USA > Wyoming > The history of Wyoming from the earliest known discoveries > Part 4
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History of Wyoming.
demand for new trapping grounds and supply of the fur market. In every great emergency which demands a leader suited to the requirements of the occasion, the man for the place appears at the right time. The leader in this instance was an educated Frenchman of noble birth who had inter- ested himself in the study of the exploring expeditions which had from time to time visited the Pacific coast. He had one hobby, and that was the planting of a colony at some suit- able place on the west side of the continent and the building up there of a commercial city which should monopolize all the Indian trade of the territory west of the great moun- tains. His theory was that commercial relations could be entered into with native tribes and through the fur indus- try large wealth accumulated by the colonists. His plan included a great supply point at or near the west coast and trading posts in the interior. Practical business men at first were slow to comprehend the colossal scheme, but the con- ditions which I have related favored the plan. The man referred to was Sieur de la Verendrye, who was earnestly supported by his eldest son, Chevalier de la Verendrye; also his two younger sons. Associated with them was Pierre Gauthier de Varennes. After discussing the sub- ject in all its phases it was finally decided to outfit an ex- ploring party to traverse the Great Lakes northwest, cross- ing to the headwaters of the Mississippi, thence west again to the headwaters of the Missouri and search for a gateway through the "Stony Mountain."
Sieur de la Verendrye and Pierre Gauthier de Varennes were dealers in furs and skins and had been located on Lake Nepigon since 1728. Four years later the latter went to Quebec to consult the governor and other officials on the subject of explorations to the west. It was no new idea with him, as he had talked it over with many persons of education and had become, so to speak, wrapped up in the subject. He was an enthusiast, it is true, but he was given to deep thought, earnest study and withal was capable of concen- tration of effort and singleness of purpose. These qual- ifications enabled him to undertake great enterprises and
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French Canadian Explorations.
to carry them through successfully. The governor of the province was the Marquis de Beauharnais. As soon as Ver- endrye spoke to him of the expedition and his plan for car- rying it out, he without hesitation gave his indorsement. Montreal merchants were to furnish the funds to equip the party and goods to trade with the natives for furs. The expedition was to go west and find a river that flowed into the Pacific Ocean. In the year 1733, all things being in readiness, De la Verendrye received his instructions to take possesion, in the name of the King of France, of such coun- tries as he should discover. His first point was Lake Supe- rior for which place he embarked with a fleet of canoes, taking with him a missionary, Pierre Messager. He estab- lished forts as he proceeded from point to point, gradually working his way westward.
From each of these forts he sent out expeditions to ex. amine the country. One of these, in charge of one of his younger sons, met with disaster. The entire party, including young Verendrye and twenty men, were killed by a war party of Sioux. The examination of the territory which he passed through required time, and it was not until 1738 that he reached the Mandan country, where he erected Fost La Reine on the Assiniboine, completing the work in Octo- ber of that year. The following season an expedition was sent up the Missouri, but did not reach the Yellowstone until 1742. This expedition was in charge of De la Veren- drye's eldest son, who found on this trip the great moun- tains through which he could find no practical route. I find in the first volume of the Montana Historical Society a com- munication written by Granville Stuart which throws some light on the trail of the explorers. He says that the expe- dition traveled from Fort La Reine, on the Assiniboine, up Mouse River and across to the Missouri, which he touched just below where since was built Fort Berthold, thence they ascended the Missouri to the gates of the mountains near Helena, Montana. The first of January, 1743, found them on these mountains whence they passed up Deep or Smith River, crossed to the head of the Mussel Shell, and then
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History of Wyoming.
to the Yellowstone, which they crossed and ascended Pryor Fork and passed through Pryor Gap to the Stinking River, crossing which they continued south to Wind River, where the natives told them of Green River over the mountains, and of the armed bands of Sioux waiting at the pass to slay anyone who should come from the land of their hereditary foes, the Shoshones, Hence the explorers turned back and reached the mission in May, 1744.
