Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IV.djvu/534

522 CHOUTEAU CHRETIEN Boston. In 1847 he resumed the pastorate of the second church in Newport, and in 1854 accompanied Mr. Vanderbilt in his steam yacht on a voyage to Europe. He was the author of two volumes of travels, entitled "Young Americans Abroad " and " The Cruise of the North Star." Besides these volumes, he com- pleted Smith's "History of Missions" (2 vols. ito, 1832) ; wrote a continuation of Hinton's " History of the United States ; " and edited Neal's "History of the Puritans," Forster's "Statesmen of the Commonwealth in Eng- land," and James's " Church Members' Guide." CHOUTEAU. I. Angnste, an American pioneer, born in New Orleans in 1739, died in St. Louis, Feb. 24, 1829. He and his younger brother Pierre were the founders of the city of St Louis, and their lives were closely con- nected. II. Pierre, brother of the preceding, born in New Orleans in 1749, died in St. Louis, July 9, 1849. In August, 1763, the two brothers joined the expedition of Laclede, un- der a commission from the director general of Louisiana, to establish the fur trade in the re- gion west of the Mississippi river, and border- ing on the Missouri and its tributaries. A u - guste was intrusted by Laclede with the com- mand of the boat. They reached the settle- ment of St. Genevieve in November, being just three months ascending the river from New Orleans. In the winter they selected a point 61 m. above St. Genevieve, on the west- ern bank of the Mississippi, for their princi- pal post, and named this St. Louis. Auguste Chouteau was in charge of the party that commenced operations here, Feb. 15, 1764. Speaking of the brothers in his " Sketch of the Early History of St. Louis," Nicollet observes : " These two young men, who never afterward quitted the country of their adoption, became in time the heads of numerous families, enjoy- ing the highest respectability, the comforts of an honorably acquired affluence, the fruit of their own industry, and possessed of a name which to this day (1842), after a lapse of 70 years, is still a passport that commands safety and hospitality among all the Indian nations of the United States, north and west." Both were prominent men, and officers ranking as colonels in the early history of St. Louis. III. Pierre, son of the preceding, born in St. Louis, Jan. 19, 1789, died there, Sept. 8, 1865. He was at first a clerk with his father and uncle, who were then largely engaged in the fur trade with the Indians, but soon entered into business for himself. Following the Indians as they re- ceded from point to point, he at different times established himself at what are now St. Jo- seph, Kansas City, Belleview, Council Bluffs, Fort Pierre, Fort Berthold, Fort Union, at the mouth of the Yellowstone river, and Fort Ben- ton, at the head of navigation of the Missouri. As early as 1806 he went up to Dubuque to trade with the Sacs and Foxes, ascending and descending the rivers in canoes. He also fol- lowed the Indians as they receded up the Osage river, and up the Mississippi from Keo- kuk to St. Paul, having trading posts all along- the rivers. In 1834 he and his associates purchased the interest of John Jacob Astor in the American fur company; and in 1839 they formed the trading company which, under the firm name of P. Chouteau, jr., extended ita operations southward as far as the Cross Tim- bers in Texas, northward to the falls of St. Anthony, and northwestward to the Blackfeet country, monopolizing the fur trade of the en- tire region east of the Rocky mountains, and also controlling the trade with Santa F6 in New Mexico. This business involved large transactions in the eastern cities and in Eu- rope, and for many years Mr. Chouteau resided in New York. In 1819 he was a member of the convention which framed the first constitu- tion for the state of Missouri, but with this exception he never engaged in politics. CHOWAN, a N. E. county of North Carolina, bounded S. by Albemarle sound, and W. by Chowan river, a broad arm of the sound ; area, about 240 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 6,450, of whom 3,369 were colored. It was one of the original precincts of the lords pro- prietors under King Charles II., and was oc- cupied by a tribe of Indians called Chowan- okes. The surface is slightly uneven, and the soil generally of good quality. The chief pro- ductions in 1870 were 9,176 bushels of wheat, 137,647 of Indian corn, 41,130 of sweet pota- toes, and 1,331 bales of cotton. There were 451 horses, 637 milch cows, 1,177 other cattle, and 5,829 swine. Capital, Edenton. CHRETIEN (or Chrestlen) DE TROVES, a French poet, born probably at Troyes about 1150, died near the close of the 12th or in the be- ginning of the 13th century. Of his life lit- tle is known, except that he was one of the most learned men and gifted trouveres of his day, and that he acquired great celebrity in France, Germany, and other parts of Europe. As some of his works were dedicated to Phi- lippe of Alsace, count of Flanders and Ver- mandois (1168-'91), he is supposed to have been the laureate at that court. Some works written by others have been attributed to- him, while some of his genuine works, inclu- ding Tristan, or Del roi Marc et d'Ysalt la, blonde, and the Chevalier d Vepee, are appa- rently lost. His fame rests upon six romances, which are extant in French libraries, with the exception of Li romansdou chevalier au Lyon, published by Holland (Hanover, 1862), which served as a basis for Hartmann's Von Aue Iwein. His other works are : Iric et Enide, or Li contes d'Erec (published in Haupt's Zeit- schriftfur deuteches Alterthum, Leipsic, 1855 ; reproduced in Hartmann's Von Aue Erec) Lancelot du lac ou de la Charette, or Li ro- mans del chevalier de la Charette (continued by Godefroy de Laigny, published by Jonck- bloet, the Hague, 1850); Cliget, chevalier de la table ronde, or Li contes de Cliget ; and, the most celebrated of them all, Perceval le Gal'