88 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Lowis. 
eign city of Santa Fé, and even with the distant provinces 
of old Mexico and of southern California.’’ 
‘‘Tt 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 Rocky 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® launched his famous en- 
SIrving, 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. 
Franchére, Gabriel. Narrative of a voyage to the northwest coast 
