Joseph Marie LaBarge (October 1, 1815 – April 3, 1899) was an American steamboat captain, most notably of the steamboats Yellowstone and Emilie, that saw service on the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, bringing fur traders, miners, goods and supplies up and down these rivers to their destinations. During much of his career LaBarge was in the employ of the American Fur Company, a giant in the fur trading business, before building his own steamboat, the Emilie, to become an independent riverman. During his career he exceeded several existing speed and distance records for steamboats on the Missouri River. Passengers aboard his vessels sometimes included notable people, including Abraham Lincoln. LaBarge routinely offered his steamboat services gratis to Jesuit missionaries throughout his career.
LaBarge managed to avoid the first cholera epidemic in the United States, which at that time killed half the crew aboard the Yellowstone. After years of success in the shipping business, LaBarge, his brother, and other partners formed their own trading firm on the upper Missouri River. A steamboat captain for more than fifty years, LaBarge was considered the greatest steamboat man on the Missouri River, and was among the first steamboat pilots to navigate the uppermost Missouri River in the 1830s. His long career as a riverboat captain exceeded 50 years and spanned the entire era of active riverboat business on the Missouri River.
Early life
Joseph LaBarge was born on Sunday, October 1, 1815, in St. Louis, Missouri. His father was Joseph Marie LaBarge, Senior and his mother was Eulalie Hortiz LaBarge. He was the second of seven children, three boys and four girls, who all survived to adulthood.Chitteden, 1903, vol 1, p. 13 His father, at the age of 21, traveled from Quebec in a birch-bark canoe over lakes and rivers and settled in St. Louis at a time when the city was the center of the enormous fur trade. LaBarge Senior fought in the War of 1812, most notably at the Battle of Frenchtown where he lost two fingers during the battle.Chitteden, 1903, vol 1, p. 4 LaBarge Senior was a trapper who also worked as a guide and engaged in many trapping expeditions in the upper Missouri River. He was considered a riverman in his own right; subsequently all three of his sons, Joseph, John and Charles, aspired to the trade and became riverboat pilots.Missouri Historical Review, 1969, p. 449
Not long after Joseph was born his parents bought and moved to a farm in Baden, Missouri, six miles distant from St. Louis. The area was mostly unsettled at the time and Sac and Fox Indians roamed the area and were at times aggressive and hostile. The infant LaBarge and his mother were once accosted by Indians while she was working in the garden, with LaBarge's father fending them off by presenting gun in hand. As a young lad, LaBarge was said to have exceptional ability as a runner and swimmer, and excelled in the various games and sports of the day.Chittenden, 1903, Vol I, pp. 13–15
Joseph LaBarge's early education was somewhat limited given the basic and unrefined schools in St. Louis during his childhood days. He first attended classes at the residence of Jean Baptiste Trudeau, a noted and reputable teacher in St. Louis, where he studied the common branches in education, all in French. Knowing that their son needed to speak English fluently in order to make his way in America, his parents sent him to schools where instruction was given in English. To that end Joseph's next teacher was Salmon Giddings, the founder of the First Presbyterian Church in St. Louis, and after, to a more prestigious school taught by Elihu H. Shephard, considered an excellent teacher. His command of English would come slowly, but eventually he mastered the language. At age twelve Joseph attended Saint Mary's College in Perry County for three years. His parents had intended to educate their son for the priesthood, and Joseph's curriculum at Saint Mary's was selected for that purpose. However, the young LaBarge did not aspire to such vocation and began associating with young ladies to the extent where he was not allowed to finish school at Saint Mary's. At age fifteen he began working as a store clerk in a clothing store.Harper, Historical Society of Missouri, 2019, essayChittenden, 1903, Vol I, pp. 13–15, 18–19
Among the prominent events LaBarge witnessed in his childhood, was the celebrated visit to the United States by Lafayette in 1825, while he was in St. Louis. Lafayette was greeted by the Mayor and escorted by a company of cavalry on horseback, along with a company of uniformed boys, of whom the ten-year-old LaBarge was one. Lafayette shook hands and spoke inquisitively with each of the youths, which would prove to be an event LaBarge would reminisce about into his old age.Chittenden, 1903, vol 1, p. 15
LaBarge wore a full beard most of his adult life and in his later years was said to bear a striking resemblance to General Ulysses S. Grant.LaBarge, 2019, essay LaBarge married Pelagie Guerette on August 17, 1842, whom he knew since his childhood.Chitteden, 1903, vol 1, pp. 71–72 Pelagie was also born in St. Louis, on January 10, 1825. One of the first water-driven mills in St. Louis was built and operated by her father, a millwright and architect.LaBarge Family website They had seven children. LaBarge was a lifelong Catholic in religion, and in politics, a lifelong Democrat.Chittenden, 1903, vol I1, p. 444
Career on the river
