Page:History of Goodhue County, Minnesota.djvu/113

 HISTORY OF GOODHUE COUNTY 70 lire. His voice, attuned to the forests and the waterfalls, had nature's own musical intonations, and when he began to speak even the little Indian children, playing about the outskirts of the council, were silent. As reported by Alexander Faribault, the chieftain said : "Fathers: These chiefs and soldiers, and others who sit here, have something they wish said to you, and I am going to speak it for them. There are chiefs here who are older than myself, and I would rather they had spoken ; but they have put it upon me to speak, although I feel as if my mouth was tied. These chiefs went to Washington long ago and brought back a good report concerning the settlement of our affairs in the treaty made there, and they and we were glad. But things that were promised in that treaty have not taken place. This is why these men sit still and say nothing. You perhaps are ashamed (or dis- graced; "ishtenya" in Sioux) of us; but you, fathers, are the cause of it's being so. They speak of money that is due them; it was mentioned the other day to Governor Ramsey, and we spoke about it last fall, but we have not yet seen the money. We desire to have it laid down to us. It is money due on the old treaty, and I think it should be paid; we do not want to talk about a new treaty until it is all paid." The commissioners again declared that under the treaty the money which had been withheld was to be expended by the direc- tion of the president, and he had decided to apply it to the edu- cation of the Indian children. Perhaps, they said, there has been a misunderstanding as to what the other treaty meant. They desired now to make a treaty that would be so plain that there could, and would be no doubt, as to its meaning. Governor Ram- sey then said: "If this treaty can be arranged, as much money will be paid down to you as will be equal to your usual cash annuities for three years." The governor then thought to bring matters to an immediate conclusion. "Do you wish," he asked, "that this amount be paid to you as your other annuities have been?" The chiefs made a murmur of apparent assent, and the governor continued: "Do all the people want it paid in that way?" Little Crow replied that if it were divided for the Indians by the whites it would probably be best; if the Indians undertook to divide it there might be some difficulty. Governor Ramsey replied that the money was in "money boxes," and a long time would be required to count the money and get it ready, and in the meanwhile they would- go ahead with the treaty. But Little Crow said: "We will talk of nothing else but that money, if it is until next spring. That lies in the way of a treaty. I speak for others, and not for myself." After some protests against further delay on the part of the