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Show THE BULLETIN The founding of the Missouri Anniversaries During 1939 Recall The Fame of the Chouteau Family Fur company, which marked the real beginning of the Chouteau family in the epic of the fur trade, was the direct result of a trip made up the Missouri river First of Line, Born 190 Yean Ago, Helped Found the City of St. Louis; Another, Born 150 Years Ago, Was Head of .the Company, Organized 100 Years Ago, Which Played an Important Part in Making St. Louis the "Fur Capital of the World." e Western Newspaper Union. , Chouteau's Trading Station Near Kansas City (A part of the sculptural frieie on Kansas City's new city hall). the American Fur company. By ELMO SCOTT WATSON A MONG the anniversaries to be celebrated during 1939 are Z several connected with the famous family of Chouteaus. 1 V. In fact, there are so many of them and so important was this family in the history of the West that it might not be amiss In this year was organ-- , ized a new company under the firm name of P. Chouteau, Jr. & Co., and it became the greatest 1839 end- ing in 9" seem to have been constantly recurring dates in the history of this family. Arranged chronologically, here are some of those dates: 1749 In September of this year there was born to M. Rene Au-gus- te Chouteau and his wife Mme. Marie Therese Chouteau in the French city of New Orleans, a son to whom was given his father's name, Rene Auguste Chouteau. Rene Auguste Chouteau Sr. is said to have been cruel to his wife, whom he had married when she was only fifteen years old. So they separated. Living in New Orleans at that time was a merchant named Pierre Laclede Liguest who fell in love with Marie Therese Chouteau. Historians disagree as to succeeding events. Some say that she simply went to live with Liguest (or Laclede, as everyone knew him and as he was later to be known to history), while others insist that there was some sort of civil marriage, despite the fact that M. Rene Auguste Chouteau was still living. At any rate she bore Pierre Laclede four children, all of whom took the name of Chouteau. One of them, born in 1758, was given his father's name, Pierre. In 1763 the French governor of Louisiana granted to Laclede and five associates the exclusive right of trading, for eight years, with all the Indians in the vast Missouri river valley and authorized him to build trading posts in that region. Laclede organized a fleet of keelboats and flatboats which he loaded with supplies and in August of that year started up the Mississippi with a force of about 30 men and boys, two of whom were his stepson, Auguste Chouteau, who appears to have been Laclede's chief lieutenant, and his son, Pierre Chouteau. In December they reached the French village of St. Genevieve where they expected to spend the winter. But being unable to find there a house large enough to shelter his supplies, Laclede was glad to accept the offer of the commandant at Fort de Chartres to store his goods there. A little later he took Auguste Chouteau with him and set out in a canoe upriver. They went as far north as the mouth of the Missouri river, then drifted down the "Father of Waters" 17 miles until they reached a high wooded region rising from a limestone bluff. "This is the place, Auguste," said Laclede. And thus St. Louis was founded. 1789 On January 19 of this year was born in St. Louis, Pierre Chouteau, son of Pierre Laclede Chouteau. At the age of fifteen he became a clerk for his father and uncle in their operations which resulted in the organization of the Missouri Fur company in 1808. Associated with him in this company were his four brothers, Augustus P. Chouteau, thirty-eight-year-o- ld fur-tradi- company in American history. Under its banner the Chouteaus extended their operations as far south as the Cross Timbers of Texas, as far north as the Falls of St. Anthony in Minnesota and as far west as the Blackfeet country in Montana. They also engaged in trade over the historic Santa Fe Trail. 1849 On October 10 of this year there died in St. Louis Pierre Laclede Chouteau, "whose influence, covering a forty-yeperiod, practically controlled the destiny of the Osage nation, in trade, policy, and dealings with the government." But if Pierre Chouteau, Sr. was a powerful force in an Indian nation, he left a son to carry on his work who was an even greater force in the American nation. For Pierre Chouteau, Jr., became the best business man of the entire dynasty. For 50 years he was an economic power, keeping abreast of the rapidly changing times to hold his place. It was he who foresaw the importance of steam to navigation and transportation on the Missouri. Pierre served as a member of the Missouri state constitutional convention in 1820. His business operations were extensive and ' foreseeing. He foresaw the doom of the steamboat and the increas-ar old Missouri Fur company then became interested in the American and were given favored positions in the new firm. Pierre Chouteau, Jr. and his brother, Francis, traveled throughout the present states of Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska, establishing trading