“The Great and Little Osages … should be regularly supplied with every species of merchandise, … for the purpose of bartering with them on moderate terms, for their peltries and furs.”
Excerpt from Treaty with the Osages, Article 2, November 10, 1808, (ratified April 28, 1810)
The impressive appearance of the Osage set a distinct tone at Fort Osage. Euro-Americans reacted with respect and more than a little awe to their size and appearance. In 1811, John Bradbury noted in his journal; “The Osage are so tall and robust as almost to warrant the application of the term gigantic; few of them appear to be under six feet tall, and many are above it. Their shoulders and visages are broad, which tends to strengthen the idea of their being giants.” By 1808, the Osage depended on the white traders for many of their luxuries, as well as many of their necessities. Men wore a scarlet or blue loincloth secured with a beaded woolen sash tied around their waists. Deerskin leggings and moccasins protected the lower extremities. The men also carried knives, tobacco pouches, pipes, bag of red and black paint for the face, mirrors, and tools for removing facial hair. The women dressed according to their age. Older women wore a one-shoulder tunic while the younger ones wore a bright colored variation of a man’s shirt. All wore either a blue or scarlet wrap skirt. Until the age of ten, children wore little in the way of clothing.
The Osage were a nation of hunters and gatherers. Their yearly cycles revolved around the planting of food crops (corn, beans, and squash), gathering wild plants, and three annual hunts (this does not include the normal daily or weekly hunting of small game animals). The difference between the two cultures was great. Sibley recalled a conversation he had once with an Osage called The Big Soldier, who had twice been to Washington.
“I see and admire your manner of living. In short you can do almost whatever you chose. You whites possess the powers of subduing almost every animal to your use’s Everything about you is in chains, and you are slaves yourselves. I hear I should exchange my presents for yours. I too should become a slave. Talk to my sons, perhaps they may be persuaded to adapt your fashions, but for myself, I was born free, was raised free, and wish to die free.”
The Big Soldier
With the signing of the Treaty of 1808 the end was at hand for the Osage in Missouri. This treaty gave all the land east of a line due south of Fort Osage to the Arkansas River to the Americans. In exchange for this the Osage would be given protection from their enemies and the right to trade at the factory for goods. Following the Treaty of 1808 a series of treaties were signed that continued to take more land away until, in 1825, the Osage were removed to a reservation in what is now southern Kansas.