"c3f45be2-341f-47d2-9774-591a8e609d0b"@en . "CONTENTdm"@en . "History of the American fur trade of the far west"@en . "http://resolve.library.ubc.ca/cgi-bin/catsearch?bid=1916154"@en . "British Columbia Historical Books Collection"@en . "History of the American fur trade of the far west"@en . "Chittenden, Hiram Martin, 1858-1917"@en . "2016-02-19"@en . "1902"@en . "\"Paged continuously.\"Though later discoveries have greatly augmented the documentation of the era, they have not served to impair the basic excellence of this epochal work\": - W.J. Ghent in the D.A.B. Vol.1, chapters 8-14 treat the Astoria venture; vol.3, Appendix 3, PP.903-911 has \"Notes on the Astorian enterprise\".\" -- Strathern, G. M., & Edwards, M. H. (1970). Navigations, traffiques & discoveries, 1774-1848: A guide to publications relating to the area now British Columbia. Victoria, BC: University of Victoria, p. 54."@en . ""@en . "https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/bcbooks/items/1.0226115/source.json"@en . "893-1029 pages : table ; 25 cm"@en . "application/pdf"@en . " HISTORY\nOF\nTHE AMERICAN FUR TRADE\nOF THE\nFAR WEST\nfeSSSK\n American Fur Trade\nOF THE\nFar West\nA History of the Pioneer Trading Posts and Early\nFur Companies of the Missouri Valley and\nthe Rocky Mountains and of\nthe Overland Commerce\nwith Santa Fe.\nMAP AND ILLUSTRATIONS\nHIRAM MARTIN CHITTENDEN\nCaptain Corps of Engineers, U. S. A., Author of\n\"The Yellowstone.\"\nTHREE VOLUMES\n APPENDICES. A- i\nCOPY OF LETTER FROM PIERRE MENARD TO\nPIERRE CHOUTEAU. I :\nAn account of the first attack by the Blackfeet upon the Missouri Fur\nCompany at the Three Forks of the Missouri in the summer of 1810.\nBelow are given in the original and corrected French and\nin English translation copies of a letter found among the\nChouteau papers. It is probably the only document in existence that was written upon the identical spot where the old\nfort of the St. Louis Missouri Fur Company stood at the\nThree Forks of the Missouri. It narrates an important event\nin the series of disasters which overtook the company in that\nquarter, and is a genuine messenger from that forlorn band\nunder Henry who later, when driven from this position,\ncrossed the Divide and built the first trading establishment\nupon Columbian waters. The original of this letter, in four\npages, written upon a sheet of fine light blue paper, full letter size, and still in excellent preservation, is in the possession of Mr. Pierre Chouteau of St. Louis. The names in\nbrackets marked * are as printed in the Louisiana Gazette of\nJuly 26, 1810, from an interview with Menard.\ntrois fourches du Missourie 21 Avrill 1810\nTrois Fourches du Missouri, 21 Avril, 1810.\nMonsieur\nMonsieur\nPierre Chouteau eqr\nPierre Chouteau eqr.\nJe matandais\n}\nMonsieur et beau frere\nMonsieur et beau-frere\nPourvoire vous Ecrire Plus favorable\nque\nJe m'attendais pouvoir vous ecrire plus favorablement que\ni\n 894\nATTACKED BY THE BLACKFEET.\nJe ne suis Ameme de le faire a present Les prospect de vent\nje ne suis a mSme de le faire a present Les prospects devant\nnos yeux il lia dix Jours etait Beaucoup Plus flateurs quil le\nnos yeux il y a dix jours \u00E2\u0082\u00ACtaient beaucoup plus flatteurs qu'ils ne\nsont aujourdhuit un party de nos Chasseurs on Etez de fait Par\nsont aujourd'hui. Une partie de nos chasseurs a 6t6 d6faite par\nles pied noirs le 12 du present il lia heus Deux homme De tuez\nles Pieds-noirs le 12 du present. II y a eu deux hommes de tues,\ntous leurs castors pilliez et Beaucoup de pieges De perdues et\ntous leurs castors pilles, et beaucoup de pieges de perdus, et\nlamoniton de plusieur de nos Chasseurs et 7 de nos Chevaaux\nPamonition de plusieurs de nos chasseurs, et 7 de nos chevaux.\nNous avont Etez aleure poursuite maist malheureusement nous\nNous avons 6t\u00E2\u0082\u00AC a leur poursuite, mais malheureusement nous\nnavont pas pux les rejoindre Nous avon ramasse 44 piege et\nn'avons pas pu les rejoindre. Nous avons ramasse 44 pieges et\n3 chevau que nous avont Ramene icy et nous Esperont trouvez En-\n3 chevaux que nous avons ramenes ici, et nous esperons trouver encore quelque piege Set malheureuse afaire a toute afet\ncore quelques pieges. Cette malheureuse affaire a tout a fait\nDecouragez Nos Chasseurs II ne veulle plus aller a la chasse\ndecourage\" nos chasseurs. Ils ne veulent plus aller a la chasse\nicy^ il en partira se pendent de mains 30 qui son tous de gens\nici. lis en partiront. cependant demain 30, qui sont tous de gens\na gage les 14 Lous et 16 Fransais il vont allandroit ou les\na gage, les 14 loues et 16 Frangais. Ils vont a 1'endroit ou les\nautres on Etez De fait Je ne leur donne que 3 pieges Chaque ne\nautres ont et6 d6faits. Je ne leur donne que 3 pieges chacun, ne\ncroient point prudent Dans risque daventage et surtous lorsque\ncroyant point prudent d'en risquer davantage, et surtout lorsqu'\nil ne doive point Se Se pare et La moitier devent tonjours\nils ne doivent point se separer, et la moitie doivent toujours\nEti?es au campement. Le parti qui a etez de faite Consistait Au\nStre au campement. La partie qui a H.6 defaite consistait en\nonze personne et les trois quare Etait a lez tendre Leurs\nonze personnes, et les trois quarts Etaient alles tendre leurs\npiege Lorsque les Sauvages on fonce au campement Le deux per-\npieges lorsque les sauvages enfoncaient le campement. Les deux per-\n INCIDENTS OF THE FIGHT.\n895\nson tuez Son James Chique [Cheeks*] et un nomez haire [Ayres*]\nsonnes tues sont James Chique [Cheeks] et un nomine\" Haire [Ayres],\nAngage de Mes Crou [Crooks] et McLanell [McLellan] que Mess\nengages de Messrs Crou [Crooks] et McLanell [McLellan] que Messrs\nSilvestre [Chouteau] & Auguste [Chouteau] avait equips Pour \"chasse\nSilvestre [Chouteau] & Auguste [Chouteau] avaient equip6s pour chasser\nde Moitiez il manque autres ses deux Le Jeune Hulle [Hull*] qui\nde moiti6. II manque, outre ces deux, le jeune Hulle [Hull] qui\netait du m\u00C2\u00A7me camp et flyharte [Freehearty*] et son homme qui Etait\netait du m6me camp, et flyharte [Freehearty] et son homme qui etaient\ncampez Environ 2 mill Plus haut Nous avont trouvez 4 des piege\ncampes environ 2 milles plus haut. Nous avons trouv6 4 des pieges\nde se derniers et La place ou les Sauvages les on poursuive mait\nde ces derniers et la place ou les sauvages les ont poursuivis, mais\nnous navont point trouvez la place ou il on Etez tuez Dans le\nnous n'avons point trouvS la place ou ils ont 6t6 tues. Dans le\nCampement ou les deux premier on Etez tuez Nous avon trouvez un\ncampement ou les deux premiers ont 6te tues nous avons trouves un\nPied noire qui avait aussi Etez tuez et en suivant leure trase\nPied-Noir qui avait aussi ete tu6, et en suivant leur trace,\nNous avon vus quil En avait une autre de Blesse dangereusement\nnous avons vu qu'il y en avait un autre de bless\u00E2\u0082\u00AC dangereusement.\ntous les Deux Sil le blese meure on recu Leure more de la main\nTous les deux, si le bless6 meurt, ont recu leur mort de la main\nde Chique [Cheeks] car il ni a que Lui qui sai defendue Set\nde Chique [Cheeks], car il n'y a que lui qui s'est d6fendu. Cette\nmalheureuse affaire nous Cause une perte considerable maist Je ne\nmalheureuse affaire nous cause une perte considerable, mais je ne\ncroi pas pour Sela de vaire perdre Courage Les ressource de Se\ncrois pas pour cela devoir perdre courage. Les ressources de ce\npayis Son imance en Castors il est vrait que nous ne feront\npays sont immenses en castor. II est vrai que nous ne ferons\nrein Se printemp mait Je me flate que nous feront Lautone pro-\nrien ce printemps, mais je me flatte que nous ferons Al'automne pro-\n{quelque chose]\nchaine Jes pert que Diei a mon De pare Jevairais les Ser pent\nchaine. J'espere que, d'ici a mon depart, je verrai les Serpents\nM\n 896\nVISIONARY SCHEME.\net les taite plate Mon Intention est de les faire Reste icy Si\net les TSte-plates. Mon intention est de les faire rester ici, si\nJe puis et de les Encourage a la Guere Contre Les pied noirs Jus\"\nje puis, et de les encourager a la guerre contre les Pieds-noirs, jus-\nqua Se que nous puission Enprend pri Son nice et en renvoiez\nqa'k ce que nous puissions en prendre prisonniers, et en renvoyer\nun pour faire des proposion de pais Seque Je croi Serat ayse\nun pour faire des propositions de paix, ce que je crois sera ais6\nEn leur Lesent des traiteurs au bat de la Chute (word torn out)\nen leur laissant des traiteurs au bas de la chute [du Missouri.]\nSi nous navont point La paix avec Ses ma- (rest of word gone) ou\nSi nous n'avons point la paix avec ces ma[udits (?)], ou\nquil ne Soi point detruit nous ne devont point pense a\nqu'ils ne soient point detruits, nous ne devons point penser a\nhavoire detablisement icy assure Madame Chouteau de mon es-\navoir d'^tablissement ici. Assurez Madame Chouteau de mon es-\ntime la plus Sain Saire ainsi. que vos Chers enfants et Croiez Moix\ntime le plus sincere ainsi que vos chers enfants, et croyez-moi\npour La vie votre Devouez\npour la vie votre devout.\nPierre Menard\nPierre Menard,\ntous les jours Devoire )\nir )\nNous nous atendont\nNous nous attendons tous les jours de voir\nles pied noire icy et nous Le desiront\nles Pieds-noirs ici, et nous le desirons\nFaveur de Mr.\nWm. Bryante\n(Address on back of letter)\nMonsieur Pierre Chouteau\nSt. Louis.\n(Brief put on after receipt of letter)\nLettre de Monsr.\nP. Menard du\n21 Avril 1810.\n DISCOURAGING PROSPECTS.\n(Translation.)\n897\nThree Forks of the Missouri,\nApril 21, 1810.\nMr. Pierre Chouteau, Esq.,\nDear Sir and Brother-in-law :\u00E2\u0080\u0094I had hoped to be\nable to write you more favorably than I am now able to do.\nThe outlook before us was much more flattering ten days ago\nthan it is today. A party of our hunters was defeated by\nthe Blackfeet on the 12th inst. There were two men killed,\nall their beaver stolen, many of their traps lost, and the\nammunition of several of them, and also seven of our horses.\nWe set out in pursuit of the Indians but unfortunately could\nnot overtake them. We have recovered forty-four traps and\nthree horses, which we brought back here, and we hope to\nfind a few more traps.\nThis unfortunate affair has quite discouraged our hunters,\nwho are unwilling to hunt any more here. There will start\nout tomorrow, however, a party of thirty who are all gens\na gage, fourteen loues and sixteen French. They go to the\nplace where the others were defeated. I shall give them only\nthree traps each, not deeming it prudent to risk more, especially since they are not to separate, and half are to remain in\ncamp.\nThe party which was defeated consisted of eleven persons,\nand eight or nine of them were absent tending their traps\nwhen the savages pounced upon the camp. The two persons\nkilled are James Cheeks, and one Ayres, an engage of\nMessrs. Crooks and McLellan whom Messrs. Silvester and\nAuguste [Chouteau] had equipped to hunt on shares. Besides these two, there are missing young Hull who was of the\nsame camp, and Freehearty and his man who were camped\nabout two miles farther up. We have found four traps belonging to these men and the place where they were pursued\nby the savages, but we have not yet found the place where\nthey were killed.\nIn the camp where the first two men were killed we found\n 898\nHEAVY LOSSES.\na Blackfoot who had also been killed, and upon following\ntheir trail we saw that another had been dangerously\nwounded. Both of them, if the wounded man dies, came to\ntheir death at the hand of Cheeks, for he alone defended\nhimself.\nThis unhappy miscarriage causes us a considerable loss,\nbut I do not propose on that account to lose heart. The\nresources of this country in beaver fur are immense. It is\ntrue that we shall accomplish nothing this spring, but I trust\nthat we shall next autumn. I hope between now and then\nto see the Snake and Flathead Indians. My plan is to induce\nthem to stay here, if possible, and make war upon the Blackfeet so that we may take some prisoners and send back one\nwith propositions of peace\u00E2\u0080\u0094which I think can easily be\nsecured by leaving traders among them below the Falls of\nthe Missouri. Unless we can have peace with these\n(ma\u00E2\u0080\u0094?) or unless they can be destroyed, it is idle to think\nof maintaining an establishment at this point.\nAssure Madame Chouteau of my most sincere esteem as\nwell as your dear children, and believe me always your devoted Pierre Menard.\nWe are daily expecting to see the Blackfeet here and are\ndesirous of meeting them.\n(Address on back of letter.)\nMonsieur Pierre Chouteau,\nSt. Louis.\nThrough the kindness of\nMr. Wm. Bryant.\n(Brief on back of letter after receipt.)\nLetter from Mr. P. Menard,\nApril 21, 1810.\n B.\nLETTER FROM MANUEL LISA TO GENERAL\nCLARK.\nOn the conduct of Lisa's office as Indian agent.\nSt. Louis, July ist, 1817.\nTo His Excellency, Governor Clark:\nSir :\u00E2\u0080\u0094I have the honor to remit to you the commission of\nsub-agent, which you were pleased to bestow upon me, in the\nsummer of 1814, for the Indian nations who inhabit the\nMissouri river above the mouth of the Kansas, and to pray\nyou to accept my resignation of that appointment.\nThe circumstances under which I do this, demand of me\nsome exposition of the actual state of these Indians, and of\nmy own conduct during the time of my sub-agency.\nWhether I deserve well or ill of the government, depends\nupon the solution of these questions:\n1. Are the Indians of the Missouri more or less friendly\nto the United States than at the time of my appointment ?\n2. Are they altered, better or worse, in their own condition at this time ?\n1. I received this appointment when war was raging\nbetween the United States and Great Britain, and when the\nactivity of British emissaries had armed against the Republic all the tribes of the Upper Mississippi and of the northern\nlakes. Had the Missouri Indians been overlooked by\nBritish agents?\nNo, your excellency will remember that more than a year\nbefore the war broke out, I gave you intelligence that the\nwampum was carrying by British influence along the banks\n 900\nHOSTILE INDIANS.\nof the Missouri, and that all the nations of this great river\nwere excited to join the universal confederacy then setting\non foot, of which the Prophet was the instrument, and\nBritish traders the soul. The Indians of the Missouri are to\nthose of the Upper Mississippi as four is to one. Their\nweight would be great, if thrown into the scale against us.\nThey did not arm against the Republic; on the contrary, they\narmed against Great Britain and struck the Iowas, the\nallies of that power.\nWhen peace was proclaimed more than forty chiefs had\nintelligence with me; and together, we were to carry an\nexpedition of several thousand warriors against the tribes of\nthe Upper Mississippi, and silence them at once. These\nthings are known to your excellency.\nTo the end of the war, therefore, the Indians of the\nMissouri continued friends of the United States. How are\nthey today when I come to lay down my appointment ? Still\nfriends, hunting in peace upon their own ground, and we\ntrading with them in security, while the Indians of the\nUpper Mississippi, silenced but not satisfied, give signs of\nenmity, and require the presence of a military force. And\nthus the first question resolves itself to my advantage.\n2. Before I ascended the Missouri as sub-agent, your\nexcellency remembers what was accustomed to take place.\nThe Indians of that river killed, robbed and pillaged the\ntraders; these practices are no more. Not to mention the\nothers, my own establishments furnish the example of\ndestruction then, of safety now. I have one at the Mahas\nmore than six hundred miles up the Missouri, another at the\nSioux, six hundred miles further still. I have from one to\ntwo hundred men in my employment, large quantities of\nhorses, and horned cattle, of hogs, of domestic fowls; not\none is touched by an Indian; for I count as nothing some\nsolitary thefts at the instigation of white men, my enemies;\nnor as an act of hostility the death of Pedro Antonio, one of\nmy people, shot this spring, as a man is sometimes shot\namong us, without being stripped or mutilated. And thus\n ENERGETIC MEASURES.\nQOI\nthe morals of these Indians are altered for the better, and the\nsecond question equally results to my advantage.\nBut I have had some success as a trader; and this gives\nrise to many reports.\n\"Manuel must cheat the government, and Manuel must\ncheat the Indians, otherwise Manuel could not bring down\nevery summer so many boats loaded with rich furs.\"\nGood. My accounts with the government will show\nwhether I receive anything out of which to cheat it. A poor\nfive hundred dollars, as sub-agent salary, does not buy the\ntobacco which I annually give to those who call me father.\nCheat the Indians! The respect and friendship which\nthey have for me, the security of my possessions in the heart\nof their country, respond to this charge, and declare with\nvoices louder than the tongues of men that it cannot be true.\n\"But Manuel gets so much rich fur!\"\nWell, I will explain how I get it. First, I put into my\noperations great activity; I go a great distance, while some\nare considering whether they will start today or tomorrow.\nI impose upon myself great privations; ten months in a year\nI am buried in the forest, at a vast distance from my own\nhouse. I appear as the benefactor, and not as the pillager, of\nthe Indians. I carried among them the seed of the large\npompion, from which I have seen in their possession the fruit\nweighing 160 pounds. Also the large bean, the potato, the\nturnip; and these vegetables now make a comfortable part\nof their subsistence, and this year I have promised to carry\nthe plough. Besides, my blacksmiths work incessantly for\nthem, charging nothing. I lend them traps, only demanding\npreference in their trade. My establishments are the refuge\nof the weak and of the old men no longer able to follow their\nlodges; and by these means I have acquired the confidence\nand friendship of these nations, and the consequent choice of\ntheir trade.\nThese things I have done, and I propose to do more. The\nAricaras, the Mandans, the Gros-Ventres, and the Assiniboines, find themselves near the establishment of Lord Sel-\n 8SSS3\n902\nLOYALTY TO THE GOVERNMENT.\nkirk upon the Red river. They can communicate with it in\ntwo or three days. The evils of such communication will\nstrike the minds of all persons, and it is for those who can\nhandle the pen to dilate upon them. For me I go to form\nanother establishment to counteract the one in question, and\nshall labor to draw upon us the esteem of these nations, and\nto prevent their commerce from passing into the hands of\nforeigners.\nI regret to have troubled your excellency with this\nexposition. It is right for you to hear what is said of a public agent, and also to weigh it, and to consider the source\nfrom which it comes. In ceasing to be in the employment of\nthe United States, I shall not be less devoted to its interests.\nI have suffered enough in person and property, under a\ndifferent government, to know how to appreciate the one\nunder which I now live.\nI have the honor to be, with the greatest respect, your\nexcellency's obedient servant.\nManuel Lisa.\n c.\nNOTES ON THE ASTORIAN ENTERPRISE.\nNumbers of the Astorians \u00E2\u0080\u0094 Arrivals and departures from Astoria \u00E2\u0080\u0094\nDeaths among the Astorians \u00E2\u0080\u0094 Biographical notes \u00E2\u0080\u0094 Loss of the Tonquin.\nTHE NUMBER OF THE ASTORIANS.\nThe Astorians, properly so called, included those persons\nin the service of the Pacific Fur Company who went to the\nColumbia by the Tonquin, the Beaver, or by Hunt's overland\nexpedition. There^were a few scattering arrivals besides\ntheseT\" The Tonquin arrived within the mouth of the\nColumbia March 25th, 1811, and the Beaver May 9th, 1812.\nOne detachment of HunFsTparty arrived January 18, 1812;\nanother February 15, 1812; a third (Crooks and Day) May\n10, 1812; and a fourth January 6th, 1813. The principal\ndepartures were by the Tonquin June 1, 1811; by Stuart's\noverland expedition June 29, 1812; by the Pedler, April 3,\n1814; and by the Northwest brigade April 4, 1814.\nARRIVALS.\nBy the Tonquin: There sailed from New York by the\nTonquin 22 crew and 33 passengers. There were taken on\n24 Sandwich Islanders, making a total of 79. There were\nleft at the Islands 2 (crew) leaving 77 who arrived at the\nmouth of the Columbia. There were lost in crossing the bar\n8 (4 passengers, 3 crew and 1 Sandwich Islander), leaving\n69 who entered the Columbia. There sailed on the Tonquin\n27 (16 crew, 3 Astorians and 8 Islanders). There remained\nat Astoria 42 (27 whites and 15 Islanders). One of the\ncrew had left the ship and remained at Astoria.\n mm\n904\nARRIVALS AT ASTORIA.\nThe Overland Expedition\u00E2\u0080\u0094West: The total number of\npersons who left the Aricara villages July 18, 1811, with Mr.\nHunt, was 64, as we learn definitely for the first time on the\njourney at the Caldron Linn, November 8, 1811. The number is arrived at as follows:\nSeptember 2 Left among the Crows Edward Rose ..... I\nOctober 1 Trapping party detached at Snake river 4\nOctober 10 Trapping party detached at Fort Henry 5\nOctober 28 Antoine Clappine drowned at Caldron Linn ... I\nOctober 30 Reed and 3 men set out down river from Caldron\nLinn, 2 returning 2\nOctober 31 McLellan's party sets out from Caldron Linn . . 4\nOctober 31 McKenzie's party sets out from Caldron Linn . . 5\nNovember 9 Hunt's party sets out from Caldron Linn . . . . . 23\nNovember 9 Crook's party sets out from Caldron Linn .... 19\n~4\nThis number includes 1 woman and 2 children. The number given by Crooks is 60, but he doubtless omitted Rose and\nthe woman and children.\nJan. 18, 1812, arrived at Astoria parties of Reed, McLellan and\nMcKenzie II\nFeb. 15 \" I \" \" Hunt's party 34\nMay 10 I J I \" Crooks and Day 2\nJan. 6, 1813 I I \" Carson, Delauney, St. Michael,\nDubreuil, LaChapelle, Landry,\nand Turcot 7\nStill detached, including Rose (for Cass and Detaye, see next line) 5\nPerished\u00E2\u0080\u0094Clappine, Detaye, Cass, Carriere, Provost .... 5\n1' . 64\nThe total number who reached Astoria was 54.\nOn the Beaver: Irving says that the Beaver sailed with\n1 partner, 5 clerks, 15 American laborers and 6 voyageurs,\nand took on 12 Islanders. One of the company's men died\nen route which would leave in all 38. Franchere places the\nnumber who arrived at Astoria at 33, and Cox, who was one\nof the passengers, at 36.\nFugitive Arrivals: There were 7 arrivals from various\nsources, but none of them of importance.\nThe total number of persons who entered the company's\nservice on the Columbia, including the Islanders and fugitive\n LOSS OF LIFE. 905\narrivals, was therefore 144. This is a maximum number,\nthe minimum given by any authority being 135.\nPERISHED.\nThe following is the number of Astorians who are known\nto have lost their lives during the continuance of the enterprise :\nOn the Columbia Bar 4\nIn the Tonquin massacre 3\nOn the Beaver ~ . . . 1\nOf the Overland Party 5\nWith Reed on Snake river 10\nLost at Astoria from various causes (Ross) . . 4\nTotal . 27\nShip crews lost:\nOn Columbia Bar (including 1 islander) ... 4\nTonquin Massacre (including 8 islanders) . . 24\nOn the Beaver 2\nShipwreck of the Lark 8\nTotal 38\nGrand total 65\nBIOGRAPHICAL NOTES.\nCox, Ross, was one of the clerks of the Pacific Fur Com-\npanyfcame to Astoria in the Beaver and entered the Northwest service in 1813. He was commonly known by the soubriquet of \"Little Irishman.\" He remained on the Columbia\nsix years, ascending the river nine times and descending it\neight. His chief importance in Astorian history arises from\nthe fact thatThe published an account of the enterprise which,\nalthough the least trustworthy of the original authorities, is\nstill an important work. Its-~title is Adventures on~'the\nColumbia River, London, 1831.\nDay, John, a hunter in the overland party under Hunt.\nAccording to Irving he was a Virginia backwoodsman, but\nhad for several years been on the Missouri in the service of\nCrooks and others. He was about forty years old in 1811,\nsix feet two inches high, in form erect, with a step elastic, and\n\"a handsome, open, manly countenance.\" He was a true representative of the American hunter. He joined Hunt's party\nh\n1\n 906\nDAY AND DORION.\nand went with the overland expedition to Astoria. He was\nsomewhat broken in health at this time and fell behind with\nCrooks on Snake river when Hunt went on with the main\nparty in the winter of 1811-12. He and Crooks were robbed\nof everything and stripped naked in the following spring on\nthe Columbia. A large southern tributary of the Columbia\nthat enters the river at this point is still called John Day's\nriver.\nNot liking the prospect at Astoria, Day resolved to return\nwith the overland party under Robert Stuart; but before he\nreached the Walla Walla he became violently insane and was\ntaken back to Astoria. Irving says that he died within a\nyear, but this must have been a mistake for he was certainly\nalive in the spring of 1814. As a matter of fact Day seems\nto have remained in the service of the Northwest Company\nfor upwards of seven years and to have died in the upper\nSnake river country in 1819.. Ross speaks in his Fur\nHunters of a \"defile where the veteran John Day died in\n1819,\" and elsewhere refers to \" Day's Valley.\" It was\nsomewhere near Godin river. Ferris repeatedly refers to\nthis valley as \" Day's Defile.\"\nDorion, Pierre, a half-breed, and son of the Dorion who\naccompanied Lewis and Clark on a portion of their expedition across the continent. He was hired by Hunt as an\ninterpreter and joined the overland expedition with his\nIndian wife and two children. He figures frequently in\nIrving's account of the expedition and generally in an interesting way. His death at the hands of the Indians near\nBoise river, Idaho, has already been related.\nDorion's wife was a woman of remarkable fortitude and\nperseverance, as will be seen from her experiences as related\nin the text. She and her children were still living in Oregon\nin 1850. One of the boys, Baptiste Dorion, was guide to the\nnaturalist, Townsend, on a trip along the Columbia in 1834.\nFranchere, Gabriel, one of the clerks who sailed in the\nTonquin. His service on the Columbia was entirely at\nAstoria, and he was an eye witness of all the events which\n FRANCHERE, HUNT AND MILLER.\n907\ntranspired there from March 25, 1811, when the Tonquin\nentered the Columbia, until April 4, 1814, when he left Fort\nGeorge for home. Whatever is known of Franchere is to\nhis credit. He was a man of ability and strictly honorable\nin all his relations. It is greatly to his honor that he had\nno hand in the negotiations connected with the transfer of\nAstoria and emphatically disapproved of McDougal's conduct.\nFranchere did an inestimable service to the cause of\nWestern history in leaving an admirable account of events at\nAstoria. It is written in a clear, simple and direcTstyle, and\nis our best authority, except Irving's work, upon Mr. Astor's\ngreat enterprise. Franchere's Narrative was written in\nFrench and published in Montreal, 1819. An edition in\nEnglish was published in 1854.\nFranchere, after his return to Montreal, continued his\nconnection with the fur business. He was engaged to the\nNorthwest Company for several years, and in 1833 was\nemploying men in Montreal for the American Fur Company.\nHunt, Wilson Price, chief partner jn the Pacific^Fur\nCompany, except Mr. AstorJ and leader of the overland\nAstorian expedition:\" Born at Asbury, New Jersey, date\nuncertain. Went to St. Louis in 1804 and was in business\nwith John Hankinson in that city until Mr. Astor began to\nnegotiate with him concerning his proposed enterprise on the\nPacific. After the affairs of the Pacific Fur Company were\nwound up Hunt returned to business in St. Louis. In 1822\nhe was appointed postmaster of St. Louis by President Monroe. He was one of St. Louis' prominent business men and\nwas highly respected by those who knew him. The events of\nhis life which are most important in the present connection\nhave already been related.\nMiller, Joseph, \"a gentleman well educated and well\ninformed, and of a respectable family in Baltimore. He had\nbeen an officer in the army of the United States, but had\nresigned in disgust at being refused a furlough, and had\ntaken to trapping beaver and trading with the Indians.\"\nI\n 908\nREED, ROSS AND STUART.\n(Irving.) Miller was with Crooks and McLellan in 1809\nand joined the Pacific Fur Company with these gentlemen.\nThe same imperious temper which drove him out of the army\ncaused him to quit the new company when Hunt's expedition was about half way across the continent. After spending the fall and winter trapping and roving over the country\nuntil from one cause or another he was reduced almost to\nstarvation, he was picked up by Robert Stuart in 1812 and\nacted as guide to Stuart's party from Snake to Bear river.\nFor this very excellent service he was taken to task by the\nrest of the party, who thought that he was leading them too\nfar to the south. They accordingly abandoned his guidance\nand made their senseless detour to the north. Miller's\ncourse was exactly right and to him belongs the credit of\nopening that part of the Oregon Trail which lay between\nSnake and Bear rivers.\nIt is quite possible that Miller may have seen Salt Lake\nin the winter of 1811-12.\nMiller returned to St. Louis with Stuart's party and nothing further is known of him.\nReed, John, a clerk in the Pacific Fur Company, an Irishman by birth, and one of the unluckiest of the Astorians.\nHis unfortunate affair with the tin box on the Columbia, and\nhis untimely death on the Boise have already been related.\nNothing is known of him except his connection with Astoria.\nRoss, Alexander, a clerk of the Pacific Fur Company, who\nsailed with the Tonquin. After the downfall of Astoria he\nentered the Northwest service and remained there for many\nyears. Much of his work was in the country around the\nheadwaters of the Snake river. The greatest service which\nRoss performed was the publication of his two works,\nAdventures on the Oregon or C^lMmBta~ftver and Fur Hunters of the Far West. Both of these works are valuable\ncontributions to the history of the fur trade.\nStuart, Robert, of Scotch extraction and a nephew of\nDavid Stuart. Both were partners in the Pacific Fur Company and both sailed in the Tonquin. Young Robert Stuart\n LOSS OF THE TONQUIN.\n909\nappears to have been a man of great ability and spirit. It\nwas he who forced Captain Thorn, at the pistol's mouth, to\nturn about the ship at the Falkland Islands. He was selected\nto take charge of the returning overland expedition,\nalthough he had not crossed the country before and although\nthere were in the party both Crooks and McLellan, who had\ncrossed. After the affairs of the Pacific Fur Company were\nclosed up, Crooks and Stuart entered Mr. Astor's service on;\nthe Great Lakes. When Crooks rose to the general agency\nof the company, Stuart was placed in charge of the Northern\nDepartment with headquarters at Michilimackinac. Many\nof his letters may still be seen in the old Astor letter books.\nLOSS OF THE TONQUIN.\nThe following account of the loss of the Tonquin appeared\nin the Missouri Gazette of May 15, 1813, being the first published account of that disaster. It has never before been\nreproduced.\nI Loss of the Ship Tonquin near the Mouth of the Columbia.\n1 A large ship {The Beaver'] had arrived from New York\nafter a passage of near seven months, with merchandise and\nprovisions for the company. It was here we learnt with\nsorrow that the story of the Tonquin having been cut off was\nbut too true. The circumstances have been related in\ndifferent ways by the natives in the environs of the establishment, but that which, from their own knowledge, carries\nwith it the greatest appearance of truth is as follows: That\nvessel, after landing the cargo intended for Astoria, departed\non a trading voyage to the coast north of Columbia river\nwith a company of (including officers) 23 men, and had proceeded about 400 miles along the seaboard when they stopped on Vancouver's Island at a place called Woody Point,\ninhabited by a powerful nation called Wake-a-ninishes.\nThese people came on board to barter their furs for merchandise, and conducted themselves in the most decorous and\nfriendly manner during the first day, but the same evening\nf\nI\n \"J\" I\n910\nMASSACRE OF THE CREW.\nInformation was brought on board by an Indian, whom the\nofficers had as interpreter, that the tribe where they then lay\nwere ill-disposed and intended attacking the ship next day.\nCaptain Jonathan Thorn affected to disbelieve this piece of\nnews, and even when the savages came next morning in\n;great numbers, it was only at the pressing remonstrance of\nMr. McKay that he ordered seven men aloft to loosen the\nsails. In the meantime about 50 Indians were permitted to\ncome on board, who traded a number of sea otters for\nblankets and knives; the former they threw into their canoe\nas soon as received, but secreted the knives. Every one when\narmed moved from the quarter deck to different parts of\nthe vessel, so that by the time they were ready, in such a\nmanner were they distributed that at least three savages were\nopposite every man of the ship, and at a signal given they\nrushed on their prey, and notwithstanding the brave resistance of every individual of the whites they were all butchered\nin a few minutes. The men above, in attempting to descend,\nlost two of their number, besides one mortally wounded,\nwho, notwithstanding his weakened condition, made good\nhis retreat with the four others to the cabin, where, finding\na quantity of loaded arms, they fired on their savage assailers\nthrough the skylights and companion-way, which had the\neffect of clearing the ship in a short time, and long before\nnight these five intrepid sons of America were again in full\npossession of her. Whether from want of abilities or\nstrength, supposing themselves unable to take the vessel back\nto Columbia, it cannot be ascertained. This fact only is\nknown, that between the time the Indians were driven from\nthe ship and the following morning, the four who were\nunhurt left her in the long boat in hopes of regaining the\nriver, wishing to take along with them the wounded person,\nwho refused their offer saying that he must die before long\nand was as well in the vessel as elsewhere.\n\" Soon after sunrise she was surrounded by an immense\nnumber of Indians in canoes [who had] come for the express\npurpose of unloading her, but who, from the warm recep-\nW*\n DESTRUCTION OF THE SHIP.\n911\ntion they met with the day before, did not seem to vie with\neach other in boarding.