BILL SUBLETTE AND HIS CHELTENHAM PROPERTY

LOUIS SCHMIDT

"BILL SUBLETTE - MOUNTAIN MAN" (BOOK BY JOHN EDWARD SUNDER)

BILL SUBLETTE (1799-1845) LED TWO LIVES. RENOWNED AS A HARDY MOUNTAIN MAN, HE RANGED THE MISSOURI, BIGHORN, YELLOWSTONE, AND SWEET-WATER RIVER COUNTRY BETWEEN 1823 AND 1833 HUNTING BEAVER, FIGHTING INDIANS, AND UNWITTINGLY OPENING THE WEST FOR SETTLERS.(HE PROVED THAT WAGONS COULD BE USED EFFECTIVELY ON THE OREGON TRAIL). THE LAST TRIP IN 1843 CALLED "BACK TO THE GREEN" WAS MORE OF A PLEASURE TRIP, TAKING ANY ONE WITH MONEY TO THE MOUNTAINS FROM MAY TO OCTOBER. FINANCIAL SUCCESS AND SILK HATS, WHICH STRANGLED THE FUR TRADE, LATER FORCED HIM TO A LESS ADVENTURESOME LIFE IN ST.LOUIS AS A GENTLEMAN FARMER, BUSINESSMAN, AND POLITICIAN. NOT ONLY DID SUBLETTE HELP DEVELOP THE RENDEZVOUS SYSTEM IN THE FUR TRADE AND BLAZE THE FIRST WAGON TRAIL THROUGH SOUTH PASS, BUT ALSO HE ESTABLISHED WHAT WAS LATER FORT LARAMIE, WAS A PARTICIPANT IN LAYING THE FOUNDATION FOR PRESENT KANSAS CITY, AND LEFT A LARGE FORTUNE TO EXCITE ENVY AND EXAGGERATION. ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL FUR MERCHANTS OF THE WEST, HE ALSO HELPED TO BREAK JOHN JACOB ASTOR'S MONOPOLY OF THE FUR TRADE.

WILLIAM SUBLETTE - BORN SEPT. 21, 1799 - BY THE CUMBERLAND RIVER IN THE WHITLEY HOME (MOTHERS SIDE), TWO MILES SOUTH OF STANFORD KENTUCKY. WELL BACK FROM THE WILDERNESS ROAD (ELEVEN AND ONE HALF MILES SOUTH OF LOGANS TRACE) ATOP A LOW HILL AT CEDAR CREEK. ON AN ADJOINING HILL HIS FATHER HAD MARKED OFF ONE OF THE FINEST RACE TRACKS IN KENTUCKY. BEFORE MID NOVEMBER, 1817 THE SUBLETTES MOVED TO THE ST.LOUIS - ST.CHARLES AREA.(THE VERY YEAR CHARLES GRATIOT SR. DIED). THESE WERE THE PRE DEPRESSION YEARS (1816-18), AND A MOUNTAIN TORRENT OF SETTLERS POURED ACROSS THE MISSISSIPPI. SINCE THE RIVER OPENED UP FROM NEW ORLEANS, LEXINGTON STARTED LOOSING IT'S ECONOMIC POWER TO LOUISVILLE.

WILLIAM WAS 18 WHEN HE REACHED ST.LOUIS (ST.CHARLES). HE WORKED WITH HIS FATHER (PHILLIP) OPERATING A FERRY. HE THEN WORKED FIRST WITH HIS FATHER, THEN WITH HIS UNCLE SOLOMON WHITLEY IN THEIR TAVERNS. HE BECAME A DEPUTY CONSTABLE OF ST.CHARLES TOWNSHIP IN 1820 AT FOUR MONTHS UNDER 21 YEARS OLD. IN MAY 21, 1822 HE WAS APPOINTED TOWNSHIP CONSTABLE BY THE COUNTY COURT. THREE MONTHS LATER HE WON RE-ELECTION ON AUGUST 5, 1822. THERE WAS A DELAY IN OATH TAKING SINCE HE WAS PRE-OCCUPIED WITH HIS FATHERS DEATH DEC. 28, 1820. HE WAS SETTLING HIS FATHERS ESTATE ($153.25) WHEN ON JAN 21 OR 22 HIS MOTHER ISABELLA DIED. IT WAS NOT UNTIL JAN. 1823 THAT WILLIAM WAS APPOINTED ADMINISTRATOR OF HIS MOTHERS ESTATE. THE FAMILY HOME WAS NOT SOLD UNTIL 1827 AT A TIME WHEN WILLIAM WAS IN ST.LOUIS BETWEEN TRIPS TO THE MOUNTAINS.

IT IS EASY TO ACCOUNT FOR HIS INTEREST IN THE FUR TRADE SINCE HIS HOME WAS LOCATED BUT A FEW MILES FROM THE FUR EMPORIUM OF ST.LOUIS. HIS FAMILY TIES WERE BROKEN - PARENTS HAD DIED, AND HIS BROTHERS AND SISTERS WERE EITHER MATURE OR COULD BE PLACED IN THE HANDS OF TRUSTED RELATIVES. HE ONLY NEEDED THE PROPER OCCASION TO JOIN A FUR PARTY. HE SOLD EVERYTHING, RESIGNED HIS CONSTABLE POST, AUCTIONED HIS MOTHERS HOUSEHOLD ITEMS, AND WAS READY TO JOIN LT.GOV.GEN. WILLIAM HENRY ASHLEY IN A FUR TRADING AND TRAPPING EXPEDITION MAKING $200 PER YEAR.

AT AGE 23 HE STOOD SIX FEET-TWO INCHES, A TALL RAW BONED BRAVE. HE HAD A LONG FACE - "JACKSON FACED" WITH A STRAIGHT FOREHEAD, AND SLIGHTLY HOOKED NOSE WHICH CONTRASTED WITH HIS FAIR SKIN AND LIGHT SANDY HAIR. HIS BLUE EYES WERE QUICK AND STEADY, LIKE HIS HAND. IN LATER YEARS HE WOULD BEAR THE NAME "CUT FACE" FOR A SCAR ON HIS LEFT CHIN. HE WOULD BE KNOWN TO SOME RED MEN AS "FATE", AND TO OTHERS AS "STRAIGHT WALKING CANE" FOR HIS PHYSICAL BEARING. (THIS IS THE ONLY DESCRIPTION I HAVE.NO PICTURE EXCEPT THE DRAWING ON THE COVER OF THE BOOK WHICH I THINK IS HIM). HE JOINED ASHLEY'S PARTY ON MARCH 10,1823 FROM ST.LOUIS, OR MAR. 13 FROM ST.CHARLES.

BY JUNE THEY WERE 400 MI. BEYOND CONCIL BLUFFS, TEN MI. ABOVE THE MOUTH OF THE RAMPART RIVER. HERE THEY HAD THEIR FIRST TASTE OF INDIAN WAR. THIS WAS WITH THE ARIKARA INDIANS. THIS WAS A LARGE FUR TRAPPING PARTY WHICH WAS NOT WELL RECEIVED BY TREATY LEADERS. THE PARTY WAS ATTACKED, AND SUBLETTE WAS WITH 40 MEN SEPARATE AND TRAPPED ON THE BEACH. THEY LOST 13 MEN AND 11 WOUNDED. THEY HELD OUT AS LONG AS THEY COULD, THEN JUMPED INTO THE RIVER AND SWAM TO THE BOATS. A BOAT LOAD OF WOUNDED WAS SENT DOWN RIVER TO CONCIL BLUFFS WITH A CALL FOR HELP AND REACHED FORT ATKINSON BY JUNE 18. COL. LEAVENWORTH READIED 200 MEN, AND ON JUNE 22 DEPARTED. FIVE DAYS OUT THEY WERE JOINED BY JOSHUA PILCHER AND 60 MEN OF THE MISSOURI FUR COMPANY. JULY 19, ABOUT 10 MI.ABOVE THE MOUTH OF THE WHITE RIVER THEY WERE JOINED BY A FEW YANKTON AND TETON SIOUX, ENEMIES OF THE ARIKARA. 50 MEN LED BY ANDREW HENRY JOINED ASHLEY'S CAMP ON THE CHEYENNE RIVER. BY JULY 30 ALL MEN WERE GATHERED AND WERE ORGANIZED. SUBLETTE WAS NAMED SERGENT MAJOR. AUG. 8 THE FIRST MAJOR INDIAN CAMPAIGN ON THE UPPER MISSOURI OCCURRED. THERE WAS NO REAL WINNER. MANY WERE KILLED OR WOUNDED, A VILLAGE BURNED, AND THIS WAS NOT THE END OF INDIAN TROUBLE. THIS ALSO CAUSED QUITE AN UPROAR ON THE HOMEFRONT. SUBLETTE BECAME QUITE A FUR TRAPPER AND A VALUABLE TRAIL BLAZER. HIS EARLY EXPEDITIONS WERE (1823 TO 25) AND (1825 TO 27). YOU MUST READ THE BOOK, - THE FUR TRADE STARTED GOING DOWN WITH HEAVY COMPETITION FROM JOHN JACOB ASTOR AND THE AMERICAN FUR COMPANY WITH PIERRE CHOUTEAU AS ASTOR'S CHIEF ST.LOUIS REPRESENTATIVE.

