Queen of the River Towns 1843-1858

Population 1843 June 200

1843 December 500

1845 600

1846 800

1850 3460

1860 8932

As soon As Joseph Robidoux opened up his new town, settlers and businessmen began to flock in. The first store for white people-as opposed to Robidoux's trade with the Indians-was established by C. A. Perry and his brother, Elias H. Perry, who had been merchants in St. Louis. In 1843 they came by horseback bringing with them their salesman and bookkeeper, Albe M. Saxton. Also in 1843 came John Corby. He was thirty-five years of age, and had been engaged in the contracting business, working on canals, levees, turnpikes, and railroad lines in Ohio, Kentucky, Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana. Having probably more ready cash than anyone else in the community, he purchased a number of lots from Robidoux and started a general merchandise store at Second and Edmond Streets. He obtained a license to operate a ferry across the Missouri River. There were no banking facilities in the community so he started a simple banking business in the back of his store, and had the first metal safe in St. Joseph. He later called his business "The Banking House of John Corby, and some of the old canceled checks are still in existence. He built the first brick house in St. Joseph at the corner of Fifth and Felix, where the Corby Building now stands. The profits from his store he invested in land, one purchase being the eighty acres“Corby Grove'-for two hundred dollars. Robert Washington Donnell, originally of North Carolina, had come to Rockhouse Prairie in 1837. When the new town was opened he moved in and established a dry goods business, Smith & Donnell. Israel Landis came from near St. Louis in the fall of 1844 and opened a small saddle and harness shop. He began business in a house on the west side of Blacksnake Creek. In the spring of 1845 he moved over to Main Street between Felix and Francis to a frame house he rented. When he arrived there were two one-story brick buildings built by Joseph Robidoux, one at Fourth and Felix, the other at Fourth and Edmond. Mrs. Landis, with her sisters, had operated a school for young ladies in St. Louis before her marriage, so she, in 1845, established the St. Joseph Seminary for Young Ladies. Among the pupils were two daughters of Michel Robidoux. Joseph Davis of Kentucky was married in Indiana and in 1840 came to Buchanan County, taking up land to the north of Joseph Robidoux. His brick house, built in 1847, has in 1975 been restored by the Reverend Charles Hagee and stands at 2100 North Eleventh Street. David J. Heaton came from Mississippi to St. Joseph in 1845 and started a cabinet shop where he made coffins. He became St. Joseph's first undertaker.

John Patee came in from Rockhouse Prairie in 1845 and, with the profits from the sale of his fanning machines, he bought 320 acres of land, at thirteen dollars an acre, to the south and east of Robidoux's \*Original Town and began dividing it into lots. This area was known as “Pateetown. Patee also started a drug store. The St. Joseph Gazette of June 6, 1845, carries the following advertisement:

‘DRUGS & MEDICINES

The undersigned respectfully informs the public that he has just received and offers for sale a new supply of Drugs, Medicines, Paints, Oils, Varnish, and Brushes of all kinds; Wine and Brandy of superior quality for medicinal purposes, Harding's Pile Ointment, an effectual remedy for the above disease, and a Tonic preparation for the cure of ague and fever. Sappington's, Cook's, and Lee's Pills, Seidlitz and Soda Powders; Paper, Quills, Ink, Etc. Also a variety of School and Miscellaneous Books and Surgeon's Instruments, Prescriptions compounded with care and dispatch.

‘Physicians and others are invited to call and examine his stock, as he is prepared to furnish all the variety of medicines, both for the Chemical and Botanic Practice.

“Store corner of Main and Francis Streets.

‘JOHN PATEE

'St. Joseph, Mo. May 23, 1845

William Fahnestock Ridenbaugh, a printer originally of Bedford, Pennsylvania, came to Liberty, Missouri, in 1843. There he acquired the printing press which had belonged to the Mormons before they were expelled from the state, and their press thrown into the river. Ridenbaugh brought the press and his type to St. Joseph in the spring of 1845 and started The Weekly Gazette, the first newspaper in the town. The first issue was dated April 25, 1845, and contained this announcement:

“PROSPECTUS of the ST. JOSEPH GAZETTE

"The undersigned has commenced the publication of a new paper under the above title in St. Joseph, Buchanan County, Mo. This point is believed to be the most favorable in Upper Missouri for the dissemination of news, destined as it is shortly to be the commercial emporium not only of the greater part of the Platte country but also of much of the larger portion of the fertile and growing region lying along North Grand River. The Gazette will aim to bring into notice the wealth and resources of all this magnificent region, and lend a helping hand to whatever may develop its greatness and hasten its onward march in improvement and prosperity.

