Interior of Fort Laramie

With competition for beaver pelts and buffalo hides becoming more aggressive, fur trapper and trader William Sublette built the original Fort Laramie in 1834 at the confluence of the Laramie and North Platte rivers to fend off the competition. Naming it Fort William after himself and fellow traveler William Marshall Anderson, he intended it as a “central place for the Sioux and Cheyenne trade in buffalo robes.” (Mattes, 1980, p. 12) Miller’s paintings of the post are the only eye-witness documents, and his accompanying captions complement his visual descriptions:

The view is from the great entrance looking West, & embraces more than half the Court or area,–When this space is filled with Indians & Traders as it is at stated periods the scene is lively & interesting;–They gather here from all quarters,–From the Gila at the South—the Red River at the North & the Columbia River West. each has its quota & representatives. – Sioux, Bannocks, Mandans, Crows, Snakes, Pend-Oreilles [Kalispel], Nez Perces, Cheyennes, & Delawares all except the Black feet who are “bête-noir” & considered “de trop.” –As a contrast there are Canadian Trappers, free & otherwise, Half breeds, Kentuckians—Missourians & Down Easters. A Saturnalia is held the first day & some excesses are committed. But after this trading goes briskly forward. (Warner, 1979, p. 99)

This sketch might have been made while Miller was at the fort. It was found among his possessions at his death and was a part of what his heirs called the “1874 studio group.”

Ron Tyler