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Show REPORT OF THE BOARD OF INDIAN COMMISSIONERS. 117 owing to the drought. A largo number of the Indians regularly on the reservation were away at tlie Columbia River, procuring their winter supply of fish. Held a council with the Indians in the school- house to- day, Commissioner Brunot, with Mr. Cree, his secretary, Captain Smith, the agent, and all the employers, together with the chief and most of the Indians who were on the reservation, being present. On opening the council Captain Smith said: " I told you two or three years ago that there were men coming from the East to talk with you, to pray with you, and to pray for you. They are here ' now to talk with you, and to give you good advice. They have also come to hear you talk to them ; whatever you wish to say they will listen to. I want you to talk to them freely, for they desire to know all your wants ; they will now talk with you." Mr. Brunot was then introduced, and said: " It is right, my friends, when we come together, to talk of things that pertain to our interest, that we ask our Heavenly Father to be with us, and I will now do so." Mr. Brunot then led in prayer, asking God to bless the council, after which he said : " I am glad to meet with so many Indians here from the Warm Spring, Wascoe, and Tenino tribes, but am sorry that there are not more of you here. I want that the chief who is here, and all the rest of the headmen, shall hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and tell those who are not here all that is said. There are many white men who think the Indian has no sense, but many more white men think he has good sense, and will learn if he has a chance. I have seen Indians who were just like white men, and some are very high amongst white men. I know the Indians have good sense if they will use it. You have all heard of the President at Washington ; he is our great white man ; he believes the Indians have sense, and cun learn, and he wants to do all the good for them that he can. He has sent men whom he can trust to visit the Indians, and hear what they have to say, and carry back their word to him. I have come here now not so much to talk to you as to hear what you have to say, and carry it back to the President. I have seen some houses and little farms, and things planted in the ground. I am told they belong to the Indians. I am glad to know it, for it shows wrhat we thought of the Indians was right. I am sorry there are not more of these farms, but I hope many more of you will take lands, and have houses on them. When the white man gets his house, and lives in it, with his stock about Irim, he is always getting things that he needs, and that add to his comforts Every day he and his wife and family are getting better off; they send their children to school, where they learn to talk and write, and learn about the white man's God. It is hard to teach a very old man new things, but you can teach the children everything. If we love the children, we want to do them good. I want you to have your children taught just as the white man's children are. After a while some of them will be great white chiefs, but they never will be, unless they go to school and learn. I hope every Indian on this reservation will send his children to the school, and I hope more teachers will be sent to you. There are some things the Indian must learn if he would better his condition, he must learn the white man's laws, and live under them. The white man is learning better all the time, so ought the Indian to do. If I had come to the Dalles and sat down on the boards till it was time to eat, and then got up and ate, and sat down again, I would never have gotten here. If you go to the Dalles to catch fish, and only sit down and look at the river, you would never catch any. If the white man wants a wagon, he cannot sit down and look at the wood ; he has to make it ; so I had to start to get here ; so you must work if you would have fish ; so you must work if you Avould have what you want. Captain Smith and those who are here try to show you how to work your farms, and when you send your boys to school, they must also be taught to work, so that they can do all that the white man does. The Presi-dent expects the Warm Springs, Wascoes, and Teninoes to do these things, and he sent me to see if they are doing them. " About religion, I will answer what the chief said yesterday. He said, ' I don't know about religion, because they tell so many different things.' When I came here I traveled out a good many miles and came to two roads ; I took one of them and it brought me to the top of the Warm Spring Mountain. I saw one road lead one way and the other another way, and many around " the hill. I came a little farther, and found all the good roads went one way, and brought me here. What the good white men tell you about religion is like the roads, they all go the one way all to the one good place ; so take one good road and keep in it, and it will bring you out right at last. When I passed over the mountain, if some bad man had come and given me whisky and told me to go over the rocks I would never have gotten here. I could see which was the good road, and knew that whisky was bad, and that if I went on the rocks I should go wrong. So the Indian can see the right road, and we want him to take it. I want you to talk, to tell me anything you wish to say about the agency, or anything else you wish to speak of." TA- SE- NICK, of the Wascoe tribe. I want to talk to you ; you are my brother, and I am glad to see you. We have looked for you a long time, and I have been wishing that some one from the East would come from those who have been trying to do good to the Indian. I had a notion to get up and go myself, but did not know the way, and had no money. I want to tell how we have been used. Everybody has heard you talk, both the whites and Indians. We have a reservation, but do not know the boundary line. Those present who live near the lines can hear you. I feel now as if I was going to see my children grow up |
