intention of returning to
France. Immediately the Canadians declared to
a man that they were bound to him alone, that
Frontenac's orders recognized Iberville as com
mander, and finally, that they would return to
Quebec sooner than accept another. Brouillan
recognizing that Iberville was the idol of his
Canadian countrymen, and unable to deny that
the king had confided all the enterprises to be
undertaken during the winter to Iberville, made
such concessions as brought about reconciliation ;
nevertheless the campaign undertaken against

PETER LE MOYNE 4!)
St. John's was marked by dissension. Iberville
displayed his usual energy and gallantry in the
advance and subsequent skirmishes which ulti
mately resulted in the surrender of St. John's,
which was abandoned and destroyed by fire.
The campaign was pursued with such energy
and success that at the end of two months the
English had nothing left in Newfoundlind ex
cept Bona Vista and Carbonniere Island. Dur
ing these operations Iberville displayed marked
ability in handling troops, both in the field and
during siege operations. His eagerness to share
every danger, and willingness to undergo every
hardship in common with his troops, endeared
him to all and contributed much to the enthusi
asm with which his men followed him or obeyed
his orders.
In May, 1697, his brother Serigny arrived at
Placentia with four vessels, destined for the
command of Iberville in a proposed attempt to
again reduce Hudson Bay. With these ships — le
Pelican, fifty guns ; le Palmier, forty guns ; le
Profond, le Vespe, and a brigantine — Iberville
entered the mouth of Hudson Strait on August
3d, and was immediately beset with heavy ice.
The floes were driven hither and thither with such
violence by the currents that Iberville directed,
as the best means of safety, that each vessel
should moor itself to the largest attainable iceberg.
This expedient saved four of the ships, but an un
expected movement of two large bergs crushed
so completely the brigantine that she sank in
stantly, the crew barely escaping with their lives.
4

50 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
After a besetment of twenty-four days, Iber
ville succeeded in extricating his vessel from
the ice and passed into the bay. He was alone
and in utter ignorance of the fate of his con
sorts, which had been hidden from view by the
ice for the past seventeen days. Iberville was
not the man to turn back, nor indeed to delay in
an expedition which demanded haste, so he
pushed on alone and reached Port Nelson on
September 4th.
The next morning he discovered three ships
several leagues to the leeward, tacking to enter
the harbor. He hoped that they were his con
sorts, and he at once made signals, which being
unanswered showed that the ships were English.
It was indeed an English squadron, consisting of
the Hampshire, fifty-two guns and two hundred
and thirty men ; the Hudson Bay, thirty-two
guns, and the Deringue, also of thirty-two guns,
against which force Iberville had but one ship
of fifty guns. It was with reason that, as Jeremie
says, " they flattered themselves with the idea of
capturing Iberville, seeing that they were three
to one, and they were amazed at the boldness
with which he attacked them."
Indeed, almost any other officer in the French
navy would have considered an attack as simply
madness, but such desperate odds only served to
stimulate to the highest degree the known cour
age and skill of Iberville. He cleared his decks
for action, and instantly quitting the shelter and
supposed advantage of the harbor, attacked the
English squadron in the open sea, where Iberville

PETER LE MOYNE 51
doubtless counted that his skill in handling ship
would inure to his benefit.
Charlevoix thus describes this desperate fight:
" The cannonade opened about half-past nine
in the morning and was kept up incessantly till
one with great vigor on both sides. Meanwhile
the Pelican had only one man killed and seven
teen wounded. Then Iberville, who had kept the
weather-gauge, bore down straight on the two
frigates, pouring in several broadsides at close
quarters in order to disable them. At that mo
ment he perceived the third, the Hampshire,
coming on with twenty-six guns in battery on each
side, with a crew of two hundred and thirty men.
" He at once proceeded to meet her, all his guns
pointed to sink her, ran under her lee, yard-arm
to yard-arm, and having brought his ship to,
poured in his broadside. This was done so effec
tively that the Hampshire, after keeping on
about her own length, went down. Iberville at
once wore and turned on the Hudson Bay, the
ship of the remaining two that could most easily
enter St. Teresa River ; but as he was on the
point of boarding her, the commandant struck
his flag and surrendered.
" Iberville then gave chase to the Deringue, the
third, which was escaping to the northeast, and
which was only a good cannon-shot off ; but as
that vessel was as good a sailor as his own ship
he soon gave up the chase, not daring to crowd
sail, having had much of his rigging cut, two
pumps burst, his shrouds considerably injured,
hull cut up by seven cannon-balls and pierced at

52 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
the water's edge, with no way of stopping the
leak. He accordingly veered and sent the Sieur
de la Sale in his boat with twenty-five men to
man the prize. He then proceeded to repair
damage, and having done so with great expedi
tion, he renewed the chase of the enemy, who
was now three leagues off.
" He began to gain on him when, in the evening,
the wind changed to the north, and a thick fog
suddenly rising, he lost sight of the Deringue.
This accident compelled him to rejoin the Hud
son Bay, and he anchored near the Hampshire,
now almost out of sight, and from which not a
soul had been saved."
In this fight with an enemy more than twice
his superior in guns and men Iberville had sunk
one ship, captured another, and put the third to
flight ; but this was followed by other experi
ences, which at the outset presented conditions
apparently not less desperate and discouraging.
Two days later, pending his siege operations
against Port Nelson, a violent gale arose, in
which, says Charlevoix, " In spite of all d'lber-
ville's efforts to ride it out — and there was not,
perhaps, in the French navy one more skilful in
handling a ship — he was driven ashore with his
vessel, the Pelican, and his prize, the Hudson Bay.
The misfortune happened at night, the darkness
increasing the horrors of the storm and prevent
ing them from beaching the vessels at a favor
able place and so saving them, and before the
break of day they broke up and filled."
Both vessels were crowded with wounded

PETER LE MOYNE 53
men and prisoners, who endeavored as best thev
could to reach the shore in the storm and dark
ness. Twenty-three perished in the attempt, but
fortunately the receding tide left such shallows
that the rest reached shore, and most of the
prisoners successfully sought the friendly shelter
of Fort Xelson.
Iberville now found himself in most desperate
plight — shipwrecked on a barren coast, with a
hostile garrison on land, the return of the Eng
lish ship at sea possible, and destitute of provis
ions. He turned to the wrecked vessels and
found that it was possible to obtain from them
cannon and other munitions of war, and, undis
mayed, he set his cold, wet, and hungry crew at
this task, resolved to obtain food by carrying
the English fort by assault. At this juncture
his missing vessels, having extricated themselves
from the ice of -Hudson Strait, appeared, and
the fort surrendered without putting Iberville
to the last proof of his courage.
As might be expected, Iberville became the
hero of the day on his return to France in 1697;
but true to himself and his career, he sought the
influence of friends at court only to obtain other
difficult and dangerous service that might add to
the glory of France. He was now to enter on a
new career as an explorer, colonizer, and adminis
trator, where, if he was to perform less brilliant
deeds than in earlier life, he was destined to open
up to settlement by his countrymen the fertile
lands of Louisiana, and thus lay the foundations
of its future greatness.

54 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
It was now twelve years since the tragic fate
of La Salle's colony on the coast of Texas had
spread dismay and terror among all who had
been especially interested in the scheme of French
colonization on the Mississippi River. The senti
ment seemed to be that the mouth of the great
river could never be found and that further effort
would only result in useless sacrifice of life and
vessels. With the march of time, however, these
impressions of doubt and disaster had faded out
of mind, and as now the attention of the ministry
was especially turned to that part of Louisiana
which could be reached from the St. Lawrence,
it appeared to Iberville to be a suitable season to
revive the project of discovering the mouth of
the Mississippi and of planting a colony.
A plan for the colonization of Louisiana was
formally submitted to the French Government
by M. de Remonville, while Iberville for his
part pledged his reputation as a navigator both
to find the mouth of the Mississippi and to suc
cessfully plant there a colony. The ministry
were easily persuaded that the scheme was prac
ticable and advantageous, their decision being
doubtless affected by the knowledge that both
Spain and England contemplated the early settle
ment of the northern coasts of the Gulf of Mexico.
It was even reported, as afterward transpired to
be the truth, that colonizing expeditions were al
ready en route, and in order to insure protection
should Iberville first reach the ground, Count
Pontchartrain projected and arranged for the con
struction of a fort at the mouth of the Mississippi.

PETER LE MOYNE 55
As was always the case, schemes of trade were
interwoven with the policy of colonization and
extension of the royal domain. The principal
objects of the trade proved fanciful or chimerical,
being, first, the idea of making bison wool an
article of trade, a scheme fostered in France by
La Salle, and, second, in the hope that valuable
pearl fisheries might be found. In Iberville's in
structions we find that " one of the great objects
proposed to the king, when he was urged to dis
cover the mouth of the Mississippi, was to obtain
wool from the cattle (buffalo) of that country,
and for this purpose these animals must be
tamed and parked and the calves sent to France."
Iberville worked with his usual energy, and the
expedition, consisting of two small frigates, the
Badine, the Marin, and two Norman fishing-
boats, sailed from Brest, October 4, 1698. It was
Friday, but Iberville no more than Columbus
minded the day, and in the reluctance of the
other vessels, himself led in the Badine.
A storm off Madeira caused the disappearance
of one of the fishing-boats, but after a short search
Iberville tarried no more than he did in the Hud
son Straits for his missing consort, but pushed
on and reached San Domingo early in December.
Here the governor, Ducasse, was so impressed
with Iberville's elucidation of his projects that
he expressed to the home government his opinion
that the views and genius of Iberville seemed to
equal his valor in war.
English vessels had been cruising in the neigh
borhood of San Domingo, which led Iberville to

56 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
believe that it was a colonizing expedition, so he
worked day and night in completing his prepara
tions, and on January i, 1699, sailed for the Gulf
of Mexico. On the afternoon of the twenty-third
day, Iberville as usual leading, land was sighted
in the northeast. It proved to be the harbor of
Pensacola, where Iberville was chagrined to find
himself preceded by a Spanish colony under
command of Don Andres de la Riola. There were
two frigates yet in the harbor, which four months
before had brought up three hundred colonists
from Vera Cruz. The half-finished fort, the dis
satisfied garrison, and the uncertainty of the
future explorations to the westward were so
many inducements for Iberville to drive out the
Spaniards and secure the harbor. Iberville made
arrangements to enter the harbor, but was notified
by the Spanish governor that he had formal
orders from Spain to permit no foreign ships to
enter the harbor. Under pretence that he feared
heavy weather the French fleet sounded the
entrance to the harbor and prepared to enter.
The Spanish commander, however, begged that
they would retire, and fortunately having been
given information by the Spanish pilot, Iberville
decided to sail to the west. Iberville, exploring
the coast, anchored at the eastern point of the
entrance to Mobile Bay, where violent gales
nearly destroyed the squadron.
Reconnoitring boats giving such unsatisfac
tory reports of the depth of the channel, Iberville
determined, with his usual energy, to survey it
himself. Taking his younger brother Bienville

PETER LE MOYNE

57

and a crew of his faithful Canadians he started,
despite approaching darkness, so as to begin
work at day-light; the storm breaking with
great violence, Iberville's efforts to make head

way over the billows were in vain. Finally, his
rowers exhausted, the boat was turned to the
nearest land, but the sea was so high and the
wind so violent that unceasing efforts were need
ful to prevent the boat from swamping. It was
due to Iberville's great skill that the boat was

58 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
finally beached in a favorable spot on the sandy
beach, which the crew reached with difficulty, so
exhausted were they with their struggles. Here
they were weather-bound three days, and so had
an opportunity to explore the island. It was
with horror that they discovered in one place
ghastly piles of human bones and skulls, mute
witnesses of a scene of slaughter, which terrified
many of the crew until they found the island to
be uninhabited. The island, now known as
Dauphin, was called Massacre by Iberville, who,
undisturbed by the sight, visited the mainland
with a few of his men and made every effort to
discover the inhabitants, of whom he found re
cent traces.
Finally came good weather, and with it the
continued voyage to the west brought the fleet
to safe anchorage on a bright February morn off
Ship Island. The live-stock landed, Iberville
gave his freight consorts permission to return to
France, while he explored the mainland that now
lay fair and bright before him. The Indians
were communicated with, after many failures,
but, beyond the discovery of the Pascagoula and
reports of a larger river to the west, which the
Bayagoula Indians called Malbouchia, no valu
able information was obtained. Iberville planned
to reach the great river by one of its reported
outlets, and, following the main channel down,
thus learn the way for his vessel ; but, the Indians
giving him the slip, it only remained to search
every foot of the coast until the river was gained.
He was thus thrown on his own resources, which

PETER LE MOYNE 59
had never failed and were not to do so now.
Iberville, with his brother Bienville and fifty
picked men, largely Canadians, and twenty days'
provisions, started February 27th, on two Bis-
cayennes or barges, for his difficult task, the
discovery of the mouth of the Mississippi.
It is useless to detail this journey of Iberville
through an apparently endless maze of islets,
mud-banks, sand-banks, reefs, and marshy shoals,
which go to make up the great level delta of the
Mississippi. It would, even to-day, be a difficult
search for most mariners without a chart, but
then well-nigh impossible. Iberville's skill and
patience were tasked to the utmost, and, when he
did find the mouth of the great river, it almost
seemed to be by the intervention of Providence.
On the eve of March 3, 1699, while struggling
along the mainland, to which they persistently
clung, the violence of an increasing gale threat
ened to swamp their barges, despite every effort,
if they kept off shore, while every approach to
watch the shore-line, and thus make certain of
the river-mouth, incurred danger of beaching
and destruction. Darkness came on and the gale
increased, making certain, as it seemed to them,
that they must choose death at sea or death on
land. Suddenly Iberville put his barge before
the wind, and into the face of death as his fol
lowers thought, but it shot between huge piles
of interlaced drift-wood into a turbid stream of
whitish water. Iberville put out his hand and
tasted. The water was fresh, and the Mississippi
was rediscovered.

60 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
The Spaniards had spoken of the river as La
Palisada, which Iberville thought most appropri
ate when he saw the bristling barricades of huge
jagged trees with outstretched limbs and con
torted roots borne incessantly onward by the
strong current.
Iberville camped that night at the edge of the
dense rank sedge-growth, saying : " Stretched
on the sedges and sheltered from the gale, our
pleasure is so much the greater that we feel our
escape from a great peril. It is a very lively
business, this exploring the unknown shores of a
sea in shallops too small to carry sail in the open
sea, too tiny to anchor, and yet so large that they
strand and ground half a league from land."
The next morn was that of Mardi-Gras, when
our devout explorers celebrated mass, sang joy
fully the Te Deum and raised a commemorative
cross before voyaging further.
Never in their wildest dreams could the hardy
Canadian explorers from their marshy camp in
the delta of the Mississippi ever have presaged,
that in the coming time, from the many millions
of future inhabitants in the Valley of the Missis
sippi should be"gathered tens of thousands to cel
ebrate the merry day of carnival in the metro
politan city that was to spring up from their
memorable voyage.
The Mississippi was near its high stage, so that
travel was tediously slow, mostly by oar. The
land rose somewhat, the sedge gave way first to
cane and willows, and later to richly foliaged
trees with graceful festoons pleasing to the eye

PETER LE MOYNE 61
and fruitful of promise in the coming autumn.
The country, largely flooded, would have seemed
uninhabited save for the Indian ferry-boats, bun
dles of cane pointed at both ends and fastened
together by crossbars of wood, and an occasional
column of smoke rising in the distant blue. The
rapid current obliged the oarsmen to hug the
bank closely, while diminishing food and increas
ing piles of drift-wood discouraged them ; but the
indomitable Iberville cheered on his Canadians,
and on the fifth day, some thirty-five leagues from
the river's mouth, six pirogues, or canoes, full
of Indians were seen. The savages fled, but one
was captured, and through him communication
and friendly overtures were established with the
Annochys. Through these Indians Iberville, was
taken to the present site of New Orleans and was
shown the portage over which the Indians trav
elled to Lake Pontchartrain, and thence to the
bay where the ship was at anchor. Farther up
the stream Iberville visited the village of the
Bayougoulas, which consisted of about two hun
dred souls. The men, well made, with short hair
and painted faces, stalked around most uncon
cernedly in a naked state. The women blackened
their teeth, tied up their hair in a top-knot, tat
tooed their faces and breasts, and wore girdles
woven of bark fibre, dyed red or bleached white,
with pendulous fringes reaching to the knee.
The ornaments of the women were metal brace
lets and bangles and fancy articles made of
feathers, while the young braves wore sashes of
feathers, which, weighted with bits of metal,

62 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
made merry sound as they danced. In short,
they were an inoffensive folk, content with the
simple fruits of the earth, which largely served
as their sustenance.
Iberville visited one of their temples, a struc
ture some thirty feet in diameter, which Charle
voix describes as follows: "In the centre were
slowly burning logs (keeping up a perpetual
fire), and at the end a platform on which lay
skins of deer, buffalo, and bear, offerings to the
Chouchouacha (the opossum), the god of the
Bayougoulas, which animal was painted in red
and black at various points in the temple. The
roof was decorated with the figures of various
animals, among which a red fox was conspicuous.
On either side of the entrance were other ani
mal figures, such as bears and wolves and also
various birds, but above all the Chouchouacha
(the opossum), an animal about the size and
having the head of the sucking pig, the white
and gray fur of the badger, the tail of the rat,
the paws of an ape, and a sack under its
stomach." The great discrepancies between the topogra
phy of the river and the descriptions given in
the accounts of the journeys of La Salle and
Tonti so impressed Iberville that he was really
doubtful if he was on the Mississippi, and so his
journey was pursued up the river to the Oumas,
a short distance below the mouth of the Red
River. Fortunately his brother, Bienville, ob
tained from an Indian chief a letter, which the
savage had carried for thirteen years, given him

PETER LE MOYNE

63

by Tonti, who descended the river from Illinois
in 1686 and left this letter addressed to La Salle,
whose active and loyal assistant Tonti was.
Iberville was now oyer seven hundred miles
distant from his ship, and his original stock of

Bienville's Army on the River.

provisions was exhausted, so that the men were
obliged to live on the corn of the Indians and
such meat or game as could be bought or killed.
Sending his men back by the delta with the
barges, Iberville decided to try himself the
route of portages to the Gulf. With an Indian
guide he entered the Ascantia, a narrow, winding
bayou, where with his four Canadians and two

64 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
pirogues fifty portages over fallen trees and drift
were made the first day in a distance of seven
leagues. It is not surprising that the Indian
guide, unaccustomed to such tremendous labor
and fatigue, deserted the second day. Iberville
none the less pushed on undauntedly, confident
that he could reach his ship through this un
known country, guide or no guide. Next, one
of his hardy Canadians fell sick, and Iberville
took his place and oar, and in the portages car
ried his end of a pirogue. After eighty por
tages they passed into Lake Maurepas and next
into Lake Pontchartrain, whence the way was
easy to the ship, which was reached eight hours
in advance of the barges from the delta.
In his absence of six weeks Iberville had found
again the Mississippi, explored its shores almost
to the Red River, made friends with all its native
tribes, discovered the short route to the sea, trav
elled about fifteen hundred miles, and had returned
to his ship with every man of his party. What vol
umes these few facts speak for the energy, tact,
skill, and foresight of this wonderful Canadian !
Casting about for a convenient spot Iberville
decided to build his fort at the head of Biloxi
Bay, and in this unfortunate location, under the
spurring supervision of the chief, Fort Biloxi soon
rose, and there on Easter Sunday mass was cele
brated, vespers sung, and a sermon preached.
On May 2, 1700, Iberville sailed for France, leav
ing his lieutenant, Sauvole, as the first governor
of the province of Louisiana and Bienville second
in command.

PETER LE MOYNE 65
The action of France and the desperate haste
of Iberville in occupying the mouth of the Mis
sissippi were most timely. The very month in
which our Canadian sailed from Brest an expedi
tion left England under the auspices of Mr. Cox,
who sent out three vessels loaded with emigrants.
They wintered in the Carolinas, where many
settled, but in 1700 two ships continued their
voyage to the Mississippi. One of these vessels
was commanded by a Captain Banks, who once
captured by Iberville in Hudson Bay now found
himself worsted by his rival in the peaceful work
of colonization. One of the English ships ap
peared in the lower Mississippi, into which Banks
had found entrance, in September, 1700. Bien
ville, with five men and two pirogues, met the
English vessel, and setting forth to the captain
that France was in possession of all the surround
ing country, succeeded either by argument or
cajolery in persuading the captain to withdraw
from the Mississippi.
Iberville was not long delayed by the delights
and pleasures of the French court, but speedily
returned to Biloxi, where he arrived on the eve
of Twelfth Night with supplies, and more im
portant of all, with sixty hardy and energetic
Canadians, with whom he established a fort a short
distance below the present site of New Orleans.
The winter proved a very cold one, the drinking-
water freezing in the cups, but it did not delay the
rapid progress of the new fort. In the midst of
this work Chevalier de Tonti arrived with twenty
Canadians from their former settlement in Illinois,
5

66 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
Thus for the first time, with intercommunica
tion established between the permanent settle
ment in Illinois, Tonti's fort on the Arkansas, and
the new colony at the mouth of the Mississippi,
Iberville felt that France had indeed entered into
actual possession of its great province of Lou
isiana. He realized, however, the necessity of
permanently connecting these settlements, many
hundred miles apart, and of facilitating intercom
munication through the establishment of inter
mediate posts.
Iberville contemplated an exploration of the
Red River, thinking it might afford access to the
gold and silver mines of New Spain, but aban
doned the project owing to the representations
of the Indians that the river was unnavigable
from the interlaced drift-wood, later known as
rafts. He turned his attention to the main river,
the Mississippi, and visited the Natchez, a brave
and powerful tribe of Indians, whose country
delighted his heart as resembling France, and
where he planned a city to be called Rosalie
(now Natchez), which, however, it was not his
fate to ever see take definite form, as it was only
built long after his death, in 1714, by his brother
Bienville. It was at this time that Le Sueur,
sent up the Mississippi by Iberville, discovered
the St. Peter River, in Minnesota, and attempt
ing mining operations, later brought back a
worthless cargo of green earth. To Iberville's
credit, it may be said, he viewed this and many
other similar schemes of development with a
sceptical and practical eye.

PETER LE MOYNE 67
Later he sent his brother Bienville across
country to explore the Red River, which was
done with good success. His priest Montigny
was also active in extending the faith, both
among the Xatchez Indians and in the basin of
the Tensas River. Indeed, every effort was
made under Iberville's sagacious direction to
obtain a knowledge of the possibilities of the
country, so that its resources might be properly
developed. Iberville returned to France ill with fever, but
despite his disease, he displayed extraordinary
energy in personally advancing the practical
affairs of his new colony. Moreover, he prepared
a memoir urging the cession of Pensacola by
Spain to France, which nation was to establish
forts and arm the Indians along the Mississippi
River, whereby the interior of America from
the Gulf of Mexico to Canada would be under
French domination, save the narrow strip along
the Atlantic coast already occupied by England.
It was a sagacious scheme which if it had been
properly supported by France would have en
tirely changed the future of America. It re
ceived, however, but a perfunctory support, and
only resulted in exciting the jealousy of Spain.
Iberville's last voyage to Louisiana was made
in 1701, when his health, undermined by the
climate, was impaired by the formation of an
abscess which confined him to his bed for two
months. His mind worked incessantly, and his
activity through other hands was wonderful.
He planned the royal magazines on Dauphine

68 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
Island, located the new post on Mobile River,
told off the relief of workmen for the various en
terprises, planned flat-boats for lighters, extended
relief to the Spaniards at Vera Cruz, and sent
Tonti as an agent to make peace with the Choc-
taws and Chickasaws and secure them as allies.
His sailor's eye was particularly pleased with
the magnificent forests of Mobile Bay, where the
oaks and pines presented the finest timber for
ship-building he had ever seen.
With Mobile commenced, the royal storehouses
erected, and the alliance of the Choctaws and
Chickasaws secured, Iberville felt that the colony
of Louisiana was on a secure foundation, and on
March 31st he sailed from Dauphine Island, then
the headquarters of that colony for which he
had done so much, and which he was destined
never again to see.
The domain of Louisiana, obtained by so much
heroic endeavor and individual suffering on the
part of Joliet, Marquette, La Salle, Tonti, Iber
ville, and their associates, passed at once, by an
edict of Louis XIV., into a monopoly and under
the control of a courtier, Anton Crozat, for trad
ing purposes, by the decree of September 14,
1 71 2. In this decree the limits of Louisiana were
for the first time defined, including " all the
territories by us (France) possessed, and bounded
by New Mexico and by those of the English in
Carolina. . . . The river St. Louis, formerly
called the Mississippi, from the sea-shore to the
Illinois, together with the rivers St. Phillipe, for
merly called the Missouries, and the St. Jerome,

PETER LE MOYNE 69
formerly called the Wabash (the Ohio), with all
the countries, territories, lakes in the land, and
the rivers emptying directly or indirectly into
that part of the river St. Louis. All the said
territories, countries, rivers, streams, and islands
we will to be and remain comprised under the
name of the government of Louisiana."
There was another and blacker page to the
decree, whereby Crozat was further authorized
to introduce African slavery : " If the aforesaid
Sieur Crozat considers it advisable to have
negroes in the said country of Louisiana, for
agriculture or other use on plantations, he can
send a ship each year to trade directly with
the Guinea coast, . . . and is further author
ized to sell negroes to the settlers of Louisiana."
But prior to this condition of affairs the great
Canadian naval commander had passed to his
final reward, having died of yellow fever at
Havana, July 9, 1706. The last leaf in his his
tory was, however, an effort, through his per
sonal bravery and skill, to secure French domi
nation in America by driving out of the Antilles
the determined English seamen whose success
ful raids so often militated against the interests
of France. Despite his health, undermined by
fevers, Iberville left France with a fleet with
which he hoped to carry out this great plan.
Intending to make a descent upon Barbadoes, he
learned that the English, warned of his plans,
were prepared for him. He therefore seized on
the islands of Nevis and St. Christopher, where
his fleet captured an enormous amount of booty

70

EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS

of all kinds. He decided next to ravage the
English colonies in the Carolinas, but stopping
at Havana for reinforcements he lost his own
life by the epidemic which destroyed eight hun
dred others of his fleet.
Among the qualities of this great Canadian all
must admire his intrepidity in war, his skill as a
navigator, and his capacity as an explorer ; but
beyond these were the astonishing administra
tive ability and political sagacity which he dis
played in such an eminent degree in the planning,
founding, and fostering of the great province of
Louisiana.

New Orleans in 1719.

III.
JONATHAN CARVER,
The Exi'lorer of Minnesota.
Throughout the bloody series of French and
Indian wars which ravaged the frontier settle
ments of America during the first half of the
eighteenth century, France maintained secure
possession of the regions of the great lakes and
the basin of the upper Mississippi. The success
ful campaign of the gallant Wolfe against the no
less gallant Montcalm ultimately resulted in the
termination of French supremacy in these sec
tions, and under the treaty of Paris, in 1763,
Canada with all other dominions of France east
of the Mississippi passed under the control of
Great Britain.
To this time the English colonists had con
fined their operations almost entirely to the re
gion of the Atlantic Coast, so when Great
Britain acquired her immense war-inheritance
the country to the west of the Appalachian
Mountain range was practically an unknown re
gion to its new masters. The extension of Eng
lish settlements toward the interior of the con
tinent was determined on by the English Gov
ernment, and the more accessible of the French
trading-posts in the northwest were immediately

72 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
occupied. Maps were few and inaccurate, in
formation as to the Indians vague and exag
gerated, while nothing was known as to the
resources of the country except that furs were
obtainable in large numbers.
Scarcely were the terms of the treaty pro
mulgated than the enterprising pioneers moved
westward and gradually pressed back the In
dians nearest the English settlements. A few
other men, however, undertook to penetrate the
valley of the Mississippi to the very frontier of
Louisiana, which remained a French possession.
Among these hardy and adventurous Amer
icans the most enterprising was Captain Jona
than Carver, who was born in Stillwater, N. Y.,
in 1732. He was the grandson of William Joseph
Carver, one of the earliest of the royal appoint
ments in Connecticut, and his first public service
was at the age of eighteen, when he secured an
ensigncy in a Connecticut regiment. In 1757,
when Colonel Oliver Partridge raised a battalion
of infantry in Massachusetts to serve against
Canada, Carver was made a lieutenant therein.
Later he served as captain under Colonel Whit-
comb, in 1760, and under Colonel Saltonstall, in
1762, and participated in the taking of Crown
Point and other operations in northern New
York. Doubtless his association with scouts and
camp-followers, largely consisting of fur-traders
and frontiersmen, induced a lively interest in
their accounts of the western country held by
their enemies, the Indian and the Frenchman.

JONATHAN CARVER 73
Certain it is that Carver acquired such ideas of
the extent, fertility, natural wealth, and possi
bilities of the great and unknown West as fired
his adventurous spirit with a firm determination
to solve the important geographical problems
connected therewith.
His objects, he states, were to gain knowledge
concerning the Indian tribes to the west of the
Mississippi, to ascertain the natural resources of
the country, and to cross the American continent
between the forty-third and forty-sixth degrees
of north latitude. Ultimately he contemplated
the establishment of a trading-post at some suit
able point on the Pacific Coast.
Carver was not ignorant of the great danger
involved in such an undertaking, where he was
obliged to intrust his life to the mercy of un
known Indians for a prolonged time. Indeed,
considering his experiences at the massacre of
Englishmen and provincials at Fort Henry, it
seems surprising that he would ever trust a savage
or a Frenchman. In the campaign of 1757, Carver
volunteered to accompany the detachment of fif
teen hundred men which General Webb sent
forward to reinforce the garrison at Fort Henry,
then anticipating an attack from Montcalm. The
garrison, commanded by the gallant Monro, who
resisted until his guns burst and his ammunition
was nearly exhausted, surrendered to the com
bined force of Indians and French under Mont
calm, who promised safe conduct and private
property. As the English force moved out the
next morning the Indians, inflamed by liquor,

74 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
song, and dance, butchered the sick and wound
ed and then fell upon the helpless captives, of
whom there were, according to French accounts,
about sixty killed and four hundred robbed and
maltreated. Montcalm and Levi, to their credit,
though too late, made heroic personal efforts
which mitigated the horrors of the situation.
Among the unfortunates was Carver, who,
robbed and stripped by the savages, appealed to
a French sentry for protection only to be re
pelled with abuse. Realizing finally that to re-

Indian Tomahawk.
(From Carver's Book.)

main quiet was to meet certain death, Carver
and a few others attempted to escape by break
ing unarmed through the surrounding lines of
Indian fiends. In this desperate effort for life
Carver was twice wounded, badly beaten, seized
by two Indians, and led away to death, which
he escaped by the appearance of a British officer
in full uniform, who was such a prize that his
captors left Carver to secure a more valuable
victim. Profiting by the respite Carver fled to
the nearest woods, where, exhausted and nearly
naked, he concealed himself in a thicket until
night. For three days he wandered through the

JONATHAN CARVER 75
densest part of the forest, suffering tortures from
travel under such conditions, often in danger of
recapture, and without food until he reached, in
a nearly exhausted condition, the English settle
ments. An attempt at transcontinental exploration
was then looked on as foolhardy and visionary
in the extreme, even to those friends of Carver
who never deserted him. One of these, Dr.
Lcttsom, wrote in the third edition of Carver's
travels, fifteen years after the journey, as follows:
" He suggested an attempt by land across the
northwest parts of America, and actually drew a
chart of his proposed route for effecting his pro
ject, which, however visionary it may now be
deemed, affords at least a proof of the enterpris
ing spirit of Carver."
Unmoved by the sneers of his critics, and un
deterred by recollections of Indian cruelty and
perfidy, Carver arranged the details of his jour
ney at his private expense, and in June, 1766,
he quitted Boston, and travelling by the way
of Albany and Niagara reached his headquar
ters, Michillimackinac, now known as Mackinac.
Here he made definite arrangements for his seri
ous work of exploration. At this time English
traders extended their journeys to Prairie-du-
Chien for the purpose of purchasing furs from
Indians rendezvousing there, and with one of
these parties Carver was to travel, relying on the
Governor of Mackinaw to forward supplies to
St. Anthony. Leaving the Fort, September 3d,
and travelling by canoe, he reached the islands

76 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
of the Grand Traverse, and there spent one night.
One of the chiefs, to whom a present was given,
made, on Carver's departure, the following prayer,
which is worthy of reproduction as a specimen
of Indian eloquence : " May the Great Spirit
favor you with a prosperous voyage ; may He
give you an unclouded sky and smooth waters
by day, and may you lay down by night on a
beaver blanket to uninterrupted sleep and pleas
ant dreams, and may you find continual protec
tion under the calumet of peace."
Carver followed the route of Joliet and Mar
quette through Green Bay and up Fox River
to the great town of the Winnebagoes, where he
found the Indians presided over by a queen in
stead of a sachem. Carver speaks of the extreme
richness of soil and abundance of cultivated prod
ucts and wild game, mentioning grapes, plums,
Indian corn, beans, pumpkins, squashes, water
melons, and tobacco from cultivation ; fish from
the lake ; wild fowl so abundant that frequently
the sun would be obscured by them for some
minutes together, while deer, bears, and beavers
were very numerous. The usual portage was
made by him from the Fox to the Wisconsin
River, into which his canoes were launched on
the 8th of October. Seven days carried him to
Prairie-du-Chien, at the junction of the Wiscon
sin and Mississippi, which was at that time a
town of some three hundred families and had
become a great trading mart for the adjacent
tribes, who assembled in great numbers annually
in the latter part of May.

78 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
At Prairie-du-Chien Carver parted with the
traders, who were to winter at that point, and ob
taining a Canadian as interpreter and a Mohawk
Indian as a servant, he purchased a canoe, and
on October 19th, proceeding up the Mississippi,
he fell in with a straggling band of Indians which
barely failed of plundering him. November ist
brought him to Lake Pepin, near which he dis
covered what appeared to be the remains of
extended intrenchments, centuries old, as he
thought, but which are now known to be Indian
mounds, probably erected as sites for their wig
wams, so as to keep them above the annual over
flow and inundation.
The coming of winter and the forming of river
ice obliged him to quit his canoe opposite the
mouth of the St. Peter, or Minnesota River,
whence by land he reached the Falls of St. An
thony on November 17, 1766, probably the first
white American to visit them.
The noise and appearance of the Falls of St.
Anthony impressed Carver very strongly, and
his account of them is worthy of reproduction in
view of the changes that have taken place within
the past one hundred and thirty years:
" This amazing body of waters, which are
above 250 yards over, form a most pleasing cata
ract ; they fall perpendicularly about thirty feet,
and the rapids below, in the space of 300 yards
more, render the descent considerably greater ;
so that when viewed at a distance, they appear
to be much higher than they really are.
" In the middle of the Falls stands a small island

JONATHAN CARVER 79
about forty feet broad and somewhat longer, on
which grow a few cragged hemlock and spruce
trees; and about half way between this island
and the eastern shore is a rock lying at the very
edge of the Fall, in an oblique position, that ap
pears to be about five or six feet broad and thirty
or forty long."
Leaving the falls, Carver proceeded up the
Mississippi to the mouth of the St. Francis, the
farthest of Hennepin in 1680, discovering on the
way Rum and Goose Rivers. Warned by the
severity of the cold that winter was fast coming
on, Carver returned to his canoe at the mouth of
the Minnesota River and decided to explore that
stream, of which only the lower portion had ever
been visited — by Le Sueur in 1700.
Following the Minnesota about two hundred
miles he reached, on December 7th, the winter
camp of a large tribe of Indians, about one thou
sand in number, who were designated by Carver
as the Naudowessie (Santees). Advancing boldly,
with his calumet of peace fastened to the prow of
his canoe, he was received in a friendly manner.
After the usual smoking of the pipe of peace,
during which he says the tent was nearly broken
down by the crowd of savages, who, as a rule,
had never seen a white man, he was treated with
great respect.
Among these Indians Carver passed the win
ter, filling in his five months' stay by hunting and
other Indian amusements. From the Indians he
learned that the St. Lawrence, the Mississippi, and
the Bourbon (the Red River of the North) had

80 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
their sources within thirty miles of each other.
This led to the natural but erroneous opinion
that Carver had reached the highest land of
North America, when in reality he was at an ele
vation of only twelve hundred feet.
Carver also spoke of " the Oregon, or the River
of the West," as having its sources somewhat
farther to the west. This is the first time that

w. v.\ V \ V

A Calumet.
(From Carver's Book.)
the word Oregon appears in literature, and Car
ver gives no account of its meaning.
The Indians had traditions as to the extreme
plentifulness of gold to the west of the " Shining
Mountains," of which our explorer says, on the
strength of Indian reports :
" The mountains that lie to the west of St.
Peter are called the Shining Mountains, from an
infinite number of crystal stones of an amazing
size with which they are covered and which,

JONATHAN CARVER 81
when the sun shines full upon them, sparkle so
as to be seen at a very great distance."
Carver's enthusiasm and interest in the West
led him to make the following striking predic
tion, which time has fully justified. He says:
" This extraordinary range of mountains is
calculated to be more than three thousand miles
in length, without any very considerable inter
vals, which, I believe, surpasses anything of the
kind in the other quarters of the globe. Prob
ably, in future ages, they may be found to con
tain more riches in their bowels than those of
Hindostan and Malabar, or than are produced
on the golden coast of Guinea, nor will I except
even the Peruvian mines. To the west of these
mountains, when explored by future Columbuses
or Raleighs, may be found other lakes, rivers,
and countries, full fraught with all the neces
saries or luxuries of life, and where future
generations may find an asylum, whether driven
from their country by the ravages of lawless
tyrants, or by religious persecutions, or reluc
tantly leaving it to remedy the inconveniences
arising from a superabundant increase of in
habitants ; whether, I say, impelled by these or
allured by hopes of commercial advantages,
there is little doubt but their expectations will
be fully gratified in these rich and unexhausted
climes." Carver described the valley of the Minnesota
as a most delightful country, abounding with all
the necessities of life, which grow spontaneously.
Fruit, vegetables, and nuts were represented as
6

82 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
being particularly abundant, and the sugar-maple
grew in amazing numbers.
In April, 1767, the Santees descended the
Minnesota in order, among other things, to bury
their dead near a remarkable cave on Lake Pepin,
known to the Indians as the " dwelling of the
Great Spirit."
Finding that supplies had not been sent to the
Falls of St. Anthony, Carver returned to Prairie-
du-Chien in order to get sufficient stores to
enable him to reach Lake Superior, whence he
hoped to be able to cross the continent from
Grand Portage. Obtaining such supplies, he
proceeded up the Mississippi to the Chippeway
River, and, after ascending to its head, made
portages to the St. Croix, and reached Lake
Superior, possibly by the river now known as
the Bois Brule.
From this point Carver, in his canoe, skirted
the coast of Lake Superior to the Grand Por
tage, where he awaited the arrival of the Hudson
Bay or northern traders, from whom he anxiously
hoped to obtain supplies that would enable him
to journey west ; but he was destined to dis
appointment, as nothing could be obtained from
them. Carver coasted around the north and east
borders of Lake Superior, and arrived at the Falls
of Ste. Marie the beginning of October, having
skirted nearly twelve hundred miles of the shores
of Lake Superior in a birch canoe.
The Sault Ste. Marie was then the resort of the
Algonquin Indians, who frequented the falls on
account of the great numbers of whitefish that

JONATHAN CARVER 83
filled the waters, particularly in the autumn,
when that fish leaves the lakes in order to spawn
in shallow running waters.
In November, 1767, Carver arrived at Mack
inac, having, as he says, " been sixteen months
on this extensive tour, travelled nearly four
thousand miles, and visited twelve nations ol
Indians living to the west and north. His pict
ure of Detroit on his return, in 1768, is of re
trospective interest.
" The town of Detroit contains upward of one
hundred houses. The streets are somewhat
regular, and have a range of very convenient
and handsome barracks with a spacious parade
at the south end. On the west side lies the
King's Garden, belonging to the Governor,
which is very well laid out, and kept in good
order. The fortifications of the town consist of
a strong stockade, made of round piles, fixed
firmly in the ground, and lined with palisades.
These are defended by some small bastions, on
which are mounted a few indifferent cannon of an
inconsiderable size, just sufficient for its defence
against the Indians or an enemy not provided
with artillery. The garrison in time of peace
consists of two hundred men, commanded by
a field-officer, who acts as chief magistrate under
the Governor of Canada.
" f n the year 1762, in the month of July, it
rained on this town and the parts adjacent a
sulphurous water of the color and consistency of
ink, some of which being collected in bottles,
and wrote with, appeared perfectly intelligible

84 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
on the paper, and answered every purpose for
that useful liquid. Soon after, the Indian wars
already spoken of broke out in these parts. I
mean not to say that this incident was ominous
of them, notwithstanding it is well known that
innumerable well-attested instances of extraor
dinary phenomena, happening before extraor
dinary events, have been recorded in almost every
age by historians of veracity ; I only relate the
circumstance as a fact, of which I was informed
by many persons of undoubted probity, and
leave my readers, as I have heretofore done, to
draw their own conclusions from it."
It is beyond question that certain chapters of
Carver's work, supplementary to his account of
his personal explorations, and especially devoted
to Indians and to the natural history of the
Northwest, are practically translations of the ac
counts of Charlevoix, Hennepin, and particular
ly of Lahontan. It does not appear from the
first part of the work that Carver was a man
endowed with those powers of observation and
assimilation which are essential traits for the
successful traveller and author.
When the brief recital of his personal travels is
examined, it seems difficult to determine on what
grounds his truthfulness has been questioned by
a few hostile critics. His story is simple and
straightforward, devoid of boastfulness, free
from any exaggeration as to his personal prowess,
and the statement that he passed a winter of five
months in the valley of the Upper Minnesota is,
in my opinion, worthy of entire credence.

JON A THAN CAR I 'Eli

85

Fortunately, however, evidence of the most
convincing character exists as to Carver's resi
dence among the Naudowessies or Santees. The
exhaustive bibliography of the Siouan languages,
by Mr. James C. Pilling, indicates that Carver
is the first author who ever published a vocabu
lary of the Santee tongue, and its length, eight
pages, renders it evident that it was an original

Naudowessie Indians.
Carver's drawing of " A man and woman of the Naudowessie," herewith re
produced, if somewhat fanciful in its details, must he considered of historical value
as indicating in the main the costumes of the Santees when first visited by the whites.
compilation which must have required consid
erable time and patience.
The importance of Carver's charts and jour
nals at that time was evident to the Lords Com
missioners of Trade and Plantations in England
to whom Carver was referred when praying
for reimbursement of his expenses. Carver ap
peared before the Board and, after an examina
tion, was granted authority to publish his papers.

86 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
Later, after Carver had, as he says, disposed of
them and they were nearly ready for the press,
an order was issued from the Council Board re
quiring him to immediately turn in all the orig
inals of his charts, journals, and other papers
relative to his discoveries.
Meanwhile interest in the extension of Eng
lish influence into the interior of North America
was waning steadily with the growing convic
tion that the colonies would establish their in
dependence, and the Government had no mind
to reimburse an enterprising American, even
though he remained loyal. Carver was reduced
gradually to the greatest straits, was compelled
to sell his book for a pittance, and finally, his
end hastened by lack of proper food and suitable
attendance, died in the direst poverty in Lon- .
don, January 13, 1780.
His own generation could best judge as to the
timeliness and importance of Carver's explora
tion, and as to the value of the information set
forth in his book of travels. Suffice it to say
that no less than twenty-three editions of this
book have appeared, in four languages. This,
too, at a time when the war of independence
naturally destroyed current interest in the ex
tension of English settlements in the interior of
North America.
Explorations, however, are wisely esteemed
by posterity according to the results which flow
therefrom in the shape of definite additions to the
knowledge of the world or in the more impor
tant direction of disclosing lands suitable for

JONATHAN CARVER 87
colonization. In this latter manner the explora
tion of Jonathan Carver and the accounts of his
travels had an important influence. They first
brought into popular and accessible form in
formation and ideas concerning the interior
parts of North America which before had been
practically inaccessible to the general public of
England and America.
Twenty-five years after this journey toward
the " Shining Mountains " and " Oregon, the
River of the West," the ultimate scheme of
Carver found its justification in the success of
Alexander Mackenzie, a young Scotchman, who
was the first white man to cross the continent of
America to the north of Mexico ; and yet ten
years later Lewis and Clark were despatched on
their famous expedition which explored the val
ley of the Columbia, where in 1810, under the
energetic management of John Jacob Astor,
arose the trading-post of Astoria, thus turning
into reality the dreams and aspirations of Jona
than Carver, the soldier and explorer.

IV.
CAPTAIN ROBERT GRAY,
The Discoverer of the Columbia River.
Within the past century no American ex
plorer has contributed more materially to the
welfare of the United States and to its maritime
glory than Captain Robert Gray, the discoverer
of the Columbia River and the first circumnavi
gator who carried the flag of the United States
around the world.
Robert Gray was born at Tiverton, R. I., in
May, 1757, and in early youth, inspired with
the spirit of independence which dominated the
American Colonies, entered the naval service
during the war of the Revolution, wherein he
served with credit as an officer.
At the termination of the war it is probable
that he continued his natural or acquired voca
tion as a seaman. At all events, we find him first
and foremost among that band of American citi
zens whose courage, energy, and nautical skill
enabled them to attain unsurpassed success as
whalers and sealers in the Antarctic Ocean, as
traders dealing direct with China, or as explorers
and fur dealers on the unsurveyed and danger
ous coast of northwest America.

