Buchanan County, Missouri - Chapter 2: Early Expeditions and Settlements, 1881

Chapter 2: Early Expeditions and Settlements

THE FUR COMPANIES - THE FIRST SETTLEMENT AT BLACKSNAKE HILLS - ROBIDOUX' PORTRAIT - HIS LITHOGRAPH-BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH - LOCATES AT CHICAGOTHEN AT THE BLUFFS - THEN AT ROY'S BRANCH AND BLACKSNAKE HILLS-1834- 1836-ROBIDOUX" HOME - EMPLOYES-SERVANT - FERRY - FROM 1837 TO 1840-RIVAL TOWNS - MISSION OF THREE GENTLEMEN - WOLVES.

The French element of the class of pioneers referred to in the preceding chapter, settled Canada and the Northwestern part of the United States, as well as the country about the mouth of the Mississippi River.. They came into the upper Mississippi and Missouri Valleys in 1764, under the lead of Pierre Laclede Liguest, (always called Laclede), who held a charter from the French Government, giving him the exclusive right to trade with the Indians in all the country as far north as St. Peters River. Laclede brought part of his colony from France, and received large accessions to it in New Orleans, mainly of hunters and trappers, who had had experience with the Indians. Jn the year 1764,. this colony established itself on the west bank of the Mississippi River, and founded the present City of St. Louis. From this point they immediately began their trading and trapping incursions into the then unbroken wilderness in their front. Their method of proceeding seemsto have been to penetrate into the interior and establish small local posts for trading with the Indians, whence the trappers and hunters were outfitted and sent out into the adjacent woods.

' In this way, the country west and northwest of St. Louis was traversed and explored by these people, at a very early day, as far west as the Rocky Mountains. But of the extent of their operations but littlehas been recorded ; hence but little is known of the posts established by them. It is known, however, that such posts were established at a very early day, on the Chariton and Grand Rivers, in Missouri, and at Cote Sans Dessein, in Calloway County.

The Fur Companies

more systematic methods. It gives rise also to a tendency to concentrate into fewer hands. This was true of the fur and Indian trade as well as of all others. In 1787 this universal tendency of business to concentrate led to an abandonment, to a large extent, in Canada, of the simple individual methods above described, and the organization of the Northwest Fur Company at Montreal. John Jacob Astor, of New York, having been for some time interested in the fur trade with others, began business for himself in 1807, and in 1809 organized the American Fur Company. The year before this event, that is 1808, twelve persons, among whom were Pierre and Auguste Chouteau, residing at St. Louis, gave systematic shape to the trade of the Missouri valley, by the organization of the Missouri Fur Company, of which Manuel Lisa, a Spaniard, was the leader. Sometime previous to this the Mackinaw Company was organized in the northwest, in the region of the lakes. About 1809 or 18 10 the Missouri, American and Northwestern companies began to push their expeditions across the Rocky Mountains, about the headwaters of the and Columbia Rivers, with a view of establishing a chain of posts across the continent, and they thus became strong rivals. They made one expedition each and effected the desired lodgment, but, owing to the unfortunate killing of a Blackfoot chief, there arose a hostility on the part of those Indians which drove out the American and Missouri companies.

At this time there was another more northern company operating in the northwest, known as the Hudson Bay Company. In 18 10 Mr. Astor organized the Pacific Fur Company and undertook the Astoria enterprise, of which Washington Irving has written such an excellent history. In 181 1 the Mackinaw Company was bought out by the American and Northwestern Companies, jointly, and its territory and effects divided between them. This year the American Company sent a second expedition up the Missouri River under the charge of Wilson P. Hunt, who was closely followed and strongly opposed by a second expedition of the Missouri Company, under Manuel Lisa.

