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Show 126 REPORT OF THE BOARD OF INDIAN COMMISSIONERS. to us; we took his advice and came. Our parents came here, and before they died they told us to listen to good advice from the President, and follow it ; this is our heart. The good talk of the great chief is here. The advice he gives is good. We have good houses and plenty of food. Instruction from the President is always good news and we follow his advice. Mr. BRUNOT. I have heard from many, and I think they have said the hearts of all. Is that so ? Some things you have said I will speak about ; you said some of the Indians were not here. I want some one to answer why they are not. There are two reasons: one is, there are some who are afraid of good talk ; others did not know of our meeting, being too far off. I am sorry all are not here ; you must tell the absent what is good, and get them to do what the President wants all to do. One said, the whites say you won't be allowed to stay here always. You can make it sure that you will always live here by cultivating the land and getting others of your tribes to do so. Learn to talk English, and you will be the same as white men, and no one will want you to go anywhere else. Some day some of your children will go to Washington and will help make laws for whites and Indians. If you want that, you must work for it. Mr. Wilbur has taught you many things, but you must learn to do more, and I hope the time will come when your country will all be cultivated. You must send your children to school, and teach them all you know ; and when you grow old your children can read and write, and will know what God wants them to do. This is what I want all of you to keep in your hearts, not to be salistied with things as they are now, but keep trying to do better. The President will some day have the land surveyed, and you will get a paper that will tell that the lands are yours and your children's, and I hope more of the children will have lands marked out for them. You speak of three kinds of peo-ple. One kind is the Drummers ; what good does their religion do them ? They are no bet-ter than when they were wild. You know what is right and we want you to do it. There is one other thing I want to say a word about. There are some Indians who have more than one wife; this is bad ; it is against the white man's laws, and God's laws, and where the Indians have more than one wife they are dying out. FRANK. I lived long ago at Simcoe. My heart was, as it were, asleep, I used to hear good talk while I lived here. I was like a good man. Mr. Wilbur gave me good advice and I took it. Now it is like as if 1 had thrown away good things. I went away ; I went among those who did all that was wrong. My heart was sick. Common Indians and common white men do wrong, and I say nothing. I feel as if I had found something and hid it. When I see the white men, they are my friends. I don't steal white men's cattle. I don't want to steal ; I want to do well, to farm ; but I am away by myself among bad people. Mr. WILBUR. I know you all, how and where you live, who keep the laws of the Presi-dent and the laws of God. I want all who have heard what the President's messenger has said to take it into your hearts and keep it there. After the council three Indians came and said they wanted to talk with the great chief. They belong to the heathen " Drummers " or " Snoohollers." WAN- TOOSE ( a Snooholler Indian) said : The commissioner has come to this land. The President has done a good thing in sending him here. We are glad to have you bring the message of the President to us. We are glad you have seen our lands and know our condi-tion. Our land is as dear to us as our flesh and bones. The talk from Washington is good, and what you bring is the same. Our mind is the same. The talk you bring makes us up, and we will keep it. As the sun gives light to the world, so your words give light to our hearts, arid as we are pleased to see the sun, so we are glad to see those that come with good hearts to the Indian. When Sunday comes our mind is to make a good heart to God, as you do ; when we deem it is only a different way of getting a good heart toward God. When the sun shines it brings vegetation, so the sunlight is good for all and dispels dark-ness ; when we grow up in the light we grow up great men. Our mind is that we ought to live as one, the whites and the Indians. WtiO- Ni- TO, ( Snooholler.) This is our laud. We have been planted and grown like a tree on the land. As a tree is valuable on the land, so is our being planted here good lor the land. First was the earth, then riches was placed in it, then n> an was placed on it. It is good for man and woman to be together on the earth ; a home is given and they are placed in it. We do not know how the earth was made, nor do we say who made it. The earth was peopled and their hearts are good, and my mind is that it is as it ought to be. The world was peopled by whites and Indians, and they should all grow as one flesh. Mr. BRUNOT. You have not got it quite right. God was first. He made the earth and all things. He made the whites and Indians ; the whites away to the East, the Indians here. God gave the white man the Bible to tell about Him. The white and red men were all bad once. God took pity on them and sent His Son to die, instead of having all the people die. We would have you learn of all this. Before leaving the agency we visited a large < unmber of the Indians in their homes and found them living very comfortably. There are a large number who are quite well off, and almost all seemed contented and happy. THOS. K. CREE, Secretary. |