In politics it will maintain the principles of the democratic faith, which have once more triumphed so gloriously in the late Presidential campaign, and will give a steady support to the administration of JAMES K. POLK.

Apart from politics the paper will contain all the news of the day, Congressional, foreign, and domestic, the state of the market, carefully prepared, authentic information of the Oregon and Texas movements, which are of so much interest in this section just now, and likely to be so for many years, etc., etc. In a word the undersigned will spare no pains to make the journal an agreeable companion to every circle.

“Edited by: L. ARCHER

Terms: $2.00 per annum, in advance; or $3 at the end of the year.

“WM. RIDENBAUGH

Proprietor and Printer

That first issue of the Gazette also included the following advertisement:

“COME AND SEE!!

NEW GOODS

A Splendid assortment Cheaper than ever.

“I am now receiving my Spring and Summer assortment of Goods. The stock has been carefully selected and cheaply purchased, and I assure my friends and the public, that I can and will sell goods at prices so low that they will be fully satisfied to buy of me upon examination, and I invite them to call and see for themselves. My assortment consists in part of

CLOTHS of every grade and description

Cassimeres Satinettes

Jeans Flannels

Calicoes of every variety Mouslin de Laines

Chusans Merinoes

Alpacas Cashmere de Ecosse

Handkerchiefs Fancy Shawls of every description

Muslins Linens

Bed Tickings Fine and coarse cotton

Shirtings and Sheetings, etc.

Hardware of Every Variety

Groceries and Fine Teas

Queensware, Boots, Shoes, and Hats

A very desirable and extensive assortment

A LARGE AND FULL ASSORTMENT ΟF

SPRING AND SUMMER GOODS

suitable to the country trade.

“I am grateful to my friends and customers for past patronage and beg leave to assure them that I can and will sell goods at the very lowest prices at which they can be found in this section of the Country.

HEMP HIDES BEESWAX TALLOW FLAX SEED

FEATHERS FURS and DEER SKINS

and all other kinds of produce that will bear shipment will be taken the same as cash.

J. C. ROUBIDOUX

‘St. Joseph April 25, 1845’

Among the other advertisements in early issues of the Gazette were

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'WANTED

‘At this post a number of black, bay, gray, and sorrel horses: each horse must be fifteen and a half hands high and not over six years old.

"A. Q. Masters Office W. M. D. McKissack

"Ft. Leavenworth, Feb. 24, 1845 Capt. A. Q. M.

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"REGULAR PACKET

BETWEEN SAINT JOSEPH AND SAINT LOUIS

THE JOHN GOLONG

WILLIAM W. BAKER, MASTER

The "John Golong has been fitted up expressly to run as a regular packet between St. Joseph and St. Louis, and all intermediate ports Shippers and passengers may rely upon her regularity and pfompး attention. The lightness of the draught of the John Golong, and the greater security to persons and property, should recommend her to the travelling public as well as shippers. Her speed and accommodations are equal to any boat in the trade.

'St. Joseph, May 23, 1845’

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In May 1845, editor Ridenbaugh wrote for the Gazette this editorial:

'OUR TOWN

‘In consideration that the town of St. Joseph is yet quite young, that very little has been written concerning it, that comparatively few persons have visited it, and that this is the first newspaper published here, we will be indulged in writing an article, whose object is to let people know what kind of place is our town; and what are its prospects. This article is intended for persons at a distance and we will suppose that the reader knows nothing whatever of St. Joseph.

