It is true that like many another of his kind, he died far away from civilization, and wild animals gnawed at, and fought over his bones. Too many of them shared this melancholy fate ; and too many of them shared the fate of Manuel Lisa who put so much spirit end energy into the fur enterprise. He was of more than average intelligence and had much practical knowledge of the business, but it did not avail. The hazards were too great, and he died absolutely insolvent.

Robert Stuart and Ramsey Crooks were among the fortunate. They early became the western lieutenants of the fur king, John Jacob A si or. and in that capacity made money not only for him but for themselves.

Early in the year 1814 word found way into the mountains that the party of Astorians had reached St. Louis by a much shorter route than that usually taken, and devoid of many of the dangers along the Missouri river route. This fact naturally led to a shifting of free trappers from tin more frequented fields into tin- new and fresher territory along the Platte and Sweetwater.

About 1815, tin competition among the big companies operating in the mountain- reached such a stage that some of the partisans seemed to think that robbery and murder were duties oi faithful employees. This

caused peace loving men like Jacques Laramie to leave the partisans of the trade, and engage in free trapping. He held that the world was large enough for all. The result was that a large number who believed as he did, had decided to let the partisans fight it out ; and they had taken to the newer fields of enterprise, and had made a rendezvous at the junction of the Laramie Fork and the North Platte.