[Footnote 188:  (cont.) to cooeperate with Agent Elder in negotiating with the Osages, Coffin heard of “a sneaking conspiracy” that was “on foot at Iola for the purpose of prejudicing the Indians against us [himself and Dole, perhaps, or possibly himself and the agents].”  The plotters, so Coffin reported, “sent over the Verdigris for E.H.  Carruth who” was “deep in the plot,” which was a scheme to induce the Indians to lodge complaint against the distributers of relief.  One of the conspirators was a man who had studied law under Lane and who had wanted a position under Kile.  Lane had used his influence in the man’s behalf and the refusal of Coffin to assign him to a position was supposed to be the cause of all the trouble.  Coffin learned that his enemies had even gone so far as to plan vacancies in the Indian service and to fill them.  They had “instructed Lane, Pomeroy, and Conway accordingly,” leaving graciously to Lane the choice of superintendent.  A Mr. Smith, correspondent of the Cincinnati Gazette was their accredited secretary [Coffin to Dole, April 2, 1862, Indian Office Consolidated Files, Southern Superintendency, C 1571 of 1862].

Further particulars of the disaffection came to Coffin’s ears before long and he recounted them to Dole in a letter of April 9, 1862 [Ibid., General Files, Southern Superintendency, 1859-1862].]

[Footnote 189:  Perry Fuller had been in Kansas since 1854 [U.S.  House Reports, 34th congress, first session, no. 200, p. 8 of “Testimony"].  The first time that his name is intimately used in the correspondence, relative to the affairs of the refugees, is in a letter from Kile to Dole, March 29, 1862 [Indian Office Consolidated Files, Southern Superintendency, K 113 of 1862, which also makes mention of the great unwillingness of the Indians to move to the Sac and Fox reservation.]]

tribal discord.  There was a quarrel among them over leadership, the election of Ock-tah-har-sas Harjo as principal chief having aroused strong antagonistic feeling among the friends of Opoeth-le-yo-ho-la.[190] Moreover, dissatisfaction against their agent steadily increased and they asked for the substitution of Carruth; but he, being satisfied with his assignment to the Wichitas,[191] had no wish to change.[192]

[Footnote 190:  Carruth gave particulars of this matter to Dole, April 20, 1862 [Indian Office General Files, Wichita, 1862-1871, C 1601 of 1862].]

[Footnote 191:  Dole to Carruth, March 18, 1862 [Indian Office Letter Book, no. 67, pp. 493-494].]

[Footnote 192:  Carruth to Dole, April 10, 1862 [Ibid., General Files, Wichita, 1862-1871, C 1588 of 1862; Letters Registered, vol. 58].]

IV.  THE ORGANIZATION OF THE FIRST INDIAN EXPEDITION