I find nowhere any particulars in regard to this party which reached the Big Wind River. They went south from the Stinking Water and must have gone to the Wind River valley. Chevalier de la Verendrye says that the natives he met were of the Shoshone tribe. I think that Mr. Stuart makes a mistake in regard to the river the natives men- tioned. The explorers were looking for a river flowing to the west. The only stream flowing in that direction was Snake River, and as the Shoshones were well acquainted with it, they must have mentioned it. Green River, the Indians well knew, flowed to the south. The Verendryes returned to Montreal in the fall of 1744, having been eleven years in the wilderness. The enterprise was a financial fail- ure, but sound business men admitted that if it had gone forward and the Pacific coast reached it would have been a great success. Unfortunately De la Verendrye had spent his entire fortune in the enterprise, but friends came to his aid and offered additional capital, but at this point it was proposed to send out the next expedition at the expense of the government, but before anything was accomplished De la Verendrye was taken sick and on December 6, 1749, he died. His eldest son claimed the right to continue the dis- coveries, but an association was formed to carry out his father's plans and he was ignored. It was the old story- men who lacked the brains to originate plans for themselves stood ready to rob Verendrye's family, and they did it under sanction of the government. This is the fate of a pio- neer. Columbus suffered in this way and thousands of other pioneers since his time, including not a few in Wyo- mning. It should be stated here that the king graciously
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French Canadian Explorations.
recognized De la Verendrye's services by conferring upon him the empty honor of the Order of St. Louis, and this was all he possessed at the time of his death. The new combi- nation was entirely political, that is, made up of politicians -Jonquiere, the new governor; Breard, the comptroller of marine; Capt. Lamarque de Marian, Le Gardeur, De St. Pierre and others equally incompetent for a great undertak- 'ing. Here was a chance to get their hands in the public treasury and they helped themselves right royally. It is said of them that they divided large spoils among themselves, the governor receiving for his share 300,000 francs. They did attempt an expedition and reached the base of the Rocky Mountains, where they in 1752 built Fort Jonquiere; but this is all, the time being spent trading with the natives and making fortunes for themselves.
Chevalier de la Verendrye was the first white man to discover the Yellowstone, unless we concede the occupa- tion of the country by the Spaniards a century before. Educated French Canadians believe that he named it Roche Jaune, which in English means yellow rock, and this dur. ing this century has been written Yellowstone, but Capt. Chittenden in his scholarly work on the Yellowstone National Park holds a different view and says there is no doubt but that the name is of Indian origin and that it comes from the yellow rock which is conspicuous along the banks of this river. He sums up his investigations in this language: "Going back, then, to this obscure fountain- head, the original designation is found to have been Mi-tsi- u-da-zi, Rock Yellow River; and this in the French tongue, became Roche Jaune and Pierre Jaune; and in English, Yel- low Rock and Yellow Stone. Established usage now writes it Yellowstone."
Had it not been for the unfortunate death of De la Ver- endrye the French in all probability would have been the first explorers to cross the Rocky Mounains and as it was they undoubtedly gave the idea to Capt. Jonathan Carver, who, as I explain elsewhere, projected a journey across the continent somewhere between the 43rd and 46th degrees
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History of Wyoming.
north latitude to the Pacific Ocean. This was certainly the plan of Sieur de la Verendrye, which was attempted more than thirty years before Carver's time.
It is a great misfortune that the full records of the Sieur de la Verendrye's exploration party were not pre- served, and I was in hopes of being able to secure additional facts regarding the De la Verendryes and their expedition from the private libraries of old French families in Mon- treal, but the effort resulted in procuring very little more than was known before. What is here given is reliable, and yet all reports are confined to the meagre facts. Of the expedition, it may be said that it was a grand undertaking and entirely feasible even at that day. Had the second expedition not been interfered with by the death of De la Verendrye there would have been no doubt of its suc- cess, for the reason that Chevalier de la Verendrye had already found the one easy pass through the Rocky Mountains. He was almost within sight of South Pass, the natural gateway to the Pacific. The government expeditions which reached the base of the Rocky Moun- tains in 1752, as I have heretofore explained, fell by the weight of boodlers who were hanging on and using it for their own selfish purposes. A scandal was finally raised and the king did the only thing he could do-with- drew government aid, and this brought the expedition to an end. The war between France and England soon fol- lowed and Canada became the theatre of military events, which resulted in the defeat of the French and the ceding of Canada to the English by the treaty of Paris in 1763.
