Among the important events of every voyage were the arrivals at the various trading posts. To the occupants of these remote stations, buried in the depths of the wilderness, shut out for months from any glimpse of the world outside, the coming of the annual boat was an event of even greater interest than to the passengers themselves. Generally the person in charge of the post, with some of the employees, would drop down the river two or three days’ ride and meet the boat. When she drew near the post, salutes would be exchanged, the colors displayed, and the passengers would throng the deck to greet the crowd which lined the bank. The exigencies of navigation never left much time for celebration and conviviality. The exchange of cargo was carried on with the utmost dispatch, and the moment the business was completed the boat proceeded on her way. These are some of the typical features of steamboat life as it used to exist on the Missouri River. In later years, when the gold discoveries in Montana gave the business such an astonishing impetus, other features of interest developed. The business was always a romantic one, and will stand in American frontier history as one of its most picturesque and delightful memories. CHAPTER XI. THE STEAMBOAT IN THE FUR TRADE. The most important early use of steamboats upon the Missouri River was in connection with the fur trade, for this was the principal business conducted along the valley in the first half of the nineteenth century.[17] Steamboats had entered the river in 1819, but that early experiment had not been very successful and had led to no regular traffic as late as 1830. The American Fur Company, which monopolized the fur trade of the Missouri Valley, continued to send its annual cargoes of merchandise up the river in keelboats. The great difficulty, heavy cost, and extreme delay by this method of transportation were a serious handicap upon the business. It took an entire summer to reach the far upper posts and not infrequently ice closed the river before this could be done. A large crew was required for a comparatively small cargo, and it was necessary to bring them all back in order not to have more men in the field than were needed. [Sidenote: A STEAMBOAT FOR THE FUR TRADE.] It was from considerations of this character that the use of steamboats was determined upon in the summer of 1830, and from that time the true history of Missouri River navigation begins. The American Fur Company then had its headquarters in New York. John Jacob Astor was the real head of the company, although his son, William B. Astor, was its president. The Western Department of the Company was established in St. Louis and managed by the firm of Bernard Pratte & Company. Pierre Chouteau, Jr., writing for the firm, August 30, 1830, to the house in New York, thus describes the beginning of this new undertaking: [Sidenote: DISADVANTAGES OF KEELBOATS.]