CHANGED CONDITIONS.
Down to the date to which our narrative has now arrived, the steamboat
business of the Missouri was mainly that of the fur trade. A small
traffic was carried on with the settlements along the lower river
and with the government establishment at Fort Leavenworth. In 1829 a
regular packet was put on between St. Louis and Leavenworth, and this
was kept up at intervals during the next fifteen years. But still the
main business was the trade with the Indians or with Santa Fe and the
parties of white hunters who roved all over the Western country. Its
single noteworthy feature, as late as 1845, was the annual voyage of
the Fur Company’s boat to the mouth of the Yellowstone.
[Sidenote: FROM PILLAR TO POST.]
At about the date last mentioned a profound change came over the
business--a change inseparably connected with the foundation of
civilization in the Far West. The emigration of the Mormons to Great
Salt Lake was one feature of this new development. That singular sect,
whose origin and doctrines have excited the contempt of the civilized
world, as its marvelous growth and material achievement have commanded
its admiration, was at this time about fifteen years old. Its founder
was Joseph Smith, its birthplace Fayette, in New York State, and
the year of its birth 1830. For causes which are differently stated
by the friends and enemies of the church, Smith and his followers
found it expedient to emigrate from New York. They went to Kirtland,
O., where they laid the foundations of their New Jerusalem, and
where they flourished with varying fortune for several years. In the
meantime another location was also chosen, possibly as a refuge in
case of expulsion from Kirtland--a situation on the very frontier
of civilization, twelve miles west of Independence, Mo. Here the
corner-stone of Zion was laid, under the sanction of divine revelation,
and here the church began to erect its earthly temple. Hither in a
few years came the faithful from Kirtland, having been expelled by
the community, to whom their doctrine and practices had rendered them
obnoxious.
[Sidenote: JOSEPH SMITH.]
In western Missouri their experience was even more discouraging than in
Ohio. The neighboring communities would have none of them. The State
authorities were appealed to by both sides, and finally entered the
contest; the militia was ordered out, and things assumed the aspect
of civil war. Blood was shed, and the Mormons were finally compelled
to flee from the country, leaving Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon
prisoners in the hands of their enemies. These worthies, however, soon
escaped and joined the refugees near Commerce, Hancock Co., Ill.
Their first reception in Illinois was one of welcome, for the people
of that State believed that they had been persecuted with uncalled-for
severity by the citizens and State of Missouri. Under the impulse of
this friendly feeling Smith secured a charter from the State, and
forthwith began building the city of Nauvoo, on a site which has been
universally admired for its great natural beauty. The powers conferred
by this charter were very broad, and Smith became virtually emperor
of an _imperium in imperio_. He was mayor of the city, _Lieutenant
General_ of the newly created Nauvoo legion, and President of the
church. He acquired wide notoriety throughout the country, and became a
political factor of no little importance in the State of Illinois. The
colony flourished under the impulse of missionary effort, which sent
proselytes hither from America and Europe alike. On the 6th of April,
1841, the corner-stone of still another temple was laid.
But the same causes which proved disastrous to the settlements in
Ohio and Missouri soon began to operate in Illinois. The people were
outraged at the immoral doctrines of the new sect, and alarmed at the
arrogant defiance of civil authority by its spiritual and temporal
head. Finally an act of violence under Smith’s authority led to his
arrest and that of his brother Hyrum, and their confinement in the
Carthage jail, under guarantee of safety by the Governor of the State.
But a mob was organized which overbore the civil authority, broke into
the jail, and slew the brothers in cold blood.
For the future development of the sect, this was the most fortunate
event in its history. It set the seal of martyrdom upon the founder of
the church; it healed internal dissensions; it intensified the high
purpose to succeed; and finally it opened up the career of the one man
who above all others was qualified to carry the movement to success.
This was that astute and gifted leader of men, prophet Brigham Young.
[Sidenote: NO ABIDING PLACE.]
[Sidenote: A FINAL HOME.]
It was now apparent that there was no abiding place for the church upon
the soil of the United States, and it was necessary to look beyond.
From the narratives of those who had visited the regions west of the
Rocky Mountains, Young determined to lead his people to the valley of
the Great Salt Lake, at this time a possession of the Mexican Republic.
In that remote and benighted wilderness his people could at least have
freedom from persecution, for the civil authority of Mexico could
scarcely reach so far. The movement was decided upon. Smith had been
killed in June, 1844, and the general exodus began in the spring of
1846. In July, 1847, Young laid the foundation of the final home of his
people on the shores of the Great Salt Lake.
In the course of this movement large bodies of Mormons remained
encamped for long periods on both shores of the Missouri near Council
Bluffs and Omaha. This situation became the great rendezvous for the
expeditions before starting across the plains, and it was here that the
Mormons came into relation with the steamboat traffic of the Missouri.
Large quantities of freight and great numbers of passengers were
brought up and disembarked here. The _Saluda_, whose tragic fate we
have elsewhere described, was loaded with Mormons. In 1851 the steamer
_St. Ange_ carried up two hundred of these people, and the _Sacramento_
four hundred. Many other boats, for fully a decade after 1846, brought
up passengers and freight destined to the distant colony in the heart
of the Rocky Mountains.
[Sidenote: WAR WITH MEXICO.]