Before closing this chapter I will relate what followed the British occupation of Canada as relates to the fur trade. In consequence of the acquisition, the fur trade received a severe check. English merchants located in Montreal and at once attempted to control all lines of trade, and the fur business with the others. They organized with large ag- gregations of capital and sent men out with a full comple- ment of trappers, but it was found difficult to win the con- fidence of the Indians and for some years the business
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French Canadian Explorations.
languished. Finally the trade fell into the hands of Scotch merchants, and these recruited their kinsmen. The de- scendants of feudal lords who had reigned over Scot- tish clans took kindly to the occupation and they built up at the trading posts a sort of imitation of the baronial halls of their ancestors. The French, the half-breeds and the Indians were at last induced to co-operate in the develop- ment of a traffic that was highly profitable to all concerned. The business was managed by securing government conces- sions and the organization of a system which gave promo- tion to faithful employes. Great fortunes were built up and the Northwestern Fur Company became one of the great corporations of the world. Hardy Scotchmen pene- trated the wilds and with the assistance of the French Can- adians traversed every stream north as far as the Arctic Circle. Under the protection of the British government this company became aggressive and insolent. Montreal was the great gathering point of rich peltries and London was the distributing center from which these goods were supplied to the world. At Montreal there grew up an aristoc- racy composed of personages connected with the fur trade. The Northwest Company from that center excercised lordly sway over a vast extent of country throughout which their operations were conducted. Their numerous posts were distributed far and wide, on interior lakes and rivers, and at great distances from each other, and employed from 2,000 to 2,500 men. An annual meeting was held at Fort William, on Lake Superior, the central trading post of the company. At this annual gathering appeared representatives from all the other trading posts and the occasion was the signal for banquets and jollity. The banqueting was conducted after the manner of those in Scotland in feudal times. The voy- ageurs and Indians did not appear in the banquet hall, but were generously fed for a season at the expense of the com- pany. Liquors of all kinds, including costly wines, were served at these banquets and many of these distinguished representatives were found under the table at the close of each of the daily festivities. This was at a period when hard
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History of Wyoming.
drinking was the rule and when Bacchanalian songs were sung, toasts given and speeches made. Every man at the table drank until he convinced himself that he was indeed a British noble or a Scottish lord, or at least the chieftain of a Highland clan. These were the golden days of the fur trade. But all this show had its effect on other enterpris- ing men with capital. As has been explained, the Northwest Company confined its operations largely to northern lati- tudes. A new British company was organized to operate further south and west. Accordingly the Mackinaw Com- pany took possession of the territory around Green Bay, Fox River, Wisconsin River and some of the tributaries of the Mississippi, and an occasional party of trappers operated along a portion of the Missouri River. The government of the United States saw with anxiety the encroachments of these companies and' an effort was made in 1796 to induce American merchants to enter the fur trade and, as it were, head off Great Britain in her invasion of the West, but nothing immediately came of it. About this time another powerful British fur company, the Hudson Bay, which had been organized in the year 1670, pushed its operations into American territory. These rival companies all secured busi- ness, but there was often great loss through competition, and sometimes personal encounters between the trappers of rival organizations.
The war between England and America was destined to bring about great changes in this lucrative trade. John Jacob Astor, who shortly after the revolution became a large shipper of furs, which he purchased in Montreal, saw an opportunity, which I explain in another chapter, of di- verting this trade into American channels. The agitation of the subject by Mr. Astor induced a number of Americans to organize expeditions to enter the far west and claim the territory and the business within the American borders. This business was carried on and developed by fearless Americans, and St. Louis and New York became centers for the encouragement of the fur trade. The American trapper won renown by his fearless exploits in the great
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The First American Explorers.
West. Then came another era in the traffic which resulted in the developing of American leaders who won fortunes as well as fame by their exploits in the mountains. But all this is explained further on in the early history of Wyo- ming.
CHAPTER IV:
THE FIRST AMERICAN EXPLORERS.
