In late summer 1851, Plains Indian tribes came from all directions after being summoned by government officials so their chiefs could smoke the peace pipe and sign a treaty with representatives of “The Great Father.” Never before had so many American Indians assembled to parley with the white man, with estimates ranging from 8,000 to 12,000, in a dramatic demonstration of the Plains tribes’ desire to live at peace with the whites. The tribes had been invited to assemble at Fort Laramie, but a shortage of forage for their thousands of horses caused the meeting to be moved downstream to where Horse Creek flows into the North Platte River. Because some tribes had been at war for generations, most camps were widely spaced to minimize contact, while about 270 soldiers were present to help keep the peace, though a spirit of friendliness prevailed. Among those helping bring the tribes together were Jim Bridger and Jesuit Father Peter De Smet. Proposed by former fur trader Thomas Fitzpatrick, Upper Platte Indian agent, and supported by David D. Mitchell, superintendent of Indian Affairs in St. Louis, the treaty was signed on September 17, 1851. Officially known as the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851 and commonly called the Horse Creek Treaty, it provided that the government would give the tribes $50,000 a year in goods for 50 years for damage caused by emigrants bound for Oregon, California, and Utah. In return, the Indians would allow free passage on the emigrant trails, permit forts to be built on their land, and pledge peaceful settlement of intertribal disputes. Chiefs including White Antelope of the Cheyenne, Little Owl of the Arapaho, Big Robber of the Crow, Conquering Bear of the Sioux, and chiefs of the Assiniboine, Mandan, Gros Ventre, and Arikara signed. The Shoshone traveled more than 400 miles but were not asked to sign because they were not from the Plains. With few exceptions, the tribes honored the treaty until 1864, when white demand for land pressured the Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho into warfare and ended the hope for peace that had prompted “The Great Smoke.”