Appendix LIV
The Powell-Collier 1834 Santa Fe Venture Contract

The Powell-Collier 1834 Contract For a Trading Venture From St. Louis, Missouri to Santa Fe, Mexico.

Foreword

This 14 Apr.1834 Contract contains so many important elements of B.F. Massey's Expenses as an Employee of the Powell Brothers, and in particular his epic return trip, "on horseback and alone," across Mexico, that I have analyzed and interpreted it in extra detail: 1 Background 2 Verbatim Translation of the un-readable Original Document. 3 Interpretation of all elements and clauses of the Written Document. 4 Conclusions regarding the Contract.

Background:

In 1907, 44.Benjamin Ulpian Massey, in response to a request by John F. Snyder for a life history of his friend 6.Benjamin Franklin Massey, wrote down his Recollections of his fathers reminiscences of the details of his last Autobiography.

I have studied and interpreted these "Recollections" in detail in "Massey Appendix XXIX Recollections of his Father 6.Benjamin Franklin Massey's Remembrances of his last Autobiography."

A substantial, and very interesting portion of these "Recollections" concerns B.F. Massey's experience as an employee of the Powell Broth­ers, Merchant-Traders, headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri.

Particularly important, in B.F. Massey's eyes was the 1833-1834 por­tion of his Powell experiences, climaxed by his leadership of a Trading Venture to Santa Fe, Mexico, the complications that developed at Santa Fe, and his epic trip, "on horseback and alone," with the Proceeds of the ven­ture via a route through Mexico to Vera Cruz, thence to New Orleans and up-river to St. Louis.

I felt that an in-depth study and analysis of the Contract between the Powells and J.S. Collier that described in detail the Powells plans for this Venture, and their contract for Collier's services could provide an under­standing of the operation of this, and other, Santa Fe Trading Ventures, and would provide background for an understanding of the part that B.F. Massey played in all of the years 1831, 1832, 1833 and 1834 as a Powell Brothers employee.

Translation:

The handwriting of the original document is very hard to read, and I have converted it to a readable verbatim document that I could then interpret.  Wherever I have found a word that I could not fully understand, I have un­derlined it [??? - GL,III, ed.]

Verbatim Translation of the 1834 Contract:

April 14, 1834

Articles of agreement entered into this the Fourteenth day of April in the year of our Lord Eighteen Hundred and Thirty For by & between Peter Powell and Joseph Powell of the firm of P. & J. Powell of the City of St. Louis & James S. Collier of Boonville, also of the State of Missouri.

Witnessth that the Powells being desirous to make an Adventure of Mdse to Santa Fee in Mexico agree to put up a Lott of Mdse such as they may deem best suited for the Trade there, to the Amt. of Twenty Thousand dollars including the Charges on Transportation on the Eastern Cost of said goods & the fee and Insurance from St. Louis to Boonville, or Independence as they may be landed, also including 3% for expenses of Purchasing and Preparing the goods for the Market above named. Powells also agree with Collier to Furnish as Many of the Waggons found Wanting at Boonville, together with the remaining Teams as may be necessary to transport the said Mdse to Santa Fee. The Cost of the Waggons & teams to be added to the Amt. of Invoice of Mdse without any Charge for advance or Interest on the cost of the same.

Collier, for and in Consideration of the Expectation of Profits arising or may arise from the Same Adventure here in after named agrees with the Powells to take Charge of the Said Amt. of Mdse & Waggons to Santa Fee in Mexico or Chihuahua, it found necessary, And dispose of the Same to the best advantage practicable & dispose of the proceeds arising from the sale of Mdse, Waggons & teams as they May direct, or in the Absence of any Instructions to return the Same to them as specie.

Powells, for and in Consideration of the Services to be rendered as above by Collier in Disposing of the Mdse to be Confided to his Care, agree to bond themselves to allow him One third of the Net Profits that May be realized from the Adventure after all Charges Shall have been added to the Capital that is and May be Ventured for & Returned to the Powells.

