Page:The Indian Dispossessed.pdf/140

The Indian Dispossessed on the Quapaw reservation was not fertile, and that water was exceedingly scarce on it; that two wells had been dug to a depth of 60 to 70 feet without reaching water; and that he did not like the country."

Then the Commissioner set out with Joseph and an interpreter in a vain search for some spot in the Territory to Joseph's liking. He continues:

"I travelled with him in Kansas and the Indian Territory for nearly a week and found him to be one of the most gentlemanly and well-behaved Indians that I ever met. He is bright and intelligent, and is anxious for the welfare of his people."

Joseph never lost an opportunity to assert his understanding of the terms of surrender. His agent reports:

"Joseph expresses himself as very much opposed to making this country his future home, dwelling particularly on what he claims were the terms of surrender agreed upon between himself and General Miles at Bear Paw Mountain, according to which he argues he was to be returned to his old home."

This claim of Joseph, so often repeated, receives no official comment in the records. It is given each time simply as a declaration coming from Joseph, unaccompanied by so much as a statement that he is mistaken. To get at the facts, the author appealed for information to the best possible authority—Gen. Nelson A. Miles. With characteristic 124