The demands of the fur trade were largely responsible for the advent of steamboat use on the Missouri River, and by 1830 the young LaBarge bore witness to the steamboats coming to and departing Saint Louis, which were employed in the service of this trade, their principal business in the mid-nineteenth century. Answering the high demand for furs in the East and in Europe, the American Fur Company, dominated the fur trade and made regular and frequent use of steamboats.Chittenden, 1903, vol I, p. 133 From 1831 to 1846 steamboat navigation on the upper Missouri River was confined almost entirely to riverboats owned by the American Fur Company. Among these vessels were the Yellowstone, and the Spread Eagle, both of which would eventually be piloted by LaBarge during the course of events.Martin (ed), 1906, pp. 282–283
Not content working as a shop clerk, the young LaBarge joined the crew of the steamboat Yellowstone, serving as a clerk, when the vessel was engaged in the sugar trade in the lower Mississippi River. In 1831 the Yellowstone made her first trip up the Missouri River, and was now in the employ of the American Fur Company. The Yellowstone was to proceed to the lower Mississippi to the bayou La Fourche. Since LaBarge spoke both English and French, his services were found useful. The following spring, LaBarge signed a three-year contract to serve as a clerk for the American Fur Company at a salary of $700. He returned to the Yellowstone and traveled up the Missouri River to Council Bluffs, Iowa, where he worked in the flourishing fur trade along the Missouri River.Missouri Historical Review, 1969, p. 450 LaBarge earned his Master's license for piloting riverboats at the age of 25.The National Mississippi River Museum
Journeys aboard the Yellowstone
In 1833 LaBarge, aboard the steamship Yellowstone, left Saint Louis and was headed for Fort Pierre on the upper Missouri River. One of the passengers aboard was Prince Maximilian, a German explorer and naturalist. Returning to Saint Louis, another cargo was loaded, to be taken to Council Bluffs. During this voyage an epidemic of cholera broke out in the general area and claimed the lives of many of the crew members, forcing Captain Anson G. Bennett to stop at the mouth of the Kansas River until he could return to Saint Louis and get replacements for the crew. Before leaving, he assigned LaBarge the charge of the steamboat; this is when LaBarge, at age 18, began his fifty-year career as a riverman and steamboat pilot.Chappell, 1911, p. 76
While Bennett was away, the remainder of the crew died; LaBarge buried their bodies in a trench-grave alongside the Missouri.Jackson, 1985, p. 102 When news of the cholera outbreak aboard the Yellowstone spread, a pro tempore board of health from Jackson County ordered the boat to move on, threatening to burn the craft if it remained.Missouri Historical Review, 1969, p. 452 Now acting as both pilot and engineer, and realizing the danger, LaBarge took the boat up a short distance from the mouth of the Kansas on the west shore of the Missouri, where there were no inhabitants.Jackson, 1985, pp. 101–102Chappell, 1911, pp. 76–77
The cargo aboard was consigned to Cyprian Chouteau who owned a trading post ten miles up the Kansas River. Captain Bennett gave orders to LaBarge to turn over the cargo to the consignees before he left. LaBarge, accordingly, set off on foot to find the trading post and tell Chouteau to come and get his goods. About a mile from the trading post, which had quarantined itself from the cholera epidemic, LaBarge was intercepted by a man stationed there, wary of the outbreak, and watching for anyone coming from Missouri. LaBarge was not permitted to proceed and was threatened to be shot if he persisted. LaBarge agreed to remain where he was if the man would inform Chouteau of the purpose of his arrival.Chittenden, 1903, vol I, pp. 32–34 On Captain Bennett's return the boat proceeded on her voyage up the Missouri and arrived at the mouth of the Yellowstone on June 17, becoming the first steamboat to reach the mouth of the Yellowstone.
Other ventures During the summer of 1838, LaBarge was serving as pilot aboard the steamboat Platte. Twelve miles downriver from Fort Leavenworth one of the guys of the yawl derrick broke, sending the yawl adrift down the river. The yawl was so essential for navigating the steamboat up the Missouri River that its loss would have proven irreparable. Aware of the possible predicament, LaBarge jumped into the river and swam over to the yawl, gained control and landed it a short distance downstream from the Platte, an episode which demonstrated LaBarge's ability as a swimmer.
In 1847, acting as captain and pilot aboard the steamboat Martha, LaBarge journeyed up the Missouri River carrying supplies for various Indian tribes on the upper Missouri River. For several years Captain Sire had made this journey but had decided to retire from the river, leaving LaBarge in command of the boat and in charge of the company's business. LaBarge's wife, Pelagie, was also aboard. The trip north went without incident until they arrived at Crow Creek in the Dakota Territory, not far from a trading post owned and operated by Colin Campbell, who had a large supply of fire-wood ready as fuel for the steamer. In an effort to prevent refueling the vessel, a raiding party of Yanktonian Sioux Indians took possession of the woodpile, demanding payment. During the incident they boarded the vessel and killed one of the crewmen, and then drowned the boiler fires. Aboard the boat was a cannon which was in the engine room having its carriage repaired. While the Indians were occupied towards the front of the vessel LaBarge had the cannon brought up to the cabin and loaded. Lighting a cigar and, holding the cannon in plain view of the Indians, he directed them to leave at once or he would "blow them all to the devil". In a panic, the fleeing Indians fell over one another to get off the boat.Chittenden, 1903, vol I, pp. 177–181