CAPTAIN ROBERT GRAY 89
In 17S7, J. Barrell, S. Brown, C. Bulfinch, J.
Darby, C. Hatch, and J. M. Pintard, merchants
of Boston, associated for the purpose of combin
ing the fur traffic of the northwest coast of
America with the silk and tea trade of China.
For this purpose they sent, under the command
of Captain' John Kendrick, in 1787, the ship
Columbia and the sloop Washington with car
goes of blankets, knives, iron bars, and other
articles suitable for the northwest trade. They
were provided with sea letters issued according
to a resolution of Congress, with passports from
the State of Massachusetts, and with commenda
tory letters from the Spanish minister plenipo
tentiary to the United States.
Captain Kendrick, who commanded the Co
lumbia, was a man of marked ability and great
energy, who withal had most enthusiastic opin
ions as to the future of the Pacific Coast re
gion, which he believed would in a few years
utterly dwarf the growing importance of the
Atlantic seaboard. Gray was the master of the
Washington, and his professional standing in
the eyes of the merchants of Boston was shown
by his designation as the most desirable officer
to assume command in case of death or injury to
Captain Kendrick.
Many aspersions have been cast by English
writers on the policy pursued and methods fol
lowed by Americans engaged in trading with
the Indians of the northwest coast of America.
Doubtless such reflections were justified in indi
vidual cases of Americans, as of traders of other

90 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
nationality ; but the instructions given by the mer
chants of Boston to Kendrick and Gray show
that fair, honest, and peaceful methods were
regarded as the true means of establishing a per
manent and profitable trade. Among other in
junctions were the following :
" If you make any fort or any improvement of
land on the coast, be sure you purchase the soil
of the natives. . . . Let the instrument of
conveyance bear every authentic mark that cir
cumstances will admit. . . . We cannot for
bear to impress on your mind our will and ex
pectation that the most inviolable harmony and
friendship may subsist between you and the
natives, and that no advantage may be taken of
them in trading, but that you endeavor by
honest conduct to impress on their minds a friend
ship for Americans." While enjoining peace, it
was not to be a peace on any terms, for thus runs
the instructions : " The sea letters from Con
gress and this State you will show on every
proper occasion, and although we expect you
will treat all nations with respect and civility,
yet we depend you will suffer insult and injury
from none without showing that spirit which
becomes a free and independent American."
The vessels sailed from Boston September 30,
1787, via the Cape Verde and Faulkland Islands,
and in January doubled Cape Horn, when the)7
thought the perils of storm were past. In lati
tude 590 S., however, a violent gale arose, which
not only separated them, but also seriously dam
aged the Columbia. The storm over, Kendrick

CAPTAIN ROBERT a HAY 91
found himself in a sad plight, his consort gone,
perhaps lost, his ship in an unseaworthy con
dition, and the nearest spot for repairs a thou
sand miles distant. This port, that of the island
of Juan Fernandez, if now famous and delight
ful to the adventurous mind through its asso
ciations with the fascinating tale of Robinson
Crusoe, was then most objectionable from the
fact that it was under Spanish rule and so was
to be avoided by Kendrick, whose instructions
ran as follows :
" You are strictly enjoined not to touch at any
port of the Spanish dominion on the western
continent of America, unless driven there by
unavoidable accident, in which case you are to
give no offence to any of the subjects of his
Catholic Majesty."
Kendrick, to his surprise, was received with
great kindness and aided in repairing his in
jured vessel by Don Bias Gonzales, the humane
commandant of the Spanish garrison of Juan
Fernandez. Spain at this time claimed the right of exclu
sive jurisdiction over the entire western continent
of America by virtue of the papal concession,
1493, and by right of discovery. It had failed to
colonize the northwest coast of America, but it
prohibited other nations from entering in posses
sion. It now illustrated its narrow and jealous
policy in its treatment of a subordinate who had
ventured to assist a vessel in distress and pro
vided with letters from the accredited minister
of Spain to the United States. Ambrose O'Hig-

92 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
gins, then captain-general of Chili, under whom
Gonzales was serving, on hearing of this act re
called him and put him in arrest, pending definite
orders from his own superior, Teodor Lacroix,
viceroy of Peru. After due consideration of
the case the unfortunate commandant, Gonzales,
was cashiered for his remissness in allowing a
strange ship to leave Juan Fernandez instead of
seizing her and her crew. The viceroy set forth
to the captain-general of Chili the legal opinion
that by the royal ordinance of November, 1692,
every foreign vessel found in those seas without
a license from the court of Spain was to be
treated as an enemy, even though belonging to a
friend or ally of the king, " seeing that no other
nation had, or ought to have, any territories, to
reach which its vessels should pass around Cape
Horn or through Magellan's Straits." The vice
roy therefore sent a ship from Callao to track or
intercept the Columbia; the authorities on the
coasts of Peru and Chili were especially enjoined
to be vigilant, and in case any foreign vessel
should appear in the country to seize her.
Under Gray's skilful handling the Washing
ton escaped unharmed from the hurricane, and
continuing his course toward King George
Sound, the concerted rendezvous, he made the
American coast, about 460 N., in August, 1788.
Here he barely escaped loss of his vessel in try
ing to cross the bar of an unknown river, prob
ably the Columbia, when his ship grounded. He,
however, visited shore, and found that the sea
was perchance the less inhospitable of the two,

CAPTAIN ROBERT GRAY 93
for he was so savagely and violently attacked bv
swarms of Indians that he was very glad to
escape therefrom with one seaman dead and the
mate wounded.
Quitting this unfortunate place he sailed north
and entered Xootka Sound, Vancouver Island,
September 17. 1788. where he found two English
vessels, the Felice and Iphigenia, sailing under
the Portuguese flag and commanded by Captains
Meares and Douglass. There were no signs of

the Columbia, but her arrival a few days later re
lieved Grav from further anxiety in this respect.
Douglass's vessel, the Iphigenia. was in serious
need of supplies and assistance, which Gray gen
erously furnished. Later he not only made to
the northward a successful trading trip, but in
the following year, in June, 1789, explored the
whole east coast of Queen Charlotte Islands, to
which he gave the name of Washington Islands,
in honor of General Washington, then President
of the United States. In another trading ex
cursion from Xootka Sound, Vancouver Island,
Grav entered the broad opening southeast of the
island and sailed to the east-southeast fifty miles,

94 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
where he found the passage still five leagues
wide. This opening was the Straits of Fuca,
and the first authentic exploration of the strait is
the account of Gray. The credit of first passing
through the entire length of the Straits of Fuca
is due to Kendrick, who made the passage in the
sloop Washington, after the departure of Gray
to China on the Columbia.
The account of the passage of the Washing
ton through the Straits of Fuca was especially
called to Vancouver's attention by the British
Admiralty on the occasion of his surveying
voyage of 1791, when he was particularly to
" examine the supposed Strait of Juan de Fuca,
said to be situated between the forty-eighth
and forty-ninth north latitude, and to lead to an
opening through which the sloop Washington
was reported to have passed in 1789, and to have
come out again to the northward of Nootka."
Vancouver later denied to Americans the credit
of first sailing entirely through the Straits of
Fuca, resting his opinion on Gray's statement
that he sailed only fifty miles within it, which
was true ; the credit belonging to Kendrick in
his voyage with the Washington after Gray's de
parture from the coast in 1789.
The efforts of Kendrick and Gray resulted in
the obtaining of a full cargo of furs, which in
accordance with their instructions were to be
sold in China. Kendrick, fascinated with the
prospects of fortune and success, and perhaps
reluctant to face his owners owing to his lack
of caution which resulted in the unfortunate kill-

CAPTAIN ROBERT GRAY 95
ing of some thirty natives, decided to remain on
the northwest coast, his imaginary Eldorado.
Gray consequently transferred to the Colum
bia and set sail for Canton, then the great fur
mart of the world. His voyage across the
Pacific was prosperous, his furs were readily
sold, and after taking a cargo of tea on board,
Gray sailed for the Cape of Good Hope, and on
the ioth of August, 1790, the Columbia entered
the port of Boston, the first vessel to circum
navigate the world under the flag of the United
States. His success and conduct so impressed the
owners of the ship that they immediately de
cided upon sending Gray back to the north
west coast, and seven weeks later, September
28, 1790, he sailed in the Columbia, which was
described as a ship of two hundred and twelve
tons, manned by thirty men, and equipped with
an armament of ten guns.
Gray was also provided with a sea letter
signed by George Washington, then President,
which ran as follows :
" To all Emperors, Kings, Sovereign princes,
State and Regents and to their respective officers,
civil and military and to all others whom it may
concern. " I, George Washington, President of the
United States of America do make known that
Robert Gray, Captain of a ship called the Co
lumbia of the burden of about 230 tons, is a
citizen of the United States and that the said

96 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
ship which he commands belongs to the citizens
of the United States ; and as I wish that the said
Robert Gray may prosper in his lawful affairs, I
do request all the before mentioned, and of each
of them separately, when the said Robert Gray
shall arrive with his vessel and cargo, that they
will be pleased to receive him with kindness and
treat him in a becoming manner &c. and there
by I shall consider myself obliged.
" September 16, 1790 — New York City
(Seal U. S.)
" Geo. Washington,
President.
" Thomas Jefferson,
" Secy of State."
He further was provided with a similar letter
from John Hancock, the Governor of Massa
chusetts. His letter of instructions from the owners,
signed by Joseph Barrell, enjoins, in similar and
even stronger terms than those given Kendrick
three years before, friendly treatment, strict
honesty, honorable conduct, and the avoidance
of unjust advantage in trade with the natives,
the shunning of Spanish ports, tender treatment
of his crew, urgency of despatch in reaching the
northwest coast, and the refraining from all un
necessary connections with foreigners or Amer
icans. It further speaks of Gray's rising reputa
tion, and expresses the belief that a regard for
his own honor, and a respect for the sea letter
with which the President had honored and in-

CAPTAIN ROBERT GRAY 97
dulged him, would cause Ciiay to doubly exert
himself for the success of the voyage.
Gray used such despatch and was so fortunate
that he reached Cape Flattery, at the mouth of
the Straits oi Fuca, June 5, 1791, his voyage of
eight months having been devoid of any occur
rence worthy of note. Proceeding northward
to Queen Charlotte Island for trade, he there
fell in with Ingraham, formerly mate of the
Columbia, but now, July 23, 1791, in command
of the Hope. The autumn was spent in trading
and exploring among the islands and along the
coast to the east and north of Queen Charlotte
Island. During one trip Gray penetrated an
inlet near 550 N. latitude, probably the northern
extension of Vancouver Strait, to a distance of
one hundred miles to the northeastward without
reaching the end of the passage, which he sup
posed to be the Rio de Reyes of Admiral Fonte.
Gray's visit was most unfortunate, for a portion
of his crew landing at a port on the mainland in
55° N, on August 22d, a large band of savages
fell on the party and killed Joshua Caswell, his
second mate, and seamen Joseph Barns and Job
Folgier. This fatal spot was therefore named
Massacre Cove.
The attitude of the Indians was a matter of
constant anxiety, so that Gray and his crew
were obliged to exercise the greatest caution in
all their intercourse with such tribes as they fell
in with. In Pintard Sound, 51^30' N., near the
entrance, an attack was attempted on the Co
lumbia, which obliged Gray to fire on the In-
7

98 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
dians, whereby two of the chiefs were killed,
but it did not excite lasting resentment, as these
savages traded with him later as though nothing
had happened.
Returning to Clyoquot, Port Cox, Vancouver
Island, with the Columbia, Gray went into
winter quarters. The owners had . sent out the
frames for a sloop of about thirty tons, with
three carpenters to build the vessel. A fortified
habitation, called Fort Defiance, was constructed
for occupancy by the working party, which fin
ished and launched the sloop that winter, chris
tening her as the Adventurer.
In the spring of 1792, while the crews of the
Columbia and Adventurer were preparing for
sea they were visited by many Indians, who,
through their chiefs, established such relations
with a Sandwich Islander, who was one of the
crew of the 'Columbia, as to excite Gray's sus
picions. The Islander on being closely ques
tioned by Gray confessed that the Indians had
formed a plan to murder the whole party and
seize the vessels, the Hawaiian to aid them by
wetting the priming of all the guns, and in re
turn be made a chief among the Indians. Gray
took immediate steps to keep his crew on their
guard during their remaining stay, and thus
completely baffled the design of the savages
without bloodshed.
In April, 1792, Gray, sending the Adventurer
northward under command of Haswell, his first
mate, turned himself southward, and on the 29th
fell in with Vancouver, who was approaching

CAPTAIN ROBERT GRAY 99
the northwest coast on a voyage of explora
tion in the English ship Discovery, with the
Rambler under Broughton as a consort.
Vancouver eagerly sought information from
Gray as to his knowledge of the coast, which the
American gave fully and cheerfully. Gray set
forth his voyages in the Straits of Fuca, around
Queen Charlotte Island, and further, that in 1788
he had " been off the mouth of a river, in the
latitude of 460 10', where the outset or reflux
was so strong as to prevent his entering for nine
days." This latter information was most sur
prising and distasteful to Vancouver, who, fitted
out at great expense with two vessels for explo
ration alone, found the accuracy of his own ob
servations of the coast, as recorded in his journal
two days earlier, thrown in doubt by the state
ments of this American trader.
Vancouver had written before meeting Gray :
" The several large rivers and capacious inlets that
have been described as discharging their contents
into the Pacific, between the fortieth and forty-
eighth degrees of north latitude, were reduced to
brooks insufficient for our vessels to navigate, or
to bays inaccessible as harbors. Under the most
fortunate and favorable circumstances of wind
and weather, so minutely has this extensive coast
been inspected, that the surf has been constantly
seen to break on its shores from the mast-head."
After hearing Gray's relation Vancouver wrote:
" If any inlet should be found, it must be a very
intricate one, and inaccessible to vessels of our
burden. ... I was thoroughly convinced,

100 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
as were also most persons of observation on
board, that we could not possibly have passed
any safe navigable opening harbor or place of
security for shipping on this coast." Later
Broughton by Vancouver's orders entered and
surveyed a part of the Columbia in the latter
part of October, 1792, when very much to his
surprise he found himself preceded by another
American trader, Captain Baker, master of the
brig Jenny, of Bristol, R. I. Vancouver's re
port of the Columbia is scarcely creditable to
that great navigator, for he attempted to* prove
that the mouth of the Columbia is an inlet sepa
rate from the main river, and that Gray is conse
quently not entitled to the credit of discovering
the main river, a misstatement that cannot stand
either in light of Gray's journal or the hydrog
raphy of the river.
Doubtless Gray was sufficiently irritated by
Vancouver's doubts and criticisms as to the ex
istence and navigability of the unknown river, to
cause him to again venture the dangers which
had so nearly caused the loss of his vessel on his
previous visit. Of it Wilkes wrote : " Mere de
scription can give little idea of the terrors of the
bar of the Columbia. All who have seen it have
spoken of the wildness of the scene, the incessant
war of the waters, representing it as one of the
most fearful sights that can possibly meet the
eye of the sailor."
Gray pursued the even tenor of his way to the
southward, and within two weeks justified his
previous statements by not only entering and

CAPTAIN ROBERT GRAY 101
navigating the Columbia, but also discovered a
haven (Bulfinch or Gray Harbor) affording safe
anchorage and shelter for small vessels.
The following extracts from the log-book of
the ship Columbia give the account of Gray's
discoveries in his own words :
" 1792, May 7. 10 A.M. Being within six
miles of the land, saw an entrance in land which
had a very good appearance of an harbour.
. . . At half-past three bore away and ran in
N. E. by E. sounding from 4 to 5 fathoms, sandy
bottom, and as we drew nearer in between the
bars had from 10 to 12 fathoms. Having a very
strong tide of ebb to stem, many canoes came
alongside, and at 5 p.m. came to in 5 fathoms
of water, sandy bottom, in a safe harbour well
sheltered from the sea by long sand-bars and
spits. Our latitude observed this day 460 58' N."
This harbor, called Bulfinch by Gray, now prop
erly bears the name of its discoverer.
" 10 (May). Fresh breezes and pleasant
weather. Many natives alongside, at noon all
the canoes left. At 1 p.m. began to unmoor, took
up the best bower anchor and hove short on the
small anchor ; at half-past four being high water
hove up the anchor and came to sail and a beat
ing down the harbour.
" 11. At half-past 7 we were out clear of the
bar and directed our course to the southward
along shore. At 8 p.m. the entrance of Bul
finch harbour bore N, distant 4 miles, the S. one
extreme of the land, bore SSE. $ E. : the N. ditto,
NNNW. Sent up the main top-gallant yard and

102 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
set all sail. At 4 (?) P.M. saw the entrance of our
desired port, bearing ESE., distance 6 leagues, in
steering sails and hauled our wind in shore. At
S a. (p. ?) m. being a little to the windward of the
entrance to the harbour, bore awav and run in
EXE between the breakers having from 5 to 7
fathoms water. When we were over the bar -we
found this to be a large river of fresh -water, up
which we stood. Man}- canoes came alongside.
At 1 (11 ?) P.M. came to with the small bower in
10 fathoms, black and white sand; the entrance
between the bars bore WSW, distance 10 miles.
The north side of the river, a half mile distant
from the ship, the south side z\ miles distance ; a
village (Chinook) on the north side of the river,
W. by X., distance $ of a mile. Vast numbers
of natives came alongside. People employed in
pumping the salt water out of our water-casks in
order to fill with fresh water which the ship
floated in. So ends.
" (May) 14. Sailed upwards of 13 or 15 miles.
when the channel was so very narrow that it was
almost impossible to keep it. . . . Ship took
ground, but she did not lav long before she came
off without any assistance.
" The jolly-boat was sent to sound the channel
out but found it not navigable anv farther up ;
so, of course, we must have taken the wrong
channel. " 15 (May). ... In the afternoon Capt.

CAPTAIN ROIIKHT GRAY 103
Cray and Mr. Iloskins in the jolly-boat went on
shore lo take a short view of the country. . . .
" uj (Mayj. . . . Capt. Cray gave this riv
er the name of Columbia's river, and the north
side of the entrance Cape Hancock, the south
side of the entrance, Adams Point."
The day following (20th) Gray left the river,
crossing I he bar after several attempts, and sailed
northward to rejoin the Adventurer.
Completing his cargo of furs, Gray again vis
ited Canton, and by his former route returned
to Boston. He married on the 4th of February,
1794, and died, while in command of a coasting
vessel, in the summer of 1806, at Charleston, S. C,
leaving a wife and four daughters.
On March 27, 1846, a committee of Congress
considered a petition of Martha Gray, his widow,
who applied for a pension for his services to the
United States in war and as an explorer. The
committee in question considered that the most
suitable return for Gray's valuable services would
be the grant of a township in Oregon, but as sur
veys had not yet been made it deferred such
action as then inexpedient. It recommended,
however, that Congress should pass a bill giving
Mrs. Cray the sum of five hundred dollars per
annum. In its report the committee said that
Gray was the first discoverer of the country ; that
such discovery conferred on the United States
a title to the whole basin drained by the river,
known then as Oregon Territory; that the hazard
and labor of the journey wore great, especially in
the unsurveyed bar of the Columbia.

104 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
Americans did not confine their title to the
valley of the Columbia to the mere right of dis
covery without occupation and use, but they
proceeded to develop its capacities for trade and
settlement. From the year 1797 American ves
sels regularly entered the Columbia and traded
with its natives.
When in 1826 the rights of the United States
in regard to Oregon were formulated and made
the subject of consideration by plenipotentiaries
on the parts of Great Britain and the United
States, the claims of the latter were urged on
three grounds, the most important or first being
from their own proper right, which was founded
on Gray's discovery of the Columbia River.
If Vancouver had discovered the Columbia
prior to Gray, it is impossible to say what com
plications and results would have arisen in con
nection with the extension and development of
the United States. It is therefore a source of
endless gratification that Captain Robert Gray,
by his courage, enterprise, and seamanship, in
discovering and entering the Columbia, ulti
mately secured to the United States this fertile
territory, almost twice as extensive in area as
Great Britian.
With its six hundred and sixty thousand of in
habitants, its great cities, its enormous accumula
tions of wealth, the young empire added to the
United States through Robert Gray is fast shap
ing into substance the golden visions of the en
thusiastic Kendrick.

V.

CAPTAIX MERIWETHER LEWIS AXD
LIEUT. WILLIAM CLARK.
First Traxs-Coxtixextal Explorers of the
Uxited States.
The burning genius and intense patriotism
of Thomas Jefferson found their most brilliant
setting" in his draft o: the most famous paper
in the world, the Declaration of Independence.
If Jefferson thus struck the keynote of freedom
for America, he was not content with a free people
restricted in their habitat to the eastern half of
the continent, and in his ripest life gave no more
conspicuous evidence of his foresight and states
manship than in the inauguration of a policy
which comprehended in its scope the explora
tion and settlement of the entire trans-Missis
sippi region. He not onlv urged and completed
the purchase of Louisiana, but sought the extent
oi its natural resources, appreciated the unde
veloped wealth of the great West, and drafted
a scheme of land divisions and settlement which
foreshadowed the beneficial homestead legisla
tion of later vears.
Jefferson was for years interested in the ex
ploration of the western parts of Xorth America,

106 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
which were absolutely unknown save the coast
line of the Pacific. In 1784, while in Paris, he
met John Ledyard, who had made an unsuccess
ful effort to organize a company for the fur trade
on the western coast of America. Ledyard, by
Jefferson's advice and intercession, attempted to
cross by land to Kamschatka, and thence to the
west coast of America, and across country to
the Missouri River. Ledyard's arrest in Siberia
and expulsion from the country by the Russian
Government ended this plan. In 1802 Jefferson
initiated, through the American Philosophical
Society, a subscription for the exploration of
the western parts of North America, by ascend
ing the Missouri River, crossing the Rocky
Mountains, and descending the nearest river to
the Pacific Ocean. Although only two persons
were to go, Meriwether Lewis urgently sought
the appointment, and with M. Andr6 Michaux
the voyage was commenced ; but his companion
being recalled by the French minister at Wash
ington, the journey was abandoned.
On January 18, 1803, Jefferson, then President,
recommended in a confidential message to Con
gress modifications of the act regarding trade
with Indians, and with the view of extending its
provisions to the Indians on the Missouri, recom
mended the exploration of the Missouri River to
its source, the crossing of the Rocky Moun
tains, and descent to the Pacific Ocean by the best
water communication. Congress approved the
plan and voted money for its accomplishment.
Captain Meriwether Lewis, of the United States

CAPTAIN LEWIS AND LIEUT. CLARK 107
Army, who had been for nearly two \ ears private
secretary to the President, renewed his solicita
tions fe>r command, which was given him.
Jefferson showed his versatility in the instruc
tions to Captain Lewis, which are a model of ful
ness and clearness. The route to be followed,
natural products and possibilities — animal, vege
table, and mineral — climatic conditions, commer
cial routes, the soil and face of the country, were
all dwelt on. The character, customs, disposition,
territory occupied, tribal relations, means of
subsistence, language, clothing, disease, moral
attributes, laws, traditions, religion, intellectual
ity, extent and means of trade, war methods, with
respect to the Indian tribes visited, were to
be studied and reported. The topography of
the country was to be accurately determined,
astronomically and otherwise, and the maps and
notes multiplied to avoid total loss. The good
will of the chiefs was to be sought, peaceful
methods pursued, and the inflexible opposition
of any extensive force promising bloodshed was
to be met by withdrawal and retreat. The coun
try then being outside the limits of the United
States, passports from the ministers of Great
Britain, Spain, and France were furnished.
Meriwether Lewis was born August 17, 1774,
near Charlottesville, Va., being the son of John
Lewis and Miss Meriwether, and grand-nephew
of Fielding Lewis, who married a sister of
George Washington. Volunteering, at the age
of twenty, in the militia called out by Washing
ton to put down the Shay rising, he was made

108 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
ensign of the Second Sub-Legion May i, 1795,
and appointed in First Infantry November, 1796,
where he rose to be paymaster and captain in 1 800.
He was a considerate and efficient officer, an ex
pert hunter, versed in natural history, familiar
with Indian character and customs. Appreciating
his deficiencies in certain branches of science im
portant in this expeditionary duty, he at once
sought instruction from competent professors.
Jefferson describes Lewis as follows : " Of
courage undaunted, possessing a firmness and per
severance of purpose which nothing but impos
sibilities could divert from its direction, . . .
honest, disinterested, liberal, of sound under
standing and a fidelity to truth so scrupulous
that whatever he should report would be as cer
tain as seen ourselves." The management and
success of the expedition, it may here be said,
fully justified the selection by and encomiums of
Jefferson. Lewis, given his choice of associate, selected
William Clark, who was appointed by Jefferson
second lieutenant of artillery. Clark was a
brother of George Rogers Clark, by whose valor
and sagacity the Illinois or Northwest Territory
was secured to the United States, and this con
nection made his selection for further extension
of the country seem most fitting. Moreover
young Clark had qualifications and experiences
which strongly commended him to Lewis. Born
in Virginia, August 1, 1770, William Clark had
a thorough knowledge of the privations and
conditions of frontier life. Skilful as a hunter,

CAPTAIN LEWIS AND LIEUT. CLARK 109
a keen observer, familiar with military life from
four years of service as a lieutenant of infantry,
and developed from his ill health, which caused
him to leave the army in 1796, into a magnificent
specimen of manhood, he proved so efficient a
coadjutor that his name will ever be insepara
bly associated with that of Lewis.
Lewis left Washington July 5, 1803, his mission
being enhanced in its importance by the formal
cession of Louisiana to the United States by
the treaty of Paris, April 30, 1803, which news
reached him July ist. The rendezvous was at
St. Louis, which was reached via Pittsburgh
and the Ohio, recruits being selected at various
posts, while Lieutenant Clark joined at Louis
ville, though he was not commissioned in the
army till the following March.
When the party reached St. Louis, in Decem
ber, 1803, formal notice of the transfer of Louisi
ana had not reached the Spanish commandant,
who would not permit their passage westward.
They passed the winter in camp opposite the
mouth of the Missouri, where they built a barge
with sail-power and two smaller boats, with
which they started up the Missouri River on
May 14, 1804.
The expedition, commanded by Captain Lew
is, with Lieutenant Clark as second, comprised
thirty-four selected men, eleven being watermen,
a negro servant, and a hunter, who was also an
interpreter. The valley of the lower Missouri was well
known to the French Canadians, who, pushed

110 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
westward by the irruption of English settlers in
the Illinois region, sought isolation and freedom
from foreign restraint in the country west of the
Mississippi. St. Louis was their head-quarters,
but the Missouri was their field of fortune. The
village of St. Charles, with its single street, had
about five hundred souls, who lived by hunting
and trade with the Indians, agriculture being
quite neglected ; and an outpost of seven pov
erty-stricken families existed at La Charrette, the
advance guard of civilization. But the typical
French trader and trapper disdained the shelter
of a roof and the restraint of communities. His
adventurous spirit pushed his frail bark into the
quiet waters of the upper Kansas, through the
shallows of the Platte, under the overshading
trees of the beautiful James, along the precipi
tous red-clay cliffs of the Big Sioux, and, in search
of the beaver, even penetrated the winding nar
rows of the Cheyenne and Little Missouri. They
did not even stop at transient visits, but, fas
cinated by the roving, aimless life of the savage,
took up abode with him, shared his tepee and
wanderings, adopted his customs, took his squaw
to wife, until longings strange and uncontrollable
drew them back in old age to the home and re
ligion of their youth. One of these venturesome
wanderers named Durion, who had lived twenty
years among the Sioux, was picked up on the
river and accompanied Lewis to the mouth of
the James, as a much-needed interpreter.
The mouth of the Platte was passed on July
2 ist, and on the next day Lewis camped on the

CAPTAIN LEWIS AND LIEUT. CLARK 111
site of the present city of Council Bluffs, thus
named by Lewis on account of his council with
the Ottoes and Missouri Indians at this point.
Here the first of a continuing series of presents
was given to the grand chief : an American flag,
a large medal, which was placed around his
neck as a mark of consideration, paint, garters,
cloth ornaments, a canister of powder, and the
indispensable bottle of whiskey. The subordi
nate chiefs received inferior medals and presents
according to their importance. These presents
were made with much form and ceremony,
wherein an important part were speeches setting
forth the transfer of the territory to the United
States, the benefits of peace, and the advantages
of trade at the new post to be occupied by
Americans. Both Lewis and Clark had been accustomed
to Indian life on the Eastern frontiers, but they
found much that was strange and striking among
the denizens of the great interior plains. Be
yond the breech-cloth a loose buffalo robe usually
kept the savage from nudity. The necklace of
grizzly bear-claws, the ornaments of porcupine
and feathers, the scalp-poles, the conical teepes
covered with gayly-figured skins, the blue smoke
up-curling from the open tent-top, the hoop-
tambourine or half-drum, the queer whip-rattle
of the hoofs of goats and deer, the bladder-rattle
full of pebbles, the shaven heads of the men, the
white-dressed buffalo robe with its jingling rows
of porcupine quills and uncouth painted figures,
emblematic of the brave's war-history, the hawk-

112 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
feather or eagle-plume head-dress worked with
porcupine quills, the polecat skin trailing from
the young brave's moccasins, the deer-paunch
tobacco-pouch, and a score of other novelties met
their observing eyes. Among the Rickarees the
octagonal earth-covered lodges, the picketed
villages, the cultivated patches of corn, beans,
and potatoes, the basket-like boats of interwoven
boughs covered with a single buffalo skin, in
which squaws paddled unconcernedly over high
waves, were unknown phases of savage life.
Even the earth gave up its treasure, and they
found the first of the famous petrifactions of the
trans-Missouri region in the back-bone of a fish
forty-five feet long, in a perfect state.
Game gradually grew plentiful as they as
cended the river. Buffalo was not seen till the
Big Sioux was reached, but later fifteen herds
and three bands of elk were visible at one time,
and near Mandan large flocks of goats were seen
crossing from their summer grazing grounds to
find west of the Missouri winter shelter in the
hilly regions. As they passed the Indians drove
large flocks of migrating goats into the river,
where even boys killed the helpless animals by
scores with sticks. Indeed, the Missouri then
appears to have been a hunter's paradise, for
there are mentioned among the regular game
antelope, bear, beaver, buffalo, badger, deer, elk,
goats, and porcupine. Three thousand antelope
were seen at one time, and of this animal Lewis
accurately remarks : " The antelope possesses
most wonderful swiftness, the acuteness of their

Hi i!!!i!R

. .:.:...;

CAPTAIN LEWIS AND LIEUT. CLARK 113
sight distinguishes the most distant danger, the
delicate sensibility of their smell defeats the pre
cautions of concealment, and when alarmed their
rapid career seems more like the flight of birds
than the movements of an earthly being."
The river furnished abundant supply of cat
and buffalo fish, and feathered game, such as
plover, grouse, geese, turkeys, ducks, and pelican,
also abounded ; among the vegetable products
are enumerated several kinds of grapes, currants
and plums, wild apples, billberries, cherries,
gooseberries, mulberries, raspberries, acorns,
and hazel-nuts.
As regards the voyage thus far, it was true
that the sail could rarely be used, that the labor
of propelling the boats by oar or pole was most
laborious, and that the shallows gave great
trouble ; but the Indians, save a single threaten
ing occasion, were most friendly, and the only
death, that of Sergeant Floyd, was from acute
disease. Indeed, the journey had been most at
tractive and free from special hazard, and when
rapidly advancing winter obliged them to go
into permanent quarters, on October 27th, it
seemed rather a long hunting excursion than a
dangerous voyage of discovery.
Their winter quarters, called Fort Mandan,were
on the eastern side of the Missouri, sixteen hun
dred miles from St. Louis, and in latitude 470 22'
N, a short distance above the present city of
Bismarck. The buildings were wooden huts,
which joined and formed two sides of a triangle,
while the third side was of pickets. As the huts
8

114 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
opened inward, they had a stockaded place easy
of defence.
On his arrival at Fort Mandan, Lewis found a
Mr. McCracken, of the Hudson Bay Company,
engaged in trading for horses and buffalo robes.
During the winter ten or twelve different traders
of this company visited Mandan, and although
one bore a letter from the chief factor, Mr. Charles
Chabouilles, offering any service in his power, yet
it was evident to Lewis that these traders were
cultivating sentiments unfriendly to Americans
among the Indians, and Chaboneau, the inter
preter was tampered with ; but the prompt and
judicious action of Lewis resulted in apologies
and promises to refrain from such conduct in
future. Laroche, one of the Hudson Bay traders,
desired to go west with the expedition, but it
was thought best to decline the offer. At this
time the nearest English trading-post was at the
forks of the Assiniboin, about one hundred and
fifty miles distant by the way of Mouse River.
The stay at Fort Mandan was marked by two
sad experiences for the Indians encamped near
the post : an autumnal prairie fire which burned
two Indians to death, and an attack of the Sioux,
wherein one Mandan was killed and two wounded.
A Frenchman, Jesseaume, living with the Indians,
served as interpreter, and they learned much of
the Mandans, Rickarees, and Minnetarees. The
Rickarees appeared in a very sensible light by re
fusing spirits, with the remark that they did not
use it, and were surprised that their father should
present to them a liquor which would make them

CAPTAIN LEWIS AND LIEUT. CLARK 115
fools. The sensibilities of these Indians in their
peculiar way appeared in a chief who cried bit
terly at seeing a court-martial sentence of flog
ging carried out on a soldier. The chief ac
knowledged the necessity of exemplary punish
ment, and said that for the same offence he had
killed his braves, but that he never whipped any
one, not even children.
The Mandans, through intervention, made
peace with the Rickarees, and restored traps and
furs which they had taken from French hunters.
During the entire winter these Indian tribes were
most friendly, and their stores of corn, obtained
by the expeditionary force by trade or purchase,
were of material benefit to the party. The negro
was a constant source of wonder to the crowds
of Indians who visited them. The one-eyed
great chief of the Minnetarees said that some
foolish young men had told him there was a
person quite black. When York, the negro, ap
peared, the one-eyed savage, much surprised,
examined the negro closely, and spitting on a
finger rubbed the skin in order to wash off the
paint, and it was not until the negro showed his
curly hair that the Indian could be persuaded he
was not a painted white man.
Game, though at some distance, was abundant,
and seventy head of large animals were obtained
in a hunt of ten days. With regard to the In
dians Lewis says : "A camp of Mandans caught
within two days one hundred goats a short dis
tance below us. Their mode of hunting them is
to form a large strong pen or fold, from which

116 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
a fence is made of bushes gradually widening
on each side ; the animals are surrounded by the
hunters and gently driven toward this pen, in
which they imperceptibly find themselves en
closed, and are then at the mercy of the hunters.
" When the Indians engage in killing buffalo,
the hunters mount on horseback and, armed with
bows and arrows, encircle the herd and gradu
ally drive it into a plain or open place fit for the
movement of horse ; they then ride in among
them, and singling out a buffalo, a female being
preferred, go as close as possible and wound
her with arrows till they think they have given
the mortal stroke; when they pursue another
till the quiver is exhausted. If, which rarely
happens, the wounded buffalo attacks the hunter,
he evades the blow by the agility of his horse,
which is trained for the combat with great dex
terity." The winter proved to be of unusual severity,
and several times the temperature fell to forty
degrees below zero, and proof spirits froze into
hard ice. The fortitude with which the hardy
savages withstood such extreme cold, half naked
as they often were, impressed our explorers.
Spring opened early, and on April 7, 1805,
Fort Mandan was abandoned, one party of ten
with the barge going down the river with de
spatches and specimens. Lewis and Clark with
their party of thirty started up the Missouri in
six canoes and two large open boats, which had
been constructed by them. They had three in
terpreters — Drewyer, Chaboneau, and his wife.

CAPTAIN LEWIS AND LIEUT. CLARK 117
Drewyer was a Canadian half-breed who had
always lived in the woods, and while he had
inherited from his mother the intuitive sagacity
of the Indian in following the faintest trail, he
had also acquired to a wonderful degree that
knowledge of the shifts and expedients of camp
life which is the resource and pride of the
frontier huntsman. Chaboneau's life had been
largely spent among the Blackfeet, by whom
his wife, a Snake Indian, had been taken in war
and enslaved when a young girl.
At the mouth of the Little Missouri the three
French hunters, who had ventured to follow the
party, stopped for trapping, as they found beaver
very plentiful. Chaboneau Creek, the farthest
point on the Missouri yet visited by white men,
was passed, and on April 26th they arrived at
the mouth of the Yellowstone. Lewis was here
particularly pleased with the wide plains, inter
spersed with forests of various trees, and ex
pressed his opinion that the situation was most
suitable for a trading establishment.
Spring had now fairly opened, the trees were
in leaf, a flower was seen, and despite the scanty
verdure of the new grass, game was very abun
dant. In many places, however, the barren banks
and sand-bars were covered with a white in
crustation of alkali salts, looking like frost or
newly fallen snow, which were present in such
quantities that all the small tributaries of the
Missouri proved to be bitter and unhealthy
water. Signs of human life became rarer, but
now and then they passed an old Indian camp,

118 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
and near one saw the burial place of an Indian
woman. The body, carefully wrapped in dressed
buffalo robes, rested on a high scaffold, with two
sleds and harness over it. Nearby lay the re
mains of a dog sacrificed to the shades of his
dead mistress. In a bag were articles fitting for
women — moccasins, red and blue paint, beavers'
nails, scrapers for dressing hides, dried roots,
a little Mandan tobacco, and several plaits of
sweet-smelling grass.
The oar was plied unceasingly save when a
favoring wind filled their sails and facilitated
their progress. In early May they drew up
their canoes for the night at the mouth of a bold,
beautiful stream, and in the abundant timber
found feeding on the young willows so many
clumsy porcupines that they called it Porcupine
River. Game was present in vast quantities;
the elk were tame, and the male buffalo would
scarcely quit grazing at the approach of man.
As Lewis remarks : " It has become an amuse
ment to supply the party with provisions."
On May 8th they dined at the mouth of a river
flowing from a level, well-watered, and beautiful
country. As the water had a peculiar whiteness
they were induced to call it Milk River. The
Missouri now turned to the southwest and south,
the country became more open, and timber, of
pine mostly, small and scanty.
Although the buffalo were so tame and harm
less that the men drove them out of their way
with sticks, yet the grizzly bear never failed to
be a dangerous and vicious visitor. One day six

CAPTAIN LEWIS AND LIEUT. CLARK: 119
good hunters attacked a grizzly, and four firing
at forty paces, each lodged a ball in the body,
two going through the lungs. The animal ran
at them furiously, when the other hunters fired

Captain Meriwether Lewis.
two balls into him, breaking a shoulder. The
bear yet pursued them, driving two into a canoe
and the others into thickets, from which they
fired as fast as they could reload. Turning on
them, he drove two so closely that they dropped
their guns and sprang from a precipice twenty

120 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
feet high into the river followed by the bear,
who finally succumbed to a shot through the
head after eight balls had passed completely
through his body. Another bear, shot through
the heart, ran a quarter of a mile with undimin
ished speed before he fell dead.
On the 20th, twenty-two hundred and seventy
miles from St. Louis, they came to the greenish-
yellow waters of the Musselshell, and a short
distance beyond Captain Lewis caught his first
glimpse of the Rocky Mountains, the object of
his hope and ambition. Beyond the Musselshell
their experiences were less pleasant : the country
became more barren, game and timber scarce,
mosquitoes annoying ; the high dry winds, full of
sand, made their eyes sore ; the sun of midday
burned, while almost every night ice or frost
chilled them.
The clear waters of the Judith River and its
woods beautiful with multitudinous mountain
roses, the fragrant honeysuckle, and the tiny
red willows delighted their eyes; but the sight
of a hundred and twenty-six lately abandoned
lodge-fires caused some uneasiness, as indicating
a late camping-place of a war-party of vicious
northern Minnetarees or Blackfeet.
A few miles farther, as they passed a precipice
a hundred and twenty feet high, they saw evi
dence of the cunning and wasteful methods of
hunting by Indians, for the remains of over a
hundred buffalo were scattered around, though
the stream must have washed many away.
Lewis adds : " These buffaloes had been chased

CAPTAIN LEWIS AND LIEUT. CLARK 121
down the precipice in a way very common on
the Missouri, and by which vast herds are de
stroyed in a moment. The mode of hunting is
to select one of the most active and fleet young
men, who is disguised in a buffalo skin round his
body. The skin of the head, with the ears and
horns, are fastened on his own head in such a
way as to deceive the buffalo. Thus dressed he
fixes himself at a convenient distance between a
herd of buffalo and any of the river precipices,
which sometimes extend for several miles. His
companions, in the meantime, get in the rear and
side of the herd, and at a given signal show them
selves and advance toward the buffalo. They
instantly take the alarm, and finding the hunters
beside them they run toward the disguised Indian
or decoy, who leads them on at full speed toward
the river, when suddenly securing himself in
some crevice of the cliff, which he had previously
fixed on, the herd is left on the brink of the preci
pice. It is then in vain for the foremost to re
treat or even to stop ; they are .pressed on by the
hindmost ranks, who, seeing no danger but from
the hunters, goad on those before them till the
whole are precipitated and the shore is strewed
with their dead bodies. Sometimes in this peril
ous seduction the Indian himself is either trodden
under foot or, missing his footing in the cliff, is
urged down the precipice by the falling herd."
The river now took the form of frequent
rapids, which made the work of dragging the
heavy canoes very painful, and the narrative
runs : " The banks are so slippery in some places,

122 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
and the mud so adhesive, that the men are un
able to wear moccasins. One-fourth of the time
they are obliged to be up to their arm-pits in the
cold water, and sometimes walk for yards over
sharp fragments of rocks."
On June 3d they came to where the river di
vided into two large streams, and it became of
vital importance to the expedition to determine
which was the Missouri or Ahmateahza, as the
Minnetarees called it, and which they said ap
proached very near to the Columbia. The suc
cess of the expedition depended on the right
decision, so Captain Lewis concluded to encamp
until reconnoitering columns could examine the
two forks.
Lewis following up the north branch, two days'
march, decided that it was not the Missouri, and
named it Maria's River. In returning he nar
rowly escaped slipping over a precipice some
ninety feet high. Lewis had just reached a spot
of safety when, says the narrative,
" He heard a voice behind him cry out, ' Good
God, Captain, what shall I do ? ' He turned in
stantly and found it was Windsor, who had lost
his foothold about the middle of the narrow pass
and had slipped down to the very verge of the
precipice, where he lay on his belly, with his
right arm and leg over the precipice, while with
the other leg and arm he was with difficulty
holding on to keep himself from being dashed to
pieces below. His dreadful situation was in
stantly perceived by Captain Lewis, who, stifling
his alarm, calmly told him that he was in no

CAPTAIN LEWIS AND LIEUT. CLARK 123
danger, that he should take his knife out of his
belt with the right hand and dig a hole in the
side of the bluff to receive his foot. With great
presence of mind he did this, and then raised
himself on his knees. Captain Lewis then told
him to take off his moccasins and come forward
on his hands and knees, holding the knife in one
hand and his rifle in the other. He immediate
ly crawled in this way till he came to a secure
spot." One of Lieutenant Clark's party, on the south
fork, at the same time, ran great danger from a
grizzly bear which attacked near camp a man
whose gun, being wet, would not go off. The
man took to a tree, so closely followed by the
animal that he struck the hunter's foot as he was
climbing. The bear showed his intention of
waiting until the man should be forced to de
scend, but fortunately alarmed by the cries and
signal-shots of a searching-party decamped.
While Lewis and Clark concurred in believing
the south fork to be the true Missouri, the rest of
the party were unanimous in thinking the north
the right course. Finally caching their heaviest
boat and all the supplies which could well be
spared, the entire party followed the south fork.
Lewis, pushing on confidently with four men,
confirmed his opinion by reaching, on June 13th,
the great falls of the Missouri, which by their
sublime majesty and stupendous magnitude fas
cinated him. The description of these falls at
the time of their first view by civilized man is
worthy of reproduction. The river, three hun-

124 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
dred yards wide, was shut in by precipitous
cliffs, and " for ninety yards from the left cliff
the water falls in one smooth sheet over a preci
pice of eighty feet. The rest of the river precipi
tates itself with a more rapid current, but received
as it falls by the irregular and projecting rocks
below, forms a splendid prospect of white foam
two hundred yards in length. . . . This spray
is dissipated in a thousand shapes. . . . As it
rises from the fall it beats with fury against a
ledge of rocks which extend across the river."
On examination Lewis found that " the river for
three miles below was one continued succession
of rapids and cascades, overhung with perpen
dicular bluffs from one hundred and fifty to two
hundred feet high ; in short, it seems to have
worn itself a channel through the solid rock."
At the main falls, five miles above the first, " the
whole Missouri is suddenly stopped by one
shelving rock, which without a single niche and
with an edge as straight and regular as if formed
by art, stretches itself from one side of the river
to the other for at least a quarter of a mile. Over
this the river precipitates itself in an even, unin
terrupted sheet to the perpendicular depth of
fifty feet, whence, dashing against the rocky bot
tom, it rushes rapidly down, leaving behind it a
spray of the purest foam across the river. The
scene was singularly beautiful, without any of
the wild irregular sublimity of the lower falls."
In a cottonwood tree, on a small island in the
middle of the rapids, an eagle had fixed its nest,
a solitary bird which had not escaped the ob-

CAPTAIN LEWIS AND LIEUT. CLARK 125
servation of the Indians, who had previously de
scribed it to Lewis.
On leaving the falls Lewis saw a herd of a

\f § IT1 '

thousand buffalo, and killed one for supper. In
his eagerness he failed to reload his rifle, when
he beheld a grizzly bear stealing on him and not
over twenty paces distant. " He felt that there
was no safety but in flight. It was in the open,

126 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
level plain, ... so that there was no possible
mode of concealment. . . . As soon as he
turned the bear ran, open mouthed and at full
speed, upon him. Captain Lewis ran about eighty
yards, but finding that the animal gained on him
fast ... he turned short, plunged into the
river about waist deep, and facing about presented
the point of his spontoon. The bear arrived at
the water's edge within twenty feet of him, but as
soon as he put himself in this posture of defence,
the animal seemed frightened and retreated with
as much precipitation as he had pursued."
The means and route for portage presented
difficult problems for the exhausted party, as it
was clearly evident that the men could not carry
the boats on their shoulders such great distances.
Fortunately a creek was found at the foot of the
falls, where the banks afforded easy access to
the highlands. It was first necessary to cross
the Missouri, and here the party went into camp
while preparations were made for the portage.
Lieut. Clark with a few men carefully surveyed
the trail to be followed, others engaged in hunt
ing in order to lay up a store of dried meat,
and the handy men of the party set to work on
a carriage for the transport of the boats. By
good fortune they found a large cottonwood-
tree, about twenty-two inches in diameter, large
enough to make the carriage-wheels, " perhaps
the only tree of that size within twenty miles."
As they had decided to cache a part of their
stores and leave their largest boat behind, its
mast supplied them with two axle-trees.

