Stephen Harriman Long (December 30, 1784 - September 4, 1864) was a U.S. engineer, explorer, and military officer. As an inventor, he is noted for his developments in the design of steam locomotives. As an Army officer, he led a pioneering scientific expedition throughout a large area of the Great Plains, which he famously described as the "Great American Desert". Longs Peak in Colorado is named for him. December 30 is the 364th day of the year (365th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 1 day remaining. ... 1784 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... September 4 is the 247th day of the year (248th in leap years). ... 1864 (MDCCCLXIV) was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... United States is the current Good Article Collaboration of the week! Please help to improve this article to the highest of standards. ... Scheme of steam locomotive. ... The Great Plains is the broad expanse of prairie which lies east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. ... The Great American Desert was an inaccurate term that described the area west of the Missouri River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the 19th century. ... Longs Peak (or Longs Peak, see below) is one of the 54 fourteeners in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. ... Official language(s) English Capital Denver Largest city Denver Area  Ranked 8th  - Total 104,185 sq mi (269,837 km²)  - Width 280 miles (451 km)  - Length 380 miles (612 km)  - % water 0. ...

Long was born in Hopkinton, New Hampshire, the son of Moses and Lucy (Harriman) Long. He received an A.B. from Dartmouth College in 1809 and an A.M. from Dartmouth in 1812. In 1814, he was commissioned a lieutenant of engineers in the United States Army. In March 1819 he married Martha Hodgkins of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Hopkinton is a town located in Merrimack County, New Hampshire. ... Dartmouth College is a private academic institution in Hanover, New Hampshire, in the United States. ... 1809 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1812 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 1814 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... The United States Army is the largest branch of the United States armed forces and has primary responsibility for land-based military operations. ... 1819 common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Nickname: City of Brotherly Love, Philly, the Quaker City Motto: Philadelphia maneto (Let brotherly love continue) Location in Pennsylvania Coordinates: Country United States State Pennsylvania County Philadelphia Founded October 27, 1682 Incorporated October 25, 1701 Mayor John F. Street (D) Area    - City 369. ...

The following month, as a brevet major in the U.S. Army, he was appointed to lead an expedition through the American West, in areas acquired in the Louisiana Purchase. The specific purpose of the voyage was to the find the sources of the Platte, Arkansas, and Red rivers. For a time in the summer of 1823, his expedition was joined by Italian explorer Giacomo Beltrami. The Western United States, also referred to as the American West or simply The West, traditionally refers to the region constituting the westernmost states of the United States (see geographical terminology section for further discussion of these terms). ... From Frank Bond, Louisiana and the Louisiana Purchase. ... The Platte River, showing the North Platte and South Platte The Platte River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately 310 mi. ... The headwaters of the Arkansas near Leadville, Colorado The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi which flows east and southeast through Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma territories and then into the state of Arkansas. ... The Red River is one of several rivers with that name, and of two rivers with that name in the United States. ... 1823 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Giacomo Constantino Beltrami (1779 – January 6, 1855) was an Italian jurist, author, and explorer, best known for claiming to have discovered the headwaters of the Mississippi River in 1823 while on a trip through much of the United States (later expeditions determined a different source, however). ...

After the expedition, he spent several years helping to survey and build the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. In 1826 he received his first patent for his work on railroad steam locomotives. Long received many more patents for locomotive design and worked with other Army engineers in planning and building the railroad. 1876 map The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) is one of the oldest railroads in the United States, with an original line from the port of Baltimore, Maryland west to the Ohio River at Wheeling, West Virginia and Parkersburg, West Virginia. ... The oldest surviving photograph, Nicéphore Niépce, circa 1826 1826 (MDCCCXXVI) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... This is the top-level page of WikiProject trains Rail tracks Rail transport refers to the land transport of passengers and goods along railways or railroads. ...

In 1832, along with William Norris and several other business partners, he formed the American Steam Carriage Company. The business was dissolved in 1834 due to the difficulties in placing Long's locomotive designs into production. 1832 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... William Norris (July 2, 1802 – January 5, 1867) was an American steam locomotive builder. ... 1834 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

In 1838 he was appointed to a position in the newly formed U.S. topographical engineers corps. He died in Alton, Illinois in 1864. | Jöns Jakob Berzelius, discoverer of protein 1838 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Historic Alton Home Alton is a city in Madison County, Illinois, United States. ... 1864 (MDCCCLXIV) was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ...

Major Long and the Long Expedition

Major Long was the leader of the first scientific exploration up the Platte River. His party included several scientists who studied the geography and natural resources of the area. Eventually, Long became one of the most prolific explorers of the period, covering 26,000 miles in five expeditions. The Platte River, showing the North Platte and South Platte The Platte River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately 310 mi. ...

Like most engineers, Long was college-trained, interested in searching for order in the natural world, and willing to work with the modern technology of the time. Engineers had basically two unique points of view that set them apart from the other pioneers — geographic and technological.

His first expedition was his most famous. In July 1819, he joined Gen. Henry Atkinson's Yellowstone Expedition bound from St. Louis to the Rockies on the steamboat Western Engineer. This was the first steamboat to travel up the Missouri River into the Louisiana Purchase territory. By September 17, the steamboat arrived at Fort Lisa, a trading fort belonging to William Clark's Missouri Fur Company. It was about five miles south of Council Bluffs. Long's group built their winter quarters nearby and called it "Engineer Cantonment." Henry Atkinson (1782 - 1842) was a U.S. army officer. ... Nickname: Gateway City, Gateway to the West, or Mound City Location in the state of Missouri Coordinates: Country United States State Missouri County Independent City Mayor Francis G. Slay (D) Area    - City 66. ... Rocky Mountain National Park (photo courtesy of NPS) View of Colorado Rockies. ... Paddle steamers - Lucerne-Switzerland This article is about the water vessel. ... The Missouri River is a tributary of the Mississippi River in the United States. ... From Frank Bond, Louisiana and the Louisiana Purchase. ... William Clark (August 1, 1770 - September 1, 1838) was a Scottish-American explorer who accompanied Meriwether Lewis on the Lewis and Clark Expedition. ... Satellite photo showing Council Bluffs and Omaha, Nebraska Council Bluffs is a city located in Pottawattamie County, Iowa. ...

