The Papers
Browse the PapersDocumentsJournalsAdministrative RecordsRevelations and TranslationsHistoriesLegal RecordsFinancial RecordsOther Contemporary Papers
Reference
PeoplePlacesEventsGlossaryLegal GlossaryFinancial GlossaryCalendar of DocumentsWorks CitedFeatured TopicsLesson PlansRelated Publications
Media
VideosPhotographsIllustrationsChartsMapsPodcasts
News
Current NewsArchiveNewsletterSubscribeJSP Conferences
About
About the ProjectJoseph Smith and His PapersFAQAwardsEndorsementsReviewsEditorial MethodNote on TranscriptionsNote on Images of People and PlacesReferencing the ProjectCiting This WebsiteProject TeamContact Us
Published Volumes
  1. Home > 
  2. The Papers > 

Letter from Paicouchaiby and Other Potawatomi, circa 14 August 1843

Source Note

[Paicouchaiby and Other Potawatomi], Letter, [
Iowa Territory

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803. First permanent white settlements established, ca. 1833. Organized as territory, 1838, containing all of present-day Iowa, much of present-day Minnesota, and parts of North and South Dakota. Population in...

More Info
], to JS,
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

More Info
, Hancock Co., IL, [ca. 14 Aug. 1843]; unidentified handwriting and handwriting of
Jonathan Dunham

14 Jan. 1800–28 July 1845. Soldier, police captain. Born in Paris, Oneida Co., New York. Son of Jonathan Dunham. Married Mary Kendall. Moved to Rushford, Allegany Co., New York, by 1830. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and ordained...

View Full Bio
; three pages; JS Collection (Supplement), CHL. Includes address and dockets.
Two leaves, one measuring 11 × 7–8¼ inches (28 × 18–21 cm) and the other 11 × 8½ inches (28 × 22 cm). Both leaves appear to have been torn from a bound volume or from larger leaves. The letter was inscribed in dark blue ink, beginning on the recto of one leaf, continuing on the recto of the second leaf, and finishing on the verso of the first leaf. It was trifolded twice in letter style and addressed by
Jonathan Dunham

14 Jan. 1800–28 July 1845. Soldier, police captain. Born in Paris, Oneida Co., New York. Son of Jonathan Dunham. Married Mary Kendall. Moved to Rushford, Allegany Co., New York, by 1830. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and ordained...

View Full Bio
.
The letter was docketed “Letter from Lamanites” by
Thomas Bullock

23 Dec. 1816–10 Feb. 1885. Farmer, excise officer, secretary, clerk. Born in Leek, Staffordshire, England. Son of Thomas Bullock and Mary Hall. Married Henrietta Rushton, 25 June 1838. Moved to Ardee, Co. Louth, Ireland, Nov. 1839; to Isle of Anglesey, Aug...

View Full Bio
, who served as JS’s scribe from 1843 to 1844 and as clerk to the church historian and recorder from 1845 to 1865.
1

Jessee, “Writing of Joseph Smith’s History,” 456, 458; Woodruff, Journal, 22 Jan. 1865.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Jessee, Dean C. “The Writing of Joseph Smith’s History.” BYU Studies 11 (Summer 1971): 439–473.

Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

Leo Hawkins

19 July 1834–28 May 1859. Clerk, reporter. Born in London. Son of Samuel Harris Hawkins and Charlotte Savage. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by John Banks, 23 Oct. 1848. Immigrated to U.S. with his family; arrived in New Orleans...

View Full Bio
, who served as a clerk in the Church Historian’s Office (later Church Historical Department) from 1853 to 1859, refolded the letter and copied Bullock’s docket.
2

“Obituary of Leo Hawkins,” Millennial Star, 30 July 1859, 21:496–497.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star. Manchester, England, 1840–1842; Liverpool, 1842–1932; London, 1932–1970.

An unidentified scribe later added the date “1842 or 3” below Hawkins’s docket. The Church Historical Department (now CHL) published a register of the JS Collection in 1973. Between 1974 and 1984, staff continued to locate documents authored by or directed to JS in uncataloged church financial records and in name and subject files. The department also acquired additional JS documents from donors, collectors, and dealers. These newly located and acquired documents were kept together in a supplement to the JS Collection. A preliminary inventory of the supplement was created in 1992. This group of records was named the JS Collection (Supplement), 1833–1844, and its cataloging was finalized in 2017.
3

See the full bibliographic entry for JS Collection (Supplement), 1833–1844, in the CHL catalog.


The document’s early dockets and its inclusion in the JS Collection (Supplement) suggest continuous institutional custody.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Jessee, “Writing of Joseph Smith’s History,” 456, 458; Woodruff, Journal, 22 Jan. 1865.

    Jessee, Dean C. “The Writing of Joseph Smith’s History.” BYU Studies 11 (Summer 1971): 439–473.

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

  2. [2]

    “Obituary of Leo Hawkins,” Millennial Star, 30 July 1859, 21:496–497.

    Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star. Manchester, England, 1840–1842; Liverpool, 1842–1932; London, 1932–1970.

  3. [3]

    See the full bibliographic entry for JS Collection (Supplement), 1833–1844, in the CHL catalog.

Historical Introduction

In mid-August 1843, a council of Potawatomi Indians in
Iowa Territory

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803. First permanent white settlements established, ca. 1833. Organized as territory, 1838, containing all of present-day Iowa, much of present-day Minnesota, and parts of North and South Dakota. Population in...

More Info
wrote to JS in
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

More Info
, Illinois, requesting advice and assistance concerning ongoing pressure from the federal government to cede their land. The Potawatomi had long resisted the westward expansion of the
United States

North American constitutional republic. Constitution ratified, 17 Sept. 1787. Population in 1805 about 6,000,000; in 1830 about 13,000,000; and in 1844 about 20,000,000. Louisiana Purchase, 1803, doubled size of U.S. Consisted of seventeen states at time ...

More Info
and were active participants in Tecumseh’s Indian confederacy that fought alongside the British in the War of 1812.
1

Clifton, Prairie People, 185–216.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Clifton, James A. The Prairie People: Continuity and Change in Potawatomi Indian Culture, 1665–1965. Expanded ed. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1998.

As the fur trade declined in the early nineteenth century, the Potawatomi became increasingly dependent on government annuities. This left them vulnerable to unfavorable treaties that gradually stripped them of their lands in the present-day states of
Indiana

First settled by French at Vincennes, early 1700s. Acquired by England in French and Indian War, 1763. U.S. took possession of area following American Revolution, 1783. Area became part of Northwest Territory, 1787. Partitioned off of Northwest Territory ...

More Info
,
Illinois

Became part of Northwest Territory of U.S., 1787. Admitted as state, 1818. Population in 1840 about 480,000. Population in 1845 about 660,000. Plentiful, inexpensive land attracted settlers from northern and southern states. Following expulsion from Missouri...

More Info
,
Michigan

Organized as territory, 1805, with Detroit as capital. De facto state government organized within territory, 1836, although not formally recognized as state by federal government until 1837. Lansing became new state capital, 1847. Population in 1810 about...

More Info
, and
Wisconsin

Area settled by French, before 1700. Became part of U.S. by Treaty of Paris, 1783. Territory officially formed, 1836, with Belmont established as capital. Capital moved to present-day Burlington, Iowa, 1837. Territory initially included all or part of present...

