Note 56 — Chapter XXV · VOYAGE OF 1863—THE TOBACCO GARDEN MASSACRE.
Reading edition
The two Indian agents profess in their reports not to have anticipated any trouble. Latta would hardly have ordered the yawl out if he had suspected what actually occurred. Reed, the Blackfoot agent, says that they “continued to hollow to us for some time, and showed great signs of friendship, and wanted us to come ashore.” The sum of it all is that the two men who were officially in charge of the trip entirely failed to understand the gravity of the situation, which was thoroughly appreciated by those, like Culbertson and La Barge, who had had long experience with the Indians. The sending of the yawl and the consequences which followed must ever remain charged to the account of Samuel N. Latta, Indian Agent.