Trader: Manuel Lisa, 1772-1820
European fur traders had to work years to develop trust and a working relationship among the tribes they encountered. Those who were successful in doing so were also valuable explorers, guides, interpreters and agents between Native peoples and the federal government. Manuel Lisa, 1772-1820, was one of those who filled this gap. Manuel Lisa or Manuel de Lisa, was born in 1772 in New Orleans, Louisiana Territory, while it was under Spanish occupation. Little is known of his early life or how he got into trading with Natives, but by 1789, while still in his teens, Manuel was working as a trader along the Mississippi River. He established an early trading post at New Madrid, Missouri and later moved operations to the Wabash River. By 1796, he had married a young widow from New Orleans. He established his wife and family in St. Louis, Missouri. While still married to Polly Chew, Lisa in 1814 established an alliance with Omaha leader Big Elk by mar...