Rocky Mountains. 245 



"■ These tribes are at war with all their neighbours, except 

 the Konzas, and a part of the Sauks and Foxes. With the 

 Konzas they are, and long have been, on the most intimate 

 and friendly terms. With the Sauks and Foxes they are at 

 present barely at peace. All their chiefs, except Clermont, 

 are very weak, and unpopular. Many of their great war cap- 

 tains are in opposition to their chief, and have powerful in- 

 fluence in their respective tribes; of these are, " The Duck," 

 "Big Wolf," and "John Le Foe" of the Great Osage^ 

 " Sansoreille," " Big Soldier," and " The Soldier of the Oak" 

 of the little Osage. Their councils are very much distract- 

 ed by the jealousies and intrigues of the principal warriors, 

 and for want of energy and decision in the chiefs. When I 

 left them last spring, my impressions were, that the Osages 

 were generally disposed to be at peace with us, but that 

 they were very much dissatisfied and displeased, and losing 

 their former unbounded confidence in us, in consequence of 

 what they alleged to be a failure on the part of the United 

 States to fulfil the treaty existing between them and the 

 United States. My opportunities for observation and inquiry 

 concerning the temper and disposition of those Indians 

 were very good, and were not neglected; and my acquain- 

 tance with the Osages being very general, extending almost 

 to every individual, and of long standing, upwards of eight 

 years, enables me to speak confidently of them. 



"In the year 1804 the President of the United States gave 

 his promise to a number of Osage chiefs, then on a visit at 

 Washington, to establish for them a trading house, on the 

 plan authorised by a law of congress in 1806. The Presi- 

 dent repeated the same promise to another deputation of 

 Osdge chiefs then here. In 1808 the president ordered the 

 establishment to be made, and accordingly, in October of 

 that year, it was made. 



" So far this was a gratuitous act of the government, but in 

 the following month it assumed a very different character. 



