Page:History of Southeast Missouri 1912 Volume 1.djvu/128

 68 HISTORY OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI "At the time of the first settlement of Ken- tucky, a Canadian Frenchman, named Lo- ramie, established a store or trading station among the Indians. This man was a bitter enemy of the Americans, and it was for a long time the headquarters of mischief to- ward the settlers. "The French had the faculty of endear- ing themselves to the Indians, and no doubt Loramie was in this respect fully equal to any of his countrymen, and gained great in- fluence over them. So much influence had Loramie with the Indians that, when Gen. Clark, from Kentucky, invaded the Miami valley in the autumn of 1782, his attention was attracted to the spot. He came on, burnt the Indian settlement there, and plundered and burnt the store of the Frenchman. Soon after this Loramie with a colony of the Shaw- nees immigrated to the Spanish Territory west of the Mississippi and settled in the spot assigned them, at the junction of the Kansas and Missouri rivers, where the remaining part of the natives from Ohio have at dif- ferent times joined them." This account agrees with the following from "Knapp's History of the Miami Valley:" "In 1769 a Canadian French trader, named Peter Loramie, established a store at Picka- willany, situated on the west side of the Great Miami river, at the mouth of Loramie 's creek. He was a man of energy and a good hater of the Americans. For many years he esercitied great influence among the Indians. After his arrival the place was called ' Loramie 's Station.' During the Revolution Loramie was in full fellowship with the British. Many a savage incursion to the border was fitted out from his supply of war material. So noted had his place become as the headquai- ters of spies, emissaries, and savages, that Gen. Clark, of Kentucky', resolved to pay it a visit, which he did with a large party of Kentuckians in the fall of 1782. The post was taken by surprise, and Loramie barely escaped being made a prisoner. His store was rifled of its contents, and burned to the ground, as were all the other habitations in the vicinity. Poor Loramie shortly after- ward removed with a party of Shawnese to a spot near the junction of the Kansas and Missouri rivers where he closed his days." It will be seen that these two accounts agree in saying that this man, whose name is given as Peter Loramie, after the loss of his property in Ohio removed to Louisiana and settled on the Kansas and the Missouri. We find, however, that no Peter Loramie was known in Louisiana, and no man of that name lived at the junction of these two rivers. Doubtless these statements are erroneous, but they seem to refer to Louis Lorimier. The identitj' of Louis Lorimier with the man who had a trading post at Loramie 's Station seems to be conclusively established by the following letter on file in Ste. Genevieve, in connection with the suit brought by Lorimier against a certain trading company : "MiAMis, 4th May, 1787.— Dear Sir: We learn from common report that you had left Port St. Vincents, with an intention to seize Mr. Louis Lorimier 's goods. We have re- ceived from him about eight packs, and on our arrival here Mr. Sharp went to see him, on purpose to know his reasons for leaving this country. His reasons appeared to him pretty good, and as he had no property along with him, on purpose to get his peltry and gain his good will, we were induced to ad- vance a few things, as he sa.vs, to assist him. A few days after Mr. Sharp left him, he got