The Pennsylvania Canal, instead of delaying the Pennsylvania Road, assisted it, for the latter was encouraged by the State, and the State owned the canal. In 1857 the railway bought both the canal and its portage railway. The latter was closed almost immediately; the canal has been operated by a separate company under the direction of the Pennsylvania Railroad. But the whole western division from Pittsburg to Johnstown was closed in 1864, and the portion in the Juniata Valley was abandoned in 1899, and that in the Susquehanna Valley in 1900.
Two magnificent railways, standing prominent among the great railways of the world, have succeeded the old canals and that old-time Alleghany Portage Railway. But these great successes are not their richest possessions; they still own, we may well believe, that spirit which wrought success out of difficulty,—the persistent, irresistible ambition to better present conditions and overcome present difficulties, which is the very essence of American genius and the great secret of America's progress. If you wish a painting that will portray the secret of America's marvellous growth, ask that the artist's brush draw Philip Evan Thomas in his bank office at Baltimore, struggling with the problem how his city could retain the trade of the West; or draw Sylvester Welch struggling with his plans for the inclined planes of the Alleghany Portage Railway. There, in those eager, unsatisfied, and hopeful men, you will find the typical American.
[CHAPTER X]
Ignorance of the American People regarding the Territory called New France and that called Louisiana.—Civilization's Cruel March into Louisiana.—Lewis and Clark, Leaders of the Expedition to the Far West, already Trained Soldiers.—Its Aim not Conquest, but the Advancement of Knowledge and Trade.—Some Previous Explorers.—The Make-up of Lewis and Clark's Party.—Fitness of the Leaders for the Work.—The Winter of 1804-1805 spent at Fort Mandan.—First Encounter with the Grizzly Bear.—Portage from the Missouri to the Columbia, 340 Miles.—Down the Columbia to the Coast near Point Adams.—The Return Journey begun, March, 1806.—British Traders blamed for the Indians' Hatred of Americans.—The Americans thus driven to Deeds which made them despised by the British.—Arrival of the Explorers at St. Louis.—News of this Exploration starts the Rush of Emigrants to the West.—Zebulon M. Pike's Ascent of the Mississippi, 1805.—He explores the Leech Lake Region.—Ordered to the Far West, he reaches the Republican and Arkansas Rivers.—Sufferings of his Party travelling toward the Rio Grande.—He sets up the American Flag on Spanish Territory and is sent away.—The West regarded as the Home of Patriotism.
LEWIS AND CLARK: EXPLORERS OF LOUISIANA
