Before Lewis and Clark

Excerpts from the author's Preface ------------------------- > The vast territory of the > Trans-Mississippi West has intrigued > me ever since I began to study history > ... My attention was attracted by the > fact that very little was known or had > been printed about the Upper > Mississippi, the Missouri, and the > Arkansas valleys before the Louisiana > Purchase ... My researches in the > archives of Spain and elsewhere, > however, have resulted in the > unfolding of a long history of > attempts to discover a route to the > Pacific, of expansion to Santa Fe. > Lewis and Clark were but the ones who > fulfilled the dreams of the French and > Spanish fur traders ... The entire > documentary record of the Missouri > from 1673 to 1804 would require a good > many volumes ... In the present work I > have chosen to give in detail the > story of the Missouri during the last > decade and a half before Lewis and > Clark ... To make this story complete > ... I have included all documents > whether they have been previously > published or not ... the bulk of the > documents are now translated and > published for the first time. > > To introduce these documents > effectively I have written a short > history (the first such account, I > believe) of the Missouri River from > its discovery ... Five maps have been > chosen to illustrate this narrative > and documents; of these [two] are > published for the first time.