Viewing page 6 of 35

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

[[start page]]

6

to a very great degree lost confidence in our people and their promises. Indians are very much like white men in being unable to live upon air. If you were to collate from treaties, all the [[underlined]] promises [[/underlined]] made to the red men and contrast them with our [[underlined]] performances, [[/underlined]] you would have to admit that there was a very serious margin of compacts broken and unfulfilled upon which The Indians could ground their distrust and contempt.

We send them too many Commissioners; there is no class of men for whom the Indian has less respect. Better select one tribe and stick closely to the letter and essence of the compacts we have Entered into with it; such an example would not be lost upon adjacent tribes.

Our method is different. Let a tribe remain at peace, we starve them. Let them go to war and spring suddenly upon our scattered settlements, we make every promise, yield every concession. Thus the Indian learns that by being "bad", he is all the more certain to be

[[end page]]