CAPTAIN LEWIS AND LIEUT. CLARK 127
In the meantime the survey of Clark showed
that the series of cataracts had an aggregate
descent of three hundred and sixty-three feet
in seventeen miles, and that a very difficult
portage of thirteen miles was necessary. The
country was barely practicable for travel, and
was covered with frequent patches of prickly
pear, against the tiny penetrating needles of
which the moccasins of the dragging men af
forded almost no protection. To add to their
misfortunes, when about five miles from their
destination the axle-trees, made of the old mast,
broke, and then the tongues of green cotton-
wood gave way. After diligent search sweet-
willow trees were found with which they man
aged, by shifts and expedients familiar to front
iersmen, to patch up the carriage so as to go
on. It broke down so completely about a half
mile from the new camp that it was easier to
carry boat and baggage on their shoulders than
to build a new conveyance. The condition of
the party is evident from the narrative :
" The men are loaded as heavily as their
strength will permit ; the crossing is really pain
ful ; some are limping with the soreness of
their feet, others are scarcely able to stand for
more than a few minutes from the heat and
fatigue ; they are all obliged to halt and rest
frequently, and at almost every stopping -place
they fall, and many of them are asleep in an
instant." Later it was needful to repair the carriage and
to travel over and over the portage until, after

128 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
ten days of weary labor, all the equipage was
above the falls.
In the meantime the hunters had accumulated
nearly half a ton of dried meat, buffalo being
plenty. The grizzly bear, however, was also pres
ent, active, aggressive, and dangerous as usual.
They infested the camp at night, causing much
alarm, and once carried off buffalo-meat from
a pole within thirty yards of the men. A
hunter sent out to bring in meat was boldly at
tacked by a bear and narrowly escaped death,
being pursued to within forty paces of the camp.
Another animal was killed when rushing up to
attack men who had to climb a tree, while making
sufficient noise to attract their rescuer, Drewyer,
the interpreter and hunter, who shot him through
the head. He proved to be the largest they had
seen, being eight feet seven and a half inches long,
while his fore feet measured nine inches and hind
feet seven inches across, and eleven and three-
quarters long exclusive of the talons. Another
hunter was attacked by a grizzly, fortunately
near the river, so that he was able to conceal
himself under a steep bank ; otherwise he would
probably have lost his life.
The perils of navigation and the chase were
not all, for a cloud-burst and hail-storm con
tributed to their danger and suffering. The hail
was so large and driven so furiously by the high
wind that it knocked down several of the men,
one three times, bruising another very badly and
wounding some so that they bled freely. The
fallen hail lay in drifts, which in places complete-

CAPTAIN LEWIS AND LIEUT. CLARK 129
ly covered the ground, and some of the stones
weighed three ounces and measured seven inches
in circumference. Clark, Chaboneau and his
wife took shelter under shelving rocks in a
deep ravine, congratulating themselves on their
protected position. Suddenly, however, the
rain fell in a solid mass, and instantly collecting
in the ravine, came rolling down in a dreadful
torrent, carrying rocks and everything before it.
" But for Lieut. Clark, Chaboneau, his wife
and child would have been lost. So instantly
was the rise of the water, that as Lieut. Clark
had reached his gun and began to ascend the
bank, the water was up to his waist, and he could
scarce get up faster than it rose, till it reached
the height of fifteen feet, with a furious current
which, had they waited a moment longer, would
have swept them into the river just above the
Great Falls, down which they must have inevi
tably been precipitated."
Though the phases of their daily life brought
much that was rough and hard, yet their priva
tions were not unmixed with pleasures, rude
though they may seem to the city dweller. Long
tramps and exciting rides after game, side
marches to commanding hill-tops for grateful
views of an unknown country — barren to the eye,
perhaps, but grateful to the soul, for were they
not the first men of their race who ever looked
upon it? — or pleasant journeys through upland
forests or the undergrowth of the intervale, to
search and gather whatever was beautiful to the
eye, novel to the mind, or a welcome addition to
9

130 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
their scanty larder ; such were their rare pleas
ures. Now they waded through waist-high patches
of wild rye, recalling with its fine soft beard the
waving fields of grain they had left in the far
East ; again they pushed on in dense copses of
the sinuous redwood, whose delicate inner bark
furnished pleasant Indian tobacco to the French
man and half-breed. Sometimes the trail lay
through an open wood with smaller undergrowth,
where beds of odorous mint recalled his Virgin
ian home to Lewis ; where the delicate mount
ain-rose, in countless thousands, was born to blush
unseen ; where, if only one ripened berry to-day
invited the hunter, other kinds promised their
welcome fruit in due but later season.
Rarely did the dull gray of the sky dim the
glory of a whole day, and the short summer
showers, freshening the beauty of the landscape
and abating the fervid heat of mid-summer,
seemed only too infrequent. And above all, the
pure, free, upland air, that gives vigor and health
to the body, joy and lightness to the heart, almost
annihilates distance to the eye ; and in breathing
which, one drinks into the lungs the very wine
of life. Surely more than the heroes of Virgil's
song did they feel that sweet in their memory
would abide these days forever.
Of the mountains, now ahvays in sight, and a
constant source of inspiration to the eager ex
plorers, those to the north and northwest were
yet snow-capped, and Lewis says: "They glisten
with great beauty when the sun shines on them

CAPTAIN LEWIS AND LIEUT. CLARK 131
in a particular direction, and most probably
from this glittering appearance have derived
the name of the Shining Mountains."
During his explorations of the country around
the falls Captain Lewis visited a remarkable and
beautiful spring, near the present city of Great
Falls, Montana. Of it he writes :
" The fountain, which perhaps is the largest in
America, is situated in a pleasant level plain,
about twenty-five yards from the river, into
which it falls over some steep irregular rocks,
with a sudden descent of about six feet in one
part of its course. The water boils up from
among the rocks with such force near the centre,
that the surface seems higher than the earth on
the sides of the fountain, which is a handsome
turf of fine green grass."
While the main party was making the portage,
a detachment was " occupied in fitting up a boat
of skins, the iron frame of which, thirty-six feet
long, had been prepared for the purpose at Har
per's Ferry. The iron frame is to be covered
with skins, and requires thin-shaved strips of
wood for lining. The skins necessary to cover
it have already been prepared — twenty-eight elk
and four buffalo skins." This experimental boat
proved to be a total failure, and it was not till
Lewis's long journey was nearly over that he
copied the skin boat of the Indian squaws, which
had excited his surprise, and found that the
methods of the locality could be followed with
advantage in navigation as well as otherwise.
As the six canoes were insufficient to carry

132

EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS

all their men and supplies, Clark was sent ahead
to find suitable wood for two more, there being
no fit trees below the falls. With much difficulty
trees were found, and two canoes, three feet wide

Lieutenant William Clark.

and twenty-five and thirty-three feet long re
spectively, were fashioned. Near here a de
serted Indian lodge or council house was seen.
It was two hundred and sixteen feet in circum
ference, made of sixteen cottonwood poles, fifty
feet long, converging toward the centre, where

CAPTAIN LEWIS AND LIEUT. CLARK 133
they were united and secured by large withes of
sinewy willow.
Although the swivel and some other articles had
been cached at the head of the falls, their loads
were vet very heavy, and all walked except those
engaged in working the canoe. The windings
of the river became very tortuous, and frequent
rapids made their progress correspondingly slow
and laborious.
Game was less plentiful, and, as it was neces
sary to save the dried and concentrated food for
the crossing of the mountains, it became some
what of a task to provide food for a party of
thirty-two which consumed a quantity of meat
daily equal to an elk and deer, four deer or one
buffalo. Fortunately, the berries were now ri
pening, and, as they grew in great quantities,
proved a not inconsiderable contribution to their
food-supply. Of currants there were red, pur
ple, 3'ellow, and black, all pleasant to the taste ;
the yellow being thought superior to any other
known variety. The purple service-berry and
pinkish gooseberry were also favorites. Besides,
they made use of the very abundant and almost
omnipresent sunflower. Of it Lewis says : " The
Indians of the Missouri, more especially those
who do not cultivate maize, make great use
of the seed of this plant for bread or in thick
ening their soup. They first parch and then
pound it between two stones until it is reduced
to a fine meal. Sometimes they add a portion
of water, and drink it thus diluted ; at other
times they add a sufficient proportion of marrow

134 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
grease to reduce it to the consistency of com
mon dough and eat it in that manner. This last
composition we preferred to all the rest, and
thought it at that time a very palatable dish."
The Missouri now took in general a southerly
course, and on July 18th they reached a bold
clear stream, which was named Dearborn River
for the then Secretary of War. They had in
tended to send back a small party in canoes with
despatches, but as they had not met the Snake
Indians, and so were uncertain as to their friend
liness, it was thought best not to weaken their al
ready small party for hostilities. Lewis decided,
however, to send Clark, with three men, in ad
vance to open up communication with these Ind
ians and, if possible, to negotiate for horses.
Clark's journey was a failure, for the Indians,
alarmed at the firing of a gun, fled into the
mountains. The mountains now closed in on the explorers
and they camped one night at a place named the
Gates of the Rocky Mountains. " For five and
three-quarter miles these rocks rise perpendic
ularly from the water's edge to the height of
nearly twelve hundred feet. They are composed
of black granite near the base, but ... we
suppose the upper part to be flint of a yellow
ish brown and cream color. Nothing can be
imagined more tremendous than the frowning
blackness of these rocks, which project over the
river and threaten us with destruction . . .
For the first three miles there is not a spot, ex
cept one of a few yards, in which a man could

CAPTAIN LEWIS AND LIEUT. CLARK 135
stand between the water and the towering per
pendicular of the mountains."
On July 25th Clark, who was in advance,
reached the three forks of the Missouri, where he
had to camp, his party worn out, their feet full
of prickly pear needles and Chaboneau unable to
go farther. The forks were all clear pebbly
streams, discharging large amounts of water.
The southeast fork was named Gallatin, the mid
dle Madison, and the southwest Jefferson, the lat
ter two, of equal size, being larger branches than
the Gallatin.
At the three forks Sacajawea, the wife of Cha
boneau, was encamped five years before, when
the Minnetarees of Knife River attacked the
Snakes, killed about a dozen and made prisoners
of her and others of her tribe. Strangely enough
Chaboneau nearly lost his life crossing the Mad
ison, where Clark saved him from drowning.
Lewis was struck with the seeming indifference
of the Snake woman on her return to the spot
and her own country.
The party followed Jefferson River, their jour
ney being marked by the killing of a panther
seven and a half feet long, and the overturning
of a canoe, injuring one of the party, White-
house, losing some articles, and wetting others,
but the all-important powder was so well packed
that it remained dry.
" Persuaded," says the narrative, " of the neces
sity of securing horses to cross the mountains, it
was determined that one of us should proceed
. . . till he found the Shoshones, . . . who could

136 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
assist us in transporting our baggage." Captain
Lewis with three men preceded, and on August 1 1,
saw " with the greatest delight a man on horse
back, at the distance of two miles, coming down
the plain toward them. On examining him with
the glass, Captain Lewis saw that he was armed
with a bow and a quiver of arrows ; mounted on an
elegant horse without a saddle, and a small string
attached to the under jaw answered as a bridle.
Convinced that he was a Shoshonee, and knowing
how much of our success depended on the friendly
offices of that nation, Captain Lewis was full of
anxiety to approach without alarming him, and
endeavor to convince him that he was a white
man. He therefore proceeded on towards the
Indian at his usual pace; when they were within
a mile of each other the Indian suddenly stopped,
Captain Lewis immediately followed his example,
took his blanket from his knapsack, and holding
it with both hands at the four corners, threw it
above his head and unfolded it as he brought
it to the ground, as if in the act of spreading it.
This signal, which originates in the act of spread
ing a robe or skin as a seat for guests to whom
they wish to show a distinguished kindness, is
the universal sign of friendship among the Indians
on the Missouri and Rocky Mountains." Un
fortunately, the brave took alarm at the move
ment of Lewis's companions and fled. The next
day brought them to the head-waters of the Jef
ferson. Here, " from the foot of one of the lowest
of these mountains, which rises with a gentle as
cent for about half a mile, issues the remotest

CAPTAIN LEWIS AND LIEUT. CLARK 137
water of the Missouri. They had now reached
the hidden sources of that river, which had never
yet been seen by civilized man ; and as they
quenched their thirst at the chaste and icy fount
ain — as they sat down by the brink of that little
rivulet, which yielded its distant and modest
tribute to the parent ocean, they felt themselves
rewarded for all their labors and all their diffi
culties." Pushing on they soon saw, to the west, high,
snow-topped mountains.
" The ridge on which they stood formed the
dividing line between the waters of the Atlantic
and Pacific Oceans. They followed a descent
much steeper than that on the eastern side, and
at the distance of three quarters of a mile reached
a handsome, bold creek of cold, clear water run
ning to the westward. They stopped to taste for
the first time the waters of the Columbia, and,
after a few minutes, followed the road across
steep hills and low hollows, till they reached a
spring on the side of a mountain. Here they
found a sufficient quantity of dry willow brush
for fuel, and therefore halted for the night, and,
having killed nothing in the course of the day,
supped on their last piece of pork, and trusted to
fortune for some other food to mix with a little
flour and parched meal, which was all that now
remained of their provisions."
In the early morn of August 13, Lewis hastened
impatiently forward without food, and after a few
hours of travel saw three Indians ; but they fled.
A little later he surprised three women, and sue-

138 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
ceeded in reaching two, who covered their heads
and awaited in silence their expected death.
Showing them that he was a white man, and
giving them trinkets, they were reassured and
recalled their comrade, when he painted their
cheeks with vermilion, a Shoshone custom em
blematic of peace.
The women pointed out the direction of camp,
and Lewis, marching on, soon saw a band of sixty
well-mounted Indian warriors riding full speed
toward him and his two companions. With
perfect composure and undaunted courage Lewis
laid down his rifle, and alone marched forward to
parley with this horde of unknown savages, re
lying on the integrity and uprightness of his
mission. Received with the greatest cordiality,
Lewis at once smoked a pipe of peace with them,
and after giving them some blue beads and ver
milion went to their camp.
On arrival he was inducted into a council lodge
and seated on a robe, when a fire was kindled.
" The chief then produced his pipe and tobacco,
the warriors pulled off their moccasins, and our
party were requested to take off their own. This
being done, the chief lighted his pipe at the fire
within the magic circle, and then retreating from
it, began a speech several minutes long, at the
end of which he pointed the stem toward the
four cardinal points of the heavens, beginning
with the east and concluding with the north."
By this time the day was well spent, and no
food of any kind had passed the lips of Lewis
and his men since the previous day. On learn-

CAPTAIN LEWIS AND LIEUT. CLARK 139
ing this the chief told him that they only had
cakes made of sun-dried service- and choke-
berries, which served as a hearty meal to the
hungry men. Later an Indian gave Lewis a
piece of antelope and a bit of salmon, which sat
isfied him that he was now on the waters of the
Columbia. The next day they had an experience of the
Indian mode of hunting, which is thus described :
" The chief game of the Shoshonees is the an
telope, which, when pursued, retreats to the
open plains, where the horses have full room
for the chase. But such is its extraordinary
fleetness and wind, that a single horse has
no chance of outrunning it or tiring it down,
and the hunters are therefore obliged to resort
to stratagem. About twenty Indians, mounted on
fine horses and armed with bows and arrows,
left camp. In a short time they descried a herd
of antelopes ; they immediately separated into lit
tle squads of two or three, and formed a scattered
circle round the herd for five or six miles, keeping
at a wary distance, so as not to alarm them till
they were perfectly enclosed, and usually select
ing some commanding eminence as a stand.
Having gained their positions, a small party rode
toward the herd, and with wonderful dexterity
the huntsman preserved his seat, and the horse
his footing, as he ran at full speed over the hills
and down the steep ravines and along the bor
ders of the precipices. They were soon out
stripped by the antelopes, which, on gaining
the other extremity of the circle, were driven

140 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
back and pursued by the fresh hunters. They
turned and flew, rather than ran, in another
direction ; but there, too, they found new ene
mies. In this way they were alternately pur
sued backward and forward, till at length, not
withstanding the skill of the hunters, they all
escaped ; and the party, after running for two
hours, returned without having caught anything,
and their horses foaming with sweat. This chase,
the greater part of which was seen from the camp,
formed a beautiful scene ; but to the hunters
is exceedingly laborious, and so unproductive,
even when they are able to worry the animal
down and shoot him, that forty or fifty hunt
ers will sometimes be engaged for half a day
without obtaining more than two or three ante
lopes." Captain Lewis succeeded with great difficulty
in persuading the band of Shoshones to pass
over the divide in order to assist in bringing
his impedimenta across. The presence of a
Shoshone woman, the monstrosity of a man en
tirely black, favorable barter for their horses
were urged ; in short he played on their avarice,
curiosity, tribal pride, and by questioning their
courage succeeded in stimulating them to make
the journey.
It transpired that Cameahwait, the Shoshone
chief, was the brother of Sacajawea, and one of
the Shoshone women, now in camp, had been
for some time prisoner with her in the hands of
the Minnetarees. The meeting of these Indians
after long separation disclosed such emotion as

Castle Rock, on the Columbia River,

CAPTAIN LEWIS AND LIEUT. CLARK 141
proved their tender feelings and genuine inter
est in each other.
A long and tedious council was held, with the
usual smoke and speeches. Lewis set forth in
lively terms the strength of the government, the
advantages of trade, and the importance of hasten
ing the day of fire-arms and supplies by facilitat
ing the journey. Meanwhile they were amused,
as the Indian must be, by the queer negro, the
sagacious and well-trained dog, the rifles, the air-
gun, clothing, canoes, etc. All game brought
in was divided; the Indians feasted on hulled
corn, and presents were liberally distributed.
The good-will of the Shoshones was finally
secured, and four horses purchased by barter ;
so that Lewis was to send Clark ahead to recon
noitre the route along the Columbia, and build
canoes if possible, which the Indians declared to
be impracticable, as timber was wanting, and the
river and mountains impassable. They said that
for seven days the route lay over steep, rocky
mountains, with no game and only roots for food ;
then for ten days an arid sandy desert, where
men and horses would perish for want of food
and water. On inquiry, Clark learned that Nez
Perces came from the west by a very bad road
towards the north, where they suffered exces
sively from hunger and travel. Believing that
difficulties surmountable to Indians with women
and children could not be formidable, Clark
pushed on with a guide, but soon found that the
Indian accounts had not been exaggerated, as he
fell in with the points of four mountains, which

142 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
were rocky, and so high that it seemed almost
impossible to cross them with horses. The road
lay over sharp fragments of broken rock which
had fallen from the mountains and were strewed
in heaps for miles together.
Occasionally he met small parties of Indians,
who, in wretched plight themselves, yet acted
most generously, giving him, as he says, willing
ly what little they possessed, which was usually
a few dried berries and a bit of salmon, never
enough to entirely appease the hunger of his
famished men. Clark says:
" Our men, who are used to hardships, but have
been accustomed to have the first wants of nat
ure regularly supplied, feel very sensibly their
wretched situation ; their strength is wasting
away ; they begin to express an apprehension of
being without food in a country perfectly desti
tute of any means of supporting life, except a
few fish."
Clark's explorations showed that it was impos
sible to follow the river, to which he gave the
name of Lewis, as he was the first white man
to visit its waters, either by canoe or along its
banks on horses. The mountains were one bar
ren surface of broken masses of rock which
crowded into the river, where the stream pre
sented either continuous rapids or series of
shoals. Meanwhile, Lewis moved his necessary bag
gage to the Shoshone village, previously cach
ing his surplus baggage and sinking his canoes
for safety. As a rule the Indians were most

CAPTAIN LEWIS AND LIEUT. CLARK 143
friendly, but during a hunting expedition a young
brave snatched up his rifle and made off with it.
Drewyer pursued him ten miles, and overtaking
the women of the party, watched his opportunity,
and seeing the Indian off his guard, galloped up
to him and seized his rifle. The Indian struggled
for some time, but finding Drewyer getting too
strong for him, had the presence of mind to open
the pan and let the priming fall out ; he then let
go his hold, and giving his horse the whip,
escaped at full speed, leaving the women at the
mercy of the conqueror.
Considerable time was spent in making need
ful preparations for crossing the mountains and
in negotiating for horses, of which they obtained
twenty-nine — young, vigorous animals, though in
poor flesh and with sore backs.
This necessary delay gave Lewis ample oppor
tunity to observe the habits and modes of life of
the Shoshones, which are especially interesting as
the record of an Indian tribe before it had come
in contact with the white men. The Shoshones,
or Snakes, who here number four hundred souls,
lived a migratory, wretched existence, seeking
at one season the salmon of Lewis River, at an
other the buffalo of the upper Missouri, and again
in the mountains barely maintaining life on roots.
They were, however, gay, frank, fair-dealing, hon
est, fond of ornaments, amusements, and games
of chance, kind and obliging, and somewhat given
to boasting of their warlike exploits. The narra
tive continues : " The mass of females are con
demned, as among all savage nations, to the Jow-

144 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
est and most laborious drudgery. When the
tribe is stationary they collect the roots and
cook; they build the huts, dress the skins, and
make clothing, collect the wood, and assist in
taking care of the horses on the route ; they load
the horses, and have charge of all the baggage.
The only business of the man is to fight : he there
fore takes on himself the care of his horse, the
companion of his warfare, but he will descend to
no other labor than to hunt and to fish."
Their inferior arms put them at the mercy of
the Minnetarees of Knife River, who mercilessly
stole their horses and killed their braves. They
seemed an adventurous and courageous people,
and Cameahwait's vehement declaration that,
with guns, they would never fear to meet their
enemies, did not seem boastful.
Their common arms are bow and arrow,
shield, lance, and a weapon called by the Chip-
peways, by whom it was formerly used, the pog-
gamoggon. Their method of producing fire was by an
arrow and a dry prepared stick, which, being
rubbed together vigorously and dexterously for a
few minutes, first creates a fine dust, then bursts
speedily into flame.
The great wealth of the tribe consists in large
numbers of small, wiry, and hardy horses, capa
ble of great endurance, sure footed and fleet.
They were second in value to the women alone,
who carried the baggage when horses failed.
The Shoshones were well dressed, with shirts,
leggings, and moccasins of dressed deer, antelope,

CAPTAIN LEWIS AND LIEUT. CLARK 145
etc., skins. A robe with the hair on served as a
cloak or as a bed-covering; the shirts were orna
mented with porcupine quills of different colors
and sometimes by beads, also the moccasins.
Elaborate tippets of elegant pattern were also
worn, made of otter and fringed with many
ermine skins; also collars of various kinds of
sea-shells, of the sweet-scented grass, of tusks of
the elk, and of the claws of the grizzly bear.
" The names of the Indians vary in the course
of their life. Originally given in childhood from
the mere necessity of distinguishing objects, or
from some accidental resemblance to external
objects, the young warrior is impatient to change
it by something of his own achievement. Any
important event, the stealing of a horse, the
scalping of an enemy, or killing a brown bear,
entitles him at once to a new name, which he
then selects for himself, and it is confirmed by
the nation."
Everything ready, Lewis started on August
27, 1805, with twenty-nine pack-horses, to follow
Berry Creek and pass over the mountains to In
dian establishments on another branch of the
Columbia. In many places a road had to be cut,
and even then was barely practicable. Sure footed
as is the Indian pony, yet all of the horses were
very much injured in passing over the steep
rocky ridges. The way was so rough that the
horses fell repeatedly down the hillsides, often
capsizing with their load, and occasionally one
was crippled and disabled. The journey was
made yet more disagreeable by a fall of snow
10

146 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
and by severe freezing weather, but the spirit of
the party is shown by the mention of a " serious
misfortune, the last of our thermometers being
broken." On September 6th, however, they
were safely beyond the mountain in a wide val
ley at the head of Clark's Fork of the Columbia,
where they met about four hundred Ootlashoots,
who received them kindly and gave to them of
their only food, berries and roots. Following the
river they reached Travellers' Rest Creek, where
they stopped for hunting, as they were told the
country before them had no game for a great
distance. Game proved to be so scanty that they
moved onward, crossing to the Kooskooskee,
where, being without animal food, they killed a
colt for supper. Snow fell again, which would
not have been so uncomfortable had not their
road fallen along steep hillsides, obstructed with
dead timber where not covered with living trees,
from which the snow fell on them as they passed,
keeping them continually wet while the weath
er was freezing. The road continued difficult.
Game was wanting, and as they marched they
killed one after another of their colts for food.
Their horses were becoming rapidly disabled ;
the allowance of food scarcely sufficed to check
their hunger; while the extreme bodily fatigue
of the march, and the dreary prospects before
them, began to dispirit the men.
Lewis, appreciating the gravity of the situa
tion, sent Clark ahead, with six hunters, who the
next day was fortunate enough to kill a horse, on
which his party breakfasted and left the rest for

CAPTAIN LEWIS AND LIEUT. CLARK 147
the main expedition. The country continued
rugged, and in some places the only road was a
narrow rocky path at the edge of very high prec
ipices. One of their horses, slipping, rolled a
hundred feet, over and over, down a nearly per
pendicular hill strewed with large rocks. All
expected he was killed, but he proved to be little
injured. Their enforced fasting visibly affected
the health of the party ; all lost flesh, grew weak,
and were troubled with skin eruptions, while
several were more seriously ill.
On September 20th, Clark reached a village of
the Chopunish or Xez Perces, in a beautiful level
valley, where he was kindly received and well fed.
Fish, roots, and berries were also obtained, which,
sent to Lewis, reached him eight miles out of
the village at a time when his party had been
without food for more than a day. When the
village was reached, the part}' was in a deplorable
condition through long fasting and the exhausting
fatigue of the march.
Purchasing from the Indians as much provi
sions as their weakened horses could carry, they
moved on to the forks of the Snake, where
the party slowly recruited its health and
strength. They killed a horse for the sick, while
the party in general lived on dried fish and roots,
the latter causing violent pains in the stomach.
Five canoes were made, and as the men were
weak they adopted the Indian method of burn
ing them out. The twelfth day saw their canoes
finished and loaded for the final journey, which
was to lead them to the sea. Lewis cached his

14S EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
saddles, the extra powder and ball, and branding
his remaining horses, delivered them to three
Indians, the principal named Twisted-hair, who
agreed to take good care of them till the return
of the party, when additional presents were to be
given for this service.
Their troubles now seemed to be over and they
were congratulating themselves on their safe
progress, when they struck a series of fifteen
rapids. When passing the last Sergeant Gass's
" canoe struck, and a hole being made in her side
she immediately filled and sank. Several men
who could not swim clung to the boat until
one of our canoes could be unloaded, and with
the assistance of an Indian boat they were all
brought ashore. All the goods were so much
wetted that we were obliged to halt for the night
and spread them out to dry. While all this was
exhibited, it was necessary to place two senti
nels over the merchandise, for we found that the
Indians, though kind and disposed to give us aid
during our distress, could not resist the tempta
tion of pilfering small articles." The Snake River
was in general very beautiful, but it was filled
with rapids, most of them difficult, and one
strewed with rocks, most hazardous.
Food failing, except fish and roots, they con
cluded, probably at the suggestion of their
Frenchmen, to change their diet, and being again
reduced to fish and roots, made an experiment to
vary their food by purchasing a few dogs, and
after having been accustomed to horseflesh, felt
no disrelish to this new dish. The Chopunish

CAPTAIN LEWIS AND LIEUT. CLARK 149
have great numbers of dogs, which they employ
for domestic purposes but never eat. and the
practice of using the flesh of that animal soon
brought the explorers into ridicule as dog-eaters.
••Fortunately, however," says Clark, " the habit
of using this animal has completely overcome the
repugnance which we felt at first, and the dog,
if not a favorite dish, is always an acceptable
one." Elsewhere he adds, " having been so long
accustomed to live on the flesh of dogs, the
greater part of us had acquired a fondness for
it, and our original aversion for it is overcome
by reflecting that on that food we were stronger
and in better health than at any period since
leaving the buffalo country."
They were now in Lewis River, a broad
greenish-blue stream filled with islands and dan
gerous rapids, which were passed in canoes, ex
cept one near the mouth, where a land portage
of a mile was necessary. This brought them to
the junction of the Lewis and Columbia Rivers on
October 17th, where they parted from the Xez
Perces. These Indians lead a painful, laborious
life, brightened by but few amusements ; are
health}-, comely, and generally well dressed ; giv
en to ornaments of beads, sea-shells, feathers, and
paints. In winter they collect roots and hunt the
deer on snow-shoes, toward spring cross the
mountains to buy buffalo robes, and in summer
and autumn catch salmon, usually by weirs at the
rapids, in the following manner : "About the cen
tre of each was placed a basket formed of wil
lows, eighteen or twenty feet in length, of a cy-

150 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
lindrical form and terminating in a conic shape at
its lower extremity. This was situated with its
mouth upward opposite to an aperture in the
weir. The main channel of the water was con
ducted to this weir, and as the fish entered it
they were so entangled with each other that they
could not move, and were taken out by untying
the small end of the willow basket."
Here Lewis began to lay in stores, and, fish be
ing out of season, purchased forty dogs, which
for weeks had proved to be the best food availa
ble. On October 20th they again launched their
canoes in the Columbia, and pushed on through
the frequent rapids, looking forward with inter
est not unmixed with anxiety to the great falls
of which the Indians told them. Arrived at the
head of the rapids, they made a portage of nearly
a mile, availing themselves of the assistance and
guidance of the Indians. Owing to the great
labor of portages they kept to the river when
possible, and " reached a pitch of the river, which,
being divided by two large rocks, descended
with great rapidity down a fall eight feet in
height. As the boats could not be navigated
down this steep descent, we were obliged to land
and let them down as slowly as possible by strong
ropes of elk-skin." They all passed in safety ex
cept one, which, being loosed by the breaking of
the rope, was driven down, but was recovered by
the Indians below.
Finally they came to an extremely dangerous
place where a tremendous rock projected into
the river, leaving a channel of only forty-five

CAPTAIN LEWIS AND LIEUT. CLARK 151
yards, through which the Columbia passed, its
waters thrown into whirlpools and great waves
of the wildest and most dangerous character.
As the portage of boats over this high rock was
impossible in their situation, Lewis resolved on a
passage in boats, relying on dexterous steering,
which carried them through safely, much to the
astonishment of the Indians gathered to watch
them. Another rapid was so bad that all papers,
guns, ammunition, and such men as could not
swim made a land portage, while Lewis and
Clark took the canoes through safely, two at a
time. The 25th brought them to the most dan
gerous part of the narrows, which they con
cluded to hazard by canoe after using precau
tions as to valuable articles and men. The first
three canoes escaped very well, the fourth nearly
filled, the fifth passed through with only a small
quantity of water.
On the 28th Lewis was very much gratified by
seeing an Indian with a round hat and sailor's
jacket, which had come up the river by traffic ;
and as he went on similar articles became com
mon. They passed a number of different tribes
who behaved in a friendly manner, and among
others the Eneeshur, at the great falls, inter
ested them by their cooking utensils, which were
baskets so skilfully made of bark and grass as to
serve as vessels for boiling their provisions.
Some of the party were horrified, however, by
" the chief, who directed his wife to hand him his
medicine bag, from which he brought out four
teen fore-fingers, which he told us had once be-

152 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
longed to the same number of his enemies whom
he had killed in fighting."
On the 31st they came to the lower falls, where
the river narrowed to one hundred and fifty yards
and fell twenty feet in a distance of four hundred
yards, while below was another exceedingly bad
rapid. The upper rapid was so filled with rocks
that Crusatte, the principal waterman, thought
it impracticable, so a portage of four miles was
made over the route followed by the Indians.
"After their example, we carried our small canoe
and all the baggage across the slippery rocks to
the foot of the shoot. The four large canoes
were then brought down by slipping them along
poles placed from one rock to another, and in
some places by using partially streams which es
caped alongside of the river. We were not, how
ever, able to bring them across without three of
them receiving injuries which obliged us to stop
at the end of the shoot to repair them."
On November 2d, Lewis was intensely grati
fied by the first appearance of tide-water, and
pushed on with the greatest eagerness until he
reached Diamond Island, where " we met fifteen
Indians ascending the river in two canoes ; but
the only information we could procure from
them was that they had seen three vessels, which
we presumed to be European, at the mouth of
the Columbia."
As he went on, small parties of Indians in
canoes were seen and many small villages, prin
cipally of the Skilloots, who were friendly, well
disposed, desirous of traffic, and visited so fre-

CAPTAIN LEWIS AND LIEUT. CLARK 153
quently as to be troublesome. One Indian, speak
ing a little English, said that he traded with a
Mr. Haley. The weather had become foggy
and rainy, but on November 7, 1805, while push
ing down the river below a village of the Wah-
kiacums, the " fog cleared off and we enjoyed
the delightful prospect of the ocean — that ocean,
the object of all our labors, the reward of all our
anxieties. This cheering view exhilarated the
spirits of all the party, who were still more de
lighted on hearing the distant roar of the break
ers, and went on with great cheerfulness."
Lewis, not content with a sight of the ocean,
went on, determined to winter on the coast. A
severe storm forced him to land under a high
rocky cliff, where the party had scarcely room to
lie level or secure their baggage. It " blew al
most a gale directly from the sea. The immense
waves now broke over the place where we were
encamped, and the large trees, some of them five
or six feet thick, which had lodged at the point,
were drifted over our camp, and the utmost vigi
lance of every man could scarcely save our ca
noes from being crushed to pieces. We remained
in the water and drenched with rain during the
rest of the day, our only food being some dried
fish and some rain-water which we caught. Yet,
though wet and cold and some of them sick
from using salt water, the men are cheerful and
full of anxiety to see more of the ocean." Here
they were confined six days, and the rain
had lasted ten days, wetting their merchan
dise through, spoiling their store of dried fish,

154 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
destroying and rotting their robes and leather
dresses. A series of gales and long-continued rain did
not prevent Lewis and Clark from exploring the
country for a suitable place for winter quarters.
Lewis finally discovered a point of high land on
the river Neutel, where a permanent encamp
ment was established which was called Fort
Clatsop. It was situated in a thick grove of
lofty pines several miles from the sea and well
above the highest tide.
The fort consisted of seven wooden huts, which
were covered in by the 20th of November and
later picketed, so as to afford ample security.
The party subsisted principally on elk, of which
they killed one hundred and thirty-one. Fish
and berries were much used in the early spring.
Salt was made in considerable quantities on the
sea-shore, and some blubber was secured from a
stranded whale, 105 feet in length. In general,
the winter passed without serious results, except
that the health of some of the men was impaired
by the almost constant rains, there being but
four days without rain in the first two months.
The conduct of the many Indian tribes with
whom they had communication was almost al
ways friendly, and in only one or two cases did
even strange Indians from a distance show signs
of hostility. The northwest coast had been
visited so often that little could be added to the
knowledge of their customs and mode of life.
One comment of Lewis, is, however, worthy of
reproduction. " We have not observed any

CAPTAIN LEWIS AND LIEUT. CLARK 155
liquor of an intoxicating quality used among
these or any Indians west of the Rocky Moun
tains, the universal beverage being pure water.
They sometimes almost intoxicate themselves by
smoking tobacco, of which they are excessively
fond, and the pleasure of which they prolong as
much as possible by retaining vast quantities at
a time, till after circulating through the lungs
and stomach, it issues in volumes from the
mouth and nostrils."
It appears surprising that Lewis was ignorant
of the discovery of the Columbia River by Cap
tain Robert Gray, for he says that the name
Point Adams was given by Vancouver. Further,
he was ignorant of the fact that the trade at the
mouth of the Columbia was conducted almost
entirely by vessels from New England. From
the English phrases of the Indian, he knew that
the traders must be " either English or American,"
and presumed " that they do not belong at any
establishment at Nootka Sound."
The original plan contemplated remaining at
Fort Clatsop until April, when Lewis expected to
renew his stock of merchandise from the traders
who yearly visited the Columbia by ship. Con
stant rains, however, increased sickness among
his men, while game failed to such an extent that
they only lived from hand to mouth ; and as mer
chandise lacked wherewith to buy food from the
Indians, it became necessary to return. On
departing, he left among the Indians a number
of notices setting forth briefly the results of his
expedition ; one of these, through an American

156 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
trader, reached Boston via China in February,
1807, about six months after Lewis's own re
turn. On March 24, 1806, the party commenced to
retrace their long and dangerous route of 4,144
miles to St. Louis. Their guns were in good
order and the stock of ammunition plentiful, but
their entire stock of trading goods could be tied
up in a single blanket.
Detained by scarcity of fish, they discovered
the Multonah (Willamette) River which, hidden
by an island, was not seen on their downward
voyage. Lieutenant Clark went up the valley
some distance to Nechecole village, where he saw
an Indian house, all under one roof, 226 feet long.
Of the valley of the Willamette, Lewis re
marks that it was the only desirable place of set
tlement west of the Rocky Mountains, and it
was sufficiently fertile to support 50,000 souls.
He mentions its rich prairies, its fish, fowl, and
game, its useful plants and shrubs, its abundant
and valuable timber.
The conditions of the rapids below The Dalles
was such that one boat, fortunately empty, was
lost, and the upper rapids being impracticable,
they broke up or traded all their boats and
canoes but two, which were carried to the upper
river. They proceeded with the horses, that had
been purchased with the greatest difficulty, Brat-
ton, too ill to walk, being on horseback, and on
April 27th reached a village of the Wallawallas,
near the mouth of Snake or Lewis River. Here
they were so well received that Lewis says : " Of

CAPTAIN LEWIS AND LIEUT. CLARK 157
all the Indians whom we have met since leaving
the United States, the Wallawallas were the
most hospitable, honest, and sincere."
Their horses recruited to twenty-three head,
cheered by information of a new route which
would save eighty miles, and with Wallawalla
guides, they moved in early May up the valley
of Snake or Lewis River, and finding it too early
to cross the mountains, encamped in the forks
of the Kooskoosky, having meanwhile received
back from their savage friend Twisted-hair their
thirty-eight horses intrusted to his care the pre
vious year. Their journey by land was marked
by great scarcity of food, which was roots or
dog, except when the officers, practicing medi
cine for sick Indians, obtained horses for food.
The use of dog, which was now very palatable,
caused derision among the Indians. On one oc
casion an Indian threw a half-starved puppy into
Lewis's plate, with laughter, which turned to
chagrin when Lewis flung the animal with great
force into the savage's face and threatened to
brain him with a tomahawk. The Indians lived
almost entirely on fish during the salmon season,
and on roots the rest of the year. Their houses
were collected under one roof, with many apart
ments, and two were seen each about one hun
dred and fifty feet long. The difficulties of
communicating with the Chopunnish were very
great, and if errors occurred it was not astonish
ing. Lewis spoke in English, which was trans
lated by one of the men in French to Chaboneau,
who repeated it in Minnetaree to his wife. She

158 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
put it into Shoshonee to a prisoner, who trans
lated it into Chopunnish dialect.
An attempt in early June to cross the moun
tains failed, the snow being ten feet deep on a
level. On June 24th they started again, and with
great privations succeeded in following their
trail of the previous September across the Bitter-
root Mountains to Traveller's-rest Creek, on
Clark Fork, which was reached June 30th.
Here the party divided in order to thoroughly
explore different portions of the country. Lewis
took the most direct route to the great falls of
the Missouri, whence he was to explore Maria's
River to 500 N. latitude. Clark proceeded to
the head of Jefferson River, down which Ser
geant Ordway was to go in the canoes cached
there. Clark himself was to cross by the short
est route to the Yellowstone, and building canoes,
descend to its mouth and rejoin the main party
at that point.
Lewis went into the Maria's River country,
but was unable to proceed far through lack
of game. He there fell in with a band of Minne
tarees, who attempted to steal his arms and
horses, which resulted in a skirmish wherein two
Indians were killed, the only deaths by violence
during the expedition. Then turning to the
mouth of the Maria's River, they were rejoined
by Ordway's party, and on August 7th reached
the mouth of the Yellowstone, where a note from
Clark informed them of his safe arrival and camp
ing place a few miles below.
Clark had explored portions of the valleys of

CAPTAIN LEWIS AND LIEUT. CLARK 159
the Jefferson, Gallatin, and Madison, and had
prescience of the wonders of the Yellowstone in
a boiling-hot spring discovered at the head of
Wisdom River. His journey to Clark's fork of
the Yellowstone was made with comfort and
safety, but there an accident to one of his men
obliged him to make canoes, during which delay
the Indians stole twenty-four of his horses.
As Lewis descended the Missouri he saw that
the tide of travel and adventure was already
following in his track, and two daring Illinoisans,
Dickson and Hancock, were at the mouth of the
Yellowstone on a hunting trip. Rapidly de
scending the river the 23d of September saw the
party safe at St. Louis, the initial point of their
great and eventful expedition.
The great continental journey to and fro, from
ocean to ocean, across barren deserts, through
dangerous waterways, over snow-clad mountains,
among savage and unknown tribes, had been
accomplished with a success unparalleled in the
world of modern adventure and exploration.
This expedition was fraught with successful
results second to none other ever undertaken in
the United States. The extent, fertility, and
possibilities of the great trans-Mississippi were
made known, the possibility of crossing the
American continent was demonstrated, the loca
tion of the great rivers and of the Rocky Moun
tains determined, the general good-will of the in
terior Indians proved, and the practicability of
trade and intercourse established. Furthermore,
conjoined with the discovery of the Columbia by

160 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
Gray, it laid the foundations of a claim which, con
firmed by settlement and acknowledged by Great
Britain, gave the United States its first foothold
on the Pacific coast, and ultimately secured to
the American nation not only the magnificent
States of Oregon and Washington, but also the
golden vales and mountains of California.
Well might Jefferson declare that " never did
a similar event (their successful return) excite
more joy through the United States. The hum
blest of its citizens had taken a lively interest in
the issue of this journey."
Clark was an able and faithful assistant to the
unfortunate Lewis, who did not live to write the
full story of the expedition. It seems, however,
that the disposition in some quarters to regard
Clark as the man to whom the success of the ex
pedition was in greater part due, finds no justi
fication in a careful perusal of the narratives.
So great a work was enough glory for the two
men, the commander and the assistant.
Clark's future career must be considered some
what of a disappointment. During his absence
he was promoted to be a first lieutenant of ar
tillery, and on his return was nominated by
Jefferson to be lieutenant-colonel of the Second
Infantry ; but the Senate, by a vote of twenty to
nine, declined to confirm him, and he resigned
his commission as lieutenant February 27, 1807.
Later he was an Indian agent and a brigadier-
general of the militia for the territory of upper
Louisiana, with station at St. Louis. In 181 2
he declined an appointment as brigadier-gen-

CAPTAIN LEWIS AND LIEUT. CLARK 161
eral, and the opportunity of having Hull's com
mand — a declination which was an injury to his
country if he had the military ability attributed
to him. Madison appointed him Governor of
the Territory of Missouri, which office he filled
from iS 1 3 to the admission of Missouri as a State
in 1 82 1. Contrary to his wishes, he was nomi
nated for the first governor, but failed of election.
Monroe, in May, 1822, appointed him Superin
tendent of Indian Affairs, with station at St.
Louis, which office he filled until his death, Sep
tember 1, 1838.
Captain Lewis did not live to long enjoy
the honors that he had so bravely won. He
reached Washington the middle of February,
1807, when Congress, which was in session, made
to both leaders and men the donation of lands
which they had been encouraged to expect as
some reward for their toil and danger.
The President considered the discoveries of
sufficient importance to present them to Con
gress in a special message, on February 19, 1806,
and in appreciation of Captain Lewis's valuable
services, immediately appointed him to be Gov
ernor of Louisiana, which office Lewis accepted,
resigning for that purpose from the army on
March 4, 1807.
Of the civil services of Governor Lewis, Jeffer
son says : " He found the Territory distracted
by feuds and contentions among the officers, and
the people divided into factions. . . . He
used every endeavor to conciliate and harmon
ize. . . . The even-handed justice he admin-

162 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
istered to all soon established a respect for his
person and authority."
While on the way to Washington, in Septem
ber, 1 809, Governor Lewis, in a fit of derangement,
killed himself, thus, to quote again from Jeffer
son, " depriving his country of one of her most
valued citizens," who endeared himself to his
countrymen by " his sufferings and successes, in
endeavoring to extend for them the bounds of
science, and to present to their knowledge that
vast and fertile country, which their sons are
destined to fill with arts, with science, with free
dom, and happiness." Surely posterity will de
clare that Meriwether Lewis lived not in vain.

Buffalo Skull.

