The Indian Dispossessed
"You brought the mind of the Great Father from Washington. I am poor, and I speak; I know nothing; you are a long way ahead of us. You say we are far behind you; that is all right, and we do not mind if you tell us so."
On the third day, after the senator had presented the question of removal in his peculiarly forceful way, the Indian speeches began. Howlish-Wampo, the head chief of the Cayuse, led the defence:[1]
"I heard what you said about our lands, and I understood what you said. We like this country and don't want to dispose of our reservation. I look at this land, this earth; it is like my mother, as if she was giving me milk, for from it I draw the food on which I live and grow. I see this little piece of land; it is all i have left; I know it is good land. This reservation was marked out for me. The people that are on this reservation are working, are doing their own work for themselves. I understand that you are asking me for my land. I say I like my land, and I don't know whether you will fulfil your promise if I accept your promises for my land. I did not see, with my own eyes, the money that was promised me before. All the stock I have had to feed on this land here. That is why I say this little piece of land, all I have here, I want
- ↑ The frequent allusions in the Indians' speeches to Stevens and Palmer, the Council at Walla Walla, and unfulfilled promises, all refer to their treaty.
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