Collier further agrees to take charge of one or two Waggons together with the goods and teams that the Powells may desire to Mr. Roubidoux & John Carr & deliver the same barring accident free of Charge.

Powells agree to furnish the services of Mr. Edward F. Langstroth to assist in disposing of the Said Merchandise & they reserve to themselves the privilege of giving to Mr. Benj. F. Massey, should he arrive in time to go out with the Company, an Interest in the profits of the Outfit & assisting him in the Charge of the Mdse, in which event it is agreed that the services of Mr. E.F. Langstroth shall be paid from the gross funds of the Adventure.

In Witness three of the parties have hereinto set their hands and seals this day and date set above.

Peter Powell (seal) Joseph Powell (seal) J.S. Collier (seal)

Witness F.J. Stewart Edwd. F. Langstroth

Interpretation of the Written Contract:

1. Contract dated 14 April 1834.

As three of the signatories were of the Powell organization, it appears clear that the contract was signed at St. Louis.

The affiliation of F.J. Stewart, the fourth signatory is unknown, but possibly he was the attorney witnessing the contract.

2. Between Joseph and Peter Powell of St. Louis and J.S. Collier of Boonville.

The Powells were Merchant-Traders, doing business as Powell Brothers.

James S. Collier, also a Merchant-Trader, was headquartered at Boonville, Mo.

3. An adventure of Merchandise into Santa Fee in Mexico.

It is very clear that this was a Venture of the Powells, and that Collier was under contract to the Powells to act for the Powells.

My strong impression is that Collier and the Powells had this contract drawn up to formalize a somewhat earlier verbal agreement to attempt this venture.

I also feel that this carefully worded Contract suggests that Collier and the Powells had previously been associated in one or more Santa Fe trading ventures, and that the Powells had found that a verbal agreement or unwritten contract had presented difficulties and was considered inadequate.

5. Powells agree to put up a Lott of Merchandise best suited to the Santa Fee trade in amount of $20,000, including charges on the Eastern Cost of said goods, and the Fees and Insurance from St. Louis to Boonville or Independence as they may be landed.

This wording offers strongly supportive evidence that the Powells and Collier had earlier experience in what goods would command the highest profits at Santa Fe.

Note that after absorbing the costs of shipping the already packed trading item by river boat to Boonville, they valued their investment in these goods at Boonville at $20,000.

Powells also included an absorbed cost of 3% for providing and preparing the above Goods for the Market.

I interpret this as including only the expense of re-packing the Goods on hand at St. Louis, plus, perhaps a case discount on his Eastern supplies.nnnn that it in no way reflects the increase in value of the goods in St. Louis over its value in Philadelphia.

7. Powells also agree to furnish as many of the Waggons as may be found wanting at Boonville, Together with the necessary Teams as may be necessary to transport the said Mdse to Santa Fee.

Clearly, the Powells will add to their investment in this venture the cost of the required Wagons and Teams.

8. The cost of the Waggons and Teams to be added to the Amt. of Invoice of Mdse without any charges for advances or Interest on the cost of the same.

In other words, the Powells will reimburse Collier for only Colliers' invoice costs.

9, 10, 11. Collier for and in Consideration of the Expectation of Profits arising or may arise from this Venture agree to take charge of the Said amount of Merchandise & Waggons to Santa Fee in Mexico or Chihuahua, if found necessary, and Dispose of the Same to the best advantage practically, & Dispose of the Proceeds arising from the Sale of Mdes, Waggons & Teams as they May direct, or in the absence of any Instructions to return the same to them as Specie.

I Interpret this important paragraph to mean that Collier is to be responsible for the physical well-being of the Merchandise, teams and waggons until the Caravan Company reaches Santa Fe.

I also interpret this paragraph as giving Collier discretionary authority to divert the Caravan to Chihuahua, Mexico if he, Collier, felt that trading conditions in Chihuahua would be more favorable than in Santa Fe.

It seems clear that Collier bears the prime responsibility to do the actual selling.