More Info
. The passage of the Indian Removal Act in 1830 and the Black Hawk War of 1832—in which the Potawatomi sided with the United States—led to a final treaty, signed in
Chicago

Settled by Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, 1779. U.S. Fort Dearborn established, 1804. Town organized, 10 Aug. 1832. Incorporated as city, May 1837. Population in 1837 about 4,200; in 1840 about 4,500; and in 1844 about 11,000. Twenty-six members of Church ...

More Info
in 1833, in which the Potawatomi traded their remaining lands east of the
Mississippi River

Principal U.S. river running southward from Itasca Lake, Minnesota, to Gulf of Mexico. Covered 3,160-mile course, 1839 (now about 2,350 miles). Drains about 1,100,000 square miles. Steamboat travel on Mississippi very important in 1830s and 1840s for shipping...

More Info
for land along the eastern bank of the
Missouri River

One of longest rivers in North America, in excess of 3,000 miles. From headwaters in Montana to confluence with Mississippi River near St. Louis, Missouri River drains 580,000 square miles (about one-sixth of continental U.S.). Explored by Lewis and Clark...

More Info
, northwest of
Independence

Located twelve miles from western Missouri border. Permanently settled, platted, and designated county seat, 1827. Hub for steamboat travel on Missouri River. Point of departure for Santa Fe Trail. Population in 1831 about 300. Latter-day Saint population...

More Info
, Missouri. However, tensions between the Potawatomi and the Missourians led to the Potawatomi’s removal from that state in 1837.
2

Edmunds, Potawatomis, 215–222, 229–254, 264–272.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Edmunds, R. David. The Potawatomis: Keepers of the Fire. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1978.

In the aftermath of these treaties and removals, the Potawatomi splintered into several groups, some of which fled to
Canada

In late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, Canada referred to British colonies of Upper Canada and Lower Canada. Divided into Upper Canada and Lower Canada, 1791; reunited 10 Feb. 1841. Boundaries corresponded roughly to present-day Ontario (Upper...

More Info
, while others were forcibly relocated to present-day Kansas. In 1837, about 2,500 Potawatomi voluntarily moved to western
Iowa Territory

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803. First permanent white settlements established, ca. 1833. Organized as territory, 1838, containing all of present-day Iowa, much of present-day Minnesota, and parts of North and South Dakota. Population in...

More Info
.
3

Clifton, Prairie People, 279–346.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Clifton, James A. The Prairie People: Continuity and Change in Potawatomi Indian Culture, 1665–1965. Expanded ed. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1998.

Treaties typically referred to these Iowa Potawatomi as the United Nation of Chippewa, Ottowa, and Potawatamie Indians, while the people themselves used names such as Potawatomi Nation, Prairie Band of Potawatomi Indians, and other variations.
4

Treaty, 26 Sept. 1833, in Kappler, Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties, 2:402; Potawatomi, Butler, MO, to Edwin James, Fort Leavenworth, Unorganized U.S. Territory, 12 Sept. 1837; J. K. K. Burgion, Camp Fenwick (near Council Bluffs), Iowa Territory, to T. Hartley Crawford, Washington DC, 9 Aug. 1842; Potawatomi, Council Bluffs, Iowa Territory, to “Our Great Father the President of the United States,” Washington DC, 8 Aug. 1843, in U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, Letters Received by the Office of Indian Affairs, reel 215; Treaty, 5 and 17 June 1846, in U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, Ratified Indian Treaties; Clifton, Prairie People, 317–319, 353–354.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Kappler, Charles J., comp. and ed. Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties. 7 vols. Washington DC: Government Printing Office, 1904.

U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs. Letters Received by the Office of Indian Affairs, 1824–81. National Archives Microfilm Publications, microcopy M234. 962 reels. Washington DC: National Archives, 1959.

U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs. Ratified Indian Treaties, 1722–1869 . . . Treaties 230–252, Jan. 15, 1838–Aug. 6, 1848. National Archives Microfilm Publications, microcopy M668, reel 9. Washington DC: National Archives, 1966.

Clifton, James A. The Prairie People: Continuity and Change in Potawatomi Indian Culture, 1665–1965. Expanded ed. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1998.

Over the next six years, the Iowa Potawatomi faced additional pressure from the
United States

North American constitutional republic. Constitution ratified, 17 Sept. 1787. Population in 1805 about 6,000,000; in 1830 about 13,000,000; and in 1844 about 20,000,000. Louisiana Purchase, 1803, doubled size of U.S. Consisted of seventeen states at time ...

More Info
government to relocate in the face of encroaching white settlement and became increasingly angry with the government’s failure to uphold its treaties.
5

Potawatomi, Butler, MO, to Edwin James, Fort Leavenworth, Unorganized U.S. Territory, 12 Sept. 1837; Richard S. Elliott, Council Bluffs, Iowa Territory, to T. Hartley Crawford, Washington DC, 9 Aug. 1843, in U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, Letters Received by the Office of Indian Affairs, reel 215.


Comprehensive Works Cited

U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs. Letters Received by the Office of Indian Affairs, 1824–81. National Archives Microfilm Publications, microcopy M234. 962 reels. Washington DC: National Archives, 1959.

In April 1843, three Potawatomi leaders from
Iowa Territory

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803. First permanent white settlements established, ca. 1833. Organized as territory, 1838, containing all of present-day Iowa, much of present-day Minnesota, and parts of North and South Dakota. Population in...

More Info
traveled to
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

More Info
to speak with JS. The delegation seems to have been led by a man named Paicouchaiby.
6

Because the Potawatomi had no written language, Paicouchaiby’s name was spelled phonetically in several different ways by predominantly white scribes or interpreters. This volume follows the spelling found in Paicouchaiby’s letter. Iowa militia general Henry King, who learned about the April 1843 meeting from the interpreter, Mr. Hitchcock, identified the leader of the delegation as “Chief Apaquachawba.” (Henry King, Keokuk, Iowa Territory, to John Chambers, Burlington, Iowa Territory, 14 July 1843, in Territorial Papers of the United States, the Territory of Iowa, reel 56.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Carter, Clarence Edward, and John Porter Bloom, comps. Territorial Papers of the United States. 28 vols. Washington DC: United States Government Printing Office, 1934–1975.

His exact position among the Potawatomi is unclear, though presumably he was a prominent member of a village or kinship group in Iowa Territory.
7

His name appears in government records as early as 1832, when he and other Potawatomi fought for the United States in the Black Hawk War. The Potawatomi scouts roll identifies him as “Pay co je bai”. The Potawatomi’s company roll indicates that Paicouchaiby was not considered a chief, nor was he significant enough to sign the Potawatomi’s 1832 or 1833 treaties. Nevertheless, by 1837, Paicouchaiby—identified as “Pah ◊ cha be”—was the head of a household of ten individuals, one of the larger households among the Iowa Potawatomi. (“Potawatomi Indians in United States Service,” in Whitney, Black Hawk War, 1831–1832, 1:560; Treaty, 20 Oct. 1832; Treaty, 26 Sept. 1833, in Kappler, Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties, 2:354–355, 403–404, 410, 411, 412–413, 414, 415; “Register of Pottawatomis Chippeway & Ottoways Indians,” 1 Aug. 1837, p. 5, in U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, Letters Received by the Office of Indian Affairs, reel 215.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Whitney, Ellen M., comp. The Black Hawk War, 1831–1832. 2 vols. Springfield, IL: Illinois State Historical Library, 1970.

