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About The Conservative (Nebraska City, Neb.) 1898-1902 | View Entire Issue (April 3, 1902)
Conservative * 9 WE VIEW WITH ALARM. There is no arguing concerning tastes. The preference of a seem ingly largo number of American citizens leads them occasionally to seek repose on the roadbed of railroad lines. The ballast of a railroad track would not strike one at first sight as being the most comfortable nor restful of couches , but there must bo something in it , as a largo num ber of such weary citizens are over taken by railroad trains in their slumbers and appear thereafter only as . items in the newspapers and gravestones in the churchyard. Since ono cannot suppose that all of these experiments end fatally , wo are bound to believe that a much larger num ber than ono would think are lodging on the railroad tracks at all times. It seems to us that it is a dangerous habit and one which the country press could well oppose with all the eloquence at its command. TEACHING CHILDREN. It will be interesting to see what the wise men can bring to pass in the way of conclusions at their com ing meeting in Lincoln. They are going to discuss religious education , the university people and all the churches together. Many of these conventions come to no conclusion at all. They meet and read alternate essays and adjourn. Meantime there are plenty of people , with children to educate , who would be glad of some suggestions as to what they might reasonably be teaching them in regard to religious matters. There " < is a continual change of opinion as to things like this. Twenty or tliirtv years ago , children used to go to Sunday school , recite a Golden Text and sing "I want to bo an angel" and ' ' There is a home eternal. ' ' At home they were likely to be set to memorizing portions of the Bible. This was thought to be a religious education. Nowadays people take a somewhat more comprehensive view. They have become aware that there is much true religion outside the systems , and that , it is possible to disagree with some of the things that used to bo taught and still not bo an outlaw. As the children grow up and begin to call for information . about the history of the world and the plan of things , and to ask about statements their playmates and teach ers make to them , it becomes neces sary to decide what to tell them. And here suggestions from wise per sons would often bo welcome. TO CURE A COLD IN ONE DAY. Take Laxative Brome Quinine Tablets. All druggists refund the money if it fails to cure. E. W. Grove's signature is on each box. 25o. INCIDENTS OF WESTERN HISTORY. n. The First Red River Expedition. Upon completion of the bargain for the Louisiana territory , President Jef ferson proceeded to take stock of his new acquisition. Captains Lewis and Olark were started up the Missouri in 1804 ; Pike explored the upper Missis sippi in 1805 ; in the following year he went up the Osage on his way to the mountains , and dispatched a party down stream from the Great Bend of the Arkansas to trace that river to its month ; and in the same year , 1806 , an attempt was made to follow Red River up to its headwaters. There are many Red Rivers , and there was much confusion among them for a long time. A reader of the early writers is sometimes puzzled by the various mentions of unaccountable Red Rivers which they make. Chief among these was the stream which joins the Mississippi between Natchez and Baton Rouge , which was long supposed to be an important watercourse. A hasty guess by Alexander Hnmboldt , who visited New Mexico in the earliest years of the century , caused a supposed identi fication of this river with one of the many reddish streams that come down from the Santa Fe country. It is in reality a comparatively short stream ; but this was not ascertained for a long time. Major Long followed down from its headwaters , in 1820 , a river which he believed to be the Red , but which he found , to his great mortification , when he reached its month , was the Canadian ; and the real source of Red River was a mystery until 1852 , when Captains Marcy and McOlellan located it on the western line of Texas. The following narrative of the first effort in this direction is taken from Dr. James' account of the Long expedition of 1820. It has of course no connection with that affair , which came fourteen years after. The "Pawnee Piquas" were a tribe , commonly called Pawnee "Picts" ( tattooed ) or Towyashes , dwel ling near the Comanohes on the upper Canadian and having no connection with the Pawnees of the Plains. The Great Raft was an obstruction , forty miles or more in length , composed , as described , of driftwood , and so solid as to have great trees growing upon its surface. It persisted until quite re cently. Red River was explored at a very early period by the French , but their examinations appear to have extended no further than to the country of the Natohitoohes and the Cadoes ; and al though subsequent examinations have a little enlarged our acquaintance with its upper branches , we are still unfortu nately ignorant of the position of its sources. Three years after the cession of Louisiana to the United States , a small party , known by the name of the "Exploring Expedition of Red River , " and consisting of Captain Sparks , Mr. Freeman , Lieut. Humphrey and Dr. Oustis , with seventeen private soldiers , two non-commissioned officers , and a black servant , embarked from St. Catherine's lauding , near Natchez , on board several barges and small boats , with instructions to ascend Red River to its sources. On the 3rd of May , 1806 , they entered Red River , expecting to be able to ascend with their boats to the country of the Pawnee Piqua Indians. Here it was their intention to leave their boats , and packing their provision on horses which they should purchase of the Pawnees , they were to "proceed to the top of the mountains , " the distance being , as they believed , about three hundred miles. On the 19th of May they arrived at Natohitoches , distant from the Mississ ippi 184 miles 266 perches , measured by log-line and time. At this place they delayed some days ; and having received information that their progress would be opposed by the Spaniards , they re solved to increase the strength of their party by retaining a detachment which had been ordered by the secretary of war to join them at Natchitoches , "for the purpose of assisting the exploring party to ascend the river to the upper end of the Great Raft , and to continue * as far afterwards as might appear neces sary to repel by force any opposition they might meet with. " Accordingly , twenty men were selected from the garrison at Natohitoches , and , under the command of Lieutenant Dnforest , joined the exploring party. They wore now thirty-seven in number aside from the officers , and were furnished with a supply of flour sufficient for nine months' provision. On the 2nd of June th'ey loft Natohitoches , and proceeded toward their destination. The journal of their tour by Mr. Freeman , which has been obligingly put into our hands by General D. Parker , is extremely cir cumstantial , and embraces much valu able information. We make use of it without particular reference , whenever we have occasion to speak of that part of the Red river visited by the expedi tion. On the 7th of June the party were overtaken , near a small village of Natchitoches and Paskagoulas , by an Indian guide and interpreterwhom they had hired at Natchitoches. He brought a letter from Dr. Sibley , the Indian agent , giving information that a de tachment of Spanish troops were al ready on their march from Nacog- doohes , with a design to intercept the exploring party. At the distance of one hundred and two miles above Natchi- toohes they left the bed of the river , turning out through one of those num erous communications called Bayous , which connect the principal channel
