The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1881-08-04
Indian Eloquence.
ADDRESS OF CHIEF coLoKefw, WIEN INVITED
TAKE A WALK

TAKE A WALK
There will be a big pow WOW at the
White River agency OH the 18th, at which
the Ctes will decide whether they will 60
away to their new home peaceably or not.
We are permitted to publish in ad
vance, the written statement Of Chief
Colorow, which he will submit to the
meeting on that occasion. and give it
below:
''Gentlemen OF the conference, warriors
and pale faced snooks from the rising
sun My people are cordially invited 10y
the white father to pick up their furniture
and go west to grow up with the country.
eve are asked to leave our lands and
take up some claims in another locality
under the desert land act
The white father tells his children to
scoot. He says he needs these lands in
his business, and asks the red man to
gather his papOoses and take little eX-
cursion into strange land.
"The white man knows that when he
speaks we must obey his voice. He has
the regular army and another man to en-
force his commands.
ave accept the situation. The bones
OF our ancestors are here. Here are our
homes. Here are the spirits Of our dead
We have handed in our remonstrance,
but it won't count.
''ln few moons we must turn our
backs upon these hills and valleys and
go to our new reservation.
"White men with their pale sQua VS.
and spindlc-shanked papoOses, will build
their wigwams here. The prospector will
come here and dig holes in the earth,
and the farmer will plant his crooked
necked sQuashes above the ashes of my
people.
"When the white fathers starts the
music we waltz to it.
"We have been asked to rrigate the
country here and hoe corn like the white
man. Our hearts are heavy, and we can
not promote the string bean. We will do
what is right, but we cannot work. The
Indian cannot hunt the potato-b bug when
the deer and antelope are ripe. We can
not dig postholes in the hot sun when the
chase calls upon him to go forth into the
forest.
''Here, where we have roamed through
the tall grass and hunted the buffalo, the
paleface asks us to dig irrigation bitches
and pillow the green earth with Il REBEL
lOuS mule.
"llere, when our war cry has been an
sWered back by the giant hills. we are
told to whack bulls and Join the church.
''They come to us and tell us to 90 to
school and wear pants. They ask us to
learn the language of the paletace, and go
to congress. They send men to us who
wants to learn us to spell and wear slls-
penders
"We cannot do this. We are used to
the ways OF our people. Our customs are
as old us the universe. We scratch our
backs against the mountain pine as my
people did ii thousand years ago. We
cannot change. We can leave our land.
but we cannot change our socks every
spring and do as the white man does.
"We can 90 away from our homes and
live in strange land, but we cannot wear
openback shirts and lead in prayer.
"Warriors, we will 90 to the land our
white father has given us. We will take
our squaws and our yeller dogs, our wig
vans and our tieas.
ave will go to our new home beyond
the river now, and when the autumn
comes we will take bridal tour back to
this country.
eve will construct a holocaust. what
ever that is, and spatter the intellectual
faculties Of the ranchers all over the coun-
try.
"That is all. am done. | have made
my remarks. have tWittered my twit."
Laramie Boomerang