THE WHISKEY TRADE: It is a sore point with many, and rightly so, for the whiskey trade finished what smallpox had begun and the Blackfoot Confederation was nearly wiped out. It is a shameful chapter in the history of the West, to be sure, a tale of greed and prejudice which has been all too often repeated in the history of the world, made worse by the fact that the liquid dispensed was not always whiskey as you and I know it, but often a lethal swill made from whatever was at hand that could give it the proper color and “kick,” although there were a few traders that actually sold real whiskey to the Indians. Two such were Joe Kipp and James Willard Schultz[1], and although the effects were much tamer, in the long run, it was still bad for the native peoples. But what was Charlie’s role in this sordid tale?
The standard position taken in most recent books on the whiskey trade seems to be that all white traders were ipso facto whiskey traders. It seems that the concept of an honest and moral trader is anathema to the academicians, yet such a thing should not be unthinkable, though I admit such a person would be a rara avis in that place at that time. We are still researching this vexing situation, but I will state that I do not think that Charlie Conrad traded whiskey to the Indians. I may be proven wrong in time, but I do not think so.
It has been pointed out repeatedly that the I. G. Baker Co. stocked whiskey at Ft. Benton as if this fact alone was sufficient to prove that they were trading it to the aboriginal population. However, it should be noted that Baker had a booming trade with the local saloons and populace, as in addition to its use as a method to help one forget one's troubles, it also doubled as a cheap medicine, whether as a topical or an internal. Some folks would give their children a shot of whiskey for a cold, a practice that held on at least until my wife's childhood! The whiskey that the Baker Co. stocked was choice, quality stuff intended for legal sale only.
Let us ask this question: Who better knew who sold whiskey of any sort to the tribes, the would-be recipients or later historians?
It should be obvious that the tribes themselves certainly knew who sold them whiskey—and who did not. They were fully aware of Charlie’s character and chose him as their representative during the Ceded Strip negotiations because of this knowledge.[2] Further, in discussing how the Indians regarded Charlie, Judge Dudley DuBose stated, “All of the Indians there know him personally and have dealt with him for years.... Mr. Conrad, although he traded with the Indians, never traded in contraband goods with them, and always dealt fairly with them; and, as one of them expressed it to me, the Indians know who their friends are.”[3] The Rev. John McDougall, a man who was in the forefront of the fight against the whiskey traders also stated that Charlie and the I. G. Baker Co. had never sold whiskey to the Indians.[4] For these and several other reasons, we presently believe that Charlie was never directly or indirectly involved in the whiskey trade.
— Richard L. Hardesty, 9/17/22
NOTES
1. Blackfeet and Buffalo, Norman: Univ. Oklahoma Press, 1982, p. 54. “They operated out of Ft. Conrad (or Conrad’s Post), which Kipp had purchased from I. G. Baker & Co. It had been built by Charley Conrad in 1875 and was named for him.”
2. Charlie was chosen by the chiefs of the Piikuni to represent them as their attorney-of-fact in the negotiations with the Federal government for that portion of their lands which came to be called “the Ceded Strip” and which later became the eastern half of Glacier National Park. He was chosen for his character as stated in the contract: “... because they have full confidence in his fidelity, impartiality and honor, ....” Contract between Chas. Conrad and the Blackfeet Indians. Conrad, Campbell & Stanford Family Papers, K. Ross Toole Archives, University of Montana, Missoula. 185/I(2)/3/13.
Judge DuBose was the District Judge for the 10th Judicial District, Ft. Benton. Fourth & last-born child of Brig. Gen. Dudley McIver DuBose & Sarah Toombs of Georgia, Judge DuBose served as a U. S. Senator from Georgia prior to moving to Montana.
The Rev. McDougall had taken refuge with Charlie and Col Macleod in Charlie’s store at the newly established NWMP post at Ft. Macleod in late November of 1875 and was reflecting on Charlie and his business.
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