In 1823, a misfortune clash between a fur trading company and the A'Ricaree Indians led to the death of 15 men and fueled a growing debate over justice due plight of the Indian tribes in the Western territory of the United States. A debate which continues to this day. On one side, was outrage and fear calling for strict and fierce action to punish the Indians, lest "this river will be discolored with our blood".
"How painful is it for me to tell, and you to hear, of the barbarity of the Indians! They continue to deceive and murder the most enterprising of our people; and if we continue to forbear, if we do not discover a greater spirit of resentment, this river will be discolored with our blood." Major O'Fallen to General Atkinson - July 3, 1823
On the other side, was concern that such outrages were being magnified by the press, breeding prejudiced against the Indians that would lead ultimately to their destruction.
"it is the lawless aggression of such men, that occasion those frequent complaints of 'Indian outrages' which are reiterated in all our newspapers, and winch are sure to bring destruction upon the offending tribes. It ought to be remembered too, that we have a hereditary prejudice against the Indians, which magnifies us to acquiesce in the severity of the punishment." - The Christian spectator, 1823
The Story
In 1823, General William Henry Ashley, one of the most wealthy enterprising and distinguished citizens of St. Louis took his first fur-trapping expeditions up the Missouri River to the Rocky Mountains General Ashley embarked on his expedition in the early summer and had already lost one-fourth of his men in violent accidents and war when he met up with the A'Ricaree Indians on the Yellowstone river. In a bloody battle, 14 of his men were killed, while one died later from battle wounds. The A'Ricaree Indians (also known as Arikaree or Arikara) were a semi-nomadic group of Indians, descendants of the Pawnee who migrated up the Missouri River to the Great Plains. Reports of the attack were sent by Major O'Fallen and Major Foster to General Atkinson along with reports of additional "outrages of a similar character" committed by the Blackfoot Indians. In response Colonel Leavenworth gathered 220 regular troops and 80 men from the trading companies to join a "large party of Sioux warriors" to march against the Ricareees. The Ricaree village was strongly fortified high above Council Bluffs, and said to have contained up to 700 warriors. If true, the attempt would be very dangerous and could lead to disaster but according to Major General Brown U.S. Army Commander of Washington City, the effort was needed to send an "exemplary punishment" to the "unprovoked outrages of the Ricarees". To assist, Major General Brown ordered General Atkinson to support Colonel Leavenworth along with six companies of men (a company is 100-250 men). Steamboats were being readied to transport the men. It was the first Indian war west of the Missouri. The Ricaree warriors retreated to their fortified villages. By time Colonel Leavenworth and his men approached the village, the warriors escaped at night, while the angry fur traders set the village on fire.note: In 1954, the expedition and attack on General Ashley and his men including Hugh Glass was captured in a novel entitled "Lord Grizzly" by Frederick Manfred. Later in 2015, a movie entitled "The Revenant" was loosely based upon the life of Hugh Glass.
The attack was condemned by some in the Christian community as reported in an 1823 article in the the Christian Spectator. The event was described as "the late unhappy affair with the Ricarees terminated". In 1823, the event was compared to "all our wars with the Indian tribes" that devastated their country and caused widespread hatred and bigotry of the Indians, or "fresh odium on their race and name". The article described their accusers as "unprincipled persons" who consider the Indians to be a "men who have cast away the habits of civilized life', to savage and wild to be civilized and Christianized. Indian outrages like General Ashley encountered were being repeated in the newspapers over and over giving way to a general hysteria and prejudice against the Indians, imputing them with a long history of violence, ancient wars and murder. The article recounted a letter from one of the Ricaree Chiefs who expressed desire to provide redress for the attack which took place. The Ricarees sought redress, but received nothing but a contemptuous and menacing reply from the U.S. The chief complained of the hypocrisy of the white men, who fail to provide redress for their the vengeance, but demand redress for the Indians until every last 'farthing' of the loss is paid. In the letter, the chief shared a very prescient look at the future of the Indian tribes.
"No, sir, the Indians are a poor, despised, persecuted race, more sinned against than sinning; and unless another Las Casas be raised up by Heaven for there defence, the time is fast approaching when the place that now knows them will know them no more forever."President James Monroe outlined this event in his State of the Union Address. Monroe was very measured in his words, but there is no doubt that he chose to side with those on the side of fierce action to punish the Indians. In his report, he stated that "General Ashley and his party" were trading "peaceably trading with the Indians at their request" when several of his men were killed. Then, he described the response as "measures to check the evil". Finally, he described the actions taken as measures that would leave "such an impression" to "prevent a recurrence of future hostility".
"During the month of June last General Ashley and his party, who were trading under a license from the Government, were attacked by the Ricarees while peaceably trading with the Indians at their request. Several of the party were killed and wounded and their property taken or destroyed.
Colonel Leavenworth, who commanded Fort Atkinson, at the Council Bluffs, the most western post, apprehending that the hostile spirit of the Ricarees would extend to other tribes in that quarter, and that thereby the lives of the traders on the Missouri and the peace of the frontier would be endangered, took immediate measures to check the evil.
With a detachment of the regiment stationed at the Bluffs he successfully attacked the Ricaree village, and it is hoped that such an impression has been made on them as well as on the other tribes on the Missouri as will prevent a recurrence of future hostility.
In 1824, Monroe returned to the subject of the Ricaree Indians. After the hostilities occurred, congress made an appropriation to establish friendship treaties with them, but "season was too far advanced when the appropriation was made and the distance too great to permit it". Thus, peace with the Ricaree Indians would not be seen under the Monroe administration.
"Our relations with the Indian tribes within our limits have not been materially changed during the year. The hostile disposition evinced by certain tribes on the Missouri during the last year still continues, and has extended in some degree to those on the Upper Mississippi and the Upper Lakes. Several parties of our citizens have been plundered and murdered by those tribes. In order to establish relations of friendship with them, Congress at the last session made an appropriation for treaties with them and for the employment of a suitable military escort to accompany and attend the commissioners at the places appointed for the negotiations. This object has not been effected. The season was too far advanced when the appropriation was made and the distance too great to permit it, but measures have been taken, and all the preparations will be completed to accomplish it at an early period in the next season.
Believing that the hostility of the tribes, particularly on the Upper Mississippi and the Lakes, is in no small degree owing to the wars which are carried on between the tribes residing in that quarter, measures have been taken to bring about a general peace among them, which, if successful, will not only tend to the security of our citizens, but be of great advantage to the Indians themselves."http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=29465
http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=29466
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arikara
American State Papers: Documents, Legislative and Executive, of the Congress of the United States, Part 5, Volume 2 United States Congress (1834), pgs 578-581
The American Monthly Magazine, Volume 32, R.R. Bowker Comany (1908), pgs 318-321
The Christian Spectator, Volume 5, Howe & Spalding (1823) pgs. 663 665
Arrikara Warrior By Karl Bodmer - Library of Congress, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1342589
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