PAP^o'iof' ARCHEOLOGY AT KEPP'S POST — ^WOOLWORTH, WOOD 253 



four men) protected him. Afterward, probably in the spring of 

 1824, Tilton went downstream to St. Louis. 



In the spring of 1824, the Arikara returned to their former villages 

 above the mouth of the Grand River stating that they would live in 

 peace thereafter with the white man. Kipp remained alone at the 

 Mandan village and did not see another white man through the entire 

 summer of 1824. About this time, Tilton's Post was abandoned and 

 Kipp built a house near the Mandan village and dwelt there. During 

 the summer of 1824, Kipp had the palisades of Tilton's Post cut down 

 close to the ground and the Mandans floated much of the timber down- 

 stream to their village where Kipp added a number of rooms to his 

 quarters and built a palisade around them. Probably in this same 

 year, a company employee named Jeffers came with seven men and 

 wagons of trade goods from the headquarters on Lake Traverse. 



The year 1825 seems to have been a busy one at the Mandan post. 

 Kipp was short of trade goods and sent Touissant Charbonneau, now 

 a company employee, to Lake Traverse after supplies. On his return, 

 Charbonneau fell in with a group of Assiniboin and lost the entire 

 outfit. About this time, members of the Crow tribe arrived to trade, 

 but as Kipp was short of trade goods, he took two halfbreeds with 

 him to Lake Traverse where they obtained a supply and returned 

 with a wagon safely. During this same summer, while Kipp was 

 absent on the trip to Lake Traverse, Gen. Henry Atkinson visited the 

 Mandan villages en route on the well-known Yellowstone or Atkinson- 

 O'Fallon Expedition. Accompanying Atkinson were employees of 

 the "French Fur Company" or the P. D. Papin Company. The 

 trader Bissonette was with them. 



In the autumn of 1825, Tilton arrived from St. Louis with a keel 

 boat laden with trade goods. Kipp had in the meantime sent in- 

 vitations to the Assiniboin, Cree, and Ojibwa tribes to come to the 

 Mandan villages and trade with him. A subagent for the Mandan 

 named Peter Wilson was at the Mandan Post with Kipp. Peace 

 was then made between these tribes, the Mandan, and Whites. The 

 object of this maneuver was to break off the northern tribes connec- 

 tion with the English and to draw their trade to the Missouri River. 



In April of 1826, Tilton and Wilson went to St. Louis, and Kipp 

 remained at the post with five men. Tilton returned in November 

 with trade goods and, according to Maximilian, Kipp went to the 

 mouth of the White Earth River and erected Kipp's Post. 



Maximilian makes the basic reference to this venture as follows 

 (Wied-Neuwied, 1906, vol. 23, p. 228) : 



In April of 1825 [1826] Messrs. Wilson and Tilton returned to St. Louis, and 

 Kipp alone remained at the Mandan Post, with five men. In November, Mr. 

 Tilton returned with a supply of goods, and Mr. Kipp went to White Earth 



