CONCLUSION. 437 



distributes the presents, controls the reservations, pays 

 the annuities, and feeds and manages the Indians. 



The army, a pigmy in numerical force, but a giant in 

 endurance, pluck, and power, sits with its mouth sealed, 

 its hands tied, not permitted to speak or act, but as a 

 police force, at the will and discretion of the Indian 

 Department. 



The Indian is in the position of a wilful boy, with 

 a powerful but henpecked father, and an indulgent, 

 weak mother. 



The latter is constantly saying, c Now be good, or I'll 

 tell your father ; ' or, ' If you do that I'll make your 

 father whip you.' So with the Indian Department. 

 When coaxing, and flattery, and presents fail to keep 

 the Indians in the desired subjection, they are threatened : 

 ' Now, if you do so and so, I will call in the army 

 and have you whipped.' 



The result is the same as with the child. The 

 Indian conceives a contempt for a Department which 

 cannot control itself, and a hatred, combined with fear, 

 of an army which allows itself to be used to shield the 

 other's weakness, and do its dirty work. 



It is utterly impossible for the Indian to understand 

 he positions of each in their varied circumstances a fact 

 not to be wondered at when the problem is ofttimes 

 too intricate even for intelligent, cultivated whites. 

 The mother has all the control ; and, however much the 

 father may differ as to the management, he is not per- 

 mitted to say a word. 



Then comes the denouement. 



The boy becomes unmanageable, breaks out into 

 ungovernable fury, and does vast damage. The father 

 is called upon ; and, though he may in his innermost 

 heart believe that the mother deserves the whipping, 

 he is obliged, by his position and duty, to ' wallop ' the 

 child. ' Now comes the tug of war.' The boy is light 

 of heel, and seeks safety in flight. He dives into canons, 



