YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY THE LIBRARY ASSOCIATES Gift of Frank A, Assmann Yale 1909 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN FUR TRADE OF THE FAR WEST American Fur Trade OF THE Far West A History of the Pioneer Trading Posts and Barly Fur Companies of the Missouri Valley and the Rocky Mountains and of the Overland Commerce ¦with Santa Fe. MAP AND ILLUSTRATIONS HIRAM MARTIN CHITTENDEN Captain Corps of Engineers, U. S. A., Author of "The Yello-wstone." THREE VOLUMES VOLUME I. NEW YORK FRANCIS P. HARPER 1902 Copyright, 1901, BY FRANCIS P. HARPER Ail rights reserved IN HONOR OF THE forgotten ibctocs OF jBavl's iFut XCra&e Baps WHO FIRST EXPLORED THE UNKNOWN REGIONS BEYOND THE MISSISSIPPI BEARING THE STANDARD OF PEACEFUL COMMERCE TO THE REMOTEST VALLEYS OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS AND THE FAR-OFF COASTS OF THE PACIFIC OCEAN PREFACE. A late historical writer has said that there are few more impressive incidents in the history of the West than the meeting by Lewis and Clark, when nearly home from their journey across the continent, of numerous parties of traders wending their way to- the heart of the wilderness which these explorers had just left. There could be no doubt in this manifestation of a common purpose which way the course of empire was tending. Scarcely had the United States come into possession of Louisiana, and before she had fairly taken stock of her new acquisition, her citizens had begun to penetrate its remote interior, impatient to learn what it had in store for them. Thirty-seven years passed away and this movement pre sented another phase of even deeper significance. A little incident serves to determine its date. In the year 1843 James Bridger, whose name will always be prominent in annals of Western adventure, built a post on a tributary of Green river, a water of the Pacific Ocean, for the conven ience of emigrants. It was the first trading post beyond the Mississippi ever built for this purpose, and its establish ment marks the beginning of the era of emigration into the Far West. These two landmarks — the return of Lewis and Clark and the founding of Fort Bridger — determine the limits of a distinct period in Western history. It is a period of which comparatively little is known because it has been obscured by the more brilliant events of that immediately following. The Mormon emigration, the War with Mexico, the dis- Vlll PREFACE. covery of gold in California, and the controversy over the Oregon Question, absorbed public attention in their time, so far as the West was concerned, and in a large measure have done so since. For forty years after the purchase of Louisiana the people of the United States were at a loss to know what to do with their new possession. It was not yet needed for settlement, for the eastern shore of the Mississippi was still an unsub dued wilderness in which the stream of emigration might lose itself for many years to come. No one seems to have suspected that its distant mountains abounded in the pre cious metals. The single attraction that it offered in a commercial way was its wealth of furs, the gathering of which became, and for a long time remained, the only busi ness of importance in this entire region. The nature of this business determined the character of the early white population. It was the roving trader and the solitary trapper who first sought out these inhospitable wilds, traced the streams to their sources, scaled the moun tain passes, and explored a boundless expanse of territory where the foot of the white man had never trodden before. The Far West became a field of romantic adventure, and developed a class of men who loved the wandering career of the native inhabitant rather than the toilsome lot of the industrious colonist. The type of life thus developed, though essentially evanescent, and not representing any profound national movement, was a distinct and necessary phase in the growth of this new country. Abounding in incidents picturesque and heroic, its annals inspire an inter est akin to that which belongs to the age of knight-errantry. For the free hunter of the Far West was, in his rough way, a good deal of a knight-errant. Caparisoned in the wild attire of the Indian, and armed cap-a-pie for instant combat, he roamed far and wide over deserts and moun tains, gathering the scattered wealth of those regions, slay ing ferocious beasts and savage men, and leading a life in which every footstep was beset with enemies and every PREFACE. IX moment pregnant of peril. The great proportion of these intrepid spirits who laid down their lives in that far country is impressive proof of the jeopardy of their existence. All in all, the period of this adventurous business may justly be considered the romantic era of the history of the VVest. But if the fur trade was lacking in events of deep nation al significance — the Astorian enterprise always excepted — it was not without its influence upon the course of empire in the West. It was the trader and trapper who first ex plored and established the routes of travel which are now, and always will be, the avenues of commerce in that region. They were the "pathfinders" of the West, and not those later official explorers whom posterity so recognizes. No feature of western geography was ever discovered by gov ernment explorers after 1840. Everything was already known, and had been for fully a decade. It is true that many features, like the Yellowstone wonderland, with which these restless rovers were familiar, were afterward forgot ten and were re-discovered in later years; but there has never been a time until very recently when the geography of the West was so thoroughly understood as it was by the trader and trapper from 1830 to 1840. This minute knowledge was of practical use in many ways. When Brigham Young selected the valley of Great Salt Lake as the future home of his people, he did so largely upon information derived from the traders. When the War with Mexico came, the military forces of the United States invaded New Mexico under the guidance of men who knew every trail and mountain pass better than the most thorough reconnaissance could have taught them. When the national troops appeared before the gates of Santa Fe they were met by a people who had already been virtually won to the American cause through long intercourse with the traders. When the rush of emigration to California and Oregon