FORT ORLEANS. WHERE WAS IT ? 23" 



were free in expressing their designs, and therefore feeling no alarm, thinking 

 themselves among friends, were surprised in the night by the Indians and the 

 entire party killed excepting the priest. * This happened somewhere within the 

 present bounds of Kansas. 



This bold measure of the Spaniards awakened the French to their danger. 

 M. De Bourgmont with a considerable force took possession of an island in the 

 Missouri river some distance above the mouth of the Osage on which he built 

 Ft. Orleans. M. De Bourgmont in 1724 with a io.^ French soldiers and a large 

 body of Indians marched northwest for some distance and met many tribes of 

 Indians with whom he formed treaties and established peace. He set out July 

 3d and returned November 5th. The next year, probably, Ft. Orleans was 

 attacked and entirely destroyed by the Indians, all the French being massacred. 



Lewis & Clark locate Ft. Orleans five miles below the mouth of Grand river 

 and say that the fort was on an island, but the island at that time (1804) was 

 washed away. They also inform us that the Missouri Indians formerly had a 

 village on the north side of the river opposite this island. They further state, " that 

 the Sauks and other tribes from the Mississippi destroyed this village and killed 

 two hundred Missouris in one battle. The small remnant took refuge with the 

 Little Osages, others joined the Otoes. 



We would ask was Ft. Orleans there situated and from whom did Lewis & 

 Clark obtain their information? 



SNIABAR. 



Many strange associations have clustered around this name. And many, not 

 knowing, believed the " Sny" hills were covered with the densest brush thickets 

 in which dwelt men wild and fierce. 



The stream known generally as Sniabar originates from many small tribu- 

 taries in the southeast part of Jackson and southwest part of Lafayette extending 

 across in an east and west direction about ten miles. The Great and Little 

 Sniabar empty into the Missouri river just east of Wellington. 



Lewis & Clark in their expedition to the Rocky Mountains in 1804 speak of 

 passing the mouth of Eau Beau or Clear Water creek, where two streams enter the 

 Missouri near each other and about fifteen miles east of Fire Prairie creek. 



In Gazetteer of Missouri, by Lewis Beck, 1823, mention is made of Snybar 

 creek, a small stream running through Lillard (former name of Jackson and 

 Lafayette) county and gives proper spelling as Chenal Ebert which, translated 

 from the French, means " Ebert's Channel," or slough. 



Mitchell's (1835) "^^^P ^^ Missouri has this stream marked C. aux Heberts, 

 about the same as Beck. 



Wetmore in his Gazetteer of Missouri, 1837, has it Schuyte Aber, and defines 



* Wetmore Gazette of Missouri; also Annals of the West. 



