598 TRIBES OF THE UPPER MISSOURI [bth. ann. jo 



at the treaty did not arrive in the West in time to be forwarded, so 

 that summer passed and the Missouri froze over without an}' ap- 

 pearance of presents forthcoming. The Indians became dissatisfied, 

 thought they had been trifled with, abused Crazy Bear and me for 

 deceiving them, raised war parties, and bid fair to break the treaty 

 and become more troublesome to whites than ever. 



Amidst all this clamor and disturbance the chief stood firm and, 

 being supported in office by the fort, all hostile demonstrations were 

 for the time averted. At this juncture, in January, 1853, Mr. Cul- 

 bertson arrived from St. Louis with orders from the superintendent 

 to supply the amount due the Indians as per treaty from the mer- 

 chandise of the fur company in this country. The nation therefore 

 being called together and placed in order in, the interior of the fort, 

 the goods as per invoice laid in front of them, the Crazy Bear rose 

 and said : 



" My children and friends : The clouds that have hitherto obscured 

 the sky are brushed away and a fine day appears before you. The 

 time has arrived when all the turbulent and discontented must be 

 convinced that the whites have but one tongue; that our great father, 

 the President, is rich and jiowerful. But a few days since most of 

 you were violent in your reproaches against myself and the whites. 

 If you have any more abuse left, heap it on now, disburden your 

 hearts at once of all complaint, make the pile of your abuse as large 

 as the pile of goods before you. The whites have kept their word 

 and your heads should hang in shame. 



" When you were invited to the treaty you were afraid to go, 

 some to leave their wives, others their children, others to cross the 

 warpath of the Blackfeet. I went. I appeared among nations in 

 your name and am the cause of the present smiling pile of goods 

 being laid before you. 



" When I returned from the treaty after an absence of three moons 

 and repeated to you the words of our Great Father, what was my 

 reception? How was I listened to? When, by some accident the 

 goods promised did not arrive, how did you act? What now do you 

 think of yourselves? 



" I hold in my hands the. words of our Great Father. They are 

 scored on my heart, were poured into my ears, did not run out, and 

 now is the most fitting time to repeat what I have so often told you 

 without being believed. Your Great Father does not want your 

 lands; he seeks your welfare. You are a few poor miserable beings; 

 he is rich, his people are numerous as the leaves of the Cottonwood. 

 He desires to stop the bloody wars heretofore existing between 

 Indian tribes, to make all one people, to enable all to hunt and visit 

 together in peace and friendship. He wishes you to refrain from all 



