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Restoration
'We Proceeded On'

by Darris McNeely

Last month marked a key point in America's bicentennial celebration of the epic Lewis and Clark Expedition. On May 14, 1804, the Corps of Discovery left St. Louis, Missouri, and headed up the churning Missouri River to survey the vast territory recently purchased from France. President Thomas Jefferson had approved negotiations, which led to the Louisiana Purchase for what amounted to three cents an acre. With one stroke the world's greatest land deal doubled America's real estate.

Many of the 34 men of the corps recorded their experience in journals. One of Meriwether Lewis' oft-used phrases was, "we proceeded on." At one point when the party reached the hills where they thought they would find the Northwest Passage, the prime goal of the trip, they saw instead only the far-off peaks of the Rockies. Finding no passage to the Pacific, they saw only more hills to struggle up and over. So, they "proceeded on," eventually reaching the Pacific Ocean and returning to St. Louis after a trip of 863 days. Were it not for the help of friendly Indians, a remarkable young Shoshone woman (Sacagawea) as their guide and a good measure of blessing and ingenuity, the corps would have perished in the wilderness, becoming only a footnote in history. They "proceeded on" and today are remembered and honored as one of the world's great heroic expeditions.

The Lewis and Clark Expedition is more than an American story. It links to man's desire to push onward looking for a passage to the ultimate prosperity, security and success. Jefferson wanted a waterway through the West that would tie America's farmers, manufacturers and the nation itself to a larger world economy. Like this heroic journey, the world's quest is toward a utopian dream of peace and prosperity. The journey of the Corps of Discovery did not find the water passage to the Pacific they sought, and the world continues searching for a way to peace.

Read the full article at www.wnponline.org/wnp/wnp0406/restoration0406.htm


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