The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1876-10-18

The Indian Case Stated by an Indian.

general policy which has been pursued TO-
ward the Indians is so unanswerable as that
made in speech of Spotted Tail, the Sioux
chief, on the occasion of the recent consul
nation of the treaty proposed to the accept
ance of his tribe, by the President. The
speech in which this arraignment was en-
bodied is none the less severe for being sober
even to sadness; and it eviuces the posses
sion of high degree of intellectual power
by Spotted Tail, and remarkable faculty
for close and cogent reasoning. We regret
to be obliged to say that it presents the per-
fdy of which the Indians have been the vic
tins in terms to which there can be no sat-
iSfactory response.
At the opening of the conference with cur
Commissioners the chief recounted the
broken pledges of our government. "This
is the fifth time" he said, swords have come
from the Great Father and then he went
on to detail theseveral treaties that had been
made with them, each of which was violated,
the whole presenting q series of what the ga
gacious chief designated as "promises that
have not been kept, words that were not
true" and promises that failed to be Car
ried OUT" and after these indictments of our
national honor, he went on to say, address
ing the Commission
My friends, you who sit before me are
traders are merchants. You have not come
here to turn anything out of the way with
out paying for it.
When a man has possession that ne val
ues, and another party comes to buy it, he
brings with him such good things as he wish
es to purchase it with. My friends, your
people have both intellect and heart; you
use these to consider IN what way you can do
the best to live. My people wh6 are here be-
fore yoW are precisely the same. see that
my friends before me are men of age end
dignity, and men of that kind have good
Judgment, and consider well what they do.
[ infer from that, that you are here to con-
slider we'll what shall be good for my people
for long time to come. L think each Of
you have selected somewhere good piece of
land for himself, sOith the intention to laUe on
at that he mag there raise his children. My
people are not different. They also live
upon the earth and upon things that come
to them from above. We have the same
thoughts and desires in that respect that the
white people have. This is the country
where they were born, where they have &C
quired all their property, their children and
their horses. You have come here to bug
this country of as, and 1t mould be NELL If yOu
wOuld come NTH the goods yOa haze promised
to give us, and to put them out of your hand
so we can see the good price yOu propose to
pay for 1t. Then our hearts would be glad.
My friends, when you 60 back to the Great
Father | want you to tell him to send US
goods; send US yokes and oxen aud give us
wagons, so we can earn money by hauling
goods from the railroad.
This seems to me to be very hard day
half of our country is at war, and we have
come upon very difficult times. This war
did not spring up here in our land it was
brought upon US by the children of the Great
Father, who came to take our land from US
without price, and who do great many evil
things. The Great Father and his children
are to blame for this trouble. We have here
storehouse to hold our provisions, but the
Great Father sends US very little provisions
to put into our storehouse, and when our peo-
pie became displeased with our provisions
and have gone north to hunt, the children of
the Great Father are fighting them. 1t has
been our wish to live here peaceably, but the
Great Father has filled it with soldiers, who
think only of our death. Some of our PEG
pie who have gone from here in order that
they may have a change, and others who
have gone north to hunt, have been attacked
by soldiers from this direction, and when they
have got north have been attacked by SOL
diers from other directions, and now when
they are willing to come back the soldiers
stand between them and keep them from COM
ing home. 1t seems to me there is better
way than this. When people come to trou.
bic it is better for both parties to come to-
gether without arms, talk it over and find
some peaceful way to settle.
This speech, besides its forcible arraign-
ment of our Indian policy, is an evidence of
the singular clear medicines comminged
with simplicity of its author, and evinces
along with his blunt common sense his
shrewdly sagacious penetration of the mo-
tives which operate upon all men alike,
whether they be red or White.-Christian In
telSgencer.