Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-11-12

wv SiVe IIlstoIy VI tiie
southwestern United
States is written its beginnings
will cover many an interesting
chapter on the Santa Fe trail,
that great highway from the
Missouri river to New Mexico
along which the commerce of
the prairies was carried from
1920 to the coming of the rail
roads. It's northern extremity
was independence, Missouri,
and it extended to the ancient
town Of Santa Fe, which still
disputes with st. Augustine,
Florida, the honor of being the
oldest town in America. In the
early days the Santa Fe trail
lay half in American and half
il Spanish territory, for the
fond Of the Arkansas river in
Colorado, where the boundary
was crossed, was almost exactly
midway between it's extreme
ends.
When expeditions first began
to be made from Missouri to
Santa Fe they followed up the
Arkansas river to the vicinity
of where La Junta, Colorado,
now stands, and then, turning
south, went first to Taos and
then to Santa Fe. Even after
the shorter trail was estab-
lished across the desert, the
route by the Upper Arkansas
continued to be used. On this
branch of the trail Bent's Fort
on the Arkansas was the great
stopping place, and it was in ev-
cry respect the most important
outpost of the southwest, rank
ing with Forts Union, Pierre
and Laramie, all situated to the
northward. 1t was the great
crossroads station of the south
western country and the trad
ing point of an enormous area.
Bent's Fort was built by the
trading firm of Bent & St.
Vrain, which ranked next to the
American Fur company in the
amount of business it trans
acted in the period of about
1910. 1t was situated $50 miles
from independence, Mo-, and
stood on the left bank Of the
river, half way between the
present towns of La Junta and
Los Animas, in Colorado. The
date of it's beginning was 1923,
but it took until 1882 to COM
plete.
The early history of the
southwest is interviewer with
the story of the famous pioneer
Bent family, several of whose
descendants live today in St.
Louis, where the Bents estab-
lished homes after the trading
days of the frontier had passed.
The founder of the family for
tune in America was Sllas Bent,
who was born in Massachusetts,
in 1853. His father was one
of those who attended the
Boston tea party" Silas went
to st. Louis in 1904 at the time
the government of Louisiana
was turned over to American
authorities and there he served
as judge Of the superior court,
dying in 1927. Four Of his
sons, William, Charles, George
and Robert, became prominent
in the Indian trade in the west
between 1920 and 1850, re-
naming in that region until
they died. A fifth, Silas, as
f1ag-lieutenant of the flagship
Mississippi, was with Perry in
Japan, and wrote a report on
the Japan current. He devel-
oped in his lifetime considera-
BILE reputation as a scientist.
Build First Fort
The leading spirit in this
family Of Indian traders was
William w. Bent. George Bent
was on the Upper Missouri riv-
err, in what is Montana today,
as early as 1916, in the employ
of the American fur company. /.
William Bent's first adventure /
into the western wilderness was :
also in the employ of the Amer
lean Fur company among the ,
Sioux Indians. /
In 1924 William Bent built q ]
noo+ m tho ArLopoos ,