Another of the great movements of the time, which gave a marked
impetus to Missouri River navigation, was the War with Mexico. This
great event--great not so much in its battles as in its far-reaching
results--had been gathering force for years. The influx of American
settlers into the province of Texas caused the Mexican Government
to adopt repressive measures toward them. This led to successful
revolution on the part of Texas, and her independence was finally won
by force of arms in 1836. For the next ten years Texas was practically
an independent republic seeking annexation to the United States. The
question of annexation was the determining issue in the national
election of 1844, and the pro-annexationists prevailed. Texas was
annexed in the spring of 1845, and in the following December was
admitted as a State, against the protest of the Mexican Government.
The administration ordered American troops to occupy certain disputed
territory claimed by both Mexico and Texas. Collision with the Mexican
troops followed: blood was shed, and the United States declared war.
Among the minor operations of the war from a military point of view,
but of transcendent importance in their results, were the conquests
of New Mexico and California under Harney, Doniphan, and Fremont. All
the country so won became a part of the United States. It lay in the
pathway of emigration to the West, and must sooner or later have given
rise to grave complications. The inevitable issue was precipitated
sooner than was expected, but the result must ultimately have been the
same. The importance of this acquisition in the history of the nation
cannot be overestimated.
The invasion of New Mexico naturally followed the line of the Santa
Fe trail. The expeditions were organized on the frontier, mostly at
Fort Leavenworth, but also at other points, such as Fort Kearney and
St. Joseph. The transportation of troops and supplies to Westport,
Leavenworth, and Kearney gave a great deal of work to the Missouri
River boats, which thus became an important factor in one of our
national wars.
[Sidenote: DISCOVERY OF GOLD.]
Scarcely had the treaty of Guadaloupe Hidalgo, which closed the war,
been signed, when an event took place in the newly acquired territory
which completely revolutionized the situation of things in the West.
This was the discovery of gold in California in 1848. Emigration had
been moving to the coast, principally into Oregon, for the previous
six years. The first large movement took place in 1843. In 1845 and
1846 several parties crossed the Sierras into California, and there was
a strong nucleus of American settlers there when the conquest came.
The discovery of gold swelled this incipient stream into a mighty
river. From every part of the world, by land and by sea, the rush to
California began. The overland movement was one of the greatest and
most wonderful migrations of a people which history records. It ran in
full strength for several years, beginning in 1849, and by 1854 a vast
but unknown number had crossed the plains.
There were various starting points from the Missouri River in this
migration, although the different routes united before Fort Laramie was
reached. Westport, Leavenworth, Fort Kearney, and Omaha became initial
rendezvous, and a great deal of traffic for the emigrants was done by
the river boats from St. Louis to these points.
Following the three great movements just described came the period of
government exploration of the entire Western country, and the search
for practical railroad routes across the mountains. Large exploring
parties were sent into the field, and bodies of troops were dispatched
to the Pacific Coast and to distant points in the interior.
[Sidenote: LARGE RIVER BUSINESS.]
The aggregate amount of business brought to the lower Missouri
from these various causes was large. Viewed from the standpoint of
transportation, the Western country in that day can be likened in shape
to a fan. The handle was that portion which extended from St. Louis to
the mouth of the Kansas River. Thence the various routes to all parts
of the country diverged along the arms of the fan, which were outspread
from Santa Fe on the south to Fort Union on the north. Most of the
business below the point of divergence was done by steamboat. Vessels
in large numbers plied the river over this first four hundred miles,
and the amount of freight and passenger traffic carried by them was
very great. Boats departed daily from St. Louis, carrying an almost
inconceivable variety of articles for use of the emigrants, and nearly
as large a variety of emigrants themselves. To one who witnessed this
business in the noontide of its activity, it would have seemed scarcely
possible that another generation should witness its total extinction.
[Sidenote: LA BARGE AND THE MORMONS.]
Of the river business which grew out of the several movements just
described, Captain La Barge had his full share. He knew the Mormons
well. He had already seen much of them during their sojourn in western
Missouri, and came into business relations with them on a considerable
scale during their emigration of 1846 and subsequent years. He always
liked them, and had several warm friends among them. He was introduced
to Brigham Young by Peter A. Sarpy at Bellevue, where the American Fur
Company post for that section was situated. The Mormons were encamped
in this vicinity so long that they brought to Sarpy’s post a large
amount of business. La Barge himself became well acquainted with Young
and with others of the principal men. Young impressed him from the
first as a man of great ability. Apparently deficient in education
and refinement, he was fair and honest in his dealings, and seemed
extremely liberal in conversation upon religious subjects. He impressed
La Barge as anything but a religious fanatic or even enthusiast;
but he knew how to make use of the fanaticism of others and direct
it to great ends. He was kind and considerate, but a firm and strict
disciplinarian. In the Mormon movement he had found his niche. He saw
in it his opportunity to achieve power and fame, to amass a fortune,
and to become a great leader.
The freight business which came to the steamboats as a result of the
gold rush was not of a desirable character. Many of the emigrants were
so poor that it was difficult to collect from them, and once out of
reach there was scarcely a chance of ever hearing from them again. This
condition improved in later years, and the emigrant trade on the whole
was one of great magnitude and importance.
[Sidenote: THE GOLD CRAZE.]
Referring to the gold craze, Captain La Barge said:
“I was never seized with the craze. My wife wanted me to go, but I was
too busy and was already making money. Had I been idle, or unsuccessful
in business, I should undoubtedly have gone. I saw enough of the
movement to show me how many chances of failure there were to one of
success; and as I saw the thousands of disheartened adventurers who
turned back without ever reaching the desired region, I never repented
not going.”