\nThe wounded man showing himself over the railing,\nmade signs that he was alone and wanted their assistance,\non which some embarked, who, finding what he said was\ntrue, spoke to their people wno were not any longer slow in\ngetting on board; so that in a few seconds the deck was\nconsiderably thronged, and they proceeded to undo the\nhatches without further ceremony.\n\" No sooner were they completely engaged in thus finishing this most diabolical of actions, than the only survivor of\nthe crew descended into the cabin and set fire to the magazine containing nearly nine thousand pounds of gunpowder,\nwhich in an instant blew the vessel and every one on board\nto atoms.\nThe nation acknowledge their having lost nearly one\nhundred warriors, besides a vast number wounded, by the\nexplosion, who were in canoes round the ship. It is impossible to tell who the person was that so completely avenged\nhimself, but there cannot exist a single doubt that the act\nwill teach these villains better manners and will eventually\nbe of immense benefit to the coasting trade. The four men\nwho set off in the long boat were two or three days after\ndriven ashore in a gale and massacred by the natives.\"\n D.\nTHE \"FLATHEAD DEPUTATION\" OF 1832.\n[Letter from G. P. Disoway to the Christian Advocate\nand Journal and Zion's Herald, Friday, March 1, 1833.]\nTHE FLATHEAD INDIANS.\nThe plans to civilize the savage tribes of our country are\namong the most remarkable signs of the times. To meliorate the condition of the Indians, and to preserve them from\ngradual decline and extinction, the government of the United\nStates have proposed and already commenced removing\nthem to the region westward of the Mississippi. Here it\nis intended to establish them in a permanent residence.\nSome powerful nations of these aborigines, having accepted\nthe proposal, have already emigrated to their new lands, and\nothers are now preparing to follow them. Among those\nwho still remain are the Wyandots, a tribe long distinguished as standing at the head of the great Indian family.\nThe earliest travelers in Canada first discovered this tribe\nwhile ascending the St. Lawrence, at Montreal. They were\nsubsequently driven by the Iroquois, in one of those fierce\ninternal wars that characterize the Indians of North America, to the northern shores of Lake Huron. From this resting place also their relentless enemy literally hunted them\nuntil the remnant of this once powerful and proud tribe\nfound a safe abode among the Sioux, who resided west of\nLake Superior. When the power of the Iroquois was weakened by the French the Wyandots returned from the Sioux\ncountry, and settled near Michilimackinac. They finally\ntook up their abode on the plains of Sandusky, in Ohio,\nwhere they continue to this day.\n EXCHANGE OF TERRITORY.\n913\nThe Wyandots, amounting to five hundred, are the only\nIndians in Ohio who have determined to remain upon their\nlands. The Senecas, Shawnees, and Ottawas have all sold\ntheir Ohio possessions, and have either removed or are on\ntheir way to the west of the Mississippi. A small band of\nabout seventy Wyandots from the Big Spring have disposed\nof their reservation of 16,000 acres, but have not accepted\nthe offered lands of the government in exchange. They\nwill retire into Michigan, or Canada, after leaving some\nof their number at the main reservation of Upper Sandusky.\nThe wonderful effects of the Gospel among the Wyandots\nare well known. Providence has blessed in a most remarkable manner the labors of our missionaries for their conversion. Knowledge, civilization, and social comforts have\nfollowed the introduction of Christianity into their regions.\nTo all of the Indians residing within the jurisdiction of the\nstates or territories the United States propose to- purchase\ntheir present possessions and improvements, and in return\nto pay them acre for acre with lands west of the Mississippi\"\nriver. Among the inducements to make this exchange are\nthe following: perpetuity in their new abodes, as the faith of\nthe government is pledged never to sanction another removal ; the organization of a territorial government for their\nuse like those in Florida, Arkansas, and Michigan, and the\nprivilege to send delegates to Congress, as is now enjoyed\nby the other territories. Could the remaining tribes of the\noriginal possessors of this country place implicit reliance\nupon these assurances and prospects, this scheme to meliorate their condition, and to bring them within the pale of\ncivilized life, might safely be pronounced great, humane, and\nrational.\nThe Wyandots, after urgent and often repeated solicitations of the government for their removal, wisely resolved to\nsend agents to explore the region offered them in exchange,\nbefore they made any decision upon the proposal. In November last the party started on the exploring expedition,\n1\n \n914\nA LAND OF SAVAGES.\nand visited their proposed residence. This was a tract of\ncountry containing about 200,000 acres, and situated between the western part of Missouri and the Missouri river.\nThe location was found to be one altogether unsuitable to\nthe views, the necessities, and the support of the nation.\nThey consequently declined the exchange.\nSince their return, one of the exploring party, Mr. Wm.\nWalker, an interpreter, and himself a member of the nation,\nhas sent me a communication. As it contains some valuable\nfacts of a region from which we seldom hear, the letter is\nnow offered for publication.\nUpper Sandusky, Jan. 19, 1833.\nDear Friend:\u00E2\u0080\u0094Your last letter, dated Nov. 12, came duly\nto hand. The business part is answered in another communication which is inclosed.\nI deeply regret that I have had no opportunity of answering your very friendly letter in a manner that would be satisfactory to myself; neither can I now, owing to a want of\ntime and a retired place, where I can write undisturbed.\nYou, no doubt, can fancy me seated in my small dwelling,\nat the dining table, attempting to write, while my youngest\n(sweet little urchin!) is pulling my pocket-handkerchief out\nof my pocket, and Henry Clay, my only son, is teasing me\nto pronounce a word he has found in his little spelling book.\nThis done, a loud rap is heard at my door, and two or three\nof my Wyandot friends make their appearance, and are on\nsome business. I drop my pen, dispatch the business, and\nresume it.\nThe country we explored is truly a land of savages. It\nis wild and romantic; it is a champaign, but beautifully undulated country. You can travel in some parts for whole\ndays and not find timber enough to afford a riding switch,\nespecially after you get off the Missouri and her principal\ntributary streams. The soil is generally a dark loam, but\nnot of a durable kind for agriculture. As a country for\nagricultural pursuits, it is far inferior to what it has been\n CHARACTER OF THE COUNTRY.\n915\nrepresented to be. It is deplorably defective in timber.\nThere are millions of acres on which you cannot procure\ntimber enough to make a chicken coop. Those parts that\nare timbered are on some of the principal streams emptying\ninto the great Missouri, and are very broken, rough, and cut\nup with deep ravines; and the timber, what there is of it, is\nof an inferior quality, generally a small growth of white,\nblack, and bur oaks; hickory, ash, buckeye, mulberry, lin-\nwood, coffee bean, a low scrubby kind of birch, red and\nslippy elm, and a few scattering walnut trees. It is remarkable, in all our travels west of the Mississippi river, we never\nfound even one solitary poplar, beech, pine, or sassafras tree,\nthough we were informed that higher up the Missouri river,\nabove Council Bluffs, pine trees abound to a great extent,\nespecially the nearer you approach the Rocky mountains.\nThe immense country embraced between the western line of\nthe state of Missouri, and the territory of Arkansas, and\nthe eastern base of the Rocky mountains on the west, and\nTexas and Santa Fe on the south, is inhabited by the Osage,\nSioux (pronounced Sooz), Pawnees, Comanches, Pancahs,\nArrapohoes, Assinaboins, Riccarees, Yanktons, Omahaws,\nBlackfeet, Ottoes, Crow Indians, Sacs, Foxes, and Iowas;\nall a wild, fierce, and war-like people. West of the mountains reside the Flatheads, and many other tribes, whose\nnames I do not now recollect.\nI will here relate an anecdote, if I may so call it. Immediately after we landed in St. Louis, on our way to the\nWest, I proceeded to Gen. Clark's, superintendent of Indian\naffairs, to present our letters of introduction from the Secretary of War, and to receive the same from him to the different Indian agents in the upper country. While in his office\nand transacting business with him, he informed me that\nthree chiefs from the Flathead nation were in his house,\nand were quite sick, and that one (the fourth) had died a\nfew days ago. They were from the west of the Rocky\nmountains. Curiosity prompted me to step into the adjoining room to see them, having never seen any, but often heard\n THE FLATHEAD DEPUTATION.\nof them. I was struck with their appearance. They differ\nin appearance from any tribe of Indians I have ever seen:\nsmall in size, delicately formed, small limbs, and the most\nexact symmetry throughout, except the head. I had always\nsupposed from their being called \" Flatheads,\" that the head\nwas actually flat on top; but this is not the case. The head\nis flattened thus:\nFrom the point of the nose to the apex of the head, there\nis a perfect straight line, the protuberance of the forehead is\nflattened or leveled. You may form some idea of the shape\nof their heads from the rough sketch I have made with the\npen, though I confess I have drawn most too long a proboscis for a flat-head. This is produced by a pressure upon\nthe cranium while in infancy. The distance they had traveled on foot was nearly three thousand miles to see Gen.\nClark, their great father, as they called him, he being the\nfirst American officer they ever became acquainted with,\nand having much confidence in him, they had come to consult\nhim as they said, upon very important matters. Gen, C. related to me the object of their mission, and, my dear friend,\nit is impossible for me to describe to you my feelings while\nlistening to his narrative. I will here relate it as briefly as I\nwell can. It appeared that some white man had penetrated\ninto their country, and happened to be a spectator at one of\ntheir religious ceremonies, which they scrupulously perform\nat stated periods. He informed them that their mode of\nworshipping the supreme Being was radically wrong, and\ninstead of being acceptable and pleasing, it was displeasing\nto him; he also informed them that the white people away\ntoward the rising of the sun had been put in possession of the\ntrue mode of worshipping the great Spirit. They had a book\ncontaining directions how to conduct themselves in order to\nenjoy his favor and hold converse with him; and with this\nguide, no one need go astray; but every one that would\nfollow the directions laid down there could enjoy, in this life,\nhis favor, and after death would be received into the country\nwhere the great Spirit resides, and live for ever with him.\n INTERVIEW WITH GEN. CLARK.\n917\nUpon receiving this information, they called a national\ncouncil to take this subject into consideration. Some said,\nif this be true, it is certainly high time we were put in possession of this mode, and if our mode of worshipping be\nwrong and displeasing to the great Spirit, it is time we had\nlaid it aside. We must know something about this, it is a\nmatter that cannot be put off, the sooner we know it the better. They accordingly deputed four of the chiefs to proceed\nto St. Louis to see their great father, Gen. Clark, to inquire\nof him, having no doubt but he would tell them the whole\ntruth about it.\nThey arrived at St. Louis, and presented themselves to\nGen. C. The latter was somewhat puzzled being sensible of\nthe responsibility that rested on him; he, however, proceeded\nby informing them that what they had been told by the white\nman in their own country was true. Then went into a succinct history of man, from his creation down to the advent\nof the Saviour; explained to them all the moral precepts contained in the Bible, expounded to them the decalogue; informed them of the advent of the Saviour, his life, precepts, his death, resurrection, ascension, and the relation he\nnow stands to man as a mediator\u00E2\u0080\u0094that he will judge the\nworld, etc.\nPoor fellows, they were not all permitted to return home\nto their people with the intelligence. Two died in St. Louis,\nand the remaining two, though somewhat indisposed, set out\nfor their native land. Whether they reached home or not\nis not known. The change of climate and diet operated\nvery severely upon their health. Their diet when at home\nis chiefly vegetables and fish.\nIf they died on their way home, peace be to their manes!\nThey died inquirers after the truth. I was informed that\nthe Flatheads, as a nation, have the fewest vices of any tribe\nof Indians on the continent of America.\nI had just concluded I would lay this rough and uncouth\nscroll aside and revise it before I would send it, but if I lay\nit aside you will never receive it; so I will send it to you just\ni\n-A\n aaramn\n918\nFLATHEAD INDIANS.\nas it is, I with all its imperfections,\" hoping that you may\nbe able to decipher it. You are at liberty to make what use\nyou please of it. Yours in haste,\nWm. Walker.\nG. P. Disoway, Esq.\nThe most singular custom of flattening the head prevails\namong all the Indian nations west of the Rocky mountains.\nIt is most common along the lower parts of the Columbia\nriver, but diminishes in traveling eastward, until it is to be\nscarcely seen in the remote tribes near the mountains.\nHere the folly is confined to a few females only. The practice must have commenced at a very early period, as Columbus noticed it among the first objects that struck his attention. An essential point of beauty with those savages is a\nflat head. Immediately after the birth of the child the\nmother, anxious to procure the recommendation of a broad\nforehead for her infant, places it in the compressing machine. This is a cradle formed like a trough, with one end\nwhere the head reposes more elevated than the other. A\npadding is then placed upon the forehead, which presses\nagainst the head by cords passing through holes on each side\nof the cradle. The child is kept in this manner upward of\na year, and the operation is so gradual as to be attended with\nscarcely any pain. During this period of compression the\ninfant presents a frightful appearance, its little keen black\neyes being forced out to an unnatural degree by the pressure\nof bandages. When released from this process the head is\nflattened, and seldom exceeds more than one or two inches\nin thickness. Nature with all its efforts can never afterward restore the proper shape. The heads of grown persons\noften form a straight line from the nose to the top of the\nforehead. From the outlines of the face in Mr. Walker's\ncommunication I have endeavored to sketch a Flathead for\nthe purpose of illustrating more clearly this most strange\ncustom. The dotted lines will show the usual rotundity of\na human head, and the cut how widely a Flathead differs\nfrom the rest of the great family of man. So great is this\nm*+3\n TRADITION OF THE BEAVER.\ndifference as to compel anatomists themselves to confess mat\nan examination of such skulls and ocular demonstration\nonly could have convinced them of the possibility of moulding the head into this form. The \" human face Divine \"\nis thus sacrificed to fantastic ideas of savage beauty. They\nallege also, as an apology for this custom, that their slaves\nhave round heads, and that the children of a brave and free\nrace ought not to suffer such a degradation.\nThis deformity, however, of the Flathead Indians is\nredeemed by other numerous good qualities. Travelers\nrelate that they have fewer vices than any of the tribes in\nthose regions. They are honest, brave, and peaceable. The\nwomen become exemplary wives and mothers, and a husband with an unfaithful companion is a circumstance almost\nunknown among them. They believe in the existence of a\ngood and evil Spirit, with rewards and\"punishments of a\nfuture state. Their rel jflmrt. promigpg tr> th^ virtunus a-for\ndeath a ch*mPtp wh^rp p^rppf^p] gtpmpr wiH shine over\nplains filled with their much beloved buffalo, and upon\nstreams abounding in the most delicious fish. HenTthey\nwilt spend their time in hunting and fishing, happy and\nundisturbed fiuin every enemy7 while the bad Indian will\nbe consigned to a place of eternal snows, with fires in his\nsight that he cannot enjoy, anrThuffalo and deer that cannot\nbe caught to satisfy his hunger.\nA curious tradition prevails among them concerning beavers. These animals, so celebrated for their sagacity, they\nbelieve are a fallen race of Indians, who have been condemned on account of their wickedness by the great Spirit,\nto their present form of the brute creation. At some future\nperiod they also declare that these fallen creatures will be\nrestored to their former state.\nHow deeply touching is the circumstance of the four\nnatives traveling on foot 3,000 miles through thick forests\nand extensive prairies, sincere searchers after truth! The\nstory has scarcely a parallel in history. What a touching\ntheme does it form for the imagination and pen of a Mont-\n\u00E2\u0096\u00A0\nMi\n; am\nii\ni\n 920\nMISSIONARY FIELD.\ngomery, a Mrs. Hemans, or our own fair Sigourney! With\nwhat intense concern will men of God whose souls are fired\nwith holy zeal for the salvation of their fellow beings, read\ntheir history! There are immense plains, mountains, and\nforests in those regions whence they came, the abodes of\nnumerous savage tribes. But no apostle of Christ has yet\nhad the courage to penetrate into their moral darkness.\nAdventurous and daring fur traders only have visited these\nregions, unknown to the rest of the world, except from their\nown accounts of them. If the Father of spirits, as revealed\nby Jesus Christ, is not known in these interior wilds of\nAmerica, they nevertheless often resound the praises of the\nunknown, invisible great Spirit, as he is denominated by the\nsavages. They are not ignorant of the immortality of their\nsouls, and speak of some future delicious island or country\nwhere departed spirits rest. May we not indulge the hope\nthat the day is not far distant when the missionaries will\npenetrate into these wilds where the Sabbath bell has never\nyet tolled since the world began! There is not, perhaps,\nwest of the Rocky mountains, any portion of the Indians\nthat presents at this moment a spectacle so full of interest\nto the contemplative mind as the Flathead tribe. Not a\nthought of converting or civilizing them ever enters the\nmind of the sordid, demoralizing hunters and fur traders.\nThese simple children of nature even shrink from the loose\nmorality and inhumanities often introduced among them\nby the white man. Let the Church awake from her slumbers and go forth in her strength to the salvation of these\nwandering sons of our native forests. We are citizens of this\nvast universe, and our life embraces not merely a moment,\nbut eternity itself. Thus exalted, what can be more worthy\nof our high destination than to befriend our species and\nthose efforts that are making to release immortal spirits from\nthe chains of error and superstition, and to bring them to\nthe knowledge of the true God. G. P. D.\nNew York, Feb. 18, 1833.\ni\n ORIGIN OF THE DEPUTATION.\n921\n'The following letters were published in the Christian\nAdvocate of May 10, 1833.]\nTHE FLATHEAD INDIANS.\nThe following correspondence and communication will\nbe read with great interest. Is it not the voice of Heaven\nto us ? The field opens gloriously. Read Mr. M'Allister's\nletter below. The men are ready; let the Missionary Society\nhave the means. Let the whole Church become a missionary band; not for this object particularly, but for every\nobject. These documents necessarily shorten our notice of\nthe missionary anniversary of our Church, held on the evening of the 23d of April, but we shall continue it in our\nnext.\nSt. Louis, Mo., April 16. [1833.]\nDear Brethren:\u00E2\u0080\u0094The communication respecting the\nFlat Head Indians, which appeared a few weeks since in\nyour paper, and the call of Dr. Fisk, have excited considerable attention. I have just received a letter from Brother\nBrunson, propounding several questions, which he wished\nme to have answered here, so that the desired information\nmight be rendered available to the Christian public. I\ncalled immediately upon Gen. Clark, who received me kindly.\nHe informed me he was just answering, or had just\nanswered, some communications upon the subject. I was\nstruck with the propriety of an immediate communication\nfrom this place; I therefore send you this, sincerely wishing\nit may be useful.\nGen. Clark informed me that the publication which had\nappeared in the Advocate was correct. Of the return of the\ntwo Indians nothing is known. He informed me the cause\nof their visit was the following: Two of their number had\nreceived an education at some Jesuitical school in Montreal,\nCanada, had returned to the tribe, and endeavored, as far\nas possible, to instruct their brethren how the whites approached the Great Spirit. The consequence was a spirit of\nI\n'n\nZ.&\n 922\nLETTER FROM ROBERT CAMPBELL.\ninquiry was aroused, a deputation appointed, and a tedious\njourney of three thousand miles performed, to learn for\nthemselves of Jesus and him crucified. Will not these\nIndians rise up in the day of judgment to the condemnation\nof hundreds and thousands who live and die unforgiven in\nChristian lands?\nI had the good fortune to become acquainted with Mr.\nCampbell, who was one of the first traders among those\nIndians. He left on yesterday for the Rocky mountains\nand the country beyond. A few hours before his departure\nhe favored me with the enclosed letter, which I wish you\nto publish with these remarks. Mr. Campbell is a very\nintelligent and gentlemanly man, and you may rely upon\nhis information. Yours as ever,\nE. W. Sehon.\nRev. Mr. Sehon:\nDear Sir :\u00E2\u0080\u0094In compliance with your request I shall give\nyou a few very brief answers to the questions you have put\nrespecting the Flat Head Indians.\ni. Prospects of a mission? I cannot pretend to say\nwhat prospects there would be in a religious point of view.\nThe Flat Head Indians are proverbial for their mild disposition and friendship to the whites, and I have little hesitation in saying a missionary would be treated by them with\nkindness.\n2. Distance from St. Louis to Council Bluffs? The\ndistance is about five hundred miles.\n3. Whether suitable interpreters can be obtained for the\nFlat Head Indians? There would be some difficulty to\nhave religious matters explained, because the best interpreters are half-Indians, that you could not explain to their\nminds the matter you would require to have told to the\nIndians.\n4. The number of the Indians? There are about forty\nlodges of these Indians, averaging, say seven Indians to a\nlodge.\n LETTER FROM MR. M ALLISTER.\n92S\n5. Do steamers go as far as the Council Bluffs ? With\nthe exception of the American Fur Company's steamboats,\nwhich ascend as high as the Yellow Stone, none go as far as\nthe Bluffs.\n6. Do fur traders go to the Flat Head country, and at\nwhat seasons of the year, and will they allow the missionaries to go in their company ? There is every season one or\nmore companies leaving St. Louis in the month of March*\nand I doubt not but they would willingly allow a missionary to accompany them; but the privations that a gentleman;\nof that profession would have to encounter would be verjr\ngreat, as the shortest route that he would have by land would\nnot be less than one thousand miles, and when he reached\nhis destination he would have to travel with the Indians, as-\nthey have no permanent villages, nor have the traders an)r\nhouses, but, like the Indian, move in their leather lodges,\nfrom place to place throughout the season.\nVery respectfully, your obedient servant,\nRobert Campbell..\nSt. Louis, April 13, 1833.\nSt. Louis, April 17, 1833.\nMessrs. Editors :\u00E2\u0080\u0094The visit of the Flat Head and Nose\nPierce, or Pierced Nose, Indians to our place to inquire of\nthe white man how he ascertains the will of the Great Spirit,\nhas excited much interest in their behalf among the benevolent in different parts of the United States, and well it may*\nwhen we consider the distance they traveled, and the countless hardships they endured to learn by what means we have\naccess into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in the\nhope of the resurrection of the dead and the glory of God.\nInterrogatories have been proposed in reference to the tribe\nor band of Flat Heads, who sent the deputation to this city\nto wait on Gen. Clark, and in answering the question as to\ntheir number, Mr. Campbell confines his answer to that\nparticular band, and states the number at about two hundred\nand eighty. This statement, though strictly true and fulbg\nif\nU\n 924\nPACIFIC COAST INDIANS.\ncovering the inquiry proposed, might induce many not\notherwise informed to suppose that the Flat Heads constitute a mere handful of people buried in the deep recesses of\nthe stony mountains, near three thousand miles from the\nabodes of civilized man, and are scarcely worth looking\nafter. This is not the fact: the deputation was from the\nCho-pun-ish tribe, residing on Lewis river, above and below\nthe mouth of the Koos-koos-ka river, and a small band of\nFlat Heads who live with them. The Cho-pun-ish or Pierce\nNose Indians are about seven thousand in number, according to Gen. Clark's account.\nThe Indians residing on the tide water of the Oregon and\nbelow the great falls are about eight thousand in number.\nThose residing on the northwest of the Oregon, on the coast\nof the Pacific, number about six thousand. Those on the\nsouthwest on the same coast number about ten thousand two\nhundred; all these Indians are Flat Heads except one tribe\u00E2\u0080\u0094\nthe Cook-koo-oose\u00E2\u0080\u0094living on the coast of the Pacific; these\ndo not flatten the head, and are fairer in their complexion,\nand number about fifteen hundred. The Flat Heads living\non Kilmox bay speak the same language with the Lucktons,\nKa-kun-kle, Lick-a-wis, Yorich-cone, Neek-e-to, Ul-le-ah,\nYou-itts, Shia Stuck-kle, and Kila-evats. The presumption\nis that it is the vernacular language of all those tribes living\non the Oregon below the Great Falls and on the Pacific coast,\nnorthwest and southwest of the mouth of the Oregon. Gen.\nClark discovered on the waters of the Oregon and coast of\nthe Pacific more than sixty tribes of Indians, numbering\nabout eighty thousand souls. It is not, however, to be presumed that his account is complete. It is highly probable\nthat the coast of the eastern Pacific is frequented by Indians\nfrom Behring's Straits to Upper California, and many tribes\nno doubt exist in the interior both south and north of the\nOregon, which did not come to the knowledge of Messrs.\nLewis and Clark.\nHow ominous this visit of the Cho-pun-nish and Flat\nHead Indians! How loud the call to the missionary spirit\n\u00C2\u00ABr-*U\n THE CROSS ON THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS.\n9^5\nof the age! It calls to my mind a declaration made by\nBishop Soule, when preaching at a camp in this country.\nSpeaking of the missionary zeal of the Methodist preachers,\nof their extended field of labors, their untiring perseverance\nto compass the earth and spread Scriptural holiness through\nall the world: \" We will not cease,\" said he, \" until we\nshall have planted the standard of Christianity high on the\nsummit of the Stony Mountains.\"\nAlready would it seem that a door is open, and the Indians\nfrom the lofty summit of the Rocky mountains look far east\nwith burning desire to behold the coming of the messenger\nof God. Among the Cho-pun-nish and Flat Heads of\nLewis river the work will commence; the honesty, hospitality, docility,, and mildness of these Indians strongly recommended them first to the consideration of the civilian and\nChristian missionary; here the missionary may learn perhaps the language spoken by those of Kil-a-man bay on the\nPacific: this will give access to perhaps twenty or thirty\nthousand below the Great Falls and on the Pacific.\nOne word more and I shall close. Many of our fellow-\ncitizens have gone from this country so diseased as to render\nit doubtful whether they could ever reach the mountains and\nhave returned from thence with constitutions restored and\nhealth renewed, to the astonishment of all that knew them.\nIf you think the information herein contained would serve\nthe purposes of Christian benevolence, give it a place in your\nJournal. Yours affectionately,\nA. M'Allister.\nV\nWm\nn\nm\nv^^\n,\n MISCELLANEOUS DATA RELATING TO THE\nFUR TRADE.\nState of the fur trade in 1831 \u00E2\u0080\u0094 General Ashley's method of moving\nparties through the Indian country \u00E2\u0080\u0094 A fur hunter's business accounts.\nSTATE OF THE FUR TRADE IN 1831.\n[Letter from Thomas Forsyth to Lewis Cass, Secretary of\nWar, Manuscript Department, State Historical Society of\nWisconsin.]\nSt. Louis, October 24, 1831.\nSir:\u00E2\u0080\u0094In compliance with the request contained in your\nletter of the 9th ultimo, I have the honor to give the following as answers to your queries. I am sorry to say that these\n\u00E2\u0080\u00A2answers are not so complete as I would wish them to be, but\nit seems impossible to collect more detailed or comprehensive\ninformation in this country on the subject of the trade from\nthis place to Mexico and to the base and west of the Rocky\nmountains. Several persons with whom I have conversed,\nand who have decidedly the best knowledge of the subject,\nare unwilling to say anything about it, while others, who pretend to much knowledge of the business, are too ignorant to\n.give even a plain common account, but tell so many wild\nstories and deal so much in the marvelous, that it appears\nunsafe to depend on anything they relate\u00E2\u0080\u0094\nTHE FUR TRADE ON THE FRONTIERS.\nThe fur trade of the countries bordering on the Mississippi\nand Missouri rivers, as high up the former river as above the\nFalls of St. Anthony, and the latter as the Sioux establishment some distance above Council Bluffs, is carried on now\n THE ST. LOUIS TRADERS.\n927\nin the same manner as it ever has been. This trade continues to be monopolized by the American Fur Company,\nwho have divided the whole of the Indian country into departments as follows: Farnham & Davenport have all the\ncountry of the Sauk and Fox Indians, as high up the Mississippi river as Dubuque's mines (without including the Fox\nIndians who reside at that place) as also all the Winnebago\nand other Indians who reside on the lower parts of Rock\nriver; also the Iowa Indians who live at or near the [Black]\nSnake Hills on the Missouri river. The division of Mr.\nRolette includes all the Indians from Dubuque's mines to a\npoint above the Falls of St. Anthony, and up the St. Peters\n[Minnesota] river to its source, as also all the Indians on the\nWisconsin and upper parts of Rock river. Mr. Cabanne\n(who is a member of the American Fur Company) has in\nhis division all the Indians on the Missouri as high as a\npoint above the Council Bluffs, including the Pawnee Indians of the interior, in about a southwest direction from his\nestablishment. Mr. Auguste P. Chouteau has within his\ndepartment all the Indians of the Osage country and others\nwho may visit his establishment, such as the Cherokees,\nChickasaws, and other Indians. Messrs. McKenzie, Laidlaw & Lamont have in their limits the Sioux Indians of the\nMissouri, and as high up the river as they choose to send or\ngo. The American Fur Company bring on their goods annually in the spring season to this city from New York,\nwhich are then sent up the Missouri river to the different\nposts in a small steamboat. At those places the furs are\nreceived on board and brought down to St. Louis, where\nthey are opened, counted, weighed, repacked, and shipped\nby steamboats to New Orleans, thence on board of vessels\nto New York, where the furs are unpacked, made up into\nbales, and sent to the best markets in Europe, except some\nof the finest (particularly otter skins), which are sent to\nChina.\nMr. Rolette procures his goods at Mackinaw, takes them\non in Mackinaw boats to Prairie du Chien (by way of Green\n1\nSf\n(I\nft\n 928\nFUR TRADE MERCHANDISE.\nBay, the Fox and Wisconsin rivers), where he assorts them.\nThey are then forwarded, by clerks hired for the purpose,\nwith the same boats and men, to the different trading posts.\nFarnham & Davenport take up their goods from this city to\nthe Indian villages in keelboats, with their clerks and men.\nMr. Cabanne and Mr. McKenzie & Company take up their\ngoods in the American Fur Company steamboats as before\nstated. The goods of Mr. A. P. Chouteau are transported\nby water in keelboats, as high up the Osage river as the\nwater will admit; from thence they are carried in wagons\nto his establishment in the interior of the country. In the\nspring of the year when the Arkansaw is high Mr. Chouteau\nsends his furs down that river to New Orleans from whence\nthey are shipped to New York.1\nBy the time that the Indians have gathered their corn, the\ntraders are prepared with their goods to give them credits.\nThe articles of merchandise which the traders take with\nthem to the Indian country are as follows: viz., blankets 3\npoints, 2^2, 2, ij4, 1; common blue stroud; ditto red; blue\ncloth; scarlet do; calicoes; domestic cottons; rifles and shot\nguns, gunpowder, flints, and lead; knives of different kinds;\nlooking glasses; vermilion and verdigris; copper, brass, and\ntin kettles; beaver and muskrat traps; fine and common\nbridles and spurs; silverworks; needles and thread; wampum ; horses; tomahawks and half axes, etc. All traders at\nthe present day give credit to the Indians in the same manner\nas has been the case for the last sixty or eighty years. That\nis to say, the articles which are passed on credit are given at\nxThe reader will remember that the two principal divisions of the\nAmerican Fur Company's field of operations were the Northern Department, headquarters at Michilimacinac, and the Western Department, headquarters at St. Louis. What the writer here calls departments were really sub-departments of these two. Rolette belonged to\nthe Northern Department, Farnham and Davenport to the Western Department, as of course did the Missouri traders. Whether Auguste P.