340 Stella M. Drumm John F. Darby, who served as the final administrator of the estate of Russel Farnham, says that Farnham had been intrusted with sterling bills on London for about forty thousand dollars, together with various dispatches, that Mr. Hunt had directed him to proceed by way of St. Petersburg, so that the bills might be collected for the benefit of Mr. Astor. "Mr. Farnham, with a small stock of provisions in a pack on his back, started on foot, across the Russian dominions, through that inhospitable country and severe climate to St. Petersburg. On this perilous journey he endured incredible sufferings, from hunger, exposure and want. From dire necessity he was forced to cut and eat the tops off his boots to sustain life. But having been blest with a robust and powerful constitu- tion, which enabled him to meet and endure hardships, and an indomitable will and determination, whereby he was armed to overcome difficulties and dangers, he per- formed a feat which, for personal bravery, danger and daring, has never been equalled by any one man in ancient or modern times. He did that which Ledyard, the great American traveller, acting under instructions from Thomas Jefferson, had failed in twice, viz: to come east (that is, find a passage) from St. Petersburg to the American continent." 10 After Farnham returned to the United States he con- tinued in the employ of Mr. Astor. When the American Fur Company resumed operations after the War of 1812, Farnham bore the brunt of battle during the company's struggle to establish itself on the Missouri. To him be- longs the credit of being the first trader in the employ of the American Fur Company to carry the business of that company into the valley of the Missouri. The American Fur Company's force was largely re- cruited from Montreal, and when Farnham was assigned, in 1817, to manage the business on the Mississippi river and its dependencies, his outfit was composed mainly of 10 Darby, John F. — Personal Recollections. St. Louis, 1880, p. 165.
