The Story of the Bitter Root
white man, and there they proposed to remain. All argument and persuasion failed to shake their determination; Victor and his men flatly refused to sign a treaty which involved the cession of the beloved land of their fathers
Now, large interests were dependent upon the signing of this treaty; no Brunot was in attendance to cut off the persuasive tactics of the commissioners. The Bitter Root Valley was only a portion of the coveted territory to be ceded. The treaty must be signed.
The white man is resourceful, while the Indian is simple; these two characteristics appear prominently in every treaty council with the Indians. After all other expedients had failed, this clause was added to the document for the special benefit of the Flatheads:
"Article XI. It is, moreover, provided that the Bitter Root Valley, above the Lo-Lo Fork, shall be carefully surveyed and examined, and if it shall prove, in the judgment of the President, to be better adapted to the wants of the Flathead tribe than the general reservation provided for in this treaty, then such portions of it as may be necessary shall be set apart as a separate reservation for said tribe. No portion of the Bitter Root Valley, above the Lo-Lo Fork, shall be opened to settlement until such examination is had and the decision of the President made known."
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