The Red Cloud chief., 1881-08-18

Great Father, I thank The for the
few blessings thou has vouchsafed my
people in times past.
Thou knowest that the encroach-
ments Of the pAle-faces is fast driving
the red man from his hunting grounds.
and from the graves Of his fathers.
made sacred by the hallowed memo
ries of the dead. to the barren sand
hills Of the far west.
Great Spirit, thou knowest that but
q few moons ago the valley Of the
Little Blue which my people called.
their blest land, was untrodden by the
alien feet Of the pale-face. aid that the
red men hunted the deer and the buff
falo unmolested, and the squaws Of
the Indian sang the psppoose to sleep
by the ripping waters Of that beloved
stream. All this is changed. Already
the plow-share Of the pale-face is
turning the sod of that beautiful
valley, and the blue coated soldiers
Of the great father At Washington are
camped 1t Kiowa.
Ancient tradition says that white
blood alloys the noble current of my
veins, but for this the Great Spirit
knOweth that l am not responsible,
and that my sympathies are not with
the white man but with my own peo-
pie, and ! thank The, ., Lord, that
thou hast permitted my braves to lift
the hair Of many Of the sccursed pale
faces. My braves have burned the
men at the stake and their tomahawks
have cleavcd in twain the heads of the
p~aleface squaws and pappooses, and
their scalps adorn the wigwams of my
people. We have wiped many Of
these cmigrsnts from the face of the
earth, we have burned their property,
appropriated their horses and eaten
their dogs. For these slight favors we
are truly grateful.
But the Indian has no place that
he can call his own. Already the
white covered wagons Of the pale.face
are crossing the divide and hating in
the beautiful valley of the Republican.
The Indian rs well as the heather.
Chinee must go.
The Great Father at Washington
says that my people must go to a reser-
walton. And what does a reservation
mean. 1t means that the Sioux
braves must forever forego the pleas
ures Of the chase, except on a limited
scale. 1t means that my people shall
no more scalp the festive emigrant
and tomahawk his squaw and pap
pooses. but if it is the will Of the Grea,
Spirit that even this slight diversion
shall be denied my people, we bow to
the incvitable-and watch Our chan
ces.
The Great Spirit knows the Indians
heart,-knows that it is sad at the
thought that this beautiful land that
has been the hunting grounds of my
people for generations, and which
contains the sacred dust of our an.
cestors, must pass into the hands Of the
hated p~slefsces.
No more will the hills and valleys
of the Republican echo to the yell Of
the victorious Sioux. No more will
the festive war dance and the fatted
dog make glad the hearts of my braves
in this valley.
A few more moons and the white
man will usurp the place Of the red.
The buffalo and the antelope are
going and We must follow.
Great Spirit thou knowest that no
hatred of the palefaces can rankle in
the heart Of an Indian, but I would
beseech the a. . special favor. when
the white man has begun the cultiva-
ton Of this soil, to send the grasshop-
pers to eat his crops. May the
drouth cut short his wheat and the
burning sun wilt his squash vines.
Nay the hot winds from bleeding
Kansas everlsstingly sallivate his
corn. May the sand-burs flourish
and may his squaws always have
twins.
In addition to these slight incon-
veniences, We would implOre the
Great Spirit to saddle upon the peo-
pie Of this, Webster county. . corrupt
and dishonest set of county officials.
May . corrupt clerk draw the wool
over the eyes of the laboring pale
faces, and may the commissioners be
men of heap belly and little brains, 70
the end that taxes may become too
g~reivous to be borne, that the white
man may be compelled 70 emigrate
even a. the Indian now emigrates-
-