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Show ..4.pp~ndix. the plain reason that the rormer sohl them goods at a lowct• ratt·. 'fhe Ayaways, Sacks, Foxe~ and Yanktons of the ri.-c•· Demoin, who occashmally visited the Missoua·i, hacl it in their powot• to comparo the rates at which the Spanish m•wchant in that quarter, and the British merchaut on the Mi 'sissipvi sold the it· goods; this was always much in favour of the lat 1 et•; it ther·ct'ot·e availt.·d the StJaniat•ds but lie lie, whrn they inculeated the doetl'inc or theit· being tJwu· only legitimate l~lthtws m&d friends, and i.hat tlut B1·itish merchants were mere int t·udt•rs, and bad no other object in view but their own aggrandizement. The Indians, <h•al' tu this doct•·in<', estimated the frit.•ndshiJl of both by the rates at which tht•y t·r pectivrly sold tlwia· mer·dmnd.iie; and of r.ou1·sc rrlllaincd tla· lia·m fa·it•nds of the lla·itish. In this situaOon it is not diflicult for those to conceive whe havt fc•.lt flat· force or thci r machinations, that the Ua·itisll. nwPeltants would. in OJ•dc•· to t.•xtcntl thcit· own t•·auc, cnrlt ·avour to lu•t•al~ do\\ n that or thl'il' neighbours on tlle ~lisSOUI'i. The auachmt·nts or the Indians to them, afforded a fo•·midahlc weapon with which to effect theit• pul'lloscs, no•· did they sufl\:r it to remain UIWillployed. The mct·chants of the Dog (H':.lia·ic, 1·ivers Dcmoin an(l Ayawa.y, stimulatcu tht' nation~ just mentioned to tho comm .ssiou of' acts of •·apaci t) on the nu.·•·chants of the Missouri, nor· was Mr. Camca·on and othca·s. merchants or tho river St. f•ct<>a·'s. less attjvc "ith l't'SIJcct to the CissJtons, Yanktons of tim I•lains, 'l'ctous, &.c. who resort tho Missoul'i occasionally still lligher up. \Var parties of those nations 'W~' t'e consequently found lying in wait on the 1\tissou•·i, to lnlCl'et~pt the UOaC S of tlac Ulel·chauts of that rhcr at the scatSOllS tlH·y were t'Xpl'ctcd to 11ass, and depredations wel'e frc .. <jucutlJ com uaiH~d, paa·ticulal'ly by the Aya.ways, who h~lVC lwcn kuowu in scvca•al iusf ances to l'apturc boats on the ~lis· sou•·i, iu tlwia· d('seent to St. Louis, illttl compelled the <·•·ew. to loau tht'lllSelves with ht'avy OuJ•dcns of thcil• best furs act·o:ss the country to thcjr towns,whet·o they llistJoscdofthcm .D.ppendix. 4U t.o the British merclaants. In those cases tlwy always destroyeel the p~riogues, and such or the pclta·ics and furs as they could not caa•t•y off. It may be urged, that t lw Ba·Hish Ul("rohants knowing that the United States, a.t ()!'<'Se nt, ths·ou~h mere courtesy, permit tht>m to rxtt'nd thr.il· trade 1o thr west side of the Mississippi; oa· rath(' t' that t hry aa·e nw1·c tenantg at will, and that the Uuit<·d Statrs possess the m~an s or rjocting Haem at pleasu•·c; that they wiJl, under these circumstances, be inducrd to ~wt dific•·t·nlly to" al'ds us than they di•l in rclat ion to the Spanish j..!;OY<'J'rnrwnt; hut what as~ surancc have we that this will he the <•fl't-et of the mt•t·e change of governments without t~l<tn~C of meastll'l'S in rela tion to them. Suffct· me 1o ask what solid gt·ouuds thcJ'(' arc to hop<> that the it• g·a·atit udc fo•· oua· toh·•·ant·c• ancl Jilwl' ality Oil this suhjeet, will induee the 111 to holcl a different po · licy towards us. None, in my opinion, unless we stimulate theil' gt·atitude hy placing bcl'OI'C tiH·i1· eyes the in~ta·nmrnts of om· power in the rol'm of one OJ' two giuTisons on the upper part or the l\1i ·sissippi. Even admit that the proplc were actuatc.·d by the most f•·iendly •·ega I'd towards thL' intcl'ests of the United Stat('S, and at this moment made a com mun cause with us to iuduce the J mlians to demean themselves in an ot·dr.l'ly manner towal'lls our govl'rnmem., and to treat our ta·aders of the 1\li~souri with respect and fa·icndship, )'<>t, without some cifici<>nt check on !110 lndia11s, I should not think oul' citizens noJ' out• tJ•atlct•s sccut'('; be· cause the Indians, who ha\'C L'ot• ten ye~u·s ami upwaa·di, derived advanl ages r.·om (U'aetice on lessons of a·apacity taught them by those ta·adcrs, cannot at a moment be b1·ought back to a State or (H'i miti ve innocence, by the un itcd pet•suaSiOll8 of all the ll•·itish tt·adct·s. I hold it an axiom, incontl·ovea·tillle, that it is mo•·c easy to i nt••o£lnce vice into all states of societu than it is to craclicate it; and that this is still mot•c stl'ictly true, when applied to man in savage than in bjs civilized state. It', thcrcfoa·c, we wish, within some shot·t pea·iod, to devest ourselves of the eYils which Howcd from tht>: inculcR- |