Within a month, Long returned to the east coast, and by the following May, his orders had changed. Instead of exploring the Missouri River, President James Monroe decided to have Long lead an expedition up the Platte to the mountains and back along the border with the Spanish colonies. Exploring that border was vital, since John Quincy Adams had just concluded the treaty with Spain, which drew a new U. S. border to the Pacific. The Missouri River is a tributary of the Mississippi River in the United States. ... (April 28, 1758-July 4, 1831) was the fifth President of the United States (1817-1825). ... The Platte River, showing the North Platte and South Platte The Platte River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately 310 mi. ... John Quincy Adams (July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was an American lawyer, diplomat, politician, and President of the United States (March 4, 1825 – March 4, 1829). ... For other meanings of Pacific, see Pacific (disambiguation). ...

On June 6, 1820, Long and 19 men traveled up the north bank of the Platte and met Pawnee and Otoe Indians. On October 14, 1820, 400 Omaha assembled at a meeting with Long; Chief Big Elk made the following speech: 1820 was a leap year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Pawnee The Pawnee (also Paneassa, Pari, Pariki) are a Native American tribe that historically lived along the Platte River in what is now Nebraska. ... The Otoe or Oto are a Native American people. ... The Omaha tribe began as a larger woodland tribe comprised of both the Omaha and Quapaw tribes. ...

"Here I am, my Father; all these young people you see around here are yours; although they are poor and little, yet they are your children. All my nation loves the whites and always have loved them. Some think, my Father, that you have brought all these soldiers here to take our land from us but I do not believe it. For although I am a poor simple Indian, I know that this land will not suit your farmers. If I even thought your hearts bad enough to take this land, I would not fear it, as I know there is not wood enough on it for the use of the white."

After finding and naming Longs Peak and the Rocky Mountains, they journeyed down the South Platte River to the Arkansas River watershed. The expedition was then split, and Long led his group towards the Red River. They missed it, ran into hostile Indians and had to eventually eat their own horses to survive before they finally met the other part of the expedition at Belle Point in Oklahoma. Long and his party of scientists would learn much to tell the nation and have the opportunity to show the U.S. flag. Moraine Lake, and the Valley of the Ten Peaks, Banff National Park, British Columbia, Canada The Rocky Mountains, often called the Rockies, are a broad mountain range in western North America. ... The South Platte River in Denver, Colorado The South Platte River is one of the two principal tributaries of the Platte River and itself a major river of the American West, located in the U.S. states of Colorado and Nebraska. ... The headwaters of the Arkansas near Leadville, Colorado The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi which flows east and southeast through Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma territories and then into the state of Arkansas. ... The Red River is one of several rivers with that name, and of two rivers with that name in the United States. ... Official language(s) None Capital Oklahoma City Largest city Oklahoma City Area  Ranked 20th  - Total 69,960 sq mi (181,196 km²)  - Width 230 miles (370 km)  - Length 298 miles (fBlack Mesa Mountain]][2] km)  - % water 1. ... Flag ratio: 10:19; nicknames: Stars and Stripes, Old Glory The flag of the United States of America consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white; there is a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing 50 small, white, five-pointed stars...

In his report of the 1820 expedition, Long wrote that the Plains from Nebraska to Oklahoma were "unfit for cultivation and of course uninhabitable by a people depending upon agriculture." On the map he made of his explorations, he called the area a "Great Desert." 1820 was a leap year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Official language(s) English Capital Lincoln Largest city Omaha Area  Ranked 16th  - Total 77,421 sq mi (200,520 km²)  - Width 210 miles (340 km)  - Length 430 miles (690 km)  - % water 0. ... Official language(s) None Capital Oklahoma City Largest city Oklahoma City Area  Ranked 20th  - Total 69,960 sq mi (181,196 km²)  - Width 230 miles (370 km)  - Length 298 miles (fBlack Mesa Mountain]][2] km)  - % water 1. ...

Long felt the area labeled the "Great Desert" would be better suited as a buffer against the Spanish, British, and Russians, who shared the continent with the Americans. He also commented that the eastern wooded portion of the country should be filled up before the republic attempted any further extension westward. He commented that sending settlers to that area was out of the question. Given the technology of the 1820s, Long was right. There was little timber for houses or fuel, minimal surface water, sandy soil, hard winters, vast herds of bison (buffalo), hostile Indians, and no easy means of communication. However, it's ironic that the native tribes had been living there for centuries and that, by the end of the 19th century, the "Great Desert" had become the nation's breadbasket. Binomial name Bison bison (Linnaeus, 1758) Subspecies B. b. ...

There were two key results of Long's expedition -- a very accurate description of Indian customs and Indian life as they existed among the Omaha, Otoes, and Pawnees and his description of the land west of the Missouri River.

References

• White, John H., Jr. (1968). A history of the American locomotive; its development: 1830-1880. New York, NY: Dover Publications. ISBN 0-486-23818-0.
• Nebraska Studies website