Kappler, Charles J., comp. and ed. Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties. 7 vols. Washington DC: Government Printing Office, 1904.

U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs. Letters Received by the Office of Indian Affairs, 1824–81. National Archives Microfilm Publications, microcopy M234. 962 reels. Washington DC: National Archives, 1959.

Paicouchaiby signed or witnessed at least two letters to government officials as one of the “the Chiefs[,] head men and Warriors of the Pottowatomee Nation” in 1837 and 1842.
8

In these letters his name was spelled “Pa co che bee” and “Pac,,co,,cha,,bee,” respectively. (Potawatomi, Butler, MO, to Edwin James, Fort Leavenworth, Unorganized U.S. Territory, 12 Sept. 1837; J. K. K. Burgion, Camp Fenwick [near Council Bluffs], Iowa Territory, to T. Hartley Crawford, Washington DC, 9 Aug. 1842, in U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, Letters Received by the Office of Indian Affairs, reel 215.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs. Letters Received by the Office of Indian Affairs, 1824–81. National Archives Microfilm Publications, microcopy M234. 962 reels. Washington DC: National Archives, 1959.

In 1846 he signed a treaty with the
United States

North American constitutional republic. Constitution ratified, 17 Sept. 1787. Population in 1805 about 6,000,000; in 1830 about 13,000,000; and in 1844 about 20,000,000. Louisiana Purchase, 1803, doubled size of U.S. Consisted of seventeen states at time ...

More Info
as one of the “chiefs and principal men” of the Iowa Potawatomi.
9

The treaty identified him as “Pacq-qui-pa-chee (the Squatter).” (Treaty, 5 and 17 June 1846, in U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, Ratified Indian Treaties.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs. Ratified Indian Treaties, 1722–1869 . . . Treaties 230–252, Jan. 15, 1838–Aug. 6, 1848. National Archives Microfilm Publications, microcopy M668, reel 9. Washington DC: National Archives, 1966.

During their April 1843 interview with JS, the Potawatomi expressed concern about their continued mistreatment from white settlers and the
United States

North American constitutional republic. Constitution ratified, 17 Sept. 1787. Population in 1805 about 6,000,000; in 1830 about 13,000,000; and in 1844 about 20,000,000. Louisiana Purchase, 1803, doubled size of U.S. Consisted of seventeen states at time ...

More Info
government. JS’s journal notes that the Indians were “much troubled” by their circumstances and “had borne their greivances patie[n]tly.”
10

JS, Journal, 18 Apr. 1843.


According to the interpreter, JS told them that “he could give them no assistance, that his hands were tied by the U. S. but that he could sympathize with them.” He also “advised them to stick to each other, to be friendly to the neighboring tribes, and pray a great deal to the G[reat] Spirit.”
11

Henry King, Keokuk, Iowa Territory, to John Chambers, Burlington, Iowa Territory, 14 July 1843, in Territorial Papers of the United States, the Territory of Iowa, reel 56.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Carter, Clarence Edward, and John Porter Bloom, comps. Territorial Papers of the United States. 28 vols. Washington DC: United States Government Printing Office, 1934–1975.

Distrustful of the interpreter, the Potawatomi delegation soon ended their interview with JS and declared they would return later that summer with their own interpreter.
12

Henry King, Keokuk, Iowa Territory, to John Chambers, Burlington, Iowa Territory, 14 July 1843, in Territorial Papers of the United States, the Territory of Iowa, reel 56.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Carter, Clarence Edward, and John Porter Bloom, comps. Territorial Papers of the United States. 28 vols. Washington DC: United States Government Printing Office, 1934–1975.

The
Iowa

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803. First permanent white settlements established, ca. 1833. Organized as territory, 1838, containing all of present-day Iowa, much of present-day Minnesota, and parts of North and South Dakota. Population in...

More Info
Potawatomi returned on 26 June, while JS was away visiting his family in northern
Illinois

Became part of Northwest Territory of U.S., 1787. Admitted as state, 1818. Population in 1840 about 480,000. Population in 1845 about 660,000. Plentiful, inexpensive land attracted settlers from northern and southern states. Following expulsion from Missouri...

More Info
.
Apostle

Members of a governing body in the church, with special administrative and proselytizing responsibilities. A June 1829 revelation commanded Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer to call twelve disciples, similar to the twelve apostles in the New Testament and ...

View Glossary
Wilford Woodruff

1 Mar. 1807–2 Sept. 1898. Farmer, miller. Born at Farmington, Hartford Co., Connecticut. Son of Aphek Woodruff and Beulah Thompson. Moved to Richland, Oswego Co., New York, 1832. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Zera Pulsipher,...

View Full Bio
recorded that he “took them home & fed them [and] gave them some trinklets &c.” Woodruff noted that, despite the Potawatomi’s desire to communicate, they “had no interpeter that could interpet much.”
13

Woodruff, Journal, 26 June 1843.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

In the excitement following JS’s return to
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

More Info
on 30 June—after avoiding extradition to
Missouri

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Latter-day Saint ...

More Info
—no one at the time recorded anything about JS’s possible interaction with the Potawatomi delegation.
14

“Interview between Joseph Smith & the Potawatamie Chiefs,” ca. 1856, in Historian’s Office, JS History, Draft Notes, July 1843.


It is unclear how Paicouchaiby and other Potawatomi learned of JS or why they decided to speak with him. Latter-day Saints crossed paths with some Potawatomi in
Missouri

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Latter-day Saint ...

More Info
during the 1830s, but there is no record of any sustained contact.
15

See, for example, Letter from William W. Phelps, 24 Aug. 1834.


It appears the
Iowa

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803. First permanent white settlements established, ca. 1833. Organized as territory, 1838, containing all of present-day Iowa, much of present-day Minnesota, and parts of North and South Dakota. Population in...

More Info
Potawatomi initially believed that JS was an agent of the British government, and, like the Potawatomi who fled to
Canada

In late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, Canada referred to British colonies of Upper Canada and Lower Canada. Divided into Upper Canada and Lower Canada, 1791; reunited 10 Feb. 1841. Boundaries corresponded roughly to present-day Ontario (Upper...

More Info
following the 1833 treaty, they may have been seeking assistance from old allies. It is also possible that, having heard rumors that JS received revelation from God, the Potawatomi were seeking spiritual answers for their difficulties. During the April meeting, Paicouchaiby said, according to the interpreter, that unidentified “white men” told him that JS “could talk to the G[reat] Spirit, and he wanted him [JS] to advise them what to do.”
16

Henry King, Keokuk, Iowa Territory, to John Chambers, Burlington, Iowa Territory, 14 July 1843, in Territorial Papers of the United States, the Territory of Iowa, reel 56.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Carter, Clarence Edward, and John Porter Bloom, comps. Territorial Papers of the United States. 28 vols. Washington DC: United States Government Printing Office, 1934–1975.

