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In lecture three, we discussed the different phases of explorers of the Great Plains. An important point to remember is that explorers are cultural beings and they had a specific mission in mind, whether it was from God, the king, or their personal preferences. The Spanish were the first European explorers of the Great Plains. They were seeking wealthy Indian civilizations where they could take the gold and make the Indians their slaves. They did not find gold and did not capture the Indians, so they found no reason to settle on the Plains, although they were culturally inclined to like the area. The French had a different reason for exploring the Plains: trade. They wanted to trade with the Indians and their missions were driven by the Fur trading companies they represented. The French founded New Orleans in 1718. The Spanish founded San Antonio in 1718 in response. When the Americans began to explore the Plains, their mission was commerce with the Pacific region. After the Lewis and Clark expedition, the people were fascinated with the Great Plains, but did not consider them a place for development. Additional Americans explored other areas of the Great Plains including Pike, Long, Sibley, and Fremont.

The most interesting parts of this lecture for me were the X-Files, specifically, the story of Meriwether Lewis' son. The Yankton woman could have been telling the truth when she listed Lewis as the father of her child in the baptismal registry, but there is a very good chance that he was not the father. I found it interesting that the alleged children are not willing to take DNA tests to prove their ancestry. Do you think this is because they really have no doubt that Lewis is their ancestor or because they are concerned that the test would come back negative?