VI.
ZEBULON MONTGOMERY PIKE,
Explorer of the Sources of the Mississippi
and Arkaxsas Rivers.
The trans-continental expedition of Captain
Lewis and Lieutenant Clark was only a part of the
comprehensive plan of Jefferson, which looked
to the acquiring of definite and precise informa
tion concerning not only the extreme Northwest
Territory, but also of the entire trans-Mississippi
regions, whereon might be based intelligent ac
tion, so as to insure to the citizens of the United
States the greatest benefits of internal trade and
commerce. It was surmised that the adventu
rous and enterprising traders of the Hudson Bay,
or Northwest Company, had encroached on the
valuable hunting grounds near the sources of
the Missouri and Mississippi rivers ; while to
the southwest the secretive and jealous policy of
Spain had so well guarded its limited geograph
ical knowledge, that the United States was in
such utter ignorance of its newly acquired ter
ritory that it was impossible to even outline
a definite proposition for the determination of
exact boundary lines between Louisiana and the
province of New Spain.
The obtaining of information for the solution
of these problems was intrusted, in the order

164 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
named, to a young and promising officer of the
regular army, Zebulon Montgomery Pike, then a
first lieutenant and paymaster in the First regi
ment of Infantry. Pike was of military stock, as
his father, Zebulon Pike, had served as a captain
in the war of the Revolution, and even then a
major of his son's regiment was destined to live
to see that son fall as a general officer. The son,
born at Lamberton, N. J., aspired early to mil
itary life, and from a cadet in the ranks rose
through the grades regularly.
I. The Sources of the Mississippi.
In 1805 the governor of Louisiana was James
Wilkinson, a brigadier-general in, and com
mander-in-chief of, the army of the United States,
who was then stationed at St. Louis. Pike ap
pears to have been considered by Wilkinson as
an officer well suited to obtain definite informa
tion about this vast territory, and consequently
Lieutenant Pike, with twenty enlisted men, was
furnished provisions for four months, and, under
orders to visit the sources of the Mississippi, left
St. Louis in a large flat-boat, at about the worst
season of the year, on August 9, 1805.
The first experiences were not encouraging,
for the crew, through inexperience or ill-luck,
developed a faculty of picking up sawyers, or
submerged trees, which on one occasion stove
the boat so badly that, half-sinking, she was
dragged with difficulty on a shoal where the
baggage could be dried and the boat repaired.

ZEBULON MONTGOMERY PIKE 105
Here and there along the river were seen small
bands of Indians, and in due time the village of
the Sacs was reached at the head of the Des
Moines rapids. The Sac chiefs, assembled in

General Z. M Pike.

c'ouncil, were told that their great and new father
had sent one of his young warriors to their na
tion, in the lately acquired territory of Louis
iana, to inquire as to their wants, to give them
good advice, to make peace, and to locate, ac
cording to their wishes and needs, trading estab-

166 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
lishments and posts. The Indians answered
acceptably, but appeared to appreciate the pres
ents of knives, whiskey, and tobacco more than
the speech. Vague rumors obtained as to the
value and importance of the lead mine near, be
low Turkey River, but Mr. Dubuque, the pro
prietor, was too shrewd for the young officer, and
to his inquiries said that information as to the
grant, etc., was in St. Louis, that he made from
ten to twenty tons of lead yearly, and gave
equally indefinite answers to other questions.
A journey of four weeks from St. Louis brought
Pike to Prairie-du-Chien, then the only place
settled by white men in the whole valley of the
Mississippi above St. Louis. Originally occupied
by three Frenchmen, Giard, Antaya, and Du
buque, in 1783, it was now a scattered settlement
of thirty-seven houses, with about three hundred
and seventy whites. The Wisconsin River,
which here joins the Mississippi, was yet the
great line of communication between the great
lakes and the entire valley from St. Louis north
ward, all goods and furs passing to and fro over
the route first traced by Joliet in his adventurous
voyage of discovery in 1673. At Prairie-du-
Chien the Indians assembled each autumn for
the annual trade or fair, and every spring the
Indian traders here paused in their western
journey before plunging into the savage wilder
ness. Both these occasions, it is needless to say,
furnished frequent scenes of violence and dissi
pation. Unable to get his large barge above the rapids

ZEBULON MONTGOMERY PIKE 167
at Prairie-du-Chien, Pike hired other boats above
the falls and proceeded, his party augmented
bv an interpreter, Pierre Roseau, and Mr. Fraser,
a trader who was going to the Falls of St. An
thony on business.
A short distance above Prairie-du-Chien, Pike
had a council with the Sioux, who evidently
were recovering from a feast, and here he saw a
religious puff dance, " the performance of which
was attended with many curious manoeuvres.
Men and women danced indiscriminately. They
were all dressed in the gayest manner; all had
in their hands a small skin of some description,
and would frequently run up, point their skin,
and give a puff with their breath ; when the
person blown at, whether man or woman, would
fall and appear to be almost lifeless, or in great
agony; but would recover slowly, rise, and join
in the dance. This they called their great medi
cine." Tobacco, knives, vermilion, and whiskey ce
mented the good feeling, the eight gallons of
whiskey being more show than reality ; for it ap
pears from the context to have been three-fourths
water, and probably was of the kind which Pike
elsewhere called " made whiskey."
The uncertain weather of Lake Pepin nearly
shipwrecked the boats, which reached the Sioux
village at the junction of the Mississippi and St.
Peters, or Minnesota, on September nth. Here
a council was held with the Sioux, wherein two of
the chiefs formally signed away a square league
of land at the Falls of St. Anthony. The true

168 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
value of their signatures may be estimated from
Pike's letter to General Wilkinson, wherein he
says : " I had to fee privately two (doubtless
the signers) of the chiefs, and besides that, to
make them presents at the council." In addition
to the transfer of land Pike pledged to have a
trading post established there, and urged that
the Sioux maintain peaceful relations with the
Chippeways. It is somewhat amusing to read Pike's address,
where in one breath he states that rum "occa
sions quarrels, murders, etc., among yourselves.
For this reason your father has thought proper
to prohibit the traders from selling you any rum ;"
and then accepting the situation, adds, " before
my departure I will give you some liquor to clear
your throats." There were two hundred and
fifty warriors present, and it appears to have
taken sixty gallons of liquor to effect the clearing
operation, while peace with the Chippeways as
sumed an indefinite phase.
The Falls of St. Anthony were passed by land
portage. These being the first boats to make the
portage, as Pike claims, it was with no small feel
ing of relief that he saw his boats in the upper
river, loaded for the journey, on September 30th.
His condition was at the best discouraging, for as
he says, " I had not accomplished more than half
my route ; winter fast approaching ; war existing
between the most savage nations in the course of
my route ; my provisions greatly diminished, and
but a poor prospect of an additional supply.
Many of my men sick, and the others not a little

ZEBULON MONTGOMERY PIKE 169
disheartened; our success in this arduous under
taking very doubtful, and about to launch into
an unknown wilderness."
Rapids and shoals impeded progress somewhat,
but the ioth of October brought them to an
island where the interpreter had wintered with
another Frenchman in 1797. Pike made every
exertion to hasten, for he was very desirous of
reaching Crow-wing River, the highest point
ever attained by trappers in birch canoes. The
bad weather, snow, injury to his boats, and the
breaking down of several of his men, combined
to render further advance impossible, and on
October 16th he fixed his winter quarters at the
mouth of Pine River, 233 miles above the Falls
of St. Anthony. Pike's intentions were far from
passing the winter himself in a wretched canton
ment, for his was a nature foreign to such isola
tion and inactivity as the place promised.
Elsewhere he adds : " It appears to me that the
wealth of nations would not induce me to remain
secluded from the society of civilized mankind,
surrounded by a savage and unproductive wil
derness, without books or other sources of intel
lectual enjoyment, or being blessed with the cul
tivated and feeling mind of the civilized fair."
Huts were built, canoes made, game obtained,
all with great difficulty and hardship, for every
burden fell on Pike, without the aid of a doctor
or assistant as his second in command. In a
game country, and under conditions where his
insufficient food-supply must be eked out by the
rifle, he was such an indifferent hunter that he

170 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
did the maximum of work with the minimum of
result. Unskilled in canoe-making and manage
ment, he succeeded in building three canoes, of
which one sank, wetting and injuring his supply
of ammunition, with the result that finally he blew
up his tent in drying out the powder.
Occasionally small hunting parties of Sioux or
of Menominees came to the camp, and on De
cember 3d Mr. Dickson, who had a trading post
sixty miles to the south, visited Pike and cheered
him up. Dickson possessed much geographical
information about the western country, and in ad
dition to useful directions as to the best route
for Pike to follow, expressed his confidence in
its fullest success.
It would seem doubtful if the men shared the
enthusiasm for a mid-winter trip through an un
known country filled with savages and where
game must form a considerable part of their food.
At all events, they managed to split a canoe which
their commander relied on for the journey. Pike
was dissatisfied, but not discouraged, and on De
cember ioth started northward with eleven men,
a boat, and five sleds.
At the stockade there were nine men under
Sergeant Kennerman, who was given detailed
written instructions as to his duties. Mindful of
the possible dangers to his own party, Pike also
gave orders as to the course to be pursued if his
own party did not return to the cantonment by
a given date the following spring.
A boat was taken along, which the freezing
river soon obliged Pike to abandon and intrust

ZEBULON MONTGOMERY PIKE 171
to a young Indian for the winter. The journey
was practically made by common sleds, dragged
by men harnessed up two abreast. Often the
sleds broke down, making necessary frequent
changes and portages of the baggage, but they
were greatly encouraged by camping at Crow-
wing River, the farthest point ever reached by
canoe. In early January they ran across four Chippe-
way Indians, the tribe from which hostility was
possible. Their anxiety was speedily relieved by
finding that they were companions of Mr. Grant,
a trader from the post on Sandy Lake. Grant
turned back with them, and they reached the
trading-post on Red Cedar Lake on January 3,
1806. Pike's satisfaction at seeing a house once
more was tinctured with chagrin at finding it
surmounted by a British flag. Here he tarried
only a few hours and then pushed on to Sandy
Lake, where he was later joined by his men, who
were delayed by their heavy sleds. He was
much surprised at the air of comfort at Sandy
Lake, where potatoes were grown in great quan
tities, fish and game abundant, while the Indians
furnished in trade maple-sugar, wild oats, and
rice. The Sandy Lake trading-post had been
established in 1794, and might be considered the
headquarters of the Fond-du-Lac department, in
which, in 1805, there were one hundred and nine
employees, with fifty children and twenty-nine
women, who were all Indian or half-breed, there
not being at that time a single white woman
northwest of Lake Superior.

172

EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS

Pike's discerning mind noted that his methods
of travel were inferior to those followed in the
country, so he built sleds after the Hudson Bay
pattern, adopted the racket or snow-shoe for the

Indian Snow-shoes.

winter march, and hired local Indian guides.
Grant, the trader, accompanied him to Leech
Lake, which Pike believed to be the main source
of the Mississippi, but he could not consider it as
an original discovery, as the ubiquitous North-

ZEBULON MONTGOMERY PIKE 173
west Company had an establishment on this lake,
under Hugh McGillis, in 47° 16' N. latitude,
about twenty miles east of Lake Itasca, the true
source of the Mississippi. On February 14th
Pike visited Red Lake and passed to the north,
which carried him to the drainage-basin of the
Red River, in latitude 470 43' N. Evidently fa
miliar with Carver's travels, he fell into the not
unreasonable error of thinking this land " to be
the most elevated part of the northeast continent
of America," whereas the head of the Minnesota
is some four hundred feet higher.
Pike held a council with the Chippeways at
Leech Lake on February 14th, when he per
suaded the chiefs to give up their British flags
and medals, to promise peace with the Sioux,
and to send two of their young chiefs with him
to St. Louis.
As to the trading establishments, he gener
ously refrained from seizing the goods, but
hauled down the British flag ; required the
agents of the Northwest Company to promise to
issue no more flags or medals to Indians, to have
no political dealings with them, but to refer them
to agents of the United States ; to obtain licenses
for Indian trade from and pay duty to the
United States for all imported goods.
On February 14th he turned his face toward
home, his mind free from anxiety, though he
knew the hard marches, extreme cold, and many
hardships before him. He now wore snow-shoes,
but on one long march the pressure of his racket-
strings brought the blood through his socks and

174 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
moccasins, yet he marched on, keeping pace with
his guide despite the excruciating pain.
March 5th found Pike back in his stockade at
Pine River, his adoption of local methods having
facilitated travel to such an extent that in his re
turn he nearly tripled the length of his outward
marches. He found the garrison well and safe,
but was greatly disturbed to find that his trusted
sergeant, Kennerman, had indulged in riotous
and extravagant living, having drank up, eaten,
given away, or traded off the best of the food
and the greater part of the liquor. The natural
sequence of such conduct appeared in an esca
pade where the sentinel made a Sioux Indian
drunk and then ordered him out of the tent,
when the intoxicated savage fired on the sentinel,
fortunately without harm. On his return he was
fortunate enough, in a Menominee camp near the
stockade, to see a dance, called the feast of the
dead, at which " every three were served with a
panful of meat, and when all were ready there
was a prayer, after which the eating commenced.
It was expected we would eat up our portion en
tirely, being careful not to drop a bone. We
were then treated with soup. After the eating
was finished the chief again gave an exhortation,
which finished the ceremony. They gather up
the fragments and threw them in the water, lest
the dogs should get them. Burning them is con
sidered sacreligious."
Leaving his cantonment at Pine River, by boat,
on April 7th he descended the Mississippi with
out any strikingly new experiences, and on the last

ZEBULON MONTGOMERY PIKE 175
day of the month drew up his boat at St. Louis,
with undiminished numbers, after an absence of
nearly nine months.
Pike had more than carried out his orders to
explore the sources of the great river, and did
something more than give to the world the first
definite and detailed information as to the upper
river and its tributaries. He discovered the ex
tent and importance of the British trade in that
country, brought the foreign traders under the
license and customs regulations of the United
States, and broke up for all time their political
influence over the Indians. He did much to re
strain the unlawful sale of liquor to Indians by do
mestic traders, and not only inspired the Indians
with respect for Americans, but also induced
them to at least a temporary peace between them
selves. He replaced a foreign flag by the ensign
of his own country, and for the first time brought
into this great territory the semblance of national
authority and government.
II. The Upper Arkansas River and New
Spain.
Pike returned to find his services in demand
for a second expedition to the head-waters of the
Arkansas and Red rivers. The original arrange
ments contemplated the detail of another officer,
but Pike, at the solicitation of General Wilkinson,
consented to take command of the party, com
menced his preparations at once, and received
his formal orders on June 24, 1806, less than two

176 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
months after his return from the north. In
accepting this long and dangerous service, he
indicates clearly the soldierly sense of duty
which actuated him. " The late dangers and
hardships I had undergone, together with the
idea of again leaving my family in a strange
country, distant from their connections, made
me hesitate ; but the ambition of a soldier and
the spirit of enterprise which was inherent in
my breast induced me to agree."
The primary object of the expedition, accord
ing to the letter of instructions, was to conduct
to Grand Osage a deputation of freed captives
of the Osage Nation, while the subordinate pur
poses were the accomplishment of a permanent
peace between the Kaws and Osages and the
establishment of a good understanding with
the Comanches, which latter object, the letter
runs, " will probably lead you to the head
branches of the Arkansas and Red rivers,
approximated to the settlements of New
Mexico, and there you should move with great
circumspection, to keep clear of any reconnoi
tring parties from that province, and to prevent
alarm or offence. The executive," it was added,
" is much interested in ascertaining the direction,
extent, and navigation of the Arkansas and Red
rivers," which Pike was charged to determine
by sending one party down the Arkansas, while
he should return by the Red.
The written instructions were doubtless sup
plemented by verbal orders, for Pike says : " The
great objects in view (as I conceived) were to

ZEBULON MONTGOMERY PIKE 177
attach the Indians to our Government and to ac
quire such geographical knowledge of the south
western boundary of Louisiana as to enable our
Government to enter into a definite arrangement
for a line of demarcation between that territory
and North Mexico."
Captain Pike's * force consisted of two officers,
an interpreter, and nineteen men of the army.
The officers were Lieutenant James B. Wilkinson,
son of and aide-de-camp to General Wilkinson,
and Doctor John H. Robinson, the latter a volun
teer without pay. The party, with fifty-one Osage
Indians, left Belle Fontaine, July 15, 1806, and
travelling by boat up the Missouri and Osage
rivers reached Grand Osage, near the head of
the river, August 18th, thus accomplishing the
"primary object."
Pike found no difficulty in obtaining an audi
ence for speeches, though he was somewhat dis
mayed at the presence of one hundred and
eighty-six warriors at an assembly, to all of
whom he was obliged to give liquor. It was
quite different when men and horses were want
ed, and it was with the utmost endeavor that
he was able to start westward on September ist,
with fifteen horses for his baggage, accompanied
by only three Pawnees and four Osages.
Crossing the Grand and Verdigris he passed
through a beautiful country with abundant game,
but the Indians became restless, and despite his
presents and persuasions, only three accompa-
* He obtained his captaincy in August, 1806.
12

178 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
nied him to the Pawnee village on the Republican
fork of the Kansas.
The information here obtained and the stand
taken by the Pawnee chief would have deterred
a less courageous and determined man than Pike
from pushing beyond. A large Spanish force,
some six hundred men, had a few days before
visited the Pawnees, when they had turned back
on assurances from the chief that he would turn
back any American force.
It appears that foreign emissaries at St.
Louis had sent word to the authorities of New
Spain of Pike's contemplated expedition, and
steps were immediately taken to defeat its ob
jects. The command of the Spanish force was
assigned to Lieutenant Don Facundo Malgares,
an officer of reputation in Indian warfare, who
collected one hundred dragoons and five hun
dred militia at Santa Fe, N. M. Each man
was mounted, had three led animals and six
months' supply of ammunition. First they de
scended the Red River about seven hundred
miles, with the expectation of meeting and turn
ing back Pike, but learned that no force had
passed that way. The Spanish commander, after
holding a council with the Comanches for the
purpose of winning them over to the interests
of New Spain, then turned north to the Arkan
sas. Here Malgares put in camp two hundred
and forty of his men, with the worn-out and dis
abled stock, and with the rest proceeded to the
Pawnee village, where he distributed medals,
Spanish flags, etc., and after prejudicing them

ZEBULON MONTGOMERY PIKE 179
against Americans and drawing the Pawnee
chiefs as closely to Spain as possible returned
to Santa Fe, arriving there in October. This
armed invasion of the acknowledged territory
of the United States and deliberate tampering
with the Indian tribes probably arose from the
strained relations between the two countries,
which nearly resulted in hostilities on the fron
tiers of Texas and Orleans territory in 1806,
when the local forces tacitly agreed to regard
the Sabine River as the temporary boundary.
Pike first made the Osage and Kaws smoke
the pipe of peace and then held a council with
the Pawnees. These latter Indians, strongly
impressed by the grand show made by the
Spanish cavalry, regarded with doubt the small
force of Americans. What Pike lacked in num
bers and display, he made up in boldness of de
mands and in display of self-confidence. He
obliged them to take down the Spanish flag and
hoist the American ensign, but gave them per
mission to retain the foreign flag for protection
if the Spaniards should return.
The chief, however, insisted that the Ameri
cans must turn back, and said that he would re
sist any advance by force of arms. Captain
Pike, already indignant at the unauthorized raid
of the Spaniards into the territory of the United
States, listened with impatience to this threat,
and answered that so far he had not seen any
blood on his path, but the Pawnees must know
that the young warriors of their great American
father were not women, to be turned back by

180 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
words ; that they were men, well armed and pre
pared as braves to sell their lives dearly ; that
they should go on, and if the Pawness opposed,
the great American father would send other war
riors to avenge the dead. This bold talk had
its effect, and the onward march met with no
active opposition.
Striking southwest, and following as well as he
could the broad trail left by the Spaniards, Pike
reached Arkansas, where he stopped long enough
to build canoes, in which Lieutenant Wilkinson
with five soldiers and two Osages descended
the river. This officer reached the post of Ar
kansas on January 6, 1807, after a journey
marked by many hardships, but no great dan
gers. Captain Pike and Doctor Robinson pursued
their route up the Arkansas with the party, now
reduced to fourteen soldiers and the interpreter,
Vasquez. On the 2d of November, they fell in
with a large herd of wild horses, beautiful bays,
blacks, and gravs. whom thev were unable to
capture even with their fleetest coursers. Here
also the buffalo were present in numbers beyond
imagination, as Pike thought.
The i;th of Xovember was a marked day. for
Pike records that " at two o'clock in the after
noon I thought I could distinguish a mountain
to our right, which appeared like a small blue
cloud. . . In half an hour they appeared in
full view before us. When our small party ar
rived on the hill they with one accord gave three
cheers to the Mexican mountains." The peak,

ZEBULON MONTGOMERY PIKE 181
first seen by Pike, remained in view from that
day to the 27th of January, and in eternal com
memoration of the hardships and dangers of the
discoverer in that journey fittingly bears in our
day the name of Pike's Peak.
Here they first strikingly realized the trans
parency and purity of the mountain air, which
to the eye quite annihilates distance. He writes :
" Marched at our usual hour, pushed with an
idea of arriving at the mountains, but found at
night no visible difference in their appearance
from what we did yesterday." It may be added
that eight days' march brought the party only to
the base of the mountains.
On November 22d he fell in with an unsuccess
ful war-party, composed of sixty Pawnees, re
turning from a foray on the Comanches. The
savages at first acted in a friendly manner, but
receiving some small presents, demanded ammu
nition, corn, blankets, kettles, and indeed every
thing they saw. Being refused they threw away
in contempt the articles given. Pike ordered
the horses packed, when the Pawnees encircled
the small party and commenced stealing every
thing they could, when Pike commanded his
men to stand to arms, and to separate themselves
from the savages. This done an order was given
to kill the first Indian who touched any piece of
baggage, when the Pawnees, realizing that fur
ther misconduct meant fight, filed off and allowed
them to depart.
The party was now at the present city of Las
Animas, where the Arkansas forks, and as the

182 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
Spanish troops followed the main stream instead
of the Purgatory, Pike took the same route. At
the Herfuano he decided to put the main party in
camp while he explored the surrounding country,
so he threw up a small breastwork, opening on the
river, somewhat to the east of the present city of
Pueblo. Starting to ascend the north fork (the
main Arkansas) to the high point of a blue
mountain, which he conceived would be one
day's march, it took two days to reach the base
and more than another day to reach its summit.
He records that his men had no stockings, were
clad only in light summer overalls, in every way
unprovided for the inclement surroundings, the
snow to their hips, the temperature nine degrees
below freezing, while in forty-eight hours the
four men had for food only one partridge and
a piece of deer's rib, but adds that they were
amply compensated for their toil and hardships
by the sublimity of the view — an unbounded
prairie overhung with clouds. The summit of
Grand (Pike's) Peak, bare of vegetation, snow-
covered, and double the height of the peak
ascended, he thought no human being could then
have ascended, even had it been near instead of
a day's march to its base.
The December journey up the narrow, cliff-
bound valley of the Arkansas is a continuous rec
ord of hardship and suffering. The horses with
difficulty found grazing in the snow-covered val
ley, while the fearless ravens lighting on the men
seized meat from them, and, despite the kicking
and plunging of the horses swooped down on

ZEBULON MONTGOMERY PIKE 183
them and picked their sore backs till they bled.
The thermometer fell to thirty-eight degrees be
low freezing, while the badness of the trail obliged
the party to cross and recross the ice-filled river,
from which several froze their feet badly. Flad
the weather continued so cold " some of the men,"
says Pike, " must have perished, for they had no
winter clothing; I wore myself cotton overalls."
Here the returning Spanish expeditionary col
umn under Malgares had turned south, skirting
the mountains until it reached a practicable pass
through the Cimarron range to Taos ; but the
main Spanish trail failing in the snow-covered
plain Pike pursued a side trail to the northwest,
and crossing a dividing ridge came on an ice-
covered stream, which, to his surprise, ran to the
northeast, and proved, as he thought, to be the
head-waters of the Platte, the south fork rising
in the South Park, where he then was. Here
he found evidences of the park having been
lately frequented by large parties of Indians.
Beyond this he doubtless crossed into the Mid
dle Park, and saw the head-waters of the Colorado
Grande, and so was the second party to reach
from the Atlantic tide-water the sources of
streams draining into the Pacific.
Pike was now lost in the maze of snow-covered
mountains under most adverse circumstances, as
he recites : " Eight hundred miles from the fron
tiers of our country ; not one person clothed for
the winter, many without blankets, having been
obliged to cut them up for socks, etc. ; laying
down at night on the snow or wet ground, one

184 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
side burning, while the other was pierced with
cold ; endeavoring to make of raw buffalo-hide a
miserable substitute for shoes;" the men falling
sick, and, finally, the country so broken and pre
cipitous, that even the Indian horse could not
carry a pack, and three animals were lost from
falls and bruises.
Pike was disconsolate, but not discouraged.
He sent ahead the interpreter and two soldiers
travelling light to find a way out, while, making
five small sleds to carry the baggage and be
dragged by the men, he followed. Struggling
on, nearly perishing from cold, and almost fam
ished for food, the 5th of January found Pike,
greatly to his mortification, in the same old val
ley of the Arkansas, in sight of his camp of De
cember ioth. Realizing that he could expect
nothing further from his few worn-out horses,
and burning with mortification at his egregious
error in considering the Arkansas as the Red,
Pike decided to try on foot that journey which
had failed on horseback. He at once strength
ened the small fort, left therein heavy baggage,
horses, etc., with the interpreter and one man,
while with the rest he started to cross the moun
tains with packs in search of the Red River,
where he intended to send back a party to guide
the pack-train to it. This in the belief that the
Red River had its sources to the southwest, in
stead of in its true location hundreds of weary
miles to the southeast.
Humboldt's map of New Spain, compiled from
data in the City of Mexico in 1804, plainly indi-

ZEBULON MONTGOMERY PIKE 185
cates that the Spanish labored under the same
error as Pike, they also thinking the sources of
the Red River to be some two or three hundred
miles northwest of their true position. This map
shows that although the main Red was well
known, yet the head-waters of the Canadian were
believed to be, and were charted as, the north
west extension of the Red to within fifty miles of
the place where Pike was later arrested. It may
be added, as showing the extent of geographical
knowledge in New Spain at that time, that the
upper Arkansas was known under the name Rio
Napestle, although its connection with the lower
Arkansas was only suspected. The Pecos, Colo
rado, Trinity, and Sabine Rivers were also known,
but the Llano Estacado, of Texas, and the plains of
Colorado, Indian Territory, and Kansas, though
they had been crossed here and there prior to
1805, were practically unknown lands, given over
to the buffalo and savages, who were popularly
and correctly associated with them.
Impressed with the belief that he finally was
on the right track, Captain Pike, on January 14,
1806, started on the eventful journey that was to
carry him into New Spain, and lead him into
the hands of the Spaniards he was charged to
avoid. They marched in heavy order, every one
—man, doctor, and commander — carrying forty-
five pounds of regular baggage, besides arms,
ammunition, and such food as he thought proper;
the average burden being seventy pounds per
man, to be carried over a snow-covered and
mountainous country.

186 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
The general direction followed was to the
southwest, and fifty miles were made good in
three days. The fourth day all wet their feet
crossing a stream, and before fire could be had
no less than nine of the men, including the two
hunters, had their feet badly frozen ; the temper
ature fell that night to forty-three degrees below
the freezing point, while the lack of game left
them without food. The next morning two men
went hunting in one direction, while Pike and
the doctor went in another. The latter two
wounded a buffalo three times, but he escaped,
when, says Pike : " We concluded it was useless
to go home to add to the general gloom, and
went among the rocks, where we encamped
and sat up all night ; from intense cold it was
impossible to sleep, hungry and without cover."
The next morning they struck a herd and
wounded several buffalo, all of which escaped.
" By this time," continues Pike, " I had become
extremely weak and faint, being the fourth day
since we had received sustenance. We were in
clining our course to a point of woods, deter
mined to remain absent and die by ourselves
rather than to return to our camp and behold
the misery of our poor lads, when we discovered
a gang of buffalo." Fortunately they killed one
and returned at once to camp with a heavy load
of meat, Pike arriving in such a state of exhaus
tion that he almost fell fainting as he dropped
his burden. " The men," he adds, had " not a
frown, nor a desponding eye — yet not a mouth
ful had they ate for four days." It was found

ZEBULON MONTGOMERY PIKE 187
that two soldiers were so badly frozen that it
was impossible for them to proceed, and indeed
it was probable that one would lose his feet. To
remain was apparent death for all, so Pike de
cided to march, and left the two men, John
Sparks and Thomas Dougherty, provided with
ammunition, and given all the buffalo meat ex
cept one meal for the marching column. It was
like parting with the dying. Pike bade them
face their possible fate with soldierly fortitude,
assured them that relief would be sent as soon as
possible, and then they parted, as we may well
believe such comrades would, with tears — more,
doubtless, from those who marched than from
those who remained behind.
The main party under Pike struggled on over
the barren, snow-covered mountains, and after
nine days, two of which without food, a march of
ninety-five miles (from the vicinity of Saguache
to the neighborhood of Del Norte) brought them
quite exhausted to the banks of the Rio Grande,
which was, however, hailed as the long-expected
Red River.
Descending the stream some distance, Pike
established a picketed stockade, surrounded it
by a water ditch and made it quite impregnable
to any ordinary attack. On February 7th Cor
poral Jackson and four men were sent back
across the mountain, to bring in the baggage
and see if the frozen men were yet able to travel.
The same day Dr. Robinson left the expedition
to visit Santa Fe, ostensibly carrying the papers
in a Spanish claim, but in reality to gain a knowl-

188 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
edge of the country, the prospects of trade, the
military force, etc. — in short, as a secret agent.
While Pike was strengthening his position and
securing game, the party returned with word
that the frozen men could not yet travel, and
possibly might be crippled for life. Volunteers
were called for, as the only method now was to
send to the fort in the forks of the Arkansas,
(near Pueblo) where the recuperated horses and
the rear-guard were available to bring over the
snow-clad mountains the helpless soldiers.
Regarding this last journey Pike writes: "I
must here remark the effect of habit, discipline,
and example in two soldiers (Sergeant William E.
Meek and private Theodore Miller). Soliciting a
command of more than one hundred and eighty
miles over two great ridges of mountains covered
with snow, inhabited by bands of unknown sav
ages, these men volunteered it, with others, and
were chosen ; for which they thought themselves
highly honored."
The steadfast endurance and unfailing forti
tude which enabled Pike's men to withstand and
overcome the horrors and hardships of famine,
frost, and fatigue, form but a single page of the
annals of our army. Rarely has the American
soldier failed, in war or peace, for military or
civic ends, to give to the accomplishment of any
important trust his utmost endeavor, subordinat
ing thereto comfort, health, and life, lavishing
thereon resources of helpfulness which have so
often crowned with success the most hopeless of
enterprises. If the American has individuality,

ZEBULON MONTGOMERY PIKE 189
assertiveness, and self-reliance, he has also, in its
good time and place, a spirit of obedience,
subordination, and solidarity which make him
the typical soldier.
On February 16th, Pike was visited by a Spanish
dragoon and an Indian ; and some ten days later
by a Spanish officer and fifty dragoons, by whom
he was escorted to Santa Fe, where he was ex
amined by the Spanish Governor, Don Allen-
caster, on March 3d. Pike had been informed by
the Spanish lieutenant that he would be con
ducted to the head-waters of the Red River, but
at Santa Fe he learned that there was no inten
tion of permitting a geographical exploration of
these unknown regions. Pike was astonished to
find in Santa Fe an American, a Kentuckian,
named James Pursley, from Bairdstown, who
had made a hunting trip to the head of the Osage
in 1802, and in 1803 made a journey up the Mis
souri with a French trader. Sent on a trading
trip on the plains with a roving band of Kioways,
the hunting party was attacked and driven by
the Sioux into the parks of the Rocky Moun
tains, at the head of the Platte and Arkansas,
where Pike had seen traces of the band and their
stock. From this point the Indians sent Pursley
and two of their number to Santa Fe to trade.
Here they arrived in June, 1805, eight months
before Pike, and Pursley decided to remain.
Governor Allencaster decided to send Pike
and his party to Chihuahua. Accompanied by
Robinson, who rejoined him at Albuquerque,
Pike passed down the valley of the Rio Grande,

190 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
through El Paso, under escort of the gallant and
courteous Malgares, and was taken before Sal-
cedo, the Commandant-General of Chihuahua, on
April 2d. Leaving here late that month, still
under escort, he crossed the Del Norte on June
ist, passed through San Antonio, and on July ist
was within the United States, at Natchitoches,
when he exclaimed " Language cannot express
the gayety of my heart, when I once more be
held the standard of my country ! "
It is astonishing what an amount of valuable
and accurate information concerning New Spain
was collected by Captain Pike during his journey
through the country. If he had been permitted
to return by the way of Red River his stock
of knowledge would have been vastly inferior.
His journey was tedious, unpleasant, and humil
iating, but Pike knew how to make the best of
the situation, and in so doing justified the con
fidence of his superiors in sending him on so
dangerous and important a service.
His field notes in New Spain were made by
Pike with great difficulty, as the Governor gave
orders to Malgares not to permit the making of
astronomical observations nor the taking of notes,
Pike was determined, however, to make the best
of his opportunities, and so recorded his obser
vations while making pretext to halt, and kept
his boy as a vedette while writing. Later he
feared the loss of such notes as he had already
made, when, he continues: "Finding that a new
species of discipline had taken place, and that the
suspicions of my friend Malgares were much

ZEBULON MONTGOMERY PIKE 191
more acute than ever, I conceived it necessary
to take some steps to secure the notes I had
taken, which were clandestinely acquired. In the
night I arose, and, after making all my men
clean their pieces well, I took my small books
and rolled them up in small rolls, and tore a fine
shirt to pieces, and wrapped it around the
papers and put them down in the barrels of the
guns, until we just left room for the tompions,
which were then carefully put in ; the remainder
we secured about our bodies under our shirts.
This was effected without discovery and with
out suspicions."
Pike draws a lively and striking picture of the
manners, morals, customs, and politics of the
people of New Spain, whom he characterized as
surprisingly brave, and in hospitality, generosity,
and sobriety unsurpassed by any other people,
but as lacking in patriotism, enterprise, and in
dependence of soul.
The subsequent career of Captain Pike was
short and brilliant. He received the thanks of the
Government, had his zeal, perseverance, and in
telligence formally recognized by a committee of
the House of Representatives, rose to be major,
lieutenant-colonel, and deputy-quartermaster-gen
eral in rapid succession ; in the reorganization of
the army in 18 1 2 was made colonel, and in the fol
lowing year was appointed brigadier-general a
few weeks before his death, at the capture of
York (Toronto), Canada.
The day before he left for the attack on York
(Toronto), General Pike wrote to his father : " I

192 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
embark to-morrow in the fleet at Sackett's Har
bor at the head of 1,500 choice troops, on a
secret expedition. Should I be the happy mor
tal destined to turn the scale of war, will you
not rejoice, oh my father? May Heaven be propi
tious, and smile on the cause of my country. But
if I am destined to fall, may my fall be like
Wolfe's— to sleep in the arms of victory." His
wish was prophetic.
The orders issued to his troops indicate the
high professional honor which ever character
ized Pike's life. In part they ran thus : " It is
expected that every corps will be mindful of the
honor of American arms and the disgraces
which have recently tarnished our arms, and
endeavor, by a cool and determined discharge
of their duty, to support the one and wipe out
the other. The property of the unoffending citi
zens of Canada," he continues, "must be held
sacred ; and any soldier who shall so far neglect
the honor of his profession as to be guilty of
plundering the inhabitants, shall, if convicted,
be punished with death. Courage and bravery
in the field do not more distinguish the soldier
than humanity after victory ; and whatever ex
amples the savage allies of our enemies may
have given us, the general confidently hopes that
the blood of an unresisting enemy will never
stain the weapon of any soldier of his column."
Owing to the sickness of General Dearborn,
Pike took command of the land forces, and on
April 27, 1 81 3, carried the outer battery by as
sault, and having silenced the fire of the main

ZEBULON MOMGOMEKY PIKE 193
work was awaiting a white Hag when the main
magazine was exploded. Pike, who had a minute
before assisted in making a wounded soldier
comfortable, was fatally injured, but his martial
spirit impelled him to yet encourage his troops.
A soldier to the last, he smiled as the standard
of the enemy was handed to him, and, putting
it under his head, died serenely.
Laboring under the disadvantage of insuffi
cient instruction in youth, Pike supplemented his
deficiencies by assiduous application, and his
journal shows him studying French and other
languages in the interludes of his desperate jour
neys in the Northwest and Southwest. Simple-
minded and warm-hearted, he won the devotion
of his men without relaxing soldierly habits or
impairing discipline. He was intelligent, inde
fatigable, brave, capable of great endurance, fer
tile in expedients and never distrustful of his
own capabilities or of the ultimate success of his
undertakings. His early death precluded judg
ment as to his qualities as a general, but certain
ly he had the power of origination, organization,
and administration which are essentials to mili
tary success.
It should be recorded of his explorations that,
taking into consideration his small force, and al
most inadequate means, no other man ever con
tributed to the geographical knowledge of the
United States an amount comparable to that
which the world owes to the heroic efforts and
indomitable perseverance of Zebulon Mont
gomery Pike. 13

VII.
CHARLES WILKES,
The Discoverer of the Antarctic Con
tinent.
On the colored and beautifully engraved map
of the world of Gulielmus Blaeuw (Amsterdam,
1642) are two side maps, one of the Arctic, the
other of the Antarctic, Circle. The latter repre
sents not only the entire Antarctic Circle as
unbroken land, but also extends this great sup
posititious continent some distance to the north
ward of the sixtieth parallel and gives to it
the name Magallanica Terra Australis Incognita.
This mythical Magellanic continent held its
place, a subject of mystery and interest to every
geographer, until Captain James Cook, the
greatest of navigators, either ancient or mod
ern, attempted its definition or solution. His
success here as elsewhere was marvellous, and
on January 17, 1773, in the Resolution, first of
all men, Cook penetrated the ice-bound wastes of
the Antarctic regions, reaching 6j° 15' S., on the
fortieth meridian E. In the following summer
he completed his circumnavigation of Southern
seas in high latitudes, and penetrating the Ant
arctic Circle at three widely separated points,

M

*g&~

^m;^

W s f
1 9

,-wBS"^

¦V

i ¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦. :• v;' ^^n/MMs,

amm:
Charles Wilkes,
(From a portrait by T. Sully.)
CHARLES WILKES 195
attained, in January, 1774, in 117° W., the ex
traordinary high southern latitude of 710 10'.
Cook thus " put an end to the search for a south
ern continent, which had engrossed the attention
of maritime nations for two centuries."
Cook's discoveries led to erroneous conclu
sions as to the physical constituents of the Ant
arctic regions. Although he had reached the
Great Southern Circle at four different places,
and nearly attained it at the fifth, yet no land
therein, either island or continent, met his eager
gaze ; instead there everywhere met his view a
close pack of ice-floes of enormous height and
extent, with a few wind-caused breaks or chan
nels. Hence many geographers concluded that
the Antarctic regions were ice-covered seas,
either totally or in greater part. To-day, in the
light of modern science and discovery, the opin
ion prevails that there is an extensive ice-clad
Antarctic land, possibly rising to the dignity of
a continent ; and toward this conclusion no ex
plorations have more directly and largely con
tributed than those of the American sailor and
explorer, Charles Wilkes, of the United States
Navy. The first Antarctic land ever discovered was by
an American sealer, Captain Palmer, from Con
necticut. Bellingshausen, of the Russian Impe
rial Navy, in his voyage of 1821, that resulted in
the discovery of the islands of Peter and Alex
ander, on the sixty-ninth parallel, fell in with the
Yankee skipper immediately after he had discov
ered the land, to which Bellingshausen justly

196 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
attached Palmer's name. Palmer's Land, ex
tended into the Antarctic Circle by Biscoe's dis
coveries of 1832, merges into Graham Land of
the latter explorer.
Probably incited by these discoveries, France
sent forth an Antarctic expedition, under Dumont
d'lrville, in 1837, and England, under Sir James
Clark Ross, the discoverer of the northern mag
netic pole, in 1839. Simultaneously with these
expeditions was organized one by the United
States, for which the exceedingly liberal appro
priation of $300,000 was made.
This last expedition was authorized by the act
of Congress of May 18, 1836, "for the purpose of
exploring and surveying in the Great Southern
Ocean in the important interests of our com
merce embarked in the whale fisheries and other
adventures in that ocean, as well as to deter
mine the existence of all doubtful islands and
shoals, and to discover and accurately fix the
position of those which lie in or near the track
pursued by our merchant vessels in that quar
ter." This expedition, the first of its character
undertaken by the United States, grew out of
the vast capital employed in whaling and trade.
The expedition was first organized under
Commodore Thomas Ap Catesby Jones, United
State Navy, but finally the President of the
United States appointed Lieutenant Charles
Wilkes to command the squadron, and he was
formally assigned to this duty under instructions
of Secretary Paulding, dated August 11, 1838.
Charles Wilkes was born in New York City,

CHARLES WILKES 197
April 3, 1798, and entering the United States
Navy as a midshipman at the age of nineteen
was promoted to be lieutenant in 1826. He had
long served in the department of charts and in
struments and was especially qualified for the
proposed astronomical and surveying work con
nected with the expedition.
An anomalous feature of the expedition was
the acceptance of appointment as second in
command by Lieutenant William L. Hudson,
whose naval rank was above that of Wilkes's.
The squadron, then consisting of the sloops of
war Vincennes and Peacock, the store-ship Re
lief, the brig Porpoise, and tenders Sea Gull
and Flying Fish, left Norfolk, Va., August 13,
1838. Associated with Wilkes were a num
ber of lieutenants destined to later distin
guish themselves in their country's service,
among whom may be mentioned T. P- Craven,
James Alden, S. P. Lee, G. F. Emmons, and A.
L. Case, all of whom afterward rose to be rear
admirals, and H. J. Harstene, later associated
with the relief of Kane. Under its instructions
the expedition was to visit Rio de Janeiro, Cape
Frio, the Rio Negro, Terra del Fuego, the Ant
arctic Ocean southward of Powell's group to
Cook's farthest, Valparaiso, the Navigators'
Group, the Feejee Islands, the Antarctic regions
south of Van Dieman's Land, whence it would
return home by way of the Sandwich Isl
ands, San Francisco, Singapore, and the Cape
of Good Hope. No ship had steam-power,
nor was any vessel of the squadron fitted

198 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
with appliances for protection in ice navi
gation ; indeed, the squadron was a makeshift,
ill-suited for so long and dangerous a voyage.
Eventually the Sea Gull was lost in a gale off the
coast of Chili, the Flying Fish proved of little
use, and the extreme slowness of the Relief de
layed the voyage.
Wilkes sailed for the Antarctic regions from
Orange Bay, near Cape Horn, on February 24,
1839, but owing to the lateness of the summer
accomplished little, and spent thirty-six days in
attempting to visit Palmer's Land, which was
only sighted.
A second attempt at Antarctic exploration was
made by Wilkes from Sidney, N. S. W., which
was left December 21, 1839. -^ compact barrier
of field ice, with frequent large bergs, was fallen
in with on January 11, 1840, and from this time
on the ships were often in imminent danger owing
to continuous ice, impenetrable fog, bad weather,
and occasional embayment of the vessels in the
ice-pack. It is scarcely needful to enter into the
details of Wilkes's perilous voyage from longitude
950 E. to 1 5 50 E. and in latitudes ranging from
the Antarctic Circle to the neighborhood of the
seventieth parallel. It may be mentioned, how
ever, that the Peacock narrowly escaped entire
destruction by collision with a heavy iceberg,
which seriously injured the ship. Fortunately
she cleared the berg in time to escape crushing
by the falling of detached ice masses from the
overhanging floe berg. Heavy gales and the bad
sanitary condition of the ship caused the medical

CHARLES WILKES

199

officers of the Yincennes to specially report to
Wilkes that such continued exposure would so
weaken the crew by sickness as to hazard the ship
and the lives of all on board. Wilkes, however,
had sighted the long-looked-for Antarctic land,
and, disregarding the warning, followed the coast
line eastward, keeping his squadron as near it as
the conditions would permit. The land was a

The Ice-Barrier.
(From a sketch by Captain Wilkes.)

series of lofty mountain ranges, often snow
capped, frequently broken by indentations, and,
worst of all, shut out from immediate approach
by an almost continuous ice-barrier, which in its
extent, height, and appearance struck every be
holder with admiration not unmixed with appre
hension. This barrier rose perpendicularly from
the deep sea to a height varying from one hun
dred to two hundred feet above the level of the

200 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
water, which gave no bottom in soundings rang
ing from one hundred and fifty to two hundred
and fifty fathoms. Despite this great depth of
water, the perpendicular icy barrier was evident
ly grounded, thus indicating ice of a thickness
of about one thousand feet.
Regarding the land discovered the first reliable
observations were those of January 16th, when
land was seen by Lieutenant Ringgold, of the Por
poise, and by Midshipmen Eld and Reynolds, of
the Peacock, their statement running as follows :
" The mountains could be distinctly seen stretch
ing over the ice to the southwest." On the 19th
land was again visible from the Vincennes, Alden
reporting it twice to Wilkes, and on the same day
high land was seen by all the crew of the Pea
cock. The ships were then in longitude 1540 E.,
66° 20' S., practically on the Antarctic Circle.
On February 2d high bold land bordered by the
ice-barrier was visible to the Vincennes and Por
poise in longitude 1370 E., latitude 66° 12' S.
Five days later the westerly trend of the land as
previously seen was confirmed by a well-defined
outline of high land rising above the perpendic
ular ice-barrier, the Vincennes being in longi
tude 1320 E., latitude 66° 8' S. On February
9th, in longitude 1230 E., latitude 650 27' S., the
land is spoken of as being indistinct. At 8 A.M.
of the 1 2th land was reported again, in longitude
1120 E., latitude 640 57' S., the land being in about
65° 20' S. and trending nearly east and west.
Wilkes says of the land and of his efforts to
reach it: "The solid barrier prevented our further

CHARLES WILKES 201
progress. Land was now distinctly seen from
eighteen to twenty miles distant, bearing from
S.S.E. to S.W., a lofty mountain range covered
with snow, though showing many ridges and in
dentations." Two days later he writes: "The
14th was remarkably clear and the land very dis
tinct. By measurement we made the extent of
coast of the Antarctic continent then in sight
seventy-five miles and by approximate measure
ment three thousand feet high."
In longitude 970 E., Wilkes found the ice trend
ing to the northward, well out of the Antarctic
Circle, and after following it near to where Cook
was stopped in February, 1773, Wilkes took his
course for Sydney, where he learned that an Eng
lish sealer, Captain Balleny, had discovered land
in longitude 165° E., south of and near the point
where Wilkes found the ice-barrier, and had at
tained a latitude of 690 S. in longitude 1720 E.
Here Wilkes, hearing of the prospective arrival
of Sir James Clark Ross, forwarded for his benefit
a tracing of the chart prepared as the American
squadron had passed along the barrier, supple
mented by the discoveries of Balleny. Ross
publishes a copy of this chart in his " Voyage to
the Southern Seas," together with Wilkes's letter,
giving information not only as to discoveries, but
also as to winds, currents, and the probable posi
tion of the magnetic pole.
Most unfortunately, on the chart transmitted
to Ross by Wilkes, he entered, without distin
guishing marks, land between longitudes 1600 E.
and 1650 E., near the sixty-sixth paralled, which

202

EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS

should have been marked with the legend of
"probable land," it being most probably the sup
posed land of Lieutenant Ringgold, of the Vin
cennes, who on January 13, 1840, in longitude,
1630 E., latitude 65' 8' S., to use Ringgold's own
words, " thought he could discern to the south
east something like distant mountains." As a
matter of fact, Ross found no bottom at six hun-

The Vincennes in a Storm.
(From a sketch by Captain Wilkes )
dred fathoms over this charted land, and natural
ly enough pointed out that he had sailed over a
clear ocean where Wilkes had laid down land.
This lack of caution on the part of Wilkes led to
an acrimonious controversy which had no good
end, but tended to discredit among the ill-in
formed the discoveries of land actually made by
the expedition. Ross, evidently somewhat net
tled, had the questionable taste to omit from his

CHARLES WILKES 203
general South Polar Chart all of Wilkes's dis
coveries. This course, it is hardly necessary to
say, has not commended itself to the best geog
raphers, for in the standard atlas of Stieler, is
sued by the famous publishing house of Justus
Purthes, the discoveries claimed by Wilkes are
entered, with the legend, " Wilkes Land," ex
tending from longitude 950 E. to 1600 E. It is
gratifying, moreover, to note as an evidence of
the impartial justice of the Royal Geographical
Society, that it acknowledged the accuracy and
extent of the discoveries of Wilkes and of the
value of his detailed narrative of the expedition,
and therefor that society awarded to him its
founders' medal.
Ross, it may be added, reached the highest
known latitude in the Antarctic Circle, 780 1 1' S.,
where he discovered Victoria Land, tracing its
coast from 700 to 790 S. latitude, along the me
ridian of 1610 W., which proved to be a bold,
mountainous country, practically inaccessible
and having within its limits an active volcano
about twelve thousand feet high — Mount Ere
bus. On the subject of an Antarctic continent Ross
says : " There do not appear to me sufficient
grounds to justify the assertion that the various
patches of land recently discovered by the Ameri
can, French, and English navigators on the verge
of the Antarctic Circle unite to form a great
southern continent."
The investigations and deductions of a great
scientist, the late W. B. Carpenter, give the

204 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
latest word on this subject. Carpenter says:
" The Antarctic ice-barrier is to be regarded
as the margin of a polar ice-cap whose thick
ness at its edge is probably about two thousand
feet. . . . These vast masses have originally
formed part of a great ice-sheet formed by the
cumulative pressure of successive snow-falls
over a land area," etc. Elsewhere he. adds:
" That the circumpolar area is chiefly land and
not water seems to be farther indicated," etc.
The periphery of the ice-cap is estimated to
be about ten thousand miles.
Thus the ordinary man may safely believe in
the existence of an Antarctic continent whose
outer margins were first skirted and recognized
as part of a great land by Charles Wilkes, of the
United States Navy.
After quitting the Southern seas, Wilkes voy
aged through the Pacific Ocean, in accordance
with his original orders. In the Feejee group,
however, his experiences were most unfortunate.
The pillaging of a grounded cutter by the na
tives resulted in Wilkes destroying one of their
villages and capturing several of their chiefs,
causing ill-feeling which a few days later culmi
nated in an attack on a boat's crew, whereby
Lieutenant Underwood and Midshipman Henry
were killed by the natives and others of the
party were severely wounded. An attack of a
retaliatory character was made by Wilkes, who
destroyed two native towns, laid waste planta
tions, killed about sixty of the savages and
wounded many others.