\nChouteau, who controlled the trade with the Osage Indians, was connected with the American Fur Company, or wholly independent of it,\nis not very clear from the records.\n DETAILS OF THE BUSINESS. 929\nvery high prices. Formerly, when the opposition and competition in the Indian trade were great, the traders would sell\nin the spring of the year, payment down, for less than one-\nhalf of the prices at which they charged the same articles to\nthe same Indians on credit the preceding autumn. This\nwas sometimes the occasion of broils and quarrels between\nthe traders and the Indians, particularly when the latter\nmade bad hunts.\nThe following are the prices charged for some articles given on credit to the Sauk and Fox Indians, whose present population exceeds six thousand souls and who are compelled\nto take goods, etc., of the traders at their very high prices,\nbecause they cannot do without them, for if the traders do\nnot supply their necessary wants and enable them to support\nthemselves, they would literally starve. An Indian takes on\ncredit from a trader in the autumn\u00E2\u0080\u0094\nA 3-point blanket at $10.00\nA rifle gun 30.00\nA pound of gunpowder . . 4.00\nTotal Indian dollars $44.00\nThe 3-point blanket will cost in England, say 16 shillings per pair\n1 blanket at 100 per cent is equal to $ 3.52\nA rifle gun costs in this place from $12 to 13.00\nA pound of gunpowder .20\n$16.72\nAdd 25 per cent for expenses 4.18\n$20.90\nTherefore, according to this calculation (which I know\nis correct), if the Indian pays all his debt, the trader is a\ngainer of more than 100 per cent. But it must be here observed that the trader takes for a dollar a large buckskin,\nwhich may weigh six pounds, or two doeskins, four musk-\nrats, four or five raccoons, or he allows the Indian three dollars for an otterskin, or two dollars a pound for beaver.\nAnd in my opinion the dollar which the trader receives of\nthe Indian is not estimated too high at 125 cents, and perhaps in some instances at 150 cents.\nI\n *-mm\n93\u00C2\u00B0\nCREDIT TO THE INDIANS.\nIn the spring the trader lowers his price on all goods,\nand will sell a 3-point blanket for five dollars, and other articles in proportion as he receives the furs down in payment,\nand as the Indians always reserve the finest and best furs for\nthe spring trade. In the autumn of every year the trader\ncarefully avoids giving credit to the Indians on any costly\narticles, such as silverworks, wampum, scarlet cloth, fine\nbridles, etc., unless it be to an Indian who he knows will pay\nall his debt; in which case he will allow the Indian on credit\neverything he wishes. Traders always prefer giving on\ncredit gunpowder, flints, lead, knives, tomahawks, hoes, domestic cottons, etc., which they do at the rate of 300 or 400\nper cent, and if one-fourth of the prices of those articles be\npaid, he is amply paid. After all the trade is over in the\nspring it is found that some of the Indians have paid all for\nwhich they were credited, others one-half, one-third, one-\nfourth, and some nothing at all; but taken altogether, the\ntrader has received on an average one-half of the whole\namount of Indian dollars for which he gave credit the preceding autumn, and calls it a tolerable business; that is, if\nthe furs bear a good price the trader loses nothing, but if\nany fall in the price takes place he loses money.\nThe American Fur Company ought to be satisfied with the\nIndians, for they have monopolized all the trade, especially\nat the posts before mentioned. There is a man now in this\ncity who receives annually a sum from that company on\ncondition that he will not enter the Indian country.2 They\nhave also monopolized the whole trade on the frontiers\ntogether with the Indian annuities, and everything an Indian has to sell, yet they claim a large amount for debts\ndue them for non-payment of credits given to the Indians\nat different periods.\nTRADE TO AND WEST OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS.\nI visited this country as early as April, 1798, and in many?\nconversations I had with the French people of this place, all\naIt is difficult to imagine who this individual was, if not General\nWilliam H. Ashley, the founder of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company.\n MANUEL LISA.\n931\nthat they could say^n_thesubject of the Indian trade was\nthat thergLw.ere-ma nyjkadjan nations inhabiting the country\nbordering on the Missouri river who were exceedingly^ cruel\nt5~all tEe white people thafwent among tlrem. \"TnTTughest\npoint then known up the Missouri river was Cedar Island,\nwhich is somewhere in the Arikara country. The Arikara,\nMandan, Blackfeet, Crow, Arapahoe, Assiniboin, and other\nIndians were well known in those days (1800) to the Hudson Bay and Northwest Companies Clerks belonging to\nthose companies with their men would visit the Missouri\nannually at different places for the purpose of trading with\nthe Indians.\nAfter the arrival of Lewis and Clark from the Pacific, a\ncompany was organized at this place for the purpose of trading with the Indians up the Missouri river to its forks and\nhigher if necessary. That company did not exist long, as it\nappeared they were deficient in management and understanding of their new business. After their dissolution a\nMr. Manuel Lisa carried on a trade with the nations as high\nup as the Sioux Indians. He afterwards with others,\nformed a company who extended their trade up the Missouri river to the Mandan villages. Mr.j Manuel Lisa appeared quite sanguine of success, having the sole management of this company, and it is supposed by some people\nthat if he had been well assisted by his partners, he might\nhave done something; but all his endeavors fell to the\nground, and he died some years ago, insolvent. Mr. Manuel Lisa and his partners followed the custom of employing\nmen to hunt in the Indian country.\nAfter the war with Great Britain commenced our Indian \\ntrade almost ceased to exist, except where it was continued (\nby some few hunters who got up among the Indians and j\nwould, in the spring season, bring down a few furs; yet\nthe Hudson Bay and the Northwest companies at the same 1\ntime extended their trade, and sent hunting parties to different points on the Missouri river as also to the Rocky mountains. This kind of trade or business of hunting was con-\n1\n 932\nGENERAL ASHLEY.\nducted on a small scale until General Ashley took it in hand\nabout the year 1821 or 2, when he took a number of hunters\nup towards the mountains as also some goods to trade with\nthe Indians.\nIn 1823 Gen1. Ashley was attacked by the Arikaras. He\nthen descended the Missouri river to Council Bluffs when\nColonel Leavenworth went up (Gen1. Ashley and party being in company) and severely punished the Indians for their\naudacity. After this Gen1. Ashley took more men as hunters and more goods up towards the base of the Rocky mountains. About this time (say 1824-5) Gen1. Ashley was\nnearly one hundred thousand dollars in debt, as I have been\ninformed, since which he has paid off all his-debts and has\nnow an independent fortune.\nSome years back Gen1. Ashley extended his trade and\nhunting excursions west of the mountains, but he has since\nsold out to MessrL. Sublette, Jackson & Smith and now has\nnothing more to do with the business either of hunting or\ntrading about the mountains. He brings on goods &c. from\nthe eastward to this city and furnishes Sublette, Jackson &\nSmith with all they require and receives annually from them\ntheir furs in payment. Sublette & C\u00C2\u00B0. transport their goods\nby water from this place up the Missouri to the Little Platte,\nthence in wagons to a given point on the Missouri river east\nof the mountains, as also round a spur of the^mountains to\nthe waters of Columbia. From what I can learn, there is\nbut little trading done on either side of the Rocky mountains by Sublette, Jackson & Smith. It is altogether by\nhunting that they collect so many furs.\nIn the Hudson Bay establishments on Red river there are\nmany half-breeds who are altogether brought up to hunting. \u00E2\u0096\u00A0 They were formerly provided with an outfit to hunt by\nsome of the Hudson Bay trading establishments, so that they\nbecame well acquainted with all the country on each side of\nthe Rocky mountains. From them the Hudson Bay Company collected much fur. But Gen1. Ashley (as I have been\ntold) has had the address to gain over many of those half-\n THE COLUMBIA FUR COMPANY.\n933\nbreeds to the American concern, by which means the returns\nof fur to the Hudson Bay establishments have been much\ncurtailed.\nMessr*5. McKenzie, Laidlaw and Lamont are three young\nScotchmen, of whom the two former were once in the employ of the Hudson Bay Company. But when that company and the Northwest Company joined their concerns\ntogether, about nine hundred clerks and men were dismissed\nthat service. McKenzie and Laidlaw were among that number, and coming to St. Louis, they formed a concern with\nLamont and others, calling themselves the Columbia Fur\nCompany and trading under that firm. They~were unsuccessful at the commencement and at one time were forty or\nfifty thousand dollars in debt, but one fortunate season of\ntrade enabled them to pay off all their debts, leaving much\nmoney for themselves. After this they made arrangements\nwith the American Fur Company for goods, and have been\ndoing a good business ever since, so as to be now wealthy.\nMessrs. McKenzie & C\u00C2\u00B0. send goods and hunters up the Missouri river from their establishments, toward the mountains,\nand from the knowledge McKenzie and Laidlaw obtained\n(during their employment in the Hudson Bay Company) of\nthe country and Indians, they now trade with the Blackfeet\nand other Indians who always heretofore were in favour of\nthe Hudson Bay Company. Perhaps it would not be exceeding the truth to say that half a million of dollars in furs\nare now annually brought down the Missouri river that formerly went to Hudson Bay, and it is the enterprising spirit\nof Gen1. Ashley which has occasioned the change of this\nchannel of trade.\nAll traders procure as much wild meat as possible from\nthe Indians, but where this article is scarce they have the pre^\ncaution to take provisions with them in the fall of the year\nas they go into the Indian country. I am informed that Mr.\nA. P. Chouteau has a very large farming establishment in\nthe Osage country, where he raises every article of necessary\nfood and in greater abundance than is necessary for himself,\n 934\nLOSSES IN THE FUR TRADE.\nhis very numerous family and followers. Messrs. McKen-\nzie & C\u00C2\u00B0. have some domestic animals at their establishment;\nbut the buffalo, elk, bear and deer (particularly the buffalo)\nare so numerous that they are never in want of provisions\nof the meat kind. Their corn they can obtain in abundance\nfrom the Arikara and Mandan Indians and they can be supplied with I little flour from St. Louis so that they can never\nbe in want. It is said that Sublette, Jackson and Smith take\nwith them some horned cattle, which they drive with their\nwagons and which serve for provisions until they reach the\nbuffalo country.\nIt is impossible for me to ascertain the number of lives\nthat have been lost on the routes to and from the Rocky\nmountains or Mexico. In the Indian country bordering on\nthe frontiers no lives have been lost, according to my present\nrecollection for the last fifteen years, except Findley and two\nothers on Lake Pepin in the summer of 1824, and two men\nby the Winnebagos near Prairie du Chien in the summer of\n1828. Smith (the partner of Sublette and Jackson) was\nkilled this past summer on his way to Santa Fe, having gone\nthat way with some goods.\nI have no doubt that in most of the misunderstandings\nwhich take place between the whites and Indians in the interior of the Indian country, the fault is with the white people,\nexcept among the Comanches, or Hietans, as some call them.\nThey are a roving, plundering, murdering nation.\nThe following are the names of the different nations of\nIndians who inhabit the country between this and the Rocky\nmountains and west of the Mississippi, viz., Sauks, Foxes,\nSioux, Otoes, Iowas, Mahas, Pawnees, Paducas, Snakes,\nShoshones, Delawares, Peorias and Kickapoos, and there\nmay be others that I have never heard of, or having heard\nof, have forgotten.\nTRADE TO MEXICO.\nThe trade to Mexico from this country is carried on by\nindividuals. Sometimes two, three, or more individuals\n THE SANTA FE TRADE.\n935\nwill join their small adventures together, either at St. Louis\nor on the route, and sell them to the best advantage at Santa\nFe or other places in Mexico, during the winter months.\nThose people who are inclined to go to Mexico, prepare by\npurchasing goods, wagons, mules, and horses and hiring of\nmen. The whole cavalcade rendezvous at Independence,\nJackson county, in this state, about the month of May.\nThey then move off together after having formed such regulations among themselves as are deemed beneficial to the\nwhole, which regulations continue in force on the whole\nroute from this state to Santa Fe.\nFrom what I can learn there is little or no danger between\nthis and the supposed line dividing Mexico and the United\nStates, unless the cavalcade fall in with a war party of Pawnees or Paducas on their way to war against the Comanches\nor Hietans (as some call them), and then if the party of\nwhites have in number say ioo or 150 men, the Indians will\nnot attack them, but will try every stratagem to steal their\nhorses and mules, because those Indians know that when\nthey have once got the horses and mules, the white people\ncannot get their wagons away, but will abandon them,\nwhereby the Indians will get much booty. By this mode\nthey have succeeded in more than one instance, and after\ncarrying away what they can they destroy the balance both\nof the goods and wagons.\nIn May last upwards of two hundred men left Independence for Santa Fe and from what I am informed they did\nnot meet with any difficulty either in going or returning.\nThis was told me by a few who have returned. It appears\nthat after the line above mentioned is crossed (in going outwards) the white people are more apt to fall in with the Hietans who follow the buffalo near the base of the mountains\nto the northward during the spring and summer months,\nand to the southward during the autumn.\nParties from this place on their arrival in the mountains,\nhide their goods and then they go into the settlements to\nmake the necessary arrangements, after which, by means of\n RELATIONS WITH THE INDIANS.\nbribes, their goods are smuggled in. They then sell them\nso as to be here again about this time (October) or ensuing\nmonth with the returns, whatever they may be. I cannot\nform any idea, neither can I gain any information as to the\namount of goods taken, or the number of men employed, in\nthe annual trade to Mexico, and I am equally uninformed as\nto the amount of returns from that place. In August last\nMr. Charles Bent set out from St. Louis with a number of\nwagons loaded with goods for Santa Fe and drawn by\noxen. His party consisted of from thirty to forty men, and\nif he succeeds with his ox wagons the oxen will answer the\ntriple purpose: Ist, drawing the wagons; 2nd, the Indians\nwill not steal them as they would horses and mules- and\n3rdly, in cases of necessity part of the oxen will answer for\nprovisions.\nOBSERVATIONS RESPECTING OUR RELATIONS WITH THE\nINDIAN NATIONS.\nIt is lamentable indeed for any one who has the least\nknowledge of Indians to observe that not only those who\nvisit this place, but also those who have never been at any\nof the military posts, should have so little respect for the\nAmerican people. In March, 1818, when I was at the city\nof Washington, I had several long conversations with Mr.\nCalhoun (then Secretary of War) on Indian affairs. I told\nhim that it must appear strange to many people to perceive\nthat we, as Americans, speaking the same language with the\nBritish, whose manners and customs were the same, exceeding them perhaps in our Indian expenditures, and having\nall the Indians residing within our own territories, still had\nnot the same influence over them that the British had.\nTherefore (said I) there must be a fault somewhere. To\nthis Mr. Calhoun replied, that I ought not to point out an\nevil without showing a remedy for it. I answered by saying that we ought to follow the same policy (so far as possible) towards the Indians that the British pursued with\nsuch success. The British government have a well-regulat-\n DEFECTS OF AGENCY SYSTEM.\n937\ned Indian Department. No person is eligible for an Indian\nagency under that government unless he can speak some one\nof the Indian languages; for it is natural to suppose that a\nman understands at least the general manners and customs\nof all Indians if he has been among them long enough to\nlearn any one of their languages, and they (the British)\nhave brought their Indian affairs to a perfect system. But\nour government appoints young men to Indian agencies,\ngenerally from the interior of the United States, who, in all\nprobability, have never seen more than three or four Indians\ntogether in the course of their lives, and those Indians perhaps civilized. When the old chiefs and warriors hear of\nthe arrival of their new father (as they term the new agent)\nthey call at the agency to see him, but the agent does not\nknow what to say or do to them and perhaps does not give\nthem a pipe of tobacco, or even a good or bad word. The\nIndians then go away dissatisfied, and consequently in cases\nof this kind, everything depends on the interpreter. If the\ninterpreter is an honest man he may teach the agent something in the course of years; but on the contrary, if he is a\ndesigning man, and wishes that no one should share his influence, he will keep the agent and the Indians in continual\nbroils and quarrels, and nothing being rightly done, the\npublic service must suffer. Instead of trying to heal the old\nsores that have existed for the last fifty or sixty years between the American people and the Indians, the breach is\nmade wider and fuel is added to the flame. I have been\ntold that a young man who was appointed an Indian agent\non the Missouri river cut off the ears of a half-breed who\nresided among the Sioux Indians because, being in a state\nof intoxication, he made use of some extravagant language\ndisrespectful of the American people. Another agent on the\nMississippi turned out of the guard-house an innocent Indian\nto other Indians, his enemies, who shot him down and butchered him in a horrid manner, in the presence of an American garrison of soldiers. Another Indian agent also invited some chiefs to a council, when a number of their ene-\n 938\nASHLEY S METHOD OF MARCHING.\nmies arrived at the agency, organized themselves, descended\nthe Mississippi river, attacked the chiefs and others who\nwere invited, and on their way to the council, killed nine and\nwounded three out of sixteen persons. In my intercourse\nwith the Indians for the last forty years I never found that\ncoercive measures ever had any good effect with them, but\nthat conciliatory measures always tended to produce every\npurpose required. I am, &c.,\nThomas Forsyth,\nThe Honorable Lewis Cass,\nSecretary of War, Washington City.\n(Thomas Forsyth's Letter Book, 1822-33. Mss. Dept\nState Historical Society of Wisconsin.)\nGENERAL ASHLEY S METHOD OF MOVING PARTIES THROUGH\nTHE INDIAN COUNTRY.\nIn compliance with your request in relation to my manner of equipping and moving parties of men through the\nIndian country in the course of my general excursions to the\nRocky mountains, I will observe that, as mules are much the\nbest animals for packing heavy burthens, each man has\ncharge of two of them for that purpose, and one horse to\nride. The equipage of each horse or mule consists of two\nhalters, one saddle, one saddle blanket, one bear skin for\ncovering the pack or saddle, and one pack strap for the purpose of binding on the pack, and a bridle for the riding\nhorse. One of the halters should be made light for common use, of beef hide, dressed soft; the other should be made\nof hide dressed in the same way, or tarred rope, sufficiently\nstrong to hold the horse under any circumstances, and so\nconstructed as to give pain to the jaws when drawn very\ntight. The rein of each halter should not be less than sixteen feet long. A stake made of tough, hard wood, about\ntwo inches in diameter, and two feet long, with an iron\nsocket, pointed at one end to penetrate the earth, and at the\n CARE OF THE HORSES.\n939\nother end a band of iron to prevent its splitting, should be\nprovided, to be used when in the prairies, with the halter last\ndescribed. This stake, when well set in the ground, will\nhold any horse.\nIn the organization of a party of, say from 60 to 80 men,\nfour of the most confidential and experienced of the number\nare selected to aid in the command; the rest are divided in\nmesses of eight or ten. A suitable man is also appointed\nat thehrnd of ench mri^- whoie duty it is to make \"known\nthe wants of his mess, receive supplies for them, make distributions, 'watcff^oySTKiFconduct, enforce order, etc., etc.\nThe party thus organized, each man receives the horse\nand mules allotted to him, their equipage, and the packs\nwhich his mules are to carry; every article so disposed of is\nentered in a book kept for that purpose. When the party\nreaches the Indian country, great order and vigilance in the\ndischarge of their duty are required of every man. A variety\nof circumstances confines our march very often to the borders of large water courses; when that is the case, it is found\nconvenient and safe, when the ground will admit, to locate\nour camps (which are generally laid off in a square) so as\nto make the river form one line, and include as much ground\nin it as may be sufficient for the whole number of horses,\nallowing for each a range of thirty feet in diameter, < On\nthe arrival of the party at their camping ground, the position\nof each mess is [jointed out; wneretheir packs, saddles, etc.,\nare takefToff, and with them a breastwork immediately put\nup, to cover them frdnTa night\"attack bylndians; the horses\nare then watered and delivered to the horse guard, who keep\nthem on the best grass outside and near the encampment,\nwhere they graze until sunset; then each man brings his\nhorse within the limits of the camp, exchanges the light\nhalter for the other more substantial, sets his stakes, which\nare placed at the distance of thirty feet from each other, and\nsecures his horses to them. This range of thirty feet, in\naddition to the grass the horse has collected outside the camp,\nwill be all-sufficient for him during the night. After these\n 940\nPRECAUTIONS EN ROUTE.\nregulations, the proceedings of the night are pretty much\nthe same as are practiced in military camps. At day light\n(when in dangerous parts of the country) two or more men\nare mounted on horseback, and sent to examine ravines,\nwoods, hills, and other places within striking distance of the\ncamp, where Indians might secrete themselves, before the\nmen are allowed to leave their breastworks to make the\nnecessary morning arrangements before marching. When\nthese spies report favorably, the horses are then taken outside the camp, delivered to the horse guard, and allowed to\ngraze until the party has breakfasted, and are ready for\nsaddling. In the line of march, each mess march together,\nand take their choice of positions in the line according to\ntheir activity in making themselves ready to move, viz.: the\nmess first ready to march moves up in the rear of an officer,\nwho marches in the front of the party, and takes choice of\na position in the line, and so they all proceed until the line\nis formed; and in that way they march the whole of that\nday. Spies are sent several miles ahead to examine the\ncountry in the vicinity of the route, and others are kept at\nthe distance of a half mile or more from the party, as the\nsituation of the ground seems to require, in front, rear, and\non the flanks. In making discoveries of Indians, they communicate the same by signal or otherwise to the commanding officer with the party, who makes his arrangements\naccordingly. In this way I have marched parties of men\nthe whole way from St. Louis to the vicinity of the Grand\nlake, which is situated about one hundred and fifty miles\ndown the waters of the Pacific ocean, in 78 days. In the\nmonth of March, 1827, I fitted out a party of 60 men,\nmounted a piece of artillery (a four pounder) on a carriage\nwhich was drawn by two mules; the party marched to or\nnear the Grand Salt lake beyond the Rocky mountains,\nremained there one month, stopped on the way back fifteen\ndays, and returned to Lexington, in the western part of Missouri, in September, where the party was met with everything necessary for another outfit, and did return (using the\n A FREE HUNTERS ACCOUNTS.\n941\nsame horses and mules) to the mountains by the last of\nNovember, in the same year.\nA FREE HUNTER'S BUSINESS ACCOUNTS.\nThe following seven exhibits, taken from many hundreds\nstill among the Chouteau papers, will convey a good idea of\nthe business transactions of the wilderness, and will show\nto what an extent the methods of business in the older and\nsettled portions of the country obtained even in these remote\nsections where civilized man was yet almost an entire\nstranger. The particular person, whose accounts are here\nexhibited appears now and then in the narratives of that\nperiod and is believed to be the one for whom Gardiner river\nin the Yellowstone National Park is named.\nCOPY OF A FREE HUNTER'S CONTRACT.\nArticles of agreement made and entered into at Fort\nUnion, Upper Missouri, on the fifth day of July, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-two, by and between Kenneth\nMackenzie, agent of the American Fur Company, and Johnson Gardner, citizen of the United States and free hunter in\nthe Indian country\t\nThe said Johnson Gardner hereby agrees to sell, and the\nsaid Kenneth Mackenzie agrees to purchase, all his stock of\nbeaver skins now en cache on the Yellowstone river, at and\nfor the price per pound net weight of four dollars twelve\nand a half cents, to be delivered by the said Johnson Gardner\nto the agent or servants of the said Kenneth Mackenzie on\nthe spot where it is cached, the weight thereof to be regulated\nand adjusted by Francis A. Chardon and James A. Hamilton on its arrival at Fort Union, the number of skins being\n.... and the weight now considered to be The said\nJohnson Gardner further agrees to sell, and the said Kenneth Mackenzie agrees to purchase, all his stock of castorum\nat and for the price per pound of three dollars, the weight\nthereof to be adjusted by the parties aforesaid. The said\nKenneth Mackenzie hereby further agrees to and with the\n \nCONTRACT WITH JOHNSON GARDNER.\nsaid Johnson Gardner to furnish and supply and equip\ntwo men to hunt and trap beaver for the fall and spring\nseasons next ensuing, at the entire charge and cost of the\nsaid Kenneth Mackenzie, to hunt and trap under the direction of the said Johnson Gardner; and the said Kenneth\nMackenzie further agrees to furnish a third man, and at his\ncost and charge to supply a moiety or one-half of the\nrequisite, necessary and usual equipment for a beaver hunter,\nand the said Johnson Gardner hereby agrees to supply the\nsaid third man with the other moiety or half part of the\nneedful equipment usual for a beaver hunter, and it is hereby\nagreed by and between the said Kenneth Mackenzie and\nthe said Johnson Gardner that an entire moiety or half part\nof the beaver skins and castorum killed, taken and secured\nby the united skill and exertions of the said Johnson Gardner and the said three men to be furnished as aforesaid\nshall be the just and lawful share of the said Kenneth Mackenzie, the other moiety or half part to be the just and lawful\nshare of the said Johnson Gardner, and it is further agreed\nthat the said moiety or half part which shall become the\nproperty of the said Johnson Gardner shall be purchased of\nhim by the said Kenneth Mackenzie at and for the price of\nthree dollars fifty cents per pound for beaver skins taken\nand secured in the fall approaching, and four dollars per\npound for beaver skins taken and secured in the spring following, and three dollars per pound for castorum. Signed,\nsealed and delivered by the said Kenneth Mackenzie and\nsaid Johnson Gardner at Fort Union the day and year first\nabove written.\nIn the presence of\nJ. A. Hamilton.\nKenneth Mackenzie,\n;H * -|. AgtU. M.O.\nhis\nJohnson X Gardner.\nmark\n BUSINESS PAPERS.\n943\nCOPY OF AN ACCOUNT CURRENT BETWEEN JOHNSON GARDNER AND THE AMERICAN FUR COMPANY.\n\" Mr. Johnson Gardner in account with the American\nFur Company, U. M. O.\nDR.\nCR.\n1831,\n1820-1833.\nTo Sundries ad\nJuly 12.\nBy 53 Beaver Skins\nvanced as per\nat $6.50,. \ .\n$ 344.50\naccount A. . .\n$4,034.70\n1832,\nJuly 21.\n\" 1 Otter skin, .\n2.50\n\" 206 Beaver skins\nJ\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094 278 lbs. at\n/\n$4 V6i ....\n1,146.75\n/\n\" 1 Otter skin, .\n2.00\n/\n\" 27^ lbs. Beaver\n1\nskin (at Fort\n/\nCass) at 3 60-100\n95.37\n/\n\" Note on Smith,\n/\nSublette & Co.\n1,321.48\n/\n1833,\n/\nJune 30.\n*' 16 Beaver Traps\nleft at Fort\nPierre, . . .\n\" Balancecarried\n192.00\n/\n$4,034.70\ndown, . . .\n930.10\n$4,034.70\n1833,\nJune 30.\nTo balance, . . .\n$930.10\nFor Am. Fur Company,\nJ. Archdale Hamilton.\nFort Union, Sept. 12, 1833.\nCopy of receipt for note referred to in above account current:\n\"$1371.48.\nReceived of Johnson Gardner a note on Messrs. Smith,\nSublette, and Jackson for thirteen hundred and seventy-one\ndollars forty-eight cents, which he wishes me to collect for\nhim and be placed to his credit at 5 per cent interest, which\nI will endeavor to do if no unavoidable accident will happen\nto me or the note.\n(Signed) K. Mackenzie.\nThe above is a true copy of the receipt.\nWitness: S. P. Winter.\"\n 944\nLIQUOR AND FEASTING.\nCopy of weigh-bill of beaver mentioned in above account\ncurrent.\n\" Fort Union, August 6, 1832.\nWe, Francis A. Chardon and J. Archdale Hamilton, hereby certify that we have carefully weighed two hundred and\nsix beaver skins purchased by the American Fur Company\nof Johnson Gardner and declare the weight thereof to be two\nhundred and seventy-eight pounds, as witness our hands the\nday and year first above written.\n(Signed) F. A. Chardon.\nJ. Archdale Hamilton.\"\nExtract from Account | A \" referred to in above account\ncurrent.\n11832.\nJune 28\nJuly\nJuly\n29\n30\n2\n5\n6\n7\n8\nYour share of advances to Tullock & Co. $ 12 00\nLiquor 8.00, Feast 4.00 $ 12 00\nDitto 4.00 4 00\nShirts 8.00, Pantaloons 5.00 13 00\nLiquor 11.00, Feast 2.00 13 00\nDitto 6.00, Suit of clothes 70.00 ... 76 do\nKnives 4.00, Powder .75, Shoeing horse 3.00 7 75\nTobacco .75, Cow skin 1.00 1 75\nLiquor 3 00\nDitto . . . e~ 12 00\nDitto 10.00, Tea 2.00, Pork 2.00 . . 14 00\nBlanket 12.00, Vinegar 1.00, Axe 6.00 . 19 00\nSugar 1.00 1 00\nThread 1.00, Biscuit 8.50 9 50\nSalt 6.00, Pepper 4.00, Handkfs 4.00 . 14 00\nCoffee 18.00, Tea 8.00, Sugar 24.00 . 50 00\nFile 1.50, Tin Pans 2.00, Kettle 5.00 . . 8 50\nTin Cups 2.00, Knives 4.00, Awls 1.50 . 7 50\nTobacco 15.00, Sirsingles 6.00 .... 21 00\nLiquor 14.00 14 00\nRice 4.00, Knife 2.00, Liquor and Keg 27.00 3$ 00 $334 00\nTotal . $346 00\"\nThis amount seems to have been spent by Gardner while\nat Fort Union between spring and fall hunt. It is worth\nnote that of this amount $109, or about one-third, is for\nliquor and feasting.\n OUTFIT FOR FALL HUNT.\nCOPY OF GARDNER S SHIPPING BILL.\n\"Shipped in good order per bull boat Antoine four pac-\ntons of beaver fur marked and weighing as follows:\nNo. i 56 skins weighing 73 lbs. marked J G\n1 2 50 I \" 81 \"\n\" 3 50 \" \" 76 \"\n\" 4 50 \" I 74 I\nTotal 206 304 N. B. 1 Otter Skin.\nCrossings of the Yellowstone,\nJuly 18, 1832.\nThe above boat is bound for Fort Union.\"\nCOPY OF BILL FOR AN EQUIPMENT FOR FALL HUNT.\n\"Equipment for hunt, July 9th, 1832, viz.:\n16 Traps 12.00 $192 00\n5 Horses 60.00 300 00\n1 Horse in January, 1833 60 00\nS Saddles and apichemons 25 00\n8 Trap springs 16.00, Flints 1.00 17 00\nPowder 9.00, Balls 12.00, File 1.50 . . . . 22 50\nKnives 7.50, Kettle 5.00, Axe 3.00 .... 15 50\nWages of 3 men 750 00 $1382 oo\"\nCOPY OF A TRADER'S ENGAGEMENT.\n\"Before the subscribing witness personally appeared the\nundersigned Colin Campbell, who voluntarily binds and bv\nthese presents does engage himself to Pierre D. Papin, agent\nof Pratte, Chouteau & Co., for Sioux outfit on the following\nterms and conditions to say\u00E2\u0080\u0094 The said Campbell engages\nhimself to said Papin, agent for said Sioux outfit, for and\nduring the term of two and a half years from the first of\nJune one thousand eight hundred and thirty-nine.\n\"The said Papin, agent as aforesaid, for services faithfully rendered, promises to pay the said Campbell the sum\nof three thousand six hundred and sixteen dollars lawful\nmoney of the United States. The said Campbell on his\npart binds himself to serve, obey and execute with fidelity\n 946\nTRADER S ENGAGEMENT.\nthe orders or known wishes of his employers or any other\npersons entrusted with their business, to keep their secrets,\nmake them acquainted with any thing which may come to\nhis knowledge affecting their interest, and to do all such\nthings as are usually done or ought to be done by a good and\nfaithful clerk and trader.\nIn testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hand and\nseals this eighth day of November one thousand eight hundred and thirty-six.\nC. Campbell, (Seal)'1\n[No signature.] (Seal)\nWitness: Jacob Halsey.\nJi\n F.\nLIST OF TRADING POSTS.\nList of trading posts in the country west of St. Louis during the\nperiod from 1807 to 1843, with a few belonging to the periods before\nand after, and also a few military posts\u00E2\u0080\u0094The total number of posts\nreferred to in this list is about one hundred and forty.\nMISSOURI RIVER POSTS.\nFort Orleans. This was the first fort ever built on the\nMissouri river. In 1720 the Spanish sent an expedition of\ntwo hundred men to the Missouri to destroy the tribe of the\nMissouris who were friendly to the French. Their plan was\nto join the Pawnees, who were at war with the Missouris.\nThey unfortunately lost their way and came first to the latter\ntribe. Supposing them to be Pawnees, the Spanish unfolded their scheme directly to their intended victims. The\nastonished Missouris did not acquaint them with their mistake, but made instant preparations, took the Spaniards by\nsurprise, and destroyed the entire party.