THE WINTER OF 1830 WAS A TIME FOR SETTLEMENT,AND A NEW ORGANIZATION. (SMITH, JACKSON, AND SUBLETTE.) SMITH PURCHASED A HOUSE AND LOT IN ST.LOUIS, AND SUBLETTE AND JACKSON MADE PLANS FOR A VENTURE IN TRADE WITH SANTA-FE. ON MARCH 10, 1831 SUBLETTE BOUGHT 446 ACRES OF LAND ON THE RIVER DES PERES, SIX MILES FROM ST.LOUIS FOR $3,000 AND A FEW WEEKS LATER ON APRIL 26 HIS ATTORNEY PURCHASED IN HIS NAME AN ADJOINING TRACT OF 333 ACRES FOR $4,000. THE TWO TRACTS TOGETHER MORE COMMONLY KNOWN AS "SULPHUR SPRINGS TRACT". THE TOTAL 779 ROLLING, FERTILE ACRES WERE LOCATED IN A ROUGH TRIANGLE FORMED BY KINGSHIGHWAY, SOUTHWEST, TAMM, AND MANCHESTER. THEN ON APRIL 1, BACK ON THE TRAIL TO SANTA-FE. SMITH DIED MAY 27,1830 AT THE CIMARRON IN A DESPERATE SEARCH FOR WATER. JACKSON WANTED TO GO TO CALIFORNIA AND SUBLETTE DIDN'T LIKE SANTA-FE SO THEY DISSOLVED THEIR PARTNERSHIP. SUBLETTE WAS ON HIS WAY HOME BY SEPT.1, 1831 ARRIVING IN ST.LOUIS OCT. 30, 1831. HE SPENT THE WINTER IN ST.LOUIS, CARED FOR HIS FARM, AND PREPARED FOR ANOTHER EXPEDITION OF 1832.

WHILE SUBLETTE WAS IN THE WEST IN 1832, ASHLEY BOUGHT TRADE GOODS FOR HIM ON THE EASTERN MARKET. HE WOULD CONTINUE TO DO SO FOR SOME TIME. BY JAN. 1833 SUBLETTE HAD SOLD 2/3 OF HIS FUR RETURN, MOST OF IT BEAVER AT $4.25 A POUND OR BETTER. A FAVORABLE PRICE IN THE LIGHT OF THE GROWING MARKET COMPETITION. ROBERT CAMPBELL HAD RETURNED WITH SUBLETTE FROM THE MOUNTAINS TO THE QUIET AND SOLITUDE OF SULPHUR SPRINGS, WHERE THEY WORKED ON FINAL DETAILS OF A PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT, DESTINED TO BE A LONG-LIVED, POWERFUL AND PROFITABLE FUR TRADING COMMITMENT. IT WAS A RISKY BUSINESS, THE FUR TRADE DECLINING. BUT SUBLETTE WASN'T READY TO QUIT. AT ONLY 33 YEARS OLD, HIS PRIVATE FORTUNE WASN'T LARGE ENOUGH TO COVER THE GROWING EXPENSES AT THE FARM OR TO PERMIT HIM TO SETTLE THERE, SUPPORTED BY IT'S PRODUCE. UNTIL HE HAD SUBSTANTIAL PROOF ON HIS BALANCE SHEETS THAT THE FUR TRADE WAS DYING, HE HAD TO TAKE THE RISK.

AS SUBLETTE'S CLOSE FRIEND, ROBERT CAMPBELL WAS A MAN OF PROVEN BUSINESS ABILITY, AND A LOGICAL CHOICE AS A PARTNER. HE WAS FIVE YEARS YOUNGER THAN SUBLETTE, WAS WITH HIM IN THE 1832 EXPEDITION AS A FREE ASSOCIATE. RECENTLY HE HAD SAVED SUBLETTE'S LIFE AT THE BATTLE OF PIERRE'S HOLE. THEIR FINAL PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT WOULD NOT BE COMPLETED UNTIL DEC. 20,1832, AND BY JAN. 1833 HE HAD BEEN TO NEW YORK TO COMPLETE THE DEAL FOR A 1833 TRIP. THERE WERE MANY MEETINGS BEFORE STARTING IN APRIL. DURING THIS TRIP HE OUTDID THE AMERICAN FUR COMPANY AND BUILT A TRADING POST AT THE MOUTH OF THE YELLOWSTONE RIVER.(FORT WILLIAM-LATER CHANGED). IT WAS HERE SUBLETTE GOT SICK "UNTO DEATH", POSSIBLY FROM RESPITORY TROUBLE. HE LEFT FOR ST.LOUIS IN MID-SEPT. BEFORE CONSTRUCTION WAS COMPLETE,TAKING HIS KEELBOAT DOWNSTREAM BEFORE THE ICE CLOSED IN. CAMPBELL WAS LEFT IN CHARGE FOR THE WINTER, BUT HE WAS READY TO LEAVE THE UNSETTLED LIFE. WHILE ON HIS RETURN TRIP SUBLETTE VISITED HIS MANY FUR POSTS (13). AT FORT WILLIAM, MILTON JOINED HIM (HE HAD AN INJURED FOOT). LATE IN NOVEMBER THEY WERE BOTH STAYING AT WILLIAMS FARM WHERE DR.BERNARD FARRAR CARED FOR MILTON'S FOOT. HE ENDED WITH A CORK LEG.

A SUBTLE AGREEMENT BY SUBLETTE AND CAMPBELL, AND THE OLD AGE OF ASTOR IN 1833 HELPED TURN THE TIDE OF HARD TIMES, AND DIVIDING UP THE FUR FIELDS. ASTOR TURNED OVER HIS CONTROL TO PRATTE, CHOUTEAU AND COMPANY, AND RAMSAY CROOKS. A DOCUMENT WAS DRAWN UP IN WHICH HE AGREED FOR CAMPBELL AND SUBLETTE TO GIVE UP TRADE POSTS ON THE UPPER MISSOURI, IN EXCHANGE FOR WHICH THE AMERICAN FUR COMPANY AGREED TO "RETIRE FROM THE MOUNTAIN TRADE"FOR ONE YEAR. THIS SAVED THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN FUR COMPANY. BY EARLY APRIL THEY WERE UNDER WAY AGAIN TO THE MOUTH OF THE LARAMIE TO BUILD A POST AND TO RENDEZVOUS ON THE HAMS FORK. SUBLETTE MADE A FAST TRIP AND BEAT HIS COMPETITION FOR THE FURS. HE OFFERED REV. JASON LEE FORT WILLIAM ON THE LARAMIE FOR A MISSIONARY SITE.

SUBLETTE WAS HOME BY THE END OF AUGUST 1833. THE ONLY DARK CLOUD WAS THE UP-COMMING DEATH OF HIS BROTHER MILTON AFTER HIS LEG WENT BAD AND HAD TO BE AMPUTATED IN FEB. 1835. WHEN NOT LOOKING AFTER MILTON, WILLIAM DEVOTED HIS TIME TO HIS FARM. ON NOV.29 HE REMOVED A QUIT- CLAIM DEED WILLIAM RUSSELL HELD TO HIS LAND, AND IN DEC,18-- NEGOTIATED THREE BUILDING CONTRACTS. IN THE FIRST ONE, DATED THE 13TH HE CONTRACTED FOR FOUR LOG CABINS, EACH 14X16FT. TO BE BUILT TWO- TOGETHER AS A USUAL SLAVE CABIN AT A COST OF $400.00. SUBLETTE AGREED TO FURNISH THE PLANK FOR FLOORS, AND SHINGLES FOR THE ROOFS. THE BUILDER LINDSAY LEWIS WAS TO COMPLETE THE JOB BY MAY 1835. IN THE SECOND CONTRACT OF DEC.23, JOHN LEWIS, POSSIBLY LINDSAY'S BROTHER PROMISED TO BUILD TWO ADDITIONAL CABINS, EACH 24X16FT. AT THE SAME COST, BY THE SAME DATE. THE MOST IMPORTANT CONTRACT, HOWEVER, ALSO DRAWN UP ON THE 23RD. WITH LINDSAY AND SAMUEL LEWIS, INVOLVED $1400 IN PAYMENT FOR A STONE AND LIME HOUSE, 55X45FT. WHICH WAS TO CONTAIN A BASEMENT, AND TWO UPPER STORIES, AND WAS TO BE COMPLETED IN SIX MONTHS. THE ENTIRE STRUCTURE WAS TO BE ARCHITECTURALLY ATTRACTIVE AND SUBSTANTIAL. IT'S 2FT. THICK OUTER WALLS ENCLOSED THREE ROOMS ON THE BASEMENT LEVEL. THERE WERE TO BE SIX FIREPLACES ON THE FIRST FLOOR, STONE CAPS OVER EACH DOOR AND WINDOW, AND AN ARCH OVER THE MAIN ENTRANCE. THIS WOULD BE SUBLETTE'S NEW HOME AT SULPHUR SPRINGS TO REPLACE HIS TEMPORARY QUARTERS THERE, AND WOULD BE A WORTHWHILE ADDITION TO THE COUNTRYSIDE.

