In its literal sense: the phrase means greater opportunities are available in the North American West for pioneering spirits, but can also be used metaphorically in the context of striking out for pastures new.
It often attributed to the founder and editor of the New York Tribune, Horace Greeley (1811-72), who used the expression frequently. However, the real author is thought to be John Babsone Lane Soule, the editor of the Indiana based Terre Haute Express who first offered the advice in 1851.
Note between 1840 and 1870 over 250,000 people traveled from the Missouri River to the Pacific in US.
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I came across the song "Northwest Passage" a few days ago, and it touched me somehow in someway. We had a similar but much easier driving trip across Canada when we moved oursleves from Ottawa to Victoria. In the 36 days of driving to the west, we spent 1/3 time visiting and camping in Canadian national and provincial parks. During these times, we listened to the wolf howling at midnight in Algonquin Park in Ontario, and found ourselves face to face with a very big buffalo on a 16km walking trial in Elk Island National Park in Alberta. It was that trip which made us appriciate the vastness of Canada and warmness of Canadian people, in addition to the beautiful animals and other treasures from Nature. Thus today's APAD (and the song).
Happy (another) Wednesday!
