These arc the men who made the' wonderful and hazardous trip, without the loss of a man, in the worst part of the year, who discovered and traversed the most practical route across the continental divide, and laid the foundation for a great national, ocean to ocean high-

HISTORY OF WESTERN NEBRASKA

wey, and to whom a stone shall be raised that will fittingly commemorate their achievements : Robert Stuart, Ramsey Crooks, Robert Mc-

Clellan, Ben Jones, Joseph Miller, Francis Le- Clerc and Andri Valler.

JACQUES LARAMIE'S CARAVANS AND FLEETS

The romance of the hunter and trapper has always appealed to boys. We have all had our ;siins^ and there are few of us who have not, at some time in our career, set steel traps in the creeks and ponds around home, or improvised a snare for wild game.

Many of the hunters and trappers of one hundred years ago, took to the wilderness for the love of the tiling, but there were some who went into it for gain. Of such, not all were destined to receive the profit which they hoped would be theirs.

Of the former class John Day, with his six feet two, and his manly upright bearing was a type. It is true that like many another of his kind, he died far away from civilization, and wild animals gnawed at, and fought over his bones. Too many of them shared this melancholy fate ; and too many of them shared the fate of Manuel Lisa who put so much spirit end energy into the fur enterprise. He was of more than average intelligence and had much practical knowledge of the business, but it did not avail. The hazards were too great, and he died absolutely insolvent.