TIM MAGUIRE
On June 25, 1950, armed forces from communist North Korea
smashed into South Korea, setting off the Korean War.
The United States, acting under the auspices of the United
Nations, quickly sprang to the defense of South Korea and
fought a bloody and frustrating war for the next three years.
The Korean War was the first “hot” war of the Cold War. Over
55,000 American troops were killed in the conflict.
May 14, 1804: One year after the United States doubled its territory
with the Louisiana Purchase, the Lewis and Clark expedition left St. Louis, Missouri, on a mission to explore the Northwest from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean.
On November 8, 1805, the expedition arrived at the Pacific Ocean, pausing there for the winter, the explorers began the long journey
back to St. Louis.
Conferring with Clatsop Indians at the fort.
After passing a wet and tedious winter near the Pacific Coast,
Lewis and Clark left behind Fort Clatsop and headed east for
home.
The Corps of Discovery arrived at the Pacific the previous
November, having made a difficult crossing over the rugged
Rocky Mountains.
Their winter stay on the south side of the Columbia River—
dubbed Fort Clatsop in honor of the local Native American
tribe—had been plagued by rainy weather and a scarcity of
fresh meat. No one in the Corps of Discovery regretted
leaving Fort Clatsop behind.
In the days before their departure, Captains Lewis and Clark
prepared for the final stage of their journey. Lewis recognized
the possibility that some disaster might still prevent them from
making it back east and he prudently left a list of the names of
all the expedition’s men with Chief Coboway of the Clatsops.
Lewis asked the chief to give the list to the crew of the next
trading vessel that arrived so the world would learn that the
expedition did reach the Pacific.
The months to come would witness some of the most
dangerous moments of the journey, including Lewis’
violent confrontation with members of the Blackfeet tribe
near the Marias River of Montana in July.
Nonetheless, seven months later to the day, on September
23, 1806, the Corps of Discovery arrived at the docks of St.
Louis, where their long journey had begun nearly two and a
half years before.
Journalist Henry Morton Stanley began his famous search
through Africa for the missing British explorer Dr. David
Livingstone.
In the late 19th century, Europeans and Americans were
fascinated by the continent of Africa. Few did more to
increase Africa’s fame than Livingstone, one of the United
Kingdom’s most famous explorers.
In August 1865, he set out on a planned two-year expedition
to find the source of the Nile River. Livingstone also wanted
to help bring about the abolition of the slave trade, which
was devastating Africa’s population.
Almost six years after his expedition began, little had been
heard from Livingstone. James Gordon Bennett, Jr., editor
of the New York Herald, decided to capitalize on the public’s
craze for news of the explorer. He sent Stanley to lead an
expedition into the African wilderness to find Livingstone
or bring back proof of his death.
Henry Morton Stanley (1841 – 1904)
David Livingstone (1813 – 1873)
CAMILLE BOHANNON