Shortly after the second Potawatomi delegation left
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

More Info
in summer 1843, Latter-day Saint
Jonathan Dunham

14 Jan. 1800–28 July 1845. Soldier, police captain. Born in Paris, Oneida Co., New York. Son of Jonathan Dunham. Married Mary Kendall. Moved to Rushford, Allegany Co., New York, by 1830. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and ordained...

View Full Bio
followed them, presumably on assignment from JS.
17

In his journal, William Clayton noted that Dunham left “on his mission,” suggesting that Dunham’s aims were known and presumably sanctioned by church leaders. (Clayton, Journal, 14 July 1843.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.

Dunham had had an interest in preaching to American Indians since at least 1837, when participants in a prayer meeting in the
House of the Lord

JS revelation, dated Jan. 1831, directed Latter-day Saints to migrate to Ohio, where they would “be endowed with power from on high.” In Dec. 1832, JS revelation directed Saints to “establish . . . an house of God.” JS revelation, dated 1 June 1833, chastened...

More Info
at
Kirtland

Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Latter-day Saint missionaries visited township, early Nov. 1830; many residents joined Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and...

More Info
, Ohio, prophesied that he was “called to do a great work a mongst” the American Indians and that he would “go from tribe, to tribe, preaching to them in there tongue.”
18

“A Prophecey Delivered upon the Head of Jonathan Dunham,” 15 July 1837, Jonathan Dunham, Papers, CHL.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Dunham, Jonathan. Papers, 1825–1846. CHL.

Consequently, Dunham undertook several missions to Indian settlements in both the eastern
United States

North American constitutional republic. Constitution ratified, 17 Sept. 1787. Population in 1805 about 6,000,000; in 1830 about 13,000,000; and in 1844 about 20,000,000. Louisiana Purchase, 1803, doubled size of U.S. Consisted of seventeen states at time ...

More Info
and Indian Territory in the West in the late 1830s.
19

Walker, “Seeking the ‘Remnant,’” 24–25.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Walker, Ronald W. “Seeking the ‘Remnant’: The Native American during the Joseph Smith Period.” Journal of Mormon History 19 (Spring 1993): 1–33.

He left Nauvoo on 14 July 1843 and arrived at Potawatomi territory near Council Bluffs, Iowa Territory, on 28 July.
20

During this mission, Dunham consistently misdated each entry one day earlier than the actual date. (Dunham, Journal, [14] and [28] July 1843; Clayton, Journal, 14 July 1843.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Dunham, Jonathan. Journals, 1837–1846. Jonathan Dunham, Papers, 1825–1846. CHL. MS 1387, fds. 1–4.

Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.

Aside from his guide Neotanah, Dunham did not record meeting with specific Potawatomi.
21

See Dunham, Journal, [29] July and [2] Aug. 1843.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Dunham, Jonathan. Journals, 1837–1846. Jonathan Dunham, Papers, 1825–1846. CHL. MS 1387, fds. 1–4.

The exact purpose and nature of Dunham’s mission is similarly unclear.
22

On other occasions, including in his reminiscences of this mission, Dunham displayed a radical millenarian belief in the imminent destruction of the United States at the hands of American Indians, and Latter-day Saints even called Dunham “Captain Black Hawk” after the Sauk Indian leader who fought the United States in the eponymous 1832 war. This belief likely influenced his 1843 mission to the Potawatomi. (See, for example, Letter from Thomas Burdick, 28 Aug. 1840; Council of Fifty, “Record,” 22 Mar. and 11 Apr. 1845; Reed Peck, Testimony, Richmond, MO, Nov. 1838, in State of Missouri, “Evidence”; JS, Journal, 26 Aug. 1843.)


During
Dunham

14 Jan. 1800–28 July 1845. Soldier, police captain. Born in Paris, Oneida Co., New York. Son of Jonathan Dunham. Married Mary Kendall. Moved to Rushford, Allegany Co., New York, by 1830. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and ordained...

View Full Bio
’s time with the Potawatomi, the Potawatomi’s federal Indian agent, Richard S. Elliott, met with Potawatomi leaders in another attempt to convince them to cede their land in
Iowa

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803. First permanent white settlements established, ca. 1833. Organized as territory, 1838, containing all of present-day Iowa, much of present-day Minnesota, and parts of North and South Dakota. Population in...

More Info
to the government and move to Indian Territory. Elliott reported that during their 8 August conference, the Potawatomi expressed considerable opposition to a new treaty and that “some of them shake their heads whenever a treaty is mentioned.”
23

Richard S. Elliott, Council Bluffs, Iowa Territory, to T. Hartley Crawford, Washington DC, 9 Aug. 1843, in U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, Letters Received by the Office of Indian Affairs, reel 215.


Comprehensive Works Cited

U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs. Letters Received by the Office of Indian Affairs, 1824–81. National Archives Microfilm Publications, microcopy M234. 962 reels. Washington DC: National Archives, 1959.

Elliott assisted the chiefs in preparing a letter to the
president

29 Mar. 1790–18 Jan. 1862. Lawyer, politician. Born on Greenway Plantation, Charles City Co., Virginia. Son of John Tyler and Mary Armistead. Attended College of William and Mary. Following graduation, returned to Greenway, 1807. Served as Virginia state ...

View Full Bio
of the
United States

North American constitutional republic. Constitution ratified, 17 Sept. 1787. Population in 1805 about 6,000,000; in 1830 about 13,000,000; and in 1844 about 20,000,000. Louisiana Purchase, 1803, doubled size of U.S. Consisted of seventeen states at time ...

More Info
in which they acknowledged the pressure to move farther west but stated that they did not want to enter into any new treaties because they believed that “our Great father does not act in good faith towards us, in declining to fulfil the stipulations of past treaties before we are more permanently settled.”
24

Potawatomi, Council Bluffs, Iowa Territory, to “Our Great Father the President of the United States,” Washington DC, 8 Aug. 1843, in U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, Letters Received by the Office of Indian Affairs, reel 215.


Comprehensive Works Cited

U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs. Letters Received by the Office of Indian Affairs, 1824–81. National Archives Microfilm Publications, microcopy M234. 962 reels. Washington DC: National Archives, 1959.

During this time, some Potawatomi leaders decided to send another delegation to
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

More Info
to seek JS’s assistance. On 14 August, the Potawatomi engaged an unidentified French-Canadian interpreter, who had married a Potawatomi woman, to travel with their party.
25

According to William Clayton, the Potawatomi paid the interpreter twenty-five dollars for his services. The French Creole population had a long history of cultural and political alliances with the Potawatomi; marriages between French traders and Potawatomi women were a common result of these ties. These traders and their descendants often served as intermediaries and interpreters between the Potawatomi and American settlers and government officials. (Dunham, Journal, [14] and [18] Aug. 1843; Clayton, Journal, 26 Aug. 1843; Edmunds, “Indians as Pioneers: Potawatomis on the Frontier,” 342–343; Edmunds, Potawatomis, 221–222, 227–228.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Dunham, Jonathan. Journals, 1837–1846. Jonathan Dunham, Papers, 1825–1846. CHL. MS 1387, fds. 1–4.

Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.

Edmunds, R. David. “Indians as Pioneers: Potawatomis on the Frontier.” Chronicles of Oklahoma 65, no. 4 (Winter 1987–1988): 340–353.

Edmunds, R. David. The Potawatomis: Keepers of the Fire. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1978.