“St. Joseph is situated on the east bank of the Missouri River, about 575 miles above St. Louis, and about 75 miles by the river above Fort Leavenworth. It is now about twenty months since this place was laid off into town lots: it contains 682 inhabitants; the original proprietor Joseph Robidoux, has sold 316 lots to private individuals; there are twelve large mercantile establishments, three hotels, with a host of mechanics of all trades. As yet there is only one small church, but it is expected that three temples will be erected to the Living God this summer, a Methodist, a Presbyterian, and Catholic church; several of the buildings are of fine quality, they would do no discredit to St. Louis or Cincinnati. Improvement is now rapidly going on in St. Joseph, and the mechanics all seem engaged. Much, very much trade is done by our merchants, we presume each ones does a good business now, notwithstanding several potent causes have operated to curtail trade. Most of the ready money of the farmers has been taken for the last few years to pay for their land, the country is very new, and sufficiently large farms are not yet open, and for the last two years the crops have failed almost entirely. When these things with their immediate effects have passed away, altogether a new aspect of affairs will be presented. There are many circumstances connected with St. Joseph which conspire to make it not only a large but important place. This town is the farthest up on the Missouri river, which is a fact of some importance; it is true that two or three towns have been laid off above us, but it is agreed that all things considered there is not a good town site between this and the Council Bluffs, on this side of the river. The river at this place makes quite a bend, it runs as it were far into the country and turning short round it runs back; we are situated on a point of this kind, and the consequence is that a much larger portion of land lies immediately contiguous to us than is generally the case with river towns. For these reasons an extensive scope of country must trade at this point, St. Joseph being the nearest and most convenient; and further the quality of the soil is good, so that the amount of the produce of the Country, when its resources shall be fully tested is incalculable. The character of our citizens generally is decidedly good, they are strictly industrious energetic; everyone seems to feel the necessity of doing something, and does it, so that that class of gentlemen usually called LOAFERS, is small; and a favorable opinion of St. Joseph's morals may be drawn from the fact, that the disgusting spectacle of a drunken man, much less frequently offends the eye than formerly.

In August 1845 the Gazette published a long letter written by a correspondent in Council Bluffs: "The Platte Purchase. I estimate the number of acres in the Platte Purchase as two million, about equally divided among the six counties.

The general course of the Missouri river along the Purchase is south-east; but at the south-west corner of Andrew and north-west corner of Buchanan counties, it is a large detour to the east, making up many miles of its course. At one of the extremest eastern points of this bend the town of St. Joseph, which I am pledged to describe is located. I make no pretensions to descriptive writing, but shall nevertheless, try to give you some idea of it.

“On the 20th day of May, 1843, I first saw the site of St. Joseph, then known as “Black Snake Hills,” or “Robidoux's.” Having (as I fancy) an eye for the beautiful, I was much pleased with the landscape, as seen from a high bluff north of where they have since built up a town. The scenery on the lower Missouri, which I had then ascended for the first time, is in general so uninteresting, that a Spectator (or a speculator) could not well fail to be attracted by the scenery at “Black Snake Hills.” On the upper Missouri, from the mouth the Great Platte, the scenery has more of the characteristics of the upper Mississippi-picturesque bluffs and rolling prairies, interspersed with timber groves. Some of the scenery between the of Platte and St. Joseph is of this character, particularly between the Nemaha Creeks, on the south side. But between St. Joseph and St. Louis, the greatest interest of the river to the traveller : from its associations, as the great avenue for the commerce and of a region of inexhaustible agricultural resources, and as the grand thoroughfare, in part, between the United States and the оску Mountains, and the countries west of the Rocky Mountains.

At the time (May ‘43) there were but two or three ་houses at་ “Black Snake Hills.' These stood at the base of the bluff to have alluded, while below them, for several miles, was spread out a beautiful prairie bottom, containing several thousand acres, ō farmhouses and small groves here and there to relieve its monotony. and bounded on one side by the Missouri river, and on the other by a range of picturesque bluffs, which in some places were spotted with trees, and in others robed with the rich green grass of the prai in Near where the town stands, the bluffs, by a graceful curve, sweep in towards the river, and present upon their many gradual slopes, most attractive slopes for rural dwellings.

‘One of the buildings then there was the trading house of Mr. Joseph Robidoux, in honor of whom, as proprietor, the town was named. He had established himself at that point some forty years ago, to trade with the Indians. Of course, no one foresaw exactly what has་ since taken place. When we landed there, as before stated, Mr. Roubidoux was just mounting his horse to visit the Land-office at Plattsburg, for the purpose of 'entering' his quarter section.

‘The people of Buchanan county tried to deprive the old gentleman of his pre-emption claim, in order to sell out the tract, to build county offices with the proceeds.

But the land did him justice, and he found himself, in a few weeks, metamorphosed from an Indian trader into a dignified proprietor of a town, sporting his cane, and bowing, with French ease and suavity, to numerous strangers flocking to his retreat. The first sale of lots took place in September, 1843, and now it has a population of several hundreds, with upwards of a dozen stores, two or three “hotels,' a cabinet-making shop, wagon-making shops, blacksmith shops, and so on, besides a bountiful supply of physicians and half a dozen lawyers. They have a newspaper too, and a semi-weekly mail, and seem to feel as much interesting the affairs of the Nation and State, as people do in places of much greater pretentions, and as old as St. Charles.

