394 ANDREW T. LEWIS. On the 5th he left Washington for Pittsburg, where he began selecting supplies, men, and boats. These were gathered up from Pittsburg, all along the line down the Ohio, until they reached St. Louis in the following De- cember. Clark joined the expedition at Louisville and took charge, Lewis going overland by way of Vincennes. The expedition intended to winter at the highest settle- ment on the Missouri, but the Spanish commandant would not permit them to pass through the country, so the ex- pedition went into camp at the mouth of the Wood River, on the east side of the Mississippi in Illinois. On the 9th day of March, 1804, the first step in the cer- emony of transferring Upper Louisiana to the United States occurred. On that day the Spanish flag was low- ered, and the French tricolor raised in its place. The old French residents begged that their flag might float over Louisiana until the next day. On the following day the flag of France was lowered and the flag of the United States took its place. Lewis was a witness to the last act which finally and forever terminated the authority of Spain and France to Louisiana. This was an inspiring event for an expedition soon to start for the unknown land beyond the Rocky Mountains. On the 14th of May, 1804, the expedition left the mouth of Wood River and started up the Missouri. They met fur traders coming down the river. They began to note in the Journal the important rivers, streams, islands, and to give an account of the Indian tribes. During the spring and summer they labored up the Missouri against the tur- bulent river current, without incident, except a council held with the Indians, and the death and burial of Sergeant Floyd. They encountered Hudson Bay men, who regretted to see the flag of the United States west of the Mississippi River. They proceeded on and entered a country of the Sioux, where they met with the first hostile demonstration.