View of the Antarctic Continent.
(From a sketch by Captain Wilkes.)

206 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
At every port Wilkes and his staff of officers
and scientific assistants were most assiduous
in making surveys and in acquiring knowledge
of the countries and their inhabitants. Even
the most prolonged voyage must end, and with
pleasure officers and men saw again the shores
of their country, where Wilkes landed, at New
York, June 10, 1842, after four years of absence.
As might be expected, there were officers of
the squadron who felt that their merits had not
been properly recognized by Lieutenant Wilkes
during this voyage of four years, and in conse
quence charges of a voluminous character and
under a large number of heads were brought
against him. The court which considered them
acquitted Wilkes except as regards the punish
ment of several of his men, which in some cases
appeared to have been more summary and se
vere than the regulations of the navy justified,
for which action a reprimand was administered.
The collections made by the expedition, and the
scientific volumes published in connection there
with, were very important additions to the scien
tific knowledge of the world. Professor Henry,
in 1871, says:" The basis of the National Museum
is a collection of the specimens of the United
States Exploring Expedition under Captain, now
Admiral, Wilkes. . . . The collections made
by the naval expeditions — 1838 to 1842 — are sup
posed greatly to exceed those of any other simi
lar character fitted out by any government ; no
published series of results compare in magnitude
with that issued under the direction of the

CHARLES WILKES 207
joint Library Committees of Congress." Six
teen quarto volumes were issued, five of narra
tive and eleven of a scientific character, while
other parts were unfortunately destroyed by fire.
The beginning of the great civil war again
brought Wilkes into striking and international
prominence. Sent to the coast of Africa for the
United States steamship San Jacinto, Wilkes
promptly brought her into West Indies waters.
Here he learned that the Confederate Commis
sioners, John Slidell and J. M. Mason, had run
the blockade and landed in Cuba, and he decided,
without consultation or orders, to capture them.
The San Jacinto was then cruising for the Con
federate privateer, the Sumter, but visited fre
quently the Cuban ports. Wilkes apparently
accepted the prevailing opinion that Mason and
Slidell were safe from interference, but, keeping
his views to himself, he was frequently seen by
one of his subordinates to be deeply engaged in
perusing international law books, doubtless oc
cupied in seeking for precedents in justification
of his contemplated action.
On November i, 1861, Lieutenant J. A. Greer,
navigating officer, brought word that Mason and
Slidell were booked for England by the steamer
Trent, which was to leave Havana on the 7th.
On November 4th Wilkes took station in the nar
row channel of Old Bahama, through which the
Trent would naturally pass and where she could
not escape being seen by the lookout. Early on
the morning of the 8th Wilkes ordered the ship
cleared for action, and when the Trent was sight-

208

EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS

ed at noon, Wilkes gave his executive officer,
Lieutenant D. M. Fairfax, written instructions to
board the steamer Trent, with two armed cutters,
when he was to make prisoners of Messrs. Mason,
Slidell, and their secretaries, and seize any de
spatches which he might find. A round shot

In an Ice-Field.

failed to stop the Trent, but a shell exploding in
front of her bows brought her to. After pro
test, Mason and Slidell accepted the arrest, went
on board the San Jacinto, whence they were
taken to New York and later confined as pris
oners at Fort Warren.
When Wilkes landed in New York he found

CHARLES WILKES 209
himself again famous, the central figure toward
which, even in that time of war, the attention of
all was turned. He was lauded by almost every
citizen, praised by nearly every journal, and was
the recipient of most flattering attentions. Com
plimentary banquets were given to him in New
York, Boston, and elsewhere.
The Secretary of the Navy, in a letter dated
November 30, 1861, wrote: "Especially do I
congratulate you on the great public service
you have rendered in the capture of the rebel
emissaries. . . . Your conduct in seizing
these public enemies was marked by intelli
gence, ability, decision, and firmness, and has
the emphatic approval of this Department."
With reference to the omission of Wilkes to
capture the Trent, the Secretary says : "The for
bearance exercised in this instance must not be
permitted to constitute a precedent hereafter for
infractions of neutral obligations."
Congress was not then in session, but it met a
few weeks later, when almost the first act of the
House of Representatives was to pass a joint
resolution which declared that " the thanks of
Congress are due, and are hereby tendered, to
Captain Wilkes, of the United States Navy, for
his brave, adroit, and patriotic conduct in the
arrest and detention of the traitors, James M.
Mason and John Slidell."
The hostile attitude of Great Britain, which
country to many Americans appeared quite
ready on slight pretence to acknowledge the
Southern Confederacy, gave great anxiety to the
14

210 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
administration. The astute Lincoln and the
diplomatic Seward, supported by the patriotic
Sumner in the Senate, and other conservative
men in the House of Representatives, after due
correspondence acceded to the demands of Great
Britain that the prisoners should be released.
Seward, however, justified Wilkes's action in the
main as legal, but said that he erred in releas
ing the Trent ; and by constituting himself as a
court, and in not bringing the steamer before an
admiralty court as guilty of carrying articles
contraband of war, had acted irregularly. The
United States declined to apologize, as no offence
to Great Britain was intended, and forbore from
claiming against England the right of search
which that nation had so persistently exercised.
The Naval Committee of the Senate reported
without amendment the resolution of thanks to
Wilkes, but deemed it best to postpone it indefi
nitely. The ordinary citizen did not share the
conservative, and it may be said the very wise,
course of the administration, and the sentiment
throughout the country was very generally one
of national pride that under doubtful circum
stances an American sailor had dared rather too
much than too little for the dignity and safety of
his country. Wilkes, himself, when told that
possibly this act would cause him to lose his
commission, said that he deemed his seizure of
the commissioners simply a patriotic duty, and
if needs be was willing to be sacrificed for his
country. He continued to perform efficient ser
vice during the war, despite his advancing years.

CHARLES WILKES 211
In 1S62. while in command of the Potomac flo
tilla, he shelled and destroyed City Point, and in
command of a special squadron to maintain the
blockade, captured and destroyed many block
ade-runners. With the closing of the war, and his retirement
from active service, Wilkes returned to the scien
tific pursuits which had always engrossed his
mind, and full of years and honor, died at Wash
ington, February S, 1877.
Of his early scientific labors it may be said
that thev had contributed in no small degree to
the establishment of a national institution of in
ternational repute, the Naval Observatory.
For his important additions to the knowledge
of the world, and especially for his ever-zealous
war services, the memory and life of Charles
Wilkes will ever abide fresh and honored in the
hearts of his countrymen.

VIII.
JOHN CHARLES FREMONT,
The Pathfinder.
The discovery and exploration of the trans-
Mississippi region had many phases, the outcome
of different conditions and varying individual
efforts to determine the extent, possibilities, and
resources of the undeveloped half of the Ameri
can continent. The seamanship of Gray, the en
thusiasm of Lewis, the courage of Clarke, the
assiduity of Pike, the enterprise of Ashley,
Wyeth, Sublette, Bonneville, and other trappers
and traders, had done much to make known to
the pioneer and settler the advantages and
promise of the great West, and had roughly
delineated the routes of travel best suited for
the emigrant in his westward march.
In time many urged that the government of
the United States, so long shamefully negligent
of its magnificent acquisitions by purchase, dis
covery, and settlement, should enter in and pos
sess its own. This, however, necessitated, first,
a systematic examination of the physical features
of the West to such an extent as to render pos
sible its general and authoritative description ;
second, the granting of lands or homesteads to

JOHN CHARLES FREMONT 213
such of its daring citizens as might be willing to
venture their lives as settlers in these remote re-
gii >ns.
Among public men who urged most strongly
such action was one of the most distinguished of
our Western statesmen, Thomas H. Benton, first
Senator from the new and growing State of Mis
souri. He persistently advocated the settlement
of the lower Columbia by Americans, the en
forcement of the title of the United States to
the Pacific Coast region from California north
ward to the forty-ninth parallel, and in 1S25 he
presented in the Senate a bill authorizing the
use of the army and navy to protect American
interests in Oregon.
In season and out of season Benton opposed
the joint occupation of Oregon by England and
America, unfailingly supporting every measure
which promised to fill its fertile valleys with
American settlers. So dominant was this idea in
Benton's career that artistic skill has fittingly
shaped his statue in St. Louis with its bronze
hand pointing west, with his prophetic words
carved on the pedestal, " There is the east.
There is India."
In his efforts to put his ideas into practical
shape, Benton threw the great weight of his in
fluence as a Senator toward the employment in
such explorations of a member of his family by
marriage, John Charles Fremont, whose ability
and inclinations specially suited him for the sci
entific examination and exploration of the trans-
Mississippi region.

214

EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS

Born January 21, 18 13, at Savannah, Ga., Fre
mont entered Charleston College, where his
disregard of discipline prevented his graduating,
although the faculty later honored him with the
degrees of Bachelor and Master of Arts. Well

John Charles Fremont.

grounded in the classics and familiar with the
ordinary astronomical methods of determining
latitude and longitude, Fremont visited South
America on the United States ship Natchez, as a
teacher. Later, appointed a professor of mathe
matics in the navy, he declined the position to
accept more congenial service as assistant en-

JOHN CHARLES FREMONT

215

gineer of the United States Topographic Corps,
where he had experience in preliminary sur
veys of railroads and also in a military reconnois-
sance among the Cherokees in Georgia. Commis
sioned in the United States Army, in 1838, as
second lieutenant in the Topographic Corps, his

Jessie Benton Fremont.
initial service was fortunately as principal assist
ant to I. N. Nicolet, in the survey of the country
between the Mississippi and the Missouri. Nico
let, an able and distinguished engineer, was the
first explorer in America who made general use
of the barometer for determining elevations of
the great interior country, and his map of this
region was one of the greatest contributions
ever made to American geography.

216 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
In 1 841 Fremont married Jessie Benton, a
daughter of Senator Benton, through whose in
fluence Fremont was assigned to the command of
the expedition ordered to explore the country be
tween the Missouri River and the Rocky Moun
tains on the line of the Kansas and Platte Rivers.
In May, 1842, while Fremont was on the fron
tier making preparations for the journey, there
came, as Mrs. Fremont relates, an order recall
ing him to Washington. Mrs. Fremont sent a
special messenger to her husband, advising him
to move immediately for good and sufficient
reasons, to be given later. Meanwhile, holding
the letter, she wrote the colonel who had given
the order for the recall that she had neither for
warded the order nor informed Fremont of it, as
she knew that obedience thereto would ruin the
expedition. On such a small thread of circum
stances hung the fate of his first separate com
mand, which brought Fremont into such great
prominence in connection with the exploration
and development of the Pacific Coast region.
The journey of Fremont lay up the North
Fork of the Platte, through South Pass, into
Wind River Valley, his march being marked by
the usual experiences of hardship and suffering
inseparable from the time and region. The most
notable event of the journey was the ascent of the
main and highest peak of the Wind River range,
now known as Fremont's Peak. Their first at
tempts were unsuccessful, the party suffering
from great cold, excessive fatigue, and mountain
fever resulting from the rarity of the air. Fr6-

JOHN CHARLES FREMONT 217
mont. however, persevered and succeeded. He
describes the final ascent as loliows :
'¦ We reached a point where the buttress was
overhanging, and there was no other wav of sur
mounting the difficulty than bv passing around
one side of it, which was the face of a vertical
precipice of several hundred feet. Putting
hands and feet in the crevices between the
blocks I succeeded in getting over it, and when
I reached the top found my companions in a
small valley below. Descending to them, we
continued climbing and in a short time reached
the crest. I sprang upon the summit and another
step would have precipitated me into an im
mense snow-rield five hundred feet below. At
the edge of this field was a sheer icv precipice,
and then, with a gradual fall, the field sloped off
for about a mile until it struck the foot of another
lower ridge. I stood on a narrow crest about
three feet in width. As soon as I had gratified
. the first feelings of curiosity I descended, and
each man ascended in turn, for I would onlv al
low one at a time to mount the unstable and pre
carious slab, which it seemed a breath would
hurl into the abyss below. We mounted the
barometer in the snow at the summit, and fixinj:
a ramrod in the crevice, unfurled the national
flag to wave in the breeze where never Has:
waved before." The elevation of this summit,
as determined by Fremont, was 15.570 feet.
His success on this expedition caused his most
favorable reception by the War Department on
his return to the States.

218

EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS

Fremont's second expedition contemplated the
connection of his first explorations with those

Ascending Fremont's Peak.

made by Captain Wilkes on the Pacific Coast, so
as to give a connected survey across the interior
of North America. The party, which left Kan-

JOHN CHARLES FREMONT 219
sas City May 29, 1843, consisted of forty men,
equipped with twelve carts for transportation
and a light wagon for scientific instruments. The
route followed was up the valley of the Kansas
River, thence by the South Fork of the Platte to
the vicinity of the present city of Denver. Af
ter considerable hesitation a northerly route was
taken, skirting the westerly limits of the great
Laramie plain, which brought Fremont to the
emigrant trail in the vicinity of the South Pass.
The volume of travel toward the Pacific Coast
even at that early date may be estimated from
his description of the Oregon trail as " a broad
smooth highway where the numerous heavy
wagons of the emigrants have entirely beaten and
crushed the mountain sage."
Crossing Green River and following up
Ham's Fork, Fremont reached the valley of
Bear River, the principal tributary of Great Salt
Lake, which was filled with emigrants travelling
to the lower Columbia River. Fremont ex
pressed his surprise at the confidence and daring
of the emigrants as he met in one place " a fam
ily of two men and women and several children
travelling alone through such a country so re
mote from civilization." Turning south from
this point and quitting the travelled road Fremont
visited the Great Salt Lake, of which he says :
" Hitherto this lake had been seen only by trap
pers, who were wandering through the country
in search of new beaver streams, caring very
little for geography ; its lands had never been
visited, and none were to be found who had

220 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
entirely made the circuit of its shores, and no
instrumental observations or geographical survey
of any description had ever been made anywhere
in the neighboring region. It was generally sup
posed that the lake had no visible outlet, but
among the trappers, including those in my own
camp, were many who believed that somewhere
on its surface was a terrible whirlpool, through
which its waters found their way to the ocean
by some subterranean communication."
The lake was eventually reached from the
lower part of Bear River in an india-rubber
canoe, by means of which Fremont also landed
on a mountainous island near the centre of the
lake, where from an elevation of eight hundred
feet he was able to determine with considerable
accuracy the contours and extent of this remark
able body of water. Instead of a tangled wilder
ness of shrubbery teeming with an abundance of
game, as the party expected, the island proved
to be broken, rocky land, some twelve miles in
circumference, on which there was neither water
nor trees ; a few saline shrubs and other hardy
plants formed the only vegetation. The lake
is described as being enclosed in a basin of
rocky mountains, which sometimes leave grassy
fields and extensive bottoms between them and
the shore, while in other places they come direct
ly down to the water in bold and precipitous
bluffs. He speaks of the water of the lake being
at a low stage and the probabilities that the
marshes and low ground are overflowed in the
season of high water. Fr6mont says that " we

JOHN CHARLES FREMONT 221
felt pleasure in knowing that we were the first
who in the traditional annals of the country had
visited the island and broke with joyful sounds
the long solitude." But in view of the dissipa
tion of his dream of fertility he named it Disap
pointment Island.
Turning northward Fremont reached, on Sep
tember 1 8, 1843, Fort Hall, Idaho, then a post
under British control, whose original importance
as an Indian trading-post had been greatly en
hanced by its location on the emigrant route to
Oregon, at a distance of over one thousand three
hundred miles from the then frontier settlement
of Westport, Mo. Following closely the emigrant
trail Fr6mont, on October 8th, passed Fort Boise,
then occupied by the Hudson Bay Company, and
on the 25th of the month arrived at another trad
ing establishment of this company, at the junction
of the Walla Walla and Columbia Rivers. This
was considered by emigrants as the practical ter
mination of their overland journey since naviga
tion down the river was rapid and convenient.
Fremont found many American emigrants at
Fort Vancouver on his visit to that post and also
learned that others already occupied the adjacent
lowlands of the Willamette Valley. Moreover,
these pioneers were not confining their efforts to
Oregon, for while small parties were pushing
southward through that valley to settlements in
Northern California, still others, making detours
near Fort Hall, reached, by a more direct route
through passes in the Sierra Nevada, the banks
of the Sacramento.

222 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
On November 10, 1843, Fremont left Vancou
ver to return to the United States, having in view
an entirely new route whereby he might be able
to complete the exploration of the great interior
basin between the Rocky Mountains and the
Sierra Nevada. His party then consisted of twen
ty-five. Leaving the Columbia at a point above
The Dalles, Fr6mont followed Des Chutes River
to its source, and passing over to Lake Klamath,
contemplated a journey to and a winter camp on
either Mary's Lake or the mythical Buenaven
tura River. His trail brought him to Lake Kla
math, and later to Goose Lake, the source of the
Sacramento. Winter had now commenced ; the
weather in the mountains proved to be extreme
ly cold, snow-storms became frequent, and his
search for Mary's Lake and Buenaventura River
proved fruitless and dangerous.
These mythical water-courses, which had been
eliminated from the domain of geography by
Bonneville's map of 1837, proved indeed to be
veritable waters of the desert, mere mirages that
nearly led Fr6mont to an untimely fate. Fre
mont's frequent allusions in his field journal to
these imaginary streams show his then belief in
their existence, which appears extraordinary in
view of existing publications. In Bonneville's
maps are charted with general accuracy the great
interior basins of the Great Salt, Mud, and Sevier
Lakes, the Humboldt and Sevier Rivers. The gen
eral extent and direction of the Willamette, Sac
ramento, and San Joaquin Rivers are indicated,
and the non-existence of the Buenaventura and

JOHN CHARLES FREMONT 223
other hypothetical streams was conclusively de
termined. The existence of these maps was gen
erally known, and their absence from Fremont's
topographic outfit is remarkable ; a most unfortu
nate omission, as Benton in his " Thirty Years'
View " describes Fremont's charts and geo
graphic information as " disastrously erroneous."
Struggling along in the snow through a forest
of unknown extent, Fr6mont halted, on December
1 6th, on the verge of a rocky precipice, from
which the party looked down more than one
thousand feet upon a broad lake, the most west
erly waters of the great interior basin, which,
from its pleasing contrast to the wintry weather
of the Sierra Nevada, they called Summer Lake.
Attempting to travel in an easterly direction
Fremont found himself beaten back by an impass
able country, there being rocky, sterile moun
tains on either side which obliged him to keep to
the south through a wild, barren, and uninhabited
region. Fr6mont, describing the country, says:
" On both sides the mountains showed often stu
pendous and curious-looking rocks, which at sev
eral places so narrowed the valley that scarcely
a pass was left for the camp. It was a singular
place to travel through — shut up in the earth, a
sort of chasm, the little strip of grass under our
feet, the rough walls of bare rock on either hand,
and the narrow strip of sky above."
The year 1844 opened with the party in a for
lorn and dispirited condition, as they were prac
tically lost in the tangle of the valleys and
mountains. The grass had become so scanty

224 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
and unwholesome that the overtaxed animals fell
ill; some died and others were stolen by Indians,
so that the party lost fifteen head of stock by the
time they reached Pyramid Lake, where they
camped from the ioth to the 16th of January.
Here they found grass abundant, firewood plen
tiful, and from an Indian village they obtained
salmon trout, a feast to the famished men. The
Indians indicated the general direction of the
route out of the desolate country, but no one
would consent to accompany the party as guide.
The region traversed continued so rough and
lamed the animals so badly that on the 18th
Fremont determined to abandon the easterly
course, thinking it advisable to cross the Sierra
Nevada to the valley of the Sacramento by the
first practicable pass. Now and then a few Indians
were met, and finally a guide was obtained, who
led them to the southward, over a low range of
mountains through a snow-covered pass into
what proved to be Carson Valley. The snow
deepened and the country became so broken as
to make progress difficult, long, tedious detours
necessary, and soon travel was only possible
along high and exposed ridges, which were com
paratively snow free. Finally it became neces
sary to abandon their mountain howitzer at an
impracticable canon that led into a valley which
Fremont at first erroneously supposed to be to
the westward of the Sierra Nevada. Continuing
on without a guide they met other Indians, who
stated it was impossible to cross the mountains
on account of the deep snow, but after much per-

JOHN CHARLES FREMONT 225
suasion, and by means of large presents, an Indian
guide was finally induced to undertake the jour
ney. Fremont, fully conscious of the desj>erate
conditions, which entailed the possible death of
all, endeavored to encourage his men by remind
ing them of the contrast between the fast falling
snow of the surrounding Sierra Nevada and the
flower-clad meadows in the adjacent valley of the
Sacramento, and informed them that his astronom
ical observations showed that they were only sixty
miles distant from Sutter's great establishment.
Their provisions were now practically ex
hausted ; neither tallow, grease, nor salt remained,
and even their hunting dogs were killed for food.
Making the best of the situation their clothing
and outfit were put in the best of order, and on
February 2d, crossing the frozen river on the ice,
the party commenced the ascent of the moun
tain, the men, Fremont relates, being unusually
silent over the hazardous and doubtful enterprise.
Ten men, mounted on the strongest horses,
broke the road, each man in succession opening
the path, either on foot or on horseback, until
he and his horse became exhausted, when he
dropped to the rear. The very deep snow made
it impossible to follow the main valley, and they
necessarily worked along steep and difficult
mountain-sides. On the third day the snow had
become so deep that their best horses gave out
entirely, refusing to make further effort ; the day
ended with the party at a stand-still and the camp
equipage strewed along the route. Too ex
hausted to make huts, they camped that night
15

226

EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS

without shelter and suffered bitterly from the un
usual cold, as the temperature fell to twenty-two
degrees below freezing. Two Indians who had

Kit Carson,

joined the party expatiated on the impossibility
of crossing at this point, and the guide, influenced
by them, deserted the party the next morning.
Having obtained snow-shoes from the Indians,

JOHN CHARLES FREMONT 227
on February 6th, Fremont, accompanied by Car
son and Fitzpatrick, made a reconnoissance and
reached a high peak, from which Carson saw a
little mountain to the westward which he recog
nized as one seen by him fifteen years before, so
that confidence was somewhat restored. On ex
amining the general depth of the snow it was
found to be five feet, but in places it proved to
be twenty. As this snow was plainly impracti
cable for the pack-train, sledges were made for
transporting the baggage, which was dragged
forward by the men with the expectation that the
horses without load could break a path for them
selves. Unfortunately the weather turned bit
terly cold, and the temperature falling thirty-five
degrees below the freezing-point, a number of
the men were frost-bitten.
Fremont, and indeed the whole party, now
realized that the crossing of the mountains into
the valley of the Sacramento was a struggle for
life, but this in no wise disorganized the party.
This desperate march lasted during the whole of
February. Finally Fremont with the advance
party reached Sutter's ranch on March 6th in a
state of complete exhaustion ; help was imme
diately sent to the main party, which arrived a
few days later. Fremont's route across the
mountains was practically through the pass now
crossed by the Central Pacific Railway, the de
scent into the Sacramento being through the
valley of the American River. In crossing the
Sierras not less than thirty-four out of the sixty-
seven horses died of exhaustion or were killed

228 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
for food, the meat of these animals being the
only resource against starvation.
One of the party, DeRossier, became insane on
March ist, and Fremont says : " Hunger and
fatigue joined to weakness of body and fear of
perishing in the mountains had crazed him. The
times were severe when stout men lost their
minds from extremity of suffering, when horses
died, when mules and horses ready to die of
starvation were killed for food, yet there was no
murmuring or hesitation."
Sutter's Fort, on the Sacramento, was then the
most important American establishment in Cali
fornia ; the fort itself was an adobe structure de
fended by twelve pieces of artillery. Sutter had
a large force in his employ engaged in farming
his extensive wheat-fields, in milling operations,
in blacksmith- and other work-shops.
One might have thought that Fremont would
have delayed long in the delightful climate and
conditions that obtained at Sutter's, but such
was not the nature of the man. The entire party
were reunited at Sutter's Fort on March 8th, and
under Fremont's well-directed efforts, in the short
space of fourteen days the starving band was re
organized, remounted, and equipped fully for
instant march. The return journey was to be
through the pass at the head of the San Joaquin
River, discovered by Walker, whose name was
affixed to it by Fr6mont. Crossing the Sierra
Nevada the party struck the Spanish trail, which
was then followed by all wagon-trains or mount
ed parties travelling to and fro between Los

JOHN CHARLES FREMONT 229
Angeles and Santa F6. The region over which
they passed was desolate in the extreme, the road
rough and rocky, grass scanty and poor, while
water was found only in holes and at long dis
tances. In pointing to it, Fremont's Spanish
guide well states : " There are the great plains ;
there is found neither water nor grass — nothing ;
every animal which goes upon them dies."
The party had to undergo not only terrible dis
comforts arising from the physical conditions of
the country, but was also harassed by hostile Ind
ians, who stole some of their stock. The expe
dition fortunately escaped with the loss of only
one man, although parties in advance and in their
rear were plundered and slaughtered. Speaking
of their travelling alone in twenty-seven days a
distance of five hundred and fifty miles through
this inhospitable region, Fr6mont comments, that
although their lonely journey gave them the ad
vantage of more grass, yet they " had the disad
vantage of finding also the marauding savages
who had gathered down upon the trail, waiting
the approach of their prey. This greatly in
creased our labors, besides costing us the life of
an excellent man. We had to move all day in
a state of watch and prepare for combat, scouts
and flankers out, a front and rear division of
our men, and baggage animals in the centre.
At night camp duty was severe ; those who had
toiled all day had to guard by turns the camp
and horses all night. Frequently one-third of
the whole party were on guard at once, and
nothing but this vigilance saved us from attack,

230 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
We were constantly dogged by bands and even
whole tribes of the marauders."
Reaching, in Southern Utah, the head-waters
of the Virgin River, where Santa Fe trains
usually halt to recruit the strength of their ani
mals in its grassy meadows, Fremont was joined
by the famous trapper, Joseph Walker, who con
sented to serve as guide in the departure to the
northeastward, as they now quitted the Spanish
trail. Fr6mont then skirted the eastern edge of
the great interior basin and visiting Sevier and
Utah Lakes, thus completed practically the cir
cuit of the basin. He then turned eastward
through the valleys of the DuChesne and Green
Rivers, tributaries to the Colorado, and push
ing through the very heart of the Rocky Moun
tains, by the way of the pass near Leadville,
at an elevation of eleven thousand two hundred
feet, he reached the Arkansas Valley June 29,
1844. His journey eastward across the great Kansas
plains was of an easy character, and the 31st
of July, 1844, saw his expedition safe at Inde
pendence, Mo. He had been absent fourteen
months, during which time he had travelled some
six thousand five hundred miles, the greater part
of his journey being through the most barren and
inhospitable regions of North America.
The character and extent of Fremont's astro
nomical and other physical observations on this
long, arduous, and dangerous journey constituted
the great value of his exploring work. In few
instances did it fall to Fremont's lot to first ex-

JOHN CHARLES FREMONT

231

plore any section of the country, but it was his
good fortune, as it was his intent, to first con
tribute systematic, extended, and reliable data as
to climate, elevation, physical conditions, and
geographical positions. The hypsometrical work
begun by Fremont culminated, indeed, in the un-

Lake Klamath.

paralleled collation of ele
vations by Gannett; his
climatic observations have been perfected by the
Signal Corps ; his astronomical and geological
data have been overwhelmed by the magnificent
collections and field work of the United States
Coast and Geodetic and Geological Surveys; but
it is to be noted that Fremont's observations,
which he gave in detail, were so honest and
good that they have withstood successfully the
test of hostile examination. Fremont's scientific

232 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
spirit was strikingly exemplified in this terrible
mid-winter journey through the mountains of
Nevada, when observations for time, latitude,
elevation, or temperature were daily and regu
larly made despite snow, extreme cold, and phys
ical weakness from semi-starvation.
On the recommendation of General Winfield
Scott, in a special report, the unprecedented
honor of double brevets — of first lieutenant and
captain — was conferred on Fr6mont for gallant
and highly meritorious services in connection
with these two expeditions.
Fremont's third expedition consisted of sixty
men. They left Bent's Fort, on the Arkansas,
August 1 6, 1845. Its object, as far as explora
tion was concerned, included a survey of the
head-waters of the Arkansas, Rio Grande, and
Rio Colorado, the basin of the Great Salt Lake
and the practicable passes of the Cascade and
southern Sierra Nevada.
It was during this journey that Fremont quite
fully surveyed the southern shores of Salt Lake.
The water was then at an unusually low — possi
bly at its lowest known — level, and having been
informed by the Indians that it was fordable to
Antelope Island, Fremont with Kit Carson rode
to the island, the water nowhere reaching above
the saddle-girths of their horses.
Dividing his party Fr6mont crossed the Utah
desert between the thirty-eighth and thirty-ninth
parallels, while his subordinate, Walker, explored
the valley and sink of the Humboldt. Ren
dezvousing at Lake Walker and again separat-

JOHN CHARLES FREMONT 233
ing, Fremont reached Sutter's Fort through the
American River route, while Walker and the
main party crossed the Sierras into the extreme
southern part of the San Joaquin Valley, oppo
site Tulare Lake. Of the survey and explora
tions made by the expedition it may be briefly
said that they added very greatly to a knowl
edge of Upper California, and resulted in the
publication in 1848 of the most accurate map of
that region extant.
There was, however, another and more im
portant phase to the third expedition than that
of mere exploration. Fr6mont before leaving
Washington was informed that war with Mexico
was possible, and received general unwritten in
structions looking to such a contingency. The
forecast of trouble proved correct, and the pre
liminary and extensive disturbances in California
interfered most materially with the progress of
his surveys. Fremont's explorations westward
of the Arkansas River had been through and
over Mexican territory. In order to place him
self in proper position as a non-invader he pro
ceeded to' Monterey, Cal., at the earliest practi
cable moment and applied to the commanding
general, Don Jose Castro, for permission to ex
tend, in the interests of science and commerce,
the geographical survey of the nearest route
between the United States and the Pacific Ocean.
The request was granted promptly and courte
ously. Scarcely had Fremont commenced his
survey in Northern California than he was per
emptorily ordered by General Castro, who later

234 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
appears to have been acting under orders from
the Mexican Government, to quit the depart
ment ; the message being coupled with an inti
mation that non-compliance would result in ex
pulsion by an armed force. The message was
delivered in such manner and language as in
censed Fr6mont and caused him to peremptorily
refuse. Withdrawing a short distance he erected
a stockade and awaited expulsion by arms. The
Mexican force made several forward movements,
but carefully avoided an attack. Fremont final
ly judged it advisable to quit Mexican territory,
as his remaining might be detrimental to the
United States. He consequently withdrew slow
ly toward Oregon, surveying and exploring as
he moved northward.
On May 7, 1845, Fremont was overtaken in
the valley of the upper Sacramento by Lieu
tenant Archibald H. Gillespie, of the marine
corps, who brought from Washington impor
tant despatches which were destined to settle
the fate of California as a Mexican state. Fre
mont was informed through Gillespie that war
with Mexico had been declared, that the govern
ment counted upon him to ascertain and concil
iate the disposition of the people of California
toward the United States, and especially to con
serve American interests by ascertaining and
counteracting any scheme looking to the cession
of California to Great Britain. Fremont was
then surrounded by hostile Klamaths, who killed
several of his party and with whom he had
several engagements, which resulted in the de

JOHN CHARLES FREMONT 235
struction of the principal village, fishing appli
ances, etc., of the offending tribe.
Fremont, turning promptly southward, his
heart set on the important mission intrusted
to him, saved from ravage the American settle
ments in the valley of the Sacramento, which
were in imminent danger of destruction between
the proclamation of the Mexican authorities
ordering confiscation and expulsion and the
threatening attitude of the Indian allies, incited
by unscrupulous officials to activity. Aided by
volunteers from the American settlers Fr6mont
freed California permanently from Mexican dom
ination, his actions receiving mention and ap
proval from the President in his Annual Mes
sage to Congress, in December, 1846.
Commodore Stockton, United States Navy,
charged with the control of affairs on the Pacific
Coast, appointed Fremont Governor and military
commander of California. When controversies
arose between Commodore Stockton, of the navy,
and General Kearney, of the army, each hav
ing authority from Washington to conquer Cali
fornia and organize its government, Fremont
adhered to Stockton, his first commander. In
consequence serious complications arose, which
finally resulted in the trial of Fremont, and, al
though the findings of the court were partly dis
approved and the sentence remitted, he resigned
from the army.
His courage, persistency, and success in these
expeditions gained for Fremont world-wide rep
utation. At home he was named The Path-

236 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
finder ; abroad he received the Founders' Medal
from the Royal Geographical Society of Eng
land and many other well-deserved marks of
appreciation from geographers.
Devoted to California and to its exploration
Fremont immediately fitted out, at his own
expense, another expedition, the fourth. In
October, 1848, with thirty -three men and a
large train he crossed the Rocky Mountains,
undeterred by his fearful experiences in 1844,
and again attempted the passage of the snow-
covered Sierras in mid-winter. The snow was
deep, the guide inefficient, and the winter un
usually cold. One-third of his men and all his
animals perished after suffering cold, hunger, and
fatigue of the most appalling character, and the
remnant of the expedition returned to Santa Fe.
Unappalled by this overwhelming disaster Fre
mont reorganized at Santa F6 a new party, and
after a long, perilous journey reached Sacra
mento in the spring of 1849.
Fremont's experiences during his surveys of
the great valleys of the San Joaquin and Sacra
mento caused him to fall under the fascinating
spell which California exercises over the greater
number of its Eastern settlers. The vast domain
of its virgin forests, the luxuriance of its vegeta
tion, the extent and fertility of its valley lands,
and its incomparable climate were speedily rec
ognized by Fremont as so many physical condi
tions calculated to insure unparalleled prosperity
when once it should be occupied by Americans.
He saw this vast region practically a waste ; its

JOHN CHARLES FREMONT 237
magnificent harbors unvexed, unbroken by the
keels of commerce ; its unrivalled valleys await
ing the hand of intelligent labor to transform
them from mere pastures for scattered herds of
cattle into fruitful granaries, orchards, and vine
yards capable of feeding a continent. Imbued
with these ideas he cast in his lot with Califor
nia, and was a potent power in making it a free
State, and was honored by election as its first
Senator, unfortunately, however, drawing the
short term in the United States Senate.
Failing, through the defeat of his party, of
re-election, Fremont visited Europe for a brief
and well - earned rest, which was broken by
the authorization of Congress for a survey of
a trans-continental railway, which awoke his
dormant exploring spirit. Returning promptly
to the United States he organized an expedition
under private auspices, which started westward
in September, 1853. He travelled by the cen
tral route through the mountains of Colorado,
passing over the Sierra Blanca, through the
Sandy Hill Pass and the valley of the Grand
River. Turning southward into Utah and cross
ing the Sawatch Mountains, Fremont's march
brought him to the Sierra Nevada near the
end of winter, and their passage was attempted
near the thirty-seventh parallel. Thereof he
writes : " I was prepared to find the Sierra here
broad, rugged, and blocked with snow, and was
not disappointed in my expectations." The
snow being impassable and food failing he made a
detour of some seventy miles to the southward

238 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
and reached the Kern River Valley through
Walker Pass. The march entailed endless suf
fering and extreme privations on the party,
which was pushed to the direst extremities to
preserve life. They were often without food
of any kind for an entire day and for many
weeks had only the flesh of their emaciated and
exhausted horses. The disastrous outcome of
this expedition impaired Fremont's reputation,
it appearing, then as now, surprising that, aware
by bitter experience of the impracticability of
such a journey, he should have so timed his
march as to be again overwhelmed by the dread
ful winter snow of the Nevada range.
This sketch has in view the treatment neither
of Fremont's career as a soldier nor as a poli
tician, which phases of his life, viewed by ordi
nary circumstances, may be considered as unsuc
cessful. It need not be here dwelt on that his name
became a watchword of the ever-growing spirit
of human freedom, and that as the standard-
bearer of an idea he astonished the country and
the world by obtaining the suffrages of nearly
one and a half millions of his countrymen for
the highest office in the gift of the people. His
unwavering, if impractical, devotion to freedom
was forcibly illustrated by his emancipation proc
lamation in Missouri, which he declined to re
call, even at the request of the President who
revoked it.
It is undoubted that Fremont's non-success in
business and political ventures has tended to
diminish his reputation as an explorer, a rep-

JOHN CHARLES FREMONT. 239
utation which, it is safe to say, must continue to
grow steadily in the future with the develop
ment of the great trans-Rocky Mountain region
to which he gave the enthusiasm of his youth,
the maturity of his manhood, and for which he
sacrificed his profession and his private fortune.
While Fremont loved all the great West, it was
to California especially that he gave the best he
had of mind, heart, and body, never sparing
himself in any effort for the upbuilding of her
future. So it is that in the scene of his activi
ties on the shores of the golden Pacific, rather
than on the coast of the Atlantic, should be
more appreciated the labors and ever grow
brighter and brighter the name of John C. Fr6-
mont, the Pathfinder.

IX.
ELISHA KENT KANE,
Arctic Explorer.
Among the picturesque and striking figures
of Arctic explorers none abides more firmly
in the minds of Americans than that of Elisha
Kent Kane, whose career and fame largely relate
to the fate of the lost explorer, Sir John Franklin.
Kane was born in Philadelphia, February 3,
1820. In 1842 he graduated in medicine at the
University of Pennsylvania, and the following
year, while waiting for a vacancy in the medi
cal corps of the navy, for which he had passed
an examination, sailed on the frigate Brandywine,
as physician to the embassy, to China, under
Caleb Cushing, Minister Plenipotentiary. Later,
commissioned as an officer of the medical corps
of the United States Navy, he served on the
west coast of Africa, in Brazil, in the Mediter
ranean, and on special duty with the army in
Mexico. This brief statement of his duties con
veys, however, no idea of the intense energy and
restless activity of Kane in his eager efforts to
acquire personal knowledge of the very ends of
the earth.
Indeed, considering Kane's very short life (he

ELISHA KENT KANE 241
died at thirty-seven), there is no man of modern
times to whom the words of Tennyson, in his
strong poem of Ulysses, more fittingly apply :
" I cannot rest from travel, . . .
For always roaming with a hungry heart
Much have I seen and known : cities of men
And manners, climates, councils, governments,
Myself not least but honored of them all."
Suffice it here to say that before Kane was
thirty he had visited in America the greater part
of the eastern half of the United States, the city
of Mexico, Cuba, and Brazil from Rio de Janeiro
to the eastern Andes ; in Africa, along the Gold
and Slave Coasts, to Dahomey, Cape Colony, and
up the Nile to the Second Cataract ; in Europe,
the eastern, southern, and central countries ; in
Asia, the coast of China, Ceylon, India from
Bombay to the Himalayas, Persia, and Syria.
Elsewhere he had travelled in the islands of
Cape Verde, Singapore, Java, Sumatra, and Lu
zon of the Philippines. This incessant travel is
the more remarkable as he was always sea-sick,
was a man of delicate physique, and nowhere
passed six months without being prostrated by
severe illness. As to personal experiences, he
had been wounded in Egypt by a Bedouin who
strove to rob him, narrowly escaped death in
saving captured Mexican officers from slaughter
at the hands of renegade irregulars, and barely
survived his unique experiences in the crater of
a volcano. His descent into the volcano of Tael, in the
16

242

EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS

Philippines, illustrates Kane's utter disregard of
dangers whenever he desired to investigate any
phenomena. As related by Dr. Elder, Kane not

W' mm

Elisha Kent Kane.

only was lowered two hundred feet below the
point usually visited, but descended to the very
surface of the burning lake and dipped his
specimen bottles into the steaming sulphur water.
This feat nearly cost him his life, for although

ELISHA KENT KANE 243
he was able to crawl to and fasten the bamboo
ropes around his body, yet his boots were
charred in pieces on his feet, sulphurous air-cur
rents stifled him into insensibility, and he would
have perished had it not been for the strenuous
exertions of Baron Loe, his companion.
The turning-point in Kane's life came in 1850,
when, induced by the persistent petition of
Lady Franklin, President Taylor recommended
to Congress an appropriation for an expedition
in search of Sir John Franklin and his missing
ships. Kane immediately volunteered for Arctic
service, pressing and urging his application by
every means at his command. Congress acted
tardily, so that the whole expedition was fitted
out in eighteen days, and Kane at the last mo
ment, when his hopes had failed, received orders
as surgeon of the Advance, the flagship, which
he joined May 20, 1850.
The expedition owed its existence to the en
terprise and generosity of Henry Grinnell, whose
philanthropic mind planned, practical energy
equipped, and munificence endowed it. Without
Grinnell's action Congress would have failed to
fit out the expedition, and the grateful chapter
of American co-operation with England in its
Franklin search would have been unwritten.
Such practical displays of sympathy in matters
of general and national interest, now considered
the most hopeful signs of international fellow
ship, may be said to have been inaugurated by
the despatch of the first Grinnell expedition on
its errand of humanity.