The principal shipments from St. Joseph are hemp and tobacco. When the resources of the country become developed, the quantities of these articles to be shipped must be greatly increased. The soil in every direction from the town is remarkable for its most exuberant fertility; and it only needs an industrious and enterprising population to render it one of the most magnificent agricultural districts in the western country. But I have already said so much on this point, that I must not extend my remarks on it now.

‘When the river is in good stage, the freights between St. Louis and St. Joseph are, comparatively speaking, very low. The farmers are thus brought very near to market-as the distance to market should be measured rather by the prices of freight than the number of miles. "The location of St. Joseph is such, that as the town grows, it will be the emporium of most of the trade of the “Purchase,” except of Platte county, which has Weston as its principal shipping place. St. Joseph will also have considerable trade from the old counties which lie to the east of the Purchase, and which have at that place a near outlet to the Missouri river, since the Indian title has been extinguished. I refer to the north Grand river country, and you can readily understand what I mean, by a glance at that excellent map of Missouri hanging against the screen in your office.

'St. Joseph has another advantage in the fact, that it is on the only favorable town site on the east bank of the Missouri, above Weston, for several hundred miles. It also has a good landing, which there is no probability of losing; and the town is accessible from the north, north-west, east, north-east, south-east and south, by very tolerable roads, which a small outlay of money and time will, at an early day, render excellent. From St. Joseph to this place the river scarcely touches the bluff on the east side-not at all above Iowa Point, which is but a short distance above the mouth of the Nodaway river.

‘Having now redeemed my pledge, and given you at least as large al description of St. Joseph as will be acceptable, I close my notices of the Platte Purchase.

“Our treaty here with the Pottawatomies progresses slowly. The Indians are much divided in opinion, and we are unable to say how the negotiations will end.

‘Very truly yours

‘John Brown’

In 1845 the leading citizens of St. Joseph were:

Joseph Robidoux Robert Washington Donnell

Frederick W. Smith Israel Landis

Simeon Kemper Isadore Poulin

John Corby Henry Vories

Joseph C. Hull Benjamin F. Loan

Elias Perry Jonathan M. Bassett

Albe M. Saxton Solomon L. Leonard

Willard P. Hall (later governor of Missouri)

On May 5, 1845, an election of trustees of the town of St. Joseph for the period of one year was held. Elected to that office were Joseph Robidoux, Benjamin C. Powell, Johnson Copeland, John P. Carter, Isadore Barada, Sinclair K. Miller, and Wiley English. A meeting of this group was held on May 8, at which Joseph Robidoux was elected chairman of the Board of Trustees; Benjamin F. Loan, clerk and attorney; Howell Thomas, constable and collector; Charles White, assessor and inspector; Benjamin C. Powell, treasurer; and Frederick W. Smith, surveyor.

The Book of Minutes of the meetings of the first trustees of St. Joseph is preserved at the office of the St. Joseph city clerk. The minutes of one early meeting begin: "The Board met at early candlelight.” Among the early decisions recorded were the granting of a license to John Corby to operate a ferry across the Missouri River, penalties for citizens who permitted their hogs to wander into the streets, fines for citizens strolling about the streets playing musical instruments, fines for steamboat captains who permitted passenger with infectious diseases to disembark, fines for dram-shop keepers who remained open after nine o'clock on Sunday mornings.

As the steamboat traffic increased, it became apparent that St. Joseph was rapidly outstripping the original county seat -- Sparta --  and efforts to change the location were made. At the first election of county residents in 1845, the effort failed. A second try was made in February 1846 and was successful. Joseph Robidoux had donated a block of his town-Fourth Street to Fifth, and Jule Street to Faraon -- for a courthouse. On that site, then thirty-five feet higher than at present, a brick courthouse was built in the spring of 1846 at a cost of $6,000. The citizens of Sparta moved into St. Joseph and Sparta ceased to exist. That first courthouse in St. Joseph was used until 1871 when it was declared unsafe. The hill was then graded down and the present courthouse constructed at a cost of $173,000. It was dedicated on August 20, 1873.

