Missouri Fur Company

[1] It was created by a group of fur traders and merchants from St. Louis and Kaskaskia, Illinois, including Manuel Lisa and members of the Chouteau family.[3] Members of the Lewis and Clark Expedition brought back tales of the riches of the upper Missouri River when they returned to St. Louis in 1806.A recent arrival to St. Louis, trader Manuel Lisa heard the reports and made his first fur-trading expedition to the upper Missouri.He partnered with Pierre Menard and hired several veterans of the Corps of Discovery, including the legendary trapper and guide John Colter and George Drouillard.[6] The company acquired the equipment and posts of its members' private fur operations (including Fort Raymond); capital resources totaled at least $40,000.In addition, the governor of Missouri Territory, Meriwether Lewis, contracted with the company to convey Mandan Chief Shehaka back to his people.Contemplating what lay ahead, Menard wrote presciently to a friend, "It is said that one cannot imagine the quantity of beaver that there is, but there is the difficulty of the savage Black Feet who plunder often."[11] In spite of the obstacles, Menard set out for the headwaters of the Missouri in March 1810 along with Andrew Henry, Reuben Lewis, and thirty-two other men.[12] As the expedition was trapping large numbers of beaver, its members expected to return to St. Louis with a substantial supply of furs that would yield a good profit.[13] On April 12, 1810, a party of Blackfeet warriors attacked the traders, killing five and capturing horses, guns, ammunition, traps and furs.[14] They attacked the party again on April 23, 1810, at which point several traders decided to return to St. Louis with Pierre Menard, while Andrew Henry was left in command of the remaining trappers.[14] During the return journey of the Menard group, in early May 1810, George Drouillard, formerly an interpreter for the Lewis and Clark Expedition, was killed in an ambush.[18] The losses of the fire led Chouteau to return to St. Louis in late 1810, where low prices for beaver furs compounded the economic failure for his expedition.[18] Although the terms of the association were set to expire in March 1812, the officers dissolved and reorganized the company in January 1812; it had fewer of its original members and approximately $30,000 in valuation.
Three Forks of the Missouri, near the location of the April 12, 1810, attack on the Henry-Menard Expedition, in present-day Montana
Manuel Lisa, co-founder and primary owner of the Missouri Fur Company after 1813
South Pass in southwestern Wyoming, where the Pilcher Expedition camped in late 1827 when its horses were stolen
Fur tradeSt. Louis, MissouriManuel LisaJean Pierre ChouteauWilliam ClarkLouisiana Territoryfur tradingKaskaskia, IllinoisChouteauMissouri RiverNative AmericanLewis and Clark Expeditionbeaver hatsPierre MenardCorps of DiscoveryJohn ColterGeorge DrouillardFort RaymondBighornYellowstoneMontanaWikisourceJames WilkinsonRené Auguste ChouteauAuguste Pierre ChouteauMeriwether LewisAndrew HenryPlatte RiverbeaverGeneral Thomas JamesMissouri TerritoryMandanChief ShehakaWashington CityLewis and ClarkThomas JeffersonArikaraFort MandanBlackfeetheadwaters of the MissouriMadisonJeffersonCrow NationContinental DivideSnake RiverHenry's Forkjoint-stock companyJohn Jacob AstorWar of 1812Council BluffFort LisaNorth Omaha, NebraskaEdward HempsteadWhite RiverFort BentonSt. Charles, MissouriGreat Falls of the MissouriFort AtkinsonJoshua PilcherAmerican Fur CompanyRocky Mountain Fur CompanyWilliam Henry AshleySouth PassSalt Lake ValleyPlatteSweetwater RiverGreen RiverFlathead LakeFort ColvilleColumbia RiverHudson's Bay CompanyNorth American fur tradeFur trade in MontanaNorth West CompanyPacific Fur CompanyMountain menBenjamin O'FallonPrince Paul of WürttembergCrossingsTributariesPopulated placesMissouri River ValleyGreat PlainsMissouri CoteauRocky MountainsBig Belt MountainsWind River RangeBighorn MountainsMissouri BreaksBig BendHidatsaLakotaMissouriaSieur de BourgmontLouisiana PurchaseIndependence, MissouriOregon TrailGreat Platte River RoadBozeman TrailRed Cloud's WarTreaty of Fort LaramieGreat Sioux War of 1876Pick–Sloan PlanFlood Control Act of 1944U.S. Army Corps of EngineersMontana Power CompanyU.S. Bureau of ReclamationAmerican PrairieCharles M. Russell National Wildlife RefugeUpper Missouri River Breaks National MonumentMissouri National Recreational RiverCabanne's Trading PostFontenelle's PostBordeaux Trading PostPeter A. SarpyLucien FontenelleJoseph LaFlescheLogan FontenelleFur trading tribesArapahoNorthern CheyenneComancheGreat Sioux NationPawneeHo-ChunkSac and FoxFrench people in NebraskaBertrand (steamboat)Elkhorn River