88 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis. 



eign city of Santa Fe, and even with the distant provinces 

 of old Mexico and of southern Calif ornia. ' ' 



''It was here that trans-shipment of commerce was 

 made to eastern markets by way of the Mississippi, the 

 Ohio, or the Great Lakes. Warehouses and mercantile 

 establishments arose for outfitting the numberless expe- 

 ditions to the interior. The government maintained a 

 military post near by, and had here its principal office 

 of Indian affairs for the trans-Mississippi tribes." 



"The cause of science has repeatedly acknowledged 

 its indebtedness to the fur trade. Maximilian, Nuttall, 

 Audubon, Nicollet, Catlin, and many others enjoyed 

 facilities for work in that wild country which would have 

 been impossible without the assistance of the trader. 

 This was particularly true of those researches which re- 

 lated 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." 



The Missouri Fur Trading Company, which owed its 

 success to the great ability and energy of Manuel de 

 Lisa ; the Eocky Mountain Fur Company, whose guiding 

 spirit was the brilliant and enterprising General W. H. 

 Ashley; and the American Fur Company, with Pierre 

 Chouteau, Jr., as the capable St. Louis partner of John 

 Jacob Astor, conducting its affairs; these and many 

 other companies too numerous to mention here, were 

 most liberal toward scientific expeditions going up the 

 Missouri and contributed in no small degree to their suc- 

 cess. 



In 1811 John Jacob Astor 5 launched his famous en- 



5 Irving, Washington. Astoria; or, Anecdotes of an enterprise be- 

 yond the Rocky Mountains. 1836. 



Ross, Alexander. Adventurers of the first settlers on the Oregon 

 or Columbia river; being a narrative of the expedition fitted out by 

 John Jacob Astor to establish the "Pacific fur company," with an 

 account of some Indian tribes on the coast of the Pacific. 1849. 



Franchere, Gabriel. Narrative of a voyage to the northwest coast 