THROUGHOUT THE SPRING AND SUMMER OF 1835, CARPENTERS WORKED STEADILY TO FINISH SUBLETTE'S NEW HOME AT SULPHUR SPRINGS. "A FLIGHT OF STAIRS FOUR FEET WIDE RUNNING FROM THE BASEMENT FLOOR TO THE GARRETT" WAS CONSTRUCTED, SHUTTERS WERE HUNG, DOOR AND WINDOW FRAMES WERE RAISED, AND VENETIAN BLINDS WERE INSTALLED. TWO MASTER CARPENTERS THOMAS HERD AND JACOB SASH, USED AS THEIR BUILDING GUIDE THE PLAN FOLLOWED IN "COL.JOHNSON'S POPULAR BRICK HOUSE ON FIFTH STREET". THEY HAD TO HURRY, HOWEVER SINCE SUBLETTE EXPECTED THEM TO BE FINISHED BY OCT.1 AT THE LATEST. SULPHUR SPRINGS WAS HIS DREAM OF ARCADIA - A DREAM COMMON IN HIS DAY. AN OLD DREAM OF A GOLDEN AGRICULTURAL AGE. OVER THE YEARS HE TRANSFORMED HIS ACREAGE FROM A SEMI-WILDERNESS INTO A PROSPEROUS FARM AND WATERING PLACE. IN HIS OLD AGE HE HOPED TO RESIDE THERE PERMANENTLY SURROUNDED BY WELL TILLED FIELDS AND SUPERIOR LIVESTOCK. HIS ACCUMULATED FORTUNE, INCOME FROM HIS PARTNERSHIP, AND WHATEVER HE MIGHT DERIVE FROM OPERATING PART OF HIS FARM AS A WATERING PLACE WOULD BE MORE THAN ENOUGH, HE THOUGHT TO PROVIDE HIS EVERY COMFORT.

BY THE SUMMER OF 1835, SUBLETTE'S HOME AND SLAVE CABINS WERE NEARLY COMPLETED, AND HE MOVED INTO HIS NEW RESIDENCE. IT WAS SITUATED A FEW HUNDRED FEET FROM THE TINY RIVER DES PERES AND WAS SURROUNDED BY RICH VALLEY LANDS AND GENTLE, SLOPING HILLS. A BEAUTIFUL STAND OF NATIVE TIMBER COVERED MUCH OF THE FARM, AND BENEATH THE SOIL WAS A COMMERCIALLY MARKETABLE HORIZONTAL VEIN OF COAL TWO TO FIVE FEET THICK. A LARGE, SPARKLING MINERAL SPRING WAS LOCATED NEARBY "IN THE BED OF THE RIVER DES PERES OPPOSITE TO A HIGH BANK."

THE POTENTIALITIES OF SULPHUR SPRINGS WERE EVIDENT: HIS MANOR HOUSE" STOOD IN THE MIDST OF A GENTLEMAN-FARMER'S DOMAIN. HIS CULTIVATED FIELDS, LARGELY LYING ALONG THE COURSE OF THE RIVER, WERE NEVER FARMED EXTENSIVELY DURING HIS LIFETIME, YET SOME OF THEM WERE WORKED EACH YEAR. CORN WAS PLANTED IN THE BOTTOM FIELD AND OATS, TIMOTHY, POTATOES, AND CABBAGE IN OTHERS. DROUGHT, EXCESSIVE WATER, AND INSECT PESTS SUCH AS THE ARMY WORM, WHICH WAS PERHAPS MOST DREADED, CAUSED PERIODIC TROUBLES, BUT HE TOOK MEASURES AGAINST THEM AND CAREFULLY SUPERVISED HIS SLAVES AND HIRED AGRICULTURAL WORKERS. SEVERAL OF THE LABORERS RESIDED AT THE FARM AS PERMANENT GARDENERS OR LIVED IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD. OTHER ARTISANS AND CRAFTSMEN, SOME OF WHOM TEMPORARILY LIVED AT THE FARM, PLASTERING, MINOR CARPENTERING JOBS, AND REPAIRS WERE ALWAYS NECESSARY, AND IN 1837 THEY BUILT A NEW DOUBLE LOG CABIN AND POSSIBLY A SMALL MILL.

HE BEGAN TO PLANT FRUIT TREES AS EARLY AS 1835 AND TO USE BETTER VARIETIES OF SEED. ALTHOUGH MANY OF THE TREES DID NOT GROW WELL IMMEDIATELY, HE CONSTANTLY EXPERIMENTED WITH THE BEST AVAILABLE STRAINS AND WITHIN A FEW YEARS PRODUCED AN ATTRACTIVE ORCHARD. WITH HUGH CAMPBELL'S ASSISTANCE HE PLACED SEASONAL ORDERS WITH D. AND C. LANDRETH OF PHILADELPHIA FOR FRUIT TREES, GRAINS, FLOWERS, BERRY BUSHES, AND A WIDE VARIETY OF KITCHEN-GARDEN SEEDS. BY SELECTIVITY HE BECAME ONE OF THE MOST PROGRESSIVE FARMERS IN THE COUNTRY. FARMING METHODS WERE CRUDE, BUT HE FOLLOWED WHAT UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION WAS AVAILABLE IN THE CULTIVATOR AND DEVELOPED A SUPERIOR FARM.

IN 1842,ONLY FIVE YEARS AFTER JOHN DEERE CREATED AN IMPROVED STEEL PLOW, SUBLETTE PAID TO HAVE TWO OF HIS LAID WITH STEEL. THE EARLIER WOODEN AND CAST IRON TYPES WERE CUMBERSOME, TENDING TO STICK AND DRAG IN HEAVY SOIL. WITH HIS EXPERIMENTATION WITH SEEDS AND TOOLS HE ADDED A THIRD PROJECT: STOCK RAISING AND BREEDING. THERE WERE USUALLY FIVE TO EIGHT HORSES ON THE FARM, ALSO A SMALL HERD OF PIGS, THE UNGAINLY TYPE WITH LONG LEGS AND SNOUT, SHARP BACK AND OF A ROAMING DISPOSITION. THE FIRST "APPROVED PEDIGREED SHORTHORNS" WERE BROUGHT FROM OHIO TO MISSOURI IN 1839, THEY WERE DIRECT FROM ENGLAND. STEWART IN SCOTLAND IN DECEMBER , 1839 SHIPPED SUBLETTE THE FIRST OF HIS NEW HERD: A VERY FINE SPRING BULL AND A HEIFER. BY 1842 HE OWNED 25 OF THEM, AND THE SAME YEAR RECEIVED TWO SILVER CUPS FOR THE BEST CATTLE EXHIBITED AT THE ST.LOUIS COUNTY AGRICULTURAL FAIR. SUBLETTE WAS MORE INTERESTED IN AGRICULTURAL SECURITY RATHER THAN SPECULATION. AT TIMES HE WOULD MARKET LIVESTOCK FOR FOOD BUT WASN'T A REGULAR DEALER. VISITORS NOTED A NUMBER OF EXOTIC ANIMALS AT SULPHUR SPRINGS - ANIMALS HE ORDERED BROUGHT IN FROM THE MOUNTAINS FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT OF HIS FRIENDS AND FAMILY, BUT ANIMALS THAT WERE NOT FOR SALE. HIS MENAGERIE INCLUDED BUFFALO, DEER, CRANES, WILD AND DOMESTICATED GEESE, AND EVEN SWANS. AT LEAST ONE VISITOR WAS SURPRISED BY A TAME, YOUNG FEMALE ANTELOPE WHICH FROLICKED FREELY ABOUT THE HOUSE TO THE DELIGHT OF THE HOST AND HIS GUESTS. OTHERS REFERRED TO BEARS STAKED OUT ON CHAINS-AN INTERESTING ATTRACTION-AND ALL WERE PLEASED WITH SUBLETTE'S LIVING MEMORIES OF THE MOUNTAIN TRADE.

FROM YEAR TO YEAR THE AMOUNT OF LAND HE HELD IN ST.LOUIS COUNTY VARIED ACCORDING TO PURCHASE AND SALE, BUT SULPHUR SPRINGS PROPER, ALL 779 ACRES,WAS SELDOM TOUCHED. IN FACT, IN JULY 1836 HE BOUGHT 273 ACRES OF THE REMAINING GRATIOT LANDS ADJOINING HIS FARM. HE RESOLD SEVENTY OF THEM IMMEDIATELY FOR A SUBSTANTIAL PROFIT, BUT THE NEXT YEAR ADDED A LITTLE OVER EIGHT ACRES, ALSO ORIGINALLY GRATIOT LAND IN THE NEARBY BARRIER DES NOYER TRACT.(ORIG. DEED RECORD - XPG. 276,298 AND Z PG. 176 MSS, ST.LOUIS CRDO) SUBLETTE HAD A WIDE CIRCLE OF FRIENDS COMPOSED OF OLD MOUNTAIN COMPANIONS, BUSINESS ASSOCIATES, POLITICIANS, BANKERS, AND FARMER NEIGHBORS. THERE WERE GUESTS FREQUENTLY IN HIS LARGE STONE HOUSE. ROBERT AND HUGH CAMPBELL, JOSEPH WILLIAMS, AND ARTIST ALFRED JACOB MILLER, AND WILLIAM STEWART WHO TRADED STOCK AND GIFTS WITH SUBLETTE. ON ONE OCCASION SENT TWO GERMAN IMMIGRANTS, POSSIBLY REV. BISHOP STEPHEN AND DR. MARBURG FROM NEW ORLEANS WITH A LETTER OF INTRODUCTION AND A PLEA FOR HELP. USUALLY HIS BROTHER ANDREW AND SISTER SOPHRONIA ARE THE ONLY RELATIVES THAT SPENT MUCH TIME WITH HIM.

