. Our country in story . an, continued the President, is to send a company of men to follow the Missourito the Pacific Ocean, if pos-sible. They are to makemaps and write descriptionsof the mountain passes, val-leys, rivers, and rapids. Theyare to make notes of thekinds of soil, of the plants,animals, and minerals. Theymust, above all, make friendswith the Indians, learn allabout the habits of the va-rious tribes, and thus openthe way for a rich furtrade. Excellent! exclaimed Lewis. I am a born back-woodsman and love the life of the wilderness. I havefrequently dealt with the Indians, and am f
. Our country in story . an, continued the President, is to send a company of men to follow the Missourito the Pacific Ocean, if pos-sible. They are to makemaps and write descriptionsof the mountain passes, val-leys, rivers, and rapids. Theyare to make notes of thekinds of soil, of the plants,animals, and minerals. Theymust, above all, make friendswith the Indians, learn allabout the habits of the va-rious tribes, and thus openthe way for a rich furtrade. Excellent! exclaimed Lewis. I am a born back-woodsman and love the life of the wilderness. I havefrequently dealt with the Indians, and am familiar withtheir wild life and savage nature. May I lead that expe-dition to the Northwest? You may, indeed, answered the President. But youought to have an experienced companion, a man like thebrave George Rogers Clark. If I may choose someone to share my command, an-swered Lewis quickly, I would suggest William Clark,the brave younger brother of the famous George Kogers,To this suggestion Jefferson willingly MERIWETHER LEWIS WEST TO THE PACIFIC 265 Thus it came to pass that the same hand that wrote theDeclaration of Independence in 1776 drew up, on theFourth of July of 1803, a paper providing MeriwetherLewis and William Clark with the power and the meansto explore the vast unknown country west of theMississippi. If the difficulties become too great, turn back, saidthe anxious Jefferson when parting with his youthfulfriend on the bank of the Potomac. In case you shouldreach the Pacific and find it too dangerous to return withyour party by the way you went, then come back by shiparound Cape Horn or the Cape of Good Hope. But the young Lewis hadno fears. Waving a partinggreeting to Jefferson, hepushed up the Potomac tothe arsenal at HarpersFerry. Here he becamebusy securing a supply ofpowder and firearms. The Clark family had meanwhile moved from Virginia to Kentucky and settledabout three miles south of Louisville. The new home,beautifully located and surrounded by
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