\nAs a result of this expedition the Louisiana government\nordered the erection of a fort on the Missouri. TJie work\nwas entrusted to M. Bourgemont, who built Fort Orleans,\nin 1772, on an island in the Missouri, some two hundred and\nfifty miles above its mouth. The actual location was about\nfive miles below the mouth of Grand river, opposite the old\nvillage of the Missouris. The fort was the scene of considerable activity for several years, and from it M. de\nBourgemont made an important expedition to the country of\nthe Paducas in 1724. There is a tradition that when Bourgemont left the fort a year or two later to go down to New\nOrleans, the Indians attacked it and massacred every in-\n 948\nFORT OSAGE.\n1)\nmate. De Margry says that | en 1726 la Compagnie des\nIndes supprima cette poste.\"1\nIn the valley of the Osage river, and for the accommodation of the Osage Indians, there were several posts, but\nthey are scarcely ever mentioned in the annals of the time.\nThey played a quite insignificant part in the history of the\ntrade. Among these may be mentioned Forts Carondelet,\nMarais de Cygnes, and Pomme de Terre.\nFort Osage, or Fort Clark, stood near the site of Sibley,\nMissouri, about forty miles below the mouth of the Kansas. General William Clark passed this point in 1808 with\na troop of cavalry on his way to make a treaty with the\nOsages. He selected the site for a post on his return.\nLewis and Clark, June 23, 1804, had notejd it as a good site\nfor a fort. The post was occupied off and on until 1827,\nbut not continuously with a regular garrison. It was permanently abandoned on the founding of Fort Leavenworth.\nIt was here that was located the only government trading\nfactory west of the Mississippi. (See further, Part III.,\nChapter VI.) If\nChouteau's Post, or the Kansas Post. This was first established by Francis G. Chouteau on an island three miles\nbelow the mouth of the Kansas river for the trade of the\nKansas Indians. The great flood of 1826 washed it into\nthe river, and Chouteau then went about ten miles up the\nKansas river, where he would be safe from a similar calamity in the future, and built a post on the right bank of the\nriver. It was maintained for many years.\nFrench Fort. This post is noted by Lewis and Clark in\n1804, and by Doctor James in 1819 as being in ruins. It\nwas on the Kansas shore, opposite the upper end of Kickapoo\nIsland, back on the bluffs and in rear of an old village of the\n1\u00C2\u00AB\nThere was a French post for some time on an island a few leagues\nin length over against the Missouris. The French settled in this fort\nat the east point [of the island] and called it Fort Orleans.\"\u00E2\u0080\u0094\nDu Pratz.\n mr\nCOUNCIL BLUFFS.\n949\nKansas Indians. Whether built as a trading post or a military fort is unknown. Bogy in his history of Missouri\nsays that \"the French government had a regular post and\nofficer at [near?] the mouth of the Kansas river.\"\nCamp Martin was a name given to a winter cantonment\nof United States troops at Isle a la Vache during the winter\nof 1818-19. The troops were a part of the Yellowstone\nExpedition and were commanded by a Captain Martin.\nLeavenworth Fort. For circumstances of early history\nof this post see Part III., Chapter VI.\nBlacksnake Hills, a post established by Joseph Robidoux\nwhere the city of St. Joseph now stands. Audubon in 1843\nuttered the following prediction concerning the situation:\n\" I was delighted to see this truly beautiful site for a town\nor city, as will be, no doubt, some fifty years hence.\"\nNishnabotna. In 1819 Robidoux, Papin, Chouteau, and\nBerthold, trading with a capital of $12,000, had their principal establishment near the mouth of this stream. Name\nvariously spelled.\nCouncil Bluffs. This name, though not specifically applied to any post, denoted a locality where many trading\nposts have been built. It was one of the most important\npoints on the whole course of the Missouri and was resorted\nto by traders from the very commencement of the fur trade\non the upper river. The meeting of the two great valleys,\nthe Missouri and the Platte, which was in this vicinity, had\nsomething to do with the importance of the place. - The particular situation always known in those early years as Council Bluffs was twenty-five miles above the modern city of\nthat name, and on the opposite side of the river about\nwhere the little town of Calhoun is now located. On the\n3rd of August, 1804, Lewis and Clark held a council there\nwith the Oto and Missouri Indians and gave the name from\nthis circumstance. In the course of the next fifty years\nthere were probably not fewer than twenty posts established between this point and the mouth of the Platte, but all\nare now swallowed up in the great cities that have taken\n 95o\nBELLEVUE.\n\u00C2\u00BB}\ntheir places on both sides of the river. It is impossible now\nto recover the names of all, or the locations of some whose\nnames are known. Even those which are best known it is\ndifficult to locate precisely.\nCrooks and McLellan's post in 1810 was on the west bank\nof the river a little above the mouth of Papillon creek and\ntherefore near the later site of Bellevue. It was broken up\nin the spring of 1811 when its proprietors entered the service of the Pacific Fur Company.\nBellevue. This was an important place during most of\nthe fur-trading era and promised at one time to be the progenitor of the future city which was bound to arise in that\nvicinity. The early history of Bellevue is exceedingly obscure. Some authorities say that Lisa built the first post\nthere in 1805 and gave it its present name. This is a mistake. Crooks and McLellan seem to have been the first to\nlocate near there. The next occupant was the Missouri Fur\nCompany under Joshua Pilcher, who must have moved down\nthere soon after Lisa's death. Fontenelle and Drips apparently bought Pilcher's post and established it in their\nown name, which it retained for many years. At a date\nbetween 1830 and 1840, which is not exactly known, the\nAmerican Fur Company moved to Bellevue from Cabanne's\npost some distance above, and established a new post there\nunder the management of P. A. Sarpy. The Indian agency\nof John Dougherty was also located near there at about the\nsame time. The agency was at Cote a Quesnelle just above\nthe American Fur Company post.\nFort Croghan, a military post of temporary character\nwhich stood a little above the present Union Pacific bridge\nin Omaha. When it was established is uncertain, but it\nwas abandoned in the fall of 1843.\nCabanne's Post was located near the old site of Rockport,\nnine or ten miles (by land) above the Union Pacific bridge\nin Omaha and six or seven miles below Fort Calhoun. It\nwas established between 1822 and 1826 for the American\nFur Company by J, P. Cabanne, who remained in charge\n mm\nPOSTS NEAR COUNCIL BLUFFS.\n951\nuntil 1833, when he had to leave the country on account of\nthe Leclerc affair. Pilcher succeeded him, and the post was\nlater moved down to Bellevue. The Columbia Fur Company also had a post near here which was absorbed by Ca-\nbanne's establishment in 1827.\nFort Lisa was located about a mile above Cabanne's post\nand five or six miles below old Council Bluffs. It was\nfounded by Manuel Lisa as early as 1812 and it continued\nto be occupied as late as 1823. During this period it was\nthe most important post on the Missouri river. It commanded the trade of the Omahas, Pawnees, Otoes, and other\ntribes.\nEngineer Cantonment, \" about half a mile above Fort\nLisa, five miles below Council Bluffs, and three miles above\nthe mouth of Boyer river \" (James), was the winter encampment of Major Long's scientific party in 1819-20.\nCamp Missouri was the winter encampment of the troops\nattached to the Yellowstone expedition of 1819-20. It was\nlocated at the old Council Bluffs and on or near its site was\nbuilt the post which for several years after was known as\nFort Atkinson. It was abandoned in the spring of 1827.\nThe post formed a quadrangle with the usual bastions or\nblock houses at two opposite corners.\nFort Calhoun is the name which has succeeded to that of\nFort Atkinson in the history of this locality and survives in\nthe name of a little village near by. How it came to be applied to this post is not very well understood.\nCruzcite's Post, an early trading establishment two\nmiles above old Council Bluffs, built in 1802. (Lewis and\nClark.) Ill ||\u00C2\u00A7\u00C2\u00A3\u00C2\u00A3\u00C2\u00A7 8\nFort Charles was an old trading post which stood about\nsix miles below the present Omadi, Nebraska. It was occupied in 1795-6 by a Mr. McKay. (Lewis and Clark.)\nPratte and Vasquez, in 1819, had a trading post at the\nOmaha village a considerable distance above Council Bluffs,\npossibly at the old village above Blackbird Hill nearly oppo-\na\n \n952\nMISCELLANEOUS ESTABLISHMENTS.\nsite the modern town of Onawa, Iowa. The exact location\nis nowhere stated.\nBig Sioux Post, an American Fur Company post at one\ntime maintained near the mouth of the Big Sioux river by\none Laf ramboise.\nVermillion Post was an important trading post for the\nconvenience of the lower Sioux tribes. It was located just\nbelow the mouth of the Vermillion river about on the present\nline between Clay and Union counties, South Dakota. Another Vermillion fort of earlier date and sometimes called\nDickson's Post stood on the north bank of the river about\nhalf way between the Vermillion and the James. The Columbia Fur Company also had a post there.\nRiviere a Jacques. The Columbia and American Fur\nCompanies had establishments at this point for the trade of\nthe Yankton band of the Sioux.\nPonca Post was established for the trade of the Indians\nof this name. It was just below the mouth of the Niobrara.\nThe Columbia Fur Company also had a post here.\nFort Mitchell. This post was established in 1833 Dv Nar-\ncisse Le Clerc and named for D. D. Mitchell. It was abandoned four years later, and for several years furnished excellent fuel for steamboats until the old palisades were all\nused up.\nHandy's Post was situated on the west bank of the Missouri where Fort Randall later stood. Very little is known\nof its history.\nTrudeau's House, also called Pawnee House, was an establishment occupied by one Trudeau in the years 1796-7.\nIt was on the left bank of the river a little above and opposite the site where Fort Randall later stood.\nFort Recovery was located at the lower end of American\nor Cedar Island a mile below the modern city of Chamberlain, South Dakota. This post was established in 1822 by\nthe Missouri Fur Company which then included the prominent traders, Pilcher, Charles Bent, Fontenelle, and Drips.\nIt was also called Cedar fort and may have been first so\nmxr^M\n 3>T\nFORT KIOWA.\n953\nnamed. This may have been the site of the old Missouri\nFur Company post which burned in 1810 and the fact of its\nreestablishment may have given it its name. Leavenworth\nin 1823 refers to it as a post \" called by the Indian traders\nFort Recovery and sometimes Cedar fort.\"\n\" Fort Brasseaux \" was located in this vicinity, or possibly\nten or twenty miles above. The only reference to it that has\nfallen under the author's notice is in a letter by Gen. Ashley\ndated at this post July 19, 1823, written to Major O'Fallon,\nIndian agent, in regard to the Aricara campaign then in\nprogress.\nFort Lookout was a post of the Columbia Fur Company\nand must have been built as early as 1822. Near it was\nFort Kiowa, belonging to the American Fur Company\nand also built as early as 1822, or immediately after the\nWestern Department went to St. Louis. The sites were so\nclose together that early references confused the two more\nor less. They were situated on the right bank of the Missouri some ten miles above where Chamberlain, South Dakota, now stands. The journal of the Yellowstone expedition of 1825 says of the American Fur Company post:\n\" Fort Kiowa consists of a range of log buildings containing\nfour rooms, a log house and a storehouse forming a right\nangle, leaving a space of some thirty feet. At the south\ncorner of the work is erected a block-house near which stands\na smith's shop. At the north corner is erected a small\nwooden tower. The whole work is enclosed by cottonwood\npickets. The sides or curtains of the work are 140 feet\neach.\" Referring to Fort Lookout in 1833, when it was\nused as an Indian agency, Maximilian says that it \" is a\nsquare of about sixty paces surrounded by pickets twenty\nor thirty feet high [ !] made of square trunks of trees placed\nclose together.\" The buildings consisted of three blockhouses.\nSublette and Campbell had a house near here in 1834.\nFort Defiance was built by Harvey, Primeau and Company about 1845-6. They were ex-clerks of the American\n\u00C2\u00A3\u00C2\u00A3\u00E2\u0096\u00A0**\u00E2\u0080\u0094\"\" \" rl- ^\n 954\nLOISELL S POST.\nFur Company, bold and energetic men, who had set up an\nopposition on their own account in defiance of the American\nFur Company. The location is on the right bank of the\nMissouri about six miles above the upper end of the Great\nBend, near the mouth of Medicine Creek. This was also\ncalled Fort Bouis from one of the firm.\nCedar Fort, or Fort aux Cedres, is a name which was applied to at least two different posts on as many Cedar Islands\nin the Missouri river. Their history is confused and uncertain. We have noted one already. The oldest one was at\none time known as\nLoisell's Post and was probably the first trading establishment built in the Sioux country along the Missouri river.\nIt was about thirty-five miles below Fort Pierre. Loisell\nwas in possession in 1803-4. The post was 65 to 70 feet\nsquare, with the usual bastions. The pickets were about 14\nfeet high. There was a building inside 45 x 32 feet divided\ninto four equal rooms. This was probably the real Fort\naux Cedres which is so known in the narratives of the times.\nSeveral authorities speak of it as an old Missouri Fur Company trading post, but if so it was possibly the one which\nburned in the spring of 1810, for no such post is mentioned\nby Bradbury or Brackenridge in 1811, or by Leavenworth\nin 1823.\nFort George, a post belonging to Fox, Livingston and\nCompany, 21 miles below Fort Pierre, on the right bank of\nthe Missouri. It was built by Ebbetts and Cutting, agents of\nthe firm, in 1842. The post was probably not occupied more\nthan three or four years, for Fox, Livingston and Company did not remain long in the country.\nTeton River posts. The mouth of the Teton river (first\ncalled Little Missouri and now Bad river) was the most important locality in the Sioux country. At this point the\nMissouri river, after a long southerly course, turns abruptly\neast and continues in this direction for many miles, gradually bearing off to the southeast. This bend was nearest of\nany point on the river to the Black Hills and the upper Platte\n FORT TECUMSEH.\n955\ncountry. It therefore became a natural shipping point for\nall the region round about. The local situation was ideal.\nA fine bottom about a mile wide and six miles long lay along\nthe right bank of the Missouri river immediately above the\nTeton. The treeless bluffs were so far back that hostile\nbands of Indians could not approach the fort unobserved.\nThe bottoms were fertile and afforded a camping ground for\nIndians and grazing for stock.\nWho built the first post here is not known, but very likely\nit was the original Missouri Fur Company. It is hardly\nprobable that they would have overlooked so important a\nsituation. The earliest definite record is that of\nFort Tecumseh, which stood two or three miles above the\nmouth of the Teton. It was the principal establishment of\nthe Columbia Fur Company upon the Missouri and was\nprobably established in 1822. It was turned over to the\nAmerican Fur Company December 5, 1827, with an inventory of property amounting to $14,453. I* retained its name\nfor five years after this event and was managed by William\nLaidlaw, one of the old Columbia Fur Company men. In\nthe course of time the river began to cut into the bottom\nwhere the fort stood and necessitated the rebuilding of it in\na less exposed situation. The new site was 3 miles above\nthe mouth of the Teton and back about a quarter of a mile\nfrom the Missouri. Work was begun in 1831 and a large\npart of the lumber was manufactured during the following\nwinter. The erection was so far completed in the spring of\n1832 that on the 15th of April Mr. Laidlaw and Mr. Halsey,\nthe clerk, moved into it. Work was continued on it during\nthe summer and the full change was not accomplished before\nthe end of the season. On the occasion of the visit of the\nsteamboat Yellowstone between May 31 and June 5, 1832,\nwith Mr. Pierre Chouteau on board, the new post was christened\nFort Pierre, in honor of the distinguished visitor and representative of the house at St. Louis. The new post was 325\nby 340 feet and contained about two and a half acres of\n V\nPOSTS NEAR MOUTH OF TETON RIVER.\nground. It was one of the finest on the river and was the\nmost important establishment except Fort Union*\nThe Navy Yard or Chantier of Fort Pierre was located\nsome distance above, probably near Chantier creek. It was\nhere that boats and lumber for the post were manufactured.\nTeton Post is a name which may be used to designate a\npost belonging to the firm of P. D. Papin & Co., which\nMaximilian calls the French Fur Company. The members\nof the company were Papin, the Cerre brothers and Honore\nPicotte. The post was probably built about 1828 or 1829.\nIt stood just below the mouth of the Teton. The firm sold\nout to the American Fur Company and entered its service\nOctober 14, 1830, and the property was at once moved up to\nFort Tecumseh.\nSublette and Campbell commenced erecting an opposition\npost a \"little below old Fort Tecumseh\" October 17, 1833.\nThe post continued to do business only a year when it was\nsold to the American Fur Company.\nScattered through the Sioux country on both sides of the\nMissouri there were many subordinate posts or houses of the\nAmerican Fur Company dependent upon Fort Pierre. There\nwere no fewer than three in the valley of James river\n(Riviere a Jacques). There was one at the forks of the\nCheyenne, another at its mouth, one at the Aricara villages\nand others on Cherry, White and Niobrara rivers, and\namong the Brule, Ogallala and other bands of the Sioux.\nIn fact wherever there was an inducement to trade these temporary houses were erected.\nOld Fort George was below but near the mouth of the\nCheyenne river. Nothing further is known of it.\nAricara Post. Manuel Lisa had a post in this vicinity, but\nits exact location or particular name is not known.\nFort Manuel was on the west bank of the river\u00E2\u0080\u0094just\nabove latitude 460 N.\nThe Mandan Villages were another important locality and\nthe site of several posts. The course of the river here\nchanged from a general easterly direction to one nearly due\n POSTS NEAR THE MANDANS.\n957\nsouth. It was the point nearest the Red river settlements,\nand was the home of the Mandan and Minnetaree Indians.\nFort Mandan, the first structure built here, was the winter\nquarters of Lewis and Clark in 1804-5. ft stood on the left\nbank of the Missouri 7 or 8 miles below the mouth of Big\nKnife river and opposite, though a little above, the site where\n\u00E2\u0080\u00A2Fort Clark later stood.\nLisa's Fort was the next one built in this locality. It was\nsituated on the right or south bank of the river some ten or\ntwelve miles above the mouth of the Big Knife near where\nthe names Emanuel Rock and Emanuel Creek now are. The\npost was abandoned upon the breaking out of the War of\n1812, but was occupied by Pilcher in 1822 or 1823 under the\nname of Fort Vanderburgh.\nSublette and Campbell had a post in 1833 a little below\nthis point.\nTilton's Fort was built by James Kipp in 1822 for the\nColumbia Fur Company. It was on the opposite side of the\nriver from the Mandan villages and a little above the site of\nFort Clark. Being driven from this position in 1823 by the\nAricaras he crossed and established a house in the\nMandan Villages. In the winter of 1825-6 Kipp went to\nthe mouth of\nWhite Earth river, 140 miles above, and built a post for\nthe Assiniboine trade. This post passed into the hands of\nthe American Fur Company in 1827 with the rest of the\nColumbia Fur Company posts. In 1830 McKenzie ordered\nthe erection of a new post for the Mandan trade and Kipp\nwas put in charge of the work. It was built in the spring of\n1831 and was named\nFort Clark, for General William Clark. It was on a bluff\nin an angle of the river and on its right bank, 55 miles above\nthe N. P. R. R. bridge at Bismarck, N. D. The post was\n132 by 147 feet, on the typical plan, and was a substantial\nstructure. It ranked as one of the most important posts on\nthe river.\nThe Mouth of the Yellowstone was the next important\nI\n v<\n958\nPOSTS NEAR MOUTH OF YELLOWSTONE.\n?lfl\npoint above the Mandans and several posts sprang up here\nduring the fur trade. It does not appear that the Missouri\nFur Company ever established a post here, although it is not\neasy to understand why they did not. The first post was\nbuilt by\nAshley and Henry in 1822 on the tongue of land between\nthe two rivers about a mile above the junction and next to\nthe Missouri. It was abandoned in the fall of 1823. In 1825\nthree sides of the stockade and a part of the buildings were\nstill standing.\nNo other attempts were made to establish a post in this\nvicinity until 1828, when Kenneth McKenzie, then the leading partner in the \"U. M. O.\" sent a party to the mouth of\nthe Yellowstone to build a post. They probably commenced\nwork about October 1 of that year. This post seems to have\nbeen named\nFort Floyd, while the name\nFort Union was applied to another post two hundred miles\nfarther up. The name Union was, however, soon transferred to the mouth of the Yellowstone, and the advanced\npost was abandoned. Maximilian says that Union was\nbegun in 1829.\nThere is some confusion in regard to the establishment of\nthe important post of Fort Union, and to enable the reader to\ndraw his own conclusions the correspondence of the American Fur Company relating to the subject will be reproduced\nhere. McKenzie wrote to Chouteau from the Vermillion\nriver October 2, 1828, that he had just returned with Indian\nAgent Sanford from the Mandans; that four days before he\nleft, the keelboat Otter had left for the Yellowstone to establish a post for the Assiniboine trade. And in a letter from\nFort Tecumseh December 26, 1828, he said: \"The Otter\narrived at the Yellowstone in sufficient time to build a fort\nand have all necessary preparations made for security.\"\nThis establishes the fact that a post was built at the Yellowstone in 1828 and fixes October ist as pretty close to the\nactual date of commencement.\n FORT UNION.\n959\nIn a letter written at Fort Tecumseh March 15, 1829,\nMcKenzie says: \"Your favor of the 5th of December\nreached me on the 25th ult., the date of my arrival from Fort\nFloyd near the Yellowstone\"; and again in the same\nletter, \" Old Glass came to Fort Floyd last fall.\" In a\nletter to W. B. Astor April 19, 1830, Pierre Chouteau,\nJr., says: \"A mon arrivee ici [St. Louis] le 16, j'ai\ntrouve des lettre de Mr. McKenzie du 28 December, 1829,\net de 2 et 20 Janvier, 200 milles au dessus de la Roche\nJaune. Les chasseurs des montagnes n'avaient pas aussi\nbien reussi dans la chasse d'automne qu'il esperait, mais\nil esperait un meilleur succes pour le printemps. II est\nd'opinion qu'il fera beaucoup plus de robes cette annee que\nde coutume; c'est a dire dans les trois posts d'en haut, chez\nles Mandans, a l'embouchure de la Roche Jaune, et Fort\nUnion 200 milles audessus, et il dit que le pays du haut est\ntres rich en castors et robes.\" Taken as they read these\nextracts mean that there were three posts on the upper river\nin 1829, the Mandan post, Fort Floyd and Fort Union 200\nmiles farther up.\nThe only clue to the origin of the name \"Union\" that has\ncome to our notice is in a letter from McKenzie in which he\ndiscusses the trade situation and his desire to fix upon some\npoint at which he can unite all the routes of trade. \"Keeping in view a union at some convenient point above with the\nfree hunters,\" he thought that he could control the trade\nboth of the rivers and of the mountains.\nFort Union was the best built post on the Missouri, and\nwith the possible exception of Bent's fort on the Arkansas,\nthe best in the entire West. It was 240 by 220 feet, the\nshorter side facing the river, and was surrounded by a palisade of square hewn pickets about a foot thick and twenty\nfeet high. The bastions were at the southwest and northeast\ncorners, and consisted of square houses 24 feet on a side and\n30 feet high, built entirely of stone and surmounted with\npyramidal roofs. There were two stories; the lower one was\npierced for cannon and the upper had a balcony for better\ntrnsm\n \n960\nFORT WILLIAM.\n)\nobservation. The usual banquette extended around the\ninner wall of the fort. The entrance was large and was\nsecured with a powerful gate which in 1837 was changed to\na double gate on account of the dangerous disposition of the\nIndians owing to the smallpox scourge. On the opposite\nside of the square from the entrance was the house of the\nbourgeois, a well-built, commodious two-story structure,\nwith glass windows, fire-place and other \"modern conveniences.\" Around the square were the barracks for the\nemployes, the store houses, work shops, stables, a cut stone\npowder magazine capable of holding 50,000 pounds, and a\nreception room for the Indians. In the center of the court\nwas a tall flag staff around which were the leathern tents of\nhalf-breeds in the service of the company. Near the flagstaff stood one or two cannon trained upon the entrance to\nthe fort. Somewhere in the enclosure was the famous distillery of 1833-4. All of the buildings were of cottonwood\nlumber and every thing was of an unusually elaborate character. Nathaniel J. Wyeth, when he visited Union in 1833,\ndeclared that he had seen no British post that could compare\nwith it.\nFort Union always had a large complement of clerks,\nartisans, and engages about and was the most extensively\nequipped of any of the posts.\nIt had the honor of entertaining numerous distinguished\nvisitors, among whom were Catlin in 1832, Maximilian in\n1833, and Audubon in 1843. (For a very elaborate and\ndetailed description of the fort see Audubon and His\nJournals, vol. II., p. 180.)\nFort William was a fort belonging to Sublette and Campbell and was named for the former. It was located on the\nleft bank of the Missouri opposite the mouth of the Yellowstone and on the site where Fort Buford was afterwards\nbuilt. It was commenced August 29, 1833, and was abandoned when Sublette sold out to the American Fur Company\na year afterward.\nFort Mortimer was Fort William resurrected under a new\n FORT JACKSON.\n961\nfirm, Fox, Livingston & Co., of New York. This event took\nplace in 1842 and the post succumbed to the American Fur\nCompany three years later.\nFort Assiniboine was a temporary post at a point some\ndistance above Union where the steamer Assiniboine was\ncaught by low water in the summer of 1834 and compelled\nto spend the winter. The intention probably was to make it\nan outpost of Union. It was 100 feet square and the buildings ranged round the interior were in all 134 feet long and\n18 feet deep. The post was abandoned April 2, 1835, and\nLamont, who was in charge, brought the property back to\nUnion. It is not known how far above Union this post was\nlocated, but wherever it was it marks the first advance of\nsteamboats beyond the mouth of the Yellowstone.\nFort Jackson was built by C. A. Chardon in December,\n1833, at the mouth of Poplar river (Riviere aux Trembles).\nChardon had a force of twenty men with a strong equipment\nand built a post fifty feet square. The name was probably\ngiven for Andrew Jackson, for in a letter from this point\nChardon says, \" We are all Jackson men.\" McKenzie thus\nstates the purpose of the establishment: \"I consider it\ndesirable to establish a wintering post west of this, partly\nfor the convenience of the Indians who frequent that section,\nbut principally with a view of compelling our opponents\n[Sublette and Campbell] to divide their forces, for the\nprinciple of divide and conquer has often been verified/'\nThe next important point above the mouth of the Yellowstone was the Blackfoot country near the mouth of the\nMarias. Prior to 1831 no post had been successfully established in the country of these Indians. About October ist\nof that year James Kipp commenced one on the left bank of\nthe Missouri just above the Marias and called it\nFort Piegan in honor of the Piegan band of Blackfeet.\nThe post was occupied only during the winter, when it was\nabandoned by Kipp, who went down the river with the\nreturns. It was then burned by the Indians. In the spring\nof 1832 D. D. Mitchell went up the river and built a new\n1\n.\u00E2\u0096\u00A0rJMBtaM\n !\n962\nFORT M KENZIE.\nm\npost about six miles above the mouth of the Marias on the\nleft bank of the river and called it\nFort McKenzie. It stood 120 yards back from the river.\nIt was 140 feet square and was built on the regular plan, but\nwith an exceptionally strong gate provided with double\ndoors.\nIn 1833 Alexander Culbertson selected a new site for a\npost on the right bank of the Missouri at the mouth of the\nShonkin, but it does not appear that a post was actually built\nhere.\nFort McKenzie was occupied as late as 1843, for there is\nextant a letter from William Laidlaw written at Fort Union\nDecember 5, 1843, in which the writer says that he has\n\"lately heard from Mr. Chardon, who is in charge of Fort\nMcKenzie at the Blackfeet;\" and he adds that \"the Blackfeet are getting more and more troublesome in consequence\nof certain retrenchments of liquor heretofore given them in\ntheir ceremonies, the discontinuation of which had become\nabsolutely necessary for the better regulation of that post.\nThey, however, are so much dissatisfied that Mr. Chardon\nsays that he can not get out at the gate more than once a\nweek.\" Tradition says that the hostile feeling of the Blackfeet was due to the wanton massacre of some of their number\nby Chardon and Harvey the winter before. In any event\nChardon was compelled to move down stream into a different neighborhood and build a new fort. After he left, the\nIndians burned Fort McKenzie and the post was often\nreferred to afterward as Fort Brule. The site is known to\nthis day as Brule Bottom. ( For a more complete description\nof this post see Audubon and His Journals, vol. IL, p. 188;\nalso the works of Maximilian, Prince of Wied.)\nFort Chardon was the name of the new post at the mouth\nof the Judith. It was probably built in the fall of 1843 \u00E2\u0080\u0094\nnot before that. It was occupied only for a short time when\nAlexander Culbertson moved the establishment to a point\non the right bank of the Missouri opposite Pablois Island,\nabout 18 miles above where the Fort Benton bridge now\n THE THREE FORKS.\n963\ncrosses the river. This event probably took place in 1845,\nand the new post was called\nFort Lewis, in honor of the explorer, Captain Meriwether\nLewis. The situation proving unfavorable to the trade, the\npost was torn down in 1846 and rebuilt in a more favorable\nlocation farther down stream and on the left bank. The\nname Lewis was retained for several years. In 1850 the\npost was rebuilt of adobe and was dedicated amid grand festivities on Christmas day of that year. At the same time it\nwas rechristened by Mr. Culbertson\nFort Benton, in honor of Thomas H. Benton, who had so\noften rescued the company from disaster. This noted post,\nsituated at the head of navigation on the Missouri river,\nbelongs to a later period than that covered by this work.\nThe Three Forks of the Missouri. The Missouri Fur\nCompany built a large post here early in the year 1810.\nAccording to Lieut. James H. Bradley, who visited the site\nof the post in 1870, and could still make out enough from the\nruins to trace the general outline, \"it was a double stockade\nof logs set three feet deep, enclosing an area of about three\nhundred feet square, situated upon the tongue of land (at\nthat point only half a mile wide) between the Jefferson and\nMadison rivers, about two miles from their confluence, upon\nthe south bank of the channel of the former stream called\nJefferson slough.'' {Transactions of the Montana Historical Society, vol. II.) The site was at that time mostly\nwashed away by the river and is believed to be now entirely\ngone. The post was abandoned in the fall of 1810 owing to\nthe persistent attacks of the Blackfeet. An anvil was left\nbehind and remained on the site for upwards of forty years\nafterward and may now be in the bed of the river. With\nthe lapse of years and the partial oblivion which overtook\nthose early events, tradition linked this post with the expedition of Lewis and Clark, and it was the popular belief that\nthese explorers passed a winter there. The post came to be\nknown locally as \" Lewis and Clark's fort.\" The only relic\nof this post still in existence is a letter written on the spot in\nm\ TWm\n 964\nPOSTS AT MOUTH OF THE BIGHORN.\nthe spring of 1810. It is reproduced elsewhere in this work.\n(Appendix A.)\nThis completes the list of posts on the Missouri proper, but\nthere were several important ones on the Yellowstone which\nwere directly dependent upon Fort Union.\nBraseau's Houses were on the left bank of the Yellowstone about 50 miles above the mouth. They were built by a\nwell-known trader who flourished upon the upper river in\nthe early years of the trade.\nThe Crow country was favored with numerous trading\nposts, the principal situation being at the mouth of the Bighorn river. The first post built here, and the first known to\nhave been built above old Fort aux Cedres on the Missouri\nwas\nFort Manuel, Manuel's Fort, or Fort Lisa, built by\nManuel Lisa in 1807. It was situated on the right bank of\nboth rivers. In 1809 it passed into the hands of the\nMissouri Fur Company and was probably abandoned in the\nsummer of 1811 when Henry came down the river after the\nabandonment of his post on the Snake.\nFort Benton was the second post built here, but whether\nupon the same site as Fort Manuel is uncertain. It was built\nby the Missouri Fur Company under Joshua Pilcher in 1822\nand was abandoned in the following year.\nAshley and Henry built a post in this locality in the fall of\n1823. It was abandoned probably in 1824.\nFort Cass. This was the first American Fur Company\npost in the Crow country. Its establishment is duly referred\nto in the American Fur Company correspondence. The following extracts from Wyeth's Journal of August 17 and\n18, 1833, give the essential facts relating to it: \"About\n3 miles below the mouth of the Bighorn we found Fort\nCass 1; it \" is situated on the east [right] bank of the Yellowstone river, is about 130 feet square, made of sapling\ncottonwood pickets with two bastions at the extreme\ncorners, and was erected in the fall of 1832.