Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The frontier. (O'Neill City, Holt County, Neb.) 1880-1965 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 2, 1941)
_ ■■ * - -- __ A Recently-Published Diary Sheds New Light on Romantic Story of Fur Trade In the Rocky Mountains a Century Ago The Grand Parade of the Assembled Indians at the Fur Traders’ Rendezvous in the Rocky Moun tains in 1837. From the painting by Alfred J. Miller of Baltimore, who accompanied Sir William Drummond Stuart (or Stewart) of Murthly Castle, Scotland, to the Far West in 1837. This picture hung in Murthly Castle until about 1926 when it, and other paintings by Miller, were sold and sent to New York. It was pur chased there by E. W. Marland, then governor of Oklahoma, and presented to the Oklahoma Historical society in 1936. By ELMO SCOTT WATSON 'Released by Western Newspaper Union.) THE romantic era of the Rocky mountain fur trade of a century ago came to life again the other day and once more such frontier notables as Old Jim Bridger, Kit Carson, Nathaniel J. Wyeth, Jim Beckworth, Captain Bonne ville, Lucien Fontenelle and the Robidoux brothers strode across the stage of history. They appeared in a new book— “Life in the Rocky Mountains—A Diary of Wanderings jn the Sources of the Rivers Missouri, Columbia, and Colorado, from February, 1830, to November, 1835, by W. A. Ferris, then in the Employ of the American Fur Company,” edited by Paul C. Phillips and published by Fred A. Rosenstock—the Old West Publishing company of Denver, Colo. “Life in the Rocky Moun * tains’’ is referred to in the foregoing as a “new book." Perhaps “rediscovered nar rative” would be a more ac curate description. For after Ferris’ “wanderings on the sources of the rivers etc.” were over, the diary which he had carefully kept was rewi it ten as a continuous narrative and published serially n an early American magazine, .he Western Literary Messenger of Buffalo, N. Y., in 1843-44. In this form it was known to a few scholars of the fur trade era but there were many gaps in the narrative because the Mes senger ceased publication early in its career and many numbers had apparently been lost. Then Mr. Rosenstock, who had been collecting copies of this magazine, traced down the missing numbers and made them available to Mr. Phillips, who had already started work on a biography of Ferris. Later research unearthed other important material—family pa pers, articles written by Ferris in his later years for the Dallas (Texas) Herald and, most impor tant of all, a map of the Northwest Fur Country, drawn by Ferris about 1836. All of this material has gone into the making of this “new book” which is rated by historians as constituting one of the great “finds” in recent re search in the history of the West. Ferris was born in Glens Falls, N. Y., December 26, 1810, and grew up in Buffalo, to which his family had moved when he was very young. He was trained to be a surveyor but at the age of 18 he ran away from home because his mother disapproved of his smoking a pipe and scolded him severely for doing it on the street one day. Feeling the urge to “go West,” he finally arrived in St. Louis in June, 1829, and entered the employ of Pierre Chouteau Jr., head of the Western de partment of John Jacob Astor’s American Fur company. At that time three great com panies were competing for the control of the fur business in the West. Into this struggle the young New Yorker was plunged when he left St. Louis with an A. F. C. company in February, 1830, and went up the Platte river, through South Pass into the Green river country. That fall they trapped the west ern tributaries of the Green and later moved over to the neigh borhood of Great Salt Lake. In 1831 Ferris was with a trap ping party on the upper Snake river and there had difficulty with a band of rival Hudson’s Bay trappers. That summer he crossed the Continental Divide into the valley of the Jefferson then continued north into the val ley of Clark’s Fork of the Colum bia. The next spring Ferris returned to the Snake river country, was made a clerk and sent among the Flathead Indians with orders to bring them to the annual trap pers’ rendezvous at Pierre’s Hole. He returned with the Flatheads in time to take part in the famous Battie of Pierre’s Hole in July. 1832 That fall he was in another famous frontier fight in which his leader, William H. Vandenburgh, lost his life. Ferris tells a dramatic story of this incident—how the party of seven trappers came upon traces of an Indian hunting party and how they cautiously approached a little grove of trees “watching each wavering twig and rustling bough, to catch a glimpse of some skulking savage.” Then: Suddenly the lightning and thunder ot at least twenty fusils burst upon our astonished senses from the gully, and awoke us to a startling consciousness of Imminent danger, magnified beyond con ception. by the almost magical appear and, at the time he perished, under thirty years of age. Bold, daring and fearless, yet cautious, deliberate and prudent; uniting the apparent opposite qualities, of courage and coolness, a soldier and a scholar, he died universally beloved and regretted by all who knew him. Ferris had many other narrow escapes from death during the re mainder of his service with the American Fur company. Con cerning his career in the Rockies, Phillips writes: ‘‘The five and a half years which Warren Ferris passed in the mountains had done much to