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317 THU RICH OSAGES. 317 Asking your kind indulgence for digression, but is it not reasonable that one thing which made the Osages such shrewd business Indians may have been the fact that, as early as 1719, M. De BrenviUe visited the lead mines of the Osages, and from that date car- avans were constantly coming and going, and as early as 1723 a fort was built by the French called Fort Or- leans, which was located above the mouth of the Osage river on an island in the Missouri river? Hence by reason of coming in contact with civilization at so early a period, is there any wonder that the Osage Indians of Oklahoma are the richest people in the world? Again, if you trace history you wiU find how keen they were to acquire the very cream of the land in the In- dian Territory. But coming back to the commander of the flying expedition. He resolved to reduce his baggage to the least possible weight, so was able to offer several use- ful articles as prizes to induce the natives to take part in the sports. It is unnecessary to go through the same horse races by the Indians., and the ludicrous appearance made by them; also the running races, except to state that Ysopete took one of the principal prizes for running, and had also entered into the great swimming contest across the swift, opaque Missouri and returq. As before recorded, Ysopete was in the pink of condition, and since his return home to his own loved ones, and to be a free man, it gave a buoyancy of spirit to the fellow that he felt as though he could fly. The men who dwelt with the Indians of Kansas have stated that all the men, wom- en and children were expert swimmers, and they must