Chief Big Elk of the Omaha. Painted by George Catlin in 1833.

The army at Fort Atkinson made friends with the Indian tribes in the area. One of its missions was to establish friendly relations with area tribes and to eliminate intertribal wars. One method used to accomplish this goal was to entertain tribal leaders and present them with valuable gifts, but the reasons were not always understood by the Indians.

Big Elk, for instance, was chief of the Omaha tribe. In 1821 and 1837, he traveled to Washington, D.C., to negotiate treaties and became known among whites as a spellbinding orator. Back at home, he visited the fort commander on one occasion and voiced his amazement at the army's treatment of the Pawnee.

"I have heard that the Pawnees have been to see you; a nation that has killed, robbed, and insulted your people. I was also informed that you feasted them, and at their departure you put weapons in their hands. I should not be surprised to hear, that those very weapons were stained with white man's blood before they reached the Pawnee village. This is what I cannot understand."

Col. Henry Leavenworth.

The soldiers from Fort Atkinson were sent to battle an Indian tribe on only one occasion. In the summer of 1823, the Akikara (linguistic and cultural cousins of the Loup Pawnee band) killed several white fur trappers. They had gone up the Missouri River and were going to the Rocky Mountains. They had stopped at an Arikara village, in what is now South Dakota, to buy some horses. The Indians attacked and 13 trappers were killed. The trappers, who survived, fled to Fort Atkinson for help.

Colonel Henry Leavenworth, commander of the fort at the time, took 200 soldiers to the Arikara village. The troops shelled the village with a cannon for several hours. However, the damage was slight, and the Indians suffered few casualties from the six-pound shells. After Colonel Leavenworth decided the Akikara had suffered enough, he attempted to obtain a pledge from them of their future good behavior. After a truce was called to discuss the issue, most of the Indians slipped out of the village and escaped. Needless to say, other tribes such as the Pawnee, perceived Leavenworth's actions as timid, if not cowardly. The Pawnee would have extracted a terrible revenge upon anyone who killed their countrymen. This incident concluded the one and only battle that soldiers from Fort Atkinson fought with the Indians.

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