The Stevens Expedition
The first railroad survey of the Montana territory was done in 1853. It was spearheaded by Isaac Stevens, then governor of Washington Territory. Stevens’ goal was to map the territory and find a path for a railroad line from the Puget Sound to St. Paul, Minnesota. His mission also included negotiating treaties with tribal leaders to remove them from their lands. Those lands would be opened for white settlement and for the development of the railroad.
Stevens relied heavily on locals, including French Canadian trappers and Metis Indians who knew the terrain. He spoke highly of these men in his final report, praising their knowledge of the land and their ingenuity in crossing it. Despite this, Stevens believed strongly in Manifest Destiny, or the idea that the United States was called by God to expand across the entire continent. This required the existing inhabitants of the continent to leave – or be forcibly removed.
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