FUR FACTS 



CHAPTER I 



THE EARLY FUR TRADE IN ST. LOUIS 



The history of the fur trade in St. Louis dates back to about the 

 year 1763. It was at this time that a young Frenchman, Pierre 

 Laclede Liguest, then of New Orleans, received news of the profits 

 being made in the bartering of furs and lead by the white men among 

 the Indians. 



From his earliest boyhood days young Laclede, as he became 

 known, had nourished a great ideal — that of some day forming a 

 colony or settlement of which he would be leader. It was this more 

 than anything else which prompted him to leave his ancestral home 

 near Bordeaux, France, in the year 1755 and embark for the New 

 World. 



So with the news of the development of the fur trade, came the 

 desire to move out into unexplored territory where the dreams of 

 his youth might be realized. Partly through his friendship with 

 Colonel Antoine Maxent, and partly through his own initiative, 

 Laclede, with a party of men, obtained permission from the colonial 

 authorities to undertake a trading expedition up the Mississippi 

 River. A grant was issued them, conferring the privilege of "ex- 

 clusive trade with the savages of the Missouri and with all the na^ 

 tions residing West of the Mississippi River for a term of eight years." 



Several months passed before supplies and provisions for the 

 journey had been procured, but on August 3rd, 1763, everything in 

 readiness, the little fleet started on its journey. 



Through three long months they toiled against the current of 

 the river, traveling at the speed of eight miles per day. (Now the 

 trip from New Orleans to St. Louis can be made by Rail in 20 hours.) 

 It was November before the party finally reached St. Genevieve — 

 at that time the only French post on the west bank of the Mississippi 

 that could furnish shelter or the comforts of frontier life. 



It was the intention of Laclede to leave his merchandise and most 

 of his party at that post until he could find a location higher up the 

 stream or nearer the mouth of the Missouri, but he was disappointed 