broaden his experience and de velop his powers. He had served under such great masters of the fur trade as Andrew Drips, Lucien Fontenelle, Joseph Robi doux, and William Henry Vanden burgh; and his acquaintance with them in the small trading and trapping parties must have been intimate. He also met Jim Bridg er, Thomas Fitzpatrick, Robert Campbell, Henry Fraeb, William and Milton Sublette, and other leaders of the opposition and learned of their ways and abili ties. He knew Bonneville, Na thaniel P. Wyeth, Captain John Ghant and other independent traders. Another man whom he , met, and evidently greatly ad mired but does not mention in his narrative, was Sir William Drummond Stuart, the famous English explorer and hunter. THE DEATH OF VANDENBURGH From the painting by Irvin Shope, now in the Montana State University Library. A reproduction of this picture forms the frontis piece in “Life in the Rocky Mountains.” ance of more than one hundred war riori. erect In uncompromising enmity— both before nnd on either side of us. at the terrifying distance (since meas ured) of thirty steps. Imagination can not paint the horrid sublimity of the scene A thousand brilliances reflected from their guns as they were quickly thrown into various positions, either to load or fire, succeeded the first volley, which was followed by a rapid suc cession of shots, and the leaden mes sengers of death, whistled In our ears as they passed In unwelcome proximity At that instant 1 saw three of our comrades flying, like arrows, from the place of murder The horse of our parti san (Vandenburgh) was shot dead under him. but with unexampled firmness, he stepped calmly from the lifeless ani mal, presented his gun at the advancing foe, and exclaimed "Boys, don't run"; at the same moment the wounded horse of a Frenchman threw his rider, and broke away towards camp The yells of these infernal fiends filled the air, and death appeared Inevitable, when I was aroused to energy toy observing about twenty Indians advancing, to close the already narrow passage, between the two lines of warriors. Dashing my spurs rowel deep tnto the flank of my noble steed, at a single bound he cleared the ditch, but before he reached the ground. I was struck in the left shoulder by a ball, which nearly threw me off. by a desperate effort, however. I regained my upright position, and fled A friend, Mr R C. Nelson, crossed the gully with me, but a moment after he was called to return Without considering the utter Impossibility of rendering assistance to our devoted partisan, he wheeled, but at the same Instant his horse was severely wounded by two balls through the neck, which compelled him to fly; yet he kept his eye for some moments on our friend, who seeing himself surrounded, without the possibility of escape, leveled his gun and shot down the foremost of his foes The Indians immediately fired a volley upon him—he fell—they uttered a loud and shrill yell of exultation, and the noble spirit of a good and a brave man had passed away, forever. Thus fell Wm. Henry Vrndenburgh, a gentleman born In Indiana, educated at West Point tn the Military Academy, Seated with such men by the campfire, or traveling the trail with them, must have given the young man a larger view of the world as well as a better knowl edge of the problems of how to deal with Indians . . . The care with which he made his observa tions, and the honest and vivid ness with which he portrayed them, make his narrative one of absorbing interest. It is the only source of information regarding many important events in the sav age struggle for control of the fur trade.” But aside from Ferris’ impor tance as a first-hand chronicler of this important era in American history, he has other claims to fame. He left the mountains in the winter of 1835 and returned to his home in Buffalo to straight en out a family tangle One of his brothers had gone to Texas and the next year Warren Ferris joined him there. He became a surveyor in the service of the new Republic of Texas and it was he who made the surveys for the town which became the great city of Dallas. Next he settled down as a farm er but took no part in tire Civil war both because he was over age for service and because of his crippled shoulder received in the fight with the Indians in which Vandenburgh was killed. His later years were devoted to lit erary work and he died on Feb ruary 8. 1873 WHO’S NEWS THIS WEEK By LEMUEL F. PARTON (Consolidated Features—WNU Service. I XJEW YORK - Simultaneously. * ^ Chancellor Hitler and Mme. Elsa Schiaparelli renounce gold and extol the fruits of the spirit. Prepar e • • ... _ mg to return Schiaparelli Says tQ France Cost Fetters Our soon, the fa Art of Creation m<T d^eSf maker finds that Americans are too much given to money-grubbing to appreciate the beautiful art of couture "The Paris designer is free.” she says, but here in America "in creating a costume you must think about cost.” So she’s g ».ng back to Paris where art is unfettered and nobody worries about money. Molyneux fled, to make gowns in London, but Lucien Lelong, the new Judge Landis of the French fash ion industry, remains in the service of art—not money of course. The latter implication might suggest that Paris as a continuing world style center is somehow geared Into Chancellor Hitler’s jug - handled economy, and that, of course is a rather gauche idea. In Herr Hitler’s new order, it’s art for art’s sake. Soon after the occupation of Paris, Mine. Schiaparelli ar rived here to begin a national lecture tour. We seemed to be suffering from much misappre hension about France. It was business as usual in Paris, and anyone who fancied that New York might become the world style center had another thought coming. However, she reserved her apostrophe of art against money for the last. Addressing the Junior League of Los Angeles recently, she said: “All of u.