The Pawnee Mission Letters, 1834-1851 - Paperbackby Richard E. Jensen (Editor) Rev. John Dunbar and Samuel Allis set out in 1834 to establish a mission to Indians beyond the Rocky Mountains. Unable to obtain a guide and with only a vague knowledge of the West, they instead encountered the Pawnee Indians in Nebraska. It was the beginning of a twelve year odyssey to convert the tribe to Protestant Christianity and New England "civilization." Dunbar and Allis traveled with the Pawnees on buffalo hunts