uch a conclusion."[207] This
surmise was right, for on April 7, 1831, the Indians delivered at the
fort one of their number who they claimed was guilty of the act.[208]

That steps were taken to build a new council house is evident from the
record in Taliaferro's diary under date of March 8, 1831, that four men
had been hired "at $12 per Month to cut & carry timber out of the pine
Swamp for the Agency Council House."[209] But in 1839 Taliaferro
recommended that the agency be moved to a point seven miles up the
river; and in 1841 there was a movement on foot to buy Baker's stone
trading house for the same purpose.[210]

Near the location of the old council house were two other buildings. One
of these was the agent's house. This was made entirely of stone, and was
one and a half stories high. It contained four rooms and a passage on
the lower floor and two rooms above.[211] Hastily built by troops at an
early day, its comforts were few. "Since the Rainy Season Set in",
complained the agent in 1834, "both the hired Men and Myself have not
had a Spot in our houses that Could be called dry, Not even our
beds".[212] An armorer's shop, where blacksmith work was done for the
Indians, was made of logs and measured sixteen by eighteen feet.
Nearer the fort was the home of Franklin Steele, the sutler of the
post.[213]

At Camp Cold Water, B. F. Baker had erected a large stone trading house,
which in 1841 was valued at six thousand dollars. While he had no legal
title to the land on which this house was built, the officers at the
post allowed him to remain. Later it was sold to Kenneth McKenzie, who
in 1853 built an addition, renovated the entire building, and used it as
a hotel. In the vicinity of this structure were several small huts which
had been the homes of some squatters on the reservation. But after their
expulsion these huts rapidly fell into decay.[214]

In his duties and recreations the soldier was often brought into touch
with other features of the world about him--the points of scenic
interest and the Indian villages. From the wooden lookout tower near the
commanding officer's quarters a glimpse of the surrounding land was
revealed.

"The view from the angle of the wall at the extreme point, is highly
romantic", wrote one who saw the wild scene before civilization had left
its traces on the landscape. "To your left lies the broad deep valley of
the Mississippi, with the opposite heights, descending precipitously