During the war of 18 12, the Astoria enterprise failed, and it was some years before the American Company again attempted extended operations in the far northwest. In 18 13, the Missouri Fur Company was merged into the American, and in 1819 a branch house of the latter was established in St. Louis, under the general direction of Samuel Abbott. The Chouteaus and others who had been connected with the old Missouri Company, then became connected with it. Pierre Chouteau, eldest son of Pierre Chouteau, who came from France, was quite prominent in its operations, and his brother, Francois Chouteau, was also connected with it. This company having inherited the posts and trade of the Missouri Company, occupied the territory included in Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska, and extended also into Arkansas and the Indian Territory, although there were still a number of independent traders in this territory. After the absorption of the Missouri Company, the American Company began to make great efforts to monopolize the trade of the southwest by rooting out the independent traders. In pursuance of this, Francois Chouteau was sent into the country to establish posts and to bring the local traders into subordination to the company. At what time he first entered upon this work is unknown, but he was thus engaged for several years. Among the posts thus established by him, was one on the Kaw River about twenty miles from its mouth, known as the "Four Houses," and one at the "Bluffs," the present site of Council Bluffs and at other points on the Missouri River, including one at Roy's Branch above Blacksnake Hills, about the year 1826.

Having followed the Fur Companies from the date of their settlement in St. Louis, to the year 1826, at which time they established a post at "Roy's Branch," near the site of the "Blacksnake Hills," we shall now speak of the man who founded the city of St. Joseph, and give of him a brief biographical sketch. Preliminary, however, to this sketch, we shall first refer to Mr. Robidoux' portrait and his lithograph.

His Portrait

The stranger, when entering the postoffice in St. Joseph, will now, (188 1,) see on the west wall of the building, artistically arranged in parallel rows, several hundred photographs of the early and prominent citizens of the town. About midway, but above the photographs, hangs the portrait of Joseph Robidoux. It was painted when the original was sixty-two years of age. It, however, represents a much younger looking man ; one who has scarcely passed the meridian of life.

Mr. Robidoux, neatly attired in a suit of black, is pleasantly seated in a chair, one arm lightly resting upon a table, while near it lies his white fur hat. In his hand, he holds quite naturally his cane ; his head is slightly inclined forward ; his hair, to the right of his temple, is tinged with grey ; his face is rather full ; his eyes large, prominent and dark, and arched with jet-black eyebrows, while above them is a smooth, high forehead. His mouth is not. large, nose rather short, straight,, and broad at the end.

On the whole, there is in the facial expression much of thp bonvivant, and much of that genial disposition, which are said to have characterized him through life. There is also in the expression of the eyes and countenance, as they kindly beam upon you, the indications of a benevolent heart.

His Lithograph

The frontispiece of this work is a lithographic cut of Mr. Robidoux^ taken from a photograph some twenty years later, when he had numbered his four-score years. The face, somewhat broader and shorter than that in the portrait, has grown older ; the furrowed lines showing that time has left thereon its imprint.

Indeed, the transformation, which twenty additionaF years have wrought in his physiognomy, is so great, that we can scarcely recognize in the lithograph the more youthfully appearing and tastefully dressed gfentleman who looks down so pleasantly from the portrait.

His Biography

Joseph Robidoux, the son of Joseph and Catharine Robidoux, was born in St. Louis, August loth, 1783. He was the eldest of a family, consisting of six sons and one daughter, to wit : Joseph, Antoine, Isadore, Francis, Michel and Palagie. Louis, the second son, lived and died in California, after his removal from St. Louis. Joseph, Antoine, Isadore and Francis were all buried in St. Joseph. Joseph, the father of this family, was a Canadian Frenchman, and came from Montreal, Canada, to St. Louis, where he located shortly after the settlement of that city by the French.

Being a shrewd business man, and possessing great energy, he accumulated a fortune. His wealth, his business qualifications, and his genial disposition made him many friends among the leading merchants and influential men of that city. He occupied a large mansion, located between Walnut and Elm Streets, surrounded with every comfort and convenience. Here he entertained his friends in a royal style, and so noted was his hospitality that the First General Assembly of Missouri did him the honor of holding its first session at his house, on the 7th of December, 1812.

His children attended school at an early age, the best then to be found in the city of St. Louis, where they remained till the completion of their scientific and literary courses.

Joseph, the eldest of the boys, when only eighteen years of age, married Eugenie Delslille, the daughter of a wealthy gentleman of St. Louis.

By this union they had one child, Joseph E. Robidoux, who is still living near White Cloud, Kansas, at the advanced age of seventy-two years.

