John Sybille and the Oglala

[ephriam]

Here is another mention of the role of trader John Sybille in inducing part of the Oglala to move further west from the Black Hills to the Fort Laramie area in the 1830s. This reference comes from the unpublished diary of Captain James H. Simpson, Topographical Engineers, on his outward journey from Fort Leavenworth to Salt Lake City in 1858. At this time, Simpson was traveling with the staff of General Harney who was being sent to Utah. Under the entry for July 7, near O'Fallon's Bluff on the Platte River, Simpson wrote:

"Met a trader by name Sybille, about 60 years of age. Says he has been 28 years among the Indians. Is the man who first brought the Ogalala Sioux & Cheyennes to this country in 1838 from the Missouri. Harney remarks he must like the country. He replied no, that he had had many ups and downs in the country. Made fortunes and lost them. He is at present living in a Sioux tepee or lodge on the Platte, and moves wherever his business as a trader & trapper calls him. He calls St. Louis his home. As a special favor he offered to sell whiskey to the teamsters at $2.50 per pint."

[kingsleybray]

Fascinating, thanks for that, Ephriam. Does the Simpson diary have other Lakota information?

[ephriam]

Sorry, Kingsley. Not much else. Simpson spent a great deal of time describing the rocks and soil, but not much about native peoples. He notes passing an Oglala village for example but does not even mention a leader's name. I am still transcribing the diary so if I find anything else of interest, I will post it.

Under the date of July 8, Captain Simpson recorded:

"Mr. Curtis says the Cheyennes originally took this land they claim from the Kioweys [Kiowa] by conquest, and that it has since been conferred to them by treaty in 1851. They were driven from the Cheyenne River, tributary of the Missouri, by the Sioux. Mr. DeSmet was present at the Treaty."

The source of this information is Theodore R. ("Dick") Curtis, who in 1858 was living at Fort Laramie with a Lakota wife. He served as guide for General Harney's column headed west that summer. Curtis later worked as a Kiowa interpreter at Camp Supply. The famous Father DeSmet had been invited to come to Utah as the chaplain for the Army and was traveling with a nearby column.

ephriam

[kingsleybray]

Where and when were the Oglala village, Ephriam? I know Gen. Harney met Gray Hair (Cheyenne) and Tall Bull the Dog Soldier chief at Cottonwood Springs on this trip, July 15th, 1858. There is a ref. in John Unruh's THE PLAINS ACROSS to Harney holding talks with Pawnee, Cheyennes and Oglalas. Harney marched as far as the South Platte crossing and then returned east, after he learned that the Mormon war was over.

I think summer 1858 was an important one in advancing the Southern Oglala and Brule frontier south into the Republican river country.

[ephriam]

Capt. Simpson's diary entry for July 5, 1858:
"Here pass some 30 lodges of Ogalalah Sioux, containing about 200 souls. A white man living among them says the Chienne [Cheyenne] in a large body are waiting at the crossing of the Arkansas to see Genl. Harney to make a treaty with them. This man says he is from Ohio & will stay a year with them to learn their language. They are about as poor & squalid looking Indians as I have ever seen."

This was about 55 miles above Fort Kearny, according to Simpson's calculations. Any idea who the white man staying with the Oglala might have been? Perhaps that might offer a clue as to whose village this was.

Capt. Simpson's clerk, William Lee, also kept a diary. He was traveling with the small topographical party about two days behind Captain Simpson. In his diary for July 7, Lee wrote:

"Also went to Ogillalah Sioux camp and saw an Indian there who had the counterpart of my watch chain. There were 27 lodges in all."

Private Hiram W. Studley, 7th Infantry, in a nearby column, wrote in letter home:

"After we had been three or four days from Fort Kearney we came across a band of Sioux Indians (peaceful) and for one afternoon it was a continual "How," trafficking in moccasins, and begging provisions. Any one could purchase a pair of moccasins for a cup or two of sugar, that being the principal thing they wanted. I should have purchased you a pair, but they were inferior and I had no means handy of sending them to you."

Sorry but these are the only sources I have regarding this particular Oglala village. There is an account of Harney's council with the Cheyenne by a correspondent. I am trying to track down the rest of the correspondent's dispatches with the hope of finding additional information.

[gregor]

Sybille or Sibille seems have to been a very enterprising man.

Hugh M. Lewis mentions Sybille in his Book „Robidoux Chronicles: Ethnohistory Of The French-american Fur Trade“ that „one John Sybille …invited Chief Bull Bear to trade at Fort Laramie“…(page 156). Lewis‘ source also seems to be Lt. James H. Simpson.

In the „Annals of Wyoming“ we also find a „John Sybille [Sibille] and [his partner] David Adams ….. taking their first trading outfit westward out the "Oregon Trail" route to the Laramie River fork area, arriving with their company by mid-November. Sybille and Adams were free-lance traders, having been issued their first license at Saint Louis on July 31 to trade on Laramie's fork and the Cheyenne and Wind rivers.“

see archive.org/stream/annalsofwyom49121977wyom/annalsofwyom49121977wyom_djvu.txt


And in the Chapter „THE BORDEAUX STORY“ of the „Annals of Wyoming“ (page 125) Sybille was mentioned again:

„When the American Fur Company became firmly established at its famous trading post at the mouth of the Laramie River, in the '30's, it sent John Sybille and a companion to the Black Hills of the Dakotas to invite the Sioux to the fort to trade. Chief Bull Bear, with one hundred lodges of his people, accepted the invitation.“

see archive.org/stream/annalsofwyom26121954wyom/annalsofwyom26121954wyom_djvu.txt

In the „National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Documentation Form“ we find a lot of Sybilles business activities.

E.g.:

„In April 1842, Lupton sold the post [Fort Platte to John Sybille and David Adams. The pair placed Joseph Bissonette and John Richard in charge of post operations. Bissonette and Richard figured prominently in the early operations of the post, as several travelers refer to Fort Platte as Fort Bissonette or Richard Fort. Sybille and Adams either rebuilt or remodeled the post after their purchase, with renovations being completed in October. The competition from Fort John proved too stiff for Sybille and Adams, as they too sold the post. In August of 1843, Bernard Pratte Jr. and John Charles Cabanne purchased Fort Platte“.

see wyoshpo.state.wy.us/pdf/MPD_Final.pdf


In the „HISTORY OF SAINT LOUIS CITY AND COUNTY (Volume II)“ of J. Thomas Scharf, we find a „Capt. John Sibille, a veteran of the war of 1812“ on page 1082.

see libsysdigi.library.uiuc.edu/oca/Books2007-10/historyofsaintlov/historyofsaintlov2scha/historyofsaintlov2scha_djvu.txt


In John E. Sunder‘s „The Fur Trade on the Upper Missouri, 1840-1865“ John Sibille is also to find.