posts and acquiring the business of local independent traders. They established trading posts along the Osage river and on the Mississippi from Keokuk to St. Paul. Among the posts which they established was one on the Kaw (then known as the Kansas) river about 20 miles from its mouth, which was selected to be the seat of a general agency for the company. Pierre Chouteau's original hut, built in 1821 about three miles below the present site of Kansas City, was washed away by a flood in 1826 and he rebuilt on higher ground in what is now known as Guinotte's addition to Kansas City. This marked the beginning of Kansas City as a center, a role which, incidentally, it maintains to this fur-tradi- day. In 1827 Frederick Chouteau established a trading post in what is now Douglas county, Kan., and three years later moved it to the present site of Valencia on Mission Creek. Although part Osage, Frederick Chouteau lived much of his life among the Kaw Indians. His brother, Cyprian, married Nancy Francis, daughter of John Francis, hereditary chief of the Shaw-ne- es and lived with that tribe. It was through such intimate relations as these that the Chouteau brothers established themselves solidly with the Indians and profited thereby in their trading operations. 1829 On February 24 of this yedr died Auguste Chouteau, the pioneer, in the city which he as a lad of fourteen, had helped found. He had also founded a "dynasty of fur," for by this time the Chouteaus were becoming the dominant force in the fur trade of the West. They became ever stronger in 1834 when Pierre, Jr. and his associates purchased John Jacob As tor's interests in ing importance of the railroads. He was one of the original incorporators of the Missouri Pacific railroad in 1849 and also of the Ohio & Mississippi railroad in 1851. In addition to his varied business interests he was a patron of the arts, sciences and literature. These interests at frequent intervals took him away from St. Louis to eastern cities, to Eng- land and to the Continent. He lived for many years in New York city but at the end he came back to his native city of St. Louis. There he died on September 8, 1865. With his death, the greatness of the Chouteaus began to decline. Descendants of the Chouteau family are still numerous in the United States. But none of them is as outstanding as old Auguste or Pierre Laclede or Pierre, Jr. But their fame is secure. The Chouteaus built towns, erected forts and developed new systems of transportation, amassing large fortunes for themselves while serving their government in pushing back the frontier and maintaining peaceful relations with the Indians. They were sharp diplomats, using the arts of diplomacy on red man and white alike. They imprinted their name indelibly upon the history of the West. They were Empire Builders. to The Sewing Circle, Needlecraft Dept., 82 Eighth Ave., New York, N. Y. Please write your name, ad dress and pattern number plainly. The. Penguin Penvuins are nerhans the most unusual members of the bird king dom. Their home is the frozen wastes of the south Polar seas. They have wings, but cannot fly. Their short, chubby legs are so far back that, on land, they walk upright, appearing use stout lmie men in evening dress. The female lays a single egg, and the birds spend most of their lives afloat, feeding on fish and Pattern 1849. mollusks. Their wines, useless in Use up those odd moments the air, serve as flippers in the crocheting this square that you'll water, and they are marvelous know by heart in no time. Six swimmers. Washington Post inches in string, an excellent size for cloths and spreads, it also lends itself effectively to many small accessories in finer cotton. Pattern 1849 contains directions Don't Aggravate Gas Bloating Uncle Pkii Go Straight to Go Round You've got to keep to the straight path if you wish to travel in the best circles Among the things that die H your GAS BLOATING b sauted by aoutipatica don't ezpaot to get t ho relief Ton aaek by juet doetorinc your atooaen. What c la ina Adlarika. Thia remedy ia BOTH Carmine tirae aarminaiiva and nthartia. that warm and eootaa tea atomaea ana anal GAS. Cathartic! that act quickly and feoUj, akaaring tha boweb of waetee that may hare aaueedGAS BLOATING, beadaehae, anur atomach and narra preeaura for moo tha. Adlerika doaa sot gnpe ia not habit forming. Adlarika acta on the itomach and BOTH bowab. It rcliarw STOMACH GAS almoat at onea, and of tan removee bowi waetee in leaa than two hour. Adlarika kaa baan recommended by many doeton for U (jot toa genBtna Acuenka today. Sold at all drag rtatai uuusu viun in- POSITIVELY! It is because of that line in the marriage service "with all my worldly goods I thee endow," that the guests give the wedding pres ents to the bride in the first place. A medal symbolising loyalty to You like a man who is inter its interests was issued by the ested in himself and in you; and Chouteau Fur company of St. Louis to friendly Indians of the Northwest In 1843. The medal was of silver, 396 inches in diameter, and bore on the obverse side a bust of Pierre Chouteau and the legend, "Pierre Chouteau, Jr. ft Co., Upper Missouri On the reverse side Outfit." was a crossed tomahawk and calumet and clasped hands and the wording, "Peace and Friend- o n, is It Saves Time you shy away from one who works himself into a lather over the woes of the world, What supports our money sys tem is not gold, but confidence. "Luden's are 'double-barrelled'.