ANDREW FOR A TIME HELPED RUN THE FARM. BUT HE HAD A DRINKING PROBLEM. SOPHRONIA MADE HER HOME WITH WILLIAM AFTER 1840 WHEN SHE HAD MARITAL PROBLEMS. HER DAUGHTER THERESA WAS WITH HER AND HAD ATTENDED SCHOOL IN ST.LOUIS SINCE 1837, AND UNCLE WILLIAM FOOTED THE BILL FOR HER TUITION. AT THE SAME TIME HE SUPPORTED TWO YOUNG BOYS IN ANOTHER BOARDING SCHOOL, POSSIBLY A GESTURE TO FINANCIALLY EMBARRASSED FRIENDS. SOPHRONIA REPAID HER BROTHER, IN PART BY SUPERVISING HIS HOUSEHOLD. THERE WAS ALWAYS AN ABUNDANCE OF FOOD AND DRINK ON HAND, EASILY REPLENISHED FROM FIELDS, ORCHARDS, AND STREAMS, AND WITH THE AID OF HOUSEHOLD SLAVES SHE DIRECTED HER BROTHERS KITCHEN. SUBLETTE INSTALLED IN HER DOMAIN A LARGE, MODERN COOKSTOVE PURCHASED IN PITTSBURGH, AND SUPPLIED HER WITH TABLEWARE, SILVERWARE, GLASSWARE, AND WHATEVER SHE NEEDED FOR PROPER HOUSEKEEPING. ALTHOUGH DIVORCE WAS THEN MUCH MORE SERIOUS AND LESS FREQUENT THAN NOW-EVEN CONDEMNED IN SOME COMMUNITIES-SUBLETTE SUPPORTED SOPHRONIA WHEN ON MARCH 29, 1841, SHE FILED FOR DIVORCE. WHEN HER HUSBAND GROVE COOK FAILED TO APPEAR. HE WAS WELL ON HIS WAY TO CALIFORNIA.

ON OCTOBER 4, 1841 THE ST.LOUIS COURT OF CHANCERY GRANTED SOPHRONIA A DIVORCE. SHE RETURNED TO SULPHUR SPRINGS SINCE SUBLETTE OFFERED HER A PERMANENT HOME WHICH SHE ACCEPTED WILLINGLY AND EXPRESSED HER GRATITUDE BY SAYING THAT HER BROTHER WAS "THE ONLY PERSON I HAVE TO THANKE FOR THE MENNEY COMFORTS I ENJOY." SHE RETURNED TO HER DUTY AS HOUSEKEEPER, WHICH WAS NOT A LIGHT TASK BECAUSE THE INTERIOR OF SUBLETTE'S HOME WAS FURNISHED ELABORATELY AS THE TIME REQUIRED.

WILLIAM SPARED NO EFFORT TO DISPLAY SAMPLES AND SOUVENIRS OF WESTERN LIFE, INCLUDING THREE PAIRS OF ELK HORNS, SEVERAL SKINS, AND INDIAN ODDITIES. THE ROOMS WERE FILLED WITH LARGE PIECES OF CHERRY FURNITURE, THE WINDOWS WERE HEAVILY DRAPED AND CURTAINED, AND THE FLOORS WERE COVERED WITH CARPETING AND MATTING. "OIL LAMPS WITH COTTON WICKS" AND TALLOW AND WAX CANDLES LIGHTED THE ROOMS AND HALLS, AND IN THE FLICKERING GLOW HIS INDIAN TROPHIES CAST THEIR SPELL. SLAVES PERFORMED FARM AND HOUSEHOLD TASKS AND WERE WELL CARED FOR BY THEIR MASTER.

SUBLETTE'S PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS HAD BEEN SLAVEOWNERS AND HE DID NOT QUESTION SLAVERY AS AN INSTITUTION. ALTHOUGH HE OWNED ONLY A FEW YOUNG, EVEN THE OWNERSHIP OF A HANDFUL WAS IN MISSOURI A MARK OF DISTINCTION. HE NEVER ACTIVELY PARTICIPATED IN THE SLAVE MARKET, SINCE MOST OF HIS WERE ACQUIRED THROUGH NATURAL INCREASE. IN OTHER INSTANCES HE HIRED SLAVES, USUALLY BY THE YEAR, TO PERFORM ADDITIONAL TASKS, BUT HE PROVIDED ALL OF THEM SOUNDLY CONSTRUCTED CABINS, GOOD MEDICAL, AND, AT DEATH, BURIAL NEAR THE MAIN HOUSE. HE TRIED TO KEEP A BALANCE BETWEEN PROPERTY AND HUMANITY, AND WAS REALISTIC ENOUGH TO KNOW THAT SLAVES WERE VALUABLE PROPERTY TO BE PROTECTED, YET AT THE SAME TIME, HUMAN BEINGS TO BE RESPECTED. THOSE SLAVES NOT EMPLOYED IN THE HOUSE, BARNS, OR FIELDS ASSISTED THE HIRED HANDS TO PRODUCE ICE, LUMBER, AND COAL.

SUBLETTE'S COAL MINING INDUSTRY WAS BY FAR THE MOST IMPORTANT OF THE THREE AND WAS VERY PROFITABLE. AS EARLY AS 1819-20, COAL WAS MINED IN NUMEROUS ST.LOUIS COUNTY LOCALITIES. IN DECEMBER 1835, AT THE TIME HIS BUILDINGS WERE UNDER CONSTRUCTION, WILLIAM BEGAN TO DEVELOP HIS COAL AND FIRE CLAY DEPOSITS. THE INITIAL COST OF SINKING A SHALLOW PIT AND SUPPORTING AND EQUIPPING IT, WAS NEARLY FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS. AT FIRST HE PLANNED TO UTILIZE A HORSE-DRAWN COAL WAGON TO CARRY THE COAL TO MARKET, BUT SWITCHED TO OXEN WHEN HE DISCOVERED THEY WERE MORE ADEPT.

IN THE SUMMER OF 1836, OWING TO THE PRESS OF BUSINESS IN TOWN, HE ENTERED INTO A TWO-YEAR PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT WITH JOHN GANT AND WILLIAM STONEY TO MINE AND SELL COAL FROM THE DEPOSIT RECENTLY OPENED ON HIS FARM. WITHIN FIVE MONTHS GANT GAVE UP THE PARTNERSHIP, AND SUBLETTE DREW UP A NEW EIGHTEEN MONTHS CONTRACT WITH STONEY-SHARE AND SHARE ALIKE. UNDER THIS CONTRACT THE MINE WAS OPERATED SUCCESSFULLY AND PROFITABLY. DURING SEPT. THRU FEB. FOUR WAGONS-THE REMAINDER OF THE YEAR TWO WAGONS REGULARLY CARRIED COAL TO THE MARKET IN ST. LOUIS.

UPON CONCLUSION OF THE AGREEMENT WITH STONEY, SUBLETTE MADE A NEW ONE IN THE AUTUMN OF 1838 WHEREBY THE MINE PLUS A NEW ONE RECENTLY OPENED AT THE FARM, WAS LEASED TO ABRAHAM STEVENS. HE WAS TO MINE THE COAL; SUBLETTE WAS TO PURCHASE IT FROM HIM AT THE MINE. BY THIS AGREEMENT COAL MARKETING WAS VESTED SOLELY IN WILLIAMS HANDS, BUT THE RISK WAS SLIGHT BECAUSE COAL SALES CONTINUED TO FLOURISH. LATE IN 1839 OR EARLY 1840, SUBLETTE OPENED A THIRD MINE "BETWEEN THE TWO OLD MINES" AND PERMITTED STEVENS TO WORK IT FOR TWO YEARS, NOT UNDER LEASE BUT UNDER A PARTNERSHIP SIMILAR TO THE EARLY ONE WITH STONEY. PROFITS WERE TO BE DIVIDED EQUALLY, STEVENS WAS ALLOWED TO LIVE RENT FREE IN ONE OF THE CABINS AT THE FARM, AND IN RETURN HE PROMISED TO KEEP TWO COAL WAGONS IN OPERATION.

BY EARLY 1842, HOWEVER,THE DEPRESSION WAS IN FULL FORCE AND STEVENS WAS UNABLE TO MEET HIS PART OF THE CONTRACT. AFTER SOME NEGOTIATION, SUBLETTE TURNED OVER ALL THREE MINES TO ELIAS STITTS AND G.W. SHEPHERD, WHO AGREED TO WORK THEM THREE YEARS AND TO PAY HIM ONE FOURTH OF A CENT FOR EVERY BUSHEL MINED.

SULPHUR SPRINGS ALSO BOASTED MORE THAN ENOUGH TIMBER TO PROVIDE FUEL, FENCING, AND BUILDING MATERIAL FOR THE FARM,IN FACT, SO MUCH TIMBER THAT IT COULD BE MARKETED IN ST.LOUIS. CORDWOOD WAS CUT, LOADED ON COAL WAGONS OR IN SEPARATE VEHICLES, AND CARRIED INTO THE CITY. IN VOLUME, HOWEVER, IT'S SALE AND DISTRIBUTION WAS MUCH LESS THAN THAT OF SULPHUR SPRINGS COAL AND WAS HANDLED DIRECTLY BY WILLIAM OR BROTHER ANDREW. WOOD SOLD AT $4.00 A CORD IN 1839, BUT LIKE EVERY OTHER COMMODITY, WAS HIT BY THE DEPRESSION AND BY DECEMBER 1842, WAS REDUCED TO A DULL $2.25 A CORD. AT THAT TIME SUBLETTE HAD ONE TEAM HAULING COAL AND ANOTHER WOOD AND CORN. IN THAT WAY HE HOPED TO INCREASE HIS FALLING INCOME, ALTHOUGH THE MOST PROFITABLE YEARS HAD PASSED. IN THE WINTER A THIRD COMMODITY, ICE, WAS GATHERED AT THE FARM AND STORED FOR THE SUMMER MONTHS, WHEN IT WAS USED BY THE FAMILY OR SOLD TO THE NEIGHBORS. A MID-WINTER FREEZE BROUGHT FAMILY AND WORKER ALIKE TO THE RIVER TO GATHER AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE AND STORE IT, PACKED IN STRAW, IN UNDERGROUND SHEDS.