244 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
Under a joint resolution of Congress, passed
May 2, 1850, the President was authorized "to
accept and attach to the navy two vessels offered
by Henry Grinnell, Esq., to be sent to the Arctic
seas in search of Sir John Franklin and his com
panions." These vessels — two very small brigs,
the flagship Advance and the Rescue — were
placed under command of Lieutenant Edwin J.
DeHaven, an officer of Antarctic service under
Wilkes. The vessels had detachable rudders,
modern fittings, were admirably strengthened and
fully equipped ; in short, they were thoroughly
adapted to the difficult navigation in prospect.
Where Grinnell's forethought and liberality
ended there was, says Kane, another tale : the
strictly naval equipment could not be praised,
and the " crews consisted of man-of-war's-men of
various climes and habitudes, with constitutions
most of them impaired by disease or temporarily
broken by the excesses of shore life ; " but he com
mends them as ever brave, willing, and reliable.
The squadron touched at various Greenland
ports and then entered the dreaded ice-pack of
Melville Bay, in which the sailing vessels made
slow progress ; but in their besetment of three
weeks the only dangerous experience was a
"nip," which nearly destroyed the Advance.
The movement of the ice-floes is thus graphical
ly told by Kane : " The momentum of the assail
ing floe was so irresistible that as it impinged
against the solid margin of the land ice there
was no recoil, no interruption to its progress.
The elastic material corrugated before the enor-

EL1S1IA KENT KANE 245
mous pressure, then cracked, then crumbled,
and at last rose, the lesser over the greater, slid
ing up in great inclined planes, and these again,
breaking by their weight and their continued
impulse, toppled over in long lines of fragment
ary ice."
DeHaven entered Lancaster Sound, near the
end of August, in company with half a dozen
English ships bound on the same humane er
rand, and on the 24th Master Griffin, of the Res
cue, participated in the search with Captain
Ommaney, which resulted in the discovery, on
Beechy Island, of vestiges of an encampment.
Two days later DeHaven and Kane shared in
the joint search, wherein Captain Penny dis
covered the graves of three of Franklin's crew.
These discoveries proved that Franklin's expe
dition had wintered there during 1845-46, and
later innumerable traces of their stay were not
ed, indicating the good condition and activity
of the expedition. On September ioth DeHa-
ven's squadron was off Griffith Island in com
pany with eight English search ships. Consult
ing with Griffin, DeHaven concluded that they
had not attained such a position as promised ad
vantageous operations in the season of 185 1, and
so decided to extricate the vessels from the ice
and return home.
Strong gales and an unusually early advance
of winter prevented such action and resulted in
the ships being frozen up in the pack, where
they drifted helplessly to and fro, a condition
they were destined to undergo for many months.

^%&

9

The Arctic Highway.

ELISIIA KENT KANE 247
Beset in the middle of Wellington Channel, the
American squadron, with varying movements
to and fro, first drifted under the influence of
southerly gales to the north-northwest, attain
ing latitude 750 25' N., longitude 930 31' W. In
this northerly drift the expedition discovered
Murdaugh Island and quite extensive masses of
land to the northwest of North Devon, to which
the name of Grinnell was given. This land was
further extended the following year by the dis
coveries of Captain Penny, and most unwarrant
able efforts were made by ungenerous and un-
appreciating officials in England to take from
the American squadron its ewe lamb of 1850, an
attempt that, properly refuted, failed of its pur
pose. October 2, i860, the direction of the drift
changed to the south and later to the east. Their
involuntary course lay through Wellington
Channel, Barrow Strait, and Lancaster Sound
into Baffin Bay, where release came, near Cape
Walsingham, June 5, 1851. The drift covered
ten hundred and fifty miles and lasted eight and
a half months. The sun was absent twelve
weeks. It is impossible to adequately describe
the physical and mental sufferings of the party
during this protracted ice imprisonment. It was
a constant succession of harassing conditions,
each, if possible, seeming worse than the for
mer. Now the ships were so firmly imbedded in
the cemented ice-pack that extrication appeared
impossible ; again the complete disruption of the
pack threatened, or the instant destruction of

248 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
their vessels impended, with prospects of a win
ter on the naked floe under such conditions of
darkness, sickness, lack of shelter, and suitable
nutrition as would render a lingering death un
avoidable. No single week passed with a feel
ing of security ; for days at a time there was no
hour free from terrible suspense as to what fate
might immediately befall, and four times in one
day the entire party prepared to abandon ship
at order. The cold became extreme, the mean
of one week in March being thirty-one degrees
below zero ; seal and other fresh meat could be
got only in small quantities, and scurvy, the bane
of Arctic explorers, affected all save six of the
crew, DeHaven being put off duty by this dis
ease. In all these terrible experiences, which
were borne with a fortitude, courage, and pa
tience most creditable, Kane was first and fore
most in sustaining the heroic efforts of Griffin,
master of the Rescue, on whom the executive
duties devolved during DeHaven's illness. It
may be said that not only Kane's medical skill,
but also his cheeriness, activity, and ingenious
devices contributed largely to conserve the
health, spirits, and morale of the crew in these
dark hours when despair seemed justified.
Released from the pack, DeHaven patched up
his injured ships and attempted to return and
prosecute further the Franklin search ; but,
stopped in his return journey by ice in the
upper part- of Melville Bay, he judiciously de
cided to return to the United States, which
was safely reached September 30, 185 1.

ELISHA KENT KANE 249
The following extracts from Kane's very vivid
account of the expedition illustrate some of the
most striking phases of their experiences as re
corded in his journal.
Of the conditions and experience of the Ad
vance in the moving ice-pack he says :
" We were yet to be familiarized with the strife
of the ice-tables, now broken into tumbling
masses and piling themselves in angry confusion
against our sides ; now fixed in chaotic disarray
by the fields of new ice that imbedded them in a
single night ; again, perhaps, opening in treach
erous pools, only to close around us with a force
that threatened to grind our brig to powder."
" A level snow-covered surface was rising up
in inclined planes or rudely undulating curves.
These, breaking at their summits, fell off on each
side in masses of twenty tons' weight. Tables of
six feet in thickness by twenty of perpendicular
height, and some of them fifteen yards in length,
surging up into the misty air, heaving, rolling,
tottering, and falling with a majestic deliberation
worthy of the forces that impelled them."
The following descriptions indicate the narrow
escapes of the ships from destruction during dis
ruptions of the ice-pack :
" The separated sides would come together
with an explosion like a mortar, craunching the
newly formed field and driving it headlong in
fragments for fifty feet upon the floe till it piled
up against our bulwarks. Everything betokened
a crisis. Sledges, boats, packages of all sorts
were disposed in order ; contingencies were met

250 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
as they approached by new delegations of duty ;
every man was at work, officers and seamen alike.
The Rescue, crippled and thrown away from us
to the further side of a chasm, was deserted, and
her company consolidated with ours. Our own
brig groaned and quivered under the pressure
against her sides."
" The ice came in with the momentum before
mentioned as irresistible, progressive, and grand.
All expected to betake ourselves sledgeless to the
ice, for the open space around the vessel barely
admits of a foot-board. The timbers and even
cross-beams protected by shores vibrated so as
to communicate to you the peculiar tremor of a
cotton-factory. Presently the stern of the brig,
by a succession of jerking leaps, began to rise,
while her bows dipped toward the last night's ice
ahead. Everybody looked to see her fall upon
her beam-ends and rushed out upon the ice."
" On the 13th the hummock ridge astern ad
vanced with a steady march upon the vessel.
Twice it rested and advanced again — a dense wall
ot ice, thirty feet broad at the base and twelve feet
high, tumbling huge fragments from its crest, yet
increasing in mass at every new effort. We had
ceased to hope, when a merciful interposition ar
rested it, so close against our counter that there
was scarcely room for a man to pass between.
Half a minute of progress more and it would
have buried us all. As we drifted along five
months afterward this stupendous memento of
controlling power was still hanging over our
stern."

ELISHA KENT KANE

251

The discomfort of the prescribed out-of-door
exercise in extreme cold appears from the fol
lowing :
" Close the lips for the first minute or two and

A Sleeping-bag for Three Men.

admit the air suspiciously through nostril and
mustache. Presently you breathe in a dry,
pungent but gracious and agreeable atmosphere.
The beard, eyebrows, eyelashes, and the downy
pubescence of the ears acquire a delicate white

252 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
and perfectly enveloped cover of venerable hoar
frost. The mustache and under lip form pendu
lous beads of dangling ice. Put out your tongue
and it instantly freezes to this icy crusting, and a
rapid effort and some hand aid will be required
to liberate it. The less you talk the better.
Your chin has a trick of freezing to your upper
jaw by the luting aid of your beard ; even my
eyes have often been so glued as to show that
even a wink may be unsafe."
The unfortunate physical condition of the
party made Kane's duties most onerous and
wearing. In mid-winter he says :
" Scurvy advanced steadily. This fearful dis
ease, so often warded off when in a direct attack,
now exhibited itself in a cachexy, a depraved con
dition of system sad to encounter. Pains diffuse
and non-locatable were combined with an apathy
and lassitude which resisted all attempts at healthy
excitement. These, of course, were not confined
to the crew alone : out of twenty-four men but
five were without ulcerated gums and blotched
limbs. All the officers were assailed."
The expedition safe in port, the recollection of
the horrors and privations of his mid-winter
drift through the polar pack did not deter
Kane from again braving the danger of Arctic
exploration, and he was soon busily engaged in
stimulating public opinion to the support of
another expedition. To this end he especially
addressed the American Geographic Society, of
which Henry Grinnell was president, present-

ELISHA KENT KANE 253
ing a well-intended but fallacious and illogical
plan for continuing the search for Franklin.
Kane was personally aware, from the experi
ences of his previous voyage with DelTaven,
that Franklin had wintered at Beechy Island, in
74° 43' N., 91° 33' W., and that his positive orders
from the admiralty required him to push south
ward from the vicinity of Cape Walker to Behr-
ing Strait. A search for him by the way of Smith
Sound, four degrees of latitude to the northward
and seventeen degrees of longitude to the east
ward of his last known position, rested on the
violent assumption that Franklin had not only
directly disobeyed his positive orders to go
zcest and southwest, but had done so after one-
third of the distance from Greenland to Behring
Strait had been accomplished.
Again there had lately been made public in
England the last direct report from the Franklin
expedition — a letter from Captain Fitzjames —
who relates that Franklin showed him part of
his instructions, expressed his disbelief in an
open sea to the north, and gave " a pleasant ac
count of his expectations of being able to get
through the ice on the coast of America." Dr.
Rae had also reported finding drift material on the
north coast of America, which, having the broad
arrow and red thread of the government, could
come from the quarter where Franklin's orders
sent him, thus confirming the belief that he had
gone southwest from Cape Walker. Moreover, the
squadrons of Belcher and Collinson were actively
engaged in the search northward of America.

254 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
It was finally decided that a second expedition
should be sent, the United States co-operating,
as before, with private enterprise ; and to the
command of this expedition Kane was assigned,
by orders from the Secretary of the Navy, in
November, 1852. The expedition was fitted out
through the liberality of two Americans, Henry
Grinnell, who again placed the brig Advance
at the disposal of the government, and George
Peabody, the American philanthropist, who con
tributed $10,000, a sum that practically covered
all other expenses of the voyage.
Kane's faith in the existence of an open polar
sea and his intention of reaching it were clearly
asserted. Combined with the proposed search for
Franklin was a declared purpose to extend north
ward the discoveries of Inglefield, in 185 1, on the
west coast of Greenland, where, as Kane says,
he contemplated reaching " its most northern at
tainable point, and thence pressing on toward
the Pole as far as boats or sledges could carry
us, examine the coast lines for vestiges of the
lost party."
The expedition sailed from New York May
30, 1853, consisting of eighteen men, all volun
teers, although ten belonged to the United
States Navy. Except as regards scientific in
struments, the equipment of the expedition was
in most respects inadequate and unsuitable for
Arctic service, the bulk of the provisions, for in
stance, being hard bread, salt beef, and pork,
with no canned meats or vegetables.
The Greenland ports were visited, where a

ELISHA KENT KANE 255
moderate amount of fur clothing and fifty Es
quimau dogs were purchased. On June 27th the
Advance entered Melville Bay, and standing
boldly to the westward, although hindered by
the loose drifting ice, was favored by an off
shore gale, and in ten days passed into the
open sea west of Cape York, known to Arctic
voyagers as the " North Water," the only mis
fortune being the loss of a whaleboat. In order
to secure retreat Kane, fortunately for himself as
it afterward proved, cached his metallic life-boat,
filled with boat stores, on Littleton Island. Fa
vored by the conditions of the ice Kane rounded
Cape Hatherton, when the main pack setting
southward obliged him to seek shelter in Refuge
Harbor, a land-locked cove. Later the Advance
was able, as the ice opened, to make sail and pass
around Cairn Point, but a violent gale broke her
from her moorings and nearly wrecked her. The
ice conditions were now so adverse that seven of
his eight officers addressed to him written opin
ions in favor of a return to a more southern har
bor. Such retrograde movement would have re
moved them from the contemplated field of
operations, and Kane declined. Every favorable
opportunity of warping the brig — she could be
moved in no other way — -was availed of, and de
spite most difficult conditions of ice and water,
the brig being on her beam-ends at low tide and
jammed by floes at high water, she was moved a
number of miles to the eastward, and on Septem
ber 9th was put into winter-quarters in Rensse
laer Harbor, 780 37' N., 71" 14' W., "which, says

256

EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS

Kane, " we were fated never to leave together —
a long resting-place to her, for the same ice is
around her still."
Scarcely were they moored than signs of com
ing winter crowded fast one after another ; the
flowers were blackened by frost; long lines of
flying water-fowl trended southward, leaving sol-

The Coming Arctic Night.
itary the hardy snow - bird ; the sun grew lower
from day to day with startling rapidity, and the
young ice cemented the separated old floes into
one solid roadway for the sledgemen. Kane
set about exploring the country and travelled
some fifty miles to Mary Minturn River, whence
from adjoining high land he had a view of
Washington land, the vicinity of Cape Consti
tution. During this journey he first observed

ELISHA KENT KANE 257
the peculiar ice formation now known as the ice
foot, but then novel. It is best described in his
words: " We were on a table or shelf of ice
which clung to the base of rocks overlooking
the sea, . . . with huge angular blocks, some
many tons in weight, scattered over its surface."
Hayes and Wilson travelled some fifty miles into
the interior till their further progress was
stopped by the edge of the inland ice. McGary
and Bonsall, with sledge party of seven, made
three caches to the northeast, the farthest being
in 790 12' N, 65° 25' W., under the face of an
enormous glacier, to which the name of Hum
boldt was given.
The winter passed quietly, the officers making
tidal, astronomical, magnetic, and meteorological
observations, while the men, engaged in ordinary
pursuits, kept in health. Unfortunately fifty-
seven, nearly all, of the dogs died, thus depriv
ing Kane of his main reliance for field operations.
The extreme cold — the mean temperature for De
cember to March, inclusive, being thirty-two
degrees below zero — had reduced the fuel so
that the allowance was three buckets a day.
Other supplies commenced to show their need
or inadequacy ; oil for lamps failed, as did fresh
meat from game, and unfortunately there was
no canned meat, only salted.
Despite his loss of dogs Kane decided on lay
ing out new depots, and with the advance of
March he watched eagerly the temperature.
From the ioth to the 19th the cold averaged sev
enty-six degrees below the freezing-point. He
17

258 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
started his man-sledge on the 20th, under charge
of Brooks, first officer, with seven others at the
drag-ropes. Unfortunately the equipment was
either somewhat defective or some of the party
were inexperienced in the methods needful for
self-preservation in such extreme cold. Kane
gives no details of the causes of the calamity save
to say that " a heavy gale from the north-north
east broke upon the party, and the temperature
fell to fifty-seven below zero."
The first news of the disaster came from Son-
tag, Ohlsen, and Petersen, who suddenly appeared
in the cabin, at midnight of March 31st, swollen,
haggard, and hardly able to speak. Kahe con
tinues : " They had left their companions in the
ice, risking their own lives to bring us the news ;
Brooks, Baker, Wilson, and Pierre, were all lying
frozen and disabled. Where ? They could not
tell ; somewhere among the hummocks to the
northeast ; it was drifting heavily around them.
Irish Tom had stayed to care for the others. It
was vain to question them, for they were sinking
with fatigue and hunger, and could hardly be
rallied enough to tell us the direction."
Kane instantly organized a relief party of ten
men, which, despite his delicate physique, he
headed himself. Taking Ohlsen, the most ration
al of the sufferers, in a fur bag, and as lightly
equipped as was possible, the rescuers moved out
in a temperature seventy-eight degrees below
freezing. Ohlsen fell asleep, but on awakening
was of no use as guide owing to his delirious
condition. Reaching a large level floe Kane put

ELISHA KENT KANE 259
up his tent and scattered his party to find traces
of the lost men. Eighteen hours had now elapsed
and Kane's own party was in a deplorable state,
partly owing to the extreme cold and partly to
extreme nervousness arising from anxiety and
sympathy. He says : " McGary and Bonsall, who
had stood out our severest marches, were seized
with trembling fits and short breath, and in spite
of all my efforts I fainted twice on the snow."
Fortunately Hans, the Esquimau, found a
sledge-track which led to the camp in a few
hours, where Kane found the four men on their
backs, whose welcome greeting, " We expected
you : we were sure you would come," proved
how great was their confidence in their com
mander. The day was extremely cold and most
providentially clear and sunny, but even with
these favoring conditions it was almost a miracle
that they were able to drag the frozen men to
the brig. " The tendency to sleep," says Kane,
" could only be overcome by mechanical vio
lence ; and when at last we got back to the brig,
still dragging the wounded men instinctively
behind us, there was not one whose mind was
found to be unimpaired." Baker and Schubert
died ; Wilson and Brooks finally recovered, los
ing, however, part of their feet by amputation.
Kane determined to lead the next party him
self, and near the end of April, 1854, with seven
men he attempted to lay down an india-rubber
boat high up on the Greenland coast. He had,
however, sadly overrated the strength of his'
men and of himself. About eighty miles from'

260

EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS

the brig, near Dallas Bay, one man broke down
entirely and four others were partly disabled, and
their cache was made at that point with many

Esquimau Boys Fishing.
misgivings, as bears had destroyed the stores
laid down the previous autumn. The troubles
of the party now commenced, for Kane, fainting
while making an observation, had to be hauled
back by the disabled men. Despite the moder-

ELISHA KENT KANE 261
ate temperature Kane's left foot froze, his limbs
became rigid and badly swollen, fainting spells
were more frequent, and he fell into alternate
spells of delirium and unconsciousness, in which
state his broken-down sledge crew conveyed
him by forced marches to the brig, where, says
Hayes, the surgeon, he arrived nearly insensi
ble and so swollen by scurvy as to be hardly
recognizable, and in such a debilitated state
that an exposure of a few more hours would
have terminated his life. Kane's wonderful
recuperative powers speedily restored him from
his nearly helpless condition to a state of com
parative good health, but he could not conceal
his evident inability to personally attempt further
sledge journeys that spring.
In this emergency he decided to send his sur
geon, Dr. I. I. Hayes, to explore the western
shore of Smith's Strait, from Cape Sabine north
ward, and for this purpose detailed Godfrey with
the seven best dogs available.
The ice over Smith's Sound was extremely
rough, so that progress was slow and tedious.
Finally, with his provisions nearly exhausted,
Hayes reached land in the vicinity of Dobbin
Bay and made his farthest at Cape Hayes, which,
according to his observations, was in about 79°
45' N. Hayes was stricken with snow-blindness ;
the journey was extremely exhausting ; Godfrey
broke down, and the dogs were so nearly worn
out that at the last camp they abandoned sleep
ing-bags, extra clothing, and everything except
arms and instruments. Kane says that both men

262 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
were snow-blind on arrival at the brig, and the
doctor, in a state of exhaustion, had to be led to
his bedside to make his report.
Impressed with Hayes's success on the west
shore of Smith's Sound, Kane decided to send
Morton northward on the Greenland side so
as to determine the extent of the frozen channel
seen by Hayes from his farthest. Morton was
supported by a sledge party of four men, who
reached Humboldt glacier after ten days' travel,
and were here joined by Esquimau Hans with a
dog-sledge. On the 18th the supporting party
turned homeward, while Morton and Hans, with
a dog-sledge, started northward, travelling about
five miles distant from and parallel with the
face of Humboldt glacier.
On June 24th Morton's northward progress
was stopped by very high, perpendicular cliffs
washed by open water and free from the cus
tomary ice-foot. All efforts to pass around the
projecting cliff, to which the name of Cape Con
stitution was given, proved unavailing. Morton
says : " The knob to which I climbed was over
five hundred feet in height, and from it not a
speck of ice was to be seen as far as I could
observe ; the sea was open, the swell came from
the northward, . . . and the surf broke in on
the rocks below in regular breakers."
Morton, in his report, described two islands
opposite Cape Constitution ; Kennedy Channel
as about thirty -five miles wide, running due
north and having an unbroken mountainous land
along its western limits. Twenty miles, esti-

ELISHA KENT KANE 263
mated, due south of Cape Constitution, Morton
made the latitude, by meridian altitude of the
sun, 8o° 41' N., which by dead reckoning made
the cape 8i° 1'. Kane gives its latitude, cor
rected by triangulation, as 8i° 22' N.
These discoveries, strengthening Kane's belief
in an open polar sea, caused him to put forth on
his return such statements and generalizations as
drew forth sharp criticisms, wherein the correct
ness and value of all the field work of his expe
dition were impugned.
It would be most gratifying to Americans if
adverse criticisms as to distances travelled and
astronomical positions determined could be re
futed. It is, however, a matter of fact, not of
opinion, that nearly all the given latitudes are
much too far to the north, while no considerable
distance was travelled which was not overesti
mated from fifty to one hundred per cent. These
blemishes on Kane's great work doubtless arose
from two causes : first, his implicit confidence in
the ability and accuracy of his subordinates, and,
second, to his poetic temperament, which trans
formed into beauty the common things of life
and enhanced their interest by striking con
trasts of high lights and deep shadows.
Subsequent expeditions have surveyed and
charted Kennedy Channel with an accuracy
leaving little to be desired, and as a result it is
now known that the open "sea" seen by Morton
was simply the ice-free water of the southern
half of Kennedy Channel, which condition ob
tains during a great part of each year. The de-

264

EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS

scriptions of the region by Morton in his report,
though simple, are yet so accurate and free from

An Arctic Stream,

exaggeration as to prove conclusively his entire
honesty. When, however, his astronomical obser
vations and estimates of distances are considered,

ELISHA KENT KANE 265
Morton's incompetency is apparent, as they are,
in common with most of the other field work,
erroneous and misleading. The latitude of Cape
Constitution was overstated fifty-two geographic
miles by Kane and thirty-one miles by Morton,
while Kennedy Channel, instead of being thirty-
five miles wide, ranges only from seventeen to
twenty-five. The farthest mountain seen was
Mount Ross, on the north side of Carl Ritter
Bay, about 8o° 58' N, more than ninety miles to
the southward of its assumed position. Kane's
personal knowledge of Morton's honesty was
so complete that he placed equal confidence in
his ability and accuracy, an error of judgment
arising largely from Kane's great affection for
his subordinate.
In the meantime the Etah Esquimaux, most
fortunately for Kane, had discovered and visited
the Advance, and through their friendly offices
the expedition profited largely.
The summer of 1854 disclosed the error of
wintering in Rensselaer Harbor, for it passed
without freeing the brig from ice. The situation,
Kane relates, was most unpromising, and near
the middle of July he determined on a desperate
attempt to communicate with the English expe
ditionary vessels supposed to be at Beechy Isl
and, several hundred miles to the southwest.
Kane with five others started in a whaleboat,
but owing to the bad ice returned unsuccessful
after an absence of eighteen days.
On August 1 8th Kane regards it as an obvious
fact that they must look another winter in the

266 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
face, and says : " It is horrible — yes, that is the
word — to look forward to another year of disease
and darkness to be met without fresh food or
fuel. The physical energies of the party have
sensibly declined ; resources are diminished ;
there are but fifty gallons of oil saved from the
summer seal hunt ; we are scant of fuel ; our food
consists now of ordinary marine stores and is by
no means suited to dispel scurvy ; our molasses is
reduced to forty gallons and our dried fruits
seem to have lost their efficiency."
Under these discouraging circumstances came
the most trying experiences of the expedition.
The majority of the party entertained the idea
that escape to the south by boats was still practi
cable despite the lateness of the summer, although
Kane's own experience in the previous month
had shown the futility of such an effort. Con
scious, however, that he could control only by
moral influence the majority who were of this
opinion, he decided to appeal to them. On Au
gust 24th he assembled the entire crew, set forth
eloquently that such an effort must be exceed
ingly hazardous, escape southward almost im
probable, and strongly advised them to forego the
project. However, he ended by freely accord
ing his permission to such as were desirous of
making the attempt, provided that they would or
ganize under an officer before starting and re
nounce in writing all claims upon the expedition.
Nine out of the seventeen, headed by Petersen,
the Danish interpreter, and Dr. Hayes, the sur
geon, decided to attempt the boat journey and

ELISHA KENT KANE 267
left the vessel August 28th. Kane fitted them out
liberally, provided every possible appliance to
facilitate and promote their success, and gave
them a written assurance of a hearty welcome
should they be driven to return. One of the party,
Riley, rejoined Kane within a few days, and well
into the Arctic winter, on December 7th, Bon-
sall and Petersen returned through the aid of the
Esquimaux. They reported to Kane that their
associates were some two hundred miles distant,
their energies broken, provisions nearly gone,
divided in their counsel, and desirous of return
ing to share again the fortunes of the Ad
vance. Kane immediately sent supplies to the
suffering party by the natives, and took active
measures to facilitate their return, and on De
cember 1 2th had the great joy of seeing the en
tire expedition reunited. In this connection Kane
properly notes the humane actions of the Esqui
maux, saying : " Whatever may have been their
motives, their conduct to our friends was cer
tainly full of humanity. They drove at flying
speed ; every hut gave its welcome as they halt
ed ; the women were ready without invitation
to dry and chafe their worn-out guests."
Kane, it may be added, did not allude in his
official report to the Secretary of the Navy to
this temporary division of his command, which,
however, is told, both in his own narrative and
in that of Dr. Hayes, in his " Arctic Boat Jour
ney." As winter went on they hunted unavailingly
for game, and the abundant supplies hitherto ob-

268 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
tained from the Etah Esquimaux failed, owing
to the unfavorable ice conditions, which caused
a famine among the natives and reduced them
to the lowest stages of misery and emaciation.
Scurvy with its varying phases also sapped the
energies of the crew, while Hayes was disa
bled from amputation of a portion of his frozen
foot. When practically the entire crew must be said
to have been on the sick-list, Blake and Godfrey
decided to desert and take their chances with the
Esquimaux. The plan being detected by Kane,
Blake remained, but Godfrey deserted, and with
Hans, the Esquimau, remained absent nearly a
month. Godfrey, however, contributed to the
support of the expedition by sending supplies of
meat, and later returned under duress.
With the returning spring of 1855 the necessity
of abandoning the brig was apparent to all ; the
ship was practically little more than a shell, as
everything that could possibly be used without
making her completely unseaworthy had been
consumed for fire -wood. There remained in
April only a few weeks' supply of food and fuel,
while the solidity of the ice in the vicinity of
Rensselaer Harbor indicated the impossibility of
an escape by vessel. It was no slight task to
move the necessary stock of provisions and stores
to their boats and to the open water in the vicin
ity of Cape Alexander. This was, however, safe
ly accomplished by the middle of June, the ves
sel having been formally abandoned on May 17th.
The final casualty in the party occurred near

ELISHA KENT KANE 269
Littleton Island, when Ohlsen, in a tremendous
and successful effort to save a loaded sledge from
loss in broken ice, so injured himself internally
that he died within three days. During this re
treating journey Kane records the invaluable as
sistance of the Esquimaux, who " brought daily
supplies of birds, assisted in carrying boat-stores,
and invariably exhibited the kindliest feelings and
strictest honesty." Leaving Cape Alexander on
June 15, 1854, Cape York was passed on July
2 1 st, and, crossing Melville Bay along the margin
of its land ice in five days, Kane reached the
north coast of Greenland on August 3d, forty-
seven days from Cape Alexander.
At Disco the party met Lieutenant Hartstene,
whose squadron, sent to relieve Kane, had al
ready visited Cape Alexander, and learning from
the natives of Kane's retreat by boat to the
south turned promptly back to the Greenland
ports. Surrounded by all the comforts and lux
uries which the means or thoughtfulness of their
rescuing comrades of the navy could furnish,
Kane and his men made a happy journey south
ward to meet the grand ovation that greeted
them from their appreciative countrymen in
New York, on October 11, 1855.
Neither the anxiety of countless friends nor
the skill of his professional brethren could long
preserve to his family, to the navy, and to the
country the ebbing life of the gallant Kane. The
disease which for twenty years had threatened
his life now progressed with rapidity, and on
February 16, 1857, ne died at Havana, Cuba.

270 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
No single Arctic expedition of his generation
added so greatly to the knowledge of the world
as did that of Kane's. In ethnology it contrib
uted the first full account of the northernmost
inhabitants of the world, the Etah Esquimaux ; in
natural history it supplied extensive and inter
esting information as to the flora and fauna of
extreme western Greenland, especially valuable
from its isolation by the surrounding inland ice ;
in physical sciences the magnetic, meteorologi
cal, tidal, and glacier observations were extreme
ly valuable contributions ; in geography it ex
tended to a higher northerly point than ever
before a knowledge of polar lands, and it opened
up a practical and safe route for Arctic explora
tion which has been more persistently and suc
cessfully extended poleward than any other.
Of Kane's conduct under the exceptionally
prolonged and adverse circumstances attendant
on his second Arctic voyage, it is to be said that
he displayed the characteristics of a high and
noble character. Considerate of his subordinates,
assiduous in performing his multifarious duties
as commander, studying ever to alleviate the
mental and physical ailments of his crew, and al
ways unsparing of himself whenever exposure to
danger, hardships, or privations promised definite
results. It is not astonishing that these qualities
won and charmed all his associates, equals or
subordinates, and that they followed him unhesi
tatingly into the perils and dangers that Kane's
enthusiastic and optimistic nature led him to
brave, with the belief that to will was to do.

ELISHA KENT KANE 271
The career of Kane cannot be more beautifully
and truthfully summarized than was done in the
funeral sermon over his bier: " He has traversed
the planet in its most inaccessible places; has
gathered here and there a laurel from every
walk of physical research in which he strayed ,
has gone into the thick of perilous adventure,
abstracting in the spirit of philosophy, yet seeing
in the spirit of poesy ; has returned to invest the
very story of his escape with the charms of litera
ture and art, and dying at length in the morning
of his fame, is now lamented with mingled affec
tion and pride by his country and the world."

X.
ISAAC ISRAEL HAYES,
And The Open Polar Sea.
History affords many examples wherein
neither the originator nor the early advocate of
a striking idea has reaped fame therefrom, and
their names give way to some persistent, tireless
worker who forces the subject on public atten
tion by his ceaseless efforts. Among Arctic the
ories none has more fully occupied and interested
the mind of the general public than that of an
open, navigable sea in the polar regions. In
connection with this theory the minds of Ameri
cans turn naturally to Dr. I. I. Hayes, who, not
the originator, inherited his belief therein from
the well-known Professor Maury, through the
mediation of Kane, Hayes's Arctic commander.
DeHaven thought he saw signs of Maury's ice-
free sea to the northward of Wellington Strait,
Kane through Morton found it at Cape Consti
tution, Hayes recognized it a few miles farther
up Kennedy Channel, but Markham turned it
into a frozen sea in 83° 20' N. latitude, and Lock-
wood, from Cape Kane, on the most northerly
land of all time, rolled the frozen waste yet to
the north, beyond the eighty-fourth parallel, to

ISAAC ISRAEL HAYES

273

within some three hundred and fifty miles of the
geographical Pole.
Isaac Israel Hayes was born in Chester County,
Pa., March 5, 1832. He gained the title of doc-

Isaac Israel Hayes.
tor by graduation in the University of Pennsyl
vania, in 1853, in which year, at twenty-four
hours' notice, he accepted the appointment, pro
cured his outfit, and sailed as surgeon of Kane's
Arctic expedition. An account of this voyage
appears in the sketch of Dr. Kane, but some fur-
18

274 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
ther reference to it is now necessary. Hayes, it
will be remembered, was the surgeon, a position
which exempted him from field-work. How
ever, when Kane and others broke down, Hayes
volunteered, and was sent with Godfrey, a sea
man, and a team of seven dogs to explore the
west coast of Smith Sound. The journey lasted
from May 20 to June 1, 1853, and, all things
considered, such as defective equipment, rough
ice, and attacks of snow-blindness, the results
were unusually creditable.
The rough ice travelled over is thus described
by Hayes : " We were brought to a halt by a
wall of broken ice ranging from five to thirty feet
in height. . . . We had not a foot of level
travelling. Huge masses of ice from twenty to
forty feet in height were heaped together; in
crossing these ridges our sledge would frequent
ly capsize and roll over and over — dogs, cargo,
and all." Hayes finally reached land on May
27th, at a bluffy headland " to the north and east
of a little (Dobbin) bay, which seemed to termi
nate about ten miles inland." This point, called
later Cape Haves, was placed by him by obser
vations in 790 42 ' N., 710 1 7 ' W. From his farthest
Haves mentions the sea-floe as continuing in a
less rousrh condition to the northward, and cor
rectly describes the interior of Grinnell Land as
a orreat mountain-chain following the trend of
the coast.
His broken sledge and nearly exhausted pro
visions obliged Hayes to return, and in so doing
he crossed Dobbin Bay to, and passed under the

ISAAC ISRAEL HAYES 275
shadow of, the noble headland of Cape Hawks,
where they gave their dogs the last scrap of
pemican. Hayes resolved to here abandon all
his extra clothing, sleeping-bags, etc., some forty
pounds, a rash act, as they must have been be
tween sixty and seventy miles from the brig, and
in case of a storm would have perished. The
first day's return journey the dogs were fed with
seal-skin, from old boots, and a little lamp-lard,
and the day following with bread crumbs, lard
scrapings, and seal-skin off mittens and trousers.
The travellers got scanty rest, dozing in the sun
on the sledge, and finally reached Rensselaer
Harbor snow-blind and utterly exhausted.
Hayes was thus the first white man to put
foot on the new land, to which Kane affixed the
name of Grinnell. It is impossible to understand
Kane's failure to properly recognize this success
ful and arduous journey of Hayes, and one looks
in vain for confirmation of Kane's claim that he
" renewed and confirmed," in April, 1854, the
work of Hayes and Godfrey, for his own ac
count shows that Kane's April journey failed
completely to reach Grinnell Land.
Two months after his journey to Grinnell
Land, Hayes was called on to decide whether he
would remain with Kane at Rensselaer Harbor,
where the unbroken ice plainly claimed the brig
Advance as its own for another year, sharing
the hardships and dangers of a second Arctic
winter, or, fleeing south without his commander,
seek safety and shelter through a boat journey
down Smith Sound, and across Melville Bay, to

276

EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS

the northern Danish settlement, Upernivik, in
Greenland. Hayes, unfortunately for his repu
tation, yielded to the majority, and nine of the
party, headed by Petersen, Sontag, and Hayes,
decided to go, while only six white men and Es
quimau Hans remained. It is true that Kane had

Upernivik.
only two weeks before returned from an unsuc
cessful attempt to reach Beechy Island, as diffi
cult a task as the voyage to Upernivik, which he
had quitted his brig to lead in person ; but such
action should not have been viewed as a justi
fication for again separating the party.
Hayes alleges in extenuation that Kane had

ISAAC ISRAEL HAYES 277
previously announced to the crew that their
labors would thereafter be directed homeward,
that the attempted journey to Beechy Island was
solely to procure aid, that the " boat journey "
simply changed the direction of their efforts,
save that it was led by Petersen and not by
Kane. Further, that the departure of the major
ity of the crew would give augmented health-
conditions, space, and food to those who re
mained. Accepting Kane's permission, freely accorded,
as he says, to make the boat journey, liberally
equipped with such supplies as the brig had, and
assured of a hearty welcome should they return,
the boat party left Rensselaer Harbor, August
28, 1853, confident of its ability to succeed.
Sudden cold, sledging accidents, and bad ice
soon caused Riley to return to the brig; but
despite sea-soaked bedding, injured limbs, and
exhausting labor, the rest of the boat party perse
vered with sledge to the open water, and, launch
ing their whaleboat, proceeded rapidly till a
closed ice-pack stopped them at Littleton Island.
It is unnecessary to detail despairing delays or
delusive hopes which changing conditions of ice
and weather alternately aroused, during their
southward journey, nor to recite the hardships
and perils arising from violent gales, drifting
snow, the disruption and closing of the pack, the
severe cold of a rapidly advancing winter, their
lack of shelter and insufficiency of proper food.
Suffice it to say that, confronted by impassable
ice-floes, they were finally forced, with damaged

278 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
boat, depleted supplies, and impaired strength,
to establish winter quarters south of Cape Par
ry, midway between Whale and Wostenholme
Sounds. The preservation of stores, construction of
shelter, and accumulation of means of subsist
ence now engrossed their entire energies. The
construction of a hut, although facilitated by a
rocky cavern, proved to be exhausting in the ex
treme from the difficulty of obtaining material
from the frozen soil. Their most skilful hunters
kept the field continually, but game failed, and
from day to day food supply diminished with, to
them, startling rapidity. Eventually reduced to
the verge of starvation, they would have perished
but for food obtained from the Esquimaux, which,
though scanty and irregular, yet sustained life.
Affairs went from bad to worse, and with the in
creasing cold and diminishing light of December
it was decided that they must either perish or
return to the brig ; either alternative had its ad
vocates. To decide was to act. Petersen ne
gotiated with the Esquimaux, and by judicious
admixture of persuasion, command, and force,
succeeded in having the entire boat party trans
ported by sledge to the Advance, where they
were received with fraternal kindness. Hayes
relates, " Dr. Kane met us at the gangway and
grasped me warmly by the hand. . . . Ohl
sen folded me in his arms, and, kissing me, threw
me into his warm bed."
The boat journey to Upernivik, which proved
dangerous and impracticable to his small party

ISAAC ISRAEL HAYES 279
in advancing winter, proved, with the returning
summer of 1855, not difficult to the reunited
party of Kane, and so ended the boat journey of
Hayes and his first Arctic service.
The loss of a portion of his foot, extreme suf
ferings from exposure, and his great privations
in the Kane expedition failed to abate Hayes's
enthusiasm in Arctic exploration. Immediately
on his return to the United States, in October,
1855, he advocated a second expedition, with the
object of completing the survey of the north
coast of Greenland and Grinnell Land, and to
make explorations toward the North Pole. His
strenuous efforts to excite public interest failed
at first; but Hayes devoted himself to lecturing
on Arctic subjects, and finally enlisted in his sup
port most of the scientific societies of the coun
try. The advocacy of Professors Bache and
Henry, and the support of Grinnell, gave an im
pulse which finally resulted in the organization
of an expedition, under Hayes's command, and
on July 6, i860, he left Boston on the sailing
schooner United States, with a crew of fourteen.
It is not needful to dwell on his outward voy
age farther than to say that, in addition to the
complement of dogs and stock of furs usually
obtained in Greenland, Hayes there recruited
dog-drivers, interpreters, and hunters. At Cape
York he also added Hans Hendrik, Kane's dog-
driver, who, smitten with the dusky charms of
the daughter of Shang-hu, had chosen to remain
with the Etah Esquimaux rather than return to

280

EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS

Danish Greenland with the Kane retreating
party in 1855. Now, five years later, he showed
an equal willingness to quit his adopted tribe for
expeditionary purposes.
Profiting by the experience of his predecessor,
Hayes was unwilling to push a sailing vessel
northward into Kane's Basin, beyond the seven
ty-eighth parallel, and wisely decided to establish

Hayes's Winter-Quarters.
his winter-quarters in Foulke Fiord, near Little
ton Island, twenty miles to the south, and about
forty miles west, of Kane's quarters. Game
proved abundant both at sea and on land, pleas
ant relations were established with their neigh
bors, the Etah Esquimaux, an observatory built,
and scientific observations inaugurated. Indeed
everything looked most promising for the future.
An autumnal journey of special interest was
Hayes's visit to " My Brother John Glacier,"

ISAAC ISRAEL HAYES 281
near Port Foulke, which, up to that time, was the
most northerly and one of the most successful
attempts to penetrate the glacier-covering of
Greenland, known commonly as the " Inland
Ice." With seven men he penetrated some forty
miles or more on the ice, when the temperature,
sinking to thirtv-four degrees below zero, with
wind, compelled their immediate return. The
ice changed gradually, as they went inland, from
rough to smooth, and the angle of rise decreased
from six to two degrees at their highest, over
five thousand feet. A snow-storm broke on them,
and, as Hayes describes, " fitful clouds swept
over the face of the full-orbed moon, which,
descending toward the horizon, glimmered
through the drifting snow that hurled out of
the illimitable distance, and scudded over the
icy plains — to the eye, in undulating lines of
downy softness ; to the flesh, in showers of pierc
ing darts."
Suddenly misfortunes came on them. Peter,
an Esquimau dog-driver, brought from Uperni
vik, deserted. Hans Hendrik, in his interesting
" Memoirs," says : " In the beginning of the win
ter Peter turned a Kivigtok, that is, fled from
human society to live alone up the -country. We
were unable to make out what might have in
duced him to do so. Searching for him, at last
I found his footprints going to the hills." The
poor native was never seen alive, but it eventu
ally transpired that he sought shelter in a re
mote and rarely visited Esquimau hut, where
he died of starvation, his body being found in a

282 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
very emaciated condition by an Etah native the
following spring.
Next the dogs began to die of distemper,
which led up to the death of Sontag, the astron
omer. By the 21st of December only nine re
mained of thirty fine dogs, and in this contin
gency it was decided to open up communication
with the Esquimaux of Whale Sound, some one
hundred and fifty miles to the south, for the pur
chase of dogs. For this journey Sontag volun
teered, and with him went Hans as dog-driver.
Hayes waited week after week, but no news
came from either Sontag or Hans. Then feel
ings of uneasiness gave place to alarm and fear ;
for a journey of Dodge, first mate, proved that
the travellers had gone outside Cape Alexander,
where the floe had broken, so that possibly they
had been lost on drifting ice. Hayes was pro
jecting a personal search on January 29th, when
two Esquimaux visited the ship and reported that
Sontag was dead. They proved to be advance-
couriers of Hans, who arrived a few days later,
with only five of his nine dogs remaining.
In his " Memoirs " Hans relates as follows : " It
still blew a gale and the snow drifting dreadful
ly, for which reason we resolved to return. . . ,
The ice began breaking up, so we were forced to
go ashore and continue our drive over the ice
foot. At one place the land became impassable,
and we were obliged to return to the ice again.
On descending here my companion (Sontag) fell
through the ice, which was nothing but a thick
sheet of snow and water. I stooped, but was un-

ISAAC ISRAEL HAYES 283
able to seize him, it being very low tide. As a
last resort I remembered a strap hanging on the
sledge-poles; this I threw to him, and when he
had tied it around his body I pulled, but found
it very difficult. At length I succeeded in draw
ing him up, but he was at the point of freezing
to death, and now in the storm and drifting
snow he took off his clothes and slipped into the
sleeping-bag, whereupon I placed him on the
sledge and repaired to our last resting-place.
Our road being very rough, I cried for despair
from want of help ; but I reached the snow-hut."
He recites that Sontag remained unconscious to
his death, and that the breaking up of the ice
around Cape Alexander, confirmed by Dodge's
journey, prevented his return to the ship at that
time. There was much talk about Sontag's
death, but Hans's account is doubtless correct.
Sontag was the only trained scientific observer
in the party ; and in addition, from his skill, ex
perience, and enthusiasm in Arctic work, was
almost indispensable to Hayes. His death was
a great blow to the party, socially as well as
professionally. In early spring Hayes succeeded in obtaining
the co-operation of the Etah Esquimaux in sledg
ing, and in a preliminary journey visited his old
winter-quarters, where he had served with Kane
six years before. Where they had abandoned the
Advance, surrounded by the solid pack, he found
ice nearly as high as were her mastheads ; no
vestige of the vessel remained except a bit of
plank, and its fate was a matter of conjecture,

284 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
though little doubt exists that she was ultimate
ly crushed by the disruption of the pack during
some violent gale. It was during this journey
that Hayes experienced an intense degree of
cold. Stating that the thermometer which hung
inside the hut against the snow-wall indicated
thirty-one degrees below zero, Hayes says : " We
crawled out in the open air to try the sunshine.
' I will give you the best buffalo skin in the ship,
Jansen, if the air outside is not warmer than in
that den which you have left so full of holes.'
And it really seemed so. Human eye never lit
upon a more pure and glowing morning. The
sunlight was sparkling all over the landscape
and the great world of whiteness ; and the frozen
plain, the hummocks, the icebergs, and the tall
mountains made a picture inviting to the eye.
Not a breath of air was stirring. Jansen gave in
without a murmur. I brought out the thermom
eter and set it up in the shadow of an iceberg
near by. I really expected to see it rise ; but no,
down sank the little red column of alcohol, down,
down almost to the bulb, until it touched sixty-
eight and a half degrees below zero, Fahrenheit,
equal to one hundred and a half degrees below
the freezing-point of water. It struck me as a
singular circumstance that this great depression
of temperature was not perceptible to the senses,
which utterly failed to give us even so much as
a hint that here in this blazing sunlight we were
experiencing about the coldest temperature ever
recorded." Alter this preliminary journey Hayes laid

ISAAC ISRAEL HAYES ^,S5
down supplies at the nearest point on the Green
land shore south of, and facing, Cape Hawks.
This place, called Cairn Point, was to be the base
of his summer's campaign to the north. Finally
everything was ready for the main journey, and
the party started on the night of April 3, 1861.
Twelve men, the entire available force, were put

Adrift on a Berg,
into the field : Jansen with an eight-dog sledge,
Knorr with a six-dog sledge, and a ten-man
sledge on which was mounted a twenty-foot me
tallic life-boat, with which Hayes hoped to navi
gate the Polar Sea. The journey lay directly to
the north over the frozen surface of Kane Sea,
where the difficulties of travel through the
broken hummocky ice were so great, and the
unfitness of some of the men for Arctic travel so

286 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
speedily developed, that Hayes was forced to
abandon his efforts to get the boat across the
frozen sea, which, he says, " could not have been
done by one hundred men." On April 24th
Hayes records that he had been twenty-two
days from the schooner, and was now distant
only thirty miles from Cairn Point. Four days
later, still struggling across the rough ice of
Kane Sea, the party was practically broken
down, being, as Hayes chronicles, " barely capa
ble of attending to their own immediate neces
sities without harboring the thought of exerting
themselves to complete a journey to which they
can see no termination, and in the very outset of
which they feel that their lives are being sacri
ficed." In this critical condition Hayes changed his
plans, and sent back the entire party to the brig,
except Knorr, Jansen, and McDonald, whom he
selected as best fitted to make the northern
journey, which he had decided to make with
fourteen dogs and two sledges. Turning north
ward with renewed confidence and vigor, though
yet struggling with various misfortunes through a
tangle of broken hummocks, Hayes reached Cape
Hawks on May nth. The condition of the ice
may be judged from the fact that he had been
thirty-one days in making a distance of eighty
miles, a little more than two miles a day. Three
days' farther march took him to Cape Frazier,
where the flagstaff erected by him in 1853 yet
stood erect. At the end of the next march, where
they were driven to the sea ice owing to the im-

