University of Virginia Library

[Letter to Hugh Henney, referred to above by Clark.][34]

Camp on the River Rochejhone East of the Rocky
Mountains July 20.th 1806

a copy

Sir In the winter of 1805, you were so obliging as to
express a disposition to assist us in the execution of any measure
relative to the Savages with whome you were conversant,
or that you would lend your aid in furthering the friendly
views of our government in relation to the Same. no object
as we then informed you did at that time present itself to our
view, which we conceived worthy of your attention. at present
we have a commission to charge you with, which if executed,
we have no doubt will tend to advance your private
interest, while it will also promote those of the U. States in
relation to the intercourse of her citizens with the Indian
nations in the interior of North America. It is that of provailing
on some of the most influensial Chiefs of those bands
of Sioux who usially resort the borders of the Missouri to visit
the Seat of our Government, and to accompany them there
yourself with us. The Tetons of the burnt woods, Teton
Ockandandas, and other bands of Tetons, Cisitons, and yanktons
of the Plains are the Objects of our attention on this
occasion, Particularly the Bands of Tetons; those untill some
effectual measures be taken to render them pacific, will always
prove a serious source of inconveniance to the free navigation
of the Missouri, or at least to it's upper branches, from whence
the richest portion of it's fur trade is to be derived.

The ardent wish of our government has ever been to conciliate
the esteem and secure the friendship of all the Savage
nations within their territory by the exercise of every consistent
and pacific measure in her power, applying those of coercion
only in the last resort; certain we are that her disposition
towards the native inhabitants of her newly acquired Territory
of Louisiana is not less friendly; but we are also positive that
she will not long suffer her citizens to be deprived of the free
navigation of the Missouri by a fiew comparitively feeble bands

of Savages who may be so illy advised as to refuse her proffered
friendship and continue their depridation on her citizens who
may in future assend or decend that river.

We believe that the sureest guarantee of savage fidility to
any nation is a thorough conviction on their minds that their
government possesses the power of punishing promptly every
act of aggression committed on their part against the person
or property of their citizens; to produce this conviction without
the use of violence, is the wish of our government; and
to effect it, we cannot devise a more expedient method than
that of takeing some of the best informed and most influential
Chiefs with us to the U. States, where they will have an ample
view of our population and resources, become convinced themselves,
and on their return convince their nations of the futility
of an attempt to oppose the Will of our government, particularly
when they shall find, that their acquiescence will be productive
of greater advantages to their nation than their most
sanguine hopes could lead them to expect from oppersition.

We have before mentioned to you the intention of our government
to form tradeing establishments on the Missouri with
a view to secure the attatchments of the nativs and emeliorate
their sufferings by furnishing them with such articles as are
necessary for their comfort on the most moderate terms in
exchange for their peltries and furs. forming those establishments
will most probably be delayed untill our return for the
want of sufficient information relitive to the state of the country.
We have recommended a position in the neighbourhood of the
enterance of the Chyenne river as an eligible situation for one
of those establishments principally with a view to the accomodation
of the Sioux. an Indian Agent will of course be necessary
at that post, your long acquaintance and influence with
those people necessary places your protentions to that appointment
on the fairest Ground, and should you think proper to
under take the commission now proposed, it will still further
advance those pretentions. if you wish such an office you
may rest assured of our wormest intersessions in your behalf
with our government. The emoluments attatched to the office
of an Indian Agent in our service is 75$ pr. month and six

rations pr. day, which last at so distant a post might safely be
calculated at 20 cts. pr. ration or one Dollar & 20 cents pr. day
in addition to the Monthly pay makeing a total of 111$
pr. month.