Four years after his marriage, his wife died. After her death, young Robidoux, then in the twenty-third year of his age, became an extensive traveler, first visiting New Orleans, and different points on the Lower

Mississippi, in search of a favorable location for a trading post. Finding none that offered the advantages desired by him on the Mississippi River, he finally located on the present site of the city of Chicago, where he was plundered and robbed by the Indians, of his goods and merchandise, within a few days after, his arrival there.

He returned again to St. Louis, and soon thereafter made a voyage up the Missouri River, in company with one of the partners of the American Fur Company. '

" Blacksnake Hills " had been seen by some of the men connected with the fur companies, while en route on one of their expeditions, their attention being attracted hither by not only the topography of the country, but by the presence of the congregated tribes of the Sac, Fox and Iowa Indians, who assembled here en masse at stated seasons of the year preparatory to crossing the river, either on a visit to other tribes farther west, or for the purpose of hunting.

Seeing the Indians here in large numbers, while on their journey at this time, they debarked, and after looking at the point and its advantages as a probable future trading post, they proceeded on their way to Council Bluffs, Iowa, the original place of their destination.

.The Bluffs at that time constituted the most important trading post on the Missouri River, being the headquarters of the Otoe, Pawnee, Omaha, Punka and other Indian tribes, nunibering about forty thousand.

Being favorably impressed with the "Bluffs" as a trading post, Mr. Robidoux returned to St. Louis and purchased a stock of goods, which he transported up the Missouri by a keel boat, arriving at the " Bluffs ' in the fall of 1809.

Here he remained for thirteen years, supplying the Indians with goods, and taking in exchange therefor money, peltries and such other commodities as they had to barter, in the meantime making occasional visits to St. Louis.

While residing at the "Bluffs" in 1813, he married Angelique Vandry, another lady of St. Louis, who died in the City of St. Joseph on the 17th of January, 1857.

By this union they had six sons and one daughter - Faraon, Julius C, Francis B., Felix, Edmond, Charles and Mrs. S. P. Beauvis, Charles being the youngest. Of the above named, all are dead excepting Edmond and Mrs. Beauvis, the former residing in St. Joseph and the latter in St. Louis.

, Readily adapting himself to the habits, manners and customs of the Indians, and speaking with considerable fluency the dialects of the tribes by whom he was surrounded, Mr. Robidoux became an expert Indian trader.

viously to Mr. Robidoux' locating there. But a short time, however, passed after his arrival before he began to divide the trade, and finally became so popular with the Indians that he controlled a large portion of this trade, to the great detriment of the Fur Company.

The company, wishing no further opposition from Mr. Robidoux, finally purchased his stock of goods, giving him' fifty per cent, on the original cost, and in addition thereto the sum of one thousand dollars annually for a period of three years, conditioned that he would leave the " Bluffs."

He then returned to St. Louis, where he remained with his family, and carried on the business of a baker and confectioner, until the expiration of the thre? years, the time agreed upon between himself and the Fur Company. Having spent already many years of his life among the Indians as a fur trader, a business, if not entirely congenial to his taste, had at least been a profitable one, he concluded to embark once more in the same pursuit. Not that he really wished - but that he might reap therefrom a golden harvest . Making known his intention to the Fur Company, it at once offered him the post at the mouth of " Roy's Branch," just above the " Blacksnake Hills," at a salary of eighteen hundred dollars per year, provided he would in no wise interfere with the business at the " Bluffs."

This proposition he accepted, and having been furnished with a stock of goods, he landed at the mouth of "Roy's Branch," in the fall of 1826. Shortly afterward he removed to the mouth of "Blacksnake Creek," where he continued to work for the Fur Company until 1830, at which time he purchased their entire interest in the goods then in his possession, and became the sole proprietor of the post at "Blacksnake Hills."