That day,
Dunham

14 Jan. 1800–28 July 1845. Soldier, police captain. Born in Paris, Oneida Co., New York. Son of Jonathan Dunham. Married Mary Kendall. Moved to Rushford, Allegany Co., New York, by 1830. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and ordained...

View Full Bio
held a council with several Potawatomi chiefs, and they spent the afternoon “in business matters writing,— preparing for the journey to Nauvoo.”
26

Dunham, Journal, [14] Aug. 1843.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Dunham, Jonathan. Journals, 1837–1846. Jonathan Dunham, Papers, 1825–1846. CHL. MS 1387, fds. 1–4.

It was presumably during that council that the interpreter or another unidentified scribe drafted the letter to JS explaining their concerns. The letter related the chiefs’ fears about giving up further land and requested JS’s help and advice. It addressed JS as “Father,” an appellation commonly used in Indian communications with federal Indian agents or other government representatives.
27

See White, Middle Ground; Potawatomi, Butler, MO, to Edwin James, Fort Leavenworth, Unorganized U.S. Territory, 12 Sept. 1837; J. K. K. Burgion, Camp Fenwick (near Council Bluffs), Iowa Territory, to T. Hartley Crawford, Washington DC, 9 Aug. 1842; and Potawatomi, Council Bluffs, Iowa Territory, to “Our Great Father the President of the United States,” Washington DC, 8 Aug. 1843, in U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, Letters Received by the Office of Indian Affairs, reel 215.


Comprehensive Works Cited

White, Richard. The Middle Ground: Indians, Empires and Republics in the Great Lakes Region, 1650–1815. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1991.

U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs. Letters Received by the Office of Indian Affairs, 1824–81. National Archives Microfilm Publications, microcopy M234. 962 reels. Washington DC: National Archives, 1959.

The letter’s request that JS become their “Knew [new] father” almost certainly referred to a request for him to become their new federally appointed Indian agent.
28

William Clayton noted in his journal that Dunham reported, upon his arrival in Nauvoo, that the Potawatomi “have resolved to petition the Prest. of the United States to appoint J. [JS] their agent and they look up to him as a father.” JS’s response to the Potawatomi’s letter explicitly addressed such a request. (Clayton, Journal, 26 Aug. 1843; Letter to Paicouchaiby and Other Potawatomi, 28 Aug. 1843.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.

Though much of the letter is written in first person plural, suggesting it represented the thoughts of the council that drafted it, significant portions are written in first person singular and appear to capture the thoughts of Paicouchaiby in particular. For example, the closing lines of the letter explicitly state that Paicouchaiby desired JS’s advice. The letter also includes two lists of influential leaders among the Potawatomi: one composed of the great men among the Potawatomi and the other composed of four “Brave fellers,” including Paicouchaiby, who were apparently among those writing to JS. Due to phonetic spelling variations, only some of these names are recognizable in extant sources. There are also several known leaders whose names are missing from these lists, making the qualifications for inclusion unclear. One possible explanation is that the letter represented only the leaders of Paicouchaiby’s village or clan, rather than the views of the entire nation. Once the council completed the letter, Dunham addressed it to JS in his capacity as lieutenant general of the
Nauvoo Legion

A contingent of the Illinois state militia provided for in the Nauvoo city charter. The Nauvoo Legion was organized into two cohorts: one infantry and one cavalry. Each cohort could potentially comprise several thousand men and was overseen by a brigadier...

View Glossary
.
Three days later, on 17 August, a delegation consisting of the four Potawatomi men and one woman, their interpreter, and
Dunham

14 Jan. 1800–28 July 1845. Soldier, police captain. Born in Paris, Oneida Co., New York. Son of Jonathan Dunham. Married Mary Kendall. Moved to Rushford, Allegany Co., New York, by 1830. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and ordained...

View Full Bio
started for
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

More Info
.
29

Dunham, Journal, [17]–[18] Aug. 1843.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Dunham, Jonathan. Journals, 1837–1846. Jonathan Dunham, Papers, 1825–1846. CHL. MS 1387, fds. 1–4.

The delegation arrived in Nauvoo on the night of 25 August.
30

Dunham, Journal, 26 Aug. 1843; Clayton, Journal, 26 Aug. 1843; JS, Journal, 26 Aug. 1843.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Dunham, Jonathan. Journals, 1837–1846. Jonathan Dunham, Papers, 1825–1846. CHL. MS 1387, fds. 1–4.

Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.

The council’s letter was presumably delivered to JS shortly thereafter. Although both
William Clayton

17 July 1814–4 Dec. 1879. Bookkeeper, clerk. Born at Charnock Moss, Penwortham, Lancashire, England. Son of Thomas Clayton and Ann Critchley. Married Ruth Moon, 9 Oct. 1836, at Penwortham. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Heber...

View Full Bio
and
Willard Richards

24 June 1804–11 Mar. 1854. Teacher, lecturer, doctor, clerk, printer, editor, postmaster. Born at Hopkinton, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts. Son of Joseph Richards and Rhoda Howe. Moved to Richmond, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts, 1813; to Chatham, Columbia Co...

View Full Bio
noted Dunham’s presence in Nauvoo the next day, the delegation was unable to visit JS until 28 August.
31

Clayton, Journal, 28 Aug. 1843; JS, Journal, 28 Aug. 1843.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.

Following their meeting, JS had
Clayton

17 July 1814–4 Dec. 1879. Bookkeeper, clerk. Born at Charnock Moss, Penwortham, Lancashire, England. Son of Thomas Clayton and Ann Critchley. Married Ruth Moon, 9 Oct. 1836, at Penwortham. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Heber...

View Full Bio
write a response to their letter.
32

Clayton, Journal, 28 Aug. 1843; Letter to Paicouchaiby and Other Potawatomi, 28 Aug. 1843.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.

Clayton

17 July 1814–4 Dec. 1879. Bookkeeper, clerk. Born at Charnock Moss, Penwortham, Lancashire, England. Son of Thomas Clayton and Ann Critchley. Married Ruth Moon, 9 Oct. 1836, at Penwortham. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Heber...

View Full Bio
copied both the Potawatomi’s letter and JS’s response into his journal entry for that date, following the exact spelling and grammar of the text. Clayton’s journal copy includes an additional closing paragraph, attribution, and postscript not found in the original letter—possibly from a missing leaf.
33

Clayton, Journal, 28 Aug. 1843.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.

The original letter addressed by
Dunham

14 Jan. 1800–28 July 1845. Soldier, police captain. Born in Paris, Oneida Co., New York. Son of Jonathan Dunham. Married Mary Kendall. Moved to Rushford, Allegany Co., New York, by 1830. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and ordained...

View Full Bio
is featured here.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Clifton, Prairie People, 185–216.

    Clifton, James A. The Prairie People: Continuity and Change in Potawatomi Indian Culture, 1665–1965. Expanded ed. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1998.

  2. [2]

    Edmunds, Potawatomis, 215–222, 229–254, 264–272.

    Edmunds, R. David. The Potawatomis: Keepers of the Fire. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1978.

  3. [3]

    Clifton, Prairie People, 279–346.

    Clifton, James A. The Prairie People: Continuity and Change in Potawatomi Indian Culture, 1665–1965. Expanded ed. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1998.

