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For Lewis and Clark, as well as the explorers who followed them, one of their main tasks was to map an unknown territory. Maps would allow trappers, immigrants and settlers to find their way west. To draw the maps, Lewis and Clark had to figure out the longitude and latitude at each point, and they relied on the best technology available at the time:
• a sextant, which cost $77
• an octant
• an artificial horizon
• a surveying compass
• and a scientific ...
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Meriwether Lewis was a Virginian and was trained by Thomas Jefferson. Lewis was familiar with western life. He was probably the most fascinating member of the expedition, but also the most complex. He suffered from serious emotional problems and sometimes acted without thinking. Lewis had what Jefferson described as "occasional depressions of the mind." Yet, he enjoyed a close personal relationship with Thomas Jefferson and knew Jefferson’s mind. He was Jefferson’s handpicked man for Jefferson’s pet project — exploration of ... Read more
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In the early 1800s, the economic reality of what would become Nebraska was based on trade between the Europeans and Indians for furs and skins. Trading companies gambled fortunes in this high-risk enterprise, but the day-to-day business of the fur trade was done in Indian camps or at far-flung posts.
The fur trade was an international business ... Read more
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The Central Plains Village Tradition period (from 900 -1450 CE) saw a rapid increase in population on the plains and, in one sense, was the culmination of the changes that began during the Plains Woodland period. Archaeologists estimate that there were more people in the region during the period than at any other time before or since. In other words, there were more people living on the plains than there are even now. About 5,000 archaeological sites have been discovered ... Read more
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John Dunbar and Samuel Allis were perhaps the most adventurous of the early missionaries to Nebraska. They accompanied Indian Agent John Dougherty to his Indian agency at Bellevue in 1834. Dougherty distributed annuity goods to the Pawnees as prescribed by the Treaty of 1833. He explained to the chiefs of the four bands of Pawnee the reasons for the presence of Dunbar and Allis. The Pawnee immediately invited the two men to travel with them on the coming winter buffalo ... Read more
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Lewis and Clark’s expedition was followed by an expedition led by Zebulon M. Pike in 1806. This expedition was General James Wilkinson’s idea. Wilkinson was a newly appointed governor of the Louisiana Territory. He sent Pike on an expedition towards Spanish territory, possibly to provoke a war or to spy.
The Spanish in the New Mexico territory became very frightened about American plans when Jefferson sent out the Lewis and Clark expedition because Spain still claimed parts of the Louisiana Territory.
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The Ponca were very unhappy with the land and living conditions on the Quapaw Reservation. Much of the land was not suitable for cultivation; sanitation conditions were deplorable. Government agents refused to provide adequate farming equipment, and many of the people died from malaria. Since leaving Nebraska, nearly one-third of the tribe had died. In January 1879, Standing Bear’s son, Bear Shield, died. The distraught chief decided to return to his tribal lands in Nebraska to bury his son. It ... Read more