followed, the emigrants found a highway across the continent already established. When the government entered in earnest upon the work of exploration, it was the X PREFACE. veteran mountaineer who was always sought to do service as guide. Profound and far-reaching was the influence of the fur trade upon the destiny of the Indian. If the traders brought with them corrupting vices and desolating disease, they also brought to the Indian his first lessons in the life that he was yet to lead. They mingled with his people, learned his language and customs, understood his character, and, when not impelled by business rivalry, treated him as a man and as a brother. The extensive intermarriage of the two races during a period of more than a century under the fur trade regime has probably done more than any other one thing toward the ultimate civilization of an almost un tamable race. It was only in these early years that the white man and the Indian truly understood each other. Very rarely has any Indian agent or army officer, however wide their experience, displayed that intimate acquaintance with the tribes and knowledge of the native character, that was possessed by the trader and trapper. Fortunate would it have been if this practical experience had been turned to proper account and if these trained men had oftener been employed by the government in transacting its business with the Indians. The cause of science has repeatedly acknowledged its in debtedness to the fur trade. Maximilian, Nuttall, Audu bon, Nicollet, Catlin, and many others enjoyed facilities for work in that wild country which would have been impos sible without the assistance of the trader. This was par ticularly true of those researches which related to the early life, customs, and tribal history of the Indians ; to the fauna and flora of the country ; and to the geography of a region which was terra incognita when the trader entered it. Finally the nation owes a debt of gratitude to those reso lute pioneers, who, single-handed and alone, stood their ground against their British rivals between the Great Lakes and the Rocky mountains. Their valiant bearing prevent ed in a large degree those international complications which preface. XI so often threatened the peace of the two countries along other portions of the frontier. The fur trade, therefore, had a real and potent influence upon the history of the West — an influence imperfectly understood as yet, but which will be more fully recognized as time goes on. It is the purpose of this work to promote an appreciation of its importance by presenting a history of The American Fur Trade of the Far West during the period of its principal operations in that extensive region. The subject has never yet been dealt with in a comprehen sive way, and many of its important transactions are as lit tle known as if they had not taken place. Writers of West ern history have, to a great extent, neglected these earlier events, giving their attention first to that which occurred last, and have thus left a goodly portion of the field worked over scarcely at all. Excepting a few important works deal ing with special features, the history of the American fur trade has never heretofore received any particular attention. In fixing upon a logical order of presenting the subject much embarrassment has been experienced on account of the heterogeneous character of the material to be dealt with. The events have been so diverse, and have borne so little re lation to each other, that the task of making a connected narrative has been well-nigh impossible. Irving, in his masterly treatment of certain enterprises of the American fur trade, has handled this difficulty in a way that leaves little to be desired. Along with the run of his story he con stantly introduces, without violence or apparent effort, de scriptions of scenery, fauna and flora, men and manners, anecdotes of personal adventure, sketches of prominent characters, comments and criticisms — and all in such har monious fashion that the lack of connection between the va rious parts would scarcely be noticed by the general reader. But in a work which attempts to give a comprehensive view of the entire field, this method did not seem admissible. It was considered essential to segregate cognate subjects as far as possible under separate heads so as to present at a Xll PREFACE. single view each phase of the general theme. The result has been a five-fold division of the work with smaller class ifications under each. Part I. treats of the business of the fur trade in its sev eral bearings and describes its characteristic features. The business was a peculiar one in many respects, and an under standing of its peculiarities is essential to an understanding of its history. Part II. is the narrative proper of the events of the fur trade and follows their order chronologically as far as is possible and preserve the continuity of distinct subjects. It comprises the bulk of the work and the principal results of its researches. Part III. is an account of those events which did not per tain directly to the fur trade, but which transpired in the country and at the time in which the fur trade was being carried on. Indirectly they were all connected with that business. Part IV. contains descriptions of a few of the more note worthy events and characters of the fur trade which stand out by themselves as interesting incidents apart from their particular bearing upon the course of the narrative. Part V. undertakes to give a general view of the covmtry in which the trans-Mississippi fur trade flourished, together with some notice of its fauna and flora and of its native inhabitants. Its purpose is solely to present a picture of the country as it appeared to the practical eye of the trader, and not at all to discuss it in exhaustive detail or from a technical standpoint. In strictly logical order this portion of the subject was entitled to precedence in the arrange ment of parts, but as it was in reality of secondary impor tance to the main purpose, it was placed last. It is hoped that this subordination of position may not divert from it the attention it deserves as an explanatory adjunct to the entire work. Particularly in the matter of geographical nomenclature and discovery it contains the results of much historical research. PREFACE. XUI Some of the rarer and more important original docu ments which have been used in preparing this work are presented