  4. [4]

    Treaty, 26 Sept. 1833, in Kappler, Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties, 2:402; Potawatomi, Butler, MO, to Edwin James, Fort Leavenworth, Unorganized U.S. Territory, 12 Sept. 1837; J. K. K. Burgion, Camp Fenwick (near Council Bluffs), Iowa Territory, to T. Hartley Crawford, Washington DC, 9 Aug. 1842; Potawatomi, Council Bluffs, Iowa Territory, to “Our Great Father the President of the United States,” Washington DC, 8 Aug. 1843, in U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, Letters Received by the Office of Indian Affairs, reel 215; Treaty, 5 and 17 June 1846, in U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, Ratified Indian Treaties; Clifton, Prairie People, 317–319, 353–354.

    Kappler, Charles J., comp. and ed. Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties. 7 vols. Washington DC: Government Printing Office, 1904.

    U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs. Letters Received by the Office of Indian Affairs, 1824–81. National Archives Microfilm Publications, microcopy M234. 962 reels. Washington DC: National Archives, 1959.

    U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs. Ratified Indian Treaties, 1722–1869 . . . Treaties 230–252, Jan. 15, 1838–Aug. 6, 1848. National Archives Microfilm Publications, microcopy M668, reel 9. Washington DC: National Archives, 1966.

    Clifton, James A. The Prairie People: Continuity and Change in Potawatomi Indian Culture, 1665–1965. Expanded ed. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1998.

  5. [5]

    Potawatomi, Butler, MO, to Edwin James, Fort Leavenworth, Unorganized U.S. Territory, 12 Sept. 1837; Richard S. Elliott, Council Bluffs, Iowa Territory, to T. Hartley Crawford, Washington DC, 9 Aug. 1843, in U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, Letters Received by the Office of Indian Affairs, reel 215.

    U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs. Letters Received by the Office of Indian Affairs, 1824–81. National Archives Microfilm Publications, microcopy M234. 962 reels. Washington DC: National Archives, 1959.

  6. [6]

    Because the Potawatomi had no written language, Paicouchaiby’s name was spelled phonetically in several different ways by predominantly white scribes or interpreters. This volume follows the spelling found in Paicouchaiby’s letter. Iowa militia general Henry King, who learned about the April 1843 meeting from the interpreter, Mr. Hitchcock, identified the leader of the delegation as “Chief Apaquachawba.” (Henry King, Keokuk, Iowa Territory, to John Chambers, Burlington, Iowa Territory, 14 July 1843, in Territorial Papers of the United States, the Territory of Iowa, reel 56.)

    Carter, Clarence Edward, and John Porter Bloom, comps. Territorial Papers of the United States. 28 vols. Washington DC: United States Government Printing Office, 1934–1975.

  7. [7]

    His name appears in government records as early as 1832, when he and other Potawatomi fought for the United States in the Black Hawk War. The Potawatomi scouts roll identifies him as “Pay co je bai”. The Potawatomi’s company roll indicates that Paicouchaiby was not considered a chief, nor was he significant enough to sign the Potawatomi’s 1832 or 1833 treaties. Nevertheless, by 1837, Paicouchaiby—identified as “Pah ◊ cha be”—was the head of a household of ten individuals, one of the larger households among the Iowa Potawatomi. (“Potawatomi Indians in United States Service,” in Whitney, Black Hawk War, 1831–1832, 1:560; Treaty, 20 Oct. 1832; Treaty, 26 Sept. 1833, in Kappler, Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties, 2:354–355, 403–404, 410, 411, 412–413, 414, 415; “Register of Pottawatomis Chippeway & Ottoways Indians,” 1 Aug. 1837, p. 5, in U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, Letters Received by the Office of Indian Affairs, reel 215.)

    Whitney, Ellen M., comp. The Black Hawk War, 1831–1832. 2 vols. Springfield, IL: Illinois State Historical Library, 1970.

    Kappler, Charles J., comp. and ed. Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties. 7 vols. Washington DC: Government Printing Office, 1904.

    U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs. Letters Received by the Office of Indian Affairs, 1824–81. National Archives Microfilm Publications, microcopy M234. 962 reels. Washington DC: National Archives, 1959.

  8. [8]

    In these letters his name was spelled “Pa co che bee” and “Pac,,co,,cha,,bee,” respectively. (Potawatomi, Butler, MO, to Edwin James, Fort Leavenworth, Unorganized U.S. Territory, 12 Sept. 1837; J. K. K. Burgion, Camp Fenwick [near Council Bluffs], Iowa Territory, to T. Hartley Crawford, Washington DC, 9 Aug. 1842, in U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, Letters Received by the Office of Indian Affairs, reel 215.)

    U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs. Letters Received by the Office of Indian Affairs, 1824–81. National Archives Microfilm Publications, microcopy M234. 962 reels. Washington DC: National Archives, 1959.

  9. [9]

    The treaty identified him as “Pacq-qui-pa-chee (the Squatter).” (Treaty, 5 and 17 June 1846, in U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, Ratified Indian Treaties.)

    U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs. Ratified Indian Treaties, 1722–1869 . . . Treaties 230–252, Jan. 15, 1838–Aug. 6, 1848. National Archives Microfilm Publications, microcopy M668, reel 9. Washington DC: National Archives, 1966.

  10. [10]

    JS, Journal, 18 Apr. 1843.

  11. [11]

    Henry King, Keokuk, Iowa Territory, to John Chambers, Burlington, Iowa Territory, 14 July 1843, in Territorial Papers of the United States, the Territory of Iowa, reel 56.

    Carter, Clarence Edward, and John Porter Bloom, comps. Territorial Papers of the United States. 28 vols. Washington DC: United States Government Printing Office, 1934–1975.

  12. [12]

    Henry King, Keokuk, Iowa Territory, to John Chambers, Burlington, Iowa Territory, 14 July 1843, in Territorial Papers of the United States, the Territory of Iowa, reel 56.

    Carter, Clarence Edward, and John Porter Bloom, comps. Territorial Papers of the United States. 28 vols. Washington DC: United States Government Printing Office, 1934–1975.

  13. [13]

    Woodruff, Journal, 26 June 1843.

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

  14. [14]

    “Interview between Joseph Smith & the Potawatamie Chiefs,” ca. 1856, in Historian’s Office, JS History, Draft Notes, July 1843.

  15. [15]

    See, for example, Letter from William W. Phelps, 24 Aug. 1834.

  16. [16]

    Henry King, Keokuk, Iowa Territory, to John Chambers, Burlington, Iowa Territory, 14 July 1843, in Territorial Papers of the United States, the Territory of Iowa, reel 56.

    Carter, Clarence Edward, and John Porter Bloom, comps. Territorial Papers of the United States. 28 vols. Washington DC: United States Government Printing Office, 1934–1975.

  17. [17]

    In his journal, William Clayton noted that Dunham left “on his mission,” suggesting that Dunham’s aims were known and presumably sanctioned by church leaders. (Clayton, Journal, 14 July 1843.)

    Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.

  18. [18]

    “A Prophecey Delivered upon the Head of Jonathan Dunham,” 15 July 1837, Jonathan Dunham, Papers, CHL.

    Dunham, Jonathan. Papers, 1825–1846. CHL.