HISTORY OF THE WESTERN COURSE OF EMPIRE-THOMAS JEFFERSON BE- COMES THE LEADER AND FINALLY SUCCEEDS IN HIS CHERISHED SCHEME OF SENDING AN EXPEDITION UP THE HEADWATERS OF THE MISSOURI TO SEARCH FOR A GATEWAY THROUGH THE ROCKY MOUN- TAINS-THE LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION-THEY WINTER AT THE MANDAN VILLAGE ON THE UPPER MISSOURI IN 1804-IN 1805 SPEND THE WINTER AT THE MOUTH OF THE COLUMBIA-RETURN TO ST. LOUIS IN 1806.
The departure of Lewis and Clark in 1804 to explore the headwaters of the Missouri and mark out a highway across the Rocky Mountains, down the Columbia, begins a new era in the civilization of the great Northwest. There were plenty of enterprising Americans ready to undertake the trip but up to that time our government had felt too poor to pay the expense incident to such an expedition. Thomas Jefferson, in 1786, while minister to France, had become interested in the subject of exploring the West, and when he returned to America in 1789 his mind was filled to the utmost limit with the importance of pushing explora- tion up the Missouri and beyond. The dark continent lay to the west and northwest and its mountains were alike unknown to the geographer of that day. This subject be- came almost a hobby with this broad-minded American statesman. In 1792, the record shows that Mr. Jefferson urged the American Philosophical Society to find some competent person to ascend the Missouri, cross the great mountains, and follow the nearest river to the sea. As such an undertaking would be expensive, the future president suggested that a subscription be taken up among such
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History of Wyoming.
people as might be interested in what he believed to be an important subject. This proposition was discussed at the time in the newspapers of the country and was talked over by the scientific men of that period. It was not a new idea, for in 1763 Capt. Jonathan Carver, who had been in the British provincial army, proposed a journey across the conti- nent somewhere between the 43rd and 46th degrees of north latitude to the Pacific Ocean. His was a grand plan and he urged it with spirit and determination. He had studied the fur trade in all its bearings and in his mind he saw clearly that new scources of wealth would be opened up and that in the natural course of events a great city would spring up on the Pacific coast. He had in his mind a northwest passage between Hudson's Bay and the Pacific Ocean, also a more direct route to China and the English settlements in the East Indies. Capt. Carver was a man of ability and influence and notwithstanding the fact that his undertak- ing was one that required great capital he succeeded in inducing Richward Whitworth, a member of the British Parliament and a man of great wealth, to join him in the enterprise. Their plans were made on a most liberal scale and worked out in every detail. They were to go up the Missouri with sixty men, cross the backbone of the conti- nent and discover some navigable stream that flowed to the west. Here they were to build boats and accomplish all and more than was done by Lewis and Clark, thirty years later. They were to build a fort at the mouth of the unknown river which they expected to find, and construct sailing vessels in which to make voyages of discovery along the Pacific coast. Capt. Carver having secured the necessary capital and the plan having the sanction of the British gov- ernment and the promise of grants and franchises in the new country to be discovered, all things were in readiness for sending out the expedition when the war of the revolu- tion interfered and put a stop to the undertaking. Thomas Jefferson was aware of this projected expedition, as he had talked it over with John Ledyard of Connecticut, who was a member of Capt. Cook's company when he made his cele-
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The First American Explorers.
brated voyage to the Pacific. Ledyard had a scheme of his own in which he tried to interest Jefferson in Paris in 1786. He had the reputation of being reckless and impecunious, but with a brilliant mind and winning manners. This man Ledyard was certainly a wonderful character, if we may believe his biography in Sparks and Bulfinch's "Oregon." Evidently Thomas Jefferson possessed some admiration for the man but at the same time he noted his hare-brained and impracticable schemes. Nevertheless Ledyard succeeded in firing him with enthusiasm and sending him home from France with his mind filled with the importance of discover- ies to be made by penetrating the continent. Jefferson had also the experience of Sir Alexander McKenzie in his desire to explore the continent. Mckenzie had made a successful trip from ocean to ocean in 1793, reaching the Pacific in latitude 52° 20' 48". This was several degrees north of the route Jefferson had in his mind. At this time numerous vessels were trading along the Pacific coast and not a few of them were American. The fur trade was at its height. The Russian government had acquired Alaska and England had secured a foothold on the Pacific coast. Capt. Cook had discovered vast quantities of sea otter and had found a remunerative market in China for the furs. Among the American ships trading on the Pacific coast was the Colum- bia of Boston. Her commander was Capt. Robert Gray, a navigator of experience and with a turn of mind to include discovery as well as profitable trade in his voyages. About the time Jefferson was urging the American Philosophical Society to find some one to follow the source of the Missouri, discover a gateway through the mountains and find a river flowing toward the Pacific, Capt. Gray on his voyage that same year discovered the mouth of a large river in latitude 46° 19" north. He entered the mouth of the river May 11, 1792, with some difficulty and came to anchor in a broad bay. Capt. Gray seeing a village on the shore sent off a boat, the crew of which visited the village; this turned out to be a tribe of Indians. The natives fled on approach, but were persuaded after a time to return. This was the first
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History of Wyoming.
