It might not be the most famous advertisement in the annals of Old West history, but when you look at the names who answered the call, it surely ranks up there:
To Enterprising Young Men
The subscriber wishes to engage ONE HUNDRED MEN, to ascend the river Missouri to its source, there to be employed for one, two or three years. - For particulars, enquire Major Andrew Henry, near the Lead Mines, in the County of Washington, (who will ascend with, and command the party) or to the subscriber at St. Louis.
Wm. H. Ashley.
February 13
Among those answering the ad, which appeared in the Missouri Gazette, Missouri Republican and St. Louis Enquirer between February 13 and March 26, 1822, were Jim Beckwourth, Jim Bridger, David E. Jackson, Tom Fitzpatrick, Jedediah Smith and William Sublette. Even Mike Fink tagged along.
A Virginia native born in 1778, Ashley arrived at the lead mines in St. Genevieve, Missouri, in 1802 and moved to St. Louis in 1819. He became lieutenant governor in 1820, and in 1821-the year Missouri was admitted as the 24th state-he was appointed brigadier general of state militia.
Ashley befriended another lead miner, Pennsylvania-born Andrew Henry, who had helped incorporate Manuel Lisa's St. Louis Fur Company and had partnered with Lisa on their upriver journeys, establishing a post at the Three Forks of the Missouri River.
St. Louis (Gateway Arch National Park, Jefferson Barracks County Park, Missouri History Museum) had been founded in 1764 by fur traders Pierre Laclede and Auguste Chouteau, while nearby St.
Charles (Lewis & Clark Boat House and Museum, First Missouri State Capitol Historic Site) was home to many workers in the fur trade, including Sublette.
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Denne historien er fra December 2022-utgaven av True West.
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Where Did the Loot Go? - This is one of those find the money stories. And it's one that has attracted treasure hunters for more than 150 years.
Whatever happened to the $97,000 from the Reno Gang's last heist? Up to a dozen members of the Reno Gang stopped a Jeffersonville, Madison and Indianapolis train at a watering station in southern Indiana. The outlaws had prior intelligence about its main load: express car safes held about $97,000 in government bonds and notes. In the process of the job, one of the crew was killed and two others hurt. The gang made a clean getaway with the loot.
Hero of Horsepower - Los Angeles lawman William Hammel tamed one of the West's wildest towns with hard work and horseless carriages.
Los Angeles lawman William Hammel tamed one of the West's wildest towns with hard work and horseless carriages.
From the Basin to the Plains
Discover Wyoming on a road trip to Cody, Casper and Cheyenne.
COLLECTING AMERICAN OUTLAWS
Wilbur Zink has preserved the Younger Gang's history in more ways than one.
Spencer's West
After the Civil War, savvy frontiersmen chose the Spencer repeating carbine.
Firearms With a Storied Past
Rock Island gavels off high profits from historic firearms.
She Means Business!
An energetic and ambitious woman has come to Lincoln, New Mexico, to restore the town's legendary Ellis Store.
Ride that Train!
HERITAGE RAILROADS KEEP THE OLD WEST ALIVE ACROSS THE UNITED STATES.
Saddle Up with a Western
Old West fiction and nonfiction are the perfect genres to fill your summer reading list.
RENEGADES OF THE RAILS
RAILROADS WERE OPEN SEASON FOR OKLAHOMA AND INDIAN TERRITORY OUTLAW GANGS.