We have an eyewitness account of the fledgling town of St. Joseph at this time in the Journal of Rudolph Friedrich Kurz. He was a Swiss artist, born in Bern, about 1818. He was interested in seeing the New World, and was especially desirous of painting the Indians. He left Bern in 1846, planning to go to Mexico. When he reached New Orleans, the Mexican War was going on, so he determined to proceed up the Mississippi River to St. Louis. After about a year there, early in 1848, at the age of thirty, he wrote:

“I decided to go to St. Joseph on the Missouri. There I should certainly find Indians enough: The region in the midst of which the town was situated was open Indian country, belonging to the Kickapoo, and the town itself was a rendezvous for fur traders of Missouri and Nebraska, just as Independence was a center for Santa Fe fur traders and, at an earlier date, St. Louis for the entire fur-trading region of the West.

“I left St. Louis April 5 aboard the Tamerlane, under command of Captain Miller. The boat was heavily loaded with tradespeople, for the most part, who were going up from St. Louis taking their supplies along on the same boat with themselves. During the entire winter tradesmen in St. Louis can receive no goods from the East and can send away just a little fresh corn, hemp, and tobacco. The opening of the waterways, therefore, is an important event for the cities along the Missouri and will be always, until railway lines have established connections with the East.

‘The Missouri is invariably muddy. Owing to a lack of mineral་ matter in the soil, both in the bed of the stream and in the banks, the river tears away the shore on one side and deposits the sediment on the other, according to the direction of the current. That is what gives the Mississippi its “coffee and milk' color below Alton. Strictly speaking, the Missouri deserves to bear its name all the way to the Gulf of Mexico, for it is of greater length, breadth, and depth than its eastern brother. But its immense length was not known at all to the first French travelers, to whom we are indebted for our formation concerning this part of the country; they knew the Missouri only at its broad estuary. The muddy condition of the water་ makes the stream a dangerous route for steamers for the reason that trees are easily uprooted by the current from the loose no stony substance in the soil-and they sink into the river t where every shoot can ram itself into the soft earth in such a way that it bores through the most solid hull that comes in contact with it. These offshoots from the submerged trees are called “snags.” Those that are completely hidden under the water cause the greatest peril. Sometimes, in places where a strong current tears away away an entire strip of forest, the river is so blocked with those tree trunks that boats can wind their way through the channel only with the most careful steering.

‘Therefore if the pilot sees a heavy tree trunk floating toward the side of the boat and finds it impossible to avoid, he has an especial warning bell rung, so that the engineer will adjust the wheel in a way that prevents the blades from being shattered by the tree. No damage is feared from a trunk of light weight.

‘The average speed of a steamboat going upstream is 10 miles an hour; going downstream, from 10 to 20 miles, according to the condition of the river and the power of the engine. For instance, the average boat makes the voyage from New Orleans to St. Louis in 13 days; a “crack” steamer in only 5 or 6. From St. Louis to New Orleans the worst conditioned vessel needs not more than 9 days to make the distance (1,200 miles). From St. Louis to St. Joseph (500 miles) steamers require as much time as from New Orleans to St. Louis, because, owing to 'snags' and shifting sandbanks, they do not run at night.

‘On April 18 at 11 o'clock at night, while the ship's black crew were singing a jubilee song, we docked at St. Joseph. In my eager gladness I went in search of an inn, although I should have fared just as well if I had spent the rest of the night on board.

'St. Joseph, once the trading post of Joseph Robidoux, is situated at the foot of the Black Snake Hills on the left bank of the Missouri. Though the town was founded only six years ago there are evidences already of a rapidly expanding and flourishing city. In spite of the fact that there are many new buildings, both of wood and of brick, houses, either for homes or for business purposes, are hard to get. Upon my arrival the principal streets were much enlivened by fur traders and immigrants on their way to regions, as yet little known, in Oregon and California. The rich gold mines were not then discovered. Only the most daring fur traders had penetrated into that far country and, following in their wake, a rough, lawless set of adventurers, eager for gain and best pleased with what the strong hand won, traveled the same trail in armed bands with pack mules and covered wagons.

‘Indians of various tribes-the Pottawatomi, the Foxes (Musquakee), Kickapoo, Iowa, and Oto -- one sees constantly in this town, particularly at the landing where they take the ferryboat to cross the river. They conduct themselves in a very dignified manner. Now and then, to be sure, when one of them has drunk too much of the forbidden whiskey, he is somewhat quarrelsome, but no more so than an intoxicated white man; nor is an Indian under those conditions any more dangerous than a drunken white American. The latter is armed, as a rule, with bowie knife or revolver and is quick to use his weapon upon the slightest provocation.