in the Appendix. To the critical student, and even to the general reader, there will be much of genuine interest in these living pictures of a forgotten past. For the more complete elucidation of the subject a map of the trans-Mississippi country has been prepared showing it as it was in 1843. The preparation of this map has been a greater labor than its lines and letters, skilfully as these are made, might lead one to suppose, and upon many points it will give a better idea than can be had from unaided written description. The drawing was executed by Mr. Paul Burgoldt of St. Louis, Mo., one of the ablest artists in this kind of work that the country affords. In assembling the data for this work more than ordinary difficulties have been encountered. No general authorities were available. Except in two instances the transactions of the Western fur trade did not fall within the purview of the public press, and the scattering references in eastern peri odicals are seldom of much value. The era of government exploration not having yet set in there are very few official reports that deal directly with the subject. A large amount of information is scattered through the many narratives of adventure which appeared at this time, but these works, un fortunately for the present purpose, were mostly written to make good stories, and abound in exaggerations at the expense of accurate data. They are a perilous resource to the historian. Finally what may be called original data, consisting of unpublished documents of every description and oral testimony by those who have some personal knowl edge of these early events, are scattered as widely as are the posterity of those who helped make the history of the fur trade. The use of the data brought together from these scat tered and dissimilar sources has been scarcely less embar rassing than the process of their collection. It has been necessary to cull from a multitude of authorities — here a XIV PREFACE. little and there a little — checking one against another until a correct result could be arrived at. Despite the great pains taken in this sifting process, no one is more conscious than the author that only a moderate degree of success has been attained. The wholly unexpected places in which material of the highest value has been found, forcibly sug gest that a great deal more may have been overlooked. In truth, there is scattered throughout the country, in every variety of hiding-place, documents of true historic value which might become public knowledge did their owners but realize their worth. Evidence has constantly presented itself of the existence of valuable journals kept by those who were once prominent in the far-west country, but where they are now it is impossible to say. Every little while an interesting letter or other document falls under the eye of some one who understands its worth and is brought to public knowledge. This process will doubtless continue for many years to come. But if it must be admitted that much has escaped discovery in these researches, it is believed that the essential facts relating to all the events herein described have been determined. Of the many published works consulted, those of Wash ington Irving and Josiah Gregg are the most important, for they handle in a thoroughly comprehensive and accurate way the special subjects of which they treat. Astoria, Cap tain Bonneville, and the Commerce of the Prairies will never be surpassed in their particular fields. Maximilian Prince of Wied is the most reliable published authority upon the early history of the American Fur Com pany on the upper Missouri. The extensive library of Americana belonging to the Hon. Peter Koch of Bozeman, Montana, himself a discriminating student of early Western history, possesses the very unusual treasure of a copy of Maximilian's book. The loan of this work during several months made it possible to draw from the distinguished au thor much information, which, in an ordinary perusal, would have been overlooked. PREFACE. XV Captains Lewis and Clark, the first official explorers of the Missouri and Columbia valleys; Lieutenant Pike, the pioneer explorer of the southwest; David Thompson and Alexander Henry the younger, who crossed the continent in 1813 in the service of the Northwest Fur Company; Charles Larpenteur, "Forty years a Fur Trader on the upper Mis souri," and Francisco Garces, a Spanish pioneer of the Col orado valley, left journals which have recently had the good fortune to be published, either in original or new edi tions, under the editorship of the late Dr. Elliott Coues, who gave to this work the ten years of his life immediately preceding his untimely death. The intrinsic value of these journals in themselves is scarcely greater than that of the copious editorial commentary which accompanies them. Both have been freely used in this work, while equally im portant has been the direct assistance received from Dr. Coues in the course of a long and interesting correspond ence. Mrs. Frances Fuller Victor, the historian of Oregon and Washington, has woven around the biography of the trapper Joseph Meek a very complete account of the desul tory operations of the mountain traders between 1830 and 1840. Her contributions to Bancroft's history of the West ern states likewise contain a great deal relating to the fur trade. The extensive fund of information collected through a lifetime devoted to these studies has been freely tendered through the medium of correspondence for use in the pres ent work. Father P. J. De Smet, the distinguished Jesuit missionary, holds an eminent place as an authority upon the pioneer his tory of the Rocky mountain region. The correspondence relating to his travels was extensive and most of it has been published. It is a rich treasure house of facts relat ing to those early times. The writings of travelers who visited these remote re gions and published narratives of their experiences, or left journals which have since been edited by other hands, are xvi PREFACE. the next most important reliance. Bradbury and Bracken- ridge are the standard authorities upon the first part of the overland Astorian expedition and upon contemporary events along the Missouri river. Franchere, Cox, Ross, and Henry all wrote of the transactions of the Pacific Fur Company during its short career upon the Columbia. Ze nas Leonard, W. A. Ferris, Thomas Nuttall, J. K. Town- send, Thomas J. Farnham, F. A. Wislizenus, Audubon