Page:Centennial History of Oregon 1811-1912, Volume 1.djvu/263



in check the British and their Indian allies, and hold the valley of the Mis- sissippi for any possible result of the war, George Rogers Clark was the first choice — the man that could be trusted and who was equal to the momentous im- portance of the position. Clark amply vindicated the confidence of Washington ; he discharged the great trust and responsibility on him with such distinguished ability as to immoi-talize his name in American histoiy, and in the annals of those who have covered their names with glory in defense of liberty and just laws. And the pity of it all is, that his great service to his country, and to his nation, wore never appreciated, recognized, rewarded or honored; and that one of the grand- est of our national heroes, and one of the nation's greatest benefactors should have died in poverty and neglect.

On the 4th day of March, 1801, Thomas Jefferson was inaugurated as the third President of the United States. Jefferson had not taken a prominent part in the successful rebellion which had severed the colonies from the mother coun- try. He had not taken a part in making the constitution under which the people were organized into a nation of free men; and he had been anything but a har- monious prime minister of Washington's cabinet. It looked to the historian as if Jefferson's fame would be limited to his leading part in drafting the immortal Declaration of Independence. But there was seething in his active brain a great idea; the idea of extending the nation's boundaries from ocean to ocean. Having a natural taste for scientific studies, he longed to know what the great unfath- omed west of the Rocky mountains might contain. He had endeavored to organ- ize a geographical society to explore the western wilderness in the interest of scientific discovery, but received but little encouragement from Americans. But as soon as the independence of the colonies was secured he endeavored to enlist General George Rogers Clark in an exploring expedition to the Pacific coast, and on December 4, 1783, wrote to General Clark, saying:

"I find they have subscri,bed a very large sum of money in England for ex- ploring the country from the Mississippi to California. They pretend it is only to promote knowledge. I am afraid they have thoughts of colonizing in that quarter. Some of us have been talking here in a feeble way (the Geographical Society) of making the attempt to search that country; but I doubt whether we have enough of that kind of spirit to raise the money. How would you like to lead such a party? Though I am afraid our prospect is not worth asking the question."

But the first opportunity he got to set anything in motion that might bring him any knowledge upon the subject came to him while he was representing the United States at Paris in 1786. Jefferson gives an account of it in his autobiog- raphy as follows:

"While in Paris in 1786, I became acquainted with John Ledyard, of Con- necticut, a man of genius, some science, and of fearless courage and enterprise. He had accompanied Captain Cook in his voyage to the Pacific, had distinguished himself on several occasions by an unrivaled intrepidity and published an ac- count of that voyage with details unfavorable to Cook's deportment towards the savages and lessening our regi-ets at his fate. Ledyard had come to Paris in the hope of forming a company to engage in the fur trade on the western coast of America. He was disappointed in this, and being out of business, and of a roam- ing, restless character, I suggested to him the enterprise of exploring