‘Throughout the entire summer bourgeois or the heads of firms, clerks, and other engagees or employees of the different fur companies crowded the streets and public houses of the town. St. Joseph is for them now what St. Louis was earlier-their rendezvous. Here all staple commodities are supplied from St. Louis, but horses are bought up for the purpose of selling them to the Indians on the upper Missouri and on the Platte or Nebraska. There packs of buffalo hides (as many as 10 packs at a time) are reshipped on the steamers, the boats sold and their crews discharged. Those people are called Mountaineers, a name associated with many dangerous adventures, much painful endurance, but also with much romance and pleasure. The Mountaineers like best to dress themselves l clothes made of tanned deerskin, embroidered and fringed. One recognizes them, therefore, at sight; knows who they are and whence they come. They are stared at as though they were bears. Not frequently they have no other apparel than their leather Costume, for after a long stay any other clothing would be entirely worn out.

‘My intercourse with these Mountaineers was very pleasant. Those with whom I talked were half-breeds who gave me much information and taught me, besides, the Indian language of signs which, however much their dialects may differ, is the same throughout all tribes on the Missouri. This knowledge of the sign language was of the utmost importance to me, even in St. Joseph, for I came in contact there with Indians from so many different tribes that I was at first hopelessly confused by their various dialects.

‘Even during the first month of my stay in St. Joseph I had chances every day to study Indians that came in bands from the different neighboring tribes. It was the time when the yearly payments were made for the land extorted from them. As soon as the father received the money for himself and members of his family (the Iowa received $8 a head from the United States Indian Agent) they came to St. Joseph to make their purchases, because they could supply their needs there at more reasonable rates than with the traders. Still many Indians were in debt to the latter and, in that case, the traders had the first claim for payment.

‘The Indians came in increasing numbers, pitched their tents of skins (or, as often happened, of white cotton cloth) in the depths of the forest on their side of the river and had themselves ferried across to St. Joseph.

‘St. Joseph, as well as St. Louis, is indebted to the fur traders for its beginning. In 1834 Joseph Robidoux, as I have mentioned already, bought this trading post from the American Fur Co. and from this point carried on an exchange trade with the neighboring Indian tribes. His first house stood at the end of a ridge near the mouth of the Black Snake, as the stream is called from its tortuous course through the black shadows of the woodland. Canadians called the place at an earlier time, Le Post du Serpent Noir. Robidoux's old storehouse is still standing; it looks like a stall. In fact, the place is now used for that purpose. His dwelling house was on the other side of town. On its site now stands a tavern that was built by County Clerk Fowler. “As soon as the increasing number of country towns and farms began to close in upon Joe Robidoux and to create competition in the fur trade he decided to buy 160 acres to which he held pre-emption rights and to sell the land for city property. At first he sold lot for lot at very reasonable prices, in order to induce people to buy them; for instance, he would sell a lot for $10 or for a yoke of oxen. Then, according to the convenient location of the plots in question, he steadily advanced the prices. He is now an immensely wealthy property holder, but his 60 papooses, his seven white children, and several brothers in rags and tatters continually consume his substance. Two years ago the city lots had advanced threefold in value.

‘Now a building lot with 40 feet front and a depth of 140 feet, abutting in the rear on an alley, is worth from $300 to $600.

‘Joseph Robidoux can be seen around the town, and there are many stories about him. Decatur told me a good joke that old Robidoux played, many years ago, on a competitor of his in these parts named Manuel Lisa. Both were traders with the Pawnee. Each of them tried to acquire by trade as many pelts as possible for himself without being at all squeamish as to the means he employed, and, for that reason, they often quarreled. In order to prevent such wrangles and under the conviction that neither had the power to ruin the other, they pledged reciprocally to be "loyal', i.e., if a band of Indians arrived at their trading posts for the purpose of exchange and barter, neither would attempt to take advantage of the other. Manuel Lisa, however, had no intention of trading on honorable terms for any length of time; accordingly, upon an occasion when both of them expected a band of Pawnee he tried to circumvent Robidoux. While he ordered his post supplied in secret with commodities to barter to the Pawnee, he went over to see Robidoux by way of putting him off his guard, by his own presence there to hinder preparations, and to see what was really going on in the other storehouse. Robidoux played the part of unsuspecting host iust as well as his opponent played his role, he had allowed himself to be really duped. He invited Lisa to drink a glass of champagne to the success of prospective trade; but regretted that on account of his gout he was not able to stoop down, and therefore would have to ask Lisa to fetch the flask from the cellar himself. The latter obligingly raised the trapdoor in the room and went down the steps. Joe let fall the door, rolled a cask upon it, and with mocking words left his opponent imprisoned in order that he might trade alone with the Pawnee.