the naturalist, Nathaniel J. Wyeth, John B. Wyeth, Jacob Fowler, and the Reverend Samuel Parker are among those writers who have done most to preserve the history of this early period. There are other publications which deal with the same subjects but in a less careful way, being narratives of per sonal adventure in which a thrilling recital was the principal object in view. Among the better works of this class may be mentioned Scenes in the Rocky Mountains by Rufus Sage, and Scenes and Adventures in the United States Army by P- St. G. Cooke. The romance by Frederick Rux- ton. Life in the Far West, is a useful work, as is also the extravagant autobiography of James P. Beckwourth. Coy- ner's Lost Trappers is an example of a vicious method of writing occasionally indulged in by these early authors who manufactured their narratives out of whole cloth and adver tised them to the public as truthful history. There is much relating to the fur trade scattered through government publications, though not as a general thing eas ily accessible. A few official reports have fortunately been rescued from " public document " oblivion through the la bors of private editors. Lewis and Clark, Pike and Long can now be found in any good library, but it is only in the more elaborate collections that the reports of Nicollet and others of equal value may be seen. The earlier government publications, such as the American State Papers, are to be found in only the very best libraries. They are rich in material pertaining to early military and Indian problems ; but like the hidden ore of the mountains it is to be had only PREFACE. xvu by patient and laborious mining. Seldom indeed has the government scattered its wealth of information in surface deposits where it can be had by mere superficial digging. The historical societies of Wisconsin, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, and Montana have pub lished much relating to the history of the fur trade; and have collected many documents bearing upon its various features. In most instances this material has been gratu itously tendered for use in connection with these researches. Such are the principal sources of information herein relied upon which can be found in the more complete libraries. Convenient access to most of them has been afforded by the Mercantile Library of St. Louis, through the courtesy of its librarian, Mr. Horace Kephart. The admirable collec tion of works pertaining to trans-Mississippi history which this library contains has been constantly at the author's serv ice throughout these studies. But for the facilities thus afforded he would have found his task well-nigh impossible. Important as have been the data derived from the fore going sources, the main dependence has been upon original documents many of which are here brought to public at tention for the first time. Among these may be included the early Missouri newspapers of St. Louis and Franklin. Although, strictly speaking, these papers should be classed as published authorities, they are not so in the sense of those just enumerated. They are practically inaccessible to the general public, for only a single complete file of each is still in existence. The Missouri Gazette was the first newspaper published west of the Mississippi river. It began its career May I2, 1808. The title was changed to Louisiana Gazette Decem ber 7, 1809, and back to Missouri Gazette July 18, 1812. On March 20, 1822, the name was changed to Missouri Republican. This paper was the progenitor of the modern St. Louis Republic, and a nearly complete file is still pre served in the vaults of the Republic office. Through the indulgence of the proprietors of this journal the entire file xviii PREFACE. down to 1850 has been examined in connection with this work. It abounds in valuable data and is the sole existing authority upon many obscure points. There were other St. Louis newspapers during much of the fur trade era, but they have not been so carefully preserved and are of less value than the old Gazette. The Missouri Intelligencer and Boones Lick Advertiser began its career in the little town of Franklin which stood (until the Missouri claimed it) on the opposite bank from the modern city of Boonville, Missouri, two hundred miles above the mouth of the river. It was for years the western most newspaper in the United States, and being directly on the route of travel to the West, it contained many valuable references to the early expeditions. These references are particularly important in the case of the Santa Fe trade which had its origin in Franklin. The files of this paper have been examined through the courtesy of Mr. Irvin Switzler of Columbia, Missouri, their present custodian, and by the assistance of Professor Garland C. Broadhead, late State Geologist of Missouri. Niles Register, which is so valuable a mine of historic data, borrows most of its items pertaining to the trans- Mississippi territory during this period from the St. Louis and Franklin papers. By far the most important collection of original data that has been consulted is the mass of documents relating to the Missouri and American Fur Companies, now in the possession of Mr. Pierre Chouteau of St. Louis, grandson of the distinguished fur merchant, the late Pierre Chouteau. These documents comprise correspondence, journals, rec ords of business accounts and other papers, some of them dating back into the eighteenth century. Many of them are in the French language and a few in the Spanish. Those per taining to the later years of the trade are nearly all in Eng lish. There are occasionally gaps and omissions and many documents have evidently been lost, or their present where abouts are unknown; but enough are still in existence to PREFACE. XlX settle most of the doubtful points upon the operations of the St. Louis traders. Mr. Pierre Chouteau has afforded every facility for examining these papers, and the enormous labor of going through them, musty and dusty with fifty to a hundred years of St. Louis atmosphere, has been patiently performed. To the kindness of Mr. Chouteau and of his father, the late C. P. Chouteau, whatever merit there may be in result of these researches is largely due. Mr. M. L. Gray of St. Louis, administrator of the Sub lette estate, has come into possession of much of the Ash ley-Sublette-Campbell-Smith correspondence. Though lim ited in scope, these papers are the sole existing authority upon