The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 17, July 1913 - April, 1914 Page: 63
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New Light on Manuel Lisa and the Spanish Fur Trade 63
'meant."g Thwaites, on the other hand, referring to precisely the
same period, states that "the Arapaho occupied the central moun-
tainous region, roaming through Wyoming and southern Idaho."
It has already been remarked" that Lisa never acquired a ready
use of either English or French. The present letter enables us to
add Spanish to the list of tongues of which he was not complete
master.
(TRANSLATION.)
Fort Manuel, Sept. 8, 1812.
'To the Spaniards of New Mexico.
My Dear Sirs: Ever since my first journey among the forks9 of
the Missouri, nine hundred leagues from my domicile, I have de-
-sired to find an opportunity to communicate with my [com] patriots,
the Spaniards. I have had hunters to the number of twenty-three
who have gone to the Arapaho nation. Last year they came to my
Fort Mandanne, where I equipped them anew to return to the place
whence they had come. They are the ones who informed me that
the Spaniards of Mexico were coming every year to trade with the
Arapahos. Therefore I gave to a certain Juan Bautista Champlin,o
.an honorable young man,1 and Juan Bautista Lafargue, some goods
for the purpose of trading with you, admonishing them that it must
iot be to the prejudice of the government, nor contrary to its
laws.
Since some of my hunters should come this year to meet me
at this establishment on the Missouri, and since up to the present
I have not had any news [of them], I have decided to send one of
OHistory of the American Fur Trade, II, 878.
7Early Western Travels, V, 225, note 120.
8Chittenden, I, 135.
*Balzo is a nautical term meaning "bend." Lisa seems to use the word
balzos for balsos, which is a term applied to a bifurcated rope, used for
raising weights. "Forks" is given as Lisa's probable meaning.
'Houck (History of Missouri, II, 96) lists Baptiste Champlain as one
of the early settlers of the Cuivre settlement, on Buffalo River, which
-drains the western part of Lincoln 'County, Missouri.
"Mozo, in the old sense, meant "strong young man," but the more usual
modern meaning is "servant." As used here the former meaning seems
to be intended.
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 17, July 1913 - April, 1914, periodical, 1914; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101061/m1/67/: accessed March 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.