Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1941-11-28
AUDUBON AIDED
i'm RUNNING RUM
TO THE INDIANS
NATURALIST HELPED STEAMBOAT
CAPTAIN OUTWTT AGENTS
ALONG THE MISSOURI

John J. Audubon. the famous nat
uralist, who was a guest at Fort
Union in the early forties. studying
flora and fauna of the region, aided
steamboat captain to outwit agents
along the Missouri river in running
liquor into the northwest to be sold
to the Indians at a fancy profit.
Near the middle of the last century
Many persons drank and thought
nothing of it.
Whisky, the government came to
realize. while it might agree with the
white man, did not improve the dis
position of our Indian wards, and 1t
became unlawful to sell it to them.
Unfortunately. the Indians craved it.
and were willing to pay almost any
price to get it. At that time there
was an immense profit to be made In
this illicit business and there were
plenty of white men who did not fear
to run the inspection gauntlet. 1t was
not uncommon for the Missouri river
boats to engage in this trade, so long
as navigation continued on that river.
In l843 the American Fur Co. sent
its annual supplies up the Missouri on
the Omega, with Capt. Joseph A. Sire,
master, and Joseph LaBarge, pilot.
With the supplies was what was
termed 1.-The usual amount of liquor"
Among the passengers we're Audubon,
and others of his company, bent on
scientific discoveries.
The boat passed the first inspec-
ton point without any trouble, but
shortly afterWard was called upon to
submit to search by an army lieu
tenant, who had been empowered to
act instead of the agent.
Audubon Saves Situation
This order caused great consterna-
ton on board the boat, until Audubon
volunteered to aid the captain. He
himself carried liquor with him, and
had a permit from the government to
do so. This permit he showed to the
lieutenant, and then suggested that
together they visit the camp, his OBJ
ject being to give Captain Sires time
to conceal the whisky. The lieutenant,
greatly honored by Audubon,s evident
pleasure in his society, led him to
camp, where he entertained the nat
uralist for a couple of hours. Mean
while Captain Sires was not idle.
The hold of steamboat of that
period was divided by a partition ex-
tending its full length. the two sides
being connected by curve under the
hatchway in the forecastle There be-
ing no windows in the hold, the deck
hands used candles to light them at
their tasks as utter darkness prevailed
a short distance from the hatchway.
During the absence of Audubon, the
liquor was loaded on cars, and run far
back in the hold one one side. and
the workers were instructed as to their
further action. BY the time Audubon
and the lieutenant returned, every
thing was in readiness for the latter
Captain Sires insisted on a thorough
search and demanded that one of like
strictness should be given other boats.
Then the lieutenant was taken into
the empty side of the hold, where, of
course, nothing was found One side
exhaustively inspected, the lieutenant
was led into the other, which was also
empty, the cars with the liquor hav-
ing been safely transferred into the
needless to say that the Omega was
released with a clean record.
The next year after taking the
Audubon party up the river, Captain
Sires and Labarge were in charge of
the American Fur Co.'s boat, the MINI
rod. At Bellevue the agent was an
ex-Methodist minister, and a jealous
advocate of temperance. 1t was not
easy to deceive this man, who never
allowed package or barrel to escape