many points connected with the history of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company. Mr. Gray has generously author ized such use of them as was desired. Mrs. William Mulkey of Kansas City, Missouri, daugh ter of the fur trader Andrew Drips, possesses much of the early correspondence of her distinguished father. That por tion which relates to the special work of Major Drips as In dian agent for the tribes of the upper Missouri from 1842 to 1846 contains exhaustive data upon the history of that period. Under the painstaking direction of Mr. William Seev^r, late secretary of the Missouri Historical Society of St. Louis, many original documents have been collected, and these likewise have been carefully examined. The more impor tant are the journal of the Atkinson-O'Fallon expedition of 1825, and several unpublished essays upon early frontier history by William Waldo and others. The late Captain Joseph La Barge, the most noted pilot of the Missouri river, whose experience upon that stream dated from 1832 and extended to the collapse of the steamboat business, and whose memory retained its power to a remark able degree even in old age, was an eye witness of some of the events herein related and was personally acquainted with most of the actors. His oral testimony has been freely used throughout this work. There is in the possession of xx PREFACE. the La Barge family in St. Louis an old log book of the American Fur Company containing the record of the annual steamboat voyages up the Missouri for most of the decade from 1840 to 1850. This venerable record has been very useful in checking dates, events, and places. The old legal papers in the Recorder's office in St. Louis contain much information bearing upon the transactions of the traders. Through the accidents of fortune to which carelessness, if nothing worse, has more than once subjected the most valuable documents, the old records of the United States Indian Superintendency of St. Louis, for the tribes residing west of the Mississippi, were thrown away and would have been lost but for the diligence of a second-hand book dealer who thought them worth preserving. Some of these rec ords were purchased by the Kansas Historical Society and are now preserved in the State Capitol at Topeka, where an opportunity was had of examining them. They are full of interesting data concerning the fur trade era down to 1830. The American Fur Company letter books, open for in spection to visitors at the John Jacob Astor Hotel on Mack inaw Island, Michigan, contain practically the only reliable data upon the earlier operations of the company. Captain Edwin L. Berthoud of Golden, Colorado, a care ful student of the pioneer history of the West, improved the exceptional opportunities afforded him as engineer on the early Union Pacific surveys to collect much valuable in formation relating to events and characters of the fur trade. This information has been freely drawn upon throughout the present investigation. Of the many other sources of information whose im portance is only less than that of those already enumerated it would be impossible to make individual mention within the compass of these pages, but the author's debt to them is none the less gratefully acknowledged. CONTENTS OF VOLUME I. PAQB Preface by the Author . vii-xx PART I. THE FUR TRADE. CHAPTER I. Character of the Business . . . i-8 CHAPTER II. Relations With the Indians . . . 9-16 CHAPTER III. Evil Effects of Competition . . . 17-21 CHAPTER IV. The Liquor Traffic 22-31 CHAPTER V. Characteristic Features of the Fur Trade . '32-43 CHAPTER VI. Trading Posts . . .... 44-50 CHAPTER VII. The Trapping Fraternity .... 51-64 CHAPTER VIII. Life in the Wilderness ....... 65-70 xxn contents. PART II. HISTORICAL. CHAPTER I. PAOE Louisiana . .... 71-82 CHAPTER II. Rise of the American Fur Trade 83-96 CHAPTER III. St Louis . 97-112 CHAPTER IV. Expeditions of 1807 . 113-124 CHAPTER V. The Missouri Fur Company. — Manuel Lisa, its Founder 125-136 CHAPTER VI. The Missouri Fur Company. — Sketch of its Varied Career 137-158 CHAPTER VII. CuooKS AND McLellan 159-162 CHAPTER VIII. Astoria. — Origin and Scope of the Project 163-170 CHAPTER IX. A-.toria. — The Expedition by Sea 171-181 CHAPTER X. Astoria. — The Overland Expedition — West 182-199 CHAPTER XI. Astoria. — Beginnings on the Columbia and the Overland Expedition — East . . . 200-214 CONTENTS. XXlli CHAPTER XII. FAOB Astoria. — The Course of Events on the Columbia 215-226 CHAPTER XIII. Astoria. — Review of the Enterprise 227-238 CHAPTER XIV. Astoria. — Its Author and the " Sources of His Inspira tion " 239-246 CHAPTER XV. The Rocky Mountain Fur Company. — Ashley and His Men 247-261 CHAPTER XVI. The Rocky Mountain Fur Company. — Under William H. Ashley 262-281 CHAPTER XVII. The Rocky Mountain Fur Company. — Adventures of Jede diah S. Smith . 282-287 CHAPTER XVIII. The Rocky Mountain Fur Company. — Its Later History 288-308 CHAPTER XIX. The American Fur Company. — Establishment of the Western Department 309-320 CHAPTER XX. The American Fur Company. — The Upper Missouri Outfit 321-343 CHAPTER XXI. The American Fur Company. — Stress of Competition- . 344-362 CHAPTER XXII. The American Fur Company. — 1834-1843 363-374 xxiv CONTENTS. CHAPTER XXIII. PAOB The American Fur Company. — Methods and Men . 375-395 CHAPTER XXIV. Captain Bonneville 396-433 CHAPTER XXV. Nathaniel J. Wyeth . . . 434-456 CHAPTER XXVI. The Oregon Trail . . ... 457-482 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. VOL. I. Fort Union in 1833 . . . Frontispiece Ground Plan of a Trading Post . Facing page 45 Signatures to Contract for Return of Mandan Chief " " 139 Facsimile of Smith, Jackson and Sublette's Articles of Agreement . . « « ^go The Astor Medal " " 343 Independence Rock .... , " " 471 THE AMERICAN FUR TRADE OF THE FAR WEST. PART I. THE FUR TRADE. CHAPTER I. CHARACTER OF THE BUSINESS. Importance of the fur trade — Era of the fur trade — St. Louis — Communication with New York — Furs and peltries — Methods of se curing furs — Fur trade merchandise — Profits of the trade — Magni tude of the business — Number of persons employed — Losses of life and property. •irT is not an easy thing, at this period in American history, " to appreciate how great a place in the affairs of former times the fur trade occupied. The trade has not by any means become extinct, nor, perhaps, greatly diminished in volume, if at all, as one may readily see by examining the statistics of sales in the leading markets of the world today. It is only in a relative sense that it has become less important. While it has remained stationary, other lines of trade have expanded many fold, until now it is almost lost sight of in the vast current of the world's affairs. Yet it is not long since it was a leading branch of commerce in the western world, nor more than sixty years since it was almost the only business transacted in the immense territory west of the Mississippi. 