Étienne de Veniard, Sieur de Bourgmont
Étienne de Veniard, Sieur de Bourgmont was a French explorer who documented his travels on the Missouri and Platte rivers in North America and made the first European maps of these areas in the early 18th century. He wrote two accounts of his travels, which included descriptions of the Native American tribes he encountered. In 1723, he established Fort Orleans, the first European fort on the Missouri River, near the mouth of the Grand River, and present-day Brunswick, Missouri. In 1724, he led an expedition to the Great Plains of Kansas to establish trading relations with the Padouca.
Bourgmont, a fugitive from justice, became a coureur des bois for several years during his early career.
The abbey at Cerisy, where Bourgmont was convicted of poaching and fined 100 livres. He fled to North America rather than pay the fine.
Bourgmont's Missouria wife is pictured here on her return from France in 1725.
Missouria, Otoe, and Ponca Indians.
The Platte River is a major river in the State of Nebraska. It is about 310 mi (500 km) long; measured to its farthest source via its tributary, the North Platte River, it flows for over 1,050 miles (1,690 km). The Platte River is a tributary of the Missouri River, which itself is a tributary of the Mississippi River which flows to the Gulf of Mexico. The Platte over most of its length is a broad, shallow, meandering stream with a sandy bottom and many islands—a braided stream.
Platte River at Mahoney State Park
Platte River near Ft. Kearny State Historical Site in Central Nebraska
Platte River valley west of Omaha, Nebraska
Encampment Along The Platte by Worthington Whittredge