| Intro | Henry Adams |
| | (Benjamin de) Bonneville |
| | Dr. J. K. Hosmer |
| | President (Thomas) Jefferson |
| | Captain Meriwether Lewis and Captain William Clark |
| | (Francisco Vazquez) Coronado |
| | (John Charles) Frémont |
| | Father Marquette |
| | Prince Maximilian |
| | Professor John Bach McMaster |
| | James Monroe, President |
| | (Zebulon Montgomery) Pike |
| | Percy Waller |
| | George Parker Winship, Esq |
| | |
| Chapter 1 | H. H. Bancroft |
| | Napoleon Bonaparte |
| | Edward Channing |
| | (Christopher) Columbus |
| | (Don Fernando) Cortes |
| | Andrés Docampo |
| | John R. Ficklen |
| | John Fiske |
| | Robert R. Livingston |
| | C. F. Lummis |
| | A. C. McLaughlin |
| | James Monroe |
| | Luis de Moscoço |
| | Fray Marcos de Nizza |
| | Fray Juan de Padilla |
| | Don Alonzo Alvarez de Pineda |
| | (Francisco) Pizarro |
| | General Simpson |
| | Buckingham Smith |
| | Fernando de Soto |
| | Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca |
| | Don Diego Velasquez |
| | Mr. George Parker Winship |
| | |
| Chapter 2 | Pope Alexander VI |
| | C. W. Butterfield |
| | Robert Cavelier (La Salle) |
| | Samuel de Champlain |
| | Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville |
| | Du Tisné |
| | Count Frontenac |
| | Father Hennepin |
| | Louis Joliet (Jolliet) |
| | Louis XIV |
| | Jean Nicollet |
| | Daumont de Saint Lusson |
| | Nicolas de la Salle |
| | Pierre Le Sueur |
| | Jean Talon |
| | Reuben G. Thwaite |
| | (Henri de) Tonty (also spelled Tonti) |
| | (Sieur de La) Verendrye |
| | |
| Chapter 3 | Jonathan Carver |
| | Hiram M. Chittenden |
| | Captain James Cook |
| | Antoine Crozat |
| | Bienville d’Iberville |
| | Captain Robert Gray |
| | Captain John Kendrick |
| | Pierre Laclède |
| | John Law |
| | King Louis XV |
| | Alexander Mackenzie |
| | General Montcalm (Marquis de) |
| | General (James) Wolfe |
| | |
| Chapter 4 |
George Rogers Clark |
| | Manuel Godoy |
| | Anthony Wayne |
| | |
| Chapter 5 | Senator Blount |
| | King Carlos IV |
| | Toussaint L’Ouverture |
| | General Leclerc |
| | William Pitt |
| | Theodore Roosevelt |
| | |
| Chapter 6 | John Adams |
| | Barbé-Marbois |
| | Lucien Bonaparte |
| | Joseph Bonaparte |
| | Alexander Hamilton |
| | |
| Chapter 7 |
Robert Fulton |
| | Professor McLaughlin |
| | Professor Frederick J. Turner |
| | |
| Chapter 8 |
Señor Jeronimo Becker |
| | Aaron Burr |
| | William C. C. Claiborne |
| | Andrew Jackson |
| | Dr. W. F. McCaleb |
| | Sir Edward Pakenham |
| | General James Wilkinson |
| | |
| Chapter 9 | General George Rogers Clark (brother to Wm. Clark) |
| | John Ledyard |
| | André Michaux |
| | |
| Chapter 10 | Paul Allen |
| | Nicholas Biddle |
| | Noah Brooks |
| | Dr. Elliott Cones |
| | William R. Lighton |
| | Mr. Reuben G. Thwaites |
| | |
| Chapter 11 |
Chief Blackbird |
| | Sergeant Charles Floyd |
