She knew the habits of mountain animals, where to find food in the barren land, water in the desert. And she could carry her baby on her back — he should trouble no one.
It is well that she prevailed. In April, 1805, Bird-Woman stepped into one of the six canoes that pushed out into the Missouri. Within a week they reached the Yellowstone, and were climbing the long slope. Boats had to be towed, hunters foraged for game. Rocks and thorns wore out the moccasins as fast as the industrious Bird Woman could make them. Late in May they had their first glimpse of the snowcapped peaks of the Rockies — then that burst of glory above the plains — the Great Falls — a veil of spray 80 feet high descending between lofty cliffs of solid rock. It was Chaboneau who showed the explorers how to make wheels of cross-sections of the cottonwood, on which to carry the boats the 20 miles around the Falls. But from that on Bird-Woman was the guide. They had passed the gate of the Rockies and were in a labyrinth of streams and passes. At the three forks of the Missouri she took the South Fork — the Shoshone trail. Straight as an arrow she made her way back to her old home. After that long journey the sight of the tepees and grazing ponies in the Shoshone valley was a welcome sight. Leaving Bird Woman and Chaboneau to visit her brother, the chief, Shoshone guides led the explorers across the coast-range to the Pacific. The last stage of the journey was by boat on Columbia River. They reached its mouth and camped on the Pacific Ocean beach, Nov. 15, 1805. There they spent the winter. Chaboneau and Bird. Woman returned across the mountains with them to the Mandan village in the spring, and were paid $500 for their serivices, a sum sufficient to build them a good cabin and buy many horses and ponies. A statue of Bird Woman, with her pappoose on her back, was one of the attractive features of the Lewis and Clark Exposition at Portland, Oregon, in 1905.
The explorers reached the Mississippi again in September, 1806, very much to the astonishment of everyone, including Daniel Boone. By many they had been given up for dead. It was scarcely believed that, though they had gone through incredible toil and hardship, they had been in very little real danger and had not encountered the terrible Sioux. The reports of the expedition excited the liveliest interest — the vast, fertile plains, the lofty mountains and the beautiful valleys and mild climate of the Pacific Coast fired the imagination. The members of the exploring party were given honors and large grants of land. Mr. Lewis was appointed governor of the Territory of Missouri The arduous labors and mental strain of the expedition, however, had unbalanced his ardent, active mind and, in a fit of insanity, in October, 1809, he committed suicide at the age of 35. Captain Clark returned to the army. Settlement of the Missouri River country was steadily resisted by the Sioux until they were conquered in the 70's. The discovery of gold in California in 1848 was followed by the building of the Union Pacific railroad across the old Louisiana Territory. It was completed in 1869. The Northern Pacific of the 80's and the Great Northern, terminating at Puget Sound and opened in 1893, now cross the region explored by Lewis and Clark more than a hundred years ago. The natural wonders and beauties of the Yellowstone region, first discovered by them, are now preserved in the National Park.
Lew′iston, an important manufacturing city in Androscoggin County, Me. It is situated 36 miles north of Portland, on the left bank of Androscoggin River, being connected by several bridges with Auburn on the opposite bank. As the river here falls nearly 50 feet, Lewiston has an abundant supply of water-power, which has been turned to great advantage by manufacturing establishments. There are quite a number of manufacturing companies and corporations in the city, the value of their annual products exceeding $15,000,000. Chief among these industries is the manufacture of cottoncloth and woolen goods; next in importance the bleaching and dye works (for bleaching and dyeing cotton materials). There are, besides, a large boot and shoe factory, several establishments which furnish supplies for the cotton and woolen mills and a number of other industries. Lewiston has excellent public and parochial schools, several churches, two fine hospitals, an orphan asylum etc. Bates College, which has its seat here, was founded by the Free Baptists in 1863, Benjamin E. Bates of Boston contributing $200,000 to its endowment. It is co-educational, and was the first college in New England to receive women. Lewiston was incorporated as a village in 1795, but did not receive a city charter until 1863. Population 26,247.
Lex′ington, a city of Kentucky, county-seat of Fayette County, stands in the famous blue-grass region at the junction of five railways, about 80 miles from Cincinnati. The surrounding district is noted for beauty and fertility, and the town has been laid out in attractive style. Lexington was the home of Henry Clay; and its West End cemetery contains an imposing monument to his memory. The University of Kentucky was moved to Lexington in 1865, and Transylvania University was merged in it; the city also contains the state Agricultural and Mechanical College, the Kentucky Reform School, Sayre Female