- .. you get soothing relief, phis an alkaline factor." Charles Lewis, Cbtmia, Ntw York IU DEBTS MINTHOL COUGH DROPS Cj ship." Menard and William Morrison of Kaskaskia in Illinois, Andrew Henry of Louisiana and Dennis of Louisville, Ky. The h Spaniard, Frenchman and Englishman, reflecting in their vary names the history of the Louisiana country, united to exploit the rich fur country of the Upper Missouri." Fitz-Hug- Early the next year the Fur traders "cordelllng" up the Missouri. for making the square; illustrations of it and of stitches; materials required; photograph of square. Send 15 cents in stamps or corns (coins preferred) for this pattern quickly of neglect are grievances Our Will and troubles. Our will determines, not our A man who was very curious as to what people at a party say tellect. Edmund Waller. about him when he leaves, once found out. It was: Nothing The vice of the nearly virtuous fur-tradi- ng to call this a "Chouteau Anniversary Year." The first of the line, horn Francis Gesso Chouteau, Freder190 years ago, helped found a ick Chouteau and Cyprian Choucity that was once the "Gateteau. Five years later the Missouri Fur company was absorbed way to the West." Another, born 150 years ago, was the by John Jacob As tor's American Fur company. head of the company, organ1819 In this year a branch of ized 100 years ago, which the American Fur company was played an important part in established in St. Louis under the making that city the "Fur general direction of Samuel Abbott. The Chouteaus and others Capital of the World." who had been connected with the There are other anniver- saries, too for "years by an expedition led by a Spanish trader named Manuel Lisa. When Lewis and Clark returned to St. Louis in 1806 from their famous exploring expedition into the West, Lisa talked with them and became inspired by their tales of the riches in furs which could be harvested in that far northwestern country where the Missouri flows close to the Rocky mountains. So in the spring of 1807 he set out for the Indian country with a small party of trappers and traders who spent the winter on the Yellowstone, hunting, trapping and trading with the Crows. "The following summer found Manuel Lisa back in St. Louis, flushed with the success of his prosperous venture and dreaming of greater things to come," says the chapter on "Traders and Trappers on the Great Plains" in "The Lure of the Frontier" (Yale University Press, "The Pageant of America"). "Excitement ran high among the principal men of that frontier town. Listening to Lisa, one after another decided to join the enterprise which was duly incorporated under the name of the St Louis Missouri Fur company. On the records appear most of the leading citizens of St. Louis: Manuel Lisa, William Clark, who had helped to blaze the trail across the continent, Pierre Chouteau, Sr., Auguste P. Chouteau, Reuben Lewis, and Sylvester Labadie. To this list other names were added: Pierre Quickly MemorizedSquares com- pany sent its first expedition up the river. It consisted of 150 men who took a great quantity of merchandise in their boats to be used in establishing along the river several posts where traders were left in charge. Late in October the main body of the expedition went into winter quarters in the Crow country where they carried on a profitable trade with the Indians and also secured many valuable pelties by trapping for themselves. In the spring of 1810 a large party headed by Andrew Henry pushed on to the Three Forks of the Missouri, where they planned to establish a post in the heart of the Blackfoot country. But disaster overtook this post for in April a war party of Blackfeet swooped down upon it, when most of the trappers were away, killed the five men who had been left in charge and carried away the horses, guns, ammunition and the packs of furs which they had labored so hard to accumulate. But despite many misfortunes the young company saved the capital it had invested and even made a small profit It suffered from other vicissitudes of fortune during the War of 1812 but it managed to survive them, although reorganization after reorganization of the company followed. As the years passed, one by one of the original founders dropped out all except Manuel Lisa, who had active direction of its operations from the end of the war until his death in 1820. His successor was Joshua Pitcher, a worthy subordinate of the great Spanish trader. In the summer of 1822 more than $25,000 worth of furs were sent down the river. . Eight years later he gave up the business and the career of the Missouri Fur company came to an end. As previously stated, it was succeeded by the firm of P. Chouteau, Jr. and Co., which was destined to enjoy a greater prosperity than the pioneer company had ever known. 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