THE VOLUME OF SUBLETTE'S TRADE TO ST.LOUIS DEPENDED UPON THE CONDITION OF THE OLD MANCHESTER ROAD,(SOUTHWEST) ALTERNATELY MUDDY OR DUSTY, LEADING INTO TOWN. HORSES AND MULES WERE NOT STRONG ENOUGH TO PULL LOADED WAGONS THROUGH THE DEEP STICKY CLAY, BUT HE LEARNED THAT OXEN WERE, IF THE WAGONS WERE IN GOOD REPAIR. SUBLETTE REALIZED THAT BETTER ROADS WERE KEY TO THE SUCCESS OF HIS FARM AND SO EXERTED EVERY EFFORT FOR ROAD IMPROVEMENT.

IN AUG,1836 THE COUNTY COURT APPOINTED HIM TO CONTRACT FOR A STONE BRIDGE TO BE BUILT "OVER THE CAMP SPRING BRANCH, ONE MILE FROM ST.LOUIS" ON THE OLD MANCHESTER ROAD. WITHIN LESS THAN A YEAR HE REPORTED THE BRIDGE COMPLETED FOR LESS THAN THE ESTIMATE, AND THE COURT, VERY WELL SATISFIED, IN THE SPRING OF 1838 APPOINTED HIM,WITH TWO OTHERS "TO VIEW A PROPOSED ALTERATION" IN ANOTHER ROAD. THEY RECOMMENDED NO OTHER ALTERATION BE MADE, AND THEIR SUGGESTION WAS ACCEPTED. SUBLETTE WAS LOOKING FOR "NEW MANCHESTER". SULPHUR SPRINGS WOULD NEED A GOOD ROAD. IT WAS NOT ONLY HIS HOME AND FARM BUT WAS AS WELL, ESPECIALLY BETWEEN 1838 AND 1842, A LEADING ST.LOUIS RESORT AND WATERING PLACE. GOOD ROADS MEANT GOOD BUSINESS.

SAMPLES OF THE SPRINGS WERE SENT TO HUGH CAMPBELL WHO HAD THEM ANALYZED AND RETURNED WITH A FAVORABLE REPORT. THE WATER RESEMBLED THAT OF WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, VIRGINIA, OR AS THE GAZETTE REPORTED IT HAD THE TASTE AND SMELL OF SULPHURATED HYDROGEN, GOOD FOR THE ELDERLY, PARTICULARLY THOSE AFFECTED WITH COMPLAINTS OF THE LIVER. IN A SHORT TIME THE SPRINGS WERE PATRONIZED FOR THEIR CURATIVE POWERS.

FOLLOWING THE ANALYSIS DURING THE SUMMER OF 1835, SUBLETTE, ASSISTED BY A CREW OF WORKMEN UNDER E. TOWN, STARTED TO ERECT "LARGE AND COMMODIOUS" GUEST BUILDINGS NEAR THE SPRINGS AND WITHIN CLOSE WALKING DISTANCE OF HIS NEARLY COMPLETED HOME. SUBLETTE HOPED TO LEASE THE GROUNDS AND BUILDINGS OF THE SPRING PROPER TO SOME ENTERPRISING MANAGER.

MANY OF THE ST.LOUIS HOTELS WERE SAID TO BE FILTHY AND DISAGREEABLE, BUT SULPHUR SPRINGS WAS TO BE AN EXCEPTION. THOMAS W. THOMPSON, A WELL-KNOWN HOTEL MANAGER, TOOK OVER OPERATION OF SUBLETTE'S NEW RESORT FROM E.TOWN; FURNISHED IT ON SUBLETTE'S SURETY; AND ON JULY 20, 1837 ANNOUNCED THAT HE WAS PREPARED TO RECEIVE VISITORS, ABOUT SIXTY OF WHOM HE COULD ACCOMMODATE AS BOARDERS. FOR THOSE LOCAL CITIZENS ANXIOUS TO ESCAPE THE WHIRL OF CITY LIFE THE SPRINGS OFFERED A VARIETY OF QUIETER ENTERTAINMENT, BUT FOR THE MORE SPIRITED WAS PROVIDED A NINEPINS ALLEY AND A RACE TRACK, BOTH ILLEGAL WITHIN CITY LIMITS.

IN SEPTEMBER, 1838, SUBLETTE AND SEVERAL FRIENDS ORGANIZED THE ST.LOUIS JOCKY CLUB AND THE FOLLOWING MONTH COMMENCED RACES AT THE SPRINGS. A LARGE PURSE WAS PUT UP, PLUS OTHER NOVEL ATTRACTIONS, AND THE CROWDS FLOCKED TO THE EVENT. SIX MONTHS LATER A SPRING MEET WAS HELD, LASTING SEVERAL DAYS, FOR BOTH FULL-GAITED AND TROTTING STOCK. SUBLETTE, AS HIS GRANDFATHER WHITLEY MANY YEARS BEFORE AT SPORTSMAN'S HILL, WATCHED SOME OF THE COUNTRY'S BEST HORSEFLESH RACE OVER HIS TRACK.

SUBLETTE'S PRINCIPLE DIFFICULTY WAS TO KEEP A GOOD MANAGER AT THE RESORT. THOMPSON LASTED ONLY A SHORT TIME, AND HIS SUCCESSOR, EDMOND LEONARD, WAS HEAVILY IN DEBT AND NOT VERY DEPENDABLE. IN MARCH, 1838, WILLIAM LEASED THE SPRINGS FOR FIVE YEARS TO OWEN W. GRIMES, WHO PROMISED TO KEEP THE SPRINGS CLEAN, TO BUILD A PORCH ON THE REAR OF SUBLETTE'S HOUSE, AND TO PAY TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS THE FIRST YEAR AND ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS EACH YEAR THEREAFTER IN RENT. IN ADDITION, GRIMES WAS PERMITTED TO GRAZE HIS STOCK ON THE PASTURE, TO USE SOME OF THE TIMBER, AND TO FARM A FEW OF THE FIELDS. ALMOST IMMEDIATELY GRIMES BEGAN TO DEFAULT ON HIS PROMISES, OR SO SUBLETTE SAID, AND HAD TO BE TAKEN TO COURT. THE CASE WAS FINALLY DROPPED, BUT HE STILL OWED SUBLETTE A LITTLE OVER $1,000.00. EVERYTHING REGARDING THE LEASE SEEMED TO GO FROM BAD TO WORSE.

EARLY IN 1842: GRIMES FAILED TO MEET HIS NOTE PAYMENTS, AND ON MARCH 1 THE LEASE WAS DISSOLVED BY MUTUAL CONSENT. HE REMAINED AT THE SPRINGS UNTIL MID-APRIL IN ORDER TO WHITEWASH AND PAINT THE BUILDINGS FOR A NEW LESSEE JOHN C. BRANNER, WHO HAD TAKEN THE RESORT FOR THREE YEARS UNDER CONDITIONS SIMILAR TO THOSE IN THE GRIMES LEASE. BRANNER, SUBLETTE DISCOVERED WAS WITHOUT READY MONEY OR CREDIT AND SPENT MOST OF HIS TIME IN ST.LOUIS "ABOUT THE GROCERIES TRYING TO GET SOMEONE TO JOIN HIM TO OPEN" THE RESORT.

SINCE THE MONEY MARKET WAS TIGHT AND THE LEASE STRICT, FEW WERE DISPOSED TO HELP HIM. ANDREW, IN WILLIAM'S ABSENCE ON A BUSINESS TRIP TRIED TO DISSOLVE THE LEASE, BUT THE "TRIFLING OLD CURSE (BRANNER)," AS HE SAID, REFUSED TO SUBMIT. ANDREW ORDERED HIM OUT OF THE RESORT AND THREATENED TO CLUB HIM, BUT THE OLD MAN REMAINED IN ONE OF THE CABINS AND REFUSED TO LEAVE UNTIL PAID FOR SOME REPAIRS HE MADE. AFTER CONSIDERABLE BICKERING, THE LEASE WAS BROKEN, AND IN JULY BRANNER MOVED.

ANDREW PROPOSED THAT WILLIAM PERMIT HIM TO OPEN THE TAVERN IN THE HOTEL, BUT WILLIAM, RECOGNIZING HIS BROTHER'S PROPENSITY FOR HARD LIQUOR, REFUSED. BY THAT TIME GRIMES WAS BACK IN TOWN, TRYING TO TAKE BENEFIT OF THE BANKRUPTCY LAW, AFTER HAVING RETURNED EMPTY HANDED FROM A BORROWING TRIP TO KENTUCKY, AND WAS TALKING WILDLY ABOUT TAKING UP A NEW LEASE TO THE SPRINGS.

DR. THOMAS HEREFORD, A RESPECTABLE ALABAMA PHYSICIAN, WAS ALSO IN TOWN, AND HE WAS ANXIOUS TO NEGOTIATE FOR THE SPRINGS. ANDREW BELIEVED HE WAS JUST THE MAN FOR THE LEASE: HE HAD MONEY AND NEGROES AND THOSE WHO KNEW HIM SPOKE WELL OF HIM. WILLIAM AGREED WITH ANDREW WHEN HE MET DR. HEREFORD, AND ON SEPT. 13, 1842, LEASED HIM NINETY ACRES, INCLUDING THE RESORT BUILDINGS AND SPRINGS, FOR FIVE YEARS. THE DOCTOR WAS GIVEN TIMBER RIGHTS, RIGHTS TO THE COAL BEDS, AND CONSENT TO IMPROVE THE BUILDINGS; IN RETURN SUBLETTE WAS TO RECEIVE RENT PAYABLE IN NINE INSTALLMENTS.

