Jeffersonian Republican. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1840-1853, 1851-08-14
INDIANS of the NoRTu WEST

culiarities-T The Character ofthe Country
they Occupy, &c.
The Editor of the ST. Paul (Min.) Pho
neer, who went to Traverse des .S;our with
| the U. S. Commissioners, sent to form trea-
ty with the Indians of the North West, has
written for that journal several very interest
ing letters, from which we make copious ex-
tracts
traverse DIES Sioux, Monday, July IA, 1851.
1t is now fourteen days since we landed
here: and all the time since, we have been
awaiting the arrival of the Red Republicans,
to treat; although, in truth, we have been
treating ever since we came, the Sioux bands
that are here. like the bar-room topers, have
never talked treat to us once They are We
ry docile, under the new dispensation, the
reign of Beef They seem to say sit is meat
for them TO be here" But for us to remain
here another week, waiting for those distant
bands, would be, as old John, our French
cook, would say, ''meat not much and no bon;"
but like surgeon who has made up his mind
on amputation, our Commission sits patiently
down, tourniquet, knife and saw in hand, pre-
pairing, when the patient comes, to do the
deed, if it were done, quickly" We have
read of the Devils bobbing for miser's soul,
with shilling on his hook for bait; so I'm
Gle Sam bats for Sioux with bullocks; and
tho tbnr- fol bo b,i og
Our Commissary and ordinary, is the old
house occupied in the Doty treaty, and ordi-
nary enough it is, God knows, (if he ever
took any inventory of it) Several young
men of our camp started off in the morning,
acfoss the river, to see Cedar Lake, hand
some sheet, in the midst of dark forest, distant,
it is said, about FIVE or six or seven, or it may
be eight miles, or perhaps leagues, from the
Traverse. They returned without seeingS
Cedar Lake, not knowing where to look for
1t, thinking, nevertheless, that they could
come so near it that the artist in their COM
pany, who draws everything from the cork
of porter bottle to queer conclusion, would
be able to draU 1t; but he did not The fact
is, like a Mackinaw boat, he draws but very
little water, but when it comes to drawing
rations, wet or dry, our painter is that ~
Toward evening the Indians from the plains,
who are encamped back of the Traverse, fit-
ted themselves up in their cavalry suits, and
with limbs of bushes covered with rustling
leaves, mounted their horses, and came riding
down among the lodges of the other bands,
sweeping along Ike whirlwind, to repre-
sent foray Of Camanche Indians. They
were received at each encampment with
volley of blank cartridges, wheeling swiftly
from one encampment to another, and finally
sweeping down by the front of the Commits
sloners' marquee, singing wild war. song,
+" that hath in it, as Hennepin said of the
falls of ST Anthony, something terrible
a sort of running disquisition on scalps.
The young men who went in search of
Cedar Lake, report that they found bodies of
large, thrifty black walnut-an article that
WIZ ACdlbCl NC IuuClt WdUIPU Ind0UIaC- D
turing purposes at St Paul.
The Lac-qui-Parle Indians have brought
down with them young wolf, of that large
kind known as the white wolf when full
grown, which often attack and kill colts be-
longing to the Indians. He is a savage lit
tie fellow, although young and if Mr.. Bar
mum should signify wish to give him res
pectabte place in the meuagere he is colIec-
ting, can be forwarded to him by express
If Gagged, he will do nothing to corrupt "the
morals of the menagerie''
hope the people down the river will en-
tertain the opinion that we are enjoying
life Of extreme luxury for it would be truly
to combat bufalo-gnats and mosqui-
Toes here amongst the savages, for month,
aeeping out of doors and feeding upon tough
beef and pilot bread, without even the poor
of being envied
Judge Lockwood, of Prairie du Chen, is
with us; who says he is the first American
who ever came up the river. He was here
n lS46. | will here give list, as nearly
Is can, of those who compose our camp:
commissioners Lea and Ramsey, Secretary
Foster, Hugh Tyler, Col. Henderson, A. S.
H. White, Wallace b. White, Alexis b. Bal
y, F. Brown, r. Chute and lady, Messrs.
Lord, Boury, Mayer, M. Mcleod, Riggs,
Williamson, II. Jackson, Hartshorn, J. r.
Brown, H. L. Dousman, K. Mckenzie, II. III.
Sbley, ]. Laframboise, w. H. Forbes, A.
Farribault, myself and probably several 9TH
RS, whose names do not at this moment oc-
ur to me. There probably never before was
n Indian treaty attended by so few persons
nd with so small expense.
A Sisseton has arrived, who says that five
,arfv of civ GiSSatou Siouv ipclu-