STORY OF LEWIS AND CLARK'S JOURNALS. 33 for the press within twelve months. By the 7th of July he appears to have finished the story of the exploration up to July 7, 1805, above the Falls of the Missouri ; for in a note to his distinguished correspondent, chiefly con- cerning the maps for the /publication, 15 he playfully says: " To-day I have sent you and ten men up into a bottom to look for wood to make canoes after the unhappy failure of your iron boat." A year later (July 8, 1811) he wrote to Clark, informing him that he had "completed the work, agreeable to our engagement," and was "ready to put it to the press whenever Mr. Conrad chose." In our day a work of this character would eagerly be sought by publishers. Stanley, Nordenskjold, Nansen, and Hedin have had but to choose among applicants from the book trade. Ninety years ago the situation was far dif- ferent. John Conrad, a prominent publisher of his day, was finally prevailed upon to undertake the work, the financial outcome of which seemed to some others doubt- ful. He appears to have entered into the project with much interest; but by the time Biddle was ready he had fallen into financial straits and in due course was plunged into bankruptcy, for this was the period of the second war with England and business was unsettled. Biddle accordingly writes to Clark July 4, 1811, stating the facts in the case and incidentally mentioning that "last winter I was prevented from going to the legislature chiefly by a desire to stay & superintend the printing." He has, how- ever, made an arrangement with Thomas Bradford, "one of the best booksellers here," and hopes that "we can pro- ceed vigorously & soon get the volumes out." Despite Biddle's optimism affairs dragged slowly, for Bradford's terms were unacceptable. Over a year later (September 5, 1812), we find Clark offering Biddle "the ^ Which were being prepared by F. R. Hassler, Schenectady, N. Y.
