William Clark LS On Cusp of Black Hawk War Re: St. Vrain Massacre Namesake, & Intensifying Intertribal Indian Conflict

A 2pp letter signed by William Clark (1770-1838), then in his capacity as Superintendent of Indian Affairs at St. Louis, as "W. Clark" with a small paraph at the bottom of the second page. Clark has also added a 45+-word autograph endorsement in the postscript. N.d. but the docket on the address leaf indicates a date in January 1832, probably late January. N.p. but probably St. Louis, Missouri. Written on bifold paper; the third page is blank and there is an integral address leaf. Expected wear including flattened folds, uneven toning, and foxing. Areas of paper loss affecting the four corners and center render some of the letter content indecipherable; the loss also affects the "W" of William Clark's signature. The loss has been expertly restored, however, and a transcript of the visible or construable words will be provided below. Traces of philatelic markings and a seal can be found on the address leaf page. Archivally enclosed in acid-free housing, easily removed. The unfolded letter measures 16.125" x 9.875" and 16.25" x 10.125" including the housing overall.

Clark, then Superintendent of Indian Affairs at St. Louis, Missouri, sent this letter to his subordinate, General Joseph M. Street (1782-1840). Street was the U.S. Indian Agent at Prairie du Chien, formerly part of Michigan Territory, in present-day Wisconsin.

In the first part of the letter, William Clark discusses some of the challenges to obtaining federal funds for constructing U.S. Indian Agency buildings at Prairie du Chien and its environs. In the second part of the letter, Clark addresses news of recent disturbing conflicts between local Indians. He also explicitly mentions Felix St. Vrain (1799-1832) as "St. Vrain" on pg. 2. Felix St. Vrain was an U.S. Indian Agent stationed at Fort Armstrong, on Rock Island in the Mississippi River, who would later give his name to one of the most gruesome events of the Black Hawk War: the eponymous massacre of May 24, 1832.

Transcribed in full:

"Superintendent [--]

Genl. Jos: M. Street,

Dr Sir,

I [--] two [--] under date of the 21st Dec. [--] in relation the price of your buildings estimated last year for $2000, and urged the appropriation of that amount before the Committee. They objected to the amount. I have this year sent on an Estimate for $2000 to complete your buildings and urged the necessity of an appropriation; but feel some doubt of an allowance being made, as the same members who last year questioned the necessity [--] than $2000 are on the Committee [--].

In regard to [--] I sent on your Estimate for what you and Major Kearney [sic] are both for and requested an order for the delivering of the timber to Brunet, if the Government consider it correct.

[--] information of the killing of Sioux latterly is what was [--] feared. The Sioux com- [--] us be demanded, as is the [--] murdered the Ioways [sic] near the Nodu- [--]. Mr. St. Vrain is going to the Sac + Fox hunting camps with a view of finding out their intentions in relation to the delivery of the murderers of the Menomines [sic], and the particulars in relation to the late killing of a Fox by the Sioux.

With respect & esteem,
Yr. Mo. Obt. Srt.

[signed] W. Clark

P.S. Your letter under [--] to Majr. Kearney [sic] has not been forwarded to him as he has written to his wife that he would start to this plan on this 1st day of Feby. and it takes 18 day[s] for a letter from this to reach his fort on Bedreau."

William Clark's letter to General Joseph M. Street must be considered within the context of the impending Black Hawk War. As correspondence between government officials, Indian agents, fur traders, and others during this time illustrate, the Black Hawk War was long in coming. It partly resulted because internecine conflict between major Indian tribes of the Upper Mississippi could not be resolved. Clark's letter refers to just some of the incidents that happened to the Sauk, Fox (also known as Meskwakis), Menominees, Santee Sioux (also known as Dakota), and Iowa peoples. Such episodes of casual violence would intersect with the imminent Black Hawk War in a dramatic way.

The most significant rift existed between the Sauk and Fox and their age-old enemies, the Menominees and Dakota, whom Clark refers to in the letter as Sioux. Generations of obstinate blood feuding had fueled more and more conflict. In November 1828, a Fox band had kidnapped the wife and child of a Dakota chief. This was followed in November 1829 by the beheading of a Dakota woman. On May 5, 1830, a band of about 50 Dakotas and Menominees had killed about a dozen Fox including warriors, women, and children, who had been headed to a peace conference at Prairie du Chien. In May 1831, three Dakotas were slain by Sauk and Fox. On July 31, 1831, Sauk and Fox warriors killed over 20 Menominees near Prairie du Chien. This latest outrage motivated the Menominees and Dakotas to mobilize. Local Indian groups depended on the U.S. government to act as an intermediary between warring tribes, and Brigadier General Henry Atkinson had been tasked with arresting the "murderers of the Menominees." The perpetrators were never captured by the Americans, however, because their attempted capture coincided with the onset of the Black Hawk War. The Fox who had killed the Menominees in July 1831 later joined Black Hawk's forces.

The Black Hawk War (April - August 1832) erupted when Black Hawk (1767-1838), a Sauk chief, crossed from present day Iowa into Illinois over the Mississippi River. With him were Sauk, Fox, Kickapoos, Ho Chunk (also known as Winnebago) and Potawatomi allies that together constituted the "British Band" (so-called because Black Chief had been pro-British during the War of 1812.) The encroachment of Black Hawk and his British Band terrified the settlements along the Upper Mississippi, and a U.S. military response was swiftly organized. Following a series of back-and-forth battles and raids during the spring and summer of 1832, Black Hawk's forces were decimated at the Battle of Bad Axe.

Felix St. Vrain and three others under the command of then General Henry Atkinson had been killed by an unknown band of Indians on May 24, 1832. En route to deliver dispatches from present day Dixon to Galena, Illinois, the four Americans were ambushed, possibly by pro-Sauk Ho Chunks. A contemporary witness of the massacre, General George Wallace Jones, reported that the men had been scalped. St. Vrain suffered particular postmortem injury; he was beheaded, his hands and feet cut off, and his heart had been removed and supposedly eaten.

More information about the letters of Superintendent Clark and General Street during this period can be found by consulting the excellent finding aid of the William Clark Papers at the Kansas Historical Society. We were able to find correspondence between the two men relating to all of the elements of our interesting letter--including intertribal conflicts and even the financing of the Agency buildings--from December 6, 1831; December 7, 1831; December 21, 1831; January 11, 1832; and January 19, 1832. In fact, this letter of Clark's was probably in response to the last letter, written by Street to Clark and dated January 19, 1832, in the collection of the Kansas Historical Society.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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