As yet none had succeeded in finding an overland route to the Pacific north of Mexico. Cabeza de Vaca, in his transcontinental wander ings, had turned to the south when he reae.hed the mountains. A Canadian, Varennes de la Verendrye, spent many years (1731-49) in the search for a route; at his own expense, for his government refused to back him. With his sons he made extensive explorations west of Hudson Bay, in the course of which he dis covered (1731) the Red River and Lake Win nipeg, and his son Pierre penetrated to the forks of the Saskatchewan River (1739). In 1742 the two sons made a perilous journey to the southwest, across the Missouri and on to the Big Horn Mountains.
In the struggle for the Ohio Valley the west ern route was forgotten for a time. But when that contest was settled the quest was renewed by Jonathan Carver of Connecticut. In 1766 he made his way westward by canoe through the Great Lakes and by Marquette's route to the Mississippi, which he ascended to the Falls of Saint Anthony. He explored the Minnesota River, spent a winter among the Sioux and in 1767 returned by ascending the Chippewa River and reaching Lake Superior waters by portage. While his journey added little to geographical knowledge, yet it served to awaken interest and led Richard Whitworth to join Carver in plan ning a transcontinental expedition, which was unfortunately prevented by the outbreak of the Revolution.
Meanwhile the English fur-trading compa nies, through the journeys of their agents, had contributed much to geographical knowledge, not only of Canada but of the United States. The Hudson Bay Company, since it obtained its charter in 1670 and established its first post (Fort Rupert) on the great bay from which it took its name, had, in spite of French interfer ence, extended along the shores of the bay and its tributaries. After the English conquest of Canada in 1763 it had a clear field until the ap pearance in 1783 of a rival
Thomas Jefferson in 1803 induced Congress to make an appropriation for the expenses of a transcontinental exploring expedition, a project that he had entertained for some 20 years. Nominally, Capt. Meriwether Lewis was leader of the party, with Lieut. (generally known as Capt.) William Clark second in command; but
in point of fact all action was taken jointly and the expedition is always known as that of Lewis and Clark. While preparations were under way the purchase of the territory of Louisiana from France gave additional importance to the enter prise. Lewis and Clark, with 43 men, left Saint Louis, then a frontier trading-post, in three large boats, pushed their way up the Missouri and built a fort at the Mandan Village, about 50 miles above the present town of Bismarck, N. D. From this point some of the party were sent back and in the spring of 1805 the rest con tinued their voyage up the Missouri with 32 men. At the falls the heavy boats were left and canoes were constructed to continue the ascent of the river. Near the head of what they named the Jefferson (the western fork of the Missouri) they cached their canoes and with horses secured from the Indians crossed the Rocky Mountains to the Columbia, which they descended to the mouth, reaching the Pacific in November 1805. After wintering here the party retraced their steps to the east side of the Rocky Mountains and there separated; Lewis following the Mis souri while Clark traced the course of the Yel lowstone. At the junction the reunited forces continued their rapid down-stream journey, reaching Saint Lewis in September 1806. This was not only the most notable exploration ever undertaken by the United States government, but its complete success led to the many others which have followed up to the present day.
The head waters of the Mississippi were ex plored by Lieut. Zebulon Montgomery Pike, who ascended the river with a party of 20 soldiers in 1805. He reached Leach Lake drain age system and found the region already occu pied by the agents of the Northwestern Com pany. Upon his return in 1806 Pike set out again with 23 men, with the idea of winning the allegiance of the Indians from the Span iards and establishing an American claim to the region which had long been in dispute between the French and Spaniards. He ascended the Osage River in boats and crossed overland with horses to the Pawnee villages, where he took up the trail of the Spaniard Malgares, who in the previous year had made an excursion into this region from Mexico at the head of several hundred troops. At the Arkansas Pike detailed Lieut. James Wilkinson to explore that stream to the Mississippi and continued west with the larger section of the party, arriving in Novem ber at that high peak of the Rockies which now bears his name. During the winter, after ter rible suffering from cold and hunger, he reached the Rio Grande. The Spanish authorities sent out a large force to capture the little band of explorers and they were conducted back throtigh what is now known as Texas.