ouri
River interlocked with the Columbia. And as he was now straight west of
the Minnetarees, he figured that when they went hunting to the head of
the Missouri, as they had, they couldn't have passed a river big as this
south fork without mentioning it. And the Indians said that the Falls
were a 'little south of the sunset' from the Mandans--and Lewis had his
latitude to show he was still on that line and ought to hold to it.

"Lastly, he reasoned that so large a river must penetrate deeply into
the Rockies--and that was what he wanted. He knew it could not rise in
dry plains. So, relying on his Minnetarees and his horse sense, and not
on Mr. Fidler, Lewis refused to go any farther north, because he could
not figure out there a big river penetrating into the Rockies. He was
absolutely right, as well as very shrewd and wise.

"Now, reasoning at first shot, the _voyageurs_ would have gone up the
Marias. Cruzatte especially, their best riverman, was certain the Marias
was the true Missouri. They would then maybe have met the Blackfeet and
would never have crossed the Rockies; which would have meant failure, if
not death; whereas this cold-headed, careful young man, Meriwether
Lewis, by a chain of exact reasoning on actual data, went against the
judgment of the entire party and chose the left-hand fork, which we know
is the true Missouri; and which we'll find hard enough to follow to its
head, even to-day.

"Think over that, boys. Do you begin to see what a man must be, to be a
leader? We have had plenty of Army men in Western exploration since
then, plenty of engineers who could spell. But in all the records you'll
not find one example of responsibility handled as quietly and
decisively as that. You must remember the pressure he was under. It
would have been so easy to take the united conviction of all these old,
grizzled, experienced _voyageurs_ and hunters.

"Well, if Clark and he argued over it, at least that is not known. But
all the men took the decision of the two leaders without a whimper. I
think the personnel of that party must have been extraordinary. And
their leaders proved their judgment later.

"Now, with poor Sacagawea expected to die, and with all the
responsibility on their shoulders, our captains acted as though they had
no doubts. If they did have, Lewis solved it all when he ascended the
Marias on his way home next year.

"Now the water was getting swift. They knew nothing of what was ahead,
but