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About The Conservative (Nebraska City, Neb.) 1898-1902 | View Entire Issue (May 8, 1902)
* . ti tlbe Conservative. INCIDENTS OF WESTERN HISTORY. VII. An Early Voyage Up the Missouri. A hundred years ago St. Louis was about as remote from the civilized world as , say , some of those places in Green- laud now are whose names are occa sionally brought to our notice in con nection with the travels of arctic ex plorers. Those who set forth thence to voyage into the unknown interior of the continent , did so with almost as much uncertainty as do Peary and his co- laborers , when they cast loose from the last habitation of men and start across land and water in the direction of the pole. This is not an exaggerated state ment. An up-river excursion required almost as much preparation , and quite as much ambition and spirit , as an ocean voyage. It is worth our while to gain an appreciation of this fact , in order correctly to estimate the work of the last century in the west. Fortunately many logs and journals were kept of these voyages , and prob ably as many of them are preserved still as have perished. One of the most interesting is the record kept by Henry M. Brackenridge of Lisa's expedition of 1811. We will quote some short pas sages from this journal , to illustrate the nature of river-travel in the very be ginning , and to give such of our readers as are interested his observations on the landmarks of this stretch of the river , as they were known to the men of ninety years ago. Brackenridge was a well-educated and bright young fellow from Pittsburg , who , educated for the law , came to "Louisiana , " as everything west of the rivers was still called , in 1810 , with the intention of practicing his profession. The wonders of the frontier world , however , had charms too great to be re sisted. It was several years before he settled down in St. Louis and opened his law office ; much to the distress , we are given to understand , of his ambitious father back in Pennsyl vania. What became of Brackeuridge in later life the writer of this does not know ; but he is one of the pleasant figures of the earliest west , and has left behind some valuable writings , of which Mr. Irving made free use in his time. Braokenridge secured passage in the spring of 1811 with the expedition which the Missouri Fur Company was despatching under Manuel Lisa. He speaks of Lisa in terms of the warmest admiration ; indeed , the ability and achievements of this Spanish French man are rated very highly by the his torians of today. The company was in a bad way at this time ; the term for which it was formed had nearly run out , Andrew Henry had disappeared somewhere across the mountains , the Blackfeet and Sioux were on the ram page , and every thing looked dark. "The funds of the company were at so low an ebb , " says Brackeuridgo , "that it was with some difficulty a barge of twenty tons could be fitted out , with merchandise to the amount of a few thousand dollars , and to procure twenty hands and o pa tron [ ? ] . The members were unwilling to stake their private credit , where prospects were so little flattering. " "With respect to myself , I must own to the reader that I had no other motive fcr undertaking a tour of several thou sand miles , through regions but seldom marked even by the wandering foot steps of the savage , than the mere gratification of what ho will term an idle curiosity : and I must confess that I might have employed my time more beneficially to myself , and more use fully to the community. Would that I were able to make some amends , by de scribing the many interesting objects which I witnessed , in such a manner as to enable the reader to participate in the agreeable parts of my peregrinations. "We set off from the village of St. Charles-on Tuesday , the 2d of April , 1811 , with delightful weather. The flood of March , which immediately suc ceeds the breaking up of the ice , had begun to subside , yet the water was still high. Our barge was the best that ever ascended the river , and manned with twenty stout oarsmen. As Mr. Lisa had been a sea captain , he took much pains in rigging his boat with a good mast , and main and top-sail ; these being great helps in the navigation of this river. Our equipage was chiefly composed of young men , though several have already made a voyage to the up per Missouri , of which they are exceed ingly proud , and on that account claim a kind of precedence over the rest of the crew. We are in all twenty-five men , well armed and completely prepared for defence. There is , besides , a swivel in the bow of the boat , which in case of attack would make a formidable ap pearance : we have also two brass blunderbusses in the cabin , one over my birth , and the other over that of Mr. Lisa. These precautions were ab solutely necessary from the hostility of the Sioux bands , who , of late , had com mitted several murders and robberies on the whites , and manifested such a dis position that it was believed impossible for us to pass through their country. The greater part of the merchandise , which consisted of stroudiug , blankets , lead , tobacco , knives , guns , beads , &c. , was concealed in a false cabin , ingen iously contrived for the purpose ; in this way presenting as little as possible to tempt the savages. But we hoped that , as this was not the season for the com ing on the river of the wandering tribes , the fall being the usual time , we mighl pass on unnoticed. Mr. Wilson P. Hunt had set off with a large party , about twenty-three days before us , on his way to the Columbia ; we anxiously loped to overtake him before he entered the territory of the Sioux nation ; for this purpose it was resolved to strain every nerve , as upon it , iu a great meas ure , depended the safety of our voy age. "Having proceeded a few miles above St. Charles , we put to shore , some of our men still remaining at the village. is exceedingly difficult to make a start on these voyages , from the reluc- : auce of the men to terminate the frolic with their friends , which usually pre cedes their departure. They set in to drinking and carousing , and it is im possible to collect them onboard. Some times they make their carousals at the expense of the Bourgeois [ employer ] ; they are credited by the tavern keeper , who knows that their employer will be compelled to pay , to prevent the delay of the voyage. Many vexatious abuses are practiced in these cases. It was found impossible to proceed any further this evening ; the men were in high glee from the liquor they had drunk be fore starting ; they were therefore per mitted to take their swing. "April 3d. About two o'clock in the afternoon , having at length succeeded in getting all hands on board , we pro ceeded on our voyage. Found an ex cessive current , augmented by the state of the waters. Having come about six miles , encamped. In the course of this evening , had as much reason to admire the dexterity of our Canadians and Creoles , as I had before to condemn their frivolity. I believe an American could not be brought to support with patience the fatiguing labors , and submersion , which these men endure. At this sea- sou , when the water is exceedingly cold , they leap in without a moment's hesita tion. Their food consists of lied corn hominy for breakfast , a slice of fat pork and biscuit for dinner , and a pot of mush for supper , with a pound of tallow in it. Yet this is better than the common fare ; but as we were about to make an extra ordinary voyage , the additional expense was not regarded. "April 7th. Made Point Labadie , so called from a French trader , who formerly wintered here. Forty years ago this was thought a distant point on the Missouri ; at present there are toler able plantations every where through the bottom. The carcasses of several drowned buffaloes passed us ; it is said that an unusual number of them has been drowned this year some have been seen floating on the river at St. Louis. A gentleman lately descended , declares that he counte'd forty on the head of an island. Passed between an island and the main shore ; a very nar row channel , but the current and dis tance less. A channel of this sort is often taken in preference , and it is one of the means of facilitating the ascend ing of this uncommonly rapid river ; but there is sometimes danger of the
