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When received into an Osage village, a guest immediately presented himself at the lodge of the chief, where he was expected to eat his first meal, after which he was invited to a general feast, given by the most important warriors and great men. The cooks stood outside the lodge and gave the invitation by crying, in a loud voice: "Come and eat; such an one gives a feast." The feasts were repeated until all the more important members of the tribe had an opportunity to display their hospitality.

The Osage lodges were usually constructed by driving into the ground upright posts, about twenty feet high, with crotched tops as a rest for the ridge pole, over which were bent small poles, fastened to stakes about four feet high.

Osage Camp, by O. Drum, 1906.

Article 6 of treaty reads as follows:

"And in consideration of the advantages which we derive from the stipulations contained in the foregoing article, we, the chiefs and warriors of the Great and Little Osage, for ourselves and our nation respectively, covenant and agree with the United States, that the boundary line between our nations and the United States shall be as follows, to wit: Beginning at Fort Clark, on the Missouri River, five miles above Fire Prairie, and running thence a due south course to the river Arkansas and down the same to the Mississippi, hereby ceding and relinquishing forever to the United States all the lands which lie east of the said line, and north of the southwardly bank of the said river Arkansas and all lands situated northwardly of the Missouri River. And we do further cede and relinquish to the United States forever, a tract of two leagues square, to embrace Fort Clark, and to be laid off in such manner as the President of United States shall think proper."

Fort Clark by Karl Bodmer

According to his report, in 1804, President Jefferson promised the Osage chiefs, then on a visit to Washington, to establish a trading post for the benefit of their nation, this promise being repeated in 1806. The fort was built in October, 1808, and the following month, November 8, 1808, Pierre Choteau, United States Agent for the Osage, arrived at Fort Clark, prepared to execute the treaty which Governor Lewis, of Missouri had deputized him to offer the nation. The chiefs and warriors of the Great and Little Osage assembled on the 10th, and, upon learning that the trading post, which was supposed by them to have been established as a favor and mark of friendship, was in fact a part of the price paid for their lands, and that, unless they accepted the provisions of the treaty, they virtually forfeited the protection of the United States, they reluctantly signed it, protesting that "they had no choice; they must either sign the treaty, or be declared the enemies of the United States."

This treaty was not ratified by the Senate until 1810, and the Indians did not receive the first annuity until September, 1811, three years after the treaty was made. The blockhouse which was promised for the defense of the Osage towns on the Osage River was useful only to the traders, being detached from the agency, and no competent person having charge. A mill was built and a blacksmith sent to the town of the Great Osage.

By the terms of the treaty of 1808, the Osage title to all land in Missouri was extinguished, excepting a strip twenty-four miles wide lying eastward from the western boundary of the State, and extending from the Missouri River south into the Territory of Arkansas. The eastern line extended a few miles east of Fort Clark, which was situated on a bluff on the Missouri River, near the present site of the town of Sibley. The principal village of the Osage was due south from the fort, on the Osage River, and it was this that Captain Zebulon Pike visited and described in 1806.

George Sibley, former commandant at Fort Clark, in his report, commended the Osage for their uniform and constant faithfulness to the French and Americans. They offered their services to him when in command of Fort Clark, when British emissaries attempted to engage them in their service, and declared their determination "never to desert their American father as long as he was faithful to them." He says that "of all the Missouri Indians, they were the least accessible to British influence."

At about the time of this report, a portion of the Osage Nation moved from the old location on the forks of the Osage River, and settled on the bank of the Neosho River in the present county of Labette.

In 1817, the Cherokee attacked the Osage village on the Verdigris River during the absence of Clermont and his warriors, fired the town, destroyed the crops, and took prisoners, which included 50-60 old men, women and children who were left there. This assault was followed by mutual acts of recrimination between the hostile tribes, eventuating in war, which lasted several years, the Delaware joining the Cherokee as allies. A treaty of peace between the contending nations was concluded at Belle Point in 1822.

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