2 SAINT LOUIS. The fur trade of the Missouri valley began early in the eighteenth century, but it did not assume large proportions until after the cession of Louisiana to the United States and the exploring expeditions of Lewis and Clark and Pike. Its career thereafter continued practically unchecked until the tide of Western emigration set in, about 1843. The true period of the trans-Mississippi fur trade therefore embraces the thirty-seven years from 1807 to 1843. In this trade the city of St. Louis was the principal, if not the only, emporium. It is true that the headquarters of the American Fur Company and of some other fur-trading concerns were in New York, but even in these cases the actual base from which all operations in the Western country were carried on was the city at the mouth of the Missouri. All parties were organized and all outfits were made up there. The returns of the trade en route to market all passed that way. Most of the traders resided there, and all non-resident firms maintained houses there. Great estab lishments arose for the convenience of the trade, while the port of St. Louis became a center of commerce almost as widespread as that of New York itself. In the earlier years communication with New York and other seaboard towns took place principally by way of the Ohio river or the Great Lakes. In the latter case the route was sometimes by way of the Illinois river to Lake Michi gan, thence either by water or across the country to Detroit, thence to Black Rock near Buffalo, and thence overland to New York ; at other times it was by way of the Mississippi, the Fox and Wisconsin rivers to Lake Michigan, and the rest of the way by the route just described. In later years, after the use of steamboats became general, commerce usually passed by way of New Orleans. The business of the fur trade, as the name implies, was mainly a traffic in furs and peltries. There were the fine furs obtained from the beaver, otter, mink, fox, and other animals, and the coarser products such as buffalo robes, bear and deer skins, which were not used as furs so much as for METHODS OF PROCURING FURS. 3 lap robes, heavy coats, and the like. Besides the furs and peltries there were regularly brought to St. Louis cargoes of buffalo tongues, buffalo and bear's tallow, and limited quantities of other products. The trade from the south west, particularly from Santa Fe, dealt more largely in horses, mules, and specie. There were several methods of procuring furs. The one most generally resorted to, and which on the whole yielded the largest results, was by traffic with the Indians. The first thought of the trader on going to a tribe of Indians was to supply himself with those articles which he knew had an attraction for the native fancy, to a large extent things of trifling value, but of showy appearance. The white man valued the native furs altogether beyond what the Indian was able to comprehend, and the latter was only too happy to find that he could trade them for that gaudy and glittering wealth which had been brought from a great distance to his country. Thus, in the early intercourse of the white man with the Indian, each gave to the other some thing that he valued lightly, and received in return some thing that he valued highly, and each felt a keen contempt for the stupid taste of the other. The trade, thus begun by imposition on the one side and ignorance on the other, devel oped, upon more thorough acquaintance, into a regular system. All the fur companies regularly employed hunters and trappers who killed buffalo and caught beaver and gathered such other furs as came in their way. These men worked at fixed wages, and the product of their labor belonged to the company. No goods were brought into the country for furs taken in this way, except in payment of the men's wages, which were generally absorbed as fast as earned in new outfits and in liquor or feasting. A third source from which the products of the country were obtained was the free hunter and trapper. These men worked on their own account, being bound to no company, and generally sold the product of their labor at some regu- 4 FUR TRADE MERCHANDISE. lar trading post or rendezvous, although they occasionally went to St. Louis with it themselves. A large portion of the payment for their furs, if sold in the interior, was in the form of articles required for new outfits, and for tobacco and liquor. The free trappers worked only in the finer kinds of fur. It thus appears that, from whatever source the trader ob tained his furs, he generally paid for them in merchandise carried into the country. This merchandise comprised such articles as were used in traffic with the Indians and for the equipments of trappers and hunters, the more necessary articles of food which could not be obtained from the country, and finally plenty of liquor and tobacco. To con vey a clear idea of the variety of articles in a trading equip ment, as well as the prices at which they were rated in the mountains, an extract is given in the accompanying footnote from the bill of sale by which General William H. Ashley transferred his outfit to the firm of Smith, Jackson and Sub lette, near Great Salt Lake, July i8, 1826.