History of Early Steamboat Navigation on the Missouri River: Life and Adventures of Joseph La Barge, Pioneer Navigator and Indian Trader for Fifty Years Identified with the Commerce of the Missouri Valley (2 Volumes) by Chittenden, Hiram Martin - 1903

New York: Francis P. Harper, 1903. First Edition, Limited Edition of 950 copies. 2 pp ALS to noted author, George Bird Brinnell, giving his thanks for gift of his book title "The Fighting Cheyennes" and Grinnell's thoughtful compliments for the work. Complete in two volumes. 8vo. xiv, 248; [vii], [249], 250-461 pp. Index. 16 plates (including frontispiece portrait in each volume); map. Publisher's dark blue cloth with gilt lettering. Near fine copies with light wear to extremities. "Joseph Marie LaBarge (1815 - 1899) was an American steamboat captain, most notably of the steamboats Yellowstone, and Emilie,[b] that saw service on the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, bringing fur traders, miners, goods and supplies up and down these rivers to their destinations. During much of his career LaBarge was in the employ of the American Fur Company, a giant in the fur trading business, before building his own steamboat, the Emilie, to become an independent riverman. During his career he exceeded several existing speed and distance records for steamboats on the Missouri River. Passengers aboard his vessels sometimes included notable people, including Abraham Lincoln. A steamboat captain for more than fifty years, LaBarge was considered the greatest steamboat man on the Missouri River, and was among the first steamboat pilots to navigate the uppermost Missouri River in the 1830s. His long career as a riverboat captain exceeded 50 years and spanned the entire era of active riverboat business on the Missouri River. - wiki. According to an article on the Captain in the magazine section of the St. Louis Republic, January 9, 1898, Capt. LaBarge was "the man who taught Mark Twain about the Mississippi River." (Graff 697, Howes C391).