Sunday 25th novem 1821
We found Withe the Ietans a Spanish Prisnor Whome With great difeculty We purchased yesterday With $150 in goods and He In Joyed one night of liberty a Hapey Chaing from that of a Slave to an Indean—but unfortnetly—at day light this morning the goods Ware Returned and the Prisnor taken back to His formor master again—but We Will Spair no means in our power [to] Releve Him again and Send Him out of their Reech this man is from the Southern Provence near St Antoni[68] With Which the Indeans are at War—tho at Peece With new maxeco and the Spanish in Habetance there—We Have been viseted by Some of the Spanish Indeans from maxeco the live in the vilege of Tows[69]—its Six days Easey travel from Heare—the are all Catholicks the Indeans Inform us that there are White men near the great [Pike’s] Peak of the mountain on the River Platt—and three days Hard travel from this place—
on the night of the 23rd a Snow fell about one foot deep and the Weather is now Cold the River frosen up the Ice a great thickness and the Indean Children that is able to walk and up to tall boys are out on the Ice by day light and all as naked as the Came to the World Heare the are at all kinds of Sport Which their Setuation Will admit and all tho the frost is very seveer the apper quite Warm and a lively as I Heave Ever Seen Children In mid Summer I am shure that We Have Seen more than one thousand of these Children on the Ice at one time and Some that Ware too young to Walk Ware taken by the larger ones and Soot on a pece of skin on the Ice and In this Setuation kick its [legs] Round and Hollow and laff at those Round it at play—I have no doupt but that to take one of our White Children and Put it In Such Cold Weather in that Setuation it Cold not live Half an Hour on the 23rd four Ietan Indeans arrive With the news of Peace being maid With the osages by the Big Cheefs below—
five days before our arival at this place a battle Was faught Near the mountains betwen those Indeans and the Crows in which the formor lost nine men and the latter fifteen—amongest the arrapohoes In this Ingagement there Was one young Warear that about two years ago Was Shot threw the boddey and all the Skin taken off His Head down to His Ears for a scelp—and in the last battle Was Shot threw one of His feet Which Is now getting Well—and on this [occasion] an alarm Was Raised of a War party apoching Camp When this man With His father Was amongst the foremost on Hors back to meet danger—but the alarm Was With[out] foundation and all Returned to Camp With[out] a fight
the Kiawa Cheef Reported to us that He Head ben In Council all day on the 23rd With the Ietan Who proposed to Him to Join In a War against osages and the White men—to Which He disagread—dureing the Hole of that day the Ietan manefested a very unfriendly dispsetion to Wards us—and the Princeple Cheefs Informed us that When mager longe[70] Was there He told them that the Predesent Wold Send them plenty of goods and that the goods We Head Ware Sent to Him and that We Head no Wright to traid them but When He discovered that His demands Wold not be Complyed With Chainged His disposetion and Seems very frendly and this night offered Conl glann and Mr Roy Each one of His Wifes—the greates token of frendship those Indeans Can offer—but the offer Was de Clined telling Him that it Was not the White mans Habits