rs.

Unless we protect the Indians and permit them so far as possible
to lead their own natural lives, most of them will soon disappear.

THE STORY OF LEWIS AND CLARK

In the seventeenth century it appeared likely that France would
before long control the northern and interior portion of North
America. La Salle discovered the Ohio River, traversed the Great
Lakes, and descended the Mississippi River to its mouth. In 1742
other French explorers pushed west from the Great Lakes and sighted
the Rocky Mountains. But when the English triumphed at Quebec, France
gave up to them all of her possessions east of the Mississippi
River, and ceded the province of Louisiana to the Spanish. This
province was very much larger than the state which now bears the
name. Bounded by the Mississippi River upon the east, and the Spanish
possessions upon the southwest, it stretched north and west with
very indefinite boundaries, although in the latter direction it
was supposed to be limited by the Rocky Mountains.

At one time Napoleon dreamed of founding a great colony in America,
and induced Spain to cede Louisiana back to the French; but being
unable to carry out his plans, he made a proposition to the United
States to take this territory. His offer was accepted, and in 1803,
during the presidency of Thomas Jefferson, the vast province was
taken into the Union.

It was immediately evident that more definite knowledge should
be acquired concerning the great region beyond the Mississippi,
particularly the portion about the head of the Missouri River.
The unknown region lying between the source of this river and the
Pacific should also be explored, for Captain Gray's discovery of
the Columbia River gave to the United States a claim upon this
part of the continent which must be maintained. If something were
not done soon, the territory would be occupied by the English fur
companies.

Two young men, Captains Lewis and Clark, were chosen to lead an
expedition into the Northwest, which proved to be one of the most
remarkable in the history of our country. They were the first white
men to cross the Rocky Mountains and to traverse the continent
from the Atlantic to the Pacific within the present boundaries of
the United States.

How interesting it must have been to push into the Rocky Mountains,
beyond the farthest point previously reached by white men; to see
Nature in her wild state, to note the new plants and animals, and
to study