Irish-born mountain man and frontiersman Thomas Fitzpatrick (1799-1854),
called Broken Hand by the Indians, was appointed Indian agent in 1846 to
the Indians of the Upper Platte and Arkansas rivers.  He became an
understanding advocate for Indians' rights after years in the territory,
first as a beaver fur trader, then as a guide both for the emigrants
crossing on the Oregon Trail and for the military.  On September 1, 1851,
he successfully gathered together ten thousand Indians with
representatives of th e U.S. government-the largest such assembly ever
held-to negotiate the Fort Laramie Treaty.  The treaty state that in
return for the land and safe passage of the western trails the Indians
would be guaranteed specific "territories"-i.e., reservations.  To
compensate the Indians, the government agreed to pay them annuity of
$50,000 worth of provisions for fifty years.