... Lawrence. From there the northern boundary followed a line midway through contiguous rivers and lakes (especially the Great Lakes) to the northwest corner of the Lake of the Woods, thence "due west- to the sources of the Mississippi (which were not then known). The Mississippi, south to lat. 31N, ... mountain men, in search of rich beaver streams, made their way over the difficult terrain, thoroughly exploring the region. The discovery of Great Salt Lake is generally credited to James Bridger, but Étienne Provot, Jedediah S. Smith, and others also have claims. The Canadian fur trader Pet...

• Word Count: 3031
• Approx Pages: 12
• Grade Level: High School

... Colhuacan prince who claimed descent from the noble Toltecs and arranged for him to marry no fewer than 20 Aztec women, who presumably would then bear him numerous blue-blooded children. Aristocracy was on command and it worked. Itzcoatl, one of the sons of the prince, led his men into ... its fringes. Feared by all, they trudged from place to place. Twice in 20 years they occupied the strategic hilltop heights of Chapultepec beside Lake Tetzcoco, and twice their annoyed neighbors threw them out. By 1319, weary and discouraged, seemingly farther than ever from Huitzilopochtli's promise o...

• Word Count: 4480
• Approx Pages: 18
• Grade Level: High School