Nichols examines the 1823 military confrontation between the United States and the Arikara Nation along the upper Missouri River, connecting it to the diplomatic relationships and tensions established during the Lewis and Clark Expedition nearly two decades earlier. The article documents how the expedition’s promises and interventions in intertribal politics contributed to a deterioration of Arikara-American relations that eventually erupted into open conflict when Arikara warriors attacked William Ashley’s fur trading party. Nichols identifies several former expedition members — including Hugh Glass, Edward Rose, and possibly John Collins — who were involved in the 1823 events. The article analyzes Colonel Henry Leavenworth’s punitive expedition against the Arikara villages, its inconclusive outcome, and the broader implications for the Missouri River fur trade. Nichols argues that the 1823 conflict reveals the limitations and consequences of the expedition’s diplomacy, which prioritized American commercial interests over genuine understanding of intertribal dynamics.
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