existed between Mr. Sibley and
all the government officials--civil and military--is one of the charming
chapters in the history of the fort.[376]

Intimately connected with the fur trade was the liquor traffic. Not that
the traders were always responsible for the introduction of the tabooed
commodity, but they were connected with it to such an extent as to be
always under suspicion. Nor was the attitude of the government
consistent. When Pike ascended the Mississippi he spoke of the evil
effects of rum to the chiefs who ceded to the United States the military
reservation; but the explorer closed with the words: "before my
departure I will give you some liquor to clear your throats."[377] Even
Taliaferro, foe that he was of liquor, knew its power. When a
neighboring chief and thirty of his men visited the agency, he recorded:
"After council--gave him 30 Rats Bread--50 Rats Pork--10 lbs Tobacco--3
gallons of whiskey--the last for good Conduct towards the
Chippeways."[378]

Liquor was an important asset in carrying on the fur trade. The object
was to please the red man, not to stupefy him to such an extent
that he could be swindled. With the growth of the great companies and
the influx of numbers of private traders there were many bidders for
each Indian's furs. Complaint was continual that the British traders
about the Lake of the Woods successfully offered whiskey as an
inducement to get the trade of the American Indians.[379] Governor Cass,
thinking it would be worse to lose the trade than admit the liquor,
allowed its introduction, in "limited quantities", by those engaged in
business along the boundary.[380] But the act of July 9, 1832, provided,
that "no ardent spirits shall be hereafter introduced, under any
pretence, into the Indian country."[381] This put an end to the stock
excuse. At the same time Americans suffered to such an extent that Mr.
Norman W. Kittson at Pembina wanted permission to destroy all liquor and
punish all offenders, promising "that very little would be introduced
after a short time".[382] So acute was the difficulty that it became the
subject of diplomatic correspondence with Great Britain; but the
authorities of the Hudson's Bay Company retorted that "spirits are even
clandestinely introduced into the Company's territories by citizens of
the United States."[383]

During the first years stringent measures were in force at the mouth of
the Minnesota River. At Prairie du Chien, Taliaferro h