The most renowned mountain boat pilot on the upper Missouri River. At age 16 he began as a fur trader and quickly became steamboat clerk and then apprentice pilot. LaBarge obtained his master’s license at age 25, serving as a charter captain and piloting, among others, the John James Audubon expedition in 1843. He remained active as a pilot until the age of 70, never losing or badly damaging a boat. Few pilots had the intuitive feel and navigational skills necessary to skipper the constantly changing channels of the Missouri.
