away.
One of the first pianos came to the Clark parlours, and
on special occasions the Indian council room was cleared
and decorated for grand balls. Many a young "milletoer,"
as the Creoles called them, dashed up from Jefferson
Barracks to win a bride among the girls of St. Louis.
For the preservation of peace and the facilitation of Indian removals, Fort Des Moines was built among the Iowas, Fort Atkinson near the present Omaha, Fort Snelling at the Falls of St. Anthony, and Fort Leavenworth on the borders of Kansas.
Half the area of the United States lay out there, with no law, no courts, but those of battle. As quietly as possible, step by step, the savage land was taken into custody. And the pretty girls of St. Louis did their share to reconcile the "milletoers" to life at the frontier posts.
"Ho for Santa Fé!" One May morning in 1824 a caravan of waggons passed through the streets of St. Louis.
Penned in the far-off Mexican mountains a little colony of white people were shut from the world. Twice before a few adventurous pack-trains had penetrated their mountain solitudes, as Phœnicians of old went over to Egypt, India, Arabia.
"Los Americanos! Los Americanos!" shouted the eager mountain dwellers, rushing out to embrace the traders and welcome them to their lonely settlement. Silks, cottons, velvets, hardware, were bought up in a trice, and the fortunate traders returned to St. Louis with horseload after horseload of gold and silver bullion.
"Those people want us. But the Spanish authorities are angry and tax us as they used to tax the traders at New Orleans. The people beg us to disregard their tyrannous rulers,—they must have goods."
In 1817 young Auguste Chouteau tried it, and was cast into prison and his goods confiscated.
"What wish you?" demanded the Spanish Governor, in answer to repeated solicitations from the captive.
"Mi libertad Gobernador."
Wrathfully they locked him closer than ever in the old donjon of Santa Fé.
