Old Dorion and the Fur Trade - Brunswick, MO - Missouri Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

Marker Erected by: Missouri Conservation Department.
County of Marker: Chariton County.
Location of Marker: foot of Polk St., boat ramp access, Brunswick.
Marker Text:
12th of June, Tuesday (1804)
...2 Caussease Came Down from the Soux nation, we found in the party an old man who had been with the Soux 20 years & had great influence     with them, we [prevailed] on this old man Mr. (Dorion) to return with us, with a view to get Some of the Soux Chiefs to go to the U.S.     purchased 300 lb. of Voyagers Grece @ 5$ Hd.     made Some exchanges & purchuses of Mockersons....
William Clark

Meeting traders allowed Lewis and Clark to do some bartering, both for provisions and for valuable information. Since the 1740s, French, Spanish and English traders had traveled the Missouri River to trade with the native tribes for furs. The fur trade was a profitable venture and President Thomas Jefferson wanted more commerce for the United States.

Opening up trade with the Upper Missouri tribes was one mission of the expedition and Meriwether Lewis had spent the winter studying the fur trade with Auguste Chouteau, a wealthy St. Louis trader. It was a stroke of luck to meet Pierre Dorion, Sr., who shared firsthand knowledge of the Yankton Sioux. Agreeing to accompany the expedition, Dorion knew the Sioux language and would lead a peaceful meeting.

Beaver pelts were in great demand in Europe and North American tribes wanted to trade for the wool blankets, iron, brass and guns. Furs were shipped to St. Louis and sold to London, Amsterdam and Paris for use in manufacturing hats. As President Jefferson envisioned, the fur trade grew quickly as an American industry, bringing people and prosperity to the territory.

Caption for artwork:
Pierre Dorion, Sr., was born before 1750, most likely in Quebec. In the 1780s, Dorion traveled up the Missouri River to the Yankton Sioux and became a trader. Later on, he traveled with a delegation of Yankton Chiefs to St. Louis for Lewis and Clark.