\" It was built\n OTHER POSTS ON THE YELLOWSTONE.\nby Samuel Tulloch and was often known as Tulloch's fort.\nIt was abandoned in 1835.\nFort Van Buren was the second American Fur Company\npost on the Yellowstone. It was built in the fall of 1835 an(^\nnamed for the Vice President of the United States and was\nabandoned in 1843. ft was on the right bank of the Yellowstone near the mouth of Tongue river.\nFort Alexander, the third Crow post of the American Fur\nCompany, was built as early as 1839. Larpenteur says that\nit was built by himself in 1842, but it is mentioned in the\ncompany's license for 1839. The post was on the left bank\nof the Yellowstone opposite the mouth of the Rosebud. It\nwas abandoned in 1850.\nFort Sarpy was the last of the Crow posts of the American Fur Company and was not built until after 1843. fts\ndate was 1850; its name was for John B. Sarpy; it stood on\nthe right bank of the Yellowstone about twenty-five miles\nbelow the mouth of the Bighorn, and it was abandoned\nbetween September, 1859, and September, i860. The post\nwas 100 feet square, with pickets 15 feet high, but no flanking arrangements.\nFox, Livingston & Company built a post, probably in\n1843, on the Bighorn river at the mouth of the Little Bighorn. It was soon abandoned.\nThere were many posts in the Missouri valley whose\nlocation is not known. Forts Volcano, Lucien and Madison\nare of the number, the last being in the vicinity of the Mandans.\nIn the letter books of the American Fur Company may\nstill be seen applications for licenses to trade on the upper\nriver, and from these we may form some idea of the development and gradual decline of its trade.\nThe posts received from the Columbia Fur Company in\n1827 were Council Bluffs, Vermillion, Riviere a Jacques,\nPonca, Tecumseh, and the Mandans.\nIn 1831 the \"U. M. O.\" licenses were for Vermillion,\nRiviere a Jacques, Ponca, Lookout, Forks White river,\n 966\nTHE PORTUGUESE HOUSES.\nTecumseh, Hollowood on Teton, Mouth Cheyenne, Little\nCheyenne, Aricara villages, Heart river, Mandans, Mouth\nYellowstone, Mouth Marias. It will be noted that Union,\nClark, and Piegan are not yet mentioned by name. Fort\nCass was first mentioned in 1833.\nIn 1839 the list included Vermillion, Sioux, Lucien, Pierre,.\nJohn, Clark, Union, Alexander, Van Buren and McKenzie.\nThe name Lucien has not elsewhere come to our notice. It\nwas doubtless given in honor of Lucien Fontenelle to some\npost ordinarily mentioned by locality only. Fort John was\nthe post on the Laramie to be described farther on.\nIn 1851 the company maintained Vermillion, John, Pierre,\nClark, Berthold, Union, Alexander, and Benton.\nIn 1859 there were Pierre, Clark, Berthold, Union, Sarpy,\nand Benton.\nCIS-MONTANE POSTS.\nUnder this heading will be considered those posts along\nthe eastern base of the Rocky mountains which were not\nimmediately dependent upon the Missouri river as their line\nof communication with St. Louis.\nThe Portuguese Houses stood very near the junction of\nthe North and South Forks of Powder river, near where\nthe military post of Fort Reno later stood. All we know of\nthem is from the following extract from the report of\nCaptain W. F. Raynolds, who explored the country around\nthe sources of the Yellowstone in 1859 and i860, and visited\nthe site of these houses on the 26th of September, 1859.\n\"After a ride of about 15 miles we came to the ruins of some\nold trading posts, known as the 'Portuguese houses,' from\nthe fact that many years ago they were erected by a Portuguese trader named Antonio Mateo. They are now badly\ndilapidated, and only one side of the pickets remains standing. These, however, are of hewn logs, and from their\ncharacter it is evident that the structures were originally\nvery strongly built. Bridger recounted a tradition that at\none time this post was besieged by the Sioux for forty days,\n1\n POSTS AT THE MOUTH OF THE LARAMIE.\n967\nresisting successfully to the last alike the strength and the\ningenuity of their assaults, and the appearance of the ruins\nrenders the story not only credible but probable.\"\nFort William, named for William L. Sublette, was the\nfirst trading establishment ever built at what later became an\nimportant situation\u00E2\u0080\u0094the confluence of the North Platte\nand Laramie rivers. The work was begun with 13 men\nabout June 1, 1834. (Wyeth.) \" William L. Sublette has\nbuilt such a fort as Fort Clark (Mandans) on Laramie Fork\nof the river Platte and can make it a central place for the\nSioux and Cheyenne trade.\" (Fontenelle, Sept. 17, 1834.)\n\"Fort Laramie was built in 1835 [1834] by Robert Campbell and was called Fort William.\" (Wislizenus, 1839.)\nThe post was located on the left bank of the Laramie about\na mile above its mouth. Sublette sold it to Fitzpatrick, Sublette and Bridger in 1835, and these gentlemen entered into\nrelations with Fontenelle the same year, thus virtually turning the post over to the American Fur Company. The post\nwas then, or soon after, rechristened\nFort John, for Mr. John B. Sarpy. Its early history is\nexceedingly obscure. In 1839 it was noted by Wislizenus as\nbeing rectangular in shape, 80 by 100 feet, surrounded by a\npalisade of cottonwood pickets 15 feet high, with flanking\ntowers on three sides and a very strong gate. At this time\nthe name Laramie was coming into popular use and gradually replaced \"Fort John\" in common usage, but the latter\nname alone was used in the business transactions of the\nAmerican Fur Company.\nBefore 1846 another post was built about a mile farther\nup stream and to this the name\nFort Laramie was given. Fort John is said to have been\ndemolished soon after. About 1849 the American Fur Company sold out to the government and moved some distance\ndown the river. The famous military post of Fort Laramie\nthen began its career and was for many years a principal\nbase of operations against the hostile Indians.\nFort Platte was situated on the right bank of the Platte\n \n968\nPOSTS ON THE SOUTH PLATTE.\nin the tongue of land between the Platte and the Laramie and\nabout three-fourths of a mile above the junction. It was\nbuilt about 1840, for it receives no notice from Wislizenus\nin 1839, but was visited by Sage in 1841. Fremont in 1842\nnoted it as belonging to Sybille Adams & Company, but\nin 1843 it belonged to Pratte, Cabanne & Company. It\nprobably lasted only a few years.\nLa Bonte was a temporary trading house on the Platte at\nthe mouth of La Bonte creek. It was in operation in 1841.\n' In the valley of the South Platte, some thirty or forty\nmiles below where Denver now stands, were several trading\nestablishments whose history it is impossible to make out\nsatisfactorily.\nFort Lupton stood on the right bank of the river about\nten miles above the mouth of the St. Vrain. It was an adobe\nstructure, the ruins of which are still visible.\nFort Lancaster was noted by Fremont in 1843 as being\n\"the trading establishment of Mr. Lupton\" and was apparently identical with Fort Lupton.\nFort St. Vrain was also on the right bank of the river and\nabout opposite the mouth of the St. Vrain. It belonged to\nBent and St. Vrain. This post was also known as\nFort George, and was in charge of Marcellus St. Vrain in\n1841.\nBetween Lupton and St. Vrain there were two other posts\nat some indefinite time before 1842. Sage noted them in\nthat year and Fremont two years later, and both speak of\none of them as having been abandoned for a long time and\nthe other as only recently abandoned. It appears that the\nlower of these two posts, which was about six miles above\nFort St. Vrain, belonged to two traders by the names of\nLocke and Randolph. They failed in their enterprise and\nabandoned their post in May, 1842.\nThe other post belonged to\nVasquez and Sublette. It was occupied in 1839 when\nWislizenus passed it.\nThe valley of the Arkansas below the mountains was\n/\n POSTS ON THE UPPER ARKANSAS.\n969\nalways an important one in the fur trade, and there were\nmany posts or houses, mostly of a temporary character,\nlocated here. The first habitation ever built here, so far as\nwe have any knowledge, dates from some time prior to 1763,\nwhen a trader visited the Arkansas and built a temporary\nfort on its upper course near the foot of the mountains. The\nfact is recorded by Amos Stoddard in his Sketches of\nLouisiana.\nIn 1806 Lieutenant Pike built a small temporary redoubt\non the south bank of the Arkansas, a little above the mouth\nof Fountain creek.\nIn all probability Chouteau and De Munn had a temporary\nhouse in this locality during their three years' stay there in\n1815-17, but there is no record of it.\nIn the winter of 1821-2 Jacob Fowler built a log house\non the modern site of Pueblo, Colorado, and occupied it for\nupwards of a month.\nGant and Blackwell built a post on the upper Arkansas,\nabout six miles above Fountain creek, in 1832. Captain\nGant is said to have been the first hunter to form friendly\nrelations with the Arapahoes.\nIn 1842 a trading post was built at the mouth of Fountain\ncreek. James P. Beckwourth claims that it was built under\nhis direction in October of that year. Sage confirms the date\nof 1842, but simply says that it was built by \"independent\ntraders.\" He adds that it was called the \"Pueblo.\" Other\nauthorities mention George Simpson and his associates as\nbuilders of the post. By whomever built, the date seems\nclearly to have been 1842.\nWislizenus in 1839 found a small post called Fort Pueblo\nfour miles above Bent's fort, \" inhabited principally by\nMexicans and Frenchmen.\" Farnham mentions the same\npost and calls it El Pueblo. He locates it five miles above\nBent's fort on the north bank of the river.\nThere were in 1843 *wo posts in this locality, one on\nAmerican soil and one on Mexican, from which smuggling\noperations, particularly in liquor, were carried on exten-\n \u00C2\u00A3s*l \u00E2\u0080\u0094fc*r\n970\nBENT S FORT.\nsively from Santa Fe to the trading posts farther north.\nFrom these obscure and unsatisfactory references it is\nclear that there were, all through the period of the fur trade,\nsmall and transient trading houses in the valley of the\nArkansas from Bent's fort to the mountains. None of them\namounted to anything of note. The one post of importance\nin this entire section was the celebrated\nBent's Fort,or Fort William,which stood on the left bank\nof the river about half way between the present towns of\nLa Junta and Las Animas, Colorado. The Bent brothers\nfirst built a stockade near the mouth of Fountain creek, but\nafterward moved down stream where they would be more\nin line with the trade between the United States and Taos\non the mountain branch of the Santa Fe Trail. The fort was\nthus in touch with the trade of Santa Fe and that of the\nmountains. It was founded in 1829 and became a very\nimportant post. It was 150 by 100 feet in size, the longer\nsides extending north and south. The walls were adobe,\nabout six feet thick at the base and 17 feet high. The\nentrance was through a large gate on the east side. At the\nnorthwest and southwest corners were cylindrical bastions\nor towers ten feet inside diameter and 30 feet high, loop-\nholed for musketry and cannon. The interior was divided\ninto two parts, one of which was devoted to the buildings\nand the other to corrals, wagon sheds and material and stock\ngenerally. The buildings had clay floors and gravel roofs.\nIn 1839 the fort had in its employ from 80 to 100 men. It\nwas in full operation in 1843. In 1852 it was destroyed by\nColonel William Bent, for whom it had received its name,\nFort William.\nGlenn's Post was a temporary trading house in the Osage\ncountry on the Verdigris river about a mile above its mouth.\nIt was built by Hugh Glenn and was apparently abandoned\nin 1821, when Glenn joined Jacob Fowler in an expedition\nto Sante Fe.\n FORT DAVY CROCKETT.\n971\nTRA-MONTANE POSTS.\nOn the western side of the Continental Divide there were\nfew American posts, and fewer still of any permanence or\nimportance.\nRobidoux's Post on the Gunnison stood on the left bank\nof that stream a short distance below the mouth of the\nUncompahgre river.\nFort Uintah, built by the same Robidoux who built the\npost on the Gunnison, stood on the banks of the Uintah river\nsome distance above the mouth of the Du Chesne and in the\nfoot hills of the Uintah mountains. These were early posts\nalthough the dates of their establishment are not known.\nRobidoux was in the country as early as 1825. Fremont,\nwho passed Fort Uintah in June, 1844, records that the\nfort was attacked shortly afterward by the Utah Indians and\nall its garrison massacred except Robidoux, who happened\nto be absent. If this is a correct report, it is the only instance\nof a successful attack by the Indians upon a trading post of\nthe West. j\" ff 3:|| ll.\nFraeb's Post, built by Henry Fraeb and James Bridger,\nstood on St. Vrain's fork of Elkhead river, itself a branch of\nYampah river, Colorado. Fraeb was killed in the latter part\nof August, 1841, in a battle between his own party of sixty\nmen and a war party of Sioux. The whites lost five men and\nthe Indians ten. The post was probably abandoned soon\nafter.\nFort Davy Crockett was an inferior trading post located\nin the beautiful valley of Brown's Hole on Green river and\nstood upon the left bank of the stream. Very little is known\nof it. As seen by Wislizenus in 1839 it was a low one-story\nbuilding with three wings and was built of lumber and\nadobe. It was not surrounded with pickets. According to\nFarnham, who also saw it in 1839, it was a \"hollow square\nof one story log cabins with roofs and floors of mud, constructed in the same manner as those of Fort William,\" on\nthe Arkansas. It belonged at this time to three Americans\nby the names of Thompson, Craig and St. Clair, In the\n1\n1\n .Sear\"\nFORT BRIDGER.\nclosing years of the fur trade, just before the founding of\nFort Bridger, it was a favorite rendezvous and wintering\nground for the free trappers. The situation, however,\ndespite the sublime natural environment, was wretched in\nthe extreme, and the post was familiarly known among the\ntrappers as \"Fort de Misere.\"\nFort Bridger, which stood in the beautiful valley of\nBlack's Fork of Green river, was one of the famous posts of\nthe West. Its history, however, belongs to the emigration\nperiod and it was founded in the very year which has been\ndesignated as the dividing line between this period and that\nof the fur trade. It has the further distinction of being\nfounded by one of the most noted characters which either\nperiod produced. Fortunately we have the founder's own\naccount of the establishment of the post (Letter from James\nBridger to Pierre Chouteau, Jr., Dec. 10,1843). It is as follows : \" I have established a small fort with a blacksmith\nshop and a supply of iron in the road of the emigrants on\nBlack's Fork of Green river which promises fairly. They, in\ncoming out, are generally well supplied with money, but by\nthe time they get there are in want of all kinds of supplies.\nHorses, provisions, smith work, etc., bring ready cash from\nthem, and should I receive the goods hereby ordered will do\na considerable business in that way with them. The same\nestablishment trades with the Indians in the neighborhood,\nwho have mostly a good number of beaver among them.\"\nThere is no more important landmark in the history of the\nWest than the event thus described.\nFort Bonneville or Bonneville's Fort are names applied\nto a rude stockade which Captain Bonneville built on the\nright bank of Green river, five miles above the mouth of\nHorse creek, early in August, 1832. Though apparently\ncommenced with a view of making it a trading post it was\nabandoned as soon as built and was never of any consequence whatever in the trade. The trappers called it \" Fort\nNonsense,\" or\"\" Bonneville's Folly.\"\nWe are fortunate in having a detailed description of this\n mm\nFORT BONNEVILLE.\n973\nestablishment from the pen of one who saw it during construction and the year following. It is from Life in the\nRocky Mountains, by W. A. Ferris: \" This establishment\nwas doubtless intended for a permanent trading post by its\nprojector, who has, however, since changed his mind and\nquite abandoned it. From the circumstances of a great deal\nof labor having been expended in its construction, and the\nworks shortly after their completion deserted, it is frequently\ncalled f Fort Nonsense.' It is situated in a fine open plain,\non a rising spot of ground, about three hundred yards from\nGreen river on the west side, commanding a view of the\nplains for several miles up and down that stream. On the\nopposite side of the fort, about two miles distant, there is a\nfine willowed creek, called Horse creek, flowing parallel\nwith Green river, and emptying into it about five miles below\nthe fortification. The view from the fort in one direction\nis terminated by a bold hill rising to a height of several\nhundred feet on the opposite side of the creek, and extending\nin a line parallel with it. Again on the east side of the river,\nan abrupt bank appears rising from the water's edge, and\nextends several miles above and below, till the hills, jutting\nin on the opposite side of the river, finally conceal it from\nsight. The fort presents a square enclosure, surrounded by\nposts or pickets of a foot or more in diameter firmly set in\nthe ground close to each other and about fifteen feet in\nlength. At two of the corners diagonally opposite to each\nother block houses of unhewn logs are so constructed and\nsituated as to defend the square outside of the pickets and\nhinder the approach of an enemy from any quarter. The\nprairie in the vicinity of the fort is covered with fine grass,\nand the whole together seems well calculated for the security\nboth of men and horses.\"\nAshley's Fort was a temporary trading house, said to have\nbeen built in 1825, on the west shore of Utah Lake near\nwhere Provo, Utah, now stands. It was to this point that\nAshley is supposed to have hauled his wheeled cannon in\n1826.\n-\n 974\nFORT HALL.\nFort Hall was built by Nathaniel J. Wyeth in the year\n1834 on the left bank of the Snake river, a little above the\nmouth of the Portneuf. The circumstances of its founding\nhave been fully outlined in the chapters on Wyeth's enterprise in Part II. of this work. Its history as a trading post\nis almost entirely associated with the Hudson Bay Company,\nto whom Wyeth sold it in 1836. It was an exceedingly important point during the emigration period, and later became\na military post of considerable note.\nFort Henry was built by Andrew Henry in the fall of\n1810 on Henry Fork of Snake river, near the mouth of the\nTeton, and probably near where the village of Egin, Idaho,\nnow stands. It was abandoned by Henry in the spring of\n1811, and was occupied for ten days by Hunt and the overland Astorians in October of that year. Nothing is known\nof it after this time. It consisted only of two or three log\nhouses.\nCamp Defiance \" on the supposed waters of the Bonaven-\ntura \" is the description of a trading locality mentioned by\nWilliam L. Sublette in his application for a trading license\nfor the year 1832.\nAstoria was the Pacific Fur Company post on the Columbia river. For its history see the chapters on Astoria, Part\nII. I\nFort William was a post established by Nathaniel J.\nWyeth on the upper end of Wappatoo Island, at the mouth\nof the Willamette river, in the winter of 1834-5. It was\noccupied only for a short time. See chapter on Wyeth's\nenterprise, Part II.\nThis list will not describe the Hudson Bay Company posts\nwhich were located within what is now United States territory, for the reason that their history, except as related\nto the Astorian enterprise, is not a part of this work. There\nwere nine of these posts besides Fort Hall\u00E2\u0080\u0094Vancouver, Nis-\nqually, Simcoe, Walla Walla, Okanagan, Spokane Flathead,\nOwen, Boise, and possibly one or two others. Of these\nOkanagan, Spokane, and the Flathead post were founded by\nthe Astorians.\n G.\nTHE FORT.TECUMSEH AND PIERRE JOURNAL.\nBelow are some extracts from the daily journal kept at\nFort Tecumseh and its successor, Fort Pierre, which give as\nclear a picture as can now be had of the kind of life led at a\nfur trading post of the better class. The year is 1832.\n\" Saturday, [March] 3rd. Fair, pleasant weather. Mr.\nLaidlaw and the Indians went out to surround [hunt buffalo]. They returned at 1 P. M., having killed meat\nenough to load their horses.\n\" Sunday, 4th. Moderate and cloudy with rain at intervals. Gabriel V. Fipe and five Indians arrived from White\nriver post with seven horses and mules and two hundred\nbuffalo tongues. . . .\n\" Wednesday, 7th. Weather continues the same as yesterday. Several Indians of Gens de Poches band arrived\non a begging visit. The Blackfeet Indians [Sioux band]\nwho arrived yesterday left us today. One of them stole a\nkettle; we fortunately missed it before the fellow had pro>\nceeded far. Mr. Laidlaw and some Indians went out after\nthem and succeeded in recovering the kettle. The Gens de\nPoches, who arrived today, say that Baptiste Dorion has\nbeen lately killed by a Sawon Indian; but we have reason to\nsuppose the story to be fictitious. .\nI Friday, 9th. A continuation of fair, pleasant weather.\nFive more lodges Yanctons arrived and camped. There is\nnow about three feet of water on top of the Missouri ice.\nTwo men arrived from Cedar island. They were obliged to\nleave their plank [for new fort] and trains on the way\u00E2\u0080\u0094\nthe ice being so bad that they could not travel on it. . . .\n\"Tuesday, 13th. Still continue strong gales from the\n mm\n|p\n'liii-\n976\nFINE, PLEASANT WEATHER.\nnorth and colder, but the weather is now clear and the\nIndians are crossing on the ice in great numbers with robes\nto trade (Gens de Poches). . . .\n\"Friday, 16th. Strong north winds, cold and cloudy,\nwith snow at intervals. Baptiste Defond arrived last evening from the Sawon post with horses and mules. . . .\n\" Sunday, 18th. Moderate and clear. Two Indians arrived from White river post with a letter from Mr. Papin,\nthe commandant.\n\" Monday, 19th. Mild and clear throughout the day.\nNothing new. Finished duplicate ledger.\n\" Tuesday, 20th. Still mild and pleasant weather. Employes making packs and pressing them. . . .\n\" Friday, 23rd. Still continues fine weather. Most of\nthe lodges left us today. They have gone up the Little Missouri [Teton]. The Missouri ice broke up at this place\ntoday. . . .\n\" Wednesday, 28th. Same weather as yesterday. Ice\nstill drifting a little. Missouri four feet above low water\nmark. Mr. Picotte and a voyageur arrived from the Navy\nYard in a canoe. . . .\n\" Friday, 30th. Fine weather. Ice commenced drifting\nat 9 P. M., and the water rose about four feet from sunrise\nto sunset. In the morning Baptiste Defond departed down\nstream to meet the steamboat Yellowstone. . . .\n\"Tuesday [April], 3rd. Moderate and pleasant. Missouri still rising. It is now eight and one-half feet above\nlow water mark. Last evening J. Jewett arrived here from\nthe Ogallala post with horses and mules, in all sixteen.\nI Wednesday, 4th. A continuation of fine, pleasant\nweather.\n\" Thursday, 5th. Same weather as yesterday. Messrs.\nLaidlaw and Halsey moved up with their baggage to the\nnew fort [Pierre].\n\" Friday, 6th. Still fine and pleasant. Hands employed\nvariously. Two men arrived from the Yankton post with*\nthree horses. They report the arrival of Mr. P. D. Papin\n w\numm\nA MURDER ON CHEYENNE RIVER.\n977\nat the mouth of the White river with two skin canoes laden\nwith buffalo robes.\n| Saturday, 7th. Mr. William Dickson arrived from\nRiviere au Jacques with twelve packs furs.\nI Sunday, 8th. Two men arrived from the Navy Yard\nwith the news that the Indians have stolen all the company's\nhorses at that place.\n\" Monday, 9th. Clear and moderate with north wind.\nMissouri falling fast. On the 6th inst. the water was so\nhigh that the old fort was nearly surrounded with water.\nEmployed variously hauling property from the old fort, etc.,\netc. At 11 A. M. five skin canoes loaded, with buffalo\nrobes under charge of Colin Campbell arrived from the\nOgallala post on Cheyenne river. They bring news of the\nmurder of Frangois Querrel by Frederick Laboue, the company's trader at Cherry river. Laboue arrived in the\ncanoes. . .\n\" Wednesday, 1 ith. Moderate north winds and pleasant.\nSeveral Sawons arrived last evening. The Missouri rising. . . .\n\" Friday, 13th. Strong northerly winds and pleasant.\nMr. Dickson left for Riviere au Jacques. . . .\nI Friday, 20th. We had a shower of rain in the morning.\nAt 10 A. M. it cleared off. Hands employed variously.\nAt 3 P. M. four men arrived from the Navy Yard. Buffalo\nin sight from the houses. Mr. Laidlaw and some Indians\nwent out and they returned at 4 P. M., having killed four\ncows.\n\"Saturday, 21st. Calm and cloudy. Sent off Campbell\nand twenty-two men to Cherry river to bring down the\npeltries at that place.\n\" Sunday, 22nd. Clear and moderate winds from the\nnorthwest.\nMonday, 23rd. Fair, pleasant weather.\nTuesday, 24th. Same weather as yesterday.\nWednesday, 25th. A continuation of fine, pleasant\nweather. Nothing new.\nn\nu\n\u00C2\u00AB\n i1 m\n978\nARRIVALS WITH FURS.\n\"Thursday, 26th. Still fine, pleasant weather.\n\" Friday, 27th. Weather same as yesterday. At five\no'clock P. M. Messrs. McKenzie, Kipp, and Bird with nine\nBlackfeet [Sihasapa] Indians arrived in a bateau from Fort\nUnion. McKenzie brought down one hundred and eleven\npacks of beaver skins. . . .\n\" Wednesday, [May] 2nd. Cloudy with rain at intervals.\nMr. Cerre arrived yesterday from the Yanctonnais with\nninety odd packs robes. Hands employed making and\npressing them.\n\" Thursday, 3rd. Clear and pleasant.. Nothing new.\nHands employed pressing packs, etc., etc The Indians are\nnow coming in every day to trade\n\" Friday, 4th. Moderate and clear. Mr. Bird and the\nIndians returned from the Sawon camp. . . .\n1 Monday, 7th. Moderate winds and disagreeable rainy\nweather. Colin Campbell, with eleven skin canoes laden\nwith buffalo robes, arrived from Cherry river. Mr. Campbell, while at Cherry river, disinterred the body of the\ndeceased F. Querrel; and, as seven wounds were found in\nthe body, Frederick Laboue was put in irons immediately\non the arrival of the canoes. . . .\n\"Friday, nth. Fair, pleasant weather. Sent off two\nmen to the Rees with goods for the trade of those Indians.\nPierre Ortubize and two men left in a skiff in search of the\nsteamboat. Hands employed in making and pressing\npacks.\n\" Monday, 14th. Clear and pleasant. Crossed sixty-\nfour horses to the other side of the Missouri. At 4 P.\nM. had a thunder shower. Indians coming in from every\nquarter to trade. . . .\n\"Thursday, 17th. Clear and fine. Employed crossing\nhorses for Fort Union, etc., etc. . . .\n\" Saturday, 19th. Still continues clear and pleasant\nweather. But no news of consequence. At 4 P. M. two\nmen arrived. Halsey's child was born. . . .\n\" Monday, 21st. Clear and pleasant. Sent off twenty\n mmm\nARRIVAL OF THE\n\"YELLOWSTONE.\"\n979\nmen to the Navy Yard to cut timber and bring it down on\nrafts.\n\" Tuesday, 22nd. Fine, pleasant weather. Mr. Fontenelle, with twenty men and a number of horses, arrived here\nfrom St. Louis. They bring news of the steamboat Yellowstone. She is now between this place and the Poncas.\n\" Wednesday, 23rd. Cloudy with rain at intervals.\nEighteen men arrived from steamboat Yellowstone. She is\nstopped for want of water about sixty miles below White\nriver. William Dickson and family arrived from Riviere\nau Jacques. . . .\n\" Friday, 25th. Clear and fine. Baptiste Defond arrived from the steamboat at the Big Bend. Messrs. McKenzie, Fontenelle, and others left here in a keelboat to\nmeet her. . . .\n\"Thursday, 31st. Same weather as yesterday. Missouri still rising. Four men arrived from White River post\nwith horses, robes, etc. Steamboat Yellowstone arrived at\n5p.m.... mm I\n\" Tuesday, [June] 5th. Fine and pleasant weather.\nSteamboat Yellowstone left here for Ft. Union. Water\nfalling.\n\" Wednesday, 6th. Fine and pleasant weather. Mr.\nFontenelle left here with forty odd men for Ft. Union and,\none hundred and ten or fifteen horses. Water rising.\n\u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2\nI Monday, nth. Fine weather with south winds. Keelboat Flora left here for Fort Union with a cargo of merchandise, etc. Keelboat Male Twin left here for the Navy\nYard to bring down timber.\nI Friday, 15th. Hot and sultry the first part of the day.\nKeelboat Male Twin arrived from the Navy Yard. Latter\npart of the day we had a fine, refreshing shower. I forgot\nto say that four bateaux also arrived from the Navy Yard\ntoday. They, as well as the Male Twin, were loaded with\npickets for the fort. . . .\n\ Sunday, 17th. Keelboat Male Twin and four bateaux\nm\n \u00E2\u0080\u00A2draft \u00E2\u0080\u009E<\n98O\nSHIPMENT OF FURS.\nconducted by Mr. Honore Picotte left here for St. Louis\nloaded with 1,410 packs buffalo robes.\n\"Wednesday, 20th. Fine, pleasant weather with moderate southerly winds. The Missouri still rising. It is now\nnearly over the bank. Joseph Jewett, who left here on the\n10th, arrived today from the Ogallalas with dry meat,\nlodges, etc. 480 lbs. dry meat was left here in the spring,\nbut the wolves broke into the house and ate it all except about\n20 pieces. . . .\nI Sunday, 24th. Steamboat Yellowstone arrived from\nFt. Union. Sent down 600 packs robes on board of her.\n'*' Monday,. 25th. Steamboat Yellowstone left us for St.\nLouis with a cargo of 1,300 packs robes and beaver. Mr.\nLaidlaw went on board. He is to go down as far as Sioux\nagency and return by land. Ortubize has got a keg of\nwhiskey and is continually drunk himself and he tries to\nmake as many of the men drunk as will drink with him.\n\" Sunday, [July] ist. Messrs. Laidlaw and Dickson left\nus for Lac Traverse in quest of some Canadian Pork Eaters\nexpected here this summer. Castorigi sick and off duty.\n\" Sunday, 8th. Same weather as yesterday, with the\nexception of a light shower in the morning. At 2 P. M.\nMessrs. Brown, Durand, and two Americans (all beaver\ntrappers) arrived with about a pack of beaver.\n\" Monday, 9th. Fine weather; at 6 A. M. Henry Hart\narrived from Ft. Union with three bateaux loaded with\nrobes, etc. Loaded one boat with 120 packs beaver and\nother skins and put on board of another 30 packs of robes.\nShe is to take on 120 or 130 packs at Yancton post.\n\" Tuesday, 10th. Strong gales from the north. Four\nbateaux ready to start for St. Louis, but they were detained\nhere all day by the wind.\n\" Wednesday, nth. Four bateaux laden with 355 packs\nbuffalo robes and 10,230 lbs. beaver skins left here for St.\nLouis. They will take in 120 or 130 packs robes at Yancton\n w\n*5S*m*mmm\nCATLIN AT FORT PIERRE.\n981\npost. Water rising fast. It is now five feet above low\nwater mark. . . .\n\" Thursday, 19th. Jewett and Ortubize returned from\nhunting, having killed two bulls. On their arrival on this\nside of the river, we discovered two more bulls on the opposite side, when we immediately recrossed them. At night\nthey returned, having killed one more bull.\nj Friday, 20th. Cloudy, and hot, sultry weather. Vas-\nseau and two men belonging to Le Clerc Company arrived\nat the mouth of Teton river for the purpose of building and\nestablishing a trading house there. Leclaire and a few\nmen arrived here from Fort Lookout. . . .\ni Sunday, 29th. Pleasant weather and light northerly\nwinds. At 10 A. M., Mr. Laidlaw arrived on the other side\nfrom the east with 36 Pork Eaters. He lost two on the\nroad. Employed the greatest part of the day crossing the\nmen and their baggage. At 12 M. Cardinal Grant arrived\nfrom the Yancton post. . .\n\" Thursday, August 2nd. Calm and pleasant. Plenty\nof buffalo. Mr. Laidlaw went out to hunt them and killed\nthree. . . .\nI Saturday, 4th. Four Brule Indians arrived in search\nof a trader. They are encamped five days' march from\nthis. . . .\n\" Monday, 6th. Baptiste Dorion, Charles Primeau, and\nHipolite Neissel left here this morning with four Indians,\nwho arrived on the 4th with Mdse., to trade meat, etc., etc.\nSent up Ortubize to the Navy Yard (or shanty) [Chantier]\nto hunt for our men at work there. . . .\n\" Tuesday, 14th. Messrs. Catlin and Bogart arrived\nfrom Ft. Union on their way to St. Louis.\n\"Wednesday, 15th. A fine, pleasant day. Baptiste Dorion and G. P. Cerre arrived from the Brule camps, with\ndry meat, robes, etc.\n\" Thursday, 16th. Light southerly winds. Mr. Catlin\nleft us for St. Louis, accompanied by Mr. Bogart, in a skiff.\nI Friday, 17th. A fine, pleasant day, with a refreshing\ntl\n ;\n982\nDORION KILLS AN INDIAN.\nshower in the evening. In the early part of the day news\nwas brought in of a band of buffalo not being far from the\nfort. Consequently a party went out to hunt them. Baptiste Dorion was one of the party; they all returned without\nkilling any buffalo; but Dorion fell in with a Stiaago [ ?]\nIndian riding off with one of the Company horses. After\na little scuffle he killed the Indian and we got back the horse.\nWe suppose he was a Ree. Dorion did not fire at the Indian\ntill he had fired two arrows at him.\n\" Saturday, 18th. Hot, sultry weather. Hands employed variously. Finished hay-making and have five mud\nchimneys under way. Brown arrived from the lumber\nyards, also two rafts of timber. . . .\n\"Tuesday, 21st. Weather as yesterday. At 11 A. M.\nMr. Brown arrived from the lumber yards. Two of the\nmen there, Louis Turcot and James Durant, having stolen\na canoe and deserted last evening. Mr. Brown, with one\nman, left here in a canoe at 12 M. in pursuit of them. Several lodges, Yanctons and Esontis [ ?] arrived on the other\nside the Missouri and camped there.\n\" Thursday, 23rd. Fine weather. Mr. Brown arrived\nwith the two deserters, Turcot and Durant. He caught\nthem in the middle of the Big Bend.\n\" Friday, 24th. A continuation of fine, pleasant weather.\nTwelve or thirteen lodges Indians crossed the river and\ncamped alongside of us. Commenced planting the pickets\nof the fort. . . .\n\" Sunday, Sept. 9th. Southerly winds and pleasant\nweather. The prairies are on fire in every direction. G. P.\nCerre arrived from the Sawon Camp.\n\" Monday, 24th. Laidlaw, Halsey, Campbell, Demaney,\nand an Indian left for Sioux agency, near Fort Lookout, and\non\n1 Sunday, the 30th, they returned, accompanied by Dr.\nMartin, who visits this place for the purpose of vaccinating\nthe Indians. Messrs. McKenzie and Fontenelle, with several others, arrived from Ft. Union in a bateau, having\n M KENZIE FROM FORT UNION.