William I!.Swagerty "The Leviathan of the North" American Perceptions ofthe Hudson's BayCompany, 1816-1846 In the summer of 1833,while touring theUpper Missouri coun tryas a guest of Pierre Chouteau and theAmerican Fur Company (AFC), theGerman prince Maximilian witnessed a series of extraor dinary events. At FortMcKenzie, in the heart of Blackfeet country, he was present when David D. Mitchell, the chief clerk at the fort, intro duced Ninoch-Kiaiu, the Bear Chief of the Blackfeet Nation, who, Maximilian recorded in his journal, "had always been very faithful and devoted to the Whites and the Fur Company." Ninoch-Kiaiu wore "a new uniform, half red and half green, with red and green facings, and trimmed with silver lace; a red felthat, ornamented with many tufts of feathers; in short, a complete dress, and a new double-barrelled percussion gun." Maximilian continued: Mr. Mitchell wished particularly todistinguish this man [Ninoch-Kiaiu], because he had never been to thenorth to tradewith theHudsons Bay Company. When he had equipped himself inhis new uniform,which was worth 150dollars, and entered the assembly of the chiefs in the court-yard of the fort,it immediately became evident that thedistinction conferredupon himmade no favourable impression on them; some chiefswho had made presents toMr. Mitchell, and had not yet received any thinginreturn?for instance, Mehkskehme-Sukahs, could not conceal theirfeelings; the latter hid his head behind thepersonwho satnext tohim,while othershung down theirheads, and seemed lost in thought. When Mr. Mitchell perceived this,he caused it to be intimated to the chiefs, that "they saw how theAmerican Fur Company 478 OHQ vol. 104, no. 4 ? 2003 Oregon Historical Society QHS neg.,OrHi 21681 Astoria is depicted here in 1813, theyear theAmericans lost thefort to the British. Gabriel Franch?re, who witnessed the transfer ofAstoria to theNorth West Company, published the sketch in his Narrative of a Voyage to the Northwest Coast of America in the Years 1811, 1812,1813, and 1814. Astoria was restored to the United States in 1818. distinguished itsfaithfulfriends;thatthey, on thecontraryhad generally taken their beaver skins to theEnglish; thathe, thereforecould not give themmuch now, but would make everychiefa present.That it would be [in] theirinteresttodealwith him in future,like Ninoch-Kiaiu, and then it would be inhis power tomake them more considerable presents."1 Mitchell's strategy of favoritism exacerbated long-standing rivalries and recent tensions among the Indians who were present at FortMcKenzie in the summer of 1833. InAugust, after a number of "violent disputes" had erupted among Indian traders as well as among the hired engag?s, awhite employee named Martin was accidentally shot with a pistol by a Blood Indian who had, "till that time, always conducted himself well," according toMaximilian. The incident pitted Indian against Indian. Ninoch-Kiaiu sided with thewhites, who decided to execute the accused murderer. This Swagerty, "The Leviathan of theNorth" 479 OHS neg.,OrHi 37550 The seal of the NorthWest Company further embittered the Bloods, who determined to seek vengeance at the appropriate time.2 For the remainder of the summer, Indian bands of twenty to forty lodges each?represent ing the Blood (Kainai), Piegan (Pikuni), "Sikesekai" (Siksikai or Blackfoot proper), and their allies, the Gros Ventre ? appeared before FortMcKenzie.3 As he struggled to keep violence to a minimum, wooing Blackfoot trade away from Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) hands, Mitchell came to appreciate how littlepower the Americans held inBlackfoot country. On August 14,a "half Indian" named The Bird arrived to find only twenty-three lodges of Blackfeet remaining at the fort.Maximilian described him as "a tall, strong man, with a brownish complexion, [&]thick blackhair"who "spoke thelanguageof the Blackfeet perfectly and lived constantly among them." He judged him to be a "treacherous, very dangerous man, who had great influence among the Blackfeet." The Bird had traded with and cheated both theAFC and theHBC, and by thenwas a free agent who "lived by catching beaver, and hunting, for his own account."4 Several days later, upon learning that the Bloods had ambushed and killed his nephew while he was looking for his stolen horse near the fort, the Bear Chief sent the corpse toMitchell as a present and asked him "to...