Austin Smith to Jedediah Smith
Creator: Smith, Austin
Date: September 24, 1831
This letter is from Austin Smith to his father, Jedediah Smith, Sr. In the letter, Austin informs his father of the death of his brother, Jedediah Strong Smith, who was killed by Comanche Indians on May 27, 1831, near the Cimarron River.

Dr. H. C. Perdue's Neosho County Advertiser, Erie, Kansas
Date: Between 1887 and 1889
This pamphlet titled The Neosho County Advertiser was published by Dr. H. C. Perdue, M. D., in Erie, Kansas. It contains approximately 50 pages of descriptions of medical cures and other advertising. Descriptions of Dr. Perdue's Ague Cure and other medical treatments are on pages 2-28, and other advertisements are on pages 29-49, plus the inside and outside of the back cover. Besides information on Dr. Perdue's medical practice, there are numerous advertisements for drug stores. Drug stores listed in the advertisements (and their town locations, all in Kansas) include: Palace Drug Store, Erie; Ira Steinberger Drug Store, Erie; New City Drug Store, Erie; Dr. C. E. Steadman, Druggist, Osage Mission; I. N. Wherrett General Merchandise and Drugs, Vietsburg; M. Devine, Druggist, Osage Mission; Baldwin House Drug Store, Thayer; W. R. Kramer, Druggist, Chanute; John McCarthy, Druggist, Galesburg; and Mrs. Samuel Whelpley, Druggist, Morehead. Druggists listed as references for Dr. Perdue include Charles H. Eaton and J. T. Brown, both of Erie. Other businesses and professions advertised include attorneys, real estate agents, merchants, banks, doctors, clothing stores, millinery and dress making stores, grocery stores, jewelry stores, candy stores, cigar stores, meat markets, bakeries, livery stables, abstracters, tree nurseries, buggy harness stores, carpenters, hardware stores, fur dealers, barber shops, lumber companies, monument dealers, dry goods, dentists, hotels, and furniture stores.

Fur traders attacked on the Missouri River
Creator: Cary, William De La Montagne,1840 - 1922
Date: May 23, 1868
A line drawing showing fur traders on the Missouri River being attacked by Indians. The line drawing was copied from Harper's Weekly, May 23, 1868, page 329.

James Baker
Date: Between 1860 and 1898
Portrait of Jim Baker, an Army scout, trapper and mountain man.

Jedediah Smith
Date: Between 1840 and 1850
An illustration of Jedediah Smith copied from The Travels of Jedediah Smith by Maurice S. Sullivan. The sketch was made by a friend from memory after Smith's death.

Jedediah Smith to brother
Creator: Smith, Jedediah Strong, 1799-1831
Date: December 24, 1829
This letter is from Jedidiah Strong Smith (1799-1831) to his brother Ralph Smith (1794-1867) living in Ohio at the time of the letter. Jedidiah writes this letter in 1829 at Wind River which is located on the east side of the Rocky Mountains. In the letter, Jedidiah writes about his journey, including the dangers and opportunities this trip provides him, and asks for information from home when Ralph writes next.

Jedediah Smith to Ralph Smith
Creator: Smith, Jedediah Strong, 1799-1831
Date: January 26, 1831
This letter is from Jedidiah Strong Smith (1799-1831) to his brother Ralph Smith (1794-1867) who was living in Wayne County, Ohio at the time of the letter in 1831. This letter is written from St. Louis, Missouri months before Jedidiah Smith was killed by Comanche Indians in May of 1831 on the Cimaron Cutoff of the Santa Fe Trail near the Cimarron River. In the letter, Jedidiah writes about his travels and people he encounters and interacts with including children and doctors.

Jedediah Smith to Ralph Smith
Creator: Smith, Jedediah Strong, 1799-1831
Date: February 28, 1831
This letter is from Jedidiah Strong Smith (1799-1831) to his brother Ralph Smith (1794-1867) who was living in Wayne County, Plaine Township, Ohio at the time the letter was written from St. Louis, Missouri. The letter is written months prior to Jedidiah's death by Comanche Indians on the Santa Fe Trail near the Cimarron River. In the letter, Jedidiah writes about his travels, their Father and his anticipation of receiveing a letter from his family back home soon.

Jesse Chisholm
Date: Between 1865 and 1868
A photograph of Jesse Chisholm, an Indian trader, guide and interpreter. He is best known for being the namesake to the Chisholm Trail, which Texas ranchers used to drive their cattle into Kansas and then ship by rail to eastern markets.

Jim Bridger
Date: Between 1860 and 1880
Jim Bridger, a scout for the Army, trapper & mountain man.

Ke Kahn [Joseph Napolean Bourassa] to Ne Kahn [Thomas Nesbit Stinson]
Creator: Bourassa, Joseph Napolean, 1810-1878
Date: September 6, 1856
Joseph N. Bourassa, a Pottawatomie Indian who signed this letter with his Indian name of Ke Kahn, wrote to Thomas N. Stinson, a Tecumseh resident and Indian trader who had been adopted by the Shawnee tribe and given the Indian name of Ne Kahn. Bourassa, an interpreter for the Pottawatomie Agency, described difficulties in finding laborers to cut the hay that he had promised to provide to Stinson.

Ke Kahn [Joseph Napolean Bourassa] to Thomas Nesbit Stinson
Creator: Bourassa, Joseph Napolean, 1810-1878
Date: December 29, 1856
Joseph N. Bourassa, a Pottawatomie Indian who signed this letter with his Indian name of Ke Kahn, wrote to Thomas N. Stinson, a Tecumseh resident and Indian trader. Bourassa, writing from Council Grove, Kansas Territory, described his efforts to recruit musicians and dancers for a New Year's Eve ball.

Kit Carson and the Ute Indian Commission
Creator: Brady's National Portrait Galleries
Date: 1868
D.C. Oakes (upper left), Lafayette Head (upper right), Christopher "Kit" Carson (lower left), and Hiram P. Bennett (lower right).

Missouri Fur Company records
Creator: Missouri Fur Company
Date: 1812-1813
This ledger and letterbook of the Missouri Fur Company are part of the papers of William Clark, a board member of that company. The volume was discovered with the records of the U. S. Indian Affairs, Central Superintendency. Clark (of the Lewis and Clark Expedition) served as Indian superintendent for the central superintendency from 1807 until his death in 1838. The page headings read in French: "La Compagny des Fourures du Missoury." The last page of the book includes an entry for July 12, 1817.

Missouri Fur Company records
Creator: Missouri Fur Company
Date: 1812-1814
This ledger is part of the papers of William Clark, president of the Board of Directors for the Missouri Fur Company, discovered with the records of the U. S. Indian Affairs, Central Superintendency (Volume 30). The Missouri Fur Company explored the Missouri River region and traded with several Indian tribes. Included are the "Articles of Association of the Missouri Fur Company," dated January 24, 1812, and the meeting minutes and accounts payable/receivable of the Board of Directors. The ledger also contains the signatures of William Clark, Manuel Lisa and several members of the Chouteau family of St. Louis.