Letter of R. & W. Campbell, St. Louis, to Major Jno. Dougherty. The Indian goods at Fort Kearny and Fort Laramie can easily be disposed of to traders. If you could tell us what is on hand, we could sell to Joe Robidoux, but we think that with the proper exertion they can be sold at the forts. We are anxious to know how our business stands. Do we make or lose in our government transportation and contracts? I am quite willing to either dispose of our interest in the sutling business or join with Major Ruff in it. However, I told him that our general business could not take in another partner as we did not need additional capital. “I think we might mange to make money as you suggest by having Ruff at the sutling posts – you at Leavenworth and ourselves here. With Reed on the plains aided by Frank Delisle.” Businesses mentioned: Chouteau & Co., 1850 June 3

Item — Box: 2

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

From the Collection:

Collection consists mainly of the correspondence of Major John Dougherty in relation to sutling at Fort Kearny, Nebraska, and government transportation of freight between Fort Kearny and Fort Laramie, Wyoming, in the 1840s and 1850s. Also includes numerous bills of sale of slaves; correspondence and reports regarding Indian affairs, including a report from Leavenworth, March 9, 1832; land documents; and correspondence regarding land claims. Correspondents include Dougherty's son Lewis B. Dougherty, Robert Campbell, Henry S. Turner, A.G. Reed, Major C.F. Ruff, and Col. Thomas Swords. Collection also includes two diaries, 1869-1879, and a ledger, 1851-1852, of the medical practice of Dr. William Wallace Dougherty, a Liberty, Missouri, physician and nephew of John Dougherty. The diaries include material on the family.