| | Patrick Gass |
| | |
| Chapter 12 |
Sergeant Pryor |
| | |
| Chapter 13 |
Chaboneau (husband of Sacajawea) |
| | John Colter |
| | Sacajawea (Bird Woman) |
| | |
| Chapter 14 |
Albert Gallatin |
| | |
| Chapter 15 |
Alexander Mackenzie |
| | Chief Twisted-hair |
| | |
| Chapter 16 |
Captain Hill (of the brig Lydia) |
| | Weahkoonut |
| | |
| Chapter 17 |
R. Fields |
| | Sergeant Ordway |
| | |
| Chapter 18 | |
| | |
| Chapter 19 |
Samuel Hearne |
| | General Hull |
| | Manuel Lisa |
| | President James Madison |
| | Shahakas (Big White), a Mandan chief |
| | |
| Chapter 20 | |
| | |
| Chapter 21 |
William H. Ashley |
| | John Jacob Astor |
| | William Becknell |
| | Senator Thomas Hart Benton |
| | James Bridger |
| | A. P. Chouteau |
| | General Armstrong Custer |
| | Alexander Henry |
| | Colonel Henry Inman |
| | Chief Joseph |
| | Miss A. C. Laut |
| | General Miles |
| | William Morrison |
| | Julius de Munn |
| | Mr. G. W. Ogden |
| | Pierre Radisson |
| | Prince Rupert |
| | Captain Amos Stoddard |
| | (William Lewis) Sublette |
| | Mark Twain |
| | |
| Chapter 22 | Edward E. Ayer |
| | H. M. Brackenridge |
| | John Bradbury |
| | George Catlin |
| | Jacob Fowler |
| | Josiah Gregg |
| | Mr. J. .J. Hill |
| | Wilson Price Hunt |
| | Washington Irving |
| | General Kearny |
| | Hall J. Kelley |
| | Hon. Peter Koch |
| | Charles Larpenteur |
| | Madame Maintenon |
| | Colonel R. B. Marcy |
| | Maximilian, Prince of Wied |
| | J. N. Nicollet |
| | Thomas Nuttall |
| | Samuel Parker |
| | G. F. Ruxton |
| | Father Pierre Jean de Smet |
| | J. K. Townsend |
| | Nathaniel J. Wyeth |
| | Professor F. G. Young |
| | |
| Chapter 23 | Rev. William Barrows |
| | Black Kettle |
| | A. F. Blaisdell |
| | Professor Edward G. Bourne |
| | Captain Brown |
| | Mrs. A. H. Burton |
| | G. W. Cable |
| | Colonel Carrington |
| | Colonel St. George Cooke |
| | Edward Eggleston |
| | Colonel Fetterman |
| | John Fiske |
| | General G. A. Forsyth |
| | B. F. French |
| | W. F. Gordy |
| | Colonel Kearny |
| | Miss Grace King |
| | Jason and Daniel Lee |
| | Mr. W. I. Marshall |
| | Dr. W. A. Mowry |
| | O. W. Nixon |
| | Captain James Powell |
| | H. E. Scudder |
| | Dr. Marcus Whitman |
| | |
| Chapter 24 | President Buchanan |
| | Kit Carson |
| | Mr. J(ohn). P. Davis |
| | B. F. Ficklin |
| | Emerson Hough |
| | Robert Mills |
| | Peter Ogden |
| | William H. Russell |
| | Mr. E. V. Smalley |
| | Robert Louis Stevenson |
| | J. A. Sutter |
| | Cy Warman |
| | Asa Whitney |
| | |
| Chapter 25 | Stephen A. Douglas |
| | (General Ulysses S.) Grant |
| | Mr. George Bird Grinnell |
| | Mrs. Helen Hunt Jackson |
| | President Lincoln |
| | Captain Lyon |
| | President Pierce |
| | Professor N. S. Shaler |
| | Leverett W. Spring |
| | Professor F. J. Turner |
| | |
| Appendix 2 | James B. Eads |
| | M. N. La Croix |
| | Traverse |