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THE REVOLUTIONALY PERIOD, 1765-1781 381 fined him last year for giving brandy to the savages, and he should have been fined a hundred times. I must admit that my leniency has increased the impudence of these people. When I received your letter of April 10, 1779, Sir, I was so assured of my innocence that I read it publicly. I thereby committed a great imprudence for I should have foreseen that all that gang residing in my dependency would go hence to have re- course to your justice whether they deserved it or not, and seek through specious reasons to evade the order which I have thought necessary to establish here, and that is doubtless what has caused Menard to challenge my orders when I made him surrender the tal- low. With regard to him I now ask your justice. The fear I had, Sir, of being taken by you for a vain person and for one who wished to impress you, has always prevented me from at- tracting your notice to the pains and the care I have taken in the establishment of this post, besides the expenses I have incurred, but I am forced to do it by the circumstances. And why should I blush to tell you that I have encouraged agriculture, that I have attracted husbandmen here, and that I expect more? I have made advances to them, I have taken care of them; even now I am still feeding the families of the unfortunate hunters who, having been robbed by the Osages cannot hunt, nor pay, and have no means of subsistence. While I should be helped in an act which is humane, I find myself opposed by the man I am complaining of. He does exactly that which is most certain of discouraging and rendering desperate these miserable people. He has been so low and so unworthy as to go into their houses to take their concubines away from them, and from a sexagenarian man and woman he has taken their bed cover and a mosquito net of coarse cloth. This has caused a complaint that I have countersigned in conformity with the sentiments which I know you entertain and which should inspire similar ones in any officer vested with your authority and thus honored by you with your confidence. To deserve it even more, if possible, I watch myself with the most scrupulous attention in order to cause no criticism in my conduct of the administration of this post. I had first started legal proceed- ings in connection with what I mentioned in this letter, but I felt that in miserable posts like this one it was better to avoid chicanery as much as possible. Besides, Sir,I am sparing you a lot of cor- respondence which would tire you and would end nowhere. Even this letter is too long. Finally, in order not to waste any more moments which are precious to you I close by urging you earnestly that, if any complaint is made against me, you should order me to inform you of its motive, and not to spare me if, through my own fault, I am in the wrong