\n983\non board about 6,000 lbs. beaver skins. In the evening Wm.\nDickson arrived from River Bois Blanc in quest of Mdse.\nfor the trade there.\"\n'.,;\n *3g*^<\u00C2\u00AB-;\nH.\nJOURNAL OF A STEAMBOAT VOYAGE FROM ST.\nLOUIS TO FORT UNION.\nThe journal which follows, like that which has just been\ngiven, affords a better idea of one of the peculiar features of\nfur trade life than can be had in any other way. The navigation of the Missouri river was a science sui generis. The\nreader will note especially the hourly presence of serious\nobstacles, such as sand bars and snags; the great annoyance\nfrom winds and storms; and the overshadowing importance\nof the wood question. He will also note how few of the old\nriver names still survive, and how many \" forts \" or trading\nhouses were then in existence whose very names are now\nutterly forgotten.\nThe following statistics show the rate of speed made by\nthe vessels whose annual voyages are recorded in the Sire\nJournal. The distance from St. Louis to Fort Union was\nabout 1,760 miles:\nIn 1841\nIn 1842\nIn 1843\nIn 1844\nIn 1845\nIn 1846\nIn 1847\nthe trip\nthe trip\nthe trip\nthe trip\nthe trip\nthe trip\nthe trip\nup consumed\nup consumed\nup consumed\nup consumed\nup consumed\nup consumed\nup consumed\n80 days and the trip down 21 days.\n76 days and the trip down 22 days.\n49 days a*id the trip down 15 days.\n54 days and the trip down 16 days.\n42 days and the trip down 15 days.\n44 days and the trip down 31 days.\n40 days and the trip down 14 days.\nThe trip of 1847 was the shortest both ways of those here\ngiven. The average daily speed up was 44 miles: down.\n123 miles.\n THE STEAMBOAT \"OMEGA.\"\n985\nlog of steamboat omega, from St. Louis to Fort Union,\n1843-\nJoseph A. Sire, Master.\nJoseph La Barge, Pilot.\nAmong the passengers were the Naturalist Audubon and\nparty.\n(Translated from the original French.)\nApril 25. Tuesday. Left St. Louis at 11 A. M. Water\nhigh but falling slightly. Current strong. We make slow\nprogress. Reach St. Charles at 4 o'clock next morning,\nwhen we put Sarpy on shore, who returns to St. Louis.\nApril 26. Wednesday. Set out at 6 A. M. Current\nstill strong. Took wood twice. The steamboat Rowena\npassed us at the entrance to the channel along Bonhomme\nIsland. Met the Troja at Leve Cul. Camped at South\nPoint at 8:30 P. M. The river is undoubtedly in fine condition for night running; but it is dark and the weather\nthreatening. Moreover, we have too much to lose to risk\nour cargo for the sake of gaining a little time.\nApril 27. Thursday. Set out rather late. At times\nour progress was very slow. It was 9 P. M. when we\npassed Portland. As the weather is clear we run all night.\nPassed the mouth of the Osage at day-hreak.\nApril 28. Friday. The current still strong and the river\nrising. Passed Jefferson City, where we met the Mary\nTompkins and the Weston going to St. Louis. Wooded*\nat 11 A. M., 9 miles above Jefferson City. Much difficulty\nin finding wood. We found some by chance, 4^ cords,\nbelow the large island 4 miles below Rocheport We tried\nin vain to stem the current along the bluffs (de monter les\ncotes). At 10 P. M. I decided to put to shore on a little\nisland in order not to consume our wood to no purpose.\nWe had the good fortune to find some poles (perches) and\nI had 300 brought on board.\nApril 29. Saturday. Set out as soon as it was light,\n*\nI\n/j\n 986\nCROSSWISE of the channel.\nwhich enabled us to take some advantage of the current.\nWe succeeded in ascending. Wood still scarce and poor.\nStopped at Boonville to take on Booker, a mulatto. Passed\nGlasgow at 7 o'clock. Great difficulty in doubling the point\nopposite the mouth of the Chariton. Camped on the island\nbelow Old Jefferson at 9 :i5 P. M. I send the yawl to look\nfor some poles.\nApril 30. Sunday. Set out at 4 A. M. Current still\nstrong, and to cap the climax the wind rises with incredible\nforce. It is useless to try to keep on. and we put to shore 4\nmiles from our last camp, where, most fortunately, we find\npoles and dry mulberry, which permits us to fill the boat.\nAt 1 P. M. the wind seems to moderate. We set out, and\nthanks to the wood which we had chopped and the poles\nwe had taken, we get along very well. As the night is fine\nwe continue our voyage, and at break of day are at the\n1 Coupe du Petits O.\" Took 5 cords of wood at Fine's.\nPassed Lexington at the dinner hour, where we were overtaken by the John Auld, which pushed along by.\nMay 1. Monday. Current still strong. Overtook the\nJohn Auld at camp, where we took 6 cords of wood and then\nlay to for the night at the head of the chute.\nMay 2. Tuesday. Set out before day. It seems that\nwe are making better progress. In fact, since the water is\nfalling the current is less strong. Stop at Owen's, where I\ntake 12 barrels flour for Richardson. Stopped at Liberty\nLanding for dispatches from Mr. Laidlaw, and at Madame\nChouteau's, where I find everything abandoned. Passed\nthe bad place at the mouth of the Kansas river after sunset.\nThe weather was so fine that I decided to run all night. At\n6 A. M. we reached Leavenworth.\nMay 3. Wednesday. Set out at 8 A. M. We got along\nwell, although often slowly. At 4 P. M. we reached the\nlittle island below village 24. In order to avoid a bad chute\non the right we took the left hand channel and had the misfortune to run aground. We got ourselves clear once, but\nhad the misfortune to get fast crosswise the channel. It\n frightful gales.\n987\nrained and blew in a frightful manner. We were compelled to stay where we were for the night in the hope of\nextricating ourselves in the morning.\nMay 4. Monday. We get clear, but by a false maneuver\nof the pilot we get aground again. Broke our large cable.\nFinally succeeded in getting off by shoving the stern around.\nThe wind blows with incredible force, and we have to pass\na place very dangerous on account of snags. We remain at\nthe bank until 6 P. M., and finally camp at the wood yard\nabove village 24.\nMay 5. Friday. Set out at day-break. Took o cords\nof wood 400 yards farther on. The strong wind annoys us\nmuch. Arrived at Robidoux [Blacksnake Hills or St.\nJoseph] at 1 P. M. and remained there an hour taking 5\ncords of wood, 10 barrels lard, and some provisions. The\nwind increases. We enter the Nadowa chute We have\nhard work to overcome the wind at Nadowa Island, and it\nis with difficulty that we arrive opposite our last year's encampment at 8 P. M.\nMay 6. Friday. The wind blows frightfully all night,\nwith such violence that it seems as though the smoke-stacks\nwould be blown down. It moderates a little at sun rise and\nwe set out. We do not go far before it blows as strong as\nit did before. We land to cut some axe helves and get a little wood. It is one o'clock when we resume our journey,\nand in spite of wind and current we arrive at the Iowas at\nsunset, where I discharge the freight for the agent. We go\non to Jeffrey's Point, where I take 10 cords of wood for\nwhich I give an order upon the House for $20.\nMay 7. Sunday. We set out at day-break. Good\nwood, calm weather, and good progress. Passed the Grand\nNemaha (Tapon Glaire) and stopped at Brown's at Nishna-\nbotana, where I take 5 cords of wood that I do not pay for.\n(I forgot to say that we chopped some wood at the point\nabove Tapon Glaire.) Passed the Little Nemaha, where\nwe were obliged de muler pour prendre d droite. We lost\n 988\nBOAT INSPECTED FOR LIQUOR.\nfully an hour. Finally we camped at a point on the left in\nview of Long Island.\nMay 8. Monday. We made good progress as far as to\nBeau Soleil Island, where we tried in vain to pass to the\nright along the prairie. It was necessary to take the old\nchannel. Took 8j^ cords of wood at Hank Roberts. We\nfound everything carried off by the water at Akays (?).\nPassed to the left de I'Isle de VEtroit; passed the Grand\ndeboulis. A little farther all the houses are demolished by\nthe flood. Passed Table river. Stopped at McPherson's,\nwhere we bought and cut some wood, and finally went into\ncamp opposite the mouth of the Weeping Water.\nMay 9. Tuesday. Passed Trudeau Island, Five Barrels\nIsland, la Purre a Calumet, L Oeil de fer. I find no wood.\nI decide to have some cut a little further on.\nTried the left hand channel, where the steamboat Pirate was\nlost, but could not get through. Tried the right hand, but\nit was shallow, bouleverse and full of sand bars. Found 5\ncords of wood at Baptiste Le Clair's, which we took.\nCrossed to Abbadie's, where we put off his freight. Went\non to L'Issue, where I put off freight for the sutler and for\nCaptain Burgwin. Set out at 7 P. M. and camped above\nthe bad sand bar near the marsh at Hart's cut-off at 9 P. M.\nMay 10. Wednesday. We progressed finely as far as\nHart's Bluffs (cotes a Hart), where, at 7 A. M., we were\nsummoned by an officer and four dragoons to land. I\nreceived a polite note from Captain Burgwin, informing me\nthat his duty obliged him to make an inspection of the boat.\nWe put ourselves to work immediately, while Mr. Audubon\ngoes to call upon the Captain. They return in about two\nhours. I compel, as it were (en quelque sort), the officer to\nmake the strictest possible inspection, but on the condition\nthat he would do the same with the other traders. I have the\nmen chop 15 cords of liard vert for the return trip. Heaven\nknows if it will be there when I get back. Resumed our\njourney at noon. Passed the house of Mr. Cabanne, Boyer\nriver, Fort Manuel, and stopped for the night at the head of\n ROSIN TO MAKE WOOD BURN.\n989\nFour-house Cut-off in the hope of finding wood there. I\nwas cruelly disappointed. There is nothing but some elms\nthere, which will be very difficult to split. I dread to use\ndrift wood, but we shall have to come to it and will use rosin\nto make it burn.\nMay 11. Thursday. We soon find some drift wood,\nwhich we proceed to cut, since there is no other kind in this\ncountry. As I expected, it will burn only by the aid of rosin.\nPassed Soldier river. Proceeded slowly on account of the\nwood. Cut some more wood, which was worse than the\nother. It is almost impossible to keep going. We camp at\n8:30 P. M. Tomorrow I hope to find some ash at Little\nSioux river. The water rose 5 feet last night.\nMay 12. Friday. Scarcely had we started when we\nwere obliged to lay to on account of the fog. Started again\nhalf an hour later. Found the difficult chute of the Little\nRiver of the Sioux stopped up, and the channel passing\nthrough the mud bars. Stopped at the end of the long\nstraight stretch and chopped some ash. It is a good place\nfor this kind of wood. Passed Pratt cut-off, Wood's bluffs,\nand camped at Blackbird. The water rose last night 2j4\nfeet.\nMay 13. Saturday. Just as we were on the points of\nstarting a fog arose, which compelled us to remain in camp\nuntil 6:30 A. M. During this time I had some ash cut.\nCame on in good shape. Passed McClellan's Bluffs, where\na cut-off has formed on the opposite side, which saves two\nor three miles. Chopped some liard sec below the prairie,\nwhere the Omaha village stands. Passed this prairie.\nChopped some more wood about 3 miles below Sergeant's\nBluffs. There is enough here for several years. Passed\nSetting Sun Bluffs. Camped at the mouth of the Big Sioux.\nIt is wretched weather, rainy and windy. Last night the\nriver stopped rising.\nMay 14. Sunday. We depart before day break by\nmoonlight. The weather is uncertain all the morning. At\n11:30 A. M. we stopped at the point where we arrested 4\n. . .\n 990\nUN COURANT D ENFERS.\ndeserters two years ago, and loaded the boat with dry wood.\nWe push on at i :30 P. M., but the wind, which had risen\nwith incredible force, and the strength of the current (for\nthe water commenced to rise again last night) made us give\nit up. I had the boat put to shore and set the men to cutting\nwood for the return trip. Instead of subsiding the wind\nincreases. It is rather a hurricane. I am momentarily in\nfear that the smoke stacks will fall down. If this wind continues it will be a sleepless night (nuit blanche) for me.\nMay 15. Monday. The wind continues* to blow as hard\nas yesterday. I set the men to cutting bois de liard again.\nAt about 3 P. M. the wind seems to soften. In case it continues [to fall?] I will have the boilers pumped up so that\nwe may be ready if it falls enough. We set out, but Great\nHeaven, how slow we go! Often we drift backward by the\nforce of the current. We come as far as to the foot of the\nbluffs of Little Iowa river. Last night the river rose 14\ninches, and I think that it is still rising. The Omega does\nall she can, but she is too heavily loaded to continue against\na strong current like this, and the wind of this country,\nwhich is almost always strong.\nMay 16. Tuesday. The river rose 11 inches last night,\nand consequently we have a h\u00E2\u0080\u00941 of a current (un courant\nd'enfers). It is 11:30 A. M. when we reach the Vermillion\nhouses. We set out again at 12:30, after having taken on\nsome wood which I left there last year; but scarcely had we\ndoubled the point of the island when the engineer announced\nthe sad news that one of our boilers had burned out. We\nhave to tie up, and I much fear that we shall be here a part\nof tomorrow. I set the men to cutting green liard. which\nwill be of use, if not for the return trip, then for next year.\nMay 17. Wednesday. We remain here longer than I\nthought we should, for at the hour of this writing we have\nnot finished [the repairs]. I have more wood cut and we\nhave 50 to 60 cords. The water, which had risen last night,\nhas commenced falling since dinner. May it so continue\nuntil we reach Fort Pierre. fl\n^s.\n LAID UP FOR REPAIRS.\n99*\nMay 18. Thursday. It takes us another day to complete\nour repairs. This is due to the difficulty of introducing\nrivets between the flues and the wall of the boiler. The\nwater continues to fall rapidly \u00E2\u0080\u0094 3 feet since yesterday\nnoon. Messrs. Laidlaw and Drips passed down at 8 o'clock\nwith 4 Mackinaw boats. I write to the house and Mr.\nAudubon sends his dispatches.\nMay 19. Friday. We push on at day break. We find\nthe current still strong in spite of the fall of water. Lost\nconsiderable time in passing the mouth of the Vermillion.\nIt is necessary to sound, and we find only 4J4 feet. Cut 8\nor 10 cords of.wood at the first point on the left above the\nVermillion. We find the channel which follows the bluffs\nbelow the Petit Arc extremely bad (there is considerable\nash at this place). We cut some more dry liard at the\nbeginning of the point below the Perkins' woods. We went\ninto camp at the said woods.\nMay 20. Saturday. The water fell only 2j^ inches last\nnight. We set out at break of day in spite of wind and rain,\nwhich hinder us a great deal. We arrive at noon at the\nash point on the right going up, below Bonhomme Island.\nIt is useless to try to chop any: the water has flooded everything. I am seriously embarrassed; when opposite the\nentrance to the Bonhomme channel we find enough dry\nliard to fill the boat. It is half past three. All day long the\nwind blows as it only can on the upper Missouri. Often we\nscarcely move at all. We pass to the left of the island.\nThe water is shallow and swift. Finally we come to the\nfirst prairie to the right, where there is a good quantity of\ndrift. Camped at 8130.\nMay 21. Sunday. Set out at 3:15 A. M. The wind\nblew all night and is blowing still. We still see a good deal\nof drift wood, but we are not in need of any. Passed Manuel river and Bazille river. A little below we saw a band\nof cows [buffalo], something that has not been seen here for\nmany years. At 10 A. M. we arrive at Fort Mitchell, where\nwe cut dry wood from the pickets, houses and fences. If\n11\nto\n /\n992\nA VOLLEY FROM SHORE.\nthe Indians or others do not burn this establishment, there\nwill be enough dry wood there for two or three years.\nResumed our voyage at n A. M., but the wind, which\nincreases, retards us considerably. Passed Chouteau river.\nThere the wind becomes almost irresistible. Nevertheless\nwe enter the channel of Ponca Island, but at the head of the\nisland, where the bluffs rise directly from the water (trem-\npent a I'eau), we are forced to stop. I land on the island\nand go to cutting green wood, which will be of use on the\nreturn trip or next year. It is 3 P. M. Finally, toward 6\no'clock, the wind seems to moderate. We set out and follow those interminable bluffs, which trempent a I'eau, and go\ninto camp on the opposite shore at the commencement of the\nprairie at 8:30 P. M. Last night the water fell only an\ninch and a half.\nMay 22. Monday. We push out at 3 A. M. Passed\nthe town at 4:30. All along the bluffs (cotes), where it is\nshallow, we move slowly. Cut more wood at 6 A. M., some\nmiles below Handy's. It is necessary to take wood\nwherever one can find it. In passing Handy's point a party\nof savages fired a volley at us, two shots of which passed\nthrough the men's cabin. Fortunately no one was hit. It\nis probably those rascally Santees; no one else would be\ncapable of such an attack. We had much difficulty in passing the point of oaks opposite the river Pratte. We had to\nsound, and found only 4 feet large. During this time I had\nsome oak wood cut, poor fuel for steam. Finally we lay to\nat 8 P. M. at Little Cedar Island. It will be necessary to\nchop some wood in the morning, notwithstanding that we\nhave commenced this evening.\nMay 23. Tuesday. After cutting some wood we set\nout at 5 130 A. M. Cedar Island is no longer worth the\ntrouble of stopping there, since it is impracticable to land\nwhere the best wood is. Took the same route as last year;\npassed to the right of Snag Island (Isle aux Chicots).\nTook on board the hunters whom I sent out last night.\nPassed the Three Islands safely, but opposite the Bijoux\nX\n A BROKEN SPAR.\n993\nHills at Desire Island I plunge into the sand bars and soon\nwe are aground athwart the current. Our spars break and it\nis dark before Durack returns with others. We will begin\nagain tomorrow morning. The heat has been unsupport-\nable all day. Thermometer 92 \u00C2\u00B0.\nMay 24. Wednesday. We find the boat in the morning\npretty much in the same situation. We set at work immediately and are just about to get afloat again when one of\nthe spars breaks, and we are obliged to send 2 miles to look\nfor another on an island where they are very scarce. It is\n10 A. M. and the yawl has not yet returned. We\nmet La Charite, who is descending the river in a skin canoe\nwith goods for the Poncas and brings me a letter from Mr.\nHonore Picotte. The yawl returns at last and we succeed\nin extricating ourselves, but we go aground again, again get\noff, and after having sounded again find only one passage\nand that a doubtful one. We lurch and break one of our\nrudders, but 10 minutes afterward we are afloat. We put to\nshore to mend the rudder, and meanwhile I have some wood\ncut from drift. At 6 P. M. we resume our journey and\ncome to the head of the Bijoux Hills before night, where I\nsend out men to chop a little wood. The river continues to\nfall slowly. The wind has changed to the N. W., and it has\nturned cold.\nMay 25. Thursday. We did not get off until 6 A. M.\nbecause I had a full load of dry wood taken on. The wind\nrises with rain and the weather is frightful. We are obliged\nto stop and sound before we reach John's Bluffs. We run\nwith difficulty on 4 feet of water. The river has fallen considerably and in many places we find no more water than\nwe have to have. Passed White river. At American river\n(Riviere des Americans) we spend a good deal of time in\nsounding. At the head of the channel at Cedar Island we\nfind no way out. Nevertheless, Desire, whom I send to\nsound, reports 4.4 feet. We shall try it tomorrow morning.\nMay 26. Friday. We are a little late in starting, for it\nis very necessary to see clearly before leaving the channel.\n ssmmm\n/\n994\nAUDUBON CROSSES THE GREAT BEND.\nR/f\ni\nSent out the yawl. Found the same depth again, 4ft. 4\ninches. Passed through. Stopped at the foot of the bluffs\nbelow Fort Lookout, where we cut more cedar, which we\nhave to go a good way for. We had much trouble at two\nplaces in passing Fort Lookout point. We passed to the\nright of Deslaurier's Island for the first time. I believe that\nthe [good] water was that way last year, but it did not suit\nFrancis [pilot] to try it, and I was compelled to lighten the\nboat of her whole cargo. At the head of the chute we had\nto sound, and found just enough water to pass. If we drew\n4 inches more we should frequently have had to lighten half\nthe cargo. Much trouble in passing along the bluffs below\nthe Great Bend. Put ashore Mr. Audubon, his companions,\nand 3 men, who will camp on the other side of the Bend and\nwait for us there. Chopped more drift wood and camped\nat 8:15 at the first bluffs on the right going up. I forgot\nto say that I have sent 3 men express to Fort Pierre with\npapers for that establishment.\nMay 27. Saturday. Scarcely have we set out when we\nconsumed two hours making a crossing. A little farther it\nlooks for a moment as if we should be obliged to lighten the\ncargo a half (it was raining in torrents), but we have the\ngood luck to get through. Passed the chain of rocks at\ndinner time, and at 3 P. M. arrived at the head of the Great\nBend, where I have some wood cut, and Mr. Audubon and\ncompanions return on board. We try in vain to pass to the\nright of the island below the mouth of Medicine river. We\nhave to return and take the small channel to the left. There\nis a good deal of good cedar wood at the entrance and if the\nchannel remains there it will be a good place to get wood.\nCamped near the head of the channel at 8:30 P. M.\nMay 28. Sunday. As far as to the mouth of the Medicine river there is good wood. We have much difficulty\nto the point where we broke our rudder last year. We get\nalong very well after that. I do not cut any wood at the\nbluffs below the Grand Cedar Island, because I expect to\nfind some where I cut some last year opposite La Chapelle\n^v\n \nARRIVAL AT FORT PIERRE.\n995\nIsland. But a large sand bar has formed there. I am compelled to stop in sight of Simeneau Island at i :30 P. M. to\ncut some poor wood. Resumed our voyage at 2:15. We\ngot along well to Ebbitt's house, where I take on 30 packs\nof robes and Major Hamilton. At the head of Simeneau\nIsland there is not enough water, only 3 feet large. To take\noff half the cargo will not be enough. I therefore decide to\nawait until tomorrow morning. Perhaps some changes\nwill take place.\nMay 29. Monday. I send out to sound the channel.\nNo more water than yesterday, but appearances are more\nfavorable. Where there was no water yesterday we find 3\nfeet 6 inches. The gentlemen from Fort George pay us a\nvisit and take dinner with us.\nMay 30. Tuesday. In one place we find 4 feet. In the\nother 3 feet 10 inches. We set to work and it is 5 P. M.\nbefore we have passed those two cursed bars. We were\nobliged to send the yawl for wood. Messrs. Picotte, Chardon, and several others arrive from the fort [Pierre].\nCamped at 8 P. M. opposite Fleury Island, where we loaded\nup with dry wood. Fleury, who came on board, tells me\nthat the river has risen 7 inches since noon.\nMay 31. Wednesday. It seems that we may not be able\nto reach the fort [Pierre], for we shall not be able to pass\nalong the small island below the fort. We resolve to try the\nsmall channel to the left, but after a long trial we are convinced that it is impossible. I send to the fort for the ferry\nboat and a Mackinaw boat, and having transferred some\nlead and tobacco we are able to pass up the right of the\nisland. We reach the fort at 3 P. M. The unloading of\nthe freight for this post is finished at sundown.\nJune 1. Thursday. I remain at the fort a part of the\nforenoon on account of business. Write to the House and\nto Durack with my instructions concerning the Trapper.\nCrossed at 11 A. M. Took on some articles I had need of.\nGave some provisions to Durack for his journey. Cut 2\ncords of drift wood and stopped for the night above old\n\u00E2\u0096\u00A0\n 996\nSHORT OF WOOD.\nFort George at 9:30 P. M. (There is a good deal of drift\nwood at the old dirt village.)\nJune 2. Friday. We set out at 3 A. M. Passed the\nBig Cheyenne, the island at Ash point, to the left of Assiniboine Island, where we could not land and consequently\ncould not take on the wood which I left there last year.\nStopped five times to take on drift wood. Passed to the\nleft of Little Cheyenne Island and camped about 2 miles\nbelow the Little Cheyenne at 8:45 P. M.\nJune 3. Saturday. The wind blows violently all night\nand has not stopped when we set out. We try to pass to the\nleft of Touchon Kaksah, but are obliged to go back about\n2 miles and take the right hand channel, and we pass to the\nhead of a small willow island. We come along very well,\nalthough there are some bad places. It is not surprising\nfor we are today in the worst part of the Missouri. -Stopped\nat the willow island below the mouth of the Moreau at 10\nA. M. and took on some very poor drift wood, but there is\nno other. We try the right hand of Prele Island, where we\nwent down last year, but we find no way out. We go back\nand take the left hand channel, where we lost 2 days last\nyear, and find good water. Passed Grand river, where I\nthought I could land and cut up an old house for wood, but\nwe could not get in there. Passed the rampart and landed\nopposite the little island below the old Aricara village.\nThe weather is threatening, and I believe a bad storm is on.\nI have scarcely a cord of wood for the start tomorrow\nmorning, but I hope I have enough to reach the ash point\nbelow the old village. It is 8:30 P. M.\nJune 4. Sunday. We get a late start on account of our\nbad wood. Stopped a little farther on at Ash point below\nthe old Aricara village. Stopped again at La Chapelle Point\nwhere we take in the remains of the Primeau houses.\nPassed La Bourbeuse, Fort Manuel, and camped at Pri-\nmeau's fort a little below Beaver river, where we load up\nwith cord wood, leaving some for the return trip. I note\nthat this side of the Bourbeuse, and even below there is a\n M\nEFFORTS TO GET FUEL.\n997\ngood deal of drift wood. All day we have had a north wind\nwhich has delayed us a good deal. But for that we should\nhave made a much better day.\nJune 5. Monday. We have just enough water at the\nsecond Beaver river crossing. Passed Cannon Ball river,\nMitchell's wintering house, Bouis' wintering house, where\nwe fill the boat with worthless wood, which makes me\ncurse all the rest of the day. It is only by the aid of rosin that\nwe can raise barely enough steam to keep us moving very\nslowly. I have left several cords of the same wood for the\ndown trip. Passed Apple river, the place where the Assiniboine burned, and finally went into camp at 9:20 P. M., at\nthe beginning of Heart River Point. We have passed today\na good deal of drift wood between and considerably below\nBouis' wintering ground. If the water does not carry it off\nbetween now and next year it will be very easy to get. The\nwater seems to be rising rapidly all day. It rose two inches\nlast night.\nI forgot to say that we were not able to land opposite the\nmouth of the Riviere au Berchet, where I had chopped some\noak wood last year. It is necessary therefore to go there\nagain, although the report is that the Indians have burned a\npart of it.\nJune 6. Tuesday. We set out at day break. We lose\na good deal of time in finding the channel a little above the\nmouth of Heart river. It is 9 A. M. when we get clear.\nWe meet Kipp with four barges at the Square Buttes. He\njoins us. I write to St. Louis by the barges, care Mr. Bur-\nguiere. Passed the Square Buttes, where we cut some ash\nwood. Camp at the point where the Assiniboines met us\ntwo years ago. Filled the boat with poor ash wood, which\nMr. Chardon had cut for us. All day the weather has been\nmiserable, rain and an east wind.\nJuly 7. Wednesday. Bad weather continues all night.\nWe reach Fort Clark early. We are much delayed in getting the freight ashore, for it rains continually. The wind\nrises with such force that I decide to remain here all day.\nr\n 998\nDIVERS EMBARRASSMENTS.\nGive a feast to the Aricaras and get everything ready to\nstart at daybreak tomorrow.\nJune 8. Thursday. We are off at 2:45 A. M. We pass\nsafely the Grosventre bar because the water is up; otherwise\nI think we should have had a hard time of it there. Stopped\nwith these Indians and lose an hour in being polite to them.\nPassed the Great Rock. Passed the wintering ground of\nthe Aricaras last year, which is situated a little below\nDancing Bear, where there are three wagons which I must\ntake to Fort Clark on my way down. At the same time we\ncan cut some wood from the lodges and houses. Camped\na little above the wintering ground at 8 P. M. I have the\nboat loaded with ash and dry liard. Three times today we\nhave cut bois de bature. The river continues to rise. It is\nhigh enough for a good down trip.\nJune 9. Friday. We set out again at the same hour.\nPassed Dancing Bear an hour later. This point has de-\nboulee a good deal and it will be of use to cut wood there\nfor the down trip. Passed without difficulty the place which\nused to be so bad. The channel has improved greatly.\nPassed the mouth of the Little Missouri and all the bad\nplaces below and above the river without difficulty. Stopped\nat the prairie a little below the foot of the Great Bend to\npack our cylinder. During this time we kill a cow. We\npass to the left of the little island. In passing the chute our\nyawl is considerably damaged. We land for a moment to\nput it on deck and during this time I have some bois de\nbature cut. We get ourselves entangled in a channel tout\nle long de terre, which has no outlet. We have to back out\nand follow the island. We do not go far along the bluffs\nqui trempent a I'eau, when we run into the same difficulty\nand have to withdraw. We lie to finally at 10:30 P. M. at\nthe place where we cut wood every year. I will have the\nboat loaded tomorrow morning.\nJune 10. Saturday. We cut wood until 4:30 A. M.\nStopped a moment and killed two bulls. Passed the Little\nKnife river at 12 o'clock. A little farther we cut some dry\n m\\nARRIVAL AT FORT UNION.\n999\nHard. Passed the chain all right. Met four lodges of\nAssiniboines at the beginning of White River Point. Again\nwe cut a good lot of dry liard, little more than we cut last\nyear, at the upper end of the point. Met the same Indians\nagain at 7 P. M. Camped near the Butte au Cure at 8145\nP. M. Strong wind and rain.\nJune 11. Sunday. We start a little late on account of\nbad weather. Cut some ash wood at 9:3c Continued our\njourney at 11 o'clock. It blows strong all day and at times\nwe scarcely move. Do our best we cannot reach the Muddy. We camp at 9 P. M. at the foot of the bluffs below\nthat river. The water has fallen a little since day before\nyesterday.\nJune 12. Monday. The water fell last night about three\ninches. We set out at 3 :i5 A. M. and soon pass the Muddy.\nStopped to cut a little dry wood. We have no more.\nStopped again at 11 A. M. at the place where we usually cut\nwood. We fill the boat with dry liard. I am indeed\nafraid that we shall not reach [the fort] this evening.\nWind strong and frequent rain. Finally we start at 12:45.\nWe make but slow progress on account of wind and current.\nPassed Fort Mortimer opposite the mouth of the Yellowstone, and reached Fort Union at sunset. The water continues to fall.\nJune 13. Tuesday. We discharged the freight for the\nfort in a short time, made some repairs, and spent the rest\nof the day at the fort. The water is still falling, but not\nfast.\nJune 14. Wednesday. It was after breakfast when we\nset out [on the return trip]. Stopped a little way down\nand took on enough wood, if we do not run aground, to\ncarry us to Fort Clark. It is 9:30 A. M. when we pass the\nmouth of the Yellowstone. Made good progress the rest\nof the day. Stopped for the night at 8 :i5 a little below the\nmouth of Knife river. The water continued to fall last\nnight.\nJune 15. Thursday. As I anticipated we had a good\n,7%\n Wi\niooo\nASSINIBOINES ABOARD.\ndeal of trouble at the head of the island at Little Knife river.\nRun aground, worked a long while, and did not get off till\nnoon. We ran the Great Bend without difficulty until we\nreached the island at the foot, where we ran hard aground\nagain and did not get off until sunset. Camped eight or ten\nmiles farther down. Tomorrow will be another bad day.\nI forgot to say that at midnight there came on board a band\nof Assiniboines who, in my inmost soul, I would like to send\nto the devil. I had to pass the rest of the night with them,\nand to take ten of them along with us as far as to the Grosventres.\nJune 16. Friday. Contrary to my expectations we did\nnot ground at the mouth of the Little Missouri. Stopped\nopposite Dancing Bear, where I took on several wagons for\nFort Clark and also some good dry wood from Chardon's\nhouses. Farther down we stopped at an old village where\nthere was some more good wood. A little farther down we\nhad to cast anchor because of a break of a valve stem. We\ncame slowly to the bank and resume our voyage at 5 P. M.\nPut off the Assiniboines at the Grosventres. We soon came\nto the bad sand bar. We looked for a channel a long while\nwithout finding a sure one. It being already late and a prospect of bad weather, I put to shore a little below the mouth\nof Knife river. Tomorrow morning we must sound. River stationary last night.\nJune 17. Saturday. We sound the channel\u00E2\u0080\u0094scarcely\nenough water, but by aid of the spars we force ourselves\nover the bar. We are soon at the Mandans, where I take\non board 500 odd packs. Set out at 2:30, make good\nprogress. Took the rest of the wood that Chardon had had\ncut; passed Heart river after sunset; struck the bar but had\nthe good luck to back off. Camped at the same place where\nwe camped on our way up on the 5th. River stationary.\nJune 18. Sunday. Started a little late. Passed Cannon Ball river. Killed a cow and a bull. Wooded at Beaver river. I left four cords which were too far to go after,\nand we have enough anyway, and the heat is insupportable.\n nmmmm\nmm\nAT PIERRE ON DOWN TRIP.\nIOOI\nIn backing up we scuttled our yawl. Ran aground at the\nsame place, but got off soon. Put to the bank a moment.\nAfter that we got along all right. Camped a little above\nPrele Island, where we remained two days last year waiting\nfor the channel to cut out. The river is still stationary.\nJune 19. Monday. This has been a day of running\naground and of fatigue, but we expected it. We find all the\nchannels changed. Passed the Moreau and ran aground a\nlittle below. Aground again opposite Touchon Kaksa.