The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1920-10-14

Mckenzie ruled the realm of the
upper Missouri country as chief fac
tor of the American Fur Trading
company, rival of the Hudson's Bay
company, and which controlled the
trade of the Indians of a vast stretch
of country. 1t was by far the most
powerful concern in the west, and
sought to rule the redskins who were
dependent upon it for goods and sup
plies as despotically as did the Hud-
sons Bay company in the north. The
head of the American Fur Trading
company was John Jacob Astor.
Mckenzie was the executive in the
field under Aston. His headquarters
were at Fort Union, first settlement
in the west with the exception of the
forst established by Manuel Lisa at
the confluence of the Big Horn and
Yellowstone rivers in 1907.
Fort Union was built by Alexander
Culbertson, just outside the present
Montana boundaries, where the wa
tiers of the Missouri and Yellowstone
join. 1t Immediately became the CEN
ter of trade of a wide stretch of In
dian country, and was the port of
Montana until the rise of Fort Ben
ton, nearly half a century later, caus-
ed it to decline, and ultimately to be
dismantled. Now it is but a memory
with the modern town of Mondak
half a mile distant from it's site.
Fort Union was the mecca of all
travellers who anne adventuring into
the great wilderness of the west. 1t
was the last outpost of civilization.
Beyond it the red savages were SUI
preme, and the white man who left
it's protection and ventured further
into the wilds took his life in his
hands.
Mckenzie, as chief trader of Fort
Union, was by far the most import
ant individual of the Upper Missouri
river country. He was out of reach
and out of touch with the constituted
authorities, and was a monarch unto
himself.
Mckenzie and his lieutenants at
Fort Union we're hosts to many men
whose names and deeds are part OF
the warp and wool of the history of
the west, and also to some of the
worlds famous scientists and men of
art and letters of that time.
Here John James Audubon, great |
COZ VI oil VI hlIhOlOSloIot pdSSGu mOG6 |
than two months gathering material
for his "Quadrupeds of North Ameri-
ca" after coming up the Missouri by
steamboat with the record of the fast
est trin--48 days-eVer made from
st. Louis.
Macmillan, Prince of Weld, made !
his headquarters the same year at
Fort Union, gathering data for a
folio atlas that is described as "the |
most luxurious souvenir of western
adventure eyer issued from the
press"
Where Catlin Drew Pictures of the
Indians
Here George Catlin, the preceding
year, drew many of his Indian pic
lures that became known as curiosi-
ties of art and are highly priced as
aids to the anthropologist.
Here Jim Bridger, renowned free
trapper, used to resort and it was
here that Bridger suffered a deep hui
After he had boosted of
the valor of his men, his force fled
from the Sioux at the very gates of
the fort, and at the funeral of a half
breed victim of the attack, Bridger
heard the speaker pronounce the
"This funeral is caused by the
cowardice of Bridger's party" The
veteran trapper had intended to pass
the winter at Fort Union, but now he
dismissed his men and returned to
mountains alone.
Here Nathaniel J.. Wyeth, who de-
voted his life to a vain attempt tn
develop the Columbia river salmon
fisheries, committed what the men of
mountain and prairie regarded as a t
gross act of t~reachery. Wyeth stop
ped for a few days at the fort on his
way back to the states and was en-
,ertained by Mckenzie, who explain
I'd to him the operation of the whisky
still. When he reached civilization
again, Wyeth reported the existence
If the still, which was used to make
for trade with the Indians,
ind William Clark of the famous
Lewis and Clark expedition, who was
till superintendent for western
ribes, was instructed to suppress the
Illicit manufacture. The incident
near wrecking the American
FUR company, which Immediately or
Tered the still destroyed. Big in
.luences were brought to bear and 7
he affair of the still was allowed to
lass unpublished.
Wyeth's Visit Described by Irving
Washington Irving, in his "Adven-
of Captain Bonneville" thus
describes Wyeth's visit to the fort: :
ON the oath of August, 1888, the O
,ull boat emerged, with it's adventur- C
JUS crew, into the broad bosom of r
he mighty Missouri. Here, about C
tx miles above the mouth of the yell '
owstone, the voyagers landed at Fort a
Union, the distributing post of the e
american Fur company in the west t.
I'm country. 1t was a stockaded s.
o~rtress, about 220 feet square, pleas,
.ntly situated on a high bank. Here
hey were Hospitality entertained by a
Ir. Mckenzie, the superintendent, p
nd remained with him three days, Ct
the unusual luxuries of Il
read, butter, milk and cheese, for Ct
he fort was we'll supplied with dom 81
site cattle, though it had no garden. W
he atmosphere of these elevated re- Il
ions is said to be too dry for the C;
uIfura of vapafa h1ac. vot tba vova- CT