IN THE AUTUMN OF 1836, SUBLETTE PLACED HIMSELF UNDER THE CARE OF DR. WILLIAM BEAUMONT, THE EMINENT PHYSICIAN. HE CONFINED SUBLETTE TO A ROCKING CHAIR WHILE HE PERFORMED A SERIES OF OPERATIONS UPON HIM FOR FISTULA IN ANNO, AND SUBLETTE WAS PROBABLY CONFINED TO A CHAIR WITH A WRITING DESK ATTACHED. HE WAS MUCH PLEASED WITH DR. BEAUMONT AS A "SERGENT" (SURGEON) AND WAS UP AND AROUND BY LATE SPRING. DR. BEAUMONT WAS CALLED IN TO PRESCRIBE, ESPECIALLY IN 1841 AND 1842, SINCE SUBLETTE'S HEALTH GREW WORSE EACH YEAR, PARTIALLY AS A RESULT OF HIS DANGEROUS WESTERN EXPLOITS.

HIS DIET DID NOT CONTRIBUTE TO BETTER HEALTH. ALTHOUGH HE WAS NOT USUALLY A HEAVY DRINKER, HE HAD ACQUIRED A TASTE FOR CERTAIN DELICACIES UNCOMMON IN CIVILIZED AREAS. HE COMMISSIONED HIS FRIENDS COMING FROM THE WEST AND HIS EMPLOYEES TO BRING IN PACKAGES OF BUFFALO MEAT PREPARED ACCORDING TO THE INDIAN METHOD IN THIN SLICES AND DRIED ON A FRAMEWORK OVER AN OPEN FIRE. THERE WAS A SUPPLY OF PEMMICAN IN HIS LARDER WHICH HE SERVED ALONG WITH THE BUFFALO MEAT AT HOME OR IN HIS OFFICE TO OLD MOUNTAIN FRIENDS. AS IT WAS , MOST OF THE FOOD AMERICANS ATE AT THAT TIME WAS BADLY COOKED, LACKING IN IMAGINATION, AND OFTENTIMES SWIMMING IN GREASE. THEY ATE IN A HURRY AND, IF THEY COULD AFFORD IT, WADED THROUGH EVERY EDIBLE ITEM THE NEIGHBORHOOD COULD PROVIDE. EVERYTHING CONSIDERED, HE WOULD HAVE BEEN FORTUNATE IF HE ESCAPED DIETARY TROUBLES.(I DON'T DISCOUNT THE SULPHUR SPRINGS).

SULPHUR SPRINGS WAS A PLEASANT PLACE TO CONVALESCE AFTER HIS RECURRENT ILLNESSES. HIS HOME WAS A GREAT PLACE TO RELAX. HE HAD A PIANO, A LIBRARY, AND THE LATEST NEWS OF THE MISSOURI ARGUS. WHEN IN BETTER HEALTH, AND THE WEATHER PERMITTING, HE MAY HAVE ATTENDED SUNDAY SERVICES AT ONE OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHES. THERE IS NO ACCURATE PROOF OF HIS MEMBERSHIP IN ANY PARTICULAR CONGREGATION, BUT BASED ON HIS KENTUCKY RELIGIOUS BACKGROUND, UPON THE FACT THAT HE MARRIED LATER IN A PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, AND THAT A NIECE WAS BAPTIZED IN THE SAME FAITH, SUGGEST HIS CALVINISM.

BETWEEN 1835 AND 1842 HE SOLD OR LEASED TRACTS TO JOHN FORSTAKEN, GEORGE K. NYE, THOMAS ASBY, DR.JOHN TAGART, OWEN WILLIAMS, AND DANIEL THOMAS. FORSTAKEN PURCHASED 20 ACRES IN 1839, BUT THE FOLLOWING YEAR DEFAULTED ON HIS NOTES AND LOST THE LAND TO SUBLETTE. WILLIAM THEN RESOLD THE LAND TO NYE, AND THIS TIME THE SALE WAS VALID. ASBY LEASED A SMALL TRACT IN 1840, WITH THE UNDERSTANDING HE WOULD CULTIVATE 10 ACRES AND BUILD A LOG CABIN AND STABLE UPON THE REMAINDER. DR. TAGART BOUGHT 139.20 ACRES IN 1837 AND MET HIS NOTES ON TIME, WHILE WILLIAMS AND THOMAS HELD 15 ACRES FOR ONLY TWO YEARS. SUBLETTE'S DEEPEST PLUNGE INTO SPECULATION WAS IN COMPANY WITH THIRTEEN OTHERS. TOGETHER THEY FORMED A LAND COMPANY TO SECURE A SIZABLE AREA NEAR WESTPORT LANDING. THEY PAID $4,220, LAID IT OFF INTO A TOWN AND NAMED IT KANSAS, BUT OWING TO DISAGREEMENT NOTHING WAS DONE UNTIL 1846. THE REGION GREW AND SUBLETTE SECURED ANOTHER NICHE IN HISTORY AS ONE OF THE ORIGINAL DEVELOPERS OF KANSAS CITY.

IN SEPT. 1836 REPORTS FROM THE WEST WERE PROMISING ENOUGH TO ENCOURAGE THEM TO TAKE THEIR LONG DELAYED STEP. SUBLETTE AND CAMPBELL OPENED A STORE AT NUMBER 7 MAIN ST. (FIRST) WHICH WAS PREVIOUSLY N.B. ATWOOD. THE PRICE WAS $12,833. BUSINESS SLOWED BY AUTUMN OF 1838 AND SUBLETTE STARTED MAKING TRIPS TO COLLECT PAST DUES. THEY STILL DABBLED IN THE FUR TRADE. THE LAST SALE OF FURS DIRECTLY ATTRIBUTED TO THEM WAS TRANSACTED IN AUG. 1840, WHEN TWO LOTS OF DEER AND RACCOON SKINS POSSIBLY TAKEN IN BARTER FROM LOCAL RESIDENTS WERE SOLD IN ST.LOUIS.

BY 1842 THE ECONOMIC PICTURE WAS SO BAD, SUBLETTE AND CAMPBELL HAD TO BRING SUITS FOR DEBT IN AT LEAST FOUR ILLINOIS AND ELEVEN MISSOURI COUNTIES. THEY WON MOST OF THE CASES (30 OR MORE), BUT NOT MUCH MONEY WAS INVOLVED. MOST INVOLVED LAND WHICH WASN'T WORTH TOO MUCH.

RATHER THAN RISK GREATER LOSSES, IN 1842 THEY AGREED TO DISSOLVE THEIR LONG CLOSE ASSOCIATION. FOR HALF A DOZEN YEARS SINCE 1842, SUBLETTE AND CAMPBELL WERE ALLIED CLOSELY TO THE NEW BANK OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI. IT HELPED THEM IN COMMUNITY STANDING, BUT IT ALSO INVOLVED THEM IN THE HEATED CONTROVERSIES OVER THE BANK AND THE MONEY QUESTION. THEY BOTH SERVED AS DIRECTORS.

THROUGHOUT THE REMAINDER OF 1841-2, SUBLETTE WAS TOO BUSY WITH HIS PARTNERSHIP AND HIS FARM TO DEVOTE MUCH TIME TO POLITICS. EVEN THOUGH FORMER PRESIDENT VAN BUREN WAS IN ST.LOUIS IN JUNE 1842, AND SUBLETTE WAS APPOINTED TO HIS RECEPTION COMMITTEE, SUBLETTE WAS TOO OCCUPIED WITH DUTIES IN WESTERN MISSOURI. NOR DID HE PARTICIPATE IN THE DEMOCRATIC STATE CONVENTION THAT YEAR.

SPRING 1843 - THE MILLERITES BELIEVED THE END OF THE WORLD WAS AT HAND AND BOUGHT MUSLIN FOR ASCENSION ROBES. MOST AMERICANS IGNORED MILLERIST PREDICTIONS AND PREFERRED TO THINK ABOUT MORE EARTHLY THINGS. THE DEPRESSION WAS NEARLY OVER, AND NATIONAL ECONOMIC EQUILIBRIUM WAS IN SIGHT. SUBLETTE'S MIDWINTER BUSINESS TRIP TO WESTERN MISSOURI HAD NOT BEEN TOO PRODUCTIVE, SINCE MANY FIRMS AND INDIVIDUALS HAD REFUSED TO PAY THEIR LONG-STANDING DEBTS; STILL HE HAD SOME SUCCESS AND, MORE IMPORTANT, HAD BEEN FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO LEASE SULPHUR SPRINGS THE PREVIOUS AUTUMN.

DURING THE FIRST WEEK IN JANUARY HE AND DR. HEREFORD AGREED TO SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT, BUT STILL VERY REASONABLE, TERMS IN LIGHT OF EXISTING CONDITIONS. MEANWHILE, THE DOCTOR MOVED INTO A HOUSE NEAR THE RESORT. MRS. HEREFORD AND MOST OF THE CHILDREN REMAINED IN TUSCUMBIA, ALABAMA, PATIENTLY WAITING FOR REGULAR SPRING TRAFFIC TO OPEN ON THE MISSISSIPPI SO THEY COULD MOVE TO ST.LOUIS. "FRANK", FRANCES S. HEREFORD, HOWEVER, WAS WITH HER FATHER, AND SHE , THE ELDEST DAUGHTER OF THE NEW PROPRIETOR OF THE SPRINGS, WAS AN ATTRACTIVE, DARK HAIRED SOUTHERN BEAUTY WITH A GRACEFUL FIGURE AND AN EYE FOR AN ADVANTAGEOUS MARRIAGE. SHE MET SUBLETTE EITHER IN THE SUMMER OF 1842 OR AFTER HE RETURNED FROM HIS BUSINESS TRIP. ALTHOUGH SHE HAD A BEAU AT HOME, SHE REALIZED THAT THE LORD OF SULPHUR SPRINGS WOULD MAKE AN EXCELLENT HUSBAND. SHE LISTENED CAREFULLY TO SOME OF HER ALABAMA FRIENDS, WHO ADVISED HER TO "CATCH SOME GOOD AMIABLE AND RICH MAN--AS A FULL PURSE IS VERY USEFUL". THE HEREFORDS WERE SAID TO HAVE TEMPERS "EQUAL TO BRIMSTONE," BUT SHE SEEMS TO HAVE HIDDEN THAT CHARACTERISTIC BEHIND HER LARGE SAD EYES. CERTAINLY, THEY SAID, SHE WOULD MAKE SOME LUCKY MAN "A MOST ACCOMPLISHED WIFE".