  19. [19]

    Walker, “Seeking the ‘Remnant,’” 24–25.

    Walker, Ronald W. “Seeking the ‘Remnant’: The Native American during the Joseph Smith Period.” Journal of Mormon History 19 (Spring 1993): 1–33.

  20. [20]

    During this mission, Dunham consistently misdated each entry one day earlier than the actual date. (Dunham, Journal, [14] and [28] July 1843; Clayton, Journal, 14 July 1843.)

    Dunham, Jonathan. Journals, 1837–1846. Jonathan Dunham, Papers, 1825–1846. CHL. MS 1387, fds. 1–4.

    Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.

  21. [21]

    See Dunham, Journal, [29] July and [2] Aug. 1843.

    Dunham, Jonathan. Journals, 1837–1846. Jonathan Dunham, Papers, 1825–1846. CHL. MS 1387, fds. 1–4.

  22. [22]

    On other occasions, including in his reminiscences of this mission, Dunham displayed a radical millenarian belief in the imminent destruction of the United States at the hands of American Indians, and Latter-day Saints even called Dunham “Captain Black Hawk” after the Sauk Indian leader who fought the United States in the eponymous 1832 war. This belief likely influenced his 1843 mission to the Potawatomi. (See, for example, Letter from Thomas Burdick, 28 Aug. 1840; Council of Fifty, “Record,” 22 Mar. and 11 Apr. 1845; Reed Peck, Testimony, Richmond, MO, Nov. 1838, in State of Missouri, “Evidence”; JS, Journal, 26 Aug. 1843.)

  23. [23]

    Richard S. Elliott, Council Bluffs, Iowa Territory, to T. Hartley Crawford, Washington DC, 9 Aug. 1843, in U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, Letters Received by the Office of Indian Affairs, reel 215.

    U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs. Letters Received by the Office of Indian Affairs, 1824–81. National Archives Microfilm Publications, microcopy M234. 962 reels. Washington DC: National Archives, 1959.

  24. [24]

    Potawatomi, Council Bluffs, Iowa Territory, to “Our Great Father the President of the United States,” Washington DC, 8 Aug. 1843, in U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, Letters Received by the Office of Indian Affairs, reel 215.

    U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs. Letters Received by the Office of Indian Affairs, 1824–81. National Archives Microfilm Publications, microcopy M234. 962 reels. Washington DC: National Archives, 1959.

  25. [25]

    According to William Clayton, the Potawatomi paid the interpreter twenty-five dollars for his services. The French Creole population had a long history of cultural and political alliances with the Potawatomi; marriages between French traders and Potawatomi women were a common result of these ties. These traders and their descendants often served as intermediaries and interpreters between the Potawatomi and American settlers and government officials. (Dunham, Journal, [14] and [18] Aug. 1843; Clayton, Journal, 26 Aug. 1843; Edmunds, “Indians as Pioneers: Potawatomis on the Frontier,” 342–343; Edmunds, Potawatomis, 221–222, 227–228.)

    Dunham, Jonathan. Journals, 1837–1846. Jonathan Dunham, Papers, 1825–1846. CHL. MS 1387, fds. 1–4.

    Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.

    Edmunds, R. David. “Indians as Pioneers: Potawatomis on the Frontier.” Chronicles of Oklahoma 65, no. 4 (Winter 1987–1988): 340–353.

    Edmunds, R. David. The Potawatomis: Keepers of the Fire. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1978.

  26. [26]

    Dunham, Journal, [14] Aug. 1843.

    Dunham, Jonathan. Journals, 1837–1846. Jonathan Dunham, Papers, 1825–1846. CHL. MS 1387, fds. 1–4.

  27. [27]

    See White, Middle Ground; Potawatomi, Butler, MO, to Edwin James, Fort Leavenworth, Unorganized U.S. Territory, 12 Sept. 1837; J. K. K. Burgion, Camp Fenwick (near Council Bluffs), Iowa Territory, to T. Hartley Crawford, Washington DC, 9 Aug. 1842; and Potawatomi, Council Bluffs, Iowa Territory, to “Our Great Father the President of the United States,” Washington DC, 8 Aug. 1843, in U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, Letters Received by the Office of Indian Affairs, reel 215.

    White, Richard. The Middle Ground: Indians, Empires and Republics in the Great Lakes Region, 1650–1815. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1991.

    U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs. Letters Received by the Office of Indian Affairs, 1824–81. National Archives Microfilm Publications, microcopy M234. 962 reels. Washington DC: National Archives, 1959.

  28. [28]

    William Clayton noted in his journal that Dunham reported, upon his arrival in Nauvoo, that the Potawatomi “have resolved to petition the Prest. of the United States to appoint J. [JS] their agent and they look up to him as a father.” JS’s response to the Potawatomi’s letter explicitly addressed such a request. (Clayton, Journal, 26 Aug. 1843; Letter to Paicouchaiby and Other Potawatomi, 28 Aug. 1843.)

    Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.

  29. [29]

    Dunham, Journal, [17]–[18] Aug. 1843.

    Dunham, Jonathan. Journals, 1837–1846. Jonathan Dunham, Papers, 1825–1846. CHL. MS 1387, fds. 1–4.

  30. [30]

    Dunham, Journal, 26 Aug. 1843; Clayton, Journal, 26 Aug. 1843; JS, Journal, 26 Aug. 1843.

    Dunham, Jonathan. Journals, 1837–1846. Jonathan Dunham, Papers, 1825–1846. CHL. MS 1387, fds. 1–4.

    Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.

  31. [31]

    Clayton, Journal, 28 Aug. 1843; JS, Journal, 28 Aug. 1843.

    Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.

  32. [32]

    Clayton, Journal, 28 Aug. 1843; Letter to Paicouchaiby and Other Potawatomi, 28 Aug. 1843.

    Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.

  33. [33]

    Clayton, Journal, 28 Aug. 1843.

    Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. *Letter from Paicouchaiby and Other Potawatomi, circa 14 August 1843 Letter from Paicouchaiby and Other Potawatomi, circa 14 August 1843, as Recorded in Clayton, Journal History, 1838–1856, volume E-1 [1 July 1843–30 April 1844]

Page [2]

When I was a Boy I never think to lost our Land but now I am fare from my father I am Bline. But stil we attend to not Sel or Ekchang no we shut our yeres [ears] to our frends ar[e] on
Misori

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Latter-day Saint ...

More Info
& Opened tow you.
6

Among the subjects apparently discussed by Jonathan Dunham during councils with the Potawatomi was the Potawatomi’s and Latter-day Saints’ shared antipathy for Missourians based on their experiences in that state. Dunham later claimed that when the Potawatomi learned about “the persecution and expulsion of the Saints from Missouri it would have required a very little move to have had them swept Missouri clean.” The Potawatomi’s promise to shut their ears to those on the Missouri likely also referred to their Indian agents who were stationed at settlements on the Missouri River in Indian territory, such as Fort Leavenworth and Bellevue. (Council of Fifty, “Record,” 22 Mar. 1845; Hill, Office of Indian Affairs, 1842–1880, 51.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Hill, Edward E. The Office of Indian Affairs, 1824–1880: Historical Sketches. New York: Clear- water Publishing, 1974.

