Claude Charles Du Tisne facts for kids

Claude Charles Du Tisne (also Dutisne) was a French explorer and soldier. In 1719, he led the first official French trip to visit the Osage and Wichita Native American tribes. This journey took place in what is now Kansas in the United States.

Early Life and Missions

Claude Charles Du Tisne was born in France around 1681. He moved to Canada in 1705 as a soldier. He was known for being skilled and understanding the frontier and the Native American tribes.

In 1719, his leaders told him to visit the Panis (Wichita) and Padouca (Apache) tribes. The goal was to start trading with the Spanish colony of Santa Fe in New Mexico. Du Tisne was supposed to make friends with these tribes. The French hoped they would not cause problems for trade passing through their lands. However, Du Tisne and the French did not know that the Spanish leaders in New Mexico did not want to trade with the French.

Journey to the Missouria Tribe

Du Tisne and his small group of French and Native American companions left Kaskaskia, Illinois in May 1719. They traveled by canoe up the Missouri River. Their first stop was a village of the Missouria tribe. This village was near where the town of Miami is today.

The French already knew some of the Missouria people. They were a Siouan tribe who spoke a language called Chiwere. This language was also spoken by the Winnebago, Oto, and Iowa tribes. The Missouria village had about 100 houses. These were likely large, bark-covered longhouses. The total population was probably more than 1,000 people.

Du Tisne noted that the Missouria stayed in their village only in the spring. This suggests they planted crops in spring. Then, like other tribes nearby, they probably traveled west to hunt buffalo in the summer. Du Tisne did not mention the Missouria using horses. Most Plains tribes had started using horses by this time.

Across the Missouri River from the Missouria village was an Osage village. These were the "Little Osages." They had separated from the main Osage tribe a few years earlier. The main Osage group lived about 100 miles (160 km) away on the Osage River. The Little Osages moved to the Missouri River for reasons that are not known.

The Missouria tribe was not happy with the French. French traders had been going around them. The Missouria stopped Du Tisne and his group. They refused to let them go further upriver from their village. They wanted to be the main traders between the French and tribes further up the river. They especially did not want French guns to reach tribes who might become their enemies. Because of this, Du Tisne had to turn back and return to Kaskaskia.

Visiting the Osage Tribe

Later that summer, Du Tisne tried a second time to reach the plains. This time, he traveled west by land from Kaskaskia. He went through the Ozarks region. After traveling about 250 miles (400 km), he reached the village of the "Great Osages."

This Osage village was in Vernon County, Missouri. It was about four miles (6 km) from the Osage River. The village was on a ridge surrounded by flat, rich prairies. Today, this village site is a State Historical Site.

The Osage also lived in longhouses. Du Tisne said the Osage had many horses. He noted they "steal from the Pani and can be bought from them." They also had buffalo robes and deer skins to trade. Like the Missouria, the Osage hunted buffalo in the west. They lived in tipis during their hunts. Only the elderly, sick, and young children stayed in the village.

Du Tisne did not describe the Osage as a huge tribe. Their village had about 100 houses and 200 warriors. This suggests a population of a little over 1,000 people. It is likely there were other Osage villages nearby that Du Tisne did not know about or visit.

Du Tisne was impressed by how tall and well-built the Osage people were. He said they were often more than six feet tall. He was less impressed with their character, saying they "easily break their promises." Du Tisne also noted the two main parts of Osage society, called the Hon-ga and Tsi-hzu. There were also many clans and groups. This meant there were many Osage leaders, but none seemed to have much power. Du Tisne's writings do not show the strength and importance the Osage later achieved.

Like the Missouria, the Osage did not want Du Tisne to pass through their land to the Pawnee villages. They were most worried that the French would sell guns to the Pawnee. After long talks, Du Tisne threatened to stop all French trade with them. Finally, he was allowed to continue his journey. He was permitted to take three guns for himself, three for his interpreter, and some trade goods.

Encountering the Wichita Tribe

With the Osage's reluctant permission, Du Tisne continued his journey to visit the Wichita. Their two villages were four days and about 100 miles (160 km) away. They were probably on the Verdigris River near where Neodesha, Kansas is today. Two old village sites in this area match Du Tisne's description. He wrote, "All the route was through prairies and hills, full of buffalos. The land was beautiful and well-wooded." Many early visitors were amazed by the beauty of the tallgrass prairie. It felt open and free compared to the dark eastern forests.

Du Tisne received a hostile welcome at the Wichita village. The Osage had sent a messenger ahead. This messenger warned the Wichita that Du Tisne planned to enslave them. Du Tisne wrote that the Native Americans threatened him with a tomahawk twice. But he convinced them that his visit was peaceful. Since his group was small, the Wichita probably decided he was not dangerous. The Wichita's main concern was likely that Du Tisne was a slave trader.

The Wichita village—Du Tisne and other Frenchmen called them "Panis," a general term for the Caddoan people of the plains, which also came to mean "slave"—had 130 houses. It had 200 to 250 warriors, meaning a population of 1,000 or more. Another village about three miles (5 km) away was similar in size. The Wichita in both villages had about 300 horses. Du Tisne noted they "esteem greatly and with which they do not wish to part." The Wichita were closer to the source of horses in New Mexico. So, they had more horses than the Osage, Kaw, and Missouria tribes. Du Tisne said the Wichita, like the Spanish, armored their horses with leather for war. They still used bows and arrows for hunting and war. They also used spears tipped with parts of Spanish swords.

The main enemies of the Wichita were the Padoucas, who were Plains Apaches. The Padoucas came as close as six days' journey from the Wichita. But they lived fifteen days to the West. The exact distance was hard to tell. It depended on whether people traveled by horse, on foot for hunting, or on foot with women and children. The Wichita said the Spanish had visited their village before. But the Padouca blocked the way to the Spanish settlements of Santa Fe, which was more than a month's travel away.

The Wichita and Padouca were always at war. Du Tisne noted that both sides practiced ritual cannibalism. This seems to have been a part of Wichita culture. They also might have had occasional human sacrifices. Both tribes fought to get slaves and horses. Wichita slaves were traded in Santa Fe by the Apaches for horses. Padouca slaves were traded by the Wichita to the Osage and other tribes for European goods. The Wichita had only six guns in their villages. The Osages and other eastern tribes had not wanted to trade guns to them. Du Tisne traded the Wichita three guns, gunpowder, pickaxes, and knives. In return, he received two horses and a mule with a Spanish brand. This mule had traveled about 600 miles eastward from the Spanish colonies during its life.

When Du Tisne suggested continuing his journey to visit the Padouca villages to the west, the Wichita objected. He did not have enough men or weapons to force them. But he made a trade agreement with the Wichita. He believed they would be happy with a few guns and other gifts. He was hopeful that he could visit the Padouca later. He also hoped that peace could be made between the Wichita and Padouca. This would open up the trade route to New Mexico.

Du Tisne likely visited a sub-tribe later called the Taovayas. He described their total population as perhaps 3,000. This seemed like a small group compared to the many Wichita people that Coronado and Onate had met more than a century earlier. Like other Native American tribes, their population had probably been greatly reduced by European diseases.

Later Life

After this expedition, Du Tisne continued to work on the frontier. He was promoted to captain. He was given command of Fort de Chartres in Illinois. He died in 1730 from a wound he received from a Meskwaki or Fox Native American.