LATE IN MAY THE HEREFORDS REOPENED THE SPRINGS AS A WATERING PLACE. THE WATER WAS REANALYZED, THE FAVORABLE RESULTS WERE PUBLISHED IN THE ST.LOUIS PRESS, AND GUESTS WERE INVITED TO VISIT AND STAY FOR A REST. BUT THEY HAD TO BRING REFERENCES; DR. HEREFORD DID NOT WANT THE UNDESIRABLES AT HIS RESORT. MEDICINAL WATERS FROM THE SPRINGS, NOW SAID TO RESEMBLE MOST THOSE OF CERTAIN ENGLISH WELLS, WERE AVAILABLE TO ALL WHO COULD AFFORD THEM.

SUBLETTE, HIS MIND FREE OF WORRIES ABOUT THE RESORT, SPENT HIS TIME WITH FRANCES AND THOUGHT ABOUT A LONG VACATION. HE AND STEWART HAD BEEN TRYING TO PLAN A WESTERN TRIP SINCE 1840. SUBLETTE HAD ARRANGED TO WINTER THE HORSES AND MULES IN WESTERN MISSOURI. FORTUNATELY, STEWART CONCLUDED HIS TIME CONSUMING DUTIES IN SCOTLAND AND BY THE FALL OF 1842 REACHED THE UNITED STATES. HE STOPPED FIRST AT BALTIMORE AND CINCINNATI TO RECRUIT "FOR THE MOUNTAINS," THEN MOVED TO NEW ORLEANS TO AWAIT AN ICE FREE CHANNEL ON THE MISSISSIPPI. IN MARCH HE STARTED UP THE RIVER ON THE STEAMBOAT J.M.WHITE, WHICH SANK. HE SURVIVED AND FINALLY MADE IT TO ST.LOUIS.

THE CITY WAS ALIVE WITH ACTIVITY, SINCE A LARGE EMIGRANT PARTY OF PERHAPS 1,000 PEOPLE WAS SCHEDULED TO LEAVE FOR THE WEST WITHIN A FEW WEEKS. THE OREGON FEVER RAGED IN THE NATION. JAMES AUDUBON, THE FAMED NATURALIST WAS ON HIS WAY WEST, BUT DIDN'T JOIN SUBLETTE. JOHN FREEMOMT WAS SAID TO BE ASSEMBLING A NEW WESTERN EXPEDITION.

THE STEWART-SUBLETTE EXPEDITION WAS PUBLICIZED WIDELY AS A WELL-SUPPLIED, TASTEFULLY ARRANGED SUMMERS "EXCURSION", NOT MUCH OF A PROFIT MAKING VENTURE. WILLIAM SENT SOLOMON TO PURCHASE MORE HORSES AND MULES. IN THREE DAYS (APR.27-29) WILLIAM BOUGHT $600 WORTH OF GOODS FROM ST.LOUIS TRADING HOUSES, ESPECIALLY FROM CAMPBELL. STEWART BOUGHT EVEN MORE. ONE ITEM HIGH ON THE LIST WAS LIQUOR--OF ALL TYPES. THEY PURCHASED A KEG OF SLOE GIN, TWO OF COGNAC, ONE OF RUM, A BARREL OF ALCOHOL, ONE DOZEN BOTTLES OF CHAMPAGNE, AND TWO OF PORT WINE. STEWART REMINDED WILLIAM NOT TO FORGET THE WHISKEY SINCE, "WE ARE A THIRSTY PARTY. NAVIGATION WAS OPEN, PRAIRIE GRASS WAS ABUNDANT, AND THE TIME HAD COME TO LEAVE "FOR THE GREEN". SUDDENLY TRAGEDY STRUCK - AN UNEXPECTED DEATH IN SUBLETTE'S FAMILY. SISTER SOPHRONIA HAD BEEN ILL THE PREVIOUS AUTUMN OF 1842, BUT HAD RECOVERED UNDER THE CARE OF DR.BEAUMONT. SHE WAS CAREFUL NOT TO EXPOSE HERSELF TO THE COLD AS IT BRINGS ON THE AGUE, YET PRECAUTIONS WERE INSUFFICIENT. IN THE SPRING HER HEALTH GREW WORSE, AND DR.HEREFORD WAS CALLED FOR CONSULTATION, AND MADE DAILY CALLS AFTER APR.11 BUT SOPHRONIA DIED ON THE TWENTIETH OF CAUSES UNKNOWN, POSSIBLY OF PNEUMONIA, TB, OR SOME MALIGNANT FEVER. SHE WAS INTERRED WITH SIMPLE SERVICES AT THE FARM LATE IN THE AFTERNOON THE FOLLOWING DAY (APR.21,1843). THIS FURTHER DELAYED SUBLETTE'S DEPARTURE.

BY MAY 1, MOST WERE READY TO GO. ANDREW WAS ALLOWED TO REMAIN AT SULPHUR SPRINGS TO LOOK AFTER THE FAMILY INTERESTS AND TO OPERATE THE GROCERY AND "DRAM SHOP". FINALLY THEY LEFT ST.LOUIS IN TWO PARTS. ONE UNDER STEWART'S COMMAND, THE OTHER UNDER SUBLETTE. STEWART LEFT BY STEAMBOAT TO INDEPENDENCE A FORTNIGHT LATE AND SIX DAYS LATER WAS IN WESTPORT, ENCAMP AND WAIT FOR SUBLETTE WHO TRAVELED OVERLAND ALONG THE RIVERS SOUTH BANK.

SUBLETTE LEFT ST.LOUIS MAY 1 AND ARRIVED MAY 10 WITH ABOUT 50 MULES. HE WAS ACCOMPANIED BY THREE MOUNTAIN MEN AND TWO SLAVE BOYS (AGES 11&14). THERE WAS NO CLEAR CONSENSUS ABOUT HOW LONG THEY PLANNED TO STAY IN THE MOUNTAINS, BUT SOME OF THE MEN PLANNED TO RETURN HOME IN THE FALL AND SUBLETTE PLANNED TO BE WITH THEM. HE HAD FRANCES ON HIS MIND . HE WAS WARNED BY A FRIEND NOT TO LET HER GET AWAY, AND ANDREW WHO STAYED BEHIND WAS ALSO INTERESTED IN HER. WILLIAM DECIDED TO STICK TO HIS PLAN AND FINISH THE EXPEDITION. SO THE TRIP WENT WITH MUCH EXCITEMENT WITH A RENDEZVOUS WITH THE SNAKE INDIANS AND HUNTERS ON THE PINEY FORK RIVER. FINISHING WITH HORSE RACES. CHAPTER 11 COVERED THE "BACK TO THE GREEN". HEADING BACK HOME THE MAIN PARTY UNDER STEWART AND SUBLETTE WENT DOWN THE PLATTE AND BY OCT. 6 REACHED THE BLUE RIVER. THEY JOGGED INTO WESTPORT LATE IN THE AFTERNOON OF THE TWENTIETH. AT INDEPENDENCE WERE TAKEN FOR EMIGRANTS OR A TRAVELING MENAGERIE. FIELD DECLARED THEM THE FATTEST, GREASIEST SET OF TRUANT ROGUES IMAGINABLE. MANY OF THE MEN TOOK THE STEAMER "JOHN AULL" FOR ST.LOUIS, AND SUBLETTE SHIPPED TWO CARTLOADS OF PELTRIES AND HARNESS ABOARD THE "NODAWAY". HE AND STEWART REMAINED IN WESTERN MISSOURI TO SETTLE ACCOUNTS, THEN TRAVELED OVERLAND. THEY WERE IN SULPHUR SPRINGS BY THE FIRST OR SECOND OF NOVEMBER, PLEASED, AS WERE MOST OF THEIR HARDIER COMPANIONS, WITH THE SUMMER'S TOUR OF THE GREEN.

THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER WAS SPENT AT SULPHUR SPRINGS. STEWART LEFT FOR NEW ORLEANS THE END OF THE MONTH. SUBLETTE ASKED DR.BEAUMONT TO VISIT HIM AT THE FARM, EXAMINE HIM, AND TELL HIM WHETHER HIS HEALTH HAD BEEN IMPROVED BY HIS RECENT MOUNTAIN EXCURSION. IT SEEMS THAT THE DOCTORS REPORT WAS NOT ENCOURAGING. SUBLETTE'S GENERAL HEALTH WAS NOT MUCH BETTER. IN FACT HE HAD SIGNS OF TUBERCULOSIS (COMMON IN HIS FAMILY), BUT HE WAS NOT IN A CRITICAL CONDITION. HE DID NOT INTEND TO WITHDRAW FROM THE WORLD, AND WITH CARE MIGHT LIVE MANY MORE YEARS. INSTEAD OF GOING INTO SEMI-SECLUSION, HE PREPARED FOR THE FUTURE AND DREW UP A NEW WILL ON NEW YEARS DAY,1844, IN WHICH HE DISTRIBUTED HIS PROPERTY AMONGST HIS CLOSE RELATIVES AND FRIENDS.

