Rene Boucher, sieur de La Perriere:
On 6 june 1727 the First Sioux Trading Company is formed in Montreal,
with the company including; Beauharnois, Longueuil, Lacorne, d'Aigremont,
St.George, Dupre, Youville, Dillay-Dumay, Marin, Petit, Garreau, Campeau,
de May, Richard, Jean Bte.Boucher de Montbrun & Francois Boucher de
Montbrun. Between May & June the following were hired for the "poste
des Sioux": Estienne Blot, Francois Poulin de Francheville, Francois Lefebrve,
Louis Lapron, Claude Marin, & Charles Boissel. On 16 june, the trading
expedition sets out from Montreal with Rene Boucher, sieur de La Perriere
(Commander), Pierre Boucher de Boucherville (Rene's nephew) [Consolidated
Docket] , La Jemeraye, Maurice Menard (interpreter), Jesuit Rev.Michael
Guignas & Jesuit Rev.Nicolas de Gonner. The company had received a
3 year trade monopoly with the Sioux. They arrive on the west shore of
Lake Pepin (on the Upper Mississippi) on 4 sep.1727 and begin construction
on Fort Beauharnois. This first Ft.Beauharnois was a 100sf enclosure of
12' logs with 3 log buildings. A chapel of St.Michael the Archangel was
built and the Fort was located near today's Frontenac, Minnesota.
The information of the Sioux gathered from this venture was that the
Nation was divided into the Prairie Scioux & the River Scioux, with
the River (Eastern) Sioux joining the Prairie (Western) Sioux, hunting
buffalo & attacking tribes on the Missouri in the spring of the year.
In the spring of 1728 the Fort was flooded & Rev.Guignas, with 11 Frenchmen
leave the Fort for the east but are taken prisoner and do not reach their
destination until 1730.
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