arleton's life that, on
returning from his journey around the world, he was not made, as he
had with good reason fully expected to be made, chief editor of the
_Boston Journal_. We need not go into details of the matter, but
suffice it to say, that Carleton was not one to waste time in idle
regrets. Indeed, his was a character that could be tested by
disappointments, which, in his life, were not a few. Instead of
bitterness, came the ripened fruit of patience and mellowness of
character.

His renewed acquaintance with the region west of the Mississippi,
which he had made during his recent trip across the continent, only
whetted his appetite for more seeing and knowing of the future seat of
America empire. He accepted with pleasure a commission to explore the
promising regions of Minnesota and Dakota, and to give an account
especially of the Red River Valley.

Already, in 1858, he had written and published, at his own expense, a
pamphlet of twenty-three pages, entitled "The Great Commercial Prize,"
Boston, A. Williams & Co. It cost him fifty dollars, then a large sum
for him, from which the advantage accrued to the nation at large. It
was addressed to every American who values the prosperity of his
country. It was "An inquiry into the present and prospective
commercial position of the United States, and a plea for the immediate
construction of a railroad from Missouri River to Puget Sound." It
opens with a review of the great events in the world which have had a
direct and all-important bearing upon the United States. Hitherto,
since the modern mastery of the ocean through the mariner's compass
and the science of navigation, the Atlantic had been the domain of sea
power. The Pacific was in future to be the scene of greater
opportunities and grander commercial developments. With China and
Japan entering the brotherhood of nations, and Russia extending its
power towards the Pacific, "five hundred millions of human beings were
henceforth to be reached by the hand of civilization." The countries
and continents bordering the greatest of oceans were animated with new
ideas of progress. On our own western shores, California, Oregon, and
Washington were awaiting the touch of industry to yield their riches.

As a reader of the signs of the times, Carleton pointed out the great
changes which were to take place in the thoroughfares of trade and
travel. Instead of civilization depending for its communication with
India, China, a