FRANCES, HIS "ESTIMED FEMALE FRIEND" AND FUTURE WIFE RECEIVED A LIFE INCOME FROM ONE HUNDRED ACRES OF SULPHUR SPRINGS. WHETHER OR NOT SHE KNEW OF HIS FAILING HEALTH IS DIFFICULT TO SAY, BUT IT IS LIKELY SHE DID AND PLANNED TO MARRY HIM WITH THE MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING THAT THE MARRIAGE MIGHT NOT BE A LONG ONE. THROUGHOUT THE WINTER SUBLETTE BUSIED HIMSELF WITH HIS AFFAIRS: HE PAID HIS TAXES, REPLENISHED HIS WARDROBE, VISITED HIS NEIGHBORS, AND RECEIVED FRIENDS AT THE FARM. HE HAD DECIDED IN THE AUTUMN, DESPITE HIS UNCERTAIN HEALTH, THAT IN 1844 HE WOULD RE-ENTER THE POLITICAL ARENA.

THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY WAS SPLIT BETWEEN THE SOFTS AND THE HARDS (HARDS WERE THE OLD LINE POLITICIANS OF WHICH SUBLETTE WAS ONE). THE CONVENTION IN MARCH WAS A WILD ONE BUT THE HARDS WON. THE SOFTS WANTED TO GET RID OF BENTON. VAN BUREN WAS THEIR CHOICE FOR PRESIDENT, BUT JAMES POLK WON THE ELECTION. BY NOVEMBER, AFTER THE POLK-DALLAS WIN, DELEGATE SUBLETTE WAS BACK IN JEFFERSON CITY WITH HIS FRIENDS AND FINISHED WITH POLITICS. HIS HEALTH DID NOT IMPROVE DURING 1844, AND IT IS POSSIBLE HE WAS TOO ACTIVE FOR HIS OWN GOOD. NOT ONLY WAS HE BUSY IN POLITICS, WITH HIS FARM, AND IN THE STATE BANK, BUT HE HELPED CAMPBELL SETTLE OLD BUSINESS ACCOUNTS. WILLIAM HAD LEFT ANDREW IN CHARGE OF THE FARM, AND THE YOUNGER SUBLETTE HAD OPERATED IT IN A FAIRLY EFFICIENT MANNER; YET ANDREW HAD A PERSISTENT COUGH AND WANTED TO RETURN TO THE MOUNTAINS FOR HIS HEALTH.

IN LATE APRIL, ANDREW LEFT FOR INDEPENDENCE AND WESTPORT, WHERE HE GATHERED SUPPLIES AND TOOK CHARGE OF A COMPANY OF TWENTY-FIVE YOUNG MEN GOING TO THE MOUNTAINS FOR THEIR HEALTH. HE LED THE GROUP AS FAR AS FORT LARAMIE WHERE HE GAVE UP HIS COMMAND AND WENT TO BENT'S FORT WHERE HE MET HIS WANDERING BROTHER SOLOMON, AND THE TWO OF THEM TRAVELED TO TAOS FOR PROVISIONS. THEY RETURNED TO THE ARKANSAS-PLATTE, AND BY OCT.1845 ANDREW WAS BACK IN MISSOURI MUCH IMPROVED IN HEALTH. BEFORE ANDREW LEFT FOR THE WEST FRANCES AND WILLIAM WERE MARRIED. ON MARCH 31 1845 A SIMPLE EVENING CEREMONY WAS PERFORMED AT THE HOUSE. FRANCIS WAS FOND OF THE COUNTRY AND OF HER HUSBANDS FARM, AND SETTLED DOWN WITH HIM TO A RURAL LIFE. IN THE SPRING SUBLETTE WAS CONCERNED FOR FRANCES, HER MOTHER, AND CAMPBELL - ALL WERE ILL, BUT RECOVERED- WAS BUSY WITH MANY PROBLEMS. HIS CROPS, COAL MINES, TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT, NEGROES TO BE HIRED, FUR TRADE NEEDED TO BE LOOK OVER - ALL NEEDED ATTENTION. HIS PROPERTIES ALSO NEEDED HIS TIME. WHILE WILLIAM ADDED PROPERTY IN COLE COUNTY (180 ACRES), HE SOLD PROPERTY IN ST.LOUIS COUNTY. IN MARCH 1844 WILLIAM SOLD 52 ACRES, IN JULY - 52 ACRES, IN MARCH 1845 - 6 ACRES OF HIS SULPHUR SPRINGS PLOT TO HIS MOTHER-IN-LAW MRS ESTER S. HEREFORD. HE SOLD CAMPBELL HIS INTEREST IN LOT FOURTEEN OF CHRISTY'S ADDITION.

REF.A-THE BOOK "THE WEST OF ALFRED JACOB MILLER" MENTIONED IN THE STORY OF SUBLETTE IS IN THE PUBLIC LIBRARY. I CHECKED EVERY DRAWING IN HOPES OF FINDING A PICTURE OF SUBLETTE OR SULPHUR SPRINGS FINDING NOTHING EXCEPT REFERENCES TO SUBLETTE IN THE COMMENTS WITH THE PICTURES. TO START WITH ON PAGE XV11 IS THE STORY OF MILLER MEETING CAPT. WILLIAM DRUMMOND STEWART WHO OFFERED MILLER A JOB PAINTING SCENES, INCIDENTS, AND PEOPLE DURING A TRIP TO THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. THE MEETING TOOK PLACE IN MARCH OR APRIL 1837 AT NEW ORLEANS. SHORTLY AFTER THIS THEY WERE IN ST.LOUIS. STEWART WAS FROM ENGLAND AND A GOOD FRIEND AND FELLOW TRAVELER OF SUBLETTE. (PICTURE #129) - WAS A PICTURE OF SHOSHONE INDIANS NEAR GREEN RIVER OREGON. IN THE BACKGROUND THEY ARE PREPARING JERKED MEAT. "= MILLERS COMMENTS. "BEFORE WE STARTED FROM ST.LOUIS WE BECAME ACQUAINTED WITH CAPT. SUBLETTE, WHO WAS THEN A SUBSTANTIAL MERCHANT IN THAT CITY. HE HAD BEEN ONE OF THE PIONEERS TO THE FAR WEST, AND ALMOST THE FIRST THING HE DID WAS TO HAND US A PIECE OF THIS PREPARED MEAT SO AS TO GIVE US A FORETASTE OF MOUNTAIN LIFE. HE TOLD US THAT EVERY SEASON HE CAUSED A BALE OF MEAT TO BE BROUGHT DOWN TO HIM WHICH LASTED HIM 6 OR 8 MONTHS." THERE IS A REFERENCE IN PICTURE #21 ABOUT SUBLETTE GETTING JERKY FROM THE INDIANS. PICTURE #49 IS OF LARAMIE'S FORT "THIS POST WAS BUILT BY THE AMERICAN FUR CO.(WRONG) IT WAS SITUATED ABOUT 800 MILES FROM ST.LOUIS,AND IS OF A QUADRANGULAR FORM, WITH BASTIONS AT THE DIAGONAL CORNERS TO SWEEP THE TWO FRONTS IN CASE OF ATTACK. OVER THE GROUND ENTRANCE IS A LARGE BLOCK HOUSE, OR TOWER IN WHICH IS PLACED A CANNON. THE INTERIOR IS POSSIBLY 150 FEET SQUARE. A RANGE OF HOUSES BUILT AGAINST THE PALISADES ENTIRELY SURROUND IT, EACH APARTMENT HAVING A DOOR AND A WINDOW OVERLOOKING THE INTERIOR COURT. PICTURE #150 IS AN INTERIOR VIEW OF FORT LARAMIE. "THIS FORT WAS BUILT BY ROBERT CAMPBELL WHO NAMED IT FORT WILLIAM IN HONOR OF HIS FRIEND AND PARTNER WM.SUBLETTE. THESE GENTLEMEN WERE THE EARLIEST PIONEERS AFTER MESSORS LEWIS AND CLARK, AND HAD MANY BATTLES WITH THE BLACKFEET INDIANS. THEY MADE THEIR WILLS IN TRUE SOLDIER-LIKE FASHION AS THEY RODE ALONG TO BATTLE, APPOINTING EACH THE EXECUTER OF THE OTHER. "WE HAD ALMOST DAILY INTERCOURSE WITH SUBLETTE, CAMPBELL, AND GOV.CLARK IN ST.LOUIS BEFORE WE STARTED. CAPT.LEWIS HAD AT THAT TIME DECEASED. IN AN ENCOUNTER WITH THE BLACKFEET, MR.SUBLETTE RECEIVED A POISONED BALL, FROM WHICH HE NEVER FULLY RECOVERED. I HAVE HEARD THAT HE ULTIMATELY DIED FROM IT." PICTURE #69 IS OF THE ROCK OF INDEPENDENCE. FROM A DISTANCE IT RESEMBLED A HUGE TORTOISE. IT WAS COMPOSED OF GRANITE OR PORPHYRY FROM 500 TO 600 FT.HIGH. (LOCATION UNKNOWN) IN A PROMINENT PART WERE INSCRIBED THE NAMES OF THE PIONEERS OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. AMONG OTHERS, THE NAMES OF SUBLETTE, WYETH, CAMPBELL, BONNEVILLE, PITCHER,& CO. MANY CARVED DEEP IN THE STONE. TO ONE MAN'S NAME "NELSON" THEY CARVED "OF THE NILE" TO TO INSURE HIM IMMORTALITY.