inclined to intrust this work to
his friend Lewis. Their official and private relations had been
intimate; Mr. Jefferson had had ample opportunities for testing the
fibre of the young man's character under strain; besides, Lewis's
confidential position had no doubt made him acquainted with the inner
details of the plan, its broader significance, and the political
obstacles to be overcome in carrying it into effect. Aside from his
temperamental disposition for such an enterprise, his public service
had strengthened his grasp of national interests; enthusiasm for
adventure had been supplemented by maturity of judgment in affairs of
state. Altogether, a better man for the place could not have been
found.

To carry out the work of the organized expedition would consist largely
in surmounting physical difficulties; but to organize it and get it
fairly started demanded considerable delicacy of diplomatic
contrivance. The life of the nation, as it sought to expand and take
form, was beset and harassed, north, south, and west, by international
complications growing out of direct contact with unfriendly neighbors.
In that day the United States did not sustain cordial relations with
any of the strong nations of the world. The internal machinery of the
new government was not yet in perfect adjustment; domestic crises were
constantly recurring; permanence of democratic forms and methods was
not by any means assured; the country had not established an
indisputable right to be reckoned with in matters of international
concern. Russia alone, of all the powers, was considered as friendly.
Even in that case, however, there was nothing warmer than watchful
neutrality. Russian and American interests had not yet conflicted.

The British, through the strong trading companies of Canada, were hot
for getting control of the Indian traffic of the Northwest--indeed,
their prestige was already quite firmly fixed, and they were on their
guard against any semblance of encroachment upon that domain of
activity. This condition, coupled with other and acuter differences,
made it highly probable that England would not take kindly to the
expedition, should its object be openly avowed.

Spanish opposition would be even stronger. Spain had but lately
surrendered possession of the Louisiana Territory, whence her agents
had for a long time derived large revenues from the Indian trade, after
the age-long manner she has pursued in dealing with her colonie