58 Smiw City Academy of Science and Letters. 



was made much of here by his party, and probably lost 

 votes here only because opinion in Iowa was turning 

 strongly to the republicans. 



Geo. W. Jones, of Dubuque, was Dodge's colleague 

 in the United States Senate. I knew him better than 

 I did Dodge. Jones was interested in the establishment 

 of Sioux City. He owned one-eighth of the town, and 

 was the most important factor in getting governmental 

 legislation favorable to the place. He did many things 

 of advantage to the town; in fact, he was a sort of patron 

 saint to Sioux City. 



Jones used to come here very often. I remember 

 that in the spring of 1857, while he was yet a United 

 States Senator, he went uj) the Missouri river as far as 

 Ft. Eandall. On his return he left the boat here, and 

 went home to Dubuque, across the state. 



Senator Jones was a good looking man, small in 

 size, but well built. He must have been about 50 years 

 of age in 1857. To me he looked like an Englishman. 

 He did not impress me as a very remarkable man, and 

 yet he must have been, though Dodge was the brainer 

 of the two men, I think. Jones was more democratic or 

 common in his dress and appearance. He was not much 

 of an actor, was easy to get acquainted with and had a 

 strong hold upon the people. Dr. S. P. Yeomans was 

 his best friend in Sioux City. Yeomans was in the legis- 

 lature at the time of Jones' last election to the United 

 States Senate and cast the decisive vote for him for that 

 office. Jones made Yeomans first register of the United 

 States land office in Sioux Citj. 



INDIAN TRADERS AND RIVER PILOTS. 



One of the most interesting characters I ever knew 

 in this Northwest country in the early days was Charles 

 LarjDenteur, a French Indian trader. I say a Frenchman, 

 but since he spoke German as fluently as he did French 

 it is my judgment that his ancestry was Swiss-French. 

 Larpenteur came from the region of the St. Lawrence 

 Kiver to the Upper Mississippi, where he traded for a 

 time. Then he changed over to the Missouri Eiver. At 

 first he worked for the company of Pierre Chouteau, of 

 St. Louis, but later for himself. While in the employe 