^ ^ The invoice included "gunpowder of the first and second quality at one dollar fifty per pound, lead one dollar per pound, shot one dollar twenty-five cents per pound, three point blankets at nine dollars each, green ditto at eleven dollars each, scarlet cloth at six dollars per yard, blue ditto common quality from four to five dollars per yard, butcher knives at seventy-five cents each, two and a half point blankets at seven dollars each. North West fuzils at twenty-four dollars each, tin kettles diff^erent sizes at two dollars per pound, sheet iron kettles at two dollars twenty-five cents per pound, square axes at two dollars fifty cents each, beaver traps at nine dollars each, sugar at one dollar per pound, coiifee at one dollar and twenty-five cents a pound, raisins at one dollar fifty cents per pound, grey cloth of common quality at five dollars per yard, flannel common quality at one dollar fifty cents per yard, calicoes assorted at one dollar per yard, domestic cotton at one dollar twenty-five cents per yard, thread assorted at three dollars per pound, worsted binding at fifteen dollars per gross, finger rings at five dollars per gross, beads assorted at two dollars fifty cents per pound, vermilion at three dollars per pound, files assorted at two dollars fifty cents per pound, fourth proof rum reduced at thirteen dollars fifty cents per gallon, bridles assorted at seven dollars each, spurs at two dollars per pair, horse shoes and nails at two dollars per pound, tin pans PRICES IN THE MOUNTAINS. 5 A large proportion of the merchandise of certain classes was imported from Europe, for at this early day American manufactures, in blankets and cloths particularly, were so inferior that the Indians did not want them, having learned through the British traders what a really good article was. It thus happened that while the furs found their principal market in Europe, the merchandise for which they were traded was mostly manufactured there. It would be inter esting to trace an invoice of fur-trade merchandise from the manufactories of Europe in those early days to New York, New Orleans, St. Louis, and thence to the remote and ob scure trading posts in the heart of the wilderness ; and there, where the innocent beaver falls a victim to the wily trapper, to witness the exchange of these goods for his rich coat of fur, and to follow the latter back through St. Louis, New York, and London, to its final destination in the comfort able garments of the aristocracy of Europe. The complete round occupied fully four years. Could we know the price of the merchandise as it left the factory and its equivalent in fur as sold in the completed garment, the increase would be found to be several hundred per cent. This did not, of course, all represent profit. The insurance by sea, the losses by river and land, particularly in the Indian country, and the services of the many hands through which both the mer chandise and the furs had to pass, account to some extent for the increase; but there was still a heavy increment that represented the profits of the trader. That these profits assorted at two dollars per pound, handkerchiefs assorted at one dollar fifty cents each, ribbons assorted at three dollars per bolt, buttons at five dollars per gross, looking glasses at fifty cents each, flints at fifty cents per dozen, mockasin awls at twenty-five cents per dozen, tobacco at one dollar twenty-five cents per pound, copper kettles at three dollars per pound, iron buckles assorted at two dollars fifty cents per pound, fire steels at two dollars per pound, dried fruit at one dollar and fifty cents per pound, washing soap at one dollar twenty-five cents per pound, shaving soap at two dollars per pound, first quality James river tobacco at one dollar seventy-five cents per pound, steel bracelets at one dollar fifty cents per pair, large brass wire at two dollars per pound. " 6 PROFITS IN THE FUR TRADE. were enormous is sufficiently attested by the immense for tunes which were made in the fur trade. In the matter of profits and losses, as well as in that of volume of business, there are numerous early authorities. Nathaniel J. Wyeth, a close observer, though rather too opti mistic, has left on record an estimate of what a well-man aged hunting expedition, in the best days of the fur trade, might reasonably be expected to accomplish. ^ According to this estimate the cost of an invoice of merchandise at the Teton mountains, or in that vicinity, was about four hun dred per cent of its first cost in the eastern market. This increase was taken up by the expenses of interest, insurance, wagons, provisions for food until the buffalo country was reached, horses and mules, pack and riding saddles, blankets, pack covers, halters, bridles, horse shoeing, and other ex penses incidental to the transportation of the goods across the plains. If the furs were obtained through hired trap pers, the wages were paid in goods at an advance of about six hundred per cent upon their cost in the mountains. The wages of a hunter being counted at four hundred dollars per year and of common men who did the work of camp at two hundred, a party of twenty hunters and ten camp keepers, with their necessary horses (which " cost about $4 in goods prime cost in Boston or New York") could be kept in the field for one year for not to exceed two thousand dollars. With average success each hunter would take one hundred and twenty beaver skins in this time, the value of which, in Boston or New York, was about one thousand dollars. With due allowance for the cost of the return journey, the outlay of two thousand dollars would net in the neighborhood of fifteen thousand dollars. " This, as you will perceive, will leave a large profit, " is the logical deduction by the author of this simple calculation. Of course such successful enterprises were of rare occurrence, for there were many sources of loss in these perilous expedi tions, but there are nevertheless authenticated instances of * Sources of the History of Oregon, pp. 66 and 75. MAGNITUDE OF THE TRADE. 7 very high profits. In 1827 the house of Bernard Pratte and Company joined wit ¦ General Ashley in equipping an expe dition for the mountains. The whole enterprise lasted only about six months and netted the company seventy per cent profit on their investment. In the Santa Fe trade forty per cent was a high profit, while the average was between fifteen and twenty per cent. In regard to the magnitude of the trade it is difficult to give definite figures; but the following table of statistics compiled about 1832 by Indian Agent John Dougherty, em bracing the fifteen years from 181 5 to 1830, gives a fair idea, not only of the extent of the trade, but of the wages paid, the prices of furs, and the profits realized, during this period. ^ expenditures. 20 clerks, 15 years, @ $500 per year $ 150,000 200 men, 15 years, @ $150 per year 450,000 Merchandise 1,500,000 returns. 26,000 buffalo skins per yr. for 15 yrs. @ $3 each. .$1,170,000 25,000 beaver skins per yr. for 15 yrs. @ $4 each. . 1,500,000 4,000 otter skins per yr. for 15 yrs. @ $3 each 180,000 I2,0C0 coon skins per yr. for 15 yrs. @ 25c. each. . 