unknown east of the Great Plains.  So was the blacktail, or mule deer, which our adventurers began to find here and there as they gradually worked their way northwestward.  So were the coyotes, whose uncanny wailing after nightfall varied the sinister baying of the gray wolves; so were many of the smaller animals, notably the prairie dogs, whose populous villages awakened the lively curiosity of Lewis and Clark.

    Good Qualities of Lewis and Clark.

In their note-books the two captains faithfully described all these new animals and all the strange sights they saw.  They were men with no pretensions to scientific learning, but they were singularly close and accurate observers and truthful narrators.  Very rarely have any similar explorers described so faithfully not only the physical features but the animals and plants of a newly discovered land.  Their narrative was not published until some years later, and then it was badly edited, notable the purely scientific portion; yet it remains the best example of what such a narrative should be.  Few explorers who did and saw so much that was absolutely new have written of their deeds with such quiet absence of boastfulness, and have drawn their descriptions with such complete freedom from exaggeration.

    Their Dealings with the Indians.

Moreover, what was of even greater importance, the two young captains possessed in perfection the qualities necessary to pilot such an expedition through unknown lands and among savage tribes.  They kept good discipline among the men; they never hesitated to punish severely any wrong-doer; but they were never over-severe; and as they did their full part of the work, and ran all the risks and suffered all the hardship exactly like the other members of the expedition, they were regarded by their followers with devoted affection, and were served with loyalty and cheerfulness.  In dealing with the Indians they showed good humor and common-sense mingled with ceaseless vigilance and unbending resolution.  Only men who possessed their tact and daring could have piloted the party safely among the warlike tribes they encountered.  Any act of weakness or timidity on the one hand, or of harshness or cruelty on the other, would have been fatal to the expedition; but they were careful to treat the tribes well and to try to secure their good-will, while at the same time putting an immediate stop to any insolence or outrage.  Several times they were in much jeopardy when they reached the land of the Dakotas and passed among the various ferocious tribes whom they knew, and whom we yet know, as the Sioux.  The French traders frequently came up river to the country of the Sioux, who often maltreated and robbed them.  In consequence Lewis and Clark found that the Sioux were inclined to regard the whites as people whom they could safely oppress.  The resolute bearing of the new-comers soon taught them that they were in error, and after a little hesitation the various tribes in each case became friendly.