‘On this same occasion I related to Decatur another story I had often heard in St. Joseph about old Robidoux. By his first marriage he had a son, Joe, who inherited from his deceased mother so many building lots in St. Louis that, according to current prices of City property, he was worth about $90,000. Now, Joe Jr. was a confirmed drunkard and, on account of his bibulous habits, gave his father a great deal of trouble. Some years ago he went into the catholic church dressed like an Indian, i.e., practically naked to the amazement of the assembled worshippers. The oldman, being in rather poor circumstances financially on account of his great number of children and his unfortunate addiction to cards, took advantage of this opportunity to confine his drunken son, as a punishment, for several weeks in his cellar and refused to release him until Joe Jr., put in a favorable mood by receiving a glass of whiskey after a fast, signed a deed, already prepared, transferring the property to his father.

‘Another trick played by old Robidoux. As I have said already, he had a passion for card playing. As he went every spring to and, indeed to New York, for the purpose of selling furs bringing back a new stock of Indian goods he had, on the steamers, plenty of opportunities for gambling. The game usually played in which that player wins who risks the highest stake; whether he actually holds the highest cards in his hand is immaterial. The gam is called poker. On one of the old man's trips up the Missouri hе with an experienced partner; they were strangers to each other. Robidoux, rather poorly dressed as was his habit, did not impress his opponent in the game as one to be feared, so, after they had been་ playing for quite a while, the latter, with the intention of springing a surprise, put up a considerable sum. Old Robidoux, however, instead of showing concern, called to the waiter: "Bring that old trunk of mine here! Here are one thousand dollars in cash; I bet 'em all!'

‘The stranger could not increase the amount; consequently, notwithstanding the fact that he held the better cards, he lost the game and was obliged to give up his high stake of 700 or 800 dollars.

‘In the summer of 1848 the youngest son of old Robidoux met his death in a tragic manner. When he had finished his course at a college in St. Louis he came direct to St. Joseph. As too frequently happens, his entrance into the world of affairs, was a protracted “spree.' In his father's town he thought he might give himself up to the convivial life without restraint. Now it happened that just at this time the citizens of St. Joseph were in a state of great excitement over hooded bands of thieves that took away their horses and cattle. A number were caught and, to avoid legal procedure, the inhabitants let them be lynched. In consequence of these occurrences, any one who gave rise to the slightest suspicion after dark had to be prepared for any fate. One night young Robidoux, in exuberant spirits, heightened still more by many a 'pop', was leaving the grocery in the dark, at midnight, to go home, when he conceived the desire to play a poor joke on a counting-house clerk, left in charge of the store, by frightening him up with noise. MacD., having no idea who was beating on the storehouse door so late, and having only thieves in mind, opened the window and called, again and again, “Who's there?' Young Robidoux, instead of answering him, pressed close against the lintel to avoid being seen, for neither was MacD. his friend nor Mac's employer one of his father's; both of them were competitors of old Robidoux in trade with the Indians. Recognizing neither the young gentleman nor his companion, in the darkness, but regarding their movements as questionable, he shot young Robidoux from above, directly in the head, and killed him as dead as a rat. Then Robidoux's comrade cried out who they were, but it was too late. I remember perfectly well the scene that followed. Notwithstanding the late hour, everybody on Main Street was waked up; a crowd gathered about the dead body. Old Robidoux was furious. He declared the murder of his son to be the base act of his competitor in trade and wished to lynch MacD.-in fact he himself brought a rope for the purpose.

‘Which much difficulty he and his adherents were restrained from committing that deed of violence. MacD., protected by his own friends, gave himself up to the constable. The fellow who was with the unfortunate young Robidoux at the time of his death was required to tell the facts and his statement prevented further bloodshed. MacD’s employer stood bail for him, so that during the legal proceedings he need not remain in St. Joseph. As was just, he was later acquitted, and then he returned to the town.’

The Gold Rush