Page:History of Southeast Missouri 1912 Volume 1.djvu/114

 54 HISTORY OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI States and was continued in olBce by Gover- nor William Henry Harrison. This Jean Baptiste was one of the most interesting char- acters in the early history of the town. He lived to a very great age and his descendants still occupy the old homestead in Ste. Gene- vieve. The early settlers in Ste. Genevieve, while the town occupied the old site in the big field and which has long since been swept away by the river, were engaged principally in the cultivation of the soil of that big field. They had been attracted there largely by the rich- ness of that soil, and in part by the oppor- tunities for trade with the Indians, and in part also because of the nearness to the new mines then being opened up by Renault and his agents. These mines were situ- ated on the Maramec river in what is now Washington county and at Mine La Motte. The lead produced by these mines was car- ried on horseback to Ste. Genevieve for transportation either down the river to New Orleans or else up the river to the Spanish post at St. Louis, which was then called Pain- court. Owing to the peculiar manner by which the pigs of lead were carried to Ste. Genevieve they were not cast in the usual shape but were moulded into a form resem- bling the collar of a horse and were then hung on the neck of the horse for transport. One of these peculiar pigs of lead was found some years ago by the side of the old road leading from the mines on the Maramec to Ste. Genevieve. It seems that some of the in- habitants of the town were engaged in min- ing and in the transportation of the lead. Others of them were early engaged in mill- ing. They shipped flour and meal by way of the river to all the posts about them and as far south as New Orleans. In 1771 Matthew Kenuedj', a merchant at Ste. Genevieve, shipped 1200 pounds of flour to a post on the Arkansas River. This shows that the trade of Ste. Genevieve, even at that early date, was extensive. It is a remarkable fact that the merchants and traders at St. Louis were accustomed to purchase a considerable part of their supplies in Ste. Genevieve. In common with other settlers in Southeast Missouri, the people of Ste. Genevieve were much troubled by the Osage Indians. These Indians, whose principal camp was on the Osage river, extended their hunting and plundering operations over all the section, and were exceedingly troublesome. They were great thieves, being especially fond of horse stealing. They were accustomed to make raids upon the exposed farms and even upon houses in the outskirts of the village, to seize the horses and other property which at- tracted their attention and to carry it away. If resisted they frequently murdered the owner and burned his house. To assist in protecting themselves against these unpleas- ant raids the people of Ste. Genevieve pro- cured the settlement of the old band of Pe- orias. These Indians from Illinois lived for many years in the vicinity of the town and took part in the resistance to the raids of the Osage Indians. They of course incurred the deadly hatred of the fierce and savage Osages and lived themselves in constant fear of them. They were afraid to venture on hunting ex- peditions which took them away from the immediate vicinity of the town and bewailed the fact that they were compelled to live like women on fish and the produce of the soil instead of living the life of men and warriors. The French, so long as they remained in con- trol of the territory treated the outbreaks and outrages of the Osages with a great deal of leniency, but the Spanish on taking over