12, 13, 14. Powells, for and in consideration of the Services to be rendered as above by Collier in Disposing of the Mdse to be confided to his care, agree to bind themselves to allow him one-third of the Net Profits that may be realized from the Adventure after all Charges shall have been added to the Capital that is and may be Vested for it returned to the Powells.

Obviously, the Powells valued the trading prowess of Collier very highly.

It appears strange to me that some of the charges mentioned in this clause are not spelled out; specifically, the expenses incurred on the trip to Santa Fe, and in particular, the wages of the Caravan Company. Perhaps Collier was to keep records of the expenses to be charged later on to the Powells, and payroll records of the Company members, to be paid possibly in part in Santa Fe, the balance on their return to St. Louis after they return from Santa Fe.

But It is clear that all expenses of any  kind incurred by the Caravan Company are to be charged to and paid for by the Powells.

16. Collier further agrees to take charge of one or two Waggons together with the goods and teams that the Powells may desire to Mr. Roubidoux & John Carr & deliver the same barring accident, free of Charge.

This is a separate deal by the Powells, not related to the long Santa Fe Venture. In 1834 John Roubidoux, a French half-breed, operated a trading post at a Missouri River site that in 1851 became the City of St. Joseph, Mo., named for his patron Saint. John Carr was no doubt another local trader.

As this site was practically next door to Independence, and very close to their planned route, this clause amounted to a personal favor by Collier to the Powells

17. Powells agree to furnish the services of Mr. Edward F. Langstroth to assist in disposing of the Said Merchandise & they reserve to themselves the privilege of giving to Mr. Benj. F. Massey, should he arrive in time to go out with the Company, an Interest in the profits of the Outfit & assisting him in the Charge of the Mdse, in which event it is agreed that the services of Mr. E.F. Langstroth shall be paid from the gross funds of the Adventure.

It appears that the first choice of the Powells to be in charge of the Trade Goods was B.F. Massey, and that E.F. Langstroth was named to be in charge only because he was in St. Louis on the 14 Apr. 1834 date of the Contract signing.

B.F. Massey was not in St. Louis at this signing; let me offer a scenario to account for his absence.

Scenario: On 14 Apr. 1834, all of the Powell Mdse. on hand in St. Louis was already packed, ready to be sent by river boat to Boonville.  I believe that the Powells were unhappy with the small quantity of high-value, high-profit merchandise items on hand. and commissioned B.F. Massey to pick up more of these, preferably at Pittsburgh, but possibly as far away as Philadelphia, if river boat schedules would permit him to rejoin the Caravan at Boonville for the start West, possibly set for May first, at the end of the Spring rainy season.

If B.F. Massey had been away from St. Louis on 14 Apr. 1834 on a Mission for the Powells within the State of Missouri, the Powells would have known for sure whether or not B.F. Massey could have rejoined the Venture Caravan at Boonville in time for a May 1st starting date.

Conclusion: We know that B.F. Massey did arrive in time "to go out with the Company" on the presumed May 1st date.

Conclusions:

It would appear that Collier was to have become the Number One boss of the trip West and the bargaining at Santa Fe, and that B.F. Massey was second in command, with E.F. Langstroth remaining in Missouri with the Powell Brothers.

But, it also would appear that the Powells did not elect to grant Collier carte blanche as Captain of the entire Venture, and had chosen B.F. Massey to protect their interests in all matters.

James S. Collier and B.F. Massey appear to have both led the Venture from Boonville to Santa Fe, with B.F. Massey acting as though he was fully in charge.

nnnnn, the Powells had assembled the Trade Goods that they had contracted to a contingent on the River Banks, preparation to load up them on a River boat to convene at St. Joseph, Mo., where Collier had also assembled his contracted store of Trade Goods, plus some of an independent venture of his own, and was also accumulating the massive high strength wagons to carry all this mass of Trade Goods.  As interpreted [above in] Massey Family Appendix LIV, B.F. Massey did arrive in time to take full charge of this joint mission.

As this second Santa Fe Trading Venture played such a spectacular part in B.F. Massey's life story, I suggest that you read Massey Family Appendix LIII and "Operation of the Collier-Powell 1834 Trade Venture."