The Chouteaus: First Family of the Fur Trade
In the late eighteenth century, the vast, pristine land that lay west of the Mississippi River remained largely unknown to the outside world. The area beckoned to daring frontiersmen who produced the first major industry of the American West—the colorful but challenging, often dangerous fur trade. At the lead was an enterprising French Creole family that founded the city of St. Louis in 1763 and pushed forth to garner furs for world markets.

Stan Hoig provides an intimate look into the lives of four generations of the Chouteau family as they voyaged up the Western rivers to conduct trade, at times taking wives among the native tribes. They provided valuable aid to the Lewis and Clark expedition and assisted government officials in developing Indian treaties. National leaders, tribal heads, and men of frontier fame sought their counsel. In establishing their network of trading posts and opening trade routes throughout the Central Plains and Rocky Mountains, the Chouteaus contributed enormously to the nation's westward movement.

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The Chouteaus: First Family of the Fur Trade
In the late eighteenth century, the vast, pristine land that lay west of the Mississippi River remained largely unknown to the outside world. The area beckoned to daring frontiersmen who produced the first major industry of the American West—the colorful but challenging, often dangerous fur trade. At the lead was an enterprising French Creole family that founded the city of St. Louis in 1763 and pushed forth to garner furs for world markets.

Stan Hoig provides an intimate look into the lives of four generations of the Chouteau family as they voyaged up the Western rivers to conduct trade, at times taking wives among the native tribes. They provided valuable aid to the Lewis and Clark expedition and assisted government officials in developing Indian treaties. National leaders, tribal heads, and men of frontier fame sought their counsel. In establishing their network of trading posts and opening trade routes throughout the Central Plains and Rocky Mountains, the Chouteaus contributed enormously to the nation's westward movement.

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The Chouteaus: First Family of the Fur Trade

The Chouteaus: First Family of the Fur Trade

by Stan Hoig
The Chouteaus: First Family of the Fur Trade

The Chouteaus: First Family of the Fur Trade

by Stan Hoig

Paperback

$29.95 
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Overview

In the late eighteenth century, the vast, pristine land that lay west of the Mississippi River remained largely unknown to the outside world. The area beckoned to daring frontiersmen who produced the first major industry of the American West—the colorful but challenging, often dangerous fur trade. At the lead was an enterprising French Creole family that founded the city of St. Louis in 1763 and pushed forth to garner furs for world markets.

Stan Hoig provides an intimate look into the lives of four generations of the Chouteau family as they voyaged up the Western rivers to conduct trade, at times taking wives among the native tribes. They provided valuable aid to the Lewis and Clark expedition and assisted government officials in developing Indian treaties. National leaders, tribal heads, and men of frontier fame sought their counsel. In establishing their network of trading posts and opening trade routes throughout the Central Plains and Rocky Mountains, the Chouteaus contributed enormously to the nation's westward movement.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780826343482
Publisher: University of New Mexico Press
Publication date: 11/07/2022
Pages: 352
Sales rank: 691,365
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Stan Hoig is professor emeritus of journalism, University of Central Oklahoma, Edmond. He was inducted into the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame in 1994 and the Oklahoma Historical Hall of Fame in 1998. Also among his numerous books are The Sand Creek Massacre, The Battle of the Washita, and Jesse Chisholm, Ambassador of the Plains.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations     viii
Preface     ix
Threshold to an Empire     1
Beyond the Great River     17
War and Peace on the Missouri     33
In a Spanish Dungeon     49
Scions to the Fore     63
Amid an Indian War     77
A Frontier in Havoc     93
The "Osage Outfit"     103
VIPs at the Verdigris     113
Probing the Plains     127
To the Prairies Unknown     143
Debt unto Death     155
Steamboats "to the Mountains"     163
A Mile Wide and Six Inches Deep     179
Deadly Cargoes: Whiskey and Cholera     193
Charles Chouteau at the Helm     203
Passions of War     213
Requiems in Retrospect     221
Addendum: The Chouteau Women     237
Chouteau Families and Osage Offspring     249
Chouteau-Related Trading Posts     255
Chouteau-Involved Indian Treaties     261
Notes     265
Bibliography     305
Index     317
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