' To one living in this, the last half of the nineteenth century, surrounded with the blessings of civilization, the comforts of home and the companionship of genial friends, such a venture as that of Mr. Robidoux, would be fraught with too many dangers, difficulties and privations to be undertaken single-handed and alone. The desert waste, the forest gloom, and the contiguity of savage Indians, seemed to have possessed, however, no terrors for the solitary and undaunted Frenchman, who, fifty-two years ago, pitched his tent upon the present town site of St. Joseph. He came not as a pioneer, conscious of the future populous and thrifty city, nor as a missionary to minister to the spiritual wants of the red man, but like thousands of others, before and after him, he came, seeking new and broader fields of labor, wherein, by honest toil and

What inust have been the nature of his lonely musings during the long and weary years of his isolation from early friends and associates, it is difficult to imagine. , Suffice it to say, with a fortitude unsurpassed, and a tenacity of purpose which knew no defeat, he patiently bided his his time, never dreaming in the early years of his voluntary exilement, that he was destined to be the founder of a populous and prosperous city.

For many years, the solitary log cabin of Joseph Robidoux was the only evidence of the presence of civilized man within a radius of fifty miles. Time rolled on. With every puffing steamer; that ascended the turbid waters of the Missouri, came the emigrant and the adventurer, seeking homes in the wilds of the far west. Embryo settlements had been made along the banks of the great river in Jackson, Clay and other counties.

Northwestern Missouri, including what was afterwards known as the "Platte Purchase," had been seen by the emigrant. Favorable reports had been made of its great beauty, its rich prairies, its fertile valleys, its bountiful supply of timber, and of its perennial springs and numerous water courses.

A few families from Franklin County, Missouri, consisting of Thomas and Henry SoUers, Elisha Gladden, Jane Purget and a few others, ventured hither between 1834 and [836, and located near the post.

The only building that stood upon the present town site of St. Joseph, at that time, was the log house of Joseph Robidoux. It occupied the spot where the Occidental Hotel now stands - on the northwest corner of Jule and Second Streets, and was a building of considerable magnitude. It stood east and west, was a story and a-half high, and contained nine rooms, three of which were above and six below. A covered porch was built on the south side, extending the entire length of the building. On the north side was a shed, divided into three rooms. The west room of this shed was used- by Mr. Robidoux as his sleeping apartment. His store-room was the middle room of the main building, the entrance to which was through a door at the east end, first passing through an outer room to reach it.

He had in his employ at the time, fifteen or twenty men who were French. These men were regularly sent east on mules toward Grand River, or west beyond the Missouri, for the purpose of trading with the Indians and bringing in furs.

He owned an old colored servant who not only possessed a French name (Poulite) but who could speak the French tongue, having been raised among that nationality in St. Louis. This old man. attended to the culinary affairs at the post. ;

Mr. Robidoux operated a private ferry just below Francis Street, for crossing the Indians and those who were in his employ. The crossing generally was done in canoes, and\occasionally in Mackinaw boats. The road leading from the ferry on the other side of the river led to Highland, Kansas, or to the Indian Mission, which was established after the removal of the Indians. The road from the ferry on this side, passed below the Patee House, and crossed at Agency Ford, where it divided, one branch of which leading to Liberty, Clay County, and the other in the direction of Grand River.

The next house ^log), erected at Blacksnake Hills, was built in March, 1836, and occupied by Thomas SoUers, east of Finger's packing house, for Mr. Robidoux, who wished to take up another additional quarter section of land, for about this period he began to think that Blacksnake Hills would develop into something greater than a mere trading post, for the convenience of the non-progressive and half civilized Indian. No other improvements of a special character were made until the following year. The small colony remained in staUi quo, enduring the hardships and ^privations incident to pioneer life, but looking forward to the speedy dawn of a brighter day.

From 1837 To 1840

The treaty for the "Platte Purchase'' had been negotiated, the Indians removed, the country opened to settlement, and hundreds of emigrants were flocking hither, locating in the interior and at different points along the Missouri.

The small colony at "Blacksnake Hills" was increased in number by the arrival of F. W. Smith, Joseph Gladden, Polly Dehard, Samuel Hull, John Freeman, Charles Zangenett, Father John Patchen, Captain James B. O'Toole, Judge Wm. C. Toole, William Fowler, Edwin Toole and others.

Rival Towns

Between the years above named, the country settled rapidly, and one of several localities in or near the Missouri River, it was thought, would take precedence of all the other settlements, and become the chief town in this portion of the state. The respective aspirants for future greatness were : "Blacksnake Hills," White Cloud, Savannah, Amazonia, Boston and Elizabethtown, all north of St. Joseph, some eight or ten miles, and within a radius of five miles.

