Mr. Seward to Lord Lyons.
My Lord: I regret the necessity of again calling your attention to the Sioux Indians from the United States who have taken refuge in the British territories to the north of the State of Minnesota. According to information received from the War Department, those Indians, after having been fed for some months by order of Governor Dallas, at Fort Garry, have at length been induced to return within United States limits, upon the condition of being furnished with food for a considerable period; and also with powder, to the extent of at least one pound a man. These savages will thus be ready in the spring to renew their onslaughts on the frontiers of the United States. It seems to me that this government has a right to expect of her Majesty’s government that a force will be stationed at Fort Garry, or elsewhere, sufficient to prevent these Indians from violating the neutrality of British territory by screening themselves there, or that, when they are driven beyond our frontier, they will not be furnished with such supplies as will enable them to continue robbing and murdering citizens of the United States.
I have the honor to be, with high consideration, your lordship’s obedient servant,
Right Hon. Lord Lyons, &c., &c., &c.