\nStopped at the bluffs opposite the Little Cheyenne, where we\ncut a little cedar, but set out again three-quarters of an hour\nlater. Stopped at Assiniboine Island at 6:30 P. M., where\nI have the yawl fetch the wood which I left there last year.\nThe heat is extremely oppressive today. The water does\nnot fall any yet. As I am writing a hurricane rises accompanied with thunder and rain, lasting much of the night. It\nalready commences to turn cold.\nJune 20. Tuesday. It is still blowing too hard this\nmorning to set out, but at 5 A. M. the wind seems to fall a\nlittle. I have the fire lighted. As nearly as I can judge by\nthe water marks the river has risen four inches. Passed the\nisland at Ash point, where there is a bad place. We soon\nreach the Big Cheyenne. We have much trouble at the\ncrossing and more at the place where we generally cut cedar.\nThe weather is so bad that I stop and go to cutting wood. I\nsend and have the channel sounded, which takes a long\nwhile on account of the wind. Finally we get by. Stopped\nat 7 P. M. a little above the dirt village, where we gathered\nall the drift wood we could find. Finished work at 8:30.\nAll day we have had wind and rain. The river still seems\nto be rising.\nJune 21. Wednesday. We soon reach the fort\n[Pierre]. I learn with pleasure that the Trapper left nine\ndays ago. The water rose last night and is still rising. I\ntherefore wait all day at the fort. It is frightful weather\nall day.\nJune 22. Thursday. Set out a little late. Arrived at\n/',\n 1002\nMOSQUITOES IN EVIDENCE.\nI\nthe farm, where we take on wood which is all soaked. It is\nnot surprising, for it has rained and blown ever since we left\nFort Clark. Resumed our voyage at 8 o'clock. A little\ntrouble below the farm and a little above Lachappelle Island\n(always a bad place) passed Frederick with six barges\nand camped at foot of the bluffs below White river. The\nwind is still high. The river stopped rising last night.\nJune 23. Friday. A little late in starting again. But\nthat is on account of the gloomy weather which we have had\nfor some time. Today it has turned out pleasant. Made\ngood progress all day. We take more of the cut wood on\nPonca Island. It is too far to carry it. We stop below\nManuel river, where we cut up some good drift wood.\nThere is a good deal of it from the head of Bonhomme\nIsland to Manuel river, and it will be a good resource for\nnext year. Camped at the point above Vermillion. I\nwould much have preferred to have reached the place where\nwe cut some wood on the way up, but it is too late and here\nwe are in the land of snags. The river rose an inch last\nnight.\nJune 24. Saturday. We reach a wood pile in a little\nwhile. Wooded quickly. Stopped at the Vermillion\nhouses where the channel is so full of snags that we cannot\nget to the bank. I land with the yawl. As Paschal has not\nthe means of sending the packs to me\u00E2\u0080\u0094all his horses having\nbeen stolen and one man killed by those brigand Santes,\nprobably the same who fired on us on our way up\u00E2\u0080\u0094I bring\nfour packs in the yawl and at 10 A. M. we set out. I do not\nstop where we have some wood cut below Little Iowa river,\nbecause we have enough to take us to Hart's bluffs. We\ncame along finely and camped at Little Sioux river where\nthe mosquitoes eat us up. The weather threatens wind and\nrain.\nJune 25. Sunday. We came along very well. Stopped\nat the cut-off at Hart's bluffs, where we take on the rest of\nthe wood that we cut on our way up. Stopped at Hardin's\nand at Sarpy's, where we met the Oceana. We remained\n BACK AT ST. LOUIS.\nIOO3\nsome time and put off 11 barrels of lard and two of biscuit.\nTook some wood from opposite Baptiste Leclair's. Stop\nagain at Arcot's, where we take three cords that I do not\npay for. We came along very well until in sight of the narrows, when our packing blows out. We can scarcely reach\nthe bank, being in a place full of snags. It is dark when we\nstop.\nJune 26. Monday. We have a good deal of trouble in\nextricating ourselves from the obstructions in which our\nwheels are buried. It is necessary to repair the arms. The\nsun is already high when we set out. Stopped at Brown's\nand took five cords of wood which I do not pay for. Stopped\nat Robidoux, where I take on six cords more, which I do\nnot pay for non plus a $1.50. Finally we camped at Leavenworth. Met the steamboat Admiral at Weston.\nJune 27. Tuesday. Set out as usual. Stopped at\nMadame Chouteau's. Took wood at Sharp's; also at the\nchute of Mammy's wood yard. Camp at Old Jefferson,\nwhere we take three cords of wood to fill the boat.\nJune 28. Wednesday. In spite of wind and rain we\nmake good progress. Took five cords at Bear river. Continued our journey and camped at night opposite St. Charles\nwhere we took four cords of wood at Chauvain's.\nJune 29. Thursday. Reached St. Louis in time for\nbreakfast.\nmy:\n INDEX.\nAbbott, Samuel, in service of Am.\nF. Co., 312, 318, 319\nAbsaroka mountains, 733 et seq.\nAbsaroka, name of the Crow Indians, 855\nAct of Congress excluding British\ntraders, 310\nprohibiting liquor traffic, 355\nAffair of 1780, 103\nAlbatross, The, chartered by Mr.\nHunt, 220\nAlexander, Fort, 388, 965\nAlgonquian family, 847\nAmerican Falls, 480\nAmerican Fur Company, business\nmethods, 375 et seq.\nbuys out S. W. Co., 311\nchartered, 167 J\ncompetition in trade, 295, 344\nenters mountain trade, 295, 299,\n329, 365\nestablished on the Upper Missouri, 337\nfactory system opposed by, I5\u00C2\u00BB\n.319\nhistory of, 309 et seq.\nliquor traffic embarrassments,\n24, 355 et seq., 367\nNorthern Department, 320, 928\nopposition traders, 380\npromotion of science, 380\nWestern Department, 320, 928\nAmerican fur trade, early development of, 83 et seq.\non Northwest coast, 95\nsituation ofln 1807, 95\nAmerican hunter, 55\nAmerican Revolution, 77\nAmerican State Papers, x\nAntelope, 827\nAnts, used as food, 839\nApache Indians, 883\nArapaho Indians, 852, 878\nAricara Indians, 264, 861\nattack Ensign Pryor's party, 121\nattack General Ashley, 267\ndepredations of, 324, 603\ninfluence of Leavenworth's campaign upon, 603\nLisa's difficulties with, 117\nperfidious character of, 264, 862\nsmallpox among, 623\ntreaty of peace with, 598\nvillages of, 266\nAricara Indian campaign, 588 et\nseq.\ncriticism of, 600 et seq.\nlist of officers in, 590\nnegotiations for peace in, 597\net seq.\nAricara Post, 956\nArkansas river, 774\nfords of, 539\nits relation to the Santa Fe\nTrail, 537 \"\".\ntrading posts, 490, 969\nArmigo, Governor, lays duty on\nwagons, 529\nArtisans, 57\nAshley, Gen. W. H., advertises for\nyoung men, 262\nbiographical sketch, 247 et seq.\ncRange^in business methods, 273\ndefeated by Aricaras, 248, 267,\n588\ndefeated for Gov. of Mo., 273\ndescends Green river by boat,\n274, 779\nelected to Congress, 249\nexpeditions of, 249, 263, 264, 274,.\n932\ngrave of, 250\nin Aricara campaign, 588 et seq.\ninventory of merchandise, 4\nmeets Gen. Atkinson at mouth\nof Yellowstone, 278, 615\nmethod of moving parties\nthrough Indian country, 938\n'1\nA\n ioo6\nINDEX.\nquoted, 267\nrelations with Am. F. Co., 249,\n930\nsells out to Smith, Jackson and\nSublette, 4, 279\nsouth of Great Salt Lake, 276\nsuccess of, 248, 281, 327\ntakes cannon to Great Salt Lake,\n279, 940\ntransaction with Ogden, 277\nAshley beaver, 249\nAshley creek, 274, 275\nAshley's Fort, 277, 973\nAshley\u00E2\u0080\u0094Henry posts, 263, 271,\n958, 964\nAshley Lake, 276\nAssiniboine, Fort, 961\nAssiniboine, Indians, 857\nattack Piegans at Fort McKenzie, 674\nsmallpox among, 625\nthreaten to stop Lisa, 118\ntreaty of peace with Blackfeet,\n332, 673\nAssiniboine, the steamboat, 38,\n357\nAstor, J. J., biographical sketch,\n163 et seq.\u00E2\u0080\u0094\nfounder of Am. F. Co., 94, 167\nquoted, 21, 26, 341\nrelations with N. W. Co., 168,\n229\nrelations with Russian Government, 170\nrelations with St. Louis traders,\n147, 229, 319\nrelations with U. S. Government, 167, 237\nretires from business, 363, 364\nviews on Pacific fur trade, 165\net seq.\nAstor medals, the, 342\nAstor, W. B., quoted on Leclerc\naffair, 349\nAstor, W. W., quoted, 167\nAstoria, beginnings^ at. 200\nclosing affairs of, 223 et seq.\ncriticisrpu-\u00C2\u00A9f enterprise, 239 et\n\"-\"SeqT\nestablishment of, 175\n. expeditions from, 265 \u00E2\u0080\u0094\"\nfort, 974\noverland connection with St.\nLouis, 228\nrechristened Fort George, 223\nsale of, 221\nUnited States to blame for failure of, 237\nAstoria criticism of, 239 et seq.\nAstorians, the, at Aricara villages,\n188\nat Caldron Linn, 192\nat Cheyenne village, 189\nat \"Devil's Gate,\" 474\nat Fort Henry, 191\nat Nadowa, 183\nfinal departure from the Columbia, 224\nnumber of, 903\nnumber of who perished, 238\n905\nOregon Trail opened by, 45^\navefland\"~~j ourneys of, 189 efi\nseq., 206 et seq.\nreach the Columbia, 194\nroutes of, 196, 214, 241, 457\nAtkinson, Fort, 630, 951\nAtkinson, Gen. Henry, biographical sketch, 618\ncommissioned with B. O'Fallon\nto treat with Indians, 608\nmeets Ashley at mouth of Yellowstone, 278, 615\non Yellowstone Expedition of\n1819, 567\non Yellowstone Expedition of\n1825, 608 et seq.\nsends treaties to Washington,\n616\nAthapascan family of Indians, 848\nAudubon, cited x, 620, 627\ncrosses Great Bend of the Missouri, 994\npassenger on the Omega, 678,\n985\nquoted, 277, 949\nB\nBad lands, 753\nBaird and Chambers take a party\nto Santa Fe, 504\nBaird, James, see McKnight, Baird\nand Chambers\nBancroft, H. H., cited, 655\ncriticism of Irving's writings,\n244, 432\nBannock Indians, 886\n\"Battle ground,\" Santa Fe Trail,\n540, 54i\nBattle of Fort McKenzie, 673 et\nseq.\n INDEX.\nIOO7\nBattle of Pierre's Hole, 657 et seq.\nBayou Salade, 749\nBear, black, 825\nBear, Grizzly, see Grizzly bear\nBear lake, 793\nBear river, 477, 793\nBeaver, commercial importance of,\n818\ndescription of, 818 et seq.\nmethods of capture, 820\nBeaver fur, caring for, 821\ndecline in price of, 364\npack of, 40, 821\nBeaver, The, arrives at Astoria,\n204\ncruises the Pacific ocean, 218\net seq.\nBecknell, William, father of the\nSanta Fe Trail, 501, 503\non Green river, 506\ntakes first wagons to Santa Fe,\n50i, 504\nBeckwourth, James P., biographical sketch, 688 et seq.\ncited, x, 277, 969\nin Am. F. Co. service, 351, 690\nwith General Ashley, 275, 689\nBeer Springs, see Soda Springs\nBell, Captain, descends the Arkansas, 1820, 577, 583\nBellevue, post at, 391, 950\nBent and St. Vrain, notice of, 543\nBent, Charles, goes to Santa Fe,\n509\nBent's Fort, 543, 97\u00C2\u00A9\nBenton, Fort, on Bighorn, 150, 964\non Missouri, 963\nBenton, Thomas H., opposes factory system, 15\nsecures appropriation for Santa\nFe Trail, 510, 532\nBerger, Jacob, sent on a mission\nto the Blackfeet, 331\nattempts to kill Alexander Harvey, 696\nBernard, Pratte & Co., arrangement with Gen. Ashley, 7, 280,\n329\nassume agency W. Dept. Am.\nF. Co., 322\nsecond contract with Astor, 330\nBerthold and Chouteau, negotiations with Astor, 316 et seq.\nBerthold, B., letter concerning\nManuel Lisa, 131\nBerthoud, Edwin L., assistance\nacknowledged, xiv\nquoted, 750\nBiddle, Thomas, cited, 114\non competition in Indian trade,\non liquor question, 23\nBig Blue river, Oregon Trail, 465\nBig Elk, speech of, 557\nBig Muddy river, Oregon Trail,\n477\nBig Sandy river, Neb., Oregon\nTrail, 465\nBig Sandy river, Wyo., 476, 780\nBig Sioux river, 768\nBig Sioux post, 952\nBig Spring, Oregon Trail, 469\nBig Timbers of the Arkansas, 803\nBighorn mountains, 734\nBighorn river, 765\nBighorn sheep, 828\nBird, desperado, 663\nBirds of little importance in fur\ntrade, 835\nBissonette, Antoine, killed, 115\nBitter Root mountains, 739\nBlack, Captain, takes possession\nof Astoria, 223\nBlackfeet Indians as warriors, 854\nat Three Forks of the Missouri,\n142 et seq.\nbattle with the Assiniboines,\n372, 673 et seq.\ncountry of, 850, 853\ndefeat Jones and Immel, 152\ndeputies visit Fort Union, 332\ndescription of, 850\nhostility of toward the whites,\n142 et seq., 854\nimportance of in the fur trade,\n854\nkill Henry Vanderburgh, 299,\n669\nmassacre of in 1842, 373\nname of, 851\nsmallpox amonsr. 625\ntrade beginnings with, 334\ntreaty of peace with Assiniboines, 332\nBlack Fork of Green river, 476,\n780\nBlack Hills, 734\nforests of, 735\nBlacksnake Hills, post, 949\nBlanca Peak, 737\nBlood Indians, 851, 853\nBlue mountains, 740\n 1\n1008\nINDEX.\nmm\nmm\nBoat Encampment, on Columbia,\n156\nBoat song, Canadian, 57\nBodmer, artist to Maximilian, 638\nBois Brule Indians, 865\nBoise, Fort, 480, 974\nBoise river, 480, 785\nBonneville, Captain, adventures of,\n396 et seq.\nbiographical sketch, 397, 427\nenters mountain trade, 299, 398\nestimate of his work, 428 et seq.\nexpedition of, its purpose, 398\nfall hunt of 1833, 421\nhistory-made man, 396\nill success as a trader, 305, 428\nleave of absence, 398, 427, 431\nmaps of, 307, 429, 430\nname given to Great Salt Lake,\n430\nreinstated in the army, 430, 431\nrelations with Ermatinger, 403\nrelations with Irving, 432\nrelations with Wyeth, 404\nresults of first year's operations,\n405\nresults of second year's operations, 424\nreturns to the states, 427\nSalt Lake exploration, 406\ntakes wagons to Green river,\n43i\nWalker expedition to California, 411 et seq.\nwinter quarters on Salmon river,\n401\nBonneville, Fort, 400, 780, 972\nBonneville, Lake, 430, 793\nBoston merchants in N. W. trade,\n95\nBoundary lines, political, 798\nBourgemont, M. de, 947\nBourgeois, explanation of term, 51\nBrackenridge, H. M., accompanies\nLisa's expedition, 188\ncited, x, 114, 722\ninterposes in quarrel between\nLisa and Hunt, 188\nquoted, no, 635, 716\nwork of, 636\nBradbury, John, accompanies\nHunt's expedition, 184\ncited, x, 717\ninterposes in quarrel between\nLisa and Hunt, 188\ninterviews John Colter, 184, 717\nwarns Pierre Dorion, 184\nwork of, 634 et seq.\nBradley, Lieut. Jas. H., quoted,\n963\nBradshaw, Captain, assists Walker's party, 417\nBrady Island, story of, 466\n\"Brasseau, Fort,\" 270, 953\nBrasseau's houses, 964\nBrasseau, John, and smallpox\nscourge, 625\nBridger, Fort, i, 366, 476, 972\nBridger, James, biographical\nsketch, 257 \"\nbuilds Fort Bridger, i, 476\ncited, 65\ndiscovers Great Salt Lake, 258,\n795\nguide to Captain Raynolds, 461\nin Am. F. Co. service, 366\nmember R. M. F. Co., 292\nquoted, 972\nsee also \"Fitzpatrick\" and \"Sublette\"\nwounded by the Blackfeet, 300,\n671\nBrigade, meaning of term in fur\ntrade, 38\nBritish colonial history, 72 et seq.\nBritish competition in American\n* \"furtra3e720\nBritish^flag at mouth of Snake\nriver, 201\nBritish influence among Indians,\n. 342, 557, 617, 629\nBritish traders excluded from U.\nS. territory, 310 \u00E2\u0080\u0094\nBritish use of liquor along boundary, 26, 27, 357\nBroadhead, G. C, assistance acknowledged, xii\nBroadus, Mr., loses his arm, 547\nBrown's Hole, 748\nBrown, J. C, quoted, 537\nreport not published, 534\nsurveyor Santa Fe road commission, 533\nBrule, Fort, 373\nBryant, W. G, uses name \"Oregon,\" 792\nBuenaventura river, 307\nBuffalo, commercial importance\nof, 817\ndescription of, 809 et seq.\nextermination of, 816\nflesh of, 810\n INDEX.\nIOO9\nhunting of, 812\nimportance of to the Indian, 816\nnumbers of, 816\nuses of, 810\nBuffalo Fork of Snake river, 783\nBull-boats, 35\nBurgoldt, Paul, map work of, vii\nBurgwin, Captain, and liquor inspection, 679 et seq.\nBurnt river, Oregon Trail, 481\nBusiness code of the wilderness,\n68, 69\nCabanne, J. P., and Leclerc affair, 347\nquoted, 380\ntrading post of, 950\nCable, Claude, owner of Mackinaw letter books, 311\nCache, meaning and application of\nterm, 41\n\"Cache Creek,\" frequency of\nname, 42\n\"Caches,\" The, 42, 504, 539\nCache valley, 42, 749\nCactus, 805\nCaddoan family, 848\nCaldron Linn, arrival of Astorians at, 191\nlocation of caches at, 198\nmeaning of term, 198\nCalhoun, J. G, interest in Yellowstone expedition, 563\nCalhoun, Fort.,951\nCalifornia Trail, 480\nCamas root, 806\nCampbell, Robert, biographical\nsketch, 260\nletter in regard to Flathead\nMission, 645, 922\nCampbell and Sublette, see Sublette and Campbell\nCamp keepers, 54\nCanadian boat song, 57\nCanadian river, 775\nCanoes, use o* in fur trade, 34\nCaptain Bonneville, 243, 432\nCaravans of the plains, 38\nCarpenter killed by Mike Fink,\n711\nCarson, Alexander, detached at\nSnake river, 191\njoins Astorians, 186\nCarson, Kit, cited by Inman, 538\ngoes to Santa Fe, 509, 539\nruns away, 539\nCarson Lake, 797\nCarver, Jonathan, originates name\nOregon, 792\nCascade range, 741\nCascades of the Columbia, 482\nCass, Fort, 337, 964\nCass, Governor, and the liquor\ntraffic, 28\nCass the hunter killed, 208\nCastorum, 821\nCatholic missions in Oregon, 648\nCatlin, George, at Fort Pierre, 981\nalleged painting of Flathead\nIndians, 642\non board the Yellowstone, 340,\n642\nwith Colonel Dodge in 1834, 631\nwork of criticised, 637\nCedars, varieties of, 802\nCedar Fort, 954\nCedar islands in the Missouri, 802\nCentennial valley, 744\nCerre, M. S., chief assistant of\nCapt. Bonneville, 399\ngoes to states with returns, 405,\n425\nwith Wyeth at Fort Union, 359\nChambers, Samuel, see McKnight,\nBaird & Chambers\nChambers, Col. Talbot, seizes boat\nof Am. F. Co., 313\nsuit brought against, 313\nChantier, meaning of the term, 47\nsituation of at Benton, Pierre\nand Union, 47, 956\nChaplain, companion of Ezekiel\nWilliams, 652\nChappell, Phil E., assistance acknowledged, 464\nChardon, F. A., instigates Blackfoot massacre of 1842-3, 373\nChardon Fort, 373, 962\nCharles, Fort on Hudson Bay, 87\non Missouri, 951\nCheyenne Indians, 852, 867\nCheyenne river, 767\nChick, Jas. S., assistance acknowledged, 464\nChimney Rock, Oregon Trail, 467\nChopunnish Indians, 888\nChouteau, Auguste, associated\nwith Laclede, 99, 100\nmember Mo. F. Co.. 138\nmember Commission of 1815,\n559\nai\n IOIO\nINDEX.\nm\non the founding of St. Louis,\nioo, IOI\nChouteau Bluffs, origin of name,\n339\nChouteau, G P., assistance acknowledged, xii\nChouteau and De Munn, imprisonment of, 497, 545\nChouteau Island in the Arkansas, 540\nChouteau papers, xii, 384\nChouteau, Pierre, assistance acknowledged, xii, 105\nChouteau, Pierre Jr., ascends Missouri on Yellowstone, 339,\n340\nbiographical sketch, 382 et seq.\nFort Union distillery, 360\nquoted on Bonneville, 406\nquoted on mountain trade, 329,\n366\nquoted on miscellaneous subjects, 25, 27, 30, 58, 330, 337,\n338, 339, 342, 345, 626, 959\nquoted on Sublette-Campbell\ncompromise, 353\nsends warning to McKenzie, 361,\n362\nChouteau, Pierre Sr., defeated by\nAricaras in 1807, 123\nin charge of trading party in\n1807, 120\nmember Mo. F. Co., 138 -\nChouteau Post, 948\nCimarron desert, 531\nCimarron river, 541, 775\nlower spring of, 541\nupper spring of, 541\nClappine, Antoine, drowned, 191\nClark's Fork of the Columbia,\n787\nClark Fort, see Osage Fort\nClark, Fort, at Mandans, 389, 957\nClark, Malcolm, attempts to kill\nAlexander Harvey, 696\nClark, William, calls for report on\nFort Union distillery, 360\nconnection of with Flathead mission, 643, 915 et seq.\nmember of Commission of 1815,\n559\nClarke, John, builds post at Spokane, 205\nmember of Pac. F. Co., 169\nClearwater mountains, 740\nClearwater river, 786\nClerk in the fur trade, 53\nCloud Peak, 734\nCoasts of the Platte, 466\nCoeur d' Alene Indians, 892\nColonial beginnings in America,\n72 et seq.\nColorado mountains, 736\nColorado river system, 760, 778\nname of, 779\nColter, John, adventures of, 119,\n713 et seq.\ndeath of, 723\ndiscoveries of, 717\ninterview with Bradbury, 184,\n717\nmeets Lisa at mouth of Platte,\n115, 713 .\nresponsibility for Blackfoot hostility, 721\nroute of in 1807, 716\nstories not believed, 722\nColumbia Fur Company, sketch\nof, 323, 933\nColumbia, Great Plain of, 787\nColumbia River Fishing and Trading Co., 448\nColumbia river, bar at mouth of,\n174, 7.89\ndescription of, 787 et seq.\n-historical character of, 791\nname of, 791\nnavigation of, 789\nrelation to the American fur\ns*\u00E2\u0080\u0094 trade, 790\nsystem, 760, 783 et seq.\nupper course of, 787\nvalley of, a fine fur country,\n787, 789\nComanche Indians, 880\nCommerce of the Prairies, viii,\n544\nCompetition in the Indian trade,\n17 et seq.\nAmerican F. Co. methods, 344\nbetween Am. F. Co. and R. M.\nF. Co., 295 et seq.\nContinental Divide, 726 et seq.\nCook, Captain, voyage of, 95\nCooke, P. St. G., cited, x\nquoted, 538, 631\nCooper, Braxton, his expeditions\nto Santa Fe, 505, 506\nwith Ezekiel Williams, 653\nCorn, its use by the Indians, 807\nCottonwood, its uses in the fur\ntrade, 799 et seq.\n mm\nINDEX.\nIOII\nCoues, Elliott, assistance acknowledged, ix\ncited, ix, 494\nopinion of Irving's works, 246\nworks on western history, ix\nCouncil Bluffs, 949\nCouncil Grove on Santa Fe Trail,\n526, 536, 803\nCourthouse Rock, Oregon Trail,\n467\nCox, Ross, biographical sketch,\n.905\ncited, x\nIrving's reliance on, 246\nCoyner, David H., author of \"Lost\nTrappers/' x, 651, 655\nCoyote, 830\nCroghan, Fort, 950\nCrooks, Ramsay, agent Am. F.\nCo., 312\nattacks U. S. Factory system, 15\nbiographical sketch, 381\ngoes to Europe to see Astor,\n317\njoins Pac. F. Co., 162, 182\nmember overland Astorian Expeditions, 182, 206\non Snake river, 1811, 192\npurchases Northern Dept. Am.\nF. Co., 364\nquoted on Fort Union distillery,\n356, 362\nquoted on liquor traffic, 27\nquoted on miscellaneous subjects, 15, 311 to 319, 326, 343,\n355 I\nquoted on the voyage of the\nYellowstone, 341\nsick in Pierre's Hole, 210\nCrooks and Day arrive at Astoria,\n196\nrobbed by the Indians, 195\nCrooks and McLellan, post of, 950\nrelations with Lisa, 131, 161, 186\nsketch of their enterprise, 159\net seq.\nCrooks and Stuart, see \"Stuart\nand Crooks\"\nCross Timbers, 803\nCrow Indians, 855\nfirst post in their country, 119\nsmallpox among, 626\nCruzatte's post, 951\nCulbertson, Alexander, biographical sketch, 388\nCulebra mountains, 737\nCustomhouse regulations at Santa\nFe, 527 to 529\nCutting, Agent F. L. & Co., 369\nexperience with Assiniboine\nchief, 372\nD\nDalles, The, 482, 790\nDavy Crockett, Fort, 971\nDay, John, becomes insane, 207\nbiographical sketch, 905\nenters service Pac. F. Co., 183\nsee also \"Crooks and Day\"\nDeer, 827\nDeer creek, Oregon Trail, 470\nDefiance, Camp, 974\nDefiance, Fort, 953\nDe la Verendrye, referred to, 766\n\"De Munn, Julius, see Chouteau\nand De Munn\ngoes to Santa Fe, 497\nDes Chutes river, 482, 788\nDesert, Great American, 754\nCimarron, 531, 754\nDesertion of engages, 62\nDe Smet, Father, cited, ix\nOregon mission, 648\nquoted on the Oregon Trail, 460,\n461\nquoted, miscellaneous, 58, 471,\n839, 884\nDe Soto, discovery of Mississippi,\n72\nDevil's Gate, Wyo., 470\nDiamond Springs, Santa Fe Trail,\n537\nDickson's post, 952\nDisoway, G. P., quoted, 644, 912\nDistillery at Fort Union, 356 et\nseq.\nDodge, Colonel, expeditions of,\n631, 633\nDog, uses of, 833\nDolly, The, 203\nDorion, Pierre, biographical\nsketch, 906\nenters service of W. P. Hunt,\n184\nexperiences of his wife, 225\nkilled, 225\nDougherty, John, quoted, 7\nDrainage, areas of river systems,\n760\nDrips, Andrew, appointed Indian\nagent, 368\n IOI2\nINDEX.\nbiographical sketch, 392\ncited, 8\nenters mountain trade, 295, 366\nquoted, 372\nreports liquor smugglers from\nSanta Fe, 369\nDrouillard, George, associated\nwith Lisa, 114\ndeath of, 143\nkills Antoine Bissonette, 115\nEbbette, agent F. L. & Co., 369\nEdible roots, 806\nEdwards, Ninian, member of\nCommission of 1815, 559\nElk, 826\nElkhorn monument, 827\nElm Grove, Santa Fe Trail, 464\nEngages, 58\nEngineer Cantonment, 573, 951\nErmatinger, H. B. Co. trader, relations with Capt. Bonneville,\n403\nrelations with Wyeth, 445\nExploration, geographical, iii\nExpress, application of term, 41\nFactory system of trade with the\nIndians, 12 to 15\nFair held by Indians on South\nPlatte r., 877\nFalkland Islands, affair of Tonquin at, 173\nFall and spring hunts, 42\nFalls Indians, 853\nFarnham, Russel, biographical\nsketch, 315\ncarries^Am. F. Co. trade into\nMo. r., 315\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094 field of work, 927\nin service Am. F. Co., 312\njourney from Astoria to New\nYork, 224\noutfit seized by Col. Chambers,\n313\nwinters among the Flatheads.\n205\nFarnham, T. J., cited, x\nobservations on Wyeth's enterprise, 454\nquoted, 377, 472\nFauna of the west, 809 et seq.\nFerris, W.\u00C2\u00ABA., biographical sketch,\n395\ncited, x, 276, 468\nquoted, 401, 747, 749, 889, 973\nvisits geysers of the Yellowstone, 366\nwounded, 669\n\"Fiery Narrows,\" 211, 470\nFink, Mike, noticed, 261\nsketch of his career, 707 et seq.\nFires of the prairies, 756\nFirs, varieties of, 801\nFish, Mrs. M. J., cited, 436\nFishes, relation to the fur trade,\n835\nFisk, President, and Flathead mis-\nsionj 642\nFitzpatrick, Thomas, biographical\nsketch, 259\ngoes to Santa Fe, 294\nin Aricara campaign, 590\nlost, 297\nmember R. M. F. Co., 292\nquoted, 20\nrepudiates contract with Wyeth,\n68\nrobbed by the Crows, 20, 68, 301,\n35i, 361\nsecures Ogden's fur, 293\ntakes part in Aricara campaign,\n590.\nFitzpatrick and Bridger pursued\nby Vanderburgh and Drips,\n295 et seq., 667 et seq.\nwanderings of in 1830, 293\nFitzpatrick, Sublette and Bridger,\n304, 450\nFlathead Indians, 889, 891, 918\ndeputation of to St. Louis, 641,\n891, 912 et seq.\nFlathead lake, 787\nFlora of the plains and mountains, 799 et seq.\nFloyd, Fort, 328, 958\nFloyd, Sergeant Charles, monument to, 81\nFontenelle creek, 780\nFontenelle, Lucien, biographical\nsketch, 391\nenters mountain trade, 295\nFontenelle, Lucien, on Bonneville's\nwork, 405, 425\nquoted, 305, 365, 967\nwith Bonneville on Green r., 400\nForests of the mountains, 801\nFort, see \"Trading Post\"\n INDEX.\nIOI3\nFort aux Cedres, 954\nFort de Prairie, 156\nForty Years a Fur Trader, 394\nFowler, Jacob, see \"Glenn and\nFowler\"\nbuilds house on upper Arkansas,\n969\ncited, x\njournal of, 503\nquoted, 504, 629\nFox, Livingston and Co.\npost, 956\n367 et seq.\nsell out to Am. F. Co., 372\nFox, Tonquin mate, lost on Columbia bar, 174\nFraeb, Henry, biographical sketch,\n260\nleaves R. M. F. Co., 304\nmeets Fitzpatrick on North\nPlatte, 183 , 295\nmember R. M. F. Co., 292\nFraeb's post, 260, 781, 971\nFrance, colonial policy of, 71\n-Franchere, Gabriel, biographical\nsketch, 906 \u00E2\u0096\u00A0\u00E2\u0080\u0094>\ncited, x\ntr\u00E2\u0080\u0094criticism of Astoria, 244\nleaves Fort George, 224\nquoted, 233, 234, 236\n^iews of on Astorian enterprise,\n\"\"\" 234\nFranklin, Mo., birthplace of Santa Fe trade, xii, 516\nFree hunters, trappers, or freemen, ii, 3, 55\nbusiness accounts of, 941 et seq.\nFremont, Gen. J. G, cited, 459,\n464, 779\nexplorations of, 639\nincident at Independence Rock,\n472\nwrecked in Platte Canon, 471\nFremont Peak, 733\nFrench and Indian War, 76, 85\nFrench Fort, 948\nFrench Fur Company, 345\nFrench fur trade, 85\nFront Range, 736\nFruits, 806\nFur-bearing animals, 826\nFurs, methods of procuring, 3\npacks of, 40\nFur companies on Missouri river\nin 1819, 150\nFur trade, American, authorities\nfor history of, viii et seq.\nBritish influence in, 20\ncharacter of the business, 2\ncompetition in, 18\ndecline of, 364\nearly importance of, 1\nfirst business in a new country, 1\ninfluence of upon the Indians,\niv\nloss of life in, 8\nmagnitude of, 7\nmiscellaneous notes by Thomas\nForsyth, 926\nnumber of persons engaged in, 7\nof Northwest coast, 94\nperiod of defined, i\nprofits and losses in, 6-8\nrelation of to the Indians, 9\nrelation of to river systems, 761\nrelation of to Western history, iii\nrise of in America, 83\nroyal grants of, 85\nslow development of in United\nStates, 94\nstate of in mountains, 1834, 3\u00C2\u00B03\nunjust distribution of profits,\n306\nGallatin, Albert, map of Western\ncountry, 307, 430 >\nGallatin Fork of the Missouri, 744\nGallatin valley, 744\nGame, prevalence of, 834\nGant and Blackwell, traders, 296,\n409, 878, 969\nGarces, Francisco, journals of, ix\nGardiner's Hole, 746\nGardner, Johnson, accounts of,\n941 et seq.\navenges murder of Hugh Glass,\n705\nGates of the mountains, 763\nGeorge, Fort, on the Columbia,\nchristened by Captain Black,\n223\nGeorge, Fort, on the Missouri,\n370, 954\nGeorge, Fort, on the Platte, 968\nGeorge, Old Fort, 956\nGervais, John Baptiste, leaves R.\nM. F. Co., 304\nmember R. M. F. Co., 292\nGila river, 783\n ioi4\nINDEX.\nGilbert Peak, 738\nGlass Bluffs, 705\nGlass, Hugh, adventures of, 268,\n698 et seq., 823\nat Fort Floyd, 328\ndeath of, 705\nin Ashley's fight at Aricara villages, 270, 699\nGlenn and Fowler, 502\nGlenn's post, 970\nGodin, Antoine, slays Blackfoot\nchief, 659\nkilled, 663\nGold, discovery of in Colorado,\n486\nGoose creek, 480\nGordon, William, see \"Jones and\nImmel\"\nGovernment factories, abolition of,\n15\nGovernment publications, x\nGovernment relations with the\nIndians, 9 et seq.\nGrand Canon of the Colorado, 782\nGrand Encampment creek, Colo.,\n877\nGrand Portage on Lake Superior,\n89\nGrand river, 781\nGrand Teton, 731, 736\nGrande Ronde, 481, 749\nGrande Ronde river, 785\nGrasses, 805\nGrasshoppers, 839\nGratiot, Charles, quoted, 16, 147,\n165, 181, 229, 555\nGray, M. L., assistance acknowledged, xiii, 410, 662\nGreasewood, 804\nGreat American desert, 754\nGreat Basin, The, 792\nGreat Bend of the Yellowstone,\n745\nGreat Britain and the fur trade, 86\nGreat Falls of the Missouri, 763\nGreat Salt Lake, 793\nhistorical data concerning, 258,\n307,. 794\nGreen river, 476, 779\nAshley's attempt to navigate, 274\nfirst known use of name, 507, 779\nrendezvous on (1833), 300\nvalley of, 748\nGregg, Josiah, cited, viii, 504\nenters Santa Fe trade, 509\nfollows new route, 535\nnotice of, 544\nquoted, 67, 70, 537, 539, 548, 869\nGrey Eyes, Aricara chief, killed,\n. 593 I I\nGrizzly bear, description of, 822\nnoted encounters with, 823\nGroseilliers, founder of H. B. Co.,\n86\nGrosventres of the Missouri, 858\nGrosventres of the Prairies, 851\nGrosventre river, 783\nGunnison, Captain, death of, 782\nGunnison river, 782\nH\nHall, Fort, 451, 479, 785, 974\nsold, 455\nHalsey, Jacob, biographical sketch\nof, 393\ncarries smallpox to Fort Union,\n623\nHamilton, J. A., sketch of, 389\nHam's Fork, 476, 780\nHandy's Post, 952\nHarney Peak, 735\nHarrison, Dr. B., 300\nHarvey, Alexander, and Blackfoot\nmassacre, 373, 694\nexploits of, 692 e. seq.\nHarvey, Primeau & Co., 697\nHawaiian Islands annexed to U.\nS., 172\nHayden, F. V., observations upon\nthe buffalo, 817\nHead of navigation on Missouri,\n764\nHeart river, 767\nHempstead, Stephen, quoted, 132\nHenry, Alexander, arrives at Astoria, 222\ncited, ix\njournal of, 222\nnotes on affairs of upper Missouri, 146\nHenry, Andrew, at Three Forks,\nMissouri, 144\nbiographical sketch, 251\nbuilds Fort Henry, 144\ncrosses Continental Divide, 144\ndefeated by the Blackfeet\n(1823), 264\nhorses of stolen by the Assiniboines, 263\njoins Ashley below Aricara villages, 269\n INDEX.\nIOI5\nloses a keelboat, 263\nmember Mo. F. Co., 138\noperations after Aricara campaign, 270\nretires from the fur trade, 272\ntakes part in Aricara campaign,\n270, 589\nHenry Fork, Idaho, 784\nHenry Fork, Wyo., 780\nHenry Fort, 144, 974\nabandonment of, 145\nreoccupied by Astorians, 191\nHenry Hall, Tucker and Williams,\n439\nHenry lake, 784\nHidatsa Indians, 858\nHill, Walter H., assistance acknowledged, 643\nHistorical Societies, assistance\nfrom, xi\nHivernans, or winterers, 58\nHoback river, 783\nHoback, Robinson and Rezner,\ndetached at Fort Henry, 191\nfate of, 225\nhunting tour, 207\njoin overland Astorians, 186\n\"Holes\" of the mountains, 743\nHoly Cross mountain, 737\nHoney bees, 840\nHorse, The, importance of, 832\nHorse creek, tributary of Green\nr., 780\nHorse creek, Oregon Trail, 469\nHorseshoe creek, Oregon Trail,\n470\nHubbell, J. B., organizes Northwestern Fur Co., 367\nHuddart, William, on Green r.,\n1824, 507\nHudson Bay Company, founding\nof, 87\nliquor traffic of, 27\norganization and methods of\nbusiness, 92\nposts of, 974\nrelations with the Indians, 17,\n92 \u00C2\u00A7#\u00C2\u00A7\u00C2\u00A7 g\u00C2\u00A7\nstruggle with the Northwest Co.,\n9i\ntraders around Great Salt Lake,\n795\nunion with N. W. Co., 92\nHudson, Henry, discoveries of, 86\nHumboldt, Baron von, error of in\nregard to Red river, 776\nHumboldt lakes, 797\nHumboldt river, 797\nHunt, W. P., alarmed at Rose, 686\namong the Cheyennes, 189\narrangement with McDougal,\n221\narrives at Astoria, 194, 220, 221,\n223\nassigned to maritime part of enterprise, 204\nat Aricara villages, 188\nat Caldron Linn, 191\nat Sandwich Islands, 219\nbiographical sketch, 907\ncriticism of his work, 232\ndeceives Lisa4 186\ndetaches trapping parties, 191\njoins Pac. F. Co., 169\nleaves Astoria, 224\nleaves Caldron Linn, 192\nleaves Missouri river, 192\nleaves Nadowa, 185\nleaves St. Louis spring of 1811,\n184\nleaves Snake r. for the Columbia, 224\nopposed by Lisa in St. Louis, 183\norganizes overland expedition,\n182\nquarrel with Lisa, 187\nrace with Lisa, 185\nreturns to Astoria with Albatross, 218\nreturns to Astoria with Pedler,\n223\nspends winter of 1810-11 in St.\nLouis, 183\nwanderings of over the Pacific,\n218 et seq.\nHunter, The American, 55, 229\nHunter and Trapper, 53\ndesertion among, 62\ndress of, 60\nimprovidence of, 58\nlack of interest in geology, 63\nlanguage of, 63\nlife of, 65 et seq.\nshelter of, 61\nsubsistence of, 62\nwages of, 62\nwinter camp of, 61\nI\nIatan Indians, 876\nIatan, Oto chief, 874\n\u00E2\u0096\u00A0 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2\n W&.\nioi6\nINDEX.\nIberville founds lower Louisiana\ncolony, 74\nImmel and Jones, see \"Jones and\nImmel\"\nIndependence, Mo., 463, 517\nIndependence Rock, 471\nIndians, American, British system\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094 of dealing with, 936\n\u00E2\u0080\u0094 characteristics of, 841 et seq.\n-effects of liquor and disease upon, 24, 619\nethnic relations of, 848\nimpression of steamboat upon,\n34i\ninfluence of fur trade upon, iv,\n. 936\nlife of, white man's fondness\nfor, 846\nlinguistic families of, 847\nof Columbia valley, 891\npermanent village tribes, 844\npredatory tribes, 841\nQuestion, 10, 912, 936\ntrade with, 12, 17, 928\nwars of, 846\nInman, Col., cited, 538, 656\nInsurrection of 1837 in New Mexico, 513\nInternational boundaries, 798\nIowa Indians, 874\nIrving, Washington, accuracy of\nhis chronology, 240\ncited, v, viii\ncritics answered, 240 et seq.\nmotive of his works on the fur\ntrade, 241\nquoted, 770\nrelations with Mr. Astor, 242\nrelations with Captain Bonneville, 399, 429, 430, 431\nWyeth's Journals consulted by,\n456\nIsodoro, a Spaniard, killed by Alexander Harvey, 694\nJ\nJackson, David, 261, 289, 292\nJackson, Fort, 961\nJackson Hole, 261, 289, 746\nJackson Lake, 746, 783\nJackson's Little Hole, 747\nJackson, President, reinstates\nBonneville, 430\nJames, Dr. Edwin, ascends Pike's\nPeak, 576, 580, 583\nedits report of Long's expedition, 584\nquoted, 574\nJames river, 768\nJefferson, Thomas, and Louisiana\nPurchase, 80\nJohn Day river, 482, 783, 788\nJohn, Fort, 365, 390, 469, 967\nJohn Gray river, 783\nJohnson, James, contractor, 569\nJoliet and Marquette, discover the\nMississippi, 73\nJones, Ben, joins overland Astorians, 186\nJones and Immel, biographical\nsketch, 158\ndefeated and slain by Blackfeet,\n153\nexpedition to Three Forks in\n1823, 151\ninterview with the Blackfeet,\n151\nsite of battle with Blackfeet, 152\nJordan river, 794\nJournal of Fort Tecumseh and\nFort Pierre, 975 et seq.