pip.^o.'2of' ARCHEOLOGY AT KIPP'S POST — WOOLWORTH, WOOD 251 



credits Joseph Renville, a former British trader, with forming this 

 new organization. Among the founders were William Laidlaw and 

 Kenneth McKenzie. One writer states that McKenzie was the direc- 

 tor of this company, but since he was not yet an American citizen, 

 he remained behind the scenes (Abel, 1932, p. 336). American citi- 

 zens, such as J. P. Tilton, gave the new enterprise the necessary legal 

 status to comply with American laws. The legal title of the company 

 was Tilton and Company, but it was commonly known as the Columbia 

 Fur Company (Porter, 1931, vol. 2, p. 745) . It is not definitely known 

 whether this name was used as an indication of the ambitious plans 

 of the concern; it could also have been an attempt to hide behind a 

 patriotic name. 



The principal establishment of the new firm was on Lake Traverse, 

 near the divide of the Red River of the North and the Minnesota or 

 St. Peter's River. Posts were also established at Prairie du Chien on 

 the Mississippi and at Green Bay on the western shore of Lake Mich- 

 igan although the more important establishments appear to have been 

 on the Missouri River. Most important of this company's posts on the 

 Missouri was Fort Tecumseh, located a little above the mouth of the 

 Teton (Bad) River in present South Dakota. Farther downstream 

 was Fort Lookout and other posts were located south to Council Bluffs 

 (Chittenden, 1954, vol. 1, pp. 324-325 ; vol. 2, p. 965) . 



The American Fur Company had competing posts in association 

 with those of the Columbia Fur Company all along the Missouri River, 

 but none were so high as the mouth of the Knife River and the 

 Mandan-Hidatsa trade. 



The capital of the Columbia Fur Company, according to Chittenden 

 (1954, vol. 1, p. 324), was not large, "but the partners were all bold, 

 experienced, and enterprising men." By 1826, the Columbia Fur 

 Company was in a good position. They were well entrenched and too 

 able a group of men for competition to easily suppress them. The 

 American Fur Company was well aware that it had to rid itself of this 

 dangerous competition. 



Negotiations for a union of the two companies were begun in 1826, 

 and in July of 1827, the merger took place. Under its terms, the 

 Columbia Fur Company withdrew from the Great Lakes region and 

 the upper Mississippi. On the Missouri River, a subdepartment of 

 the American Fur Company was created which comprised all of the 

 region above the mouth of the Big Sioux River. The Columbia Fur 

 Company took charge of this department with little change of their 

 former organization. The former partners in it were made partners 

 or proprietors in this subdepartment. McKenzie, Laidlaw, Lamont, 

 and others, such as James Kipp, remained prominent in what became 

 the Upper Missouri Outfit of the American Fur Company (ibid., pp. 

 324-326). 



