Charles Erskine Scott Wood Charles Erskine Scott Wood or C . E . S . Wood ( February 20 , 1852January 22 , 1944 ) was an American author , civil liberties advocate , soldier , and attorney . He is best known as the author of the 1927 satirical bestseller , " Heavenly Discourse " . Early life . Born in Erie , Pennsylvania , Wood graduated from West Point in 1874 . He served as an infantry officer and fought in the Nez Perce War in 1877 . He was present at the surrender of Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce . It was Wood who transcribed , and perhaps embellished , Chief Joseph ' s famous speech , which ended with : " My heart is sick and sad . From where the sun now stands , I will fight no more forever . " The two men became close friends . Oregon politics . Following his service he became a prominent attorney in Portland , Oregon , where he often defended labor unions and " radicals " including birth control activist Margaret Sanger . He began to write , became a frequent contributor to " Pacific Monthly " magazine , and was a leader of Portland ' s literary community . In 1896 , Wood was Oregon ’ s sole representative on the national committee of the National Democratic Party , known as the Gold Democrats . The party , which had the blessing of Grover Cleveland , championed defense of the gold standard and free trade . Like many Cleveland Democrats , including his long - time friend Mark Twain , Wood joined the American Anti - Imperialist League . The League called for the United States to grant immediate independence to the Philippines and other territories conquered in the Spanish - American war . Politics . As a lawyer during the early twentieth century , Wood represented dissidents such as Emma Goldman . His politics verged upon anarchism . He wrote articles for radical journals such as " Liberty " , " The Masses " , and " Mother Earth " . Wood was unflagging in his opposition to state power . He advocated such causes as civil liberties for anti - war protesters , birth control , and anti - imperialism . In 1927 , he wrote in " Heavenly Discourse " that the " city of George Washington is blossoming into quite a nice little seat of empire and centralized bureaucracy . The people have a passion to ' let Uncle Sam do it . ' The federal courts are police courts . An entire system with an army of officials has risen on the income tax ; another on prohibition . The freedom of the common man , more vital to progress than income or alcohol , has vanished . ” Artist / Painter . Wood not only advocated for the Native Americans , but he painted them . His love of painting generated numerous studies of landscapes and points of interest along the Oregon and California coastline . He also memorialized some of his favorite places in watercolor including Keats ' grave and vistas from his home in Los Gatos , The Cats . His primary medium was watercolor / graphite . The Huntington Library has a good sampling of his artwork online . Later years . From 1925 until his death in 1944 he lived with his second wife , Sara Bard Field , in Los Gatos , California , in a house named " The Cats . " During his lifetime , he numbered among his friends Chief Joseph , Emma Goldman , Ansel Adams , Robinson Jeffers , Clarence Darrow , Childe Hassam , Margaret Sanger , and John Steinbeck . Wood was the father of Nan Wood Honeyman , Oregon ' s first U . S . congresswoman . Film . Wood was portrayed by Sam Elliott in the TV movie " I Will Fight No More Forever " . In the film , he is a United States captain who fights in the Nez Perce War .