- in Paris are impressed by the generosity of American men regarding their women. American men have a world-wide reputation for the money they spend on women. "I say bravo to you! Go right ahead." I had an idea that the French felt that way a few years ago when I was privileged to see some of the inner workings of Lanvin’s estab lishment in Paris, to talk to the vendeuses and witness the defer ence to a Texas oil magnate, when he came in to help his wife choose a gown. Mme. Schiaparelli lived five years in New York. Her daughter, Ma risa, was born in her Ninth street house in Greenwich Village. That was before the days of her fame and opulence, and she thought about money a great deal in those days. Taking an unheated flat in Patchin place, a dingy little nub bin of a street off Jefferson Mar ket court, she found a $20 bill on the floor. It was a good omen. Other money came and she returned to a garret in Par is, to write poetry. A sweater design brought her Into her ca rreer. For one who scorns mon ey she is a masterful and dili gent business woman, her huge establishment turning out around 10,000 garments a year at prices up to $5,000. Of a distinguished Italian family of astronomers and scholars, she has bgen de scribed by Edna Le Fevre as “a woman nobody can know, ab sorbed with books on metaphys ics, aesthetics and philosophy.” L'LMAN B. MYERS, inventor of the new "jet expulsion” motor which is expected vastly to increase the range, speed and fighting ef , r- . ... fectiveness of Genius at Need war planes> Is a Self-Starter was a New And Finisher, Too bui ub> N ,Y" ’ boy who just happened to be a self-starter and finisher Without benefit of any ac ademic seminars, he became a hay loft radio inventor. This, incidental ly, was in the Bronx where there weren't any haylofts; but make it a cellar and the result is the same. After 32 years he appears with his critically important inven tion. He got a job with a wire less station in Sacramento, and was soon throwing his voice far ther than anybody else in those parts. He later worked with Lee l)e Forrest and by 1932 had brought through a “cold light” radio tube. He started work on his Jet expulsion or “rocket” motor four years ago. Engi neers say it may increase the speed of fighting planes by 200 miles an hour. IT WAS not until they began work in strengthening the roofs of the Capitol at Washington that most Americans were aware that an ar chitect was regularly attached to a structure of which George Wash'ng ton first laid the cornerstone in 1793. He is Bavid Lynn of Hyattsville, Md. Lynn in 23 years of service had ample opportunity of learning all the ins and outs of the famout building. He served 10 years as civil engineer of the Capitol and in 1927 became architectural supervi sor. Chic Silhouette Figure Depends On Proper Foundation Garment By CHERIE NICHOLAS YOUR costume may be the very pink of perfection, your accesso ries nothing less than glamorous, but no matter how smartly appar eled, unless you are correctly cor seted in the proper foundation gar ment to make your figure conform, so far as is possible, to the slim svelte lines that current fashion de mands, you will fail to qualify “up to the mark” in general appearance. Ladies, look to your corsetry! Soon it will be time to take up the matter of new clothes for spring. Start the program right with a care fully selected foundation garment wardrobe and see what a difference it makes when you come to be fit ted in the new frocks and suits. The long - stemmed American beauty glorified by United States de signers in their first season of inde pendence from Paris influence calls for intelligent corseting to underline the new styles with high, well-con toured bustline, straighter and slightly longer waistline and sleek hip and thighs, American corsetry has made amazing progress in achieving control without sacrificing comfort in the foundation garment. What special type of foundation you should wear depends upon your individual needs. Study your figure in a mirror to get a clear picture of faults to be corrected. Then go “in conference” with your favorite corsetiere. In analyzing your fig ure defects and virtues, remember that the side and back views are even more important than the front, because they show your posture and distribution of weight. It is especially important this sea son that your bustline be properly contoured. The tendency in current costume design is to accent top in terest in moulded and draped and swathed treatments. The new clas sic daytime wools with their suave simply tailored blouse tops m?' expert corsetry imperative. This especially true of brassieres whicn must be meticulously selected. Re member that unless you wear some type of pantie girdle and brassiere under your slack suits, swimsuits, tennis, golf or riding clothes, your figure cannot look attractive. It is also important that you have two identical foundations for every day wear to keep your figure mould ed properly and comfortably. Two foundations worn alternately and kept fresh and in good repair