The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 17, July 1913 - April, 1914 Page: 148
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The Southwestern Historical Quarterly
change in the plan itself. On the 17Th of July Jefferson wrote
Dunbar that on account of the shifting of a part of the Osage In-
dians to the Arkansas two years before, the expedition was to be
postponed until the following spring. The significance of this
Indian movement had but just been explained to the President by
Pierre Chouteau, then on a visit to Washington with White Hairs,
the noted Osage chief, and some of his companions. Chouteau was
to visit the Indians during the winter and endeavor to heal the
schism, so that the Indians should not merely refrain from hinder-
ing the expedition, but even actively aid it. "In the meantime,"
added the President, "we shall be able to remove the Spanish im-
pediments." But Dunbar was authorized to make use of the men
and stores for a shorter excursion, and in the interim they might
select a fully qualified leader. The President also suggested that
Dunbar should try to forward the account of this preliminary trip
in time for effective use with Congress.15
In his reply Dunbar announced that the expedition had for-
tunately not started, that no geographer had been engaged, and
that no one, unless it were Dr. Hunter, could feel disappointed
because of the postponement. He and the doctor together should
visit the Hot Springs at the head waters of the Washita. This was
a region of great natural interest which the main party in the
spring would be unable to visit, and he would doubtless obtain much
available information from the hunters who lived at the post on the
Washita. As another reason for postponing the main expedition, he
added the fact (probably based on Minor's protest) that the
Spaniards would have stopped it a little above "Nakitosh." In
view of Salcedo's orders of the preceding May, that no American
should be permitted to approach the Texas frontier, or to mark the
boundaries of Louisiana, Dunbar's surmise appears to be well
founded. The Washita offered the advantage of having its head
waters protected by a group of rough, elevated hills from incur-
sions of the predatory Osages, and it was likewise remote from the
Spanish outposts. While not so important as either the Red or the
Arkansas, the river promised to support a large future population,
whose pioneer elements were already settling upon its banks, and
its exploration was necessary to complete the chart of our new terri-
torial acquisition. These considerations, to a certain extent, com-'Jefferson Papers, Ser. 1, Vol. 10, No. 124.
148
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 17, July 1913 - April, 1914, periodical, 1914; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101061/m1/152/: accessed May 5, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.