The French called the person in charge the
"bourgeois"; Americans anglicized the word to "bushway". His
quarters were always separate, and he and his family lived more comfortably than the rest
of the post. At his home notables and dignitaries were received as well as Indian
Chiefs. In the early days of the Upper Missouri, the artists Catlin, Audubon and
Bodmer visited posts of the American Fur Company and notables Prince Maximilian and
Governor Isaac Stevens. Many of the bourgeois, including Fort Benton's founder
Alexander Culbertson, married Indian women. Culbertson's wife Natawista was
Blackfeet; she made possible the profitable trade between her people and the company.
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