time that these untutored savages had beheld a white man or a ship. The latter they regarded as a floating island or some monster of the deep and they thought the white men when they first came ashore were cannibals who would destroy the country and devour the inhabitants. On this same voyoge Capt. Gray fell in with Vancouver, the dis- coverer, and furnished him a chart of the bay and river he had discovered and urged him to ascend the stream and determine how far it was navigable. This Vancouver did and ascended the river more than a hundred miles and dis- covered a mountain covered with snow which he named Mt. Hood. When Capt. Gray returned to Boston and an- nounced his discovery of a river that flowed to the west from mid-continent, it created much interest not only in scien- tific circles but among statesmen, and Thomas Jefferson became more enthsiastic than ever. The river was named after the ship Columbia and the inlet after Capt. Gray. It is not my purpose to write a history of the discoveries made on the Pacific coast , only in so far as they directly bear on the discoveries made a few years later by men in- terested in bridging the distance between the Columbia and the Missouri. The facts I have given are drawn from Car- ver's Travels, Irving's Astoria, Perkins' Annals of the West, Bulfinch's Oregon, Spark's Life of Ledyard, Bancroft's His- tory of the Northwest, M. P. Langford's works and other writers.
The conditions that existed west of the Allegheny Mountains should here be mentioned. After the Revolu- tion colonization set in beyond the mountains mentioned, around the Great Lakes, along the Ohio and down the Miss- issippi, and year by year this movement continued. These new settlers had made their homes beyond civilization and far from the reach of protection from the States or the government. Those along the Ohio and the Mississippi had but a single object in view, and that was the outlet for their produce down the great "Father of Waters" via New Orleans to the sea. They had not counted on the dangers from the savage tribes or the unfriendliness of the Spanish
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The First American Explorers.
authorities. They were in the enjoyment of a dream of wealth from which they were to be rudely awakened. The savages came first to disturb their peace and tranquillity. The Indians ran off their stock, burned their homes and scalped the scattered settlers. The Mississippi River, which was to be such a great advantage to them, was worse than useless, for the Spaniards at New Orleans, in spite of treaties, refused to afford them shipping privileges or ex- tend to them the common courtesies, simply because they were Americans. These pioneers were truly in a lament- able condition and they felt keenly their helplessness, and just here the Spaniards saw their opportunity to spread dissatisfaction among the settlers and not a few of them listened to the proposition that the country should become a part of the province of Louisiana, but as if to hold this movement in check, a party arose in favor of organizing an independent government, a new Republic free from the United States, which latter they said was too weak to pro- tect them against Indians or to enforce its treaty with Spain for the navigation of the Mississippi. Others there were who desired the United States to declare war with Spain and seize New Orleans. The wisdom of our government at this time is clearly apparent. A formidable army was sent against the Indians, Gen. Anthony Wayne at its head. The savages were put to rout wherever encountered and were only saved from total annihilation by suing for peace. This successful war against the Indian tribes produced great rejoicing among the settlers of the then Far West. The president, who had not been unmindful of the conditions that prevailed among the western settlers, had wisely af- forded this relief and the successful termination of the Indian war roused a spirit of loyalty. The settlers saw that the newly-formed Federal Union was not only a power to be respected but to be proud of. The new nation had gone beyond the borders of the thirteen original States and extended protection to a large territory by treating it as accretions, and thus Washington and his successors solved the problem of how the United States should acquire,
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