Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1852-1859, 1853-11-15
= From Intentional 1ntellleencer.
Speech of Col Cobb. rs
COL a. ID. 1aalssa. waos.. gntnt60ys.d IaIhdI

N''Lol the pooa Indian, whose untutoFed nina
Sees God In clouds and heaIs him nthe wind"
1t is melancholy torefectop the tase OF thus de-
parting race, once the posseors ofthis vast conti-
nent. Like the autumnnl leaves. Ct the majestic
forest which once sheltered them they have
dropped and withered from the face of the earth
they once proudly trod. They have been driven
from place 10 place, till the small remnant that Is
now LEFT has been banished beyond the Mississippi
to find shelter and support for the few short years
that m ny be.allowed themto exist. ~
.,Alss, for theml their day Is o'er,
Their fires out from shore to shorei
No more from them their Wild deer bounds, 5
The plough GS is on .ssf slbps their
The pale man's sails skim DER their Hoods,
TS. hs oPE,p pSSs oppressed
beyond the mountains Of the Vest
Their children go to de-" b.
The above reflections have been suggested by
The speech of Col. Cobb, the Head Mingo of the
Choctaws east of the Mississippi, in reply to the
agent of the Uniteda few years ago, II possesses
all the elements Of of genuine eloquence, and for
oomprehensiveneys, pathos, propriety of sentiment
and beauty ofdiction has butrarely bsensurPas;ed
by the most gifted orators of modern times 1t is
worthy of preservation:
Brother: We have heard You talk as fTom the
Inns of our father the great w hte Chief at Wash
ington, and my people have called upon me 10
sneak to Won. y The red man has no books, and
when he wishes TO make known his views ilkc
his fathers before HIM, he speaks from his mouth
He is raid of writing. When he speaks, he knows
what he says; the Great Spirit hears him. VIII
ting is the invention of the pale faces; it gives
birth to error and to fsuds. The Great Spirit tdASi
we hear him in the thunoer; III the rushing Winds
and the mighty waters; but he never writes. s
Brother: when you were young we were strong;
we fought by your sidei but our arms are now bro
ken. You have grown largej my people have
become small.
Brolher: My voice is weak; you can scarcely
hear me; it is not the shout OF warrior, but the
wall of an infant. have lost tin wailing over the
misfortunes of my people. These arether graves
and in those uged pines you hear lie ghosls OF Tue
departed. Their ashes are here, ana we nave
been LEFT 10 protect them. Our warriors are nearly
all gone to the far country west but here are our
dead. Shall We go, too, and give their ZONES 10
| the wolves?
Brother: Two sleeps have passed since we heard
you talk. We have thoughtupon It: You ask us
TO leave our country and telus 1t IS our Fathers
wish. We would not desire 10 dlsplease our r a.
Their. We respect him, and you his child. But
the Choctaw always thinks. Wewant time 10 an
swer. s.s.s
/ ago our chiefs sold our country. Every warrior
| that you see here was opposed to the treaty, II
the dead could have been counted II could never
have been made; but alas! though they stool
/ around, they could not be seen or heard. heir
tears came in the rain drop and their voices in the
waiting wind, putthe pale laces knew 1t not, and
| our land was taken away. 80,
Brother: We do not complain The Choctaw
suffers but he never weeps. You have the strong
arm and we cannot resist Bot the pale face wor-
ships the Great Spirit So does the Red Man.
The Great Spirit loves truth. Whenyou took our
country you promised us land. There IS your pro-
lmse in the book. Twelve times have the trees
dropped their leaves, and yet we have received no
land. Our houses have been taken from us. The
white mans plough turns up the bones OF our Ia
TIERS We dare not kindle our fIesj and yet you
said we mig hit remain and you would give US land
Il Brother: Is this TRUTH But we believe, now our
great Father knows our condition, he viii listen
10 US. We are are as mourning orphans IN our
country; but our Father will take us by the hanl.
When he iuflls his promise, we will answer his
talk He means well. We know II. but we
cannotthink now Grief has made children oius-
When our lusinss is settled we shall be men
again. and talk to our Great Father about what he
has proposed.
Il Brother: You stand i'll :he moccasins OF great
Ichei; you speak the words ofa mighty nation, and
your talk was long. My people are small; their
Il shadow scarcely reaches 10 your knee; they are
scattered and gone; when shout hear my voice
in The depths Of The woods, but no answering shout
I comes back My words, therefore, are lew.
have nothing more 10 say, but to tell what have
said TO the tall chief of the pale faces whose bro
therH stands by your side.
.\yi,u, TvIer of Virginia brother to the President