\nJournal of steamboat voyage, 984\net seq.\nJournals of trading posts, 49\nJunction of Santa Fe and Oregon\nTrails, 464, 536\nK\nKansas Indians, 872\nKansas Post described, 948\nKansas river, 771\nford of on Oregon Trail, 465\nKeelboat, its use in the fur trade,\n32\nKeemle, see \"Jones and Immel\"\nKelley, Hall J., and the Oregon\nQuestion, 434 et seq.\non the Columbia, 453\nrelation of to name Oregon, 792\nrelation of with Wyeth, 438\nKelsey, agent F. L. & Co., 370\nkills desperadoes on Simeneau\nIsland, 371\nKennedy, Lieutenant, visits Sioux\nin 1815, 561\nKephart, Horace, assistance acknowledged, xi\ndiscovers Leonard's Narrative,\n397\n mm\nINDEX.\n1017\nKimball, Lieutenant, commands\nSioux escort, 120\nKiowa, Fort, 953\nKiowa Indians, 879\nKiowan family, 848\nKipp, James, 389\nbuilds fort at Mandans, 324\nestablishes Fort Piegan, 334, 673,\n961\nKnight-errantry of the fur trade\nii\nKoch, Peter, assistance acknowledged, viii\nreplies to H. H. Bancroft, 246\nLa Barge, Joseph, father of Captain La Barge, 561\nLa Barge, Captain Joseph, 348\nassistance acknowledged, xiii\npilot on the Omega, 678, 985\nLa Barge creek, 780\nLa Bonte creek, Oregon Trail,\n470\nLa Bonte, post, 968\nLaclede, Pierre Liguest, 98\narrives at Fort de Chartres, 99\nhis plans for founding a post,\n100\nprediction concerning St. Louis,\n101, 112\nLadoga, The, and the Walker Expedition, 417\nLafayette and Captain Bonneville,\n398, 432 . E\nLaidlaw, William, biographical\nsketch, 387\nenters Columbia Fur Company,\n323\nquoted, 346\nLa Lande, Baptiste, goes to Santa\nFe, 491\nLamme, Mr., death of, 509\nLamont, Daniel, 390\nenters Columbia Fur Company,\n323\nLancaster, Fort, 968\nLangford, N. P., ascends Grand\nTeton, 732\nLa Prele creek, Oregon Trail,\n470\nLaramie, origin of name, 409\nLaramie, Fort, 469, 967\nLaramie, Peak, 736\nLaramie river, 469, 769\nLark, The, Astor's annual ship,\n220\nLarpenteur, Charles, biographical\nsketch, 394\ncited, ix, 369 et seq., 620\nquoted, 353, 386, 389\nrole of during smallpox scourge\nat Fort Union, 623 et seq.\nLa Salle, enterprises of, 73\nLava plains, 754\nLawrence and Great Salt Lake,\n794 \u00C2\u00A7 WSR\nLeavenworth, Colonel, and Aricara Campaign, 588 et seq.\narrives before Aricara villages,\n592\nattacks Aricara villages, 592 et\nseq.\nbiographical sketch, 606\nconduct before Aricara villages,\n593 et seq.\ndeath of, 631\nfounds Fort Leavenworth, 630\nmisunderstanding with Joshua\nPilcher, 604 et seq.\nquoted, 599, 602\nreview of his conduct of Aricara campaign, 600 et seq.\nLeavenworth, Fort, 630, 949\nLe Clerc, Francis, incident in\nGreen River Valley, 210\nLeclerc, Narcisse, affair of, 346\nLee, Jason and Daniel, 449, 642\nLegal restraint, absence of, 68\nLeonard, Zenas, adventures of,\n409 et seq.\ncited, x\nNarrative of, 397\nquoted, 59, 67, 407, 411 et seq.\nLetter from Three Forks of the\nMissouri in 1810, 142, 893\nLewis, Captain M. L., contracts\nwith Mo. F. Co. for return of\nMandan chief, 139\nkills a Grosventre Indian, 853\nLewis and Clark, cited, ix\nexpedition of, 80, 634\nat Mandans, 766\nquoted, 114, 889\nreturn of, i\nLewis, Fort, 963\nLewis, James, destroys the Tonquin, 179\nLewis, Reuben, member Mo. F.\nCo., 138\nLife in the wilderness, ii, 65, 731\n 1018\nINDEX.\nLiquor, confiscated at Fort Leavenworth, 357\nfondness of Indians for, 23, 26,\n358\nfor boatmen, 25\nfraud in selling to Indians, 24\nimportance of in Indian trade,\n23,, 355\nprohibitory act of 1832, 355\nsmuggling into Indian country,\n23, 678 et seq.\ntraffic, 22 et seq.\nLisa, Manuel, applies to Crooks\nfor goods, 317\nbiographical sketch, 125 et seq.\nbusiness relations, 130\nconnection with Pryor's expedition, 121\ndeath of, 129, 150\nearly operations of, 138, 931\nenemies of, 130\ngreat ability of, 113\nin War of 1812, 128, 899\nIndian wife of, 133\ninterest in Yellowstone expedition of 1825, 129, 573\nlanguage of, 135\nletter to General Clark, 135, 899\nmade Indian agent, 127\nmarriages of, 132\nmonument to in Bellefontaine\ncemetery, 136\nname of, 135\nopposes W. P. Hunt, 183\nplans to enter Santa Fe trade,\n126, 493\nportrait of, 135\nquarrels with W. P. Hunt, 187\nquoted, 130, 556\nrace with W. P. Hunt, 185, 187\nrelation with Crooks and McLellan, 161\nrelations with the Indians, 116\nreligion of, 136\nwork of, 129 et seq.\nLisa, Fort, at Aricaras, 956\nat Bighorn river. 119, 964\nat Council Bluffs, 128, 149, 951\nat Mandans, 957\nLisa, Menard and Morrison, 114,\n138\nLittle Blue river, Oregon Trail,\n465\nLittle Colorado river, 783\nLittle Missouri river, 766\nLittle Sandy creek, Oregon Trail,\n476\nLittle Soldier, Aricara chief, 597\net seq.\nLocke and Randolph, post, 968 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2\nLog of Steamboat Omega, 984 et\nseq.\nLoisell's post, 954\nLone Tree, on Oregon Trail, 481\nLong, Major S. H., cited, x\nat Council Bluffs, 573\ncriticism of his work, 582 et\nseq.\nestablishes identity of Canadian\nriver, 578, 583\nexpedition of 1819-20. 567, 575\nitinerary of route, 579 et seq.\nquoted, 584\nreport of, 584 et seq.\nLong's Peak, 576, 584, 736\nLookout, Fort, 953\nLorretto in battle of Fort McKenzie, 674\nstory of, 671\nLosses in the Fur Trade, 8\n\"Lost Trappers,\" story of, 651\nLouisiana Gazette, xi\nLouisiana, historical sketch of, 71\net seq.\nnamed by La Salle. 74\ntransfer of to the United States,\n104\nLouisiana Purchase, 79\nLucien, Fort, 965\nLupton, Fort, 968\nM\nMcAllister, letter on Flathead\nmission, 923\nMcCoy, John, cited, 464\nMcDougal, Duncan, criticism of,\n232\ndecides to abandon Astoria, 216\nin control at Astoria, 175\nmember Pac. F. Co., 169\nthreatens Indians with smallpox, 202\nMcKay, Alexander, killed in\nTonquin massacre, 179\nmember Pac. F. Co., 169\nsails on the Tonquin from Astoria, 176\nMackenzie, Alexander, 89, 90\nMcKenzie, Donald, arrives at Astoria, 195\n INDEX.\nIOI9\nbreaks up post on Snake r., 216\nbuilds post on Snake r., 205\ncriticism of, 232\nmember Pac. F. Co.. 169\noffended at Astor, 183\nMcKenzie, Fort, 336, 373, 388,962\nbattle of, 373, 673 et seq.\nMcKenzie, Kenneth, biographical\nsketch, 384 et seq.\nconcludes treaty with Blackfeet,\n332\ndistillery project of, 356 et seq.\nemissaries in Crow country, 422\nenters Col. F. Co., 323\nleaves Indian country, 362\nquoted on Berger's mission, 333\nquoted on robbery of Fitzpatrick, 302\nquoted on Sublette-Campbell\nopposition, 351\nquoted, miscellaneous, 301, 302,\n357, 851, 958, 959\nMcKenzie, Owen, 387\nMackinaw Company, 93, 309\npurchased by Astor, 309\nMackinaw boats, 34\nMackinaw letter books, xiv, 311\nMcKnight, Baird and Chambers,\nimprisonment of, 496, 501\nMcKnight, John, builds a post\non Arkansas, 501\nMcKnight, Robert, returns to\nChihuahua, 501\nMcLellan, Robert, see \"Crooks\nand McLellan\"\narrives at Astoria, 195\nbiographical notes, 159, 162\nconduct in Pierre's Hole, 210\njoins Pac. F. Co., 162, 183\nthreatens Lisa, 162, 186, 188\nMcLoughlin, John, and N. J.\nWyeth, 453\nand J. S. Smith, 286, 289\nMcNees Creek, 541\nMcNees and Munroe, murder of,\n509, 548\nMcTavish, John George, at Astoria, 217\nMaize or Indian corn, 807\nMadison, James, relation of to Astor's enterprise, 167\nMalgares, commander of Spanish\nexpedition to Pawnees in\n1806, 495\nMalheur river, 481\nMallett brothers name Platte\nriver, 769\nvisit Santa Fe, 489\nMandan chief, return of to his\nnation, 119, 139, 654\nMandan, Fort, 957\nMandan, Indians, 859\ncountry of, 766, 859\nsmallpox among, 621 et seq.,\n860\nMangeur de lard, 58\nManifesto of partners at Astoria,\nJuly 1, 1813, 217\nManuel, Aunt, 132\nManuel, Fort, 119, 956, 964\nManuel Lisa, see \"Lisa\"\nMap accompanying present work\nin pocket Vol. Ill\nMarias river, situation at mouth\nof, 764\nMarmaduke, Governor, goes to\nSanta Fe, 505, 508\nMarquette and Joliet discover the\nMississippi, 73\nmap by, 763\nMartin, Camp, 949\nMathieu, with Bonneville's horses\non Bear river, 400, 402\nMauvaises Terres, 753\nMaxent Laclede and Co., 98\nMaximilian, Prince of Wied, 638\nascends the Missouri, 357\nat battle of Fort McKenzie, 373,\n.674\ncited, viii\nquoted, 357, 602, 663, 675, 705,\n953\nMay Dacre, Wyeth's ship, 448,\n452\nMay, William P., robbed by Kel-\nsey's men, 371\nMeans, John, death of, 509, 549\nMedals, Astor, 342\nMeek, Joseph, adventures of\ncited, ix\namong the geysers, 290\nreturn route from California,\n419\nMenard, Pierre, associated with\nLisa in 1807, 114\nletter of, written at Three Forks\nof Missouri, 1810, 142, 893\nmember Mo. F. Co., 138\nMercantile Library of St. Louis,\nxi\nMerchandise for Am. F. Co., 376\n 1020\nINDEX.\nfor the fur trade, 4\ninventory of Gen. Ashley's, 4\nMeriwether, D., arrested by Spaniards, 500\nMexican Revolution, 550\nMexican escort to Santa Fe Caravan, 512\nMichilimackinac, head quarters\nNorthern Department, 376\nMiddle Park, Colo., 749\nMilitary escorts to Santa Fe Car-\navans, 511, 512\nMilitary occupation of trans-Mississippi territory, 628 et seq.\nMilk river, 764\nMill creek in old St. Louis, no\nMiller, Indian agent at Bellevue,\n682\nMiller, Joseph, adventures of, 207,\n795, 907\nbecomes guide to Stuart's party,\n208\nenters Pac. F. Co., 183\nwithdraws from Pac. F. Co.,\n191\nMiller river, same as Bear river,\n208\nMineral wealth of the mountains,\n63\nMinnetarees, 858\nMirages, 757\nMissionary work, 640\nMississippi, importance of navigation in early history, 78\nlength of, 763\nname of, 7^3\nMissoula, lake, 787\nMissouri, Camp, 570, 951\nMissouri Indians, sketch of, 875\nattacked by Spaniards, 875, 947\nMissouri Fur Company, articles\nof association, 138\ncauses of failure of first organization, 147\nfirst expedition of, 140\n\"first organization dissolved, 146\nmembers of, 138\noperations of, 139 et seq.\norigin of, 137\nreorganization of, 147\ntermination of, 157\nunder Joshua Pilcher, 150 et\nseq.\nMissouri Gazette, xi\nMissouri Intelligencer, xii, 510\n\"Missouri Legion,\" in the Aricara\ncampaign, 591\nMissouri river, 762 et seq.\nfirst steamboat to enter, 106\nimportance of in fur trade, 774\nlength of, 762\nmouth of, 772\nname of, 762\nnavigation, head of, 764\nphysical characteristics of, 772\net seq.\nsource of, 762\nsystem, 760, 762 et seq.\nMitain, Omaha woman, romance\nof, 133\nMitchell, D. D., at battle of Fort\nMcKenzie, 675 et seq.\nbiographical sketch, 388\nbuilds Fort McKenzie, 336, 673\nloses a keelboat on upper Missouri, 336\nMitchell, Fort, 952\nMojave Indians, 888\nMoki Indians, 888\nMonroe, President, interest of in\nYellowstone Expedition of\n1819, 563\nMore and Foy killed by Blackfeet, 401, 443, 447, 662\nMorrison, Wm., associated with\nLisa in 1807, 114\nattempts to open trade with\nSanta Fe, 491\nmember Mo. F. Co., 138\nMortimer, Fort, 370, 960\nMosquitoes, 838\nMountain life, attractions of, 731\nMountain sheep, 828\nMountain trade unprofitable to\nAm. F. Co., 365\nMountaineer, use of term, 53\nMulkey, Mrs. William, daughter\nof Andrew Drips, xiii, 392\nMuscleshell river, 764\nMustang, 832\nN\nNadowa, winter camp of Astorians, 1810-n, 183\nNapoleon Bonaparte and Louisiana, 78\nNavajo Indians, 882\nNavajo Blanket, 882\nNavigation, head of, on Missouri,\n764\nII\nm\n INDEX.\nI02I\nNavy yard of Fort Pierre, 47,\n956\nNew Fork, 780\nNew Park, 749\nNez Perce Indians, 888\nrelation to Flathead mission of\n1832, 643, 924\ncited, x\nNicollet, J. N., cited x\nnotice of, 638\nNidiver, George, kills two Indians at one shot, 415\nquoted, 407\nNimrod, The, voyage of in 1844,\n681\nNiobrara river, 767\nNishnabotna, post, 949\nNixon, O. W., cited, 642\nNorthern Department Am. F. Co.,\n320, 928\nNorth Park, Colo., 749\nNorth Platte, Ford of, 470\nNorthwest Brigade arrives at Astoria, 217, 221\nleaves Astoria, April 4th, 1814,\n224.\nNorthwest Fur Company, carries\ntrade to the Columbia, 89, 201\nconduct in War of 1812, 558\nexonerated from blame in connection with Astoria, 238\nhistorical sketch of, 88 et seq\npurchases Astoria, 221\nrelation with J. J. Astor, 168\nrivalry with H. B. Co., 91\nunites with H. B. Co., 92\nNorthwest Fur Company, name\ngiven to Leclerc's Company,\n346\nNorthwestern Fur Company buys\nout Am. F. Co., 367\nNuttall, Thomas, accompanies Astorian party, 184\ncited, x\nnotice of, 635\nwith N. J, Wyeth, 449, 636\nO'Fallon, Benjamin, commissioner to treat with Indians, 608\nquoted, 154\nsee \"Yellowstone Expedition\"\nOgallallas, 865\nOgden, Peter Skeen, in Salt Lake\nvalley, 749\nname given to Humboldt river,\n797\nrelations with Ashley, 277\nrelations with Fitzpatrick, 293\nOgden Hole, 748\nOgden river, 793, 796\nOkanagan post, 202, 974\nOkanagan river, 788\nOld Park, 749\nOmaha Indians, 871\nOmega, log book of, quoted, 984\net seq.\nvoyage of, 678\nOne-Eyed Sioux, 560\nOpposition, meaning of term in\nMo. R. trade, 378\nOregon, origin of name, 792\nOregon Trail, the, character of as\na public highway, 460\neastern terminus of, 97, 463\nfuture occupation of route, 462\ngeneral description of, 460 et\nseq.\nhistorical sketch, 214, 457 et seq.\nimpression upon the Indians,\n461\nitinerary of, 464 et seq.\njunction with Santa Fe Trail,\n464, 536\nOrleans, Fort, 75, 947\nOsage, Fort, 628, 948\nOsage Indians, 872\nOsage river, 772\nOto Indians, 874\nOverland Astorians,\nsee\n'Asto\nrians\nOverland journeys, 38\nOwen, William, ascends Grand\nTeton, 732\nOwls in prairie dog holes, 832\nOwyhee river, 307, 785\nPacific Fur Company, origin and\nscope of, 168, et seq.\nPacific Spring, Oregon Trail, 476\nPacks of furs, how composed, 40\nPaduca Indians, an ancient tribal\nname, 876\nPaine, Thomas, and Captain Bonneville, 397, 432\nPai-Ute Indians, 886\nPalmer, Joel, itinerary of Oregon\nTrail, 459, 464, 475\nPambrun, H. B., trader on Walla\n- \u00C2\u00ABmmvm\n\u00E2\u0096\u00A0WMMMMMi\n 1022\nINDEX.\nif\nWalla, 424, 443\nPanimaha Indians, 868\nPanther, American, 830\nParker, Samuel, cited, x\nmission to Oregon, 642\nquoted, 475\nPartisans, or leaders, 51\nPattie, James O., expedition of,\n5\u00C2\u00B07\nPatriotism on the prairies, 524\nPawnee Indians, 868\nPawnee Rock, Santa Fe Trail, 538\nPayette river, 786\nPedler, The, chartered by Mr.\nHunt, 220\nvoyage of from Astoria, 224\nPemmican, 811\nPend d' Oreille Indians, 892\nPend d' Oreille lake, 787\nPhillebert's Company, 497, 654\nPicotte, Honore, notice of, 388\nquoted, 29\nPiegan, Fort, 335, .961\nattacked by Indians, 335\nPiegan Indians, 851\nvalor of, 677\nPierre, Chouteau Jr. and Co., 366\nPierre, Fort, history of, 340, 955\nlocality of, 767\nPierre's Hole, 289, 657, 747, 784\nbattle of, 298, 442, 657 et seq.\nrendezvous in, 657\nPike's Peak, 736\nfirst ascent of, 576, 580, 583\nfirst measurement of altitude,\n576, 580, 583\nPike, Zebulon Montgomery, cited,\nix, x\nexpeditions of, 81, 96, 494, 634\nexperience with La Lande, 491\ntaken to Santa Fe, 494\nPilcher, Joshua, biographical\nsketch, 158\nconduct in the Aricara campaign, 589 et seq.\nmember Mo. F. Co., 149, 158\nmisunderstandings with Col.\nLeavenworth, 604\nquoted, 153, 154, 603, 606\nsucceeds Manuel Lisa, 150\ntour of the Northwest, 156\nPines, 801\nPlains, The, 751 et seq.\nPlains rivers, 774\nPlatte, Fort, 368, 967\nPlatte river, 768 et seq.\nfords of, 466, 470\nlocality at mouth of, 768\nname of, 769\nnorth fork of, 769\nsouth fork, 770\nPlus, meaning of term, 40\nPoison Spider creek, 470\nPolitical boundaries, 798\nPonca Indians, 871\nPonca post, 952\nPond, Pangman and Company, 89\nPoplar, 801\nPortage des Sioux, council at, in\n1815, 559\nPortneuf river, 479, 785\nPortuguese ho'uses, 966\n\"Possibles,\" meaning of term, 62\nPosts of Am.- F. Co. named in licenses, 965\nPosts trading, see \"Trading posts\"\nPotts, companion of Colter, 719\nPowder river, Wyo., 766\nvalley a favorite wintering\nground, 294, 766\nPowder river, Oregon, 481, 785\nPowell, J. W., and the \"Ashley\"\ninscription, 274\nPrairies, The, 751\nPrairie dog, 831\nPrairie fires, 756\nPratte, Cabanne & Co., 367\nPratte. Chouteau & Co., purchase\nWestern Dept., 364\nPratte and Vasquez post, 951\nPrice river, 781\nPrices in the mountains, 4, 5, 929\nPrickly Pear, 805\nPrince Paul of Wurtemburg, 636\nProfits and losses in Am. F. Co.\nbusiness, 377\nProfits in the fur trade, 6\nProfits in Santa Fe trade, 7\nProvo river, 794, 796\nProvost, Etienne, discovers South\nPass, 261, 271\nfalls out with Gen. Ashley, 280\nin Salt Lake valley, 275\nmassacre of party by Indians,\n276\nmeets Gen. Ashley near Green\nriver, 275\nsent by McKenzie to bring in\nfree trappers, 328\nPryor, Nathaniel, defeated by Aricaras, 121 et seq.\n INDEX.\nIO23\nescorts Mandan chief up Missouri, 120\nrelations with Manuel Lisa, 121,\n131\nPsoralea esculenta, 806\nPueblos, 881\nPurcell, James, discovers gold in\nColorado, 486\nstory of his Santa Fe expedition,\n492\nPyramid Lake, 797\nQuaking Asp, 801\n%' R\nRabbit Ear creek, Santa Fe Trail,\n542\nRaccoon, The, arrives at Astoria,\n222\nleaves Fort George, 223\nRaft river, Oregon Trail, 480\nRainier, Mount, 742\nRampart range, 736\nRattlesnakes, 837\nRaynolds, Captain, and the Oregon Trail, 461\nquoted, 966\nRecovery, Fort, 952\nCol. Leavenworth at, 590\nRed river of Natchitoches, 776\nnavigation of, 535\nReed, John, arrives at Astoria, 195\nbiographical sketch, 908\nmassacre of party. 225\nrobbed of dispatches, 203\nvisits caches at Caldron Linn.\n205\nRendezvous of the mountains, 39\nbeginning of, 272, 273\nof 1826, 279\nof 1830, 292\nof 1832, 296\nof 1833^300\nof 1834, 304 I II liBM\nRenville, Joseph, founder Col. r.\nCo., 323\nRepublic, The, of St. Louis, assistance acknowledged, xi\nRezner, Jacob, see \"Hoback, Robinson and Rezner\"\nRichards, Gov. W. A., assistance\nacknowledged, 197\nRiley, Major, escorts Santa Fe\ntraders, 509, 511\nRio Colorado, Santa Fe Trail, 542\nRio Grande, 535, 776\nRio San Juan, 783\nRio Virgin, 782\nRivers, their relation to the fur\ntrade, 759 et seq.\nRiver systems of the west, 760 et\nseq.\nrelation to fur trade, 761\nrelation to territorial expansion,\n761\nRiver of the West, 791\nRiviere a Jacques post, 952\nRoads of the prairies, 755\nRobidoux posts, 949, 971\nRobidoux on Green river, in 1824,\n507\nRobinson, Edward, see \"Hoback,\nRobinson and Rezner\"\nRock creek, 480\nRock with impression of human\nfeet, 613\nRocky mountains, application of\nthe name, 728\nphysical aspects of, 728 et seq.\nRocky Mountain Fur Company,\ncontract with Wyeth, 301-3, 446,\n448, 450\ndecline of its business, 299, 303\nlosses of life and property, 306\noffer to divide territory with\nAm. F. Co., 299\norigin of, 262\nplace of in western history, 305\net seq.\npromotes geographical knowledge, 306\ntermination of, 304\ntrue application of name, 292\nRootdigger Indians, 886\nmassacre of by Walker party,\n411, 418\nRose, Edward, Aricara campaign,\n.590, 597\nbiographical sketch, 684 et seq.\ngrave of, 688\nHunt's alarm over, 189, 686\nincident at Mandans 1825, 614,\n687\nLeavenworth's opinion of, 686.\n687\nmethod of hunting buffalo, 612\nnoticed, 655\non Yellowstone Expedition,\n1825, 610, 687\n 1024\nINDEX.\nfff\nwarns Ashley against Aricaras,\n266\nRoss, Alexander, biographical\nsketch, 908\ncited, x, 221, 884\nopinion of, about J. S. Smith,\n271\nquoted, 233\nRound Grove, Oregon Trail, 464,\n536\nRound Mound, Santa Fe Trail,\n542\nRoutes from St. Louis to seaboard,\n2\nRoutes of overland Astorians,\n196, 214, 241\nRussian fur trade, 94\nRussian government, relations of\nJ. J. Astor with, 170\niRuxton, Frederick, cited, x\nSac Indians in War of 1812, 559\nSage brush, 803 et seq.\nSage, Rufus, cited, x, 466, 749\nquoted, 62, 467, 472. 538\nSaint Ange de Belle Rive, 102\nSt. Lawrence valley, the highway\nof the fur trade, 84\nSt. Louis, arrival of first steamboat, 106\ncharacter of population at time\nof cession, 108\ncomparison of old and new\ntowns, 109 et seq.\ndefenses, ancient, 103, no\nearly growth of, 105\nearly inhabitants, 106\nemporium of western fur trade.\n2, 97\nheadquarters Western Department, Am. F. Co., 320\nhistorical sketch, 97 et seq.\nmagnitude of fur trade before\ncession, 109\nmagnitude of fur trade at present time, 109\noffspring of the fur trade, 109\nSt. Louis Republic, assistance acknowledged, xi\nSt. Louis traders, early, 109\nopposition to Mr. Astor, 229,\n312, 316 et seq.\nSt. Vrain, Ceran, quoted, 520\nsketch of, 543\ntakes expedition to. Santa Fe,\n509\nSt. Vrain, Fort, 543, 968\nSalishan family, 848\nSalmon, description of, 835\nSalmon Falls, 480\nSalmon river, 786\nSalmon River mountains, 740\nSalt river, 783\nSand hills of Nebraska, 752\nSanford, J. F. A., in Washington,\n30\nquoted, 368\nSangre de Cristo mountains, 737\nSan Luis valley, 750\nSan Miguel, Santa Fe Trail, 542\nSans Arcs Indians, 865\nSanta Clara Spring, 542\nSanta Fe, arrival ot caravans at,\n528\ncaravans, 523 et seq.\ncaravans, military escorts of.\nm 532\ncommercial isolation of, 487, 516\ndescription of, 487 et seq.\nexpeditions, condensed summary\nof, 508\nhistorical sketch of, 484\nSanta Fe Road Commission, of\n1825, 510, 533\nSanta Fe trade, custom house difficulties, 527, 528\ndivisions among small proprietors, 520\nearly expeditions, 489 et seq.\ninfluence of in war with Mexico,\ni\", 513\nmagnitude of, 518, 521, 935\nMexican proprietorship of, 508\nprofits in, 520\nprohibited, 522, 529\nstatistics of, 519\ntransportation of specie, 526\nSanta Fe Trail, description of, 530\net seq.\nincidents of, 545\nitinerary of, 535 et seq.\njunction with Oregon Trail, 536\nlocation of, 534\nmountain branch, 532, 543\nwagons first used on, 501, 504\nSaones, a Sioux tribe, 865\nSarpy, Fort, 390, 965\nSarpy, Gregoire, 390\nSarpy, John B., 390\nSarpy, Peter A., 391\n INDEX.\nIO25\nSarpy, Thomas L., 390\nScience, cause of promoted by\ntraders, iv\nScott's Bluffs, story of, 467\nSeever, William, assistance acknowledged, xiii\nSehon, E. W., letter on Flathead\nmission, 645, 922\nSelkirk colony, 91\nSeton, Alfred, and Captain Bonneville, 399\nhome journey from Astoria, 224\nSevier Lake and river, 796\nShahaptian family, 848\nShasta, Mt., 742\nSheepeater Indians, 888\nShoshonean family, 848\nShoshone Falls, 785\nShoshone Indians, 884\nShoshone Lake, 783\nSibley, G. G, and Ezekiel Williams, 653\nmember Santa Fe Road Commission, 510, 533\nquoted, 570, 628\nSierra Blanca, 737\nSierra Nevada, 741\nSinclair killed at Battle of Pierre's\nHole, 298\nSiouan family, 847\nSioux Indians, 863 et seq.\nin War of 1812, 557\nparticipants in Aricara campaign, 590 et seq.\nrelations with the traders, 865\nSire, Joseph A., 393\nmaster of Omega, 1843, 985\nquoted, 680, 683\nsteamboat master, 678\nSmallpox scourge of 1837, 620 et\nseq.\nSmith, Jedediah S., adventures of,\n282 et seq.\nAmerican Fork, Cal., named\nfrom, 286\namong the Mojave Indians in\n1826, 283\nat Fort Vancouver, 286\nattacked by Mojave Indians in\n1827, 285\nbiographical sketch, 252 et seq.\nCalifornia expedition, 283 et\nseq.\ncarries express to Henry, 253,\n269, 588\ncommended by Gen. Atkinson.\n272\ncomplimented by Alexander\nRoss, 271\ndeath of, 253, 292, 552\ngenerously treated by H. B. Co.,\n286, 289\n'geographical knowledge promoted by, 306, 307\nin Aricara campaign, 590\nin H. B. territory 1824, 271\nmeets Sublette and Jackson\n1829, 287, 289\npartner of Gen. Ashley, 272\nparty massacred by Umpquah\nIndians, 286\nremarkable character of. 282\nreturns to Great Salt Lake 1827,\n284\nroute across the Sierras, 284\ntrouble with Spanish authorities,\n283, 285\nwinters in California 1826-8, 284,\n286\nSmith, Jackson and Sublette buy\nout Ashley, 279\nenter Santa Fe trade, 292\nquoted, 66\nsell out to R. M. F. Co., 292\nSmith Fork of Bear river, 478\nSmuggling liquor into Indian\ncountry, 23, 368, 678 et seq.\nSnake Indians, 884\nmassacre Provost's party, 276\nSnake river, 783\ncanon, 786\ncataracts of, 785\nfirst crossing of. 480\nlower crossing of, 480\nnavigability of, 785\nphysical characteristics of, 784\nSoda Springs on Bear river, 479\nSources of Continental river systems, 760\nSources of the History of Oregon,\n456\nSouth Park, Colo., 749\nSouth Pass, description of, 727\ndiscovery of, 271, 475\nreferred to, 292\nSouth Platte river, ford of, 467\nroad along, 467\nSouthwest Fur Company, 310\nSowles, Captain, timid counsels\nof, 219\nSpalding, Rev. H. H., ascends\n 1026\nINDEX.\nGrand Teton, 732\nSpanish authority in Mexico overthrown, 500, 516\nSpanish colonial history, 72 et seq.\nSpanish expedition of 1720, 75,\n947\nto Pawnees in 1806, 495\nto Council Bluffs in 1824, 507\nSpanish fur trade, 86\nSpanish governors of upper Louisiana, 102\nSpanish jealousy of the U. S., 78\nSpanish Peaks, 737\nSpanish settlements in America,\nantiquity of, 483\nSpanish Trail, 781\nSpecie, transportation of by pack\nanimals, 526\nSpring hunts, 42\nStansbury, Howard, on mileage\nof Oregon Trail, 459, 464\nStatistics of the fur trade, 7\nSteamboat, Missouri river, annual\nvoyage of, 36\ndescription of, 35\nfirst at St. Louis, 106\nfirst on Missouri river, 106\nimpression upon the Indians, 341\nintroduced into Am. F. Co. service, 338\njournal of voyage to Fort Union, 984 et seq.\nSteamboat navigation, early\ngrowth on western rivers, 106\nStephens, Alfred K., free trapper,\n409\nkilled, 298, 410, 442, 662\nStevenson, James, ascends Grand\nTeton, 732\nStinkingwater river, 766\nStoddard, Amos, his connection\nwith transfer of Louisiana, 104\nquoted, 105, 400, 969\nStone, Bostwick & Co. enter Am.\nF. Co., 316, 321\nStorms of the prairies, 755\nStorrs, Augustus, goes to Santa\nFe, 508\nStreams of the mountains, familiarly known to trapper, 760,\n762\nStuart and Crooks with overland\nAstorians east\narrive in St. Louis, 213\nat Caldron Linn, 208\nfirst winter quarters, 212\nmiss South Pass, 211\nrobbed by the Crows, 209\nsecond winter quarters, 213\nturn off to find Hunt's trail, 209\nvisited by the Arapahoes, 212\nStuart, David, established post at\nOkanagan, 202\nmember Pac. F. Co., 169\nwinters on Thompson river, 205\nStuart, Robert, agent Am. F. Co.,\n312\nbearer of dispatches to New\nYork. 206\nbiographical sketch, 908\nhorse of, stolen by Snake Indians, 207\nin charge of Northern Department, 320\nincident with Captain Thorn at\nFalkland Islands, 173\nmember Pac. F. Co., 169\nStuart. Capt. W. D.. 300\nSublette, Andrew, death from a\ngrizzly bear, 824\nSublette and Campbell at mouth\nof Yellowstone, 350\ndivide field with Am. F. Co., 354\nfirm of, 255, 304\nill success on Missouri, 353 et\nseq.\nopposition to Am. F. Co., 350\nposts of, 953, 956, 957\nSublette's cut-off, 476, 478\nSublette, Milton G., biographical\nsketch, 254\ncontract with Wyeth, 301, 302.\n303, 446, 448, 45o\nmember R. M. F. Co.. 292\nturns back from expedition of\n1834, 449\nSublette, William L., at mouth of\nYellowstone 1833, 350, 447\nbiographical sketch, 254\nin Aricara campaign, 590\nliquor license of, 25\npockets profits of R. M. F. Co.,\n303\ntrip from St. Louis to rendezvous 1830, 291\nwinter journey to St. Louis, 290\nwith Ashley in Aricara fight, 266\nwounded at battle of Pierre's\nHole, 298, 661\nSultana, The, Wyeth's ship, 439\nSurgery on the plains, 547\nSweetwater river, 471, 474, 769\n\u00E2\u0096\u00A0\nmmez\n INDEX.\nI027\nSwift, Lieutenant, measures altitude of Pike's Peak, 580, 583\nSwitzler, Irvin, cited, xii, 250\nTahoe lake, 797\nTalbot, kills Mike Fink, 711\ndrowned, 711\nTaos, 533, 750\nvalley of, 750\nTecumseh, Fort, 324, 955\nchanged to Fort Pierre, 340\njournal of, 975\nTerritorial expansion, relation of\nto river systems, 761\nTeton Indians, 865\nTeton Mountains, 731\nTeton Pass, 732\nTeton Post, 956\nTeton river, Idaho, 784\nTeton river, tributary of Missouri,\n767\nThanatopsis, and name Oregon,\n792\nThing, Captain, goes to Fort Hall,\n452\nThompson, David, arrives at Astoria, 201\ncited, ix\nin service N. W. Co., 89\nThompson Fork, Oregon Trail,\n478\nThorn, Captain Jonathan, 171\nattempts to cross bar of Columbia, 174\ncomments on, 181\nkilled, 179\ntrouble with Tonquin passengers, 172, 173\nThree Buttes, 741\nThree Forks of the Missouri, 745\nletter from in 1810, 142, 893\npost, 141, 963\nTilton & Co., name of Col. F. Co.,\n323\nTilton's post, 957\nTobacco, plants used for, 808\nTongue river, 766\nTonquin, The, 171\narrives at Nootka, 177\nauthorities for account of loss\nof, 176\ndestroyed, 180, 909\nenters Columbia, 175\nfirst published account of disaster, 176, 909\nmassacre of crew, 179, 909\nsails from Astoria, 176\nvoyage of, 171 et seq.\nTownsend, J. K., cited, x\nnoticed, 636\nobservations upon Wyeth's enterprise, 453\nTrade with the Indians, 9 et seq.\nTrading posts, description of, 44\net seq.\ngeographical location of, 49\njournals of, 49\nlife at, 48\nlist of, 947 et seq.\nTrader's engagement, 945\nTransportation methods, 32 et seq.\nTrapper, the, see \"Hunter and\nTrapper\"\nTrapping fraternity, the, 51 et\nseq.\nTrapping, method of, 54\nTreaty between Blackfeet and Assiniboines, 333\nTreaty of Paris, Feb. 10, 1763, 77^\n88\nTreaty of San Ildefonso, March\n21, 1801, 78\nTrudeau's house, 952\nTrudeau, Zenon, founder of a St.\nLouis Fur Co., 137\nsixth Spanish governor of Upper Louisiana, 103\nTulloch, Samuel, builds Fort\nCass, 337\nTwo Kettles Indians, 865\nU\nUintah, Fort, 971\nUintah mountains, 738\nUintah river, 781\nUmatilla river, 481, 788\nUncompahgre river, 782\nUnion, Fort, 327, 858, 958 et seq.\nUnion Fur Company, 369 et seq.\nsells out to Am. F. Co., 372\nUnion Pass, 727, 733\nUnited States, responsibility of,\nfor Astorian failure, 237\nUpper Missouri Outfit, origin of\nname, 326\nUtah Indians, 887\nUtah lake, 794\n 1028\nINDEX.\nValleys of the mountains, 743 et\nseq.\nVan Buren, Fort, 965\nVancouver, Fort, 482\nVanderburgh, Fort, 153, 957\nVanderburgh, W. H., battle with\nBlackfeet, 328\nbiographical sketch, 392\ndeath of, 299, 665 et seq.\nenters mountain trade, 295, 328\nin Aricara campaign, 591, 598,\n605\nVanderburgh and Drips, Am. F.\nCo. agents, 295\nat rendezvous in Pierre's Hole,\n299, 666\nenter mountain trade, 295\nmisled by Fitzpatrick and\nBridger, 299, 667\nVasquez and Sublette Post, 968\nVegetables, garden, 807\nVermillion creek, Oregon Trail,\n465.\nVermillion post, 952\nVermillion river, 768\nVictor, Mrs. Frances Fuller, cited,\nix, 290, 792\nquoted, 791\nVirgin river, 782\nVolcano, Fort, 065\nVoyageur, The, 55\nW\nWages in the fur trade, 62\nWagonhound creek, Oregon Trail,\n470\nWagons on Oregon Trail, 431, 647\non Santa Fe Trail, 431, 501, 504\nWakarusa creek, Oregon Trail,\n465\nWaldo, David E., in partnership\nwith David Jackson, 292\nWaldo, William, cited, xiii\nquoted on J. S. Smith, 253\nWalker California Expedition, 411\net seq.\narrives at Monterey. 417\ncrosses Sierra Nevadas, 416\ndiscovers Mariposa trees, 417\ndiscovers Yosemite 417\nmassacres Rootdigger Indians,\n411, 418\nreturns to Bear river, 419 et seq.\nroute across Sierras, 420\nWalker, I. R., chief assistant to\nCapt. Bonneville, 399, 406, 409\nepitaph of, 417\nWalker lake, 797\nWalker, Wm., Wyandotte interpreter, account of Flathead\nmission, 643, 914\nWalla Walla Indians, 892\nWalla Walla river, 788\nWar of 1812, 555 et seq.\ninfluence upon Astorian affairs,\n204, 231\nWar with Mexico, iii, 513\nWarren, Gen. G. K., and Bonneville's maps, 430\nWasatch mountains, 739\nWaterhouse, Professor, on dress\nof hunter, 61\nWeber river, 793, 796\nWeiser river, 786\nWestern Department, Am. F. Co.,\ndate of establishment, 320, 928\nWestern Engineer, description of,\n570 et seq.\nWestport, Mo., 464, 517\nWheeler, O. D., assistance acknowledged, 395\nWhite Earth river. Kipps' post at,\n957.\nWhite river, 767\nWhitman, Marcus, 642\nhis work in Oregon, 647\nextracts arrow from Bridger's\nback, 672\nWhitney, Mt\"., 742\nWilderness life, ii, 65, 731\nWilkinson, B., member Mo. F Co.,\n138\nWilkinson, Gen. J., warns Pike\nagainst Lisa, 126\nWillamette river, 789\nWilliam, Fort, on Arkansas, 543,\n97c\nat mouth of Willamette, 452,\n974\nat mouth of Yellowstone, 351,\n960\non Lake Superior, 90\non Laramie, 305, 449, 967\nWilliams, Ezekiel, adventures of,\n651 et seq.\ngoes to Santa Fe, 509\nWillows, 802-\nWind river, 766\nWind River mountains, 733\n INDEX.\nIO29\nWislizenus, Dr. F. A., 639\ncited, x, 758, 969\nquoted, 464, 531, 536, 967\nWolf, 829\nWurtemburg, Paul, Prince of, 636\nWyeth, J. B., cited, x, 439\nquoted, 440, 441, 472\nWyeth, N. J., agrees with Bonneville for joint hunt, 404, 445\nat Battle of Pierre's Hole, 442,\n659\nat Fort Union, 359, 447\nat Green river rendezvous\n(1833), 446\nat Pierre's Hole rendezvous,\n297, 441 et seq.\nbiographical sketch, 435\ncharacter of enterprise, 436 et\nseq.\ncited, x, 397\ncontract with R. M. F. Co., 301,\n446, 448, 450\ncriticism of enterprise, 455\ncuts loose from Hall J. Kelley,\n438 ,\ndivision of party in Pierre s\nHole, 442\nenters mountain trade, 299\nfailure of enterprise, 453\nfirst expedition of, 439 et seq.\nFort Hall built by, 451\nFort Hall sold by, 455\njournals of, 456\nleaves Pierre's Hole with M. G.\nSublette, 443\noperations on the Columbia, 452\nquoted 6, 59, 277, 300, 303, 451,\n521, 960, 967\nreaches the Columbia, 444\nreports McKenzie for distillery\nat Fort Union, 360, 447\nreturns home, 455\nsecond expedition, 448 et seq.\nstarts east in spring of 1833, 444\nstrength of first expedition, 444\nWyeth's creek, Oregon Trail, 465\nX\nXY Fur Company, 90\nY\nYakima river, 788\nYampah river, 781\nYankton Indians, 864\nYanktonais Indians, 864\nYellowstone, The, voyage of, 339,\n340, 979\nYellowstone Expedition, 1819-20,\n562 et seq., 629\nestimate of results, 582 et seq.\nexpectations in regard to, 563 et\nseq.\nfailure of, 574\nmismanagement of, 569 et seq.\npurpose of, 563\ntransportation of troops, 568 et\nseq.\nYellowstone Expedition of 1825,\n608 et seq., 629\nYellowstone National Park, visited by Colter (1807), 716, 717\nvisited by Ferris (1834), 366\nvisited by Meek (1829), 290\nYellowstone river, description of,\n765 et seq.\nYellowstone river, importance of\nsituation at mouth, 764\nYosemite, discovered by Walker\nExpedition, 411\nYoung, Brigham, referred to, iii\nTHE END\n "@en . "Includes index
Includes bibliographic references
Other copies: http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/2040456"@en . "Books"@en . "HD9944.U45 C5"@en . "II-0113-V03"@en . "10.14288/1.0226115"@en . "English"@en . "Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library"@en . "New York : Francis P. Harper"@en . "Images provided for research and reference use only. For permission to publish, copy, or otherwise distribute these images please contact\u00A0digital.initiatives@ubc.ca."@en . "University of British Columbia. Library. Rare Books and Special Collections. HD9944.U45 C5"@en . "Fur trade"@en . "Frontier and pioneer life--West (U.S.)"@en . "West (U.S.)--Description and travel"@en . "West (U.S.)--History"@en . "The American fur trade of the far west : a history of the pioneer trading posts and early fur companies of the Missouri Valley and the Rocky Mountains and of the overland commerce with Santa Fe. Three volumes. Volume III"@en . "Text"@en .