The Great Smoke / The Horse Creek Treaty

The Shoshone the third tablet mentions came uninvited, and their arrival turned on an act of repair. Washakie led a band east from beyond the Continental Divide at Jim Bridger's urging. Cheyenne warriors had killed two Shoshone men on the way, and at Horse Creek the Cheyenne made amends by covering the bodies, the Plains custom of answering a death with gifts, then gave a feast and returned the scalps. The Shoshone accepted and the two camps sang and danced together. From then on, American officials dealt with Washakie as the Eastern Shoshone leader.

What the plaque says

"The Great Smoke" From all directions they came in late summer 1851--Plains Indian tribes, summoned by government officials so their chiefs could smoke the peace pipe and sign a treaty with representatives of "The Great Father." Never before had so many American Indians assembled to parley with the white man. (Estimates range from 8,000 to 12,000.) It was perhaps history's most dramatic demonstration of the Plains tribes desire to live at peace with the whites. The tribes had been invited to assemble at Fort Laramie, but a shortage of forage for their thousands of horses caused the parley to be moved downstream. Because some tribes had been at war for generations, most Indian camps were widely spaced to minimize contact. About 270 soldiers were present to help keep the peace. However, a spirit of friendliness prevailed. Among those helping bring the tribes together were mountain man and trailblazer Jim Bridger and Jesuit Father Peter De Smet, the beloved "Blackrobe" who worked 50 years among the Indians. Nebraska State Historical Society 1. D. D. Mitchell's tent 2. Council circle 3. Dragoons and infantry 4. De Smet's tent 5. Mounted riflemen 6. Fitzpatrick and traders Beyond the tree line about 2-3/4 miles in front of this marker, Horse Creek flows into the North Platte River. There the treaty was signed September 17, 1851. Officially known as The Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851, it is commonly called The Horse Creek Treaty. Nebraska State Historical Society The Horse Creek Treaty The treaty was proposed by former fur trader Thomas Fitzpatrick, Upper Platte Indian agent, supported by David D. Mitchell, superintendent of Indian Affairs in St. Louis. The treaty provided that the government would give the tribes $50,000 a year in goods for 50 years for damages caused by emigrants bound for Oregon, California, and Utah. In return the Indians would allow free passage on the emigrant trails, permit forts to be built on their land, and pledged peaceful settlement of intertribal disputes. Signing were such chiefs as White Antelope (Cheyenne), Little Owl (Arapaho), Big Robber (Crow), and Conquering Bear, whom the whites persuaded the Sioux to elect as head chief. Assiniboine, Mandan, Gros Ventre, and Arikara chiefs also signed. The Shoshone traveled over 400 miles but were not asked to sign because they were not from the Plains. With few exceptions, the tribes honored the treaty until 1864, when the whites demand for land pressured the Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho into warfare, ending the hope for peace which had prompted "The Great Smoke." Nebraska State Historical Society

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Scotts Bluff National Monument — 18 mi
  A bluff named for a fur clerk whose death nobody witnessed, the narrow pass the wagons used beside it, William Henry Jackson's watercolors, and a 1937 road through three tunnels to the top.
• Wildcat Hills State Recreation Area — 26 mi
  A pine-covered escarpment south of Gering where bighorn sheep were released and mountain lions came back on their own, with Depression-era stone shelters and a nature center.

More markers nearby

• The Oregon Trail — 3.2 mi
• Stuart's 1812-13 Astorian Party Campsite — 6.6 mi
• Oregon Trail — 10 mi
• To All Pioneers — 10 mi