Site of Fort Platte -- Fort Laramie National Historic Site, WY - American Guide Series on Waymarking.com

In the 21st century all that remains site of Fort Platte is a 1951 WY state historical marker on a concrete post. The Fort Platte of the 1850s was MUCH more lively, with Oregon Trail emigrants, soldiers, local Indians and local settlers all stopping in.

From the WPA Guide to the Oregon Trail:

"[page 172] On the south bank of the North Platte River, in the tongue of land about three-fourths of a mile above its junction with the Laramie, is the SITE OF FORT PLATTE (see above}. In Rocky Mountain Life, Rufus B. Sage, the journalist who visited this spot about 1841, related a typical story of the period. "The night of our arrival at Fort Platte was the signal for a grand jollification to all hands, (with two or three exceptions) who soon got most gloriously drunk, and such an illustration of the beauties of harmony as was then perpetrated, would have rivalled Bedlam itself, or even the famous council chamber beyond the Styx.

"Yelling, screeching, firing, shouting, fighting, swearing, drinking, and such like interesting performances, were kept up without intermission, and woe to the poor fellow who looked for repose that night he might as well have thought of
sleeping with a thousand cannon bellowing at his ears.

"The scene was prolonged till near sundown the next day, and several made their egress from this beastly carousal, minus shirts and coats, with swollen eyes, bloody noses, and empty pockets, the latter circumstance will be easily understood upon the mere mention of the fact, that liquor, in this country, is sold for four dollars per pint.

"The day following was ushered in by the enactment of another scene of comico-tragical character.

"The Indians encamped in the vicinity, being extremely solicitous to imitate the example of their illustrious predecessors, soon as the first tints of morning began to paint the east, commenced their demands for firewater; and, ere the sun had told an hour of his course, they were pretty well advanced in the state of how came ye so, and seemed to exercise their musical powers in wonderful rivalry with their white brethren.

"Men, women, and children were seen running from lodge to lodge with vessels of liquor, inviting their friends and relatives to drink; while whooping, singing, drunkenness, and trading for fresh supplies to administer to the demands of intoxication, had evidently become the order of the day. Soon, individuals were noticed passing from one to another, with mouths full of the coveted fire-water, [page 173] drawing the lips of favored friends in close contact, as if to kiss, and ejecting the contents of their own into the eager mouths of others, thus affording the delighted recipients tests of their fervent esteem in the heat and strength of the strange draught.

"At this stage of the game the American Fur Company, as is charged, commenced dealing out to them, gratuitously, strong drugged liquor, for the double purpose of preventing a sale of the article by its competitor in trade, and of creating sickness, or inciting contention among the Indians, while under the influence of sudden intoxication, hoping thereby to induce the latter to charge its ill effects upon an opposite source, and thus, by destroying the credit of its rival, monopolize for itself the whole trade.

"It is hard to predict with certainty, what would have been the result of this reckless policy, had it been continued through the day. Already its effects became apparent, and small knots of drunken Indians were seen in various directions,
quarrelling, preparing to fight, or fighting, while others lay stretched upon the ground in helpless impotency, or staggered from place to place with all the revolting attendencies of intoxication.

"The dram-a, however, was here brought to a temporary close by an incident which made a strange contrast in its immediate results.

"One of the head chiefs of the Brule village, in riding at full speed from Fort John to Fort Platte, being a little too drunk to navigate, plunged headlong from his horse and broke his neck when within a few rods of his destination. Then was a touching display of confusion and excitement. Men and squaws commenced bawling like children; the whites were bad, very bad, said they, in their grief, to give Susu-ceicha the fire-water that caused his death. But the height of their
censure was directed against the American Fur Company, as its liquor had done the deed. . . ."

Book: Oregon Trail Page Number(s) of Excerpt: 172-173 Year Originally Published: 1939

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