may be expected to hold their original lines and do their job of figure con trol appreciably longer than two purchased successively. One foundation for formal wear is a wardrobe necessity ..because the figure needs extra help to look its best under formal gowns, which are more fitted in line than daytime styles. New foundations for evening of fer several outstanding features. Brassieres are cut to give more accent to the bustline than for day light hours, and have many clever tricks to suit the straps to the vari ous decollete lines. Corsets and all in-ones are cut longer in the skirt to prevent thigh bulge and afford a suave, gently curving line from waist to knees without any hint of stiffness in effect. Shown in the illustration are two examples of the sleekly moulded evening silhouettes favored this sea son. Note the dress to the left with perky wee bows tying in a one side fastening. It requires perfected corsetry to achieve the youthful fashion-right lines here delineated. Jacket costumes as centered in the group are outstanding in the eve ning mode and exact expert founda tion garment fitting. A goodlooking daytime black wool dress with which to wear a single costume jewelry .•ce (in this instance a stunning oowknot pin at the waistline) has become a staple in every wardrobe. Shown here to the right is an over the-bust draped effect which requires very special corsetry because of its top interest. (Released by Western Newspaper Union.) Loop Felt Fetching little nats made of bright loop felt are effective with tweed or dark fur coats. Some of these jaunty sprightly headpieces are so fash ioned they look like a single large flower caught firmly to a fitted cap made of ribbon velvet. They are tied at the back in a big bow, the flowerlike cluster of felt loops poses piquantly over the forehead. The hat of felt loops pictured is a pill box type in moss green with beige. The long-sleeve muff is in green velvet with a ruche bordering at each end made of felt loops match ing the hat. New Trim for Shoes Even your shoes have a dressed up air this season, with trimmings of fur bows and beading. Tailored bows are used to trim pumps made of crocodile, and frilled bows and beading add a smart look to suede shoer for afternoon. Twin Hats’ Copy Headgear of Men Probably the most important style item this winter is the companionate hat, known also as “he and she,” “Mr. and Mrs.,” and “twin” hats. These hats are merely hats that look alike—one for men, one for women. Actually the twin hats are a bless ing, both to men who have put up with some pretty wacky looking women’s hats in the past, and to the ladies who are always looking for something new. The distaff twin hat is, of course, out and out larceny. It is styled to duplicate the sportier men’s styles. Manhattan has seen them in telescopes or pork-pies, der bies, felt caps and in the so-called double brim safari felts. As a style item they are excellent. American designers of women’s hats have a knack for feminizing these twin adaptations to the point where they are, if anything, more feminipe than distinctly feminine hats. Red, White, Blue Featured in South Women vacationers spending their winter in the southlands are wear ing dresses patriotically featuring red, white and blue. For daytime wear two or all three of the brilliantly contrasting colors are combined, and are often further trimmed with gold braid insignia or belt buckles that are red, white and blue shields. Evening clothes, whether dinner dresses or formal gowns, nearly all have full skirts. They are made of sharkskin, crepe, organdy, lace, taf feta, and net, with black, white and blue the reigning colors. Everybody Likes This Smart A pron PHIS design was so extremely popular, when it first appeared, that it is repeated now, for those who might have missed it the first time. Of course you can easily see why everybody likes it. De sign No. 8824 slips on over the head and ties in a jiffy—no but tons, no troublesome cross-straps. It’s nice and slim at the waistline, is guaranteed to stay put on the shoulders, and covers your frock thoroughly, above and below! Send for it right away, because your home work will seem much lighter and pleasanter when you’ve half a dozen such aprons. Choose cheery percale prints, gay gingham checks, or colorful polka dot calico, and trim the edges with ric-rac braid. It’s so easy—you can finish it in a few hours. * * * Pattern No. 8824 is designed for sizes 14, 16, 18. 20; 40. 42 and 44. Size 16 re quires 23,s yards of 35-inch material with out nap; 7',i yards of braid. Send or der to: SEWING CIRCLE PATTERN DEPT. Room 1324 211 W. Wai ker Dr. Chicago Enclose 15 cents in coins for Pattern No. Size. Name . Address . Relief At Last For Your Cough Creomulslon relieves promptly be cause it goes right to the seat of the trouble to help loosen and expel germ laden phlegm, and aid nature to soothe and heal raw, tender, in flamed bronchial mucous mem branes. Tell your druggist to sell you a bottle of Creomulslon with the un derstanding you must like the way it quickly allays the cough or you are to have your money back. CREOMULSION for Coughs, Chest Colds, Bronchitis Good Husbandry Be a good husband and you will get a penny to spend, a penny to lend and a penny for a friend. COLDS CfcuickCy. u-ie ©66 LIQUID TABLETS SALVE NOSE DROPS COUGH DROPS WNU—U1—41 MERCHANTS •Vo ur 22C** ttSSSK paper- ft w 'ts ne>« ^ndafion space and aWe coasiderat 'U 'avor readers fort ” of °ur