Under this view of the Subject should you think proper to
engage in the business proposed, we promise you in behalf of
our governmt. one dollar pr. day while you are employed in that
service whether you succeed or not, recconing from the date
at which you receive this letter. all necessary expenses incedent
to traveling, hireing guides, expresses &c. which may
accur in the course of your transactions will also be allowed.
In order the better to ensure you success, you are at liberty to
take with you on this occasion any amount in merchandize not
exceeding 200$ which you may conceive necessary by way of
presents to those people. as horses will also be necessary for
your journey you are at liberty to take any three of those which
the men who hand you this, may bring with them to the establishments
on the Assinniboin river or to the Mandans. we
have directed Sergt Pryor to take 12 horses to the Establishments
on the Assinniboin for the several purposes of exchangeing
for a fiew articles which are necessary to the comfort of our
party, to furnish you with as maney as will be necessary for
your journey, and to pay the amount of the merchindize which
we have instructed you to take on that occasion. should the
Merchents not be disposed to barter for the horses and prefur
Bills on our Government or furs at the Mandans, either of the
latter will be delivered them imediately on our arival. in all
pecuniary transactions where the case will permit it, you will
take bills of particulars and receipts as vouchers in the settlement
of your public accounts.

Haveing accomplished our voyage to the Pacific Ocian by
way of the Missouri and Columbia rivers we are now on our
return to the United States where we must arive if possible in
the course of this Season. we shall spend a fiew weeks in
exploring the country on the River Rochejhone and a large
northerly branch of the Missouri dischargeing itself 50 miles
below the Great falls of that river to which we have given the
name of Maria's river. in order that no time shall be lost, we

have in the interim dispatched a party over land from the
upper part of the Rochejhone or Yellow Stone river to the
Mandans and thence to your establishment on the assinniboin,
with a view to give you as much time as possible to collect the
Sioux chiefs at some convenient part of the Missouri against
our arival, that we may not experience any detention. we shall
in all probability arrive at the Mandans about the beginning of
September, perhaps earlyer; at all events we wish you to lose
no time in collecting the chiefs and repairing to the Missouri
where you will wait our arrival, informing us if possible of your
position. perhaps the Ricaras Village, if they have not removed
will be an eligible place of rendezvouz, but in this
respect we shall not pretend to controal you, as you will be on
the ground and can better judge of the most expedient position
for this purpose. It may possibly so happen that you will be
absent from the Missouri at the time of our arrival at the
Mandans and Ricaras, and as some communication may be
necessary between us in such case, we wish you to concert a
plan with Sergt. Pryor for that purpose. Should you not suceed
in prevailing on the chiefs to go on with us as early as we wish,
if you will meat us yourself on the Missouri we will make some
other arrangement by which you will be enabled perhaps to
bring them on afterwards youself; but it would be preferable
in every point of view that they should go on with us. The
number of chiefs and their attendance must not exceed 12 persons,
as we cannot possibly accommodate more.

In your communication with the Sioux, in addition to other
considerations which may suggest themselves to your mind,
you will be pleased to assure them of the friendly views of our
government towards them, their power and resourses, their
intention of establishing trading houses in their neighbourhood
and the objects of those establishments, inform them that the
mouth of all the rivers through [which] traders convey Merchindize
to their country are now in the possession of the
United States, who can at pleasure cut off all communication
between themselves and their accustomed traders, and consequently
the interest they have in cultivateing our friendship.
You may also promis them in the event of their going on with

us, that they shall receive from our government a considerable
preasent in Merchindize, which will be conveyed at the public
expence with them to their nation on their return. urge
them also to go imediately, on the ground, that their doing
so will haisten the establishment of the tradeing house in
contemplation.

You no doubt are acquainted with the influence which
Mr. Cammaron[35] and other traders of the River St. Peters possess
over those people, the implicit confidence which they place
in the power and resourses of those traders, the hitherto unfriendly
dispositions of those men in relation to the trade of
the Missouri, and thence the aggressions practised by the
Sicoux on the traders of that river. Their long established
prejudices in favour of the Traders of the river St. Peters will
probably prove a serious bar to your present negociations,
unless our government has taken some measures on this subject
in consequence of the representation which we made them
in the Spring 1805. if so, and those traders have been prevented
from bringing out their merchindize this spring as they
were accustomed to do, the Indians will most probably not
long hesitate in complying with our wishes; however be this
as it may, the most perfect reliance is placed in your exertions
by