Lewis and William Clark, brother of George Rogers Clark, to explore it. They were to follow up the Missouri, then the Columbia River, and so get to the Pacific Ocean; but no one knew where the sources of the two rivers might be. There were forty men or more in the party as well as the wife of the interpreter and her baby, the youngest of American explorers. They were to draw maps, note the soils, vegetation, animals, and minerals, and, most important of all, make friends with the Indians, learn what lands each tribe claimed, and open the way for trading with them.

Then they set out on a journey which proved to be two years and four months long. And such wonders as they saw! There were waterfalls so high that the water fell part way, then broke into mist, but gathered together again and made a second fall which seemed to come from a cloud. There were long marches over plains where the thorns of the prickly pear pierced their shoes as if they were only paper.

Sometimes they were driven half wild with clouds of mosquitoes. "The Musquetoes were so numerous that I could not keep them off my gun long enough to take sight and by that means missed," wrote Captain Clark in his journal. Captain Lewis once was separated from his men for a few hours, and in that time he met a grizzly bear, a wolverine, and three buffalo bulls, all of which showed fight. Again, he lay down under a tree, and when he woke he found that he had had a big rattlesnake for next-door neighbor. One night the company camped on a sand-bar in the river; but they were hardly sound asleep before the guards cried, "Get up! Get up! Sand-bar's a-sinking!" They jumped into the boats and pulled for the farther shore. Before they reached it the sand-bar was out of sight. Another night a buffalo dashed into their camp, and to cap the climax, the baby explorer had the mumps and was cutting teeth and cried all night.

Getting food was not always easy. At one place they exchanged their meat and meal for watermelons; but frequently they had nothing but a little flour or meal; for a long while they lived on horseflesh and dogflesh, and eatable roots bought of the Indians.

They tried to make friends with the Indians by giving them mirrors, gilt-braided coats, knives, etc., and they told them about the Great Father in Washington who wished them to be his children. Talking was often difficult, so whenever it was possible they used the language of signs. When a man wished to say, "I have been gone three nights," he had only to rest his head on his hand to suggest sleep and to hold up three fingers. To hold a blanket by two corners and shake it over the head and unfold it meant, "I am your friend, come and sit on my blanket." If the Indian accepted the invitation he would wish to embrace the white man, and rub his own cheek, thick with paint, on that of his friend.

So it was that the brave explorers made their way to the source of the Missouri. Three quarters of a mile farther they came to one of the branches of the Columbia. Onward they went, and at last they stood on the shore of the Pacific. It was the rainy season; their clothes and bedding were always wet and they had nothing to eat but dried fish. Captain Clark wrote in his journal that the ocean was "tempestuous and horrible."

There were the same dangers to go through again on the long journey back, but finally they came to the houses of white men; and when they caught sight of cows feeding on the banks of the river, they all shouted with joy, the herds looked so calm and restful and homelike.

These courageous, patient men had done much more than to explore a wild country. Just as Columbus had made a path across the Atlantic, so they had made a path to the Pacific. Eva March Tappan

THE MAN WITHOUT A COUNTRY

ACT I

Time

1807; an afternoon in autumn.

Place - Officers' room at Fort Massac, on the Mississippi

River, near New Orleans.

CAPTAIN. Where is Nolan?

SERGEANT. Oh, you can easily guess that, captain!

CAPTAIN. With Burr again, I suppose?

CORPORAL. Burr has taken him down the river in his flat

boat.

CAPTAIN. I can't understand that! Nolan is only a lieutenant. Why did n't Burr invite the General?

SERGEANT. That's what we want to know.

CAPTAIN. Aaron Burr has been in New Orleans two weeks. He has been giving dinners, luncheons, excursions on the river, hunts up the bayou. Oh, you know all about it? Yes, the papers have been full of it! And who has been invited to everything? The General?

ALL. NO!

CAPTAIN. We officers?

ALL. No! No!

CAPTAIN. No one but Nolan! Nolan every time!

CORPORAL (looking off). Sh! Here's Nolan now!

Enter Philip Nolan, a dashing young fellow, manly and
sincere

NOLAN (saluting). Officers! Officers! Officers!
ALL (coldly). Lieutenant!

NOLAN. Never had such a splendid time in my life! I've been down the river with Mr. Burr, you know. (Silence.) Mr. Burr is the greatest man I ever knew! Why, New Orleans is going wild over him!

SERGEANT. You seem to think the whole world is wild over

him.

NOLAN. It would be if it knew him as I do.

CAPTAIN. Since you are so intimate with him, suppose you tell us what he is here for.

NOLAN. I don't know anything about Mr. Burr's private affairs.

CAPTAIN. Well then, I'll tell you. They say he is trying to found an independent western empire, and put himself in as king or emperor, or something of that sort.

NOLAN. I don't believe it! Aaron Burr was a loyal soldier! He is a loyal citizen!

CORPORAL. If he is so loyal, what is he doing with an army back of him?

NOLAN. Do they say that, too?

ALL. Of course!

NOLAN. It is n't true! I don't believe one word of it! Have n't I been with him every day since he arrived? I've heard nothing about an army or an empire.

Enter an Aide

AIDE. Mr. Burr is asking for you, Lieutenant Nolan.
NOLAN. Mr. Burr! Show him in!

(Exit Aide.)

CAPTAIN. Come on, boys! The Emperor will want his pet alone. (Exit all but Nolan.)

Enter Aaron Burr

NOLAN. Mr. Burr! I am delighted! I did n't expect to see you so soon again, sir!

BURR. I have come to say good-bye, Philip.

NOLAN. Good-bye?

BURR. I have just received important dispatches. I must go at once. My flat-boat is at the landing, now.

NOLAN. I appreciate your coming. Knowing you has been the greatest thing in my life, Mr. Burr!

BURR. I have made no secret of my affection for you, Philip.

NOLAN. I do not feel worthy of it, sir.

BURR. You are unconscious of your abilities, my boy. You will make a great man if only you have a chance.

NOLAN. A chance! Why, sir, I am the youngest officer in the service! Don't you count that a good beginning? BURR. It will take you nowhere- lead to nothing. NOLAN. Lead to nothing - I don't understand — BURR. I would speak plainly, Philip, but in strictest confidence.

NOLAN. Your words are sacred to me, sir.

BURR. You have the qualities of a leader, Philip, and you should be out in the world of men where you would be appreciated. You may spend your life in the service and die unknown.

PHILIP. But I will have served my country, sir.

BURR. There are two sides to that question, my boy. Suppose we walk outside. I have things of great importance to say to you; here, we may be overheard.

NOLAN. Come this way, sir.

(They go.)