ISAAC ISRAEL HAYES 287
possibility of following the ice-foot, Hayes as
cended the hillside, whence, he says, " No land
was visible to the eastward. As it would not
have been difficult through such an atmosphere
to see a distance of fifty or sixty miles, it would
appear therefore that Kennedy Channel is some
what wider than heretofore supposed."
On May 15th Jansen was disabled for travelling
by a sprained back and injured leg, and the next
morning was scarcely able to move. Hayes de
cided to leave the disabled man in charge of
McDonald and proceed with Knorr, his purpose
being "to make the best push I could and travel
as far as my provisions warranted, reach the
highest attainable latitude and secure such a
point of observation as would enable me to form
a definite opinion respecting the sea before me."
Rough ice and deep snow so impeded his prog
ress the first day that he only made nine miles
in as many hours. Ten hours' march compelled
them to again camp, and four hours of the third
day brought them to the southern cape of a bay
which he determined to cross. After travelling
four miles the rotten ice and frequent water-
channels proved that the bay was impassable, and
therefore they went into camp. The next day
Hayes climbed to the top of the cliff, some eight
hundred feet high, whence, he says, " the sea be
neath me was a mottled sheet of white and dark
patches multiplied in size as they receded until
the belt of the water-sky blended them together.
. . . All the new evidence showed that I stood
upon the shores of the polar basin, and that the

288 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
broad ocean lay at my feet. . . . There was
seen in dim outline the white sloping summit of a
noble head-land, the most northern known land
upon our globe. I judged it to be in latitude 82°
30' N, or four hundred and fifty miles from the
North Pole. . . . There was no land visible
except the coast on which I stood."
Hayes, before returning to his ship, deposited
in a cairn a record, dated May 19, 1861, setting
forth his trip, stating that his observations placed
him in 81° 35' N. latitude, and 70° 30' W. longi
tude ; that his further progress was stopped by
rotten ice and cracks ; that he believed the polar
basin was navigable during the months of July,
August, and September, and that he would make
an attempt to get through Smith's Sound when
the ice broke that summer.
The extent and scope of Hayes's discoveries,
as set forth in his account of the expedition in
" The Open Polar Sea," gave rise to persistent
and adverse criticism both as to the soundness of
his judgment and also as to the accuracy of his
observations. Three expeditions, by their later
surveys, have demonstrated that the astronomi
cal position assigned by Hayes to his " farthest "
on the east coast of Grinnell Land is impossible.
There is unmistakably an error either of latitude
or of longitude. Cape Joseph Goode, it is to be
remarked, is in the longitude assigned by Hayes,
while Cape Lieber is no less than six and a half
degrees to the eastward ; reversely, Lieber cor
responds nearly to Hayes's latitude, while Cape
Joseph Goode is a degree and a half to the

ISAAC ISRAEL HAYES 2S9
south. Grave and undlsputable errors in other
latitudes, all being too far to the north, indicate
that the mistake in this instance is also of lati
tude. In justice to Hayes it should be said that
the latitude of his "farthest" depended solelv
on a single observation with a small field sex
tant of the meridian altitude of the sun. While
this is the common method on shipboard it is
exceedingly objectionable in Arctic land deter
minations. It depends not only on the honesty
of the observer, but on the condition of the sex
tant and also on the manner in which it is
handled ; either of these three qualities being
faulty the observation is incorrect. The ten-
dencv of the sextant to " slip." as it is turned
over for reading, and the almost invariably be
numbed condition of the hands of the traveller,
indicate the extreme difficulty of making any
single reading with accuracy. Again, with haste
demanded so often by adverse circumstances, the
index of a verv small sextant may be misread a
whole degree. It is unquestioned that one or
the other of these accidents happened to Hayes,
for the independent investigations of Bessels,
Schott, and others lead to the inevitable conclu
sion, which any scientist may verify by exami
nation of Hayes's widely separated data, that
his " farthest " is placed too far north. The con
census of opinion in the Lady Franklin expedi
tion pointed to Cape Joseph Goode, So- 14' X.,
as Haves*s " farthest," as it agreed better with
Hayes's description than any other point : it may
be added that from this cape Hayes could not
19

290 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
see the Greenland coast above Cape Constitu
tion, which he leaves blank on his chart, and
again, here the unusually heavy spring tides,
of nearly twenty-five-foot range, break up the
southern half of the floes of Kennedy Channel,
thus forming early in the year large water-spaces
— the Open Polar Sea of Hayes and Morton.
Even if Hayes's sight of the Open Polar
Sea proved visionary, and certain unskilled ob
servations failed of verification, yet his adven
turous voyage was not barren of geographical
results. He was the first civilized man to land
on the shores of Ellesmere Land, along the coasts
of which, between the seventy-seventh and sev
enty-eighth parallels, he made important discov
eries ; while farther to the northward, Hayes
Sound, Bache Island, and other unknown lands
and waters were added to our maps through his
strenuous exertions.
Breaking out his schooner on July 10, 1861,
an unprecedentedlv early date for an Arctic ship,
he quickly decided that he could hope for no
further northing in a sailing vessel. However,
he crossed the strait to the unvisited shores of
Ellesmere Land, where he made such an exami
nation of the coast as was practicable, and then
turned his face homeward.
Hayes was fully alive to the absolute necessity
of steam-power for complete Arctic success, but
strictly limited means obliged him to go in a
sailing vessel or not at all. He plainly foresaw
the magnificent success awaiting the first expe
dition that should carry steam-power into Smith

ISAAC ISRAEL HAYES 291
Sound, and full of dreams of future Arctic work
he impatiently returned to the United States.
It was not to be. Civil war raged, and the coun
try called its loyal sons to arms. Hayes was not
the man to falter at such a juncture. He at once
tendered his schooner to the government for
such use as was possible, and volunteered for
the war, where his activity as the head of a great
war hospital taxed to the utmost the mental and
physical powers which had so long been occu
pied in arduous efforts to solve the riddle of the
ice-free sea.
Hayes visited Greenland a third time, in 1869,
with the Arctic artist, William Bradford, in the
steam-sealer Panther. Arctic scenery was their
quest, and so they visited the fiord of Sermitsi-
alik, where the inland ice, which covers the
greater part of Greenland, pushes down into the
sea as an enormous glacier, with a front two and
a half miles wide.
Here Hayes witnessed the birth of an iceberg,
of which he savs : " It would be impossible for
mere words alone to convey an adequate idea of
the action of this new-born child of the Arctic
frosts. Think of a solid block of ice, a third of
a mile deep, and more than half a mile in lateral
diameter, hurled like a mere toy away into the
water, and set to rolling to and fro by the im
petus of the act. Picture this and you will have
an image of power not to be seen by the action
of any other forces upon the earth. The dis
turbance of the water was inconceivably fine.
Waves of enormous magnitude were rolled up

292 EXPLORERS AXD TRAVELLERS
with great violence against the glacier, covering
it with spray; and billows came tearing down
the fiord, their progress marked by the crackling
and crumbling ice which was everywhere in a
state of the wildest agitation for the space of
several miles."
The famous mine of cryolite, the onlv valuable
mineral deposit in Greenland ; the Hope Sander
son of John Davis's great voyage of 15S7. with
its lofty crest and innumerable flocks of wild
fowl : Tessuissak, the most northerly settlement
of Greenland : Duck Islands, the haunts of the
eider, and the chosen rendezvous of ice-stayed
whalers ; Devil's Thumb, the great, wonderful
pillar, to the base of which Haves struggled up
thirteen hundred feet above the ice-covered sea,
and Sabine Island, all saw the Panther, in its
pleasure-seeking journey. If no geographical
results sprang from this vovage, it had a literary
outcome in Hayes's book, " The Land of Deso
lation," and in a series of detached sketches,
which in beauty and interest are unsurpassed as
regards life in Danish Greenland.
Hayes died in New York City. December 17,
1881. To the last he maintained a lively inter
est in Arctic exploration, and ever and again he
favored polar research, always with an alterna
tive scheme of his old harbor, Foulke fiord, as
the base of operations. He resented the appel
lation '• Great Frozen Sea " as properly character
izing the Arctic Ocean to the north of Greenland.
and to the last held fast to the ideal of his youth,
the belief of his manhood, " The Open Polar Sea."

XI.
CHARLES FRANCIS HALL,
And the North Pole.
Among the many exploring expeditions that
have crossed the Arctic Circle with the sole
view of reaching the North Pole, one only has
sailed entirely under the auspices of the United
States. This expedition was commanded neither
by an officer of one of the twin military services
nor by a sailor of the merchant marine, but its
control was intrusted to a born Arctic explorer,
Charles Francis Hall. Born in 182 1, in Roches
ter, N. H., Hall early quitted his native hills for
the freer fields of the West, as the Ohio Valley
was then called, and later settled in Cincinnati.
There was ever a spirit of change in him, and as
years rolled on he passed from blacksmith to
journalist, from stationer to engraver. Through
all these changes of trades he held fast to one
fancy, which in time became the dominating ele
ment of his eventful career : in early youth, fas
cinated with books of travel relating to explora
tion in the icy zones, he eagerly improved even-
opportunity to increase his Arctic library, which
steadily grew despite his very limited resources.
His interest in the fate of Franklin was so intense

294

EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS

that he followed with impatience the slow and
uncertain efforts for the relief of the lost ex
plorer. Not content with mere sympathy he also
planned an American search, to be conducted in

Charles Francis Hall

Her Majesty's ship Resolute. Learning in 1859
that this Arctic ship was laid up and dismantled
he originated a petition asking that it be loaned
for such purpose. The return of McClintock
with definite news of the death of Franklin, and
the retreat and loss of his expeditionary force,

CHARLES FRANCIS HALL 295
put an end to the petition. Hall, however, de
spite the admirable and convincing report of
McClintock, persisted in the belief that some
members of Franklin's crew were yet alive, and
he determined to solve the problem by visiting
King William Land, the scene of the final dis
aster. He issued circulars asking public aid,
diligently sought out whalers and explorers who
could give him their personal experiences, and
finally determined that he must go and live with
the Esquimaux, and, conforming to their modes
of travel and existence, work out his Arctic prob
lem on new lines.
The inauguration of the plan presented diffi
culties, for Hall was without means ; but his per
sistent action created confidence, and the modest
outfit for the voyage was procured through
friendly contributions, while passage on a whaler
for himself and baggage was tendered.
On July 30, i860, with a whale-boat and scanty
supplies, Hall landed alone on the west coast of
Davis Strait, in Frobisher Bay. His base of oper
ations was Rescue Harbor, 630 N., 650 W., whence
he made a series of sledge journeys during the
two years passed in this region. He re-examined
the coasts visited by Frobisher in his eventful
voyages of 1575 to 1579, and found the famous
gold mine on Meta Incognita, whence 1,300 tons
of ore were carried to England, where, as the
chronicles relate, " in the melting and refining 16
tonnes whereof, proceeded 210 ounces of fine
silver mixed with gold."
An extensive collection of relics of Frobisher's

296 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
expedition was made, which later was given to
the Royal Geographical Society. The expedi
tion of Hall was mainly fruitful in training him
for other Arctic work, for though his knowledge
was self-acquired and instruments imperfect, yet
his indefatigable industry and practice in scien
tific observations made him a reliable observer
by the time of his return. It may be added that
his careful and detailed description of the habits
and life of the Esquimaux of the west coast of
Davis Strait are of decided value from his rigid
truthfulness, which caused him to record what
he saw without exaggeration.
Hall's success in obtaining so many relics of
Frobisher's voyage of three centuries previous,
and the fact that the Esquimaux yet had tradition
ary knowledge of that voyage, encouraged Hall
and his friends to a confident belief that a voyage
to the shores of King William Land would result
in the discovery of records, relics, possibly sur
vivors, and in any event rescue the story of the
retreat of Crozier from oblivion by hearing it
from Esquimau eye-witnesses.
Future search operations were to be promot
ed through his Esquimau followers, commonly
known as Joe and Hannah, who returned with
him to the United States, and further, Hall re
lied upon his knowledge of the Esquimau lan
guage, in which he had acquired considerable
facility during his long sojourn with them.
Hall's return was in 1862, and in 1864 he was
ready for his second voyage. On August 20th he
was landed, with his two natives, a whale-boat,

CHARLES FRANCIS HALL 297
tent, and a moderate amount of provisions, on
Depot Island, in the extreme narthern part of
Hudson Bay, in 63° 47' N., 900 W., where Hall
began his life and quest that were to last five
weary years.
Preliminary autumnal journeys extended his
knowledge, but the}' were marked by no definite
progress, and the summer of 1864 was spent by the
natives in securing game for the coming winter,
thus postponing Hall's chances of a westward
sledge-trip to King William Land yet another
year. Despairing of assistance from natives near
the whaling rendezvous, Hall decided to make
his winter-quarters in Repulse Bay, at Fort
Hope, 6o° 32' N., 870 W., occupied, 1846-47, by
the famous explorer, Dr. Rae. Here he hoped
to secure the friendship of the neighboring Esqui
maux and lay up stores of game for the final ex
pedition, and there he wintered in 1865-66, during
which he secured about one hundred and fifty
reindeer, some salmon, and ptarmigan. With re
turning spring the Esquimaux promised to make
the journey, and with quite a party and several
dog-sledges Hall's heart was full of joy and ex
pectation as they moved northward across Rae
Peninsula, on March 30, 1866. His discourage
ments commenced with the long halts and fre
quent detours for hunts, and his disappointment
was complete when the natives decided to turn
back from Cape Weynton, 68° N, 890 W., after
having, in twenty-eight days, only travelled as
far with dogs as Rae had gone on foot in five
days. Hall simply records : " My King William

298 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
party is ended for the present ; disappointed but
not discouraged."
The journey and time were not fruitless, for
near Cape Weynton he fell in with four strange
Esquimaux, who gave him most valuable informa
tion as to the subject nearest his heart. They
related that some of their people had visited the
search ships and had seen Franklin. What was
more to the point, they produced a considerable
number of articles that had once belonged to
members of Franklin's party. The most impor
tant were silver articles, such as spoons, forks,
etc., which bore the crest of Franklin and other
officers of the lost expedition. These veritable
evidences of the passage of Crozier and others
of Franklin's expedition through this region
were fortunately secured by Hall, and were
later supplemented by many others.
Unable to obtain Esquimau assistance the fol
lowing year, Hall made journeys here and there
wherever it was possible ; one, in February, 1 867,
to Igloolik, the winter-quarters of Parry in 1822,
on Boothia Felix Land, and a second, in 1868, to
the Strait of Fury and Hekla, discovered by
Parry in 1825; furthermore, he surveyed the
northwest coast of Melville Peninsula, and filled
in the broken line of the Admiralty chart for the
northwest of that peninsula.
Visiting whalers urged on Hall the impossibil
ity of succeeding in reaching King William Land
by aid of natives, and more than one captain
offered to carry him and his party back to the
United States. Never despairing of final sue-

CHARLES FRANCIS HALL

299

cess, Hall determined to pass another winter at
Fort Hope, Repulse Bay. Here, learning by
experience, and acquiring food supplies during
the winter, he succeeded, in March, 1869, in
again starting westward with ten Esquimaux —
men, women, and children — with well-loaded

Igloos, or Esquimau Huts.
dog-sledges. Progress was slow and delays fre
quent, but still the journey was continued.
Their course from Repulse Bay lay overland,
by nearly connecting lakes and rivers, across
Rae Peninsula to Committee Bay, thence by
another similar overland route over the south
end of Boothia Felix Land, to James Ross Strait,
where King William Land lies some sixty miles
to the west.

300 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
Hall, singularly enough, was never able to ap
preciate the attitude of the natives in making
such a long, dangerous journey merely to please
him, for he quaintly complains that the Esqui
maux had no appreciation of his mission and
continually lost valuable time by stopping to
smoke and talk. They now objected to go west
of Pelly Bay, but by persuasion proceeded to
Simpson Island, 68° 30' N., 910 30' W., where a
successful hunt for musk-oxen so restored their
spirits that they went on.
At Point Ackland, on the eastern shore of
James Ross Strait, Hall fortunately fell in with
natives, with whom he remained nine days, and
from whom he obtained important information.
In-nook-poo-zhee-jook proved to be the chief
man of the party, and from him and others
were purchased relics, such as silver spoons,
plain and with the crest of Franklin. Hall was
told that these articles came from a large island
where a great many white men died, and that
five white men were buried on an island known
to the chief. This Esquimau finally agreed to
accompany Hall and guided him direct across
James Ross Strait to a group of small islets to
the east of King William Land, where, on Todd
Island, part of a human thigh-bone was found ;
snow covering the ground to such a depth as
to make thorough search impossible without
long delay.
On May 12, 1869, Hall had the supreme pleas
ure of putting foot on King William Land, the
object and end of his five years' life among the

CHARLES FRANCIS HALL 301
Esquimaux. The only tangible result of the
search thereon was the discovery of a human
skeleton, and he reluctantly set out on his re
turn. Esquimaux were fallen in with in Pelly
Bay, 68° 30' N., 90° 30' W., and an old man, Tung-
nuk, on inquiry regarding Franklin relics in their
possession, told Hall that the natives had found
a ship beset near Ki-ki-tuk, King William Land,
and that in getting wood out of it they made a
hole in the ship, which soon after sank. Ko-big,
another native, said that all the white men per
ished, except two at Ki-ki-tuk, whose fate was
unknown. Hall felt satisfied, from the stories of the Es
quimaux and other evidences, that he was able
to determine the fate of seventy-nine out of the
one hundred and five men of Crozier's party,
which retreated in 1848 from the abandoned
ships. The Esquimaux told him that Crozier,
Franklin's second in command, had passed near
their huts ; that he had a gun in his hand and a
telescope around his neck, and that his men were
dragging two boats. Crozier told the natives
that they were going to Repulse Bay. The Es
quimaux admitted that they had deserted Cro
zier owing to the fact that his party was in a
starving condition and their food was scarce.
As far as Hall could make out, Crozier, late in
July, 1848, passed down the west coast of King
William Land with forty men dragging two
sledges, and near Cape Herschel fell in with four
Esquimaux families, who, after communicating
with Crozier, fled from the starving party during

302

EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS

the night. From native accounts Hall was also
able to enumerate in detail the points at which
the retreating party had died and been buried.
Among other relics collected by Hall were
portions of one of the boats, an oak sledge-run
ner, a chronometer box with the Queen's broad
arrow engraved thereon, Franklin's mahogany

In Winter-Quarters.

writing-desk, and many pieces of silver, forks,
spoons, knives, and parts of watches. It was
claimed by the natives that one of Franklin's
ships made the northwest passage with five men
on board, and in the spring of 1849 was found
by them near O'Reilly Island (68° 30' N., 99° W.).
Hall had now passed five years among the Es
quimaux, in which time he had made sledge
journeys aggregating more than three thousand
miles ; acquired a thorough knowledge of the

CHARLES FRANCIS HALL 303
language and methods of life of the natives,
and proved the possibility of a white man living
the same life and making the same sledge jour
neys as the natives ; but at the same time he be
came conscious that no very extended sledge-
work could be done by Esquimau aid alone.
His five years of arduous Arctic life ended in
1869 by his returning home on an American
whaler, bringing with him his faithful Esquimaux,
Joe and Hannah.
Hall's return to the United States was simply,
however, to pursue another and greater voyage,
in which he believed he would be able to reach
the North Pole.
After strenuous efforts he succeeded in interest
ing the President, the Cabinet, and a large num
ber of Congressmen in his project, and on July
12, 1870, Congress appropriated $50,000 for the
purpose of the expedition ; authorized the em
ployment of any suitable vessel in the navy, and
provided that the National Academy of Sciences
should prescribe the scope of the scientific ob
servations. An old tug of nearly four hundred
tons burden, rechristened under the name of Po
laris, was selected, overhauled, and strengthened.
Hall sailed from New York June 29th, the
party consisting of Captain Buddington, sailing-
master ; Dr. Emil Bessel, chief of the scientific
staff; R. W. D. Bryan, astronomer; Sergeant
Frederick Meyer, Signal Corps, meteorologist ;
seven petty officers, and a crew of fourteen, to
gether with his faithful servants, Joe and Hannah.
The Polaris was provisioned and equipped for

304 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
an absence of two and a half years, and her voy
age was destined to be over the route made fa
mous by the expeditions of Kane and Hayes,
through Davis Strait and northward along the
west coast of Greenland, although Hall was at
first uncertain whether he would not enter
Jones's Sound, instead of Smith's Strait. The
usual visits to the Greenland ports were made,
with resulting stores of furs, dogs, sledges, and
other paraphernalia for exploration in the far
North. To this point the expedition was con
voyed by the man-of-war Congress, which bade
the Polaris Godspeed as she left Godhaven on
her lonely journey.
Hans Hendrick, the Esquimau dog traveller,
whose services with Kane and Hayes commended
him to Hall, accompanied the expedition with
his wife and children. It was a strange meet
ing between Morton, the second mate, and Hans,
the Esquimau, who, twenty years before, as
subordinates of Kane, had made together the
memorable sledge journey from Rensselaer Har
bor, along the Humboldt Glacier, to Cape Con
stitution. The Polaris was favored by an unusually open
sea ; Melville Bay was crossed in forty-eight
hours and the " North Water " beyond was so
free of ice that the Polaris kept her way un
checked until she reached Hakluyt Island ; even
here the ice-pack was so open that the Polaris
easily forced her way. Littleton Island was
passed on the evening of August 27, 1870, and
later, crossing the parallel of Rensselaer Harbor,

An Arctic Fiord.

20

306 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
the Polaris attained a higher latitude than any
former vessel on this route. Kane Sea and
Kennedy Channel proved equally free of ice, so
that the Polaris, steaming uninterruptedly north
ward, entered the Arctic Ocean, hitherto inaces-
sible, where she was finally stopped by an im
penetrable pack, in 82° 26' N. This point was
more than two hundred miles directly north of
the farthest reached by Kane's vessel, the Ad
vance. From this vantage-ground it was seen
that the eastern coast-line of Grinnell Land ex
tended somewhat farther to the north before
turning to the west, and that, on the other hand,
the coast of Northern Greenland trended very
nearly eastward. Strenuous, though unavailing,
efforts were made to push the Polaris further
northward ; failing this, attempts were then
made to find a safe harbor to the eastward,
but none was accessible. In the meantime the
main ice-pack of the Arctic Ocean, setting
southward to its normal position, carried the
Polaris steadily to the south, through Robinson
Channel, a distance of nearly fifty miles, and
nearly caused her destruction by forcing her
on the Greenland coast. Fortunately the pack
opened somewhat, so that the vessel was en
abled to change her position and secure safe
anchorage. This place, later named Thank God
Harbor, in 8i° 37' N., 6i° 44' W., was shel
tered by a bold cape to the north, while the
Polaris was protected from the polar pack by an
immense ice-floe, called Providence Berg. This
enormous floe-berg, grounded in a hundred

CHARLES FRANCIS HALL 307
fathoms of water, was by direct measurement
four hundred and fifty feet long, three hundred
feet broad, and towered sixt}- feet above the level
of the sea.
Preparations were at once made to put the
crew in winter-quarters, and on shore an observ
atory was built for scientific purposes. To the
surprise and delight of the party, seals proved to
be quite abundant, and a small herd of musk-
oxen was found, the first of these animals ever
seen on the west coast of Greenland.
Leaving his chief of the scientific staff and his
sailing-master to their respective duties, Hall
decided on a preliminary sledge journey* in or
der to determine the best route for his contem
plated journey of the next spring toward the
pole. A heavy fall of snow insured good
sledging and enabled him to leave Thank God
Harbor on October ioth, he being accompanied
by the first mate, Chester, the Esquimaux, Joe and
Hans Hendrick, with two dog-sledges and four
teen dogs. In a journey of six days he attained
Cape Brevoort, in 82° N., on the north side of
Newman Bay, a considerable distance to the
southward, however, of the point reached by the
Polaris in the Arctic Ocean. In a despatch
written at this point, Hall says, " From Cape
Brevoort we can see land extending on the
west side of the strait to the north, a distance
of about seventy miles, thus making land, as far
as we can discover, about 83° 5' N." To illus
trate the accuracy of Hall's judgment and his
freedom from making extravagant claims, it may

308 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
be stated that the detailed surveys of the British
Arctic expedition of 1876 show the most north
erly point on the east coast of Grinnell Land,
Cape Joseph Henry, which possibly could be
seen by Hall, was in 82' 55', or within ten miles
of the position assigned it from a distance of
seventy miles.
Hall returned to the Polaris on October 24th,

A Wonrar. of the Arctc Highlanders. Stretched from life.
speaking most encouragingly of his prospects
and planning another sledge journey for the au
tumn. Within an hour, however, he was taken
violently ill, and upon examination, Dr. Bessels
announced that he had been stricken with apo
plexy, that his left side was paralyzed, and that
his sickness might prove fatal. After an illness,
with delirium, for several days, he improved ma
terially, and was even able, through his clerk, to
arrange the records of his late sledge journey, but

CHARLES FRANCIS HALL oU'.i
a recurrence of the attack caused his death, on
November 8, 1871.
The death of Hall left the expedition without
a head. However, Captain Buddington, the sail
ing-master, and Dr. Bessels, the chief of the sci
entific staff, signed an agreement to do all in
their power to fulfil the ultimate object of Hall's
ambition. Desultory efforts to go northward bv
boat were made without success the following
year, and the only expedition which had definite
result was one on foot by Sergeant Meyer, of
the Signal Corps of the United States Army,
during which he reached Repulse Harbor, 82'
9' N., on the shores of the frozen Polar Sea, at
that time the most northerly land ever attained.
The future of the Polaris expedition does not
strictly pertain to Hall. However, the winter
was marked by a series of valuable physical ob
servations, made by Dr. Bessels and Mr. Bryan,
the astronomer. In August, 1872, it was decided
to return to the United States. Pushed into an
impenetrable pack, anchored to a floe, the Po
laris drifted with the main ice-pack down Ken
nedy Channel, through Kane Sea, and into Smith
Sound, where, on October 15, 1872, off Northum
berland Island, the pack was disrupted by a
violent gale, which freed the Polaris. Part of
her crew, left upon the ice-pack, experienced the
horrors of a mid-winter drift southward of thir
teen hundred miles, and were picked up off the
coast of Labrador by the sealer Tigress, in
the spring of 1872. The Polaris drifted to land
in Lifeboat Cove, near Littleton Island, where

310 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
the party built winter-quarters on shore, known
as Polaris House. In the succeeding summer
they built boats from the remains of their ship,
by means of which they reached Cape York,
where their contemplated journey across Mel
ville Bay was rendered unnecessary by falling

Esquimau Woman. Sketched from life.
in with the whaler Ravenscraig, which took
them to England.
The geographical results of Hall's last expedi
tion were extensive and valuable. Not only was
the Polaris navigated to the highest point then
ever attained by a vessel, but the very shores of
the Polar Sea were visited and explored. Hall
carried northward and completed the explora
tion of Kennedy Channel ; outlined the coast of
Hall Basin and Robinson Channel; extended

CHARLES FRANCIS HALL 311
Grinnell Land northward nearly two degrees of
latitude to practically its extreme limit ; added
materially to the northern limits of Greenland,
and charted a very extensive portion of its
northern coast. Unfortunately for the general
credit of the expedition, the accurate observa
tions and conservative estimates of Hall were
not adhered to. and in their stead were published,
under government auspices, a chart of Hall's
discoveries which proved misleading in manv of
its details, extravagant and unreliable in its
claims of new northern lands.
The fidelity, accuracy, and importance of Hall's
Arctic work is recognized, especially by his
American and British successors in Smith Sound.
Nares, in his official report to Parliament, states
that the east coast-line of Grinnell Land agreed
" so well with Hall's description that it was im
possible to mistake their identity. Their bear
ing also, although differing upward of thirty de
grees from those of the published chart, agreed
precisely with his published report." Thus Hall
merited the commemorative inscription on the
brass tablet which the British polar expedition
of 1875. with a generous appreciativeness cred
itable to its own brave men, erected to Hall's
memory over his lonely northern grave. It
recognizes Hall as one ¦¦ who sacrificed his life
in the advancement of science," and further
recites that they, '"• following in his footsteps,
have profited by his experience."

XII.
GEORGE WASHINGTON DE LONG,
And the Siberian Arctic Ocean.
Of all the routes followed by explorers at
tempting to extend northward our knowledge of
unknown lands, there is one which, more than
all others, seems to have been closed by nature to
the daring enterprise of man. While successful
voyages to the northward of America, and along
the meridian of Spitzbergen, have been of fre
quent occurrence, yet it has been the fortune of
one expedition only to penetrate the vast ice
pack that covers the Arctic Ocean to the north
of Siberia, and give an account thereof.
This expedition, organized through the munif
icence of James Gordon Bennett, Jr., and known
to the world as the Jeannette Expedition, was
commanded by De Long, then a lieutenant-com
mander of the United States Navy.
George Washington De Long was born in New
York City, March 22, 1844, and entered the Unit
ed States Navy, by graduation from the Naval
Academy, in 1865. He rose to be a lieutenant-
commander and rendered ordinary naval service
until 1873, when special duty fell to his lot which
turned his thoughts to Arctic research.

George Washington De Long.

314 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
The rescue of the drift party of the Polaris
naturally caused great alarm as to the safety of
the remainder of her crew, and with the de
spatch of the Tigress into the waters of Smith
Sound, came orders for the Juniata, to which De
Long was attached, to visit the coasts of western
Greenland for additional search for the missing
explorers. The Juniata proceeded to Upernivik,
as far as it was deemed safe for the man-of-war
to venture, but its brave and sagacious com
mander, Captain D. L. Braine, of the Navy,
thought it most necessary to search the fast in
shore ice of Melville Bay, along which he cor
rectly surmised they would conduct a retreat by
boats. For this duty — novel, hazardous, and dif
ficult — De Long promptly volunteered. For
this dangerous trip the steam-launch Little Juni
ata, some 32 feet long and 8 wide, was selected.
Her crew consisted of Lieutenant Chipp, Ensign
May, ice -pilot Dodge, who had served with
Hayes, and four others, while she was equipped
and provisioned for sixty days. In this small
craft De Long, following the fast ice, reached a
point immediately off Cape York, when he was
struck by a violent gale. The sea was so heavy
that his only chance of safety lay in carrying sail,
steam being useless, to keep the boat under con
trol. The violence of the wind disrupted the in
shore ice, threatening the launch continually ;
owing to fog the presence of immense icebergs
made navigation more dangerous than ever ;
high seas constantly broke over her, soaking
everything on board and harassing the crew

GEORGE WASHINGTON DE LONG 315
with the imminent danger of swamping. Thirty
hours the gale lasted, leaving the part}- in the
last stages of exhaustion, wet to the skin and be
numbed with cold, with closed floes to the north
and east and the dangerous " middle pack " to
the west. Under these conditions De Long re
luctantly abandoned the search and returned.
This brief experience created an interest in
northern work which never abated, and as a re
sult, De Long, the voyage ended, approached
James Gordon Bennett, Jr., who was favorable
to his projects. Nothing, however, was done
until November, 1876, after the return of the
Nares's expedition, when the exploration was
decided on ; but no vessel could be procured.
Eventually Sir Allen Young, an Arctic explorer
of note, was persuaded to sell the Pandora, in
which he had twice made polar voyages.
The ship was, by Act of Congress, given an
American register under the name of Jeannette,
strengthened under naval supervision, and put in
commission under the orders and instructions of
the Secretary of the Navy, with full discipline in
force ; but the expense of the expedition — re
pairs, equipment, and pay — was met by Bennett.
On July 8, 1879, the Jeannette sailed from San
Francisco, commanded by De Long, and offi
cered by Lieutenant Chipp, Master Danenhower,
Chief Engineer Melville, Doctor Ambler, an ice-
pilot, two scientists, twenty-four petty officers
and men. The route selected by De Long was
via Behring Strait, apparently under the im
pression that Wrangel Land was continental in

316 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
extent, an idea supported by the German geog
rapher Petermann, whose advice De Long had
sought, and along the shores of which coursed
the northern current that swept forever out of
the vision of man such whalers as were fully
beset by the ice-pack north of Asia.
Before pursuing his own exploration De Long,
in compliance with instructions from the Navy
Department, made search for the Vega, in which
ship Nordenskiold, circumnavigating Europe
and Asia, had wintered at Cape Serdze Kamen, in
67° 12' N. latitude, on the northwestern coast of
Asia. On reaching this point he learned that
the Vega had comfortably wintered and had
passed south, thus confirming the report he had
gained from the natives at St. Lawrence Bay.
They at once steamed northward, thankful, as
De Long records, " that Nordenskiold was safe,
and we might proceed on our way toward Wran
gel Land." Ice was soon fallen in with, and,
after preliminary efforts to proceed directly to
the north, which impenetrable floes prevented,
De Long, on September 5, 1879, "g°t up a full
head of steam and entered the pack through the
best -looking lead in the general direction of
Herald Island," which was plainly visible at a
distance of forty miles.
It was De Long's intention on leaving San
Francisco to explore this land the first winter,
but completely beset by heavy floes, in 710 35'
N. latitude, 1750 W. longitude, his ship never
escaped. In hopes that information of value
might be had from a visit to Herald Island, an

GEORGE WASHINGTON DE I oyo

317

unsuccessful attempt was made to reach it by
dog-sledge over the fast-cementing pack, but
the party was turned back by impassable leads.
It soon became evident that the Jeannette was
drifting steadily with the entire pack. First, the

direction was to the north, taking the ship out
of sight of Herald Island, but next it changed
to the southwest, bringing that land again in
view. While the drift was b}* a devious and
very irregular course, yet it was in the general
direction of northwest, from 71 35 N., and 175°
W., at besetment, to ~~~ 15' N.. and 155" E.. when
the ship was finally crushed by the pack. In
investigating the cause of the drift. De Long

318 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
says: "As to the currents in this part of the
Arctic Ocean, 1 think our drift is demonstrating
that thev are the local creation of the wind for
the time being. As our drill in resulting direc
tion has been northwest since our besetnienl, so
the greater amount ol wind has been from the
southeast ; our short and irregular side-drift cast
and west, and occasionally to south, being due
lo correspondingly short and irregular winds
from north wesl or east."
The party settled down to their regular life,
which though very monotonous soon had an ele
ment of excitement and ilanger introduced that
never passed away in entirety. This was the
threatened disruption of the pack, which, seem
ingly without cause, would change its form and
position with such suddenness and violence as
to endanger the safety of the ship. On Novem
ber 13, 1879, without warning, the pack sepa
rated on a line with the ship's keel, the port
snow-wall being carried with the pack one hun
dred and filty leel away, leaving open water,
that fortunately froze over before other violent
changes took place.
De Long writes: "This steady strain is fear
ful; seemingly we are not secure lor a moment.
. . . Living over a powder-mill, wailing for
an explosion, would be a similar mode of exist
ence. . . . 1 sleep with my clothes on, and
start, up anxiously al every crack . . . of the
ship's frame."
Almost by intervention of Providence, as it
seemed, the Jcannelle escaped destruction from

GEORGE WASHINGTON DE LONG 319
these violent disruptions, which, except that of
January 19, 1880, left her, during the first winter,
comparatively unharmed. On that day, with ter
rible groaning and grinding, the main pack was
fearfully agitated ; no large openings were seen
and the ice acted as though its entire periphery
was subjected to steady and irresistible pressure,
which being toward the centre caused the whole
surface to buckle up irregularly. Enormous
pieces of ice piling up under the stern of the
Jeannette brought a tremendous longitudinal
pressure on the ship and broke her fore-foot,
which caused a serious leak. It was only
through the indomitable energy and great pro
fessional skill of Melville that the leak was got
under control, and later cared for, without taxing
greatly their precious stock of fuel.
The winter passed with all in health save
Danenhower, whose eves becoming diseased
necessitated several operations and permanently
placed him off duty for the voyage. The sum
mer of 1SS0 came, found them fast embedded in
the ice, and went without release. Autumn
passed, winter came, and even the opening year
of 18S1 found them with conditions unchanged,
as De Long recites : " A disabled and leaking
ship, a seriously sick officer, an uneasy and ter
rible pack, constantly diminishing coal-pile and
provisions, and far from the Siberian coast-" A
break came, however, with the discovery of new
land in May, along the north coast of which the
Jeannette drifted slowly. On May 31st a party
was sent to examine the island, for such it proved

320 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
to be, Melville being in command, as Chipp was
then on the sick-list. Melville, despite the open
condition of the ice, succeeded in landing on
June 3, 1 88 1, his third day out. He was obliged
to carry his instruments and provisions, at the
risk of his life, through the moving pack. It
proved to be a desolate, ice-capped, rocky islet,
almost destitute of vegetation and inhabited only
by dovekies, who nested in the inaccessible
cliffs adjoining the discharging glaciers. An
other island appearing, De Long named the two ;
Jeannette, in 760 47' N., 1590 E., and Henrietta,
in 77° 08' N., 1580 E.
The end of the besetment came at last. On
June 12, 1881, in 77° 15' N., 155° E., the pack
showed signs of great pressure, the immense floes
seeming to be alive in their motion, and despite
all efforts the Jeannette was terribly nipped, her
bows being thrown high in air. It was evident
that escape was hardly possible. Steps were im
mediately taken to abandon ship, and everything
of value or use was speedily withdrawn, with
boats, sledges, etc., to a safe distance. Early the
next morning the ice opened a little, and the
Jeannette immediately sank, with colors flying,
in thirty-eight fathoms of water.
De Long and his party thus found themselves
adrift in the Polar Sea, more than three hundred
miles from the nearest point of the mainland of
Asia, and about one hundred and fifty miles from
the New Siberian Islands. While the condition
of affairs seemed desperate, De Long never de
spaired. Lieutenant Danenhower being disabled,

GEORGE WASJHM;To.\ DE LONG

321

and Chipp sick, De Long's main dependence was
in his chief engineer, Melville, who was well,
strong, energetic, and fertile in expedients.
They had five boats (two very small), nine sleds,

In the Pack.

provisions for sixty days, ammunition, instru
ments and records ; a terrible load for the party,
as five men were off duty, and several others
too weak to do their share in the drag-ropes.
There remained, however, twenty dogs, whose
utility was questionable, as they soon consumed
21

322 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
more in weight than they ever hauled. The ice
was very rough, large openings were frequent,
snow often impeded progress, roads had to be
made, and on occasion all the stores and men
had to be ferried across wide water-lanes. At
the beginning there was so much baggage
that seven separate loads were hauled, causing
the men to travel thirteen times over the same
road, but this was soon unnecessary, as weights
were gradually reduced.
To add to De Long's discouragement he dis
covered that they were under the influence of a
northwest drift, and after six days' travel due
south were twenty-eight miles further north than
when the ship sunk. He refrained from discour
aging the men by this information, but changing
his course to the southwest, got out of the drift.
On July nth land was discovered, and turning
toward it the shipwrecked and exhausted men
reached it July 28, 1881 ; it was in 760 38' N, 1480
E., and was called Bennett Island. Landing was
effected by ferrying and crossing heavy, fast-mov
ing floes, and the danger was greatly enhanced
by the low water, which made it extremely dan
gerous work to attain the surface of the over
hanging ice-foot. The cliffs were alive with
birds, which was a welcome change of diet, to
the sick men especially. The island was quite
mountainous, with several grass-covered valleys ;
a seam of coal was found and signs of consider
able animal life.
Recuperated by their nine days' rest, the par
ty started south on August 8th, and landed on

Where the Bodies were Found.

324 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
Thaddeus Island, of the New Siberian group,
August 20, 1 88 1. It is unnecessary to dwell on
the dangers and hardships which this unprece
dented journey entailed on the members of this
party, which were met with fortitude, courage,
and energy that made its successful issue one of
the most notable efforts in the history of man,
overcoming obstacles almost insurmountable.
This remarkable journey had been so far made
alternately by sledge and boat, owing to the
broken condition of the Polar pack ; from Thad
deus Island, however, an open sea enabled them
to proceed in boats, which were respectively
commanded by De Long, Chipp, and Melville.
On September 12th a severe storm separated the
boats off the Lena Delta ; Chipp with eight men
were lost, while Melville, with nine others,
reached a small village through one of the east
ern mouths of the Lena.
De Long landed, in 77° 15' N., 155° E., Sep
tember 17th, with Dr. Ambler and twelve men,
having been obliged to abandon his boat, ow
ing to the shallowness of the river. He took
with him the ship's records, arms, ammunition,
medicines, necessary camp equipments, and four
days' provisions, which were carried on the
men's shoulders. Fuel proved abundant, and
Alexey, their interpreter, killed two deer, thus
improving the situation. Retarded by the pres
ence of sick men and by the weight of cumber
some records, they followed slowly southward
the barren shores of the Lena, travelling through
snow and over ice which broke readily. Their

GEORGE WASHINGTON DE LONG 325
feet were soon in terrible condition, and eventu
ally an ulcer on Ericksen's foot rendered partial
amputation necessary on September 29th. De
Long then records the terrible situation : They
were confronted by a tributary of the Lena
which must freeze before they could cross, and
as to Ericksen, if forced along, he could not re
cover, and " if I remained here and kept every
body with me, Ericksen's days would be length
ened a little at the risk of our all dying from
starvation." Ice formed in a couple of days,
and they proceeded, dragging Ericksen on a sled.
October 3d, food entirely failing, their dog
was killed and cooked, giving them strength the
following dav to reach a deserted hut large
enough to hold the party. Here they were
storm-stayed two days ; Ericksen dying, Alexev
hunting unsuccessfully, the drifting snow and
piercing cold — all these served to plunge the
partv into despair. De Long writes : " What, in
God's name, is going to become of us? — fourteen
pounds of dog meat left and twenty-five miles to
a possible settlement. . . . Read the burial
service and carried our departed shipmate's
bodv to the river, where he was buried." Their
last food was eaten October 7th, and nothing
remained except old tea-leaves and two quarts of
alcohol ; but Alexey shot a ptarmigan, of which
a thin soup was made.
On October 9th the exhausted condition of
some of the men and an open, unfordable creek
debarred further progress of the party as a
whole. In this contingency De Long sent Nin-

326 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
dermann and Noros ahead for relief, with orders
to keep the west bank of the Lena until they
reached a settlement. Later De Long advanced

Noros and Nindermann.

a mile and camped in a hole in the bank ; Alexey
killed four ptarmigans and the party resorted
to their deer-skin clothing for subsistence, but
without avail. The last entry in De Long's
diary, October 30, 1881, records all dead except

GEORGE WASHINGTON DE LONG 327
Collins, who was dying, Ah Sam and Dr. Am
bler, of whom no mention was made.
Noros and Nindermann, after a march of one
hundred and twenty miles, reached Bulcour,
which they found deserted. Seeking shelter in
one of the vacant huts, they were discovered by
a native, who took them to an adjacent encamp
ment. The natives either did not understand Nin
dermann or were unwilling to go northward, for
despite his incessant and urgent entreaties they
carried the two seamen southward to Bulun,
where they arrived on October 29th, and met
Melville and his party.
This energetic officer, exhausting all practica
ble means, pushed his relief parties northward
to the extremity of the Lena Delta, but without
success. He reached the Arctic Ocean, re
covered the log-books, chronometer, and other
articles on November 14th, when a severe storm
obliged him to abandon the search. Renewing
his efforts, in March, 1882, he discovered, on
the 23d of that month, the bodies of his com
panions. An official inquiry as to the general conduct of
the expedition caused the board of officers to ex
press their opinion that the general personnel
were entitled to great praise for their solidarity
and cheerfulness, their constancy and endurance.
The zeal, energy, and professional aptitude of
Melville were noticed, and special commendation
given to De Long for the high qualities displayed
by him in the conduct of the expedition.
The scientific observations of the Jeannette

328

EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS

expedition must be of considerable value, involv
ing as they do hydrographic, magnetic, and
meteorological observations over an extended
portion of the earth's surface previously un-

Finding the Bodies.
known, and it appears surprising that after all
these years they remain undiscussed.
In addition may be noted the importance of
De Long's hydrographic contributions, covering
some fifty thousand square miles of polar ocean,
which indicate with equal clearness the character
of fifty thousand other square miles of area to

GEORGE WASHINGTON DE LONG 329
the south, and thus prove the Siberian Arctic
Ocean to be a shallow sea, (U)tt.ed with islands.
The geographic results are represented in part
bv the attainment of the highest latitude ever
reached in Asiatic seas, and in the discovery of
Jeannette, Henrietta, and Bennett Islands. Dis
coveries, however, are both direct and indirect,
and to positive results should be added success
es of an inferential though negative character.
Through De Long's northwest drift the long-
sought-for Wrangel Land shrank from its as
sumed dimensions as a continent, connecting,
under the Petermann hypothesis, Asia with
Greenland, to its reality — a small island.
It is to be said that this reduction of Wrangel
Land into a little island doomed De Long's ex
pedition to certain failure and closed Behring
Strait as a promising route to high latitudes ; for
the arctic canon of Parry yet obtains, that with
out a sheltering coast no vessel can hope to
navigate safely the Polar Ocean.
With the march of time it is not to be expected
that geographic problems connected with the
vast ice-covered ocean to the north of Siberia
will be left unsolved. These coming explorers
may be more fortunate than was De Long, and
while profiting by his experiences they will
surpass his efforts, yet their successes cannot
make greater demands on the courage and con
stancy of them and their subordinates than were
shown by the gallant De Long and his associates
in the fateful voyage of the Jeannette.

