To Thomas Jefferson from John Sibley, 20 March 1804
From John Sibley
Natchitoches March 20th. 1804.
Sir,
I reside at present at Natchitoches on Red River in Louissiana am a Native of Massachusetts, have liv’d some years in Fayetteville North Carolina; was bred a Physician, the Practise as such I now Persue. Since I have been on Red River which is about ten Months, amongst a Variety of Botanical observations have found here in almost exhaustless quantities a yellow wood the French call it Boi d’Arc; or Bow wood, I have heard it Call’d Saphira, it has a beautiful fine grain, takes a polish like a Varnish, when it is Nearly the Patent yellow Colour.—it is more elastic than any other wood; the Indians use it for Bows, and the Inhabitants sometimes for Ax helves and handles for other Tools, I think it would be highly esteem’d by Cabinet makers for Innlaying & Fineering, and by Turners.—But probably would be more Valuable as a dye wood; a few days ago I had some experiments made in colouring with it, and have taken the Liberty of Inclosing to you some samples of colours it produc’d Nos. 1, 2 & 3 are what a decoction of the wood made without any thing else being added, the difference in the Shades are from the article remaining a little longer or shorter time in the dye. No. 2 is sheeps wool. all the other colours from 3 to 12 were made by the addition of Salt of Tarter, Blue Vitriol or Logwood in small quantities and a Variation of proportions—I have no doubt by a person Skill’d in dying a very numerous Variety of Colours might be produc’d from this Wood as the Basis; from an experiment I beleive the Colours will Neither Wash out; nor fade by Washing. I have not seen the Tree in foliage therefore can give no account of it in that respect; some of them grow to the size of two or three feet in diameter, not tall, but somewhat resembling an Appletree
Many other woods, shrubs & herbs grow here that I have Never seen in any of the United States, their particular uses will no doubt be found out.—did I not with almost every body else look up to you as the Patron of arts and usefull discoveries I should not have address’d you on this Subject, I hope you will have the goodness to pardon any presumption. and while I intreat you to accept of my best wishes in your private as well as public capacity, beg Leave to make you a tender of my services in whatever manner you may think proper to command them
In the mean time I am Sir with the Greatest respect & Esteem Your Most Hble Servt.
John Sibley.
RC (DLC); at foot of text: “Thomas Jefferson Esqr. President of the United States”; endorsed by TJ as received 12 July and so recorded in SJL.
John Sibley (1757-1837) served as a surgeon’s mate during the Revolutionary War. In Fayetteville, North Carolina, he practiced medicine and operated a newspaper. After settling in Natchitoches, he became a valuable informant for William C. C. Claiborne, who brought him to TJ’s attention. Despite widely circulated rumors that he had abandoned his family in North Carolina, he retained the confidence of the president, who named him an Indian agent for Orleans Territory. He remained in this post until 1815 and also served as doctor to the American military post near Natchitoches. Sibley prospered as a cattle rancher, cotton planter, and operator of a saltworks (; , 9:352-3, 515-16; Daily National Intelligencer, 8 May 1837; Vol. 41:618-20; TJ to William C. C. Claiborne, 26 May 1805).
Maclura pomifera, known as Osage Orange or Bois d’Arc (boi d’arc), is a tree native to the area of eastern Texas, southeastern Oklahoma, and southern Arkansas. The hunting bows that Osage and Caddo Indians made from its wood became valuable trade items among Plains Indians. TJ would later receive descriptions of it from the southwestern explorations of William Dunbar and Peter Custis (Jeffrey L. Smith and Janice V. Perino, “Osage Orange [Maclura pomifera]: History and Economic Uses,” Economic Botany, 35 [1981], 24, 28-9; Trey Berry, Pam Beasley, and Jeanne Clements, eds., The Forgotten Expedition, 1804-1805: The Louisiana Purchase Journals of Dunbar and Hunter [Baton Rouge, 2006], 67n; Dan L. Flores, ed., Jefferson & Southwestern Exploration: The Freeman & Custis Accounts of the Red River Expedition of 1806 [Norman, Okla., 1984], 169-70, 260).