The Chouteaus
In the late eighteenth century, the vast, pristine land that lay west of the Mississippi River remained largely unknown to the outside world. The area beckoned to daring frontiersmen who produced the first major industry of the American West--the colorful but challenging, often dangerous fur trade. At the lead was an enterprising French Creole family that founded the city of St. Louis in 1763 and pushed forth to garner furs for world markets.
Stan Hoig provides an intimate look into the lives of four generations of the Chouteau family as they voyaged up the Western rivers to conduct trade, at times taking wives among the native tribes. They provided valuable aid to the Lewis and Clark expedition and assisted government officials in developing Indian treaties. National leaders, tribal heads, and men of frontier fame sought their counsel. In establishing their network of trading posts and opening trade routes throughout the Central Plains and Rocky Mountains, the Chouteaus contributed enormously to the nation's westward movement.
Stan Hoig has produced an informative biography of the Chouteau family and the crucial role that they played in western expansion.'--Kansas History
(Hoig's) well-written and interesting book...provides a narrative, history and a resource germane to the Louisiana Territory and, subsequently, Louisiana, through the Chouteau family....This work is a treasure chest for researchers.'--The Oklahoman
...Hoig has opened the door to an entrepôt of an American dynasty filled with possibilities for future investigation.'--Montana the Magazine of Western History
Stan Hoig is professor emeritus of journalism, University of Central Oklahoma, Edmond. He was inducted into the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame in 1994 and the Oklahoma Historical Hall of Fame in 1998. Also among his numerous books are The Sand Creek Massacre, The Battle of the Washita, and Jesse Chisholm, Ambassador of the Plains.