Miamis,
7

Young Miami or Little Miami (also spelled Me-am-ese, Me-au-mese, Mi-am-mise, or some similar variation) was one of the foremost leaders among the Iowa Potawatomi. During his August 1843 council with the Potawatomi, Indian agent Richard S. Elliott described Miami as “a man of very potent influence in the nation” who was among those most “strongly averse” to a new treaty with the United States. (Clifton, Prairie People, 317–342; Treaty, 26 Sept. 1833, in Kappler, Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties, 2:404; Potawatomi, Council Bluffs, Iowa Territory, to “Our Great Father the President of the United States,” Washington DC, 8 Aug. 1843, in U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, Letters Received by the Office of Indian Affairs, reel 215; Treaty, 5 and 17 June 1846, in U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, Ratified Indian Treaties; Richard S. Elliott, Council Bluffs, Iowa Territory, to T. Hartley Crawford, Washington DC, 9 Aug. 1843, in U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, Letters Received by the Office of Indian Affairs, reel 215.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Clifton, James A. The Prairie People: Continuity and Change in Potawatomi Indian Culture, 1665–1965. Expanded ed. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1998.

Kappler, Charles J., comp. and ed. Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties. 7 vols. Washington DC: Government Printing Office, 1904.

U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs. Letters Received by the Office of Indian Affairs, 1824–81. National Archives Microfilm Publications, microcopy M234. 962 reels. Washington DC: National Archives, 1959.

U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs. Ratified Indian Treaties, 1722–1869 . . . Treaties 230–252, Jan. 15, 1838–Aug. 6, 1848. National Archives Microfilm Publications, microcopy M668, reel 9. Washington DC: National Archives, 1966.

Nahachcewette, Mesaocobet, Megesse,
8

Probably Mi-quess, or The Wampum. (Treaty, 5 and 17 June 1846, in U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, Ratified Indian Treaties.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs. Ratified Indian Treaties, 1722–1869 . . . Treaties 230–252, Jan. 15, 1838–Aug. 6, 1848. National Archives Microfilm Publications, microcopy M668, reel 9. Washington DC: National Archives, 1966.

Chaboitocke,
9

Probably Shamb-poi-tuck, or The Man Goes Through. (Treaty, 5 and 17 June 1846, in U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, Ratified Indian Treaties.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs. Ratified Indian Treaties, 1722–1869 . . . Treaties 230–252, Jan. 15, 1838–Aug. 6, 1848. National Archives Microfilm Publications, microcopy M668, reel 9. Washington DC: National Archives, 1966.

this are Grate menes not Ch[i]efs but considarate,
10

The Iowa Potawatomi did not have a centralized leadership structure with a single chief or leader. Instead, each village or kinship group had its own prominent leaders or okamek, and those okamek occasionally counseled together. (Clifton, Prairie People, 55–62, 183, 272–278, 318–319.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Clifton, James A. The Prairie People: Continuity and Change in Potawatomi Indian Culture, 1665–1965. Expanded ed. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1998.

we think after you saw this lines father you will let us Know by your hand what you think. if your think we must Kipe our Land your are with us we chant Give up. if you say so. we are all aganst the ohe other Band, and Brave fellers in here. [p. [2]]
View entire transcript

|

Cite this page

Source Note

Document Transcript

Page [2]

Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from Paicouchaiby and Other Potawatomi, circa 14 August 1843
ID #
1914
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
JSP, D13:45–54
Handwriting on This Page
  • Unidentified

Footnotes

  1. [6]

    Among the subjects apparently discussed by Jonathan Dunham during councils with the Potawatomi was the Potawatomi’s and Latter-day Saints’ shared antipathy for Missourians based on their experiences in that state. Dunham later claimed that when the Potawatomi learned about “the persecution and expulsion of the Saints from Missouri it would have required a very little move to have had them swept Missouri clean.” The Potawatomi’s promise to shut their ears to those on the Missouri likely also referred to their Indian agents who were stationed at settlements on the Missouri River in Indian territory, such as Fort Leavenworth and Bellevue. (Council of Fifty, “Record,” 22 Mar. 1845; Hill, Office of Indian Affairs, 1842–1880, 51.)

    Hill, Edward E. The Office of Indian Affairs, 1824–1880: Historical Sketches. New York: Clear- water Publishing, 1974.

  2. [7]

    Young Miami or Little Miami (also spelled Me-am-ese, Me-au-mese, Mi-am-mise, or some similar variation) was one of the foremost leaders among the Iowa Potawatomi. During his August 1843 council with the Potawatomi, Indian agent Richard S. Elliott described Miami as “a man of very potent influence in the nation” who was among those most “strongly averse” to a new treaty with the United States. (Clifton, Prairie People, 317–342; Treaty, 26 Sept. 1833, in Kappler, Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties, 2:404; Potawatomi, Council Bluffs, Iowa Territory, to “Our Great Father the President of the United States,” Washington DC, 8 Aug. 1843, in U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, Letters Received by the Office of Indian Affairs, reel 215; Treaty, 5 and 17 June 1846, in U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, Ratified Indian Treaties; Richard S. Elliott, Council Bluffs, Iowa Territory, to T. Hartley Crawford, Washington DC, 9 Aug. 1843, in U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, Letters Received by the Office of Indian Affairs, reel 215.)

    Clifton, James A. The Prairie People: Continuity and Change in Potawatomi Indian Culture, 1665–1965. Expanded ed. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1998.

    Kappler, Charles J., comp. and ed. Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties. 7 vols. Washington DC: Government Printing Office, 1904.

    U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs. Letters Received by the Office of Indian Affairs, 1824–81. National Archives Microfilm Publications, microcopy M234. 962 reels. Washington DC: National Archives, 1959.

    U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs. Ratified Indian Treaties, 1722–1869 . . . Treaties 230–252, Jan. 15, 1838–Aug. 6, 1848. National Archives Microfilm Publications, microcopy M668, reel 9. Washington DC: National Archives, 1966.

  3. [8]

    Probably Mi-quess, or The Wampum. (Treaty, 5 and 17 June 1846, in U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, Ratified Indian Treaties.)

    U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs. Ratified Indian Treaties, 1722–1869 . . . Treaties 230–252, Jan. 15, 1838–Aug. 6, 1848. National Archives Microfilm Publications, microcopy M668, reel 9. Washington DC: National Archives, 1966.

  4. [9]

    Probably Shamb-poi-tuck, or The Man Goes Through. (Treaty, 5 and 17 June 1846, in U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, Ratified Indian Treaties.)

    U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs. Ratified Indian Treaties, 1722–1869 . . . Treaties 230–252, Jan. 15, 1838–Aug. 6, 1848. National Archives Microfilm Publications, microcopy M668, reel 9. Washington DC: National Archives, 1966.

  5. [10]

    The Iowa Potawatomi did not have a centralized leadership structure with a single chief or leader. Instead, each village or kinship group had its own prominent leaders or okamek, and those okamek occasionally counseled together. (Clifton, Prairie People, 55–62, 183, 272–278, 318–319.)

    Clifton, James A. The Prairie People: Continuity and Change in Potawatomi Indian Culture, 1665–1965. Expanded ed. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1998.

© 2024 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.Terms of UseUpdated 2021-04-13Privacy NoticeUpdated 2021-04-06