"In yonder city, glory crowned, Where art will vie with art to keep The memories of those heroes green-- The flush of conscious pride should leap To see her fair memorial stand Among the honored names that be-- Her face toward the sunset, still-- Her finger lifted toward the sea! "Beside you on Fame's pedestal, Be hers the glorious fate to stand-- Bronzed, barefoot, yet a patron saint, The keys of empire in her hand! The mountain gates that closed to you Swung open, as she led the way,-- So let her lead that hero host When comes their glad memorial day!" The heroic explorers of a century ago richly earned the honors they are now to receive, and wherever and whenever the names of Lewis and Clark are spoken or written in honor there also should be the name of Sacajawea, the Indian girl of the wilderness. Thus the crowning success of the great expedition which gave the United States its second strong legal claim to the whole grand Oregon country was shared by the brave, true, diplomatic Sacajawea ("the bird-woman"). Readers of the complete story to follow will not need to be reminded that the heroes and heroines who thirty years later braved danger and death to save beautiful Oregon to the Union were only making sure the grand work thus inaugurated. In course of time vessels on voyages of discovery drifted around Cape Horn, sailed up the long coast line of the Americas, always searching for that which would bring them wealth. Finding the immense quantities of furs gathered by Indians in the Oregon country, both the Americans and the English established trading-posts on the coast. The great Astor fortune that still remains in the family had its origin there. But the English had more money, more men, and more ships than the Americans, and before many years they ruled alone and the great "Hudson Bay Company" ruled the land. They established trading-posts eastward, and fleets of vessels carried the rich spoils of forest and ocean to all the countries of the world. At the time of the beginning of our story Dr. John McLoughlin was chief factor of the "Hudson Bay Company" and virtual king of the country. He was a noble old Scotchman, who had married an Indian wife to whom he was loyal and true all his life. He was kind and just to red men as well as white, and always ready to hold out a helping hand to all who came to him. But he served the English government and was always careful that no rivalry to the company he served should be allowed in the territory they claimed. CHAPTER II _The Visit of the Flathead Indian Chiefs to St. Louis. Was the Story Authentic? Incidents--the Banquet Speech--Sketches of Indian Life and Character. Hoo Goo Ahu and Sacajawea._