XIII.
PAUL BELLONI DU CHAILLU,
Discoverer of the Dwarfs and Gorillas.
Among the thousands of vigorous and adven
turous men whom chance brought to light in
foreign climes, but who by choice have cast
their lot with America, by becoming citizens of
the United States, there are few whose explora
tions and discoveries have excited more popular
interest and discussion than have those of Du
Chaillu, the discoverer, in modern times, of the
dwarfs and the capturer of the gorilla.
Born in Paris, July 31, 1835, the early environ
ments of Paul Belloni Du Chaillu fostered and
forecast his taste for African exploration, for his
father was one of the adventurous Frenchmen
whose consular appointment and commercial en
terprises led him to settle at the mouth of the
Gaboon, on the west coast of Africa, where his
distinguished son passed his boyhood. While
young Du Chaillu was, doubtless, well ground
ed in ordinary sciences by his instructors, the
learned Jesuit fathers, of Gaboon, yet apart from
regular educational institutions he imbibed other
wealth of learning by observation of the rich
tropical world around him, and also through

Paul Belloni Du Chaillu.

PAUL BELLONI DU CHAILLU 331
familiar intercourse with neighboring tribes ac
quired a knowledge of native tongues and craft,
of savage habits and character, which insured
his after-success in African exploration.
Commercial pursuits brought Du Chaillu to
the United States, in 1852, when he was so
strongly impressed by American institutions
that he became a naturalized citizen of the
United States.
Du Chaillu was brought prominently before
the American public by a series of striking and
interesting articles on the Gaboon country, which
from their favorable reception strengthened his
belief in the importance of thoroughly explor
ing certain portions of the west coast of Africa.
The region selected for his investigations was
under the burning sun of the equator, somewhat
to the north of the Congo country, in the basins
drained by the Muni, Ogowe, and Rembo Rivers,
which, owing to difficulty of access, extreme heat,
prevailing fevers, and deadly climate, were prac
tically unknown. Between 1856 and 1859 Du
Chaillu journeyed upward of eight thousand
miles through this country, travelling on foot,
with no white companion, and, with the aid of
natives, cursorily explored nearly one hundred
thousand square miles of virgin territory. Work
ing with the ardent zeal of a naturalist, his enor
mous ornithological collection aggregated thou
sands of specimens, and in this collection alone
he added some sixty new species of birds to the
domain of science. Among the quadrupeds, he
discovered no less than twenty new species, and

332 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
among the most important animals brought to
light were the very remarkable nest- building
ape, with its unknown and its almost equally ex
traordinary brother the koo-loo-lamba, and his
observations of the almost unknown gorilla were
most interesting and valuable.
In ethnology he accumulated a number of in
valuable native arms and implements, which
now adorn the British Museum. Space fails in
which to recite his intense sufferings, during
these explorations, from semi-starvation, the wild
beasts of the dense forests, the venomous reptiles
of the river valleys, the attacks of ferocious ants,
and other intolerable poisonous insects which
infest the interior.
There are many interesting accounts of curi
ous quadrupeds in Du Chaillu's book, "Advent
ures in Equatorial Africa," but none appeals
more strongly to most readers than that of the
gorilla. Traditions from antiquity, the relation
of Hanno, the Carthaginian navigator of 350
B.C., set forth the existence of such an animal,
but no white man had ever seen a gorilla, ex
cept Andrew Battell, early in the seventeenth
century. Nearly ten years before the explora
tions of Du Chaillu the gorilla had been, how
ever, brought to the notice of naturalists by Dr.
Savage, of Boston, who had received a skull from
the Rev. J. L. Wilson, an American missionary
on the Gaboon.
From boyhood up Du Chaillu had heard from
the natives of Gaboon fearful stories of the cun
ning, strength, and ferocity of this ape, which is

PAUL BELLONI DU CHAILLU 333
the most dreaded animal on the west coast of
Africa. For years he had longed for an oppor
tunity to hunt the gorilla, and when he first saw
its tracks, which threw his native hunters into
alarm, he relates that his sensations were inde
scribable, his feelings so intense as to be painful,
and his heart-throbs so violent that he actually
feared the animal would be alarmed by them.
Du Chaillu chronicles the end of his first suc
cessful hunt as follows :
" Before us stood an immense male gorilla.
He had gone through the jungle on his all-fours;
but when he saw our party he erected himself
and looked us boldly in the face. He stood
about a dozen yards from us, and was a sight, I
think, never to forget. Nearly six feet high (he
proved two inches shorter), with immense body,
huge chest, and great muscular arms ; with
fiercely glaring, large, deep-gray eyes, and a hell
ish expression of face, which seemed to me like
some nightmare vision, thus stood before us
this king of the African forests. He was not
afraid of us. He stood there and beat his breast
with his huge fists till it resounded like an im
mense bass-drum — which is their mode of offer
ing defiance — meantime giving vent to roar after
roar. The roar of the gorilla is the most singu
lar and awful noise heard in these African woods.
It begins with a sharp bark, like an angry dog,
then glides into a deep bass roll, which literally
and closely resembles the roll of distant thunder
along the sky, for which I have sometimes been
tempted to take it where I did not see the ani-

334 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS

The Gorilla. {Troglodytes Gorilla.)
mal. So deep is it that it seems to proceed less
from the mouth and throat than from the deep
chest and vast paunch. He again sent forth a
thunderous roar, and now truly he reminded me
of nothing but some hellish dream-creature — a
being of that hideous order, half-man half-beast,
which we find pictured by old artists in some
representations of the infernal regions."

PAUL BELLONI DU CHAILLU 33D
The explorer relates that flying gorillas so re
sembled men running for their lives, and their
discordant cries seemed so human, that he felt
almost like a murderer as he shot them.
Having obtained a number of specimens, he
now used his utmost endeavors to obtain an
ape alive, and speaks of his success as •¦ one of
the greatest pleasures of my life;" to his great
grief, however, the intractable and savage brute
soon died. Regarding it, Du Chaillu writes :
" Some hunters who had been out on my ac
count brought in a voung gorilla alive. I can
not describe the emotions with which I saw the
struggling little brute dragged into the village.
All the hardships I had endured in Africa were
rewarded in that moment. It was a little fellow
of between two and three years old, two feet six
inches in height, and as fierce and stubborn as a
grown animal could have been."
Several were captured from time to time, but
all died after short confinement. Every effort to
subdue their ferocity, whether by force or by per
sistent kindness, utterly failed ; they were never
other than morose, bellicose, and treacherous.
Another very interesting animal is the nest-
building ape, a before unknown species, which
was discovered by our explorer almost by acci
dent. Du Chaillu says :
" As I was trudging along, rather tired of the
sport, I happened to look up at a high tree which
we were passing, and saw a most singular-looking
shelter built in its branches. I asked Aboko
whether the hunters here had this way to sleep

336 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
in the woods, but was told, to my surprise, that
this very ingenious nest was built by the nshiego
mbouve, an ape. The material is leafy branches
with which to make the roof, and vines to tie
these branches to the tree. The tying is done
so neatly, and the roof is so well constructed
that, until I saw the nshiego actually occupying
his habitation I could scarce persuade myself
that human hands had not built all. It sheds
rain perfectly, being neatly rounded on top for
this purpose. The material being collected, the
male goes up and builds the nest, while the fe
male brings him the branches and vines."
Yet another member of the ape family, discov
ered by our explorer, deserves passing notice in
his own words :
" The koo-loo-lamba has for distinctive marks
a very round head ; whiskers running quite
around the face and below the chin ; the face is
round ; the cheek-bones prominent ; the cheeks
sunken; the jaws are not very prominent — less
so than in any of the apes ; the hair is black, long
on the arm, which was, however, partly bare.
This ape, whose singular cry distinguishes it at
once from all its congeners in these wilds, is re
markable as bearing a closer general resemblance
to man than any other ape yet known. It was
very rare, and I was able to obtain but one speci
men of it. This is smaller than the adult male
gorilla, and stouter than the female gorilla. The
head is its most remarkable point. This struck
me at once as having an expression curiously
like an Esquimau or Chinaman."

PAUL BELLONI DU CHAILLU 337
Among the worst pests of Africa are ants,
especially the bashikouay, which travel in a line
about two inches wide and often miles in length.
Du Chaillu savs: "They devour and attack all
with irresistible fury. The elephant and gorilla
rlv, the black men run for their lives. In an
incredibly short time a leopard or deer is over
whelmed, killed, and eaten. They seem to travel
day and night. Often have I been awakened
out of sleep and obliged to rush from my hut and
into the water to save my life. A bashikouay
army makes a clean sweep, even ascending to
the tops of the highest trees in pursuit of their
prey." The results- of his four years of research in the
interests of ethnography, geography, and natural
history, were placed before the public in a valu
able work entitled " Explorations and Advent
ures in Equatorial Africa." The book gave rise
to bitter, harsh, unjust criticisms, and engen
dered endless discussions. Du Chaillu's journey
to the interior was entirely discredited, and his
accounts of the animals and natives w^ere charac
terized as mere fabrications. Discoveries neces
sarily develop discrepancies between the realities
brought to light and existing beliefs produced
through inference or imagination ; then, as has
many another discover in science or geography,
Du Chaillu learned how slow is the willingness
of a jealous mind to relinquish its favorite error
for a conflicting truth.
Justification came speedily, for the explora
tions of Serval and Bellay, of the very next year,
22

338 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
proved the accuracy of Du Chaillu's account of
the great Ogowe River, and indicated the gen
eral correctness of his map of the Ashira country.
Burton confirmed his reports regarding the can
nibalistic habits of the Fans, and other statements
were speedily corroborated.
Stung to the quick by the adverse criticisms
Du Chaillu, although suffering from the effects
of fevers contracted in his long residence in
Western Africa, determined to repeat the jour
ney with such precautions regarding his ob
servations as would be absolutely convincing
as to their truthfulness ; especially he deter
mined to capture and bring to Europe a living
gorilla. To ensure accuracy he went through a
course of instruction in the use of instruments,
learning to make, test, and reduce astronomical
and hypsometrical observations, and acquired
proficiency in the then difficult art of photog
raphy. As regards geographical explorations
he had a vague hope that he might reach from
the west coast of Africa some unknown tributary
of the Nile, down which he might be able to
reach the main river and the Mediterranean Sea.
Leaving England in August, 1863, Du Chaillu's
first destination was the mouth of Fernand Vaz
River, about one hundred and ten miles south of
the Gaboon, this point being selected both be
cause he knew the natives and also because that
river valley being unknown afforded him virgin
ground from the beginning of his journey.
In landing through the terrible surf that makes
entrance into the Fernand Vaz so dangerous, Du

PAUL BELLONI DU CHAILLU

339

Chaillu was nearly drowned and all his astro
nomical instruments and medicines were lost or
damaged. This necessitated his delay in that
region until other instruments could be had
from England; but the time was not lost, for he
had ample opportunity of further studying the

A Village of Dwarfs.
habits of the gorillas, which abound there ; fort
unately he captured four, an adult and three
young, one of which he shipped alive to Lon
don, but it died during the voyage.
Du Chaillu started on his journey with ten
Commi negroes, previous servitors, as his body
guard, and fifty porters in place of the hundred

340 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
needed, thus, making double trips necessary for
a while. Following up the Fernand Vaz River
to its tributary, the Rembo, he left this latter
stream at Obindshi and travelled southeasterly
to Olenda. Here a council was held by the local
chief, who forbade him to enter the Apingi
country, but allowed him to proceed to the Ashi-
ra region, where he was long delayed and robbed
by the natives. In crossing the Ngunie River,
on his way eastward to the Ishogo country, he
was surprised to obtain ferriage in a large, flat-
bottomed canoe, which carried baggage and
party across in seven journeys.
Near the end of June, while traversing a tract
of wild forest near Yangue, Du Chaillu came
suddenly upon a cluster of most extraordinary
and diminutive huts, which he was told were oc
cupied by a tribe of dwarf negroes. In his pre
vious journey in the Apingi country he had
given no credence to exaggerated descriptions
and reports that had often come to his ears con
cerning dwarf' tribes, assuming the stories to be
fables. Nowr, however, with these curious huts
before him he pressed on eager to obtain per
sonal information concerning these little folks,
whose existence had been vouched for centuries
before by Pomponius Mela, Herodotus, and
Strabo, and who were described in a fairly ac
curate way, by Andrew Battell, in 1625. In an
swer to Du Chaillu's inquiries the natives said
that there were many such villages in the adja
cent forests, and that the tin}- men were called
the Obongos.

PAUL BELLONI DU CHAILLU 341
He found the huts entirely deserted, but from
scattered traces of recent household effects, it was
quite evident that the Obongos, alarmed at the
approach of strangers, had fled for safety to the
dense jungle of the neighboring forest. He thus
describes their habitations : " The huts were of
a low, oval shape, like a gypsy tent; the highest
part, that near the entrance, was about four feet
from the ground ; the greatest breadth was about
four feet also. On each side were three or four
sticks for the man and woman to sleep on. The
huts were made of flexible branches of trees,
arched over and fixed into the ground at each
end, the longest branches being in the middle,
and the others successively shorter, the whole
being covered with heavy leaves."
On June 26, 1864, Du Chaillu entered Niem-
bouai, a large village in Ashango Land, in the
vicinity of which, he learned with great joy, was
situated an inhabited encampment of the Obon
gos, or hairy dwarfs, as he terms them. The
Ashango natives offered to accompany him, at
the same time intimating that it was likely the
village would be found deserted ; for, said they,
the Obongos (the dwarfs) are shy and timid as
the gazelle, and as wild as the antelope. To see
them, you must take them by surprise. They
are like to the beasts of the field. They feed on
the serpents, rats, and mice, and on the berries
and nuts of the forest.
Du Chaillu made his first visit to an Obongo
encampment with three Ashango guides, and
with great precaution they silently entered a

342 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
village of twelve huts to find it long since de
serted. Fortune was more favorable at the sec
ond village, where, however, no one was to be
seen on entrance. The curling smoke, calabashes

s,xc">c#r.f

tVi&Y^

A Pigmy Warrior.
of fresh water, and a half-cooked snake on living
coals indicated that the alarmed inhabitants had
fled on their approach. A search of the huts
resulted in disclosing the presence of three old
women, a young man, and several children, who
were almost paralyzed with fear at the sight of

PAUL BELLONI DU CHAILLU 343
an unknown monster — a white man. By judi
cious distribution of bananas, and especially of
beads, Du Chaillu succeeded in allaying their
fears, and later made several visits, but confi
dence was never firmly established, and it was
impossible to see the men except as they fled at
his approach, or at a distance when they visited
the x\shango village for purposes of barter.
During his several visits he carefully measured
six dwarf women, whose average height proved
to be four feet six and one-eighth inches ; the
shortest was four feet four and one-half inches,
and the tallest five feet and one-quarter of an
inch ; the young man, possibly not full grown,
measured four feet six inches in height.
Du Chaillu says : " The color of these people
was a dirty yellow, and their eyes had an untam
able wildness that struck me as very remarkable.
In appearance, physique, and color they are to
tally unlike the Ashangos, who are very anxious
to disown kinship with them. They declare that
the Obongos intermarry among themselves, sis
ters with brothers. The smallness and isolation
of their communities must necessitate close in
terbreeding ; and I think it very possible this
may cause the physical deterioration of their
race." Their foreheads were very low and narrow,
cheek-bones prominent, legs proportionately
short, palms of hands quite white, and their hair
short, curly tufts, resembling little balls of wool,
which, according to the young man seen by
Du Chaillu, grew also, in plentiful, short, curly

344 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
tufts on his legs and breast, a peculiarity which
the Ashangos declared was common to the Obon-
go men.
These dwarfs feed partly on roots, berries, and
nuts gathered in the forest, and partly on flesh
and fish. They are very expert in capturing
wild animals by traps and pitfalls, and in obtain
ing fish from the streams ; and the surplus of
flesh is exchanged for plantains and such simple
manufactured articles as they stand in need of.
Concerning their settlements and range of mi
gration Du Chaillu adds : " The Obongos never
remain long in one place. They are eminently
a migratory people, moving whenever game be
comes scarce, but they do not wander very far.
These Obongos are called the Obongos of the
Ashangos ; those who live among the Njavi are
called Obongo-Njavi, and the same with other
tribes. Obongos are said to exist very far to
the east, as far as the Ashangos have any knowl
edge." In his " Journey to Ashango Land " Du Chaillu
gives quite a number of words of the Obongo
language ; he considers their dialect to be a mixt
ure of their original language with that of the
tribe among whom they reside. It appeared
that none of the dwarf women could count more
than ten, probably the limit of their numerals.
Their weapons of offence and defence were usu
ally small bows and arrows, the latter at times
poisoned. Leaving Mobano, i° 53' S. latitude, and about
12° 27' E. longitude, by dead reckoning, Du

PAUL BELLONI DU CHAILLU

345

Chaillu passeil due east lo the village of M mi
aou Kombo, where, by accident, while firing
a salute, one of his body-guard unfortunately

s5 ^5

A Dwarf Prisoner.

killed a villager. An effort to atone for the ac
cident by presents would doubtless have been
successful, but, most unfortunately, and despite
Du Chaillu's strict orders, his body-guards and

346 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
porters had already irritated the Ashangos by
offensive conduct. Overtures for " blood-money "
were interrupted by an offended chief denounc
ing the exploring party. Almost instantly the
natives commenced beating their war-drums, and
Du Chaillu, realizing the danger and loading his
men with his most valuable articles, retreated
westward toward the coast. Before they reached
the forest he and one of his men were wounded
by poisoned arrows. Pursued by the infuriated
savages Du Chaillu restrained his men from
shooting, when, demoralized by the situation,
many of his porters threw away their loads,
which consisted of note -books, maps, instru
ments, photographs, and natural history collec
tions. Curiously enough the instruments and
goods thus abandoned by Du Chaillu in 1864,
were found in 1 891, by an African trader, in the
jungle where they had been thrown down by the
retreating carriers, having remained all these
years untouched by the Ashangos, who believed
they were fetich and so regarded them with
superstitious dread.
After retreating a few miles and finding that
inactivity and self-restraint meant self-destruc
tion, Du Chaillu took the offensive, and drawing
up his men in a favorable position, repelled his
pursuers with considerable loss. The wounds
from poisoned arrows being external, if subjected
to immediate treatment, healed in a few weeks.
Further explorations under these circum
stances were impossible, for Du Chaillu depend
ed entirely for his success on friendly relations

PAUL BELLONI DU CHAILLU 347
with the natives ; in consequence he returned to
the sea-coast, and on September 27, 1865, quitted
the shores of Western Equatorial Africa.
Although the second voyage of Du Chaillu
into the unknown regions of Western Equatorial
Africa rehabilitated his reputation as a reliable
observer, as far as related to geography and nat
ural history, yet his description of the Obongo
dwarfs gave rise to further discussion and asper
sions. It is needless to say that the discoveries
of Stanley in his last African expedition have defi
nitely settled this question in Du Chaillu's favor,
and that the studies of Lenz, Marche, and Bas-
tian, in and near the region visited bv Du Chaillu,
confirm the accuracy of his descriptions. In
deed the Obongos of Ashango Land rise in pro
portion to undersized negroes when compared
with the dwarf queen found by Stanley on the
eastern edge of the great equatorial forest, who
measures only two feet nine inches in height.
Thus in time has come complete vindication
of all of Du Chaillu's statements as to the won
ders of the Ashira and Ashango Lands, which
portions of Western Equatorial Africa he was the
first to explore. If the geographical extent of
his explorations give way to that of other Afri
can travellers, yet it must be admitted that he
stands scarcely second to any in the number, im
portance, and interest of his contributions and
collections in connection with ethnography and
natural history of Equatorial Africa.
In later years Du Chaillu has devoted his
attention to the northern parts of Sweden, Nor-

348

EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS

way, Lapland, and Finland, and although his
travels in these regions had no important geo
graphical outcome, yet they resulted in lately
placing the general public in possession of many
interesting details of these countries, as given in
his book called " The Land of the Midnight
Sun." His important work, " The Viking Age,"
is an elaborate presentation of his theory that
the ancestors of the English-speaking races were
Vikings and not Anglo-Saxons, and has awa
kened much comment in the scientific world.
" Ivar the Viking," his latest book, is a popular
account of Viking life and manners in the third
and fourth centuries.

Arrows of the African Pigmies.

Henry M Stanley.

XIV.
STANLEY AFRICANUS AND THE
CONGO FREE STATE.
The largest, the richest, and the least known
of the great continents is Africa. Despite its
vast area, numerous tribes, and complicated in
terests it may be said that its potential influences
as regards the rest of the world have been alter
nately retarded and advanced through the ef
forts of four individuals. The jealousy of Rome,
excited to its highest pitch by the eloquence of
the elder Cato, resulted, 146 B.C., in the annihi
lation of Carthage, an industrial centre whence
for five centuries had radiated toward the in
terior of Africa peaceful and commercial influ
ences. Eight centuries later the hordes of the
Arabian Caliph Omar in turn overwhelmed the
Roman colony at Alexandria, destroying forever
its literary influence by the burning of its great
library. Conversely the missionary labors of David
Livingstone, from 1849 to 1873, inculcated peace
ful methods and cultivated moral tendencies
destined to introduce Christianity and develop
civilization. Not only did Livingstone, in the
eloquent words of Stanley, "weave by his jour
neys the figure of his Redeemer's cross on the

350 EXPLORERS AND TRA VELLERS
map of Africa, but, scattering ever his Master's
words and patterning his life after the Master
stamped the story of the cross on the hearts of
every African tribe he visited."
Initiating routes of travel, suggesting new
commercial fields, and organizing stable forms
of government, came a man of harder metal, of
indomitable will and courage, Henry M. Stanley,
who merits the title of Stanley Africanus.
A Welshman by nativity, born near Denbigh,
in 1840, he came to the United States at the age
of sixteen and thenceforth cast his lot with
America, and as a citizen of this country made
his explorations under its flag. It is reputed
that he exchanged his natal name of Rowlands
for that of Henry M. Stanley, for a merchant
of New Orleans who adopted him ; but in any
event his early life was passed without the lov
ing and modifying influences of a home, his
youth almost equally destitute of those adventi
tious surroundings that properly mould the char
acter and insure opportunities for success to
young men. Thus he stands forth a self-made
man to whom strength has been accorded to
develop the manhood that God implanted in his
soul. Stern experiences in the American civil war,
brief life in the far West, and special service in
Turkey had shaped Stanley into a reliant, self-
contained man when his first African journey
came to him, in 1868, through assignment as
newspaper correspondent to accompany the
British army in its invasion of Abyssinia. He

STANLEY AFRICANUS 351
participated in this wonderful campaign, which
led him four hundred miles through a country
of indescribable wildness and grandeur, across
rugged mountains, along deep valleys, up to the
fortress-crowned crest of Magdala, ten thousand
feet above the sea.
Difficult as were the mountains of Abyssinia,
they were less dangerous than the African region
later to be traversed by him ; a journey unsought,
but which came to him as the fittest man for the
time and service.
A telegram and five hours' preparation carried
Stanley from the blood-red fields of revolutionary
Spain into the famous search journey that gave
to an anxious world news of the long-lost Liv
ingstone. For twenty years this great Scotch
missionary had carried the gospel of Christ and
its civilizing influences from one end of Africa to
the other ; once he had crossed the continent in
its greatest breadth, and now, vanished from the
sight of the civilized world in his renewed mis
sionary labors, for two years his very existence
had been problematical.
The search expedition owed its inception and
maintenance to James Gordon Bennett, Jr., whose
brief orders to Stanley were: " Find Livingstone
and bring news of his discoveries or proofs of
his death, regardless of expense." The personnel,
methods, and arrangements devolved entirely on
Stanley, but his preliminary route was to lie
through certain countries. It thus occurred
that between Madrid, his starting point, and
Ujiji, on Lake Tanganyika, the camp of Living-

352

EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS

stone, he saw the gayties of Paris ; was present at
the eventful opening of the Suez Canal that revo
lutionized Eastern commerce ; ascended the Low
er Nile to scrutinize with interested eye Baker's
prospective expedition to the Soudan ; divined
under the mosques of the Bosphorus the political

The Hut where Livingstone Died.
riddles of Sultan and Khedive ; examined the
uncovered foundations of Solomon's Temple in
the Holy City ; meditated over the historic
battle-grounds of the Crimea ; penetrated the
Caucasus to Tiflis for news of the Russian expe
dition to Khiva ; and, traversing- Persia through
the Euphratan cradle of the human race, entered
India, whence his route lay to Zanzibar and the

STANLEY AFRICANUS 353
dark beyond. What a contrast those preliminary
journeys afforded, across effete countries whose
var}-ing and recorded phases of civilization are
contemporaneous with the history of the human
race, to the threshold of a vast region whose
barbaric freshness is such that its entire historv
lies within the memory of living man.
Stanley landed at Zanzibar, January 10, 1871,
and, fortunately, was at once impressed with his
ignorance of outfitting, which he thought he had
learned from books. Resorting to the Arab
traders he proved such an apt pupil and skilful
organizer that he enlisted twenty-seven soldiers,
gathered one hundred and fifty-seven carriers
and five special employees, which, with two
white assistants, Farquhar and Shaw, made his
aggregate force one hundred and ninety-two.
He had his African money — beads as copper
coins, cloth as silver, and brass rods as gold ;
canvas-covered boats for navigation ; asses and
horses for special work : fine cloth for tribute to
local chiefs, which, with tentage, medicine, etc.,
made some six tons of freight.
March 21, i87i,the rear guard marched out of
Bagamovo. the town on the mainland opposite
Zanzibar, and taking a route never before trav
elled bv a white man, Stanley reached Simbam-
wenni in fourteen marches, the journey of one
hundred and nineteen miles having occupied
twenty-nine days, during which the commander
came to fully realize the difficulty of his undertak
ing, the inefficiency of unpractised subordinates,
and the uncertain loyalty of carriers.
23

354 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
The onward march resembled all in Africa :
thorns and jungle to wound the naked carriers,
rivers to be forded or crossed on almost imprac
ticable bridges, swamps many miles in length
and so miry as to tax the utmost strength and
energy of man and ass, insolence and exactions
of local potentates, thefts by natives, desertions
of carriers, the oft-recurring fever, and occasion
ally a death.
The 20th of May, Stanley was at Mpwapwa
(Mbambwa), delighted physically at its fair as
pect and upland picturesqueness, but mentally
anxious over Farquhar, whom he left here sick,
and the loss of his asses, which he fortunately
was able to replace by twelve carriers. He
reached, on June 22d, Unyanyembe, after a de
vious journey of five hundred and twenty miles
to cover an air-line distance of one hundred and
fifty. Here had just arrived a relief caravan
for Livingstone, which had left Zanzibar four
months prior to Stanley's. Near by, at Tabora,
the chief Arabian town of central Africa, Stanley
was surprised to find the Arabs at war with a
savage chief, Mirambo, thus barring the usually
travelled road to Ujiji.
Here Stanley lost three months, and partici
pated in an unsuccessful campaign with the
Arabs against Mirambo, vainly hoping that thus
his road would be opened. Five of his men were
killed in the war, others deserted, so that only
eleven carriers remained, and altogether his
prospects of success steadily diminished.
Despairing of the old route, Stanley, having

STANLEY AFRICAN US

355

with great difficulty recruited his force of car
riers, decided to try a circuitous trail to the
south in order to reach Ujiji, which lay to the
northwest. Failure and destruction were pre
dicted, but with confidence in himself Stanley,
on September 20th, marched on with Shaw and

Map showing Position and Boundaries of the Congo State.

fifty-six others. Illness caused him to soon send
back Shaw, his only white companion ; frequent
desertions weakened his force ; an incipient mu
tiny of his panic-stricken men on the Gombe
River threatened complete destruction to the
party ; insolent chiefs exacted extortionate trib
ute ; desert marches without water and scant food

356 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
discouraged and weakened the men; but the
leader pushed on with unflagging energy despite
every obstacle. His route lay through Igonda,
Itende, the beautiful country of Uvinsa, across
rocky Uhha to the Malagarazi River, where his
heart was gladdened by rumors from the natives
that a white man had lately arrived at Ujiji
from Manyuema.
Pushing on with feverish haste, on November
9, 1871, he had the indescribable joy of looking
down on magnificent Lake Tanganyika, and on
the following day, with his gigantic guide, As-
mani, proudly striding in advance with the Stars
and Stripes as his standard, Stanley marched into
Ujiji, and there accomplished his mission by
meeting Livingstone and ascertaining the results
of his late labors. Livingstone's primary mission
— the suppression of the slave trade by means of
civilizing influences — had not materially pro
gressed, but he had strong hopes of the future.
Geographically, however, he had been most suc
cessful, having made important discoveries in
the water-sheds of Lakes Tanganyika and the Ny-
anzas, and found an unknown river, the Lualaba,
which in a later exploration Stanley proved to
be the Upper Congo.
Stanley found Livingstone with only five car
riers and without means of trade. Supplying all
deficiencies from his own stores, he assisted Liv
ingstone in his exploration of Lake Tanganyika,
and the twain returned together to Unyanyembe.
In the meantime both Farquhar and Shaw died,
and Stanley, turning over his surplus stores to

STANLEY AFRICANUS 357
Livingstone, bade him farewell and God-speed,
and started for Zanzibar. On March 14, 1872,
eight weeks later, Stanley was again enjoying
civilization at Bagamoyo, while Livingstone was
awaiting means of returning to his life-task, soon
to be ended by his death among the tribes he
loved, for " Greater love hath no man than this,
that a man lay down his life for his friends."
Over four months of intercourse with Living
stone steadily increased Stanley's admiration for
this great man. He describes him as a high-
spirited, brave, impetuous, and enthusiastic man,
with these qualities so tempered by his deep,
abiding spirit of religion as to make him a most
extraordinary character. In all his relations with
his servants, with the natives, and with Mo
hammedans, Christianity appeared in its loveliest
and most potent forms, constant, sincere, chari
table, loving, modest, and always practical. It
was this abiding faith in God which made Liv
ingstone a man of unfailing devotion to his sense
of present duty, of wondrous patience, unvarying
gentleness, constant hopefulness, and unwearied
fidelity — qualities which made his missionary
work in Africa unprecedentedly successful.
Abuse, misrepresentation, and incredulity
from geographic societies, critics, and press
greeted Stanley's account of his discovery of
Livingstone, and only gradually did his tradu-
cers yield to the convincing evidences of his
astonishing success.
Turning to his old work, Stanley, in the winter
of 1873-74, again entered Africa, accompanying

358 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
as newspaper correspondent the British army,
which invaded to a distance of one hundred and
forty miles the deadly marshes of the Ashantee
Kingdom, and destroyed its capital city, Coo-
massie. When the death of Livingstone brought Af
rica into prominence again, Stanley, believing
he could complete so much of the missionary's
work as concerned exploration, turned thither at
the head of an expedition under the auspices of
the London Telegraph and the New York Herald,
the object being the survey of the lacustrine
system at the head of the White Nile and a
journey thence westward across the continent.
Leaving Bagamoyo, November 17, 1874, Stan
ley reached Lake Victoria Nyanza in March,
1875, his journey of seven hundred and twenty
miles being marked by pestilential fevers, strug
gles through thorny jungles, and scant food and
water. Circumnavigating the lake, he found it
to be over four thousand feet above the ocean,
while its proportions — nearly twenty-two thou
sand miles in area and in places over five hun
dred feet deep — assumed those of an inland sea.
Here Mtesa, a powerful and able negro king, of
Mohammedan faith, proved most friendly and
greatly aided him, furnishing an escort, which
enabled Stanley to explore a part of the adjacent
mountain region. From Ujiji he then explored
Lake Tanganyika, finding it to be about half the
size of Victoria, with an elevation of about twen
ty-seven hundred feet.
Important as were these discoveries they paled

STANLEY AFRIOANUS

359

before others, made in following the Lualaba
River of Livingstone, which changed the map
of Central Africa and altered the destiny of

i
Tippu Tib.

that vast and untraversed region. The journey
to Nyangwe, Livingstone's " farthest," entailed
horrible hardships on the carriers. This Arab
village was reached via the Luama, which, of

360 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
hitherto unknown course, was found by Stanley
to be an affluent of the Lualaba. At Nyangwe
Stanley felt that his accomplished journey of
over eight hundred miles from the east coast
promised well for his coming voyage to a known
point on the other coast, nine hundred miles
due west. He made an agreement with an Arab,
Tippu-Tib, trader in human flesh or ivory as
chance offered, to escort the expedition about
six hundred miles west through the unknown
regions. The country proved to be primeval
forest, almost trackless, its tropical undergrowth
a veritable jungle of thorns and vines. Game
was scanty and other food equally so. Finally,
progress was so slow and the path so devious
that Stanley, yielding to his appeals, discharged
Tippu-Tib and decided to descend the river
by canoes and his frame boat. He embarked
at Vinya Njara, with one hundred and fifty
in his party, on December 28, 1876, intrust
ing himself with sublime audacity to a river
flowing no one knew whither, save it was away
from civilization, and with the knowledge that
the country they were entering was peopled by
tribes entirely hostile and intractable, as the
slave-traders said. Day after day they drifted
steadily to the north. Was" it or was it not the
Nile of Livingstone's prediction ? Then day by
day the course trended to the east. Yes, it could
only be the Nile. After two hundred and forty
miles the trend was to the northwest, whither,
week after week, for about three hundred miles it
kept its puzzling flow toward a point of the com-

STANLEY AFRICANUS 361
pass where it could join no river known to man.
It had, too, assumed proportions and volume truly
Amazonic, filled with islands and swollen from
one to seven miles in width. All efforts to gain
a knowledge of its final course were then fruit
less, for the few barbarous natives they could
win to speech answered in uncouth jargon,
scarcely intelligible to the interpreters : " It is
the river — the river!" The terrors of the si
lent stream in its majestic solitude were almost
preferable to the presence of populous villages,
which here and there lined its banks, for the in
habitants, ferociously hostile for the greater
part, refused trade and boldly assaulted them.
Skilful canoemen and good archers, the savages
slaughtered unwary stragglers, harassed the
rear and attacked the front, while their horrible
threats that the bodies of the slain should serve
as food at their cannibalistic repasts instilled
terror in the minds of many of Stanley's follow
ers. Skirmishes were frequent, and now and
then a severe fight which taxed Stanley's forces
to the utmost. Again the river had here and
there series of cataracts which caused no end of
trouble, delay, and danger to the party, nine men
being drowned in one day.
Fortunately the river had turned to the south,
and then to southwest, where, after another
thousand miles, it flowed through a narrow
gorge, one hundred and fifty miles from the sea,
so that no doubt longer obtained as to it being
the Congo. The terrible falls near the gorge
entailed enormous labor to pass them, and barely

362 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
failed of destroying the party. In all twenty-
eight cataracts were passed, and finally the river
became so precipitous, the falls so high, that they
had to abandon their boats and march overland
to Boma, an English trading - post, five days'
journey distant. Fatigue, famine, and exposure
further enfeebled them and now made daily in
roads among the ranks of those who had so far
survived, and the entire party would have per
ished on the very threshold of civilization and
plenty had not Stanley's messengers, sent on
with urgent appeals, obtained help at Boma,
where the expeditionary force arrived August
12, 1877. They had made a river journey of
seven thousand miles, proved the Congo to be
second only to the Nile, and crossed Africa.
When Stanley, in 1877, intrusting his life and
fortunes to a mighty and unknown stream, voy
aged toward the very heart of the Dark Con
tinent, even his wildest dreams could not have
foreshadowed results equal to the reality of a
near future. His voyage in its potentiality was
second only to that of Columbus, as the outcome
of the succeeding five years plainly indicates.
All Europe, alive to the commercial importance
of the Congo Basin, hastened to reach its borders
or encroach on its limits by means of enlarged
dependent colonies; commerce and religion,
hand in hand, traversed its rivers by steam and
lined its banks with beneficent settlements, while
the merciless Arab devastated its villages and
dragged its decimated natives into slavery.
Then came a political wonder — the peaceful

.< TAXI. E Y AFRICANUS

creation of a vast tropical empire more than a
million square miles in area, the Congo Free

State, erected and admitted into the community
of nations by act of an international conference,
in which participated fourteen European powers
and the United States, our own country being:

364 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
fittingly the first to officially acknowledge the
existence of the new state its adventurous citizen
had given to the world.
The voyage through the Dark Continent was
obviously potent of future results, and Gam-
betta, in 1878, clearly forecast the effects of
Stanley's journey. The great French statesman
said : " Not only have you opened up a new con
tinent to our view, but you have given influence
to scientific and philanthropic enterprises which
will have its effect on the progress of the world.
What you have done has interested governments
— proverbially so difficult to move — and the im
pulse you have imparted, I am convinced, will
go on year after year."
Slowly recovering from the effects of famine
and fatigue incident to this arduous journey,
Stanley returned to Europe in January, 1878,
and was met, as he stepped out of the express
train at Marseilles, by two commissioners of
King Leopold of Belgium, who informed him
that his Majesty contemplated a new enterprise
in Africa and desired his assistance. While
heartily indorsing the proposed work of Leo
pold his physical condition was such that active
co-operation was impossible, and he was even
unable to visit his Majesty. Five months later,
with physical energies renewed, after a visit
to Leopold, Stanley eventually agreed to the
proposition which contemplated the establish
ment of a grand commercial enterprise for con
trolling the trade of the valley of the Congo. It
involved the erection of commercial and mili-

STANLEY AFRICANUS 365
tary stations along the overland route and the
establishment of steam communication wherever
available. In short, a colony of Europeans was
to be founded in the Congo Basin, whose great
fertility, healthy climate, and enormous popu
lation seemed to especially favor the develop
ment of African civilization. The action of
Leopold evidently grew out of Stanley's decla
rations that " the question of this mighty water
way (the Congo) will become a political one
in time," and his conviction that any power
possessing the Congo would absorb the whole
enormous trade behind, as this river was and
must continue to be, the grand commercial high
way of West and Central Africa.
Stanley accepted the mission, visited Zanzi
bar, where he enlisted sixty-eight Zanzibari,
mostly his old soldiers, and by sea reached
Banana Point, on the west coast, August 14,
1879. Two years previous he had reached this
place after descending the newly discovered
Congo ; now he was re-entering its fertile basin
in order to establish civilized settlements, with
the intention of subduing Central Africa by
peaceful ways and to remould it into harmony
with modern ideas, so that justice and order
should ever obtain, violence and the slave trade
forever cease.
He returned to Europe in 1882, his success far
exceeding the expectations of the committee.
In this time, with the aid of sixty-eight Zanzibari
and a few Europeans, he had constructed three
trading-stations, launched a steamer on the Up-

366

EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS

Finding Nelson in Distress at Starvation Camp.
per Congo, established steam communication be
tween Leopoldville and Stanley Pool, and also
constructed wagon-roads between Vivi and Isan-
gila, Manyanga and Stanley Pool. He pointed
out to the committee the imperative necessity of
a railroad between the Lower and Upper Congo
in order to preserve uninterrupted communica-

STANLEY AFRICANUS 367
tion, which scheme was approved by the com
mittee provided Stanley would take charge of
the work. Although his health was impaired,
he agreed to return to the Congo and complete
the establishment of stations as far as Stanley
Falls, which he duly accomplished, not leaving
Africa until there were five promising trading-
posts — Vivi, Leopoldville, Kinshassa (Stanley
Pool\ Equator, and Stanley Falls, the last about
two thousand miles inland from the west coast.
On Stanley's return to Europe the question of
organizing the basin of the Congo into an inde
pendent state was agitated. As a result fourteen
of the European powers and the United States
united in a conference at Berlin and formally
agreed, on February 26, 1885, that the entire
Congo Basin should be erected into a nation to
be known as the Congo Free State. Thus less
than eight years after Stanley's famous journey
he beheld the country that his genius had res
cued from oblivious darkness erected into a
new state and admitted into the community of
nations. The last journey of Stanley into Africa was
for the rescue of the Egyptian governor of
Equatoria, Edward Schnitzer, a German by
birth, better known as Emin Pasha. On the
death of General Gordon, by whom he was ap
pointed governor, Emin had been left to his fate
at Wadelai by the Egyptian authorities, from
which point he wrote on December 31, 1885, say
ing that for nineteen months he had been for
gotten and abandoned. On July 6, 1886, he

368 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS
wrote beseeching help. In this contingency the
sum of £21,500 was raised — £10,000 from the
Egyptian Government, the rest subscribed in
England — for the expenses of a relief party, and
all eyes turned to Stanley as the natural leader.
He was engaged in a very profitable lecturing
tour in the United States when the expedition
was finally decided on. Three days after the
receipt of a cablegram that his plans were ac
cepted, Stanley sailed for Africa via England,
using such despatch that he had his expedition
of 680 men, 61 being Soudanese soldiers, ready
to leave Zanzibar on February 25, 1887.
Stanley decided to make the journey by ves
sel around the Cape of Good Hope to the Congo,
by which river he expected to get within 200
miles of Lake Albert. The co-operation of the
infamous Arab trader, Tippu Tib, the most pow
erful trader in Africa, was obtained by making
him governor of Stanley Falls, in the Congo
Free State.
Following the Congo to the Aruwimi, Stanley
turned up that stream and camped at Yambuya,
about sixty miles above the mouth and over
one thousand three hundred miles from the sea.
To this point he had lost 57 men, and now di
vided his forces as follows : Advance guard,
under himself, 389; Yambuya garrison, 129,
under Major Barttelot ; other supporting guards
in rear, 131 ; original force, 706.
On January 28, 1887, Stanley started for Lake
Albert, 330 miles distant in an air line, through
an entirely unknown country. It proved to be

STANLEY AFRICANUS 369
a virgin forest, the greatest of the world,
through which a path had to be cut almost the
entire distance. For one hundred and sixty days
they marched through an almost unbroken forest-
bush, jungle, marsh, and creek. The scattered
villages, filled with barbarous and hostile tribes,
were abandoned at their approach ; poisoned
skewers, covered with green leaves, were planted
in the paths, and twice the party was attacked.
On October 6th affairs came to a crisis, as pro
visions had failed, save scanty wild plants ; many,
stricken with disease, including Stairs, one of the
officers, could go no farther. No less than one
hundred and twenty-six men had been lost by
death and desertion, about half from each cause,
and all must perish unless the party divided.
Stanley left Nelson and 52 men in camp on Ituri
River, about iu 5' N., 280 30' E., and started
ahead for relief. After terrible privation, and
nearly perishing of starvation on the way, they
reached Ipoto, October 17th, where food was
purchased from the natives. As soon as possible
Jephson, Stanley's able and loyal assistant, re
turned to Nelson's relief and brought him and
three men to Ipoto, nine carriers having died
and forty deserted. December 4th, Stanley with
175 men emerged from the forest and nine days
later reached Lake Albert, whence Wadelai,
Emin's station, was distant four days' journey
by water, or twenty-five by land.
Finding no boats on Lake Albert, Stanley was
obliged to retreat from its desolate shores west
ward to a fertile region, where he built Fort
24

370

EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS

Bodo and planted crops, while a detachment
brought up his steel boat, in which Jephson
reached M'swa and was met, on April 26, 1888,
by Emin, who had been notified by Stanley's na
tive courier. Two days later Emin and Stanley
met at Lake Albert, when propositions and plans

A Stockaded Camp.
(From a photograph.)
as to Emin's movements were made and dis
cussed with no definite results.
The equation of Emin's character seems to
have been best stated by Vita Hassan, his friend
ly subordinate for twenty years, who considers
Emin's many virtues as those of a missionary

STANLEY AFRICANUS 371
rather than of a governor or commander, and at
tributes his infirmity of indecision to innate good
ness of heart. It was nine months before Emin,
his army mutinous, himself and Jephson impris
oned, with death as an alternative, decided to re
turn with Stanley to Zanzibar.
In the meanwhile Stanley, anxious as to his
rear guard, returned through the dreaded forest
hoping from day to day to meet it, but saw no
signs until he reached Banalya, on the Aruwimi,
a few miles from where he had left it. Here he
found it in a state of inactivity and disorganiza
tion, its chief, Major Barttelot, murdered by a na
tive, Jameson and one hundred and two out of the
original two hundred and seventy-six dead, and
twenty-six deserted. Again the journey through
the forest and its hostile tribes to Lake Albert,
where Stanley with the hesitating Emin Pasha and
his followers started for Zanzibar on April i, 1889.
The return journey, made as far as Lake Vic
toria Nyanza over unknown ground, resulted
in the discovery of Mount Ruwenzori, a snow-
clad peak under the Equator, estimated to be
seventeen thousand feet high. Moreover, of
vastly more importance, Stanley ascertained that
Lake Albert Nyanza through the Semliki River,
drained a large lake, named Albert Edward, thus
determining the secret of the long-sought and
ever retreating source of the White Nile. Small
streams feed Lake Albert Edward from the south,
whose extreme limit is placed by Stanley in i°
10' S. latitude.
December 4, 1889, found the party arrived at

372 EXPLORERS AND TRAVELLERS

Ruwenzori (The Snowy Mountain), identified by Stanley with "the Mountains of
the Moon."
Ascended 10,677 f*ee* above sea-level by Lieutenant Stairs. Total height about
16,600 feet.
(From a drawing by Mr. Stanley, made at the time of the discovery.)

Bagamoyo, the coast town opposite Zanzibar,
The work which Stanley was sent to do, as all
other tasks assumed by this great explorer, was
ended, and Emin Pasha once more looked on the
faces of his countrymen.

STANLEY AFRICANUS 373
Crowned with highest honors from all the
powers of Europe, no tribute, as Stanley has
said, gave such gratification as that from the
United States, which, proud of the achievements
of its great citizen, extended to him the unprece
dented honors of its official, well-considered, and
merited commendation, wherein, under date of
February 7, 1878, it was " Resolved, by the Senate
and House of Representatives in Congress as
sembled, That, regarding with just pride the
achievements of their countryman, Henry M.
Stanley, the distinguished explorer of Central
Africa, the thanks of the people of the United
States are eminently due and are hereby tendered
him as a tribute to his extraordinary patience,
prudence, fortitude, enterprise, courage, and
capacity in solving by his researches many of
the most important geographical problems of
our age and globe, problems of a continental
scope, involving the progress of our kind in com
merce, science, and civilization."

THE END.

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