Fragment of Col. Auguste Chouteau's: Narrative of the Settlement of St. Louis (Classic Reprint)
(Excerpt from Fragment of Col. Auguste Chouteau's: Narrati...)
Excerpt from Fragment of Col. Auguste Chouteau's: Narrative of the Settlement of St. Louis
Laclede told them that he would have pity on them, and detained them till the next day. He could not give them anything that day, for he had not enough corn, which he was obliged to send to Caos for. As soon as he had received it, he gave them a large quantity, some powder, balls and knives, and osme cloth; and the day after, all the Missouris went away, to go up the Missouri and return to their ancient village, - having remained here fifteen days, in the course of which I had the cellar of the house, which we were to build, dug by the women and children. I gave them, in payment, vermillion, awls and verdigris. They dug the largest part of it, and carried the earth in wooden platters and baskets, which they bore upon their heads.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
Auguste Chouteau's Journal: Memory, Mythmaking & History in the Heritage of New France
(When 14-year-old Auguste Chouteau landed on the western s...)
When 14-year-old Auguste Chouteau landed on the western shores of the Mississippi River in 1764, he brought with him a party of 30 men commissioned by his stepfather Pierre Laclede to clear the land for a new French trading post. They called the village St. Louis. Chouteau's account of that event, written in French, can be found in a new book published by the St. Louis Mercantile Library at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. "Auguste Chouteau's Journal: Memory, Mythmaking & History in the Heritage of New France" contains Chouteau's "Narrative of the Founding of St. Louis." It is translated from the original 14-page manuscript and extensively annotated by its editor Gregory P. Ames, curator of the John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library at the Mercantile Library.
René Auguste Chouteau was an American trader and assistant to Pierre Laclede, in the founding of St. Louis.
Background
René Auguste Chouteau was born on September 7, 1749 in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. He was the son of René Auguste and Marie Thérèse (Bourgeois) Chouteau. Soon after his birth, the mother, alleging gross cruelty on the part of her husband, separated from him taking her infant with her. In 1757 she formed an unsanctioned but generally approved union with Laclede, by whom she had four children, all of whom, in observance of French law, bore the surname of the undivorced husband.
Career
In August 1763 Laclede with his family left New Orleans for the Illinois country, reaching Fort de Chartres in November. Auguste, now a sedate, intelligent, and disciplined lad of fourteen, who enjoyed the utmost confidence of his stepfather, accompanied him in December on a tour of the west bank of the river, where a site was selected for a new settlement. Two months later Laclede sent him in command of a party of thirty men to begin the building of the village, to which the founder, who followed in April, gave the name of St. Louis. Until the death of Laclede, June 20, 1778, Chouteau was his chief lieutenant in all the many activities in which he was engaged. Succeeding to the management of the business, he built up, by his energy, ability, and tactfulness, a large trade. A connection with the Osage Indians, then on the Osage River, in the present Vernon County, had been made apparently as early as the eighties, his half-brother Pierre acting as his representative with the tribe. In 1794 he obtained a monopoly of the Osage trade, which he retained until 1802, adding considerably to his fortune. On the transfer of Louisiana to the United States, March 10, 1804, he cordially cooperated with the officials in establishing the new order. He was appointed one of the three justices of the first territorial court, and in 1808 became a colonel of the St. Louis militia, a title which clung to him for the rest of his life. In the following year, when St. Louis was incorporated as a town, he was made chairman of its board of trustees. In 1815, with Governors Edwards of Illinois Territory and Clark of Missouri Territory, he served as a federal commissioner in negotiating treaties with the Sioux, Iowas, Sauks, and Foxes. He was also the United States pension agent for Missouri Territory, 1819-20. He had, however, small inclination toward public office, giving his time chiefly to his many business interests. Others of the family sought the remoter frontier, but "Colonel Auguste" spent most of his days in St. Louis. In this isolated village, insignificant in itself, but the chief mart of furs and skins, the frontier capital and the radial point of exploration and settlement, he became the wealthiest citizen and the largest landholder. The humble Laclede cottage he rebuilt and enlarged, adding to it a beautiful garden and making it one of the town's show places. He died at his home. He left a narrative of the founding of the village which family tradition says is only a fragment of a work embracing the local annals of many years, the larger portion having been accidentally burned.
(Excerpt from Fragment of Col. Auguste Chouteau's: Narrati...)
Personality
His character was of the highest. The French inscription on his tomb characterizes his life as a model of the civic and social virtues, and contemporary records attest its truth. Delassus, the Spanish lieutenant-governor, wrote of him (May 31, 1794), as "a man of incorruptible integrity. " He was of less than medium height, with a high forehead, light brown hair, an oval face which he shaved smooth, straight nose and classic mouth, and his expression was quiet and grave.
Connections
Chouteau was married, September 26, 1786, to Marie Thérèse Cerré, who with four sons and three daughters survived him.