Page:The Indian Dispossessed.pdf/77

 the treaty agreed upon between his father, Victor, head chief of the Flathead nation, and other Indian chiefs, and Governor Stevens on the part of the Government, on the 16th of July, 1855, provided that the Bitter Root Valley, above the Lo-Lo Fork, should be set apart as a separate reservation for the Flathead tribe. . ..

"In regard to the issue of the patents, Charlos claims that that matter was never properly explained to him or his people, and when they gave their names for title they simply understood they were signing a petition to the President to allow them to retain the Bitter Root Valley as a separate reservation from the Jocko, as agreed upon by the eleventh article of the treaty. I found it in vain to try to explain the precise meaning and wording of this clause, as he persisted that it was the Indian understanding that according to the Stevens [Victor] treaty they have a valid right and title to the Bitter Root Valley as a reservation. It was also inferred by him that if his people did accept the patents they would not know where to find the land, as a part of what he claimed to be his land has already been taken away from him by a white man, who claimed his land ran through it. Taxation and the breaking up of tribal relations is another objection, and also an utter lack of appreciation or confidence in the good intentions of the Government. He fully appreciates the strength of the Government and the fact that