45,000 150,000 lbs. deer skins per yr. for 15 yrs. @ 33c. per lb 742,500 37,500 muskrat skins per yr. for 15 yrs. @ 20c. each. 112,500 Total $3,750,000 Total profit $1,650,000 Average annual expenditure $ 140,000 Average annual returns 250,000 Average annual profit 110,000 At an anniversary celebration of the founding of St. ' The actual number of persons engaged in the fur trade, either as traders or employers, it is impossible to determine with accuracy ; but it was not large. Including those who traded to Santa Fe, it is not probable that the number ever exceeded one thousand, while the aver age was nearer half that number. Judged by the volume of business alone the fur trade was of relatively insignificant proportions ; but its importance and historic interest depend upon other and quite different considerations. b LOSSES OF LIFE AND PROPERTY. Louis, held on the 15th of February, 1847, it was stated that the annual value of the St. Louis fur trade for the past forty years had been between two and three hundred thousand dollars; and this may be taken as a fair estimate for the period covered by our present studies. The losses incident to the business of the fur trade were, in the very nature of things, large. They arose almost entirely from encounters with hostile Indians and involved both life and property. The danger of losing horses was an ever present peril, for even friendly Indians had no compunc tions about stealing these animals. Reliable statistics cov ering the period from 1820 to 1831 give the losses of life from the Indians at one hundred and fifty-one and the loss of property at a hundred thousand dollars. It is probable that, for the entire period from 1806 to 1843, these figures should be doubled. * Such is a general view of the American fur trade as con ducted from St. Louis during the first half of the nineteenth century. Its more important special features, such as its relation to the Indians, the traffic in liquor, the evils of com petition among the traders, the class of men engaged in the business, and the kind of life which it developed, will be separately considered. " According to Andrew Drips there died at the hands of the Indians in the year 1844 thirteen employes of the licensed traders and nine free trappers. CHAPTER II. RELATIONS WITH THE INDIANS. Importance of the Indian to the fur trade — Relation of the trader and the Indian — Policy of the government toward the Indian — The factory system — Mistake of the government — Downfall of the system. '^ HE most important single factor in the business of the ^* fur trade was the presence of the Indian in the coun try where that trade was carried on. It controlled the whole system of conducting the business. To a considerable ex tent the Indians were themselves the producers : that is, they trapped the beaver and hunted the buffalo, whose skins they exchanged for whatever the white men brought into their country. Even when the companies did their own trapping it was necessary to take account of the Indian, for he did not always approve of the invasion of his country by the paleface, and often resisted it by force. The hunting and trapping parties had therefore to be ever on the alert lest they fall victims to a crafty and savage foe. Had there been no native inhabitants in the country the conduct of the fur trade would have been radically different. All the furs would have been taken directly by the hunters and trappers. There would have been but few permanent posts instead of the many that were required to accommo date the various tribes. No merchandise would have been carried into the interior to exchange for furs, for there would have been no one to exchange it with. The innum erable tragedies of the plains, in which so many brave men lost their lives, would not have taken place. It is indeed difficult to estimate the degree to which the fur trade was controlled by the Indian, while its far-reaching counter- IO RELATION OF INDIAN AND TRADER. influence upon the tribes cannot, at this remote time, be ade quately realized. The relation of the trader to the Indian was the most natural and congenial of any which the two races have ever sustained toward each other. Properly conducted, it fitted perfectly with the Indian's previous mode of life, really pro moted his happiness, and gave him no cause for complaint. It enabled him to pursue his natural occupation of hunting, while it introduced just enough of the civilized customs of exchange to furnish him with those simpler articles which directly promoted the comfort of his daily life. The Indian likewise fitted in perfectly with the white man's purposes of trade. It was better that the native occupant of the soil, so far as practicable, should garner its resources and bring them in for exchange, than that the white hunters should scatter themselves in lawless bands over the country for this purpose. By far the larger part of the fur was taken by the Indians and came into the possession of the traders only by exchange, and it was in this traiific that the white man first made his acquaintance with the tribes. From this starting point the two races came gradually into closer contact until finally the Indian became dependent upon his white brother, relinquishing little by little his former method of life, acquir ing new wants, becoming corrupted by new vices, and drift ing insensibly into that intricate relationship with the United States government which is known in our history as the Indian Question. It would be alike idle and unjust at this period of our na tional history to arraign the methods of the government in its dealings with the Indians — idle because the past is behind us ; unjust because, whatever its failures, the pur poses of the government towards the native races within its domain have ever been those of paternal benevolence. A fundamental misconception of the nature of the Indian prob lem underlies the common assumption that a very different result might and ought to have ensued, and that the policy of our government in its treatment of the Indian has been THE GOVERNMENT AND THE INDIANS. II actuated by motives unworthy of an enlightened people. It ignores the operation of that evolutionary process by which a weaker race disappears before a superior in spite of all that laws or military force can do to prevent. That the aborig inal tribes were doomed to complete displacement on the soil of their nativity after once the European races had discov- ^'^'^ ¦M.Cu