So confident were some of the business men living in Clay and Clinton Counties that some one of the last mentioned towns would be the future emporium of the "Platte Purchase," that they not only purchased land, but in one or two instances laid off towns and opened business houses. John W. Samuels and Robert Elliott began business at White Cloud, or what was known as " Hackberry Ridge." G. W. Samuels, now of St. Joseph, built a warehouse at Elizabethtown, where he bought and sold hemp. Amazonia was expected to be the county-seat of Andrew County. Charles Caples, concluding that the quarter-section east and adjoining .Amazonia, would be a more elligible spot for the building of a great city, laid it off into lots and gave it the name of Boston. These places, excepting Savannah, are numbered with the things of the past, and live only in the memories of the men whose pluck and energy gave them a name and brief existence. Alas ! how true :

Mission Of Three Gentlemen

In the fall of 1839, three gentlemen left the town of Independence, Jackson County, Missouri, destined for " Blacksnake Hills," on a mission of business.

The " Platte Purchase ' had been opened to white settlers for two years. Being one of the most fertile regions of the state, and lying upon its western border, the far-seeing and sharp-sighted business men of that day supposed that some one of the small settlements on the banks of the Missouri River would eventually develop into a great and prosperous city.

Tours of inspection had been made, the advantages of geographical location had been duly considered, and it was finally concluded by the parties above referred to, that " Blacksnake Hills " offered superior inducements as a future mart for trade, as a starting point to the great unsettled country westward, to any other settled or prospective town on the river.

So believing, they determined, if possible, to purchase the town site of " Blacksnake Hills." To this end one of these gentlemen had corresponded with the proprietor in reference to the terms, and so confident were they of the success of their mission that they had prepared a map of the future town, and could doubtless see, in imagination, the already . risen city, with its superb blocks and valuable corner lots.

The sum agreed upon was sixteen hundred dollars in silver. This they securely fastened in shot-bags, placed it in saddle-wallets, and, being well mounted, they wended their tortuous way through the wilds of Clay, Clinton and Buchanan Counties, sometimes abreast, oftener in

After supper the object of their coming was fully and pleasantly discussed, and nothing remained to complete the bargain but the pay-^ ment of the money, which could be done the next morning. Had they remembered the old aphorism, " Procrastination is the thief of time," they would have acted at once, for

Being of a genial turn, and wishing to entertain his guests in the best manner possible, Mr. Robidoux proposed a social game of cards, which was participated in by the parties until bedtime. Just, however, before they ceased playing, a slight misunderstanding arose between Mr. Robidoux and one of his guests, in reference to the game, which finally resulted, for a moment, in a spirited altercation.

Mr. Robidoux reverted to the trade, which was supposed to have been consummated in the early part of the evening, and declined to make any further arrangements in reference thereto, and, so determined was he in his purpose, that all attempts at a renewal of the negotiations, upon the following morning, by his guests, were hopelessly abandoned.

Thus, unexpectedly to them, terminated an enterprise, which, had it been successful, would have told more rapidly upon the destiny of St, Joseph, and would, perhaps, have given the town a much earlier start in the race to wealth and commercial importance.

In 1839, shortly after the arrival of Judge Toole in the county, he came to the "Blacksnake Hills" one afternoon, horseback, and while passing along, near the present site of the Pacific House, he saw a large gray wolf, which he chased into the bottom, about where the first roundhouse now stands. In fact, the wolves were so numerous at that time in and about the "Blacksnake Hills" and their howls were so loud and incessant, that to sleep at times was utterly impossible. Often at midnight, all

At such times the whole air seemed to be filled with the vibrations of their most infernal and diabolical music. The wolf was not only a midnight prowler here, but was seen in the daytime, singly or in packs, warily skulking upon the outskirts of a thicket, or sallying cautiously along the open path, with a sneaking look of mingled cowardice and cruelty.

The first white male child born at "Blacksnake Hills" was Thomas B, Sellers, born in 1837. The first white female child was the daughter of Polly and Henry Sollers, born in 1838, in a small hut east of the present site of the Occidental Hotel. The first physician who came was Dr. Daniel G. Keedy, in 1838. Dr. Silas McDonald arrived about the same time in the county.