This drawing was done by Frank Mayer in July, 1851. Mayer camped with the government delegation of treaty negotiators at Traverse des Sioux. He described the camp in his diary:
Our camp consisting of several tents and tepees commands a view of St. Peters’ river, the prairie with its numerous lodges, the trading &mission houses and the surrounding country, & is tenanted by the commissioners & their officers & a motley collection of Frenchmen and half-breeds, traders, interpreters, voyageurs & trappers. . . .
