208 CALENDAR HISTORY OF THE KIOWA [eth.ann.17 



and will not part with it. I want you to understand well what I say. Write it on 

 paper. Let the Great Fatht r see it, and let me hear what he has to say. I want 

 you to understand also, that the Kiowas and Comanches don't want to fight, and 

 have not been fighting since we made the treaty. I hear a great deal of good talk 

 from the gentlemen whom the Great Father sends us, but they never do what they 

 say. I don't want any of the medicine lodges [schools and churches] withm the 

 country. I want the children raised as I was. When I make peace, it is a long and 

 lastins; one— there is no end to it. AVe thank you for your presents. All the head- 

 men and braves are happy. Thiy will do wh.at you want them, for they know you 

 are doing the best you can. I and they will do our be.st also. When I look u])on 

 you, I know you are all big I'hiefs While you are in this country we go to sleep 

 happy and are not afraid. I have heard that you intend to settle us on a reserva- 

 tion near the mountains. I <lou't want to settle. I love to roam over the prairies. 

 There I feel free and happy, but when we settle down we grow ])ale and die. I have 

 laid aside my lance, bow, and shield, and yet I feel safe in your presence. I have told 

 you the truth. I have no little lies hid about me, but I don't know how it is with 

 the commissioners. Are they as clear as I am? A long time ago this land belonged 

 to our fathers ; but when I go up to the river I see camps of soldiers on its banks. 

 These soldiers cut down my timber; they kill my buffalo; and when I see that, my 

 heart feels like bursting; I feel sorry. I have spoken." 



The above is a plain unvarnished statement of fiicts, such as no Indian on the 

 plains could produce but iSatanta. It must be remembered that in cunning or native 

 diplomacy Satanta has no equal. In worth and influence Red Cloud is his rival; 

 but in boldness, daring, and merciless cruelty Satanta is far superior, and yet tliere 

 are some good points in this dusky chieftain which command admiration. If a 

 white man does him an injury, he never iorgives him; but if on the other hand the 

 white man has done him a service, death can alone prevent him from paying the 

 debt. The speech of Satanta caused the commissioners to look rather blank, and 

 when he pictured in his usual graphic manner how he loved his land, his buftalo, 

 and his traditions, there was a world of feeling in his tones, betraying his knowledge 

 of the vast difference between the power of the aggressive pale face and his waning 

 race. A certain dim foreboding of the Indian's fate swept across his mind, and in 

 its passage lit his eyes up with a fierce light, and his voice rose to a pitch of frenzy 

 as he exclaimed : " We don't want to settle— I love to roam over the prairie ; there I 

 am free and happy." 



His farewell speech to the commissioners at the coiiclusion of the 

 treaty is thus noted iu the same newspaper : 



On this occasion the old chief was accompauied by one hundred of the principal 

 warriors of the Kiowa tribe; and immediately after its close, this tribe, as well as 

 the Comanches, struck camp and left for the Cimarron River in the south. He 

 spoke with a gravity and earnestness that added force to his words. "If," said he, 

 "the treaty bring prosperity to us, we of course will like it the better. If it bring 

 prosperity or adversity, we will not abandon it." He alluded delicately to the fact 

 that the white man often forgot to keep his treaties with the Indian; and then at 

 the close, referring to the treaty just made, he rose to the heights of friendship, 

 ottering his heart and his hospitality, and adding: "For your sakes, the green grass 

 shall not be stained with the blood of the whites. Your people shall again be our 

 people, and peace shall be our mutual heritage. Good-bye. You may not see me 

 again. But remember Satanta as the white man's friend." He is spoken of as having 

 a very grave yet musical voice, and at times displays the deepest emotion. 



Another who heard him on this occasion says: 



The great chief, Satanta, in delivering his .iddress spoke with a dignity and force 

 that could not but lie appreciated. He is a great orator and of unbounded influence 

 iu the council {Itid. MisccL. xii, SS04-SSS3). 



