Old Fort Snelling | Page 3

to land that had since 1783
belonged to their country, yet they had in fact taken possession of a
foreign land. English, French, and Spanish flags had at various times
waved over certain parts of it. Foreign influence, during a century and a
half, had become widespread and deeply rooted.
When in 1634 Jean Nicollet visited the Wisconsin country the French
advance into the upper Northwest had begun.[2] From 1658 to 1660
Radisson and Groseilliers wandered among the tribes and brought the
first canoe loads of furs to Canada from the far West. Then along with
the missionaries, Hennepin and Marquette, came the coureurs des bois,
Nicholas Perrot and Daniel Greyloson Duluth. It is unnecessary to
recite in detail the exploits of these Frenchmen and their successors.[3]
For a century the songs of unknown boatmen rose from the waters of
the western rivers; unknown traders smoked in the lodges of Sioux and
Chippewas; and hardy wanderers whose feats of discovery are
unrecorded, leaving behind the Missouri River, saw from afar the
wonders of the "Shining Mountains".[4] But if no record of them

remains, their influence was lasting. Living with the natives, supplying
their needs by barter, and marrying the Indian girls, the French gained a
remarkable power over the northwestern tribes, which caused them to
consider whoever came from Canada their friend, even after the
English government had supplanted the French in power.
West of the lakes the transition from the French to the English rule
created no disturbances, such as Pontiac's conspiracy which so
completely disrupted the trade in the East.[5] Continuing the French
policy and also their posts and voyageurs, the Scottish merchants of
Montreal, organized in 1784 as the North West Company, pushed
westward from Green Bay and southward from Lake Winnipeg. This
advance was continued until the opening years of the next century.
Although on nominally Spanish territory, the tribes on the upper
Missouri were won from the Spanish traders at St. Louis by such severe
cutting in prices that the latter could not compete. The posts of the
North West Company on the Red River of the North became the resort
for many of the western tribes.[6]
The diverting of the trade of these natives, who would naturally have
come down the Missouri where American traders could meet them and
be benefited, was noticed by President Jefferson, who, on January 18,
1803, wrote to Congress: "It is, however, understood, that the country
on that river is inhabited by numerous tribes, who furnish great supplies
of furs and peltry to the trade of another nation, carried on in a high
latitude, through an infinite number of portages and lakes, shut up by
ice through a long season." In this same message was included a
recommendation that a small expedition be sent up to confer with the
tribes with respect to the admission of American traders.[7]
But the purchase of Louisiana altered matters. It was not only a matter
of trade, but one of sovereignty. A double movement was initiated: one
to ascend the Mississippi under Zebulon M. Pike, and the other the
Missouri under Captain Meriwether Lewis and Lieutenant William
Clark. The reports of these two expeditions indicate how firm a grip the
English traders had upon the Indians of the upper Northwest.
The expedition of Lewis and Clark ascended the Missouri and passed

over the mountains to the Columbia River which was followed to the
coast. The first winter, from late in October, 1804, to early in April,
1805, was spent in a fort which was constructed in the village of the
Mandans, near the location of the present city of Mandan in North
Dakota. Here was abundant opportunity to investigate the fur trade. Nor
had they long to wait. On the 27th of November, seven British traders
arrived from the North West Company's post on the Assiniboine River
to barter with the river tribes. The next day, in council with the Mandan
chiefs, the Americans warned the Indians not to receive medals or flags
from the foreigners if they wished to be friends with the "Great
American Father". A day later this warning was communicated to the
traders themselves who promised to refrain from any such acts.[8] How
well they kept their promises later events showed. The Lewis and Clark
expedition was only a passing pageant; for by the time of the War of
1812, the only American traders who ventured to do business on the
upper waters were practically driven off by the foreign companies.[9]
The report of Zebulon M. Pike indicates that conditions were much
worse on the upper Mississippi. Leaving St. Louis on August 9, 1805,
he returned to that place on April 30, 1806. About two months were
spent at a fort erected near the site of Little Falls, where he left