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335 AT FORT SIBLEY. 335 ty much of the territory south of the Missouri in" the State of Missouri, which, of course; was unreason- able for a few hundred people. So Uncle Sam agreed to gfive the Great Osage Indians cash down $800 and $1,000 every year in goods, not money, and the Little Osage^ received $400 cash and were to be given $500 worth of merchandise annually, and by this treaty the east line of the Osage nation was fixed twenty- four miles east of the west line of Missouri, so they still retained the eight counties, extending from the Missouri river due south to the south line of the State of Missouri and continuing south tiU it struck the Arkansas river. Before signing the treaty relin- quishing the territory south of the Missouri river, the Government had built a fort or block house at the point on the Missouri river where the village of Sib- ley is now located in Jackson county, Missouri. This fort was variously named "Port Osage," "Port Clark," "Fort Sibley," this last being the name of the Govern- ment agent for several years, and in an official report to the United States by Mr. Sibley, he states that the location of the Great Osages was seventy-eight meas- ured miles due south of Fort Osage. So if a map of Missouri is examined, it will be found that it is exact- ly that distance from Sibley to the forks of the Osage river in the southeast corner of Bates county and about ninety miles from the mouth of the Kansas. It has taken three days for our party to make the trip to the Osages. This was accomplished whUe you were being informed of its location, and by rea- son of the Indian escort sient by the chief to help car- ry the now small amount! pf baggage, the journey was