September 16th, 1806, The Return: The crew pressed on, it was an excessively warm and disagreeable day. Young trader, Joesph Robidoux IV met the crew, and his hunting license was requested for review.
“at 11 AM we met young Mr. Robidoux with a large boat of six oars and 2 canoes, the license of this young mag was to trade with the Pawnees, Omahas and Otoes. Rather an extraordinary license for a young man and without the seal of the annexed territory, or signature by Gen. James Wilkinson. We were somewhat doubtful of it. We made some inquiries of this young man and cautioned him against pursuing the steps of his brother in attempting to degrade the American Character in the eyes of the Indians.” – William Clark
Joseph Robidoux IV began escorting traders up the rivers in 1799 at age 16. His father is the founder of St. Joseph, MO, which was where he established his trading post on the Missouri River. Joseph was born in St. Louis, MO in 1783 and grew up there. He is one of 7 siblings, and descended from several generations of fur traders from Montreal.