The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1876-11-02


the desire to share In the general smile.
Red Fox was the attorney and orator
of the delegation. He dwelt on the
qualification he experienced at seeing the
Great Father. It was the proudest and
most important event of his existence.
Had he been familiar with the Neapoli-
tan proverb, 'sSee Naples and then die, "
he would doubtless have paraphrased it
TO suit the occasion. There was, how
ever. cloud in the otherwise clear sky
of his enjoyment. BE had an apprehen-
sion that when he returned to his people
in the far West, they might not believe
that he had seen the Great Father and
talked to him face to face as it was his
great privilege to do then and there.
Hence he would like to return to his
people laden down with presents
g shining all over like a looking glass"
to prove to them the friendly relations
which existed between himself and the
Great Father. ~r
There was no resisting this, and there
was some good humoied laughing, but
tre faces of all the Indians remained
serious and reserved.
eMr. President" said the interpreter,
Sc the chiefs would be glad to hear you
talk"
To which Lincoln intimated that he
would endeavor to do so.
envy red BRETHREN" said Lincoln,
care anxious to be prosperous and have
| horses and carriages like the pale faces.
| I propose to tell them how they may get
Them"
4 At this the dusky men were all at
tention, and manifested their satisfac-
ton by the usual Indian cultural sounds.
''The plan is simple one, said the
President, as the interpreter turned his
words into the tongue of the red men.
Their curiosity was fully aroused. Even
the spectators looked inquiringly at Lin
coin, to know how he was going to pro-
vide horses and carriages for those who
thus bluntly asked for them.
"You all have land" said Lincoln.
"We will furnish you with agricultural
implements, with which you will turn
up the soil, by hand, If you have not
the meansi to buy an OK, but I think,
with the aid which you receive from the
Government, you might at least pur-
chase one OK to do the blowing for sew
eral. You will plant corn, wheat and
potatoes, and with the money for which
you will sell these you will be able each
to buy an OK for himself at the end OF
the first year. at the end Of the second
year, you will each be able to buy per-
haps two oxen and some sheep and pigs
At the end of the third, you will
probably be In a condition to buy
horse, and in the course of a few years
you will thus be the possessor OF horses
and carriages like ourselves.
This plan for becoming proprietor OF
horses and carriages was not relished,
for it meant work, and the faces of the
Indians bore disappointed expression
as the President unfolded it.
s'I do not know any other way to get
these things" added Lincoln. 6" 1t is
the plan we have pursued-at least those
of us who have them. You cannot pick
them off the trees, and they do not fall
from the clouds 'ss--s1
Had it not been for the respect which
they owed to the speaker as the Great
Father, it was plain that they would have
exclaimed against his words with the un-
tutored energy of their Indian nature.
AS he was well acquainted with that
nature, having served as Captain In the
Tippecanoe war and spent his early life
on the frontier, suspicion entered my
mind that he was blending with the ad-
vice little chatting. To change the
subject and restore them to good humor,
| he requested one of the attendants to
roll up large globe of the world which
stood in a corner on three-legged sup
port on wheels. The President placed
his hand on the globe and turned it
round, saying:
"We pale faces believe that the world
is round, like this" n
At this point Lincoln caught the in
curing eyes of the Indians fastened like
a note of Interrogation on the legs of the
globe.
s Without the legs continued Lin
coin, in answer to the mute interro-
cation, with twinkle in his eye. "We
pale faces can get into a big canoe,
/ showed by steam-here, for instance, at
Washington, or Baltimore near by-go
round the world, and come back to the
place from which we started"
With due respect to the Great Father,
they evidently thought, to give it a
mild term, that he was given to exag
geration. He started off again to tell
about the North Pole, the torrid zone,
the length and breadth of the United
States, and how long it would take a
man to walk from one end of it to the
other, in which he got somewhat en-
tangled; then, seeing well-known man
of science on his right, Lincoln placed
his hand on his shoulder, gently urged
him forward to position in front of the
Indians, to whom he said
! "But here is one of our learned men,
who will tell you all about it.
Saying this, Lincoln bowed and with
drew, and the savant, taken by surprise,
endeavored to extricate himself from the
difficulty as best he could, by continu
ing the theme where the President left