After Captain La Barge’s return to St. Louis he entered the Alton trade, and made daily trips in opposition to the Eagle Packet Company. He entered the same trade again in 1874 under an arrangement with John S. McCune, who had long controlled the trade on this part of the river. But in March of this year, while Mr. McCune was in Jefferson City to settle some details in regard to the sale of lands constituting the present Forest Park of the City of St. Louis, he was taken sick with pneumonia and died one day after his return to St. Louis. This broke up all the Captain’s plans, and as he was not able, unaided, to compete with the Eagle Packet Company, he sold his boat to them. Captain La Barge spent the remainder of the season in St. Louis, and in the fall commenced building a new boat, which he christened the _John M. Chambers_, in honor of the infant son of B. M. Chambers, President of the Butchers’ and Drovers’ Bank. The boat was ready for use in the spring of 1877. Captain La Barge made a trip as far as to Fort Rice, loaded mainly with quartermaster stores. He then entered the Yankton trade, that being at the time an important terminus for the declining river business. Certain defects in the boat’s machinery, which could not be remedied at Yankton, compelled an early return to St. Louis and the loss of some important work. Captain La Barge remained in St. Louis until the following spring. He then returned to Yankton under a government contract to transport goods from that point. He finished this work early, but had scarcely returned to St. Louis when he was called upon to go up the river again, as we have elsewhere related, for service in the Custer campaign. [Sidenote: LAST COMMERCIAL VOYAGE.] In 1877 La Barge took the _Chambers_ as far up the Missouri as to the mouth of the Yellowstone, and up the latter stream to the mouth of Tongue River. In the following year he made a trip to Benton, arriving there on the 4th day of June. This is believed to have been the last commercial trip from St. Louis to Fort Benton. Upon his return to St. Louis he sold his boat and retired permanently from the business of boat owner and builder. He served as pilot on the lower river during the summer of 1879, and then finally withdrew from connection with commercial boating on the Missouri. [Sidenote: LA BARGE RETIRES FROM THE RIVER.]