NYYM_scrapbook_194

it was to go hungry and cold, but the poor Indian did. He believed that we pitied them and talked to them for thier good; and he thanked us for it, and said he would tell it to his people, and hoped they would mind our talk; to which they all assented. He then said, Brothers, I have nothing more to say. and shaking hands with us again sat down. After gathering the foregoing facts and obser- vations respecting the Winnebago Indians, and not seeing that much usefulness would result by a longer stay at this place; we took leave of our friend Lowry and family as well as the other white inhabitants connected with them at the establishment, and returned to Dubuque on the Mis- sissippi. We then took Steam Boat down the river about Two hundred miles to Burlington; from thence we took State and private conveyance by way of Mount Pleasant and Salem, Iowa, to the Sacks and Fox Agency distant about eighty miles. We reached this place 8th of Tenth month about one o clock P.M. The Tribe were at the time assebled for the puropse of negotiating a Treaty with our General Government through Governor John Chambers the negotiator. The whole Sack &; Fox nation were in the neighbor- hood, but the men only attended the Council. Just as we reached the council the Chiefs commenced speaking and spoke with much animation. One of the Fox chiefs spoke first, then a Sack, and so alternately until four had spoken, the last being Kecookuk, thier principal chief a cele- brated orator. The purport of thier talk was about the same; and resulted in an agreement to sell all their lands in the United States for the sum of one million fifty five Thousand Dollars, Eight hundred Thousand of which was to be put at interest at 5 per cent, and the remain- der to be appropriated to the payment of thier debts; south west of the Missouri River where they were to remove within three years. After the adjournment of the Council at that time we went to the Agent's house where the Governor put up during his stay at this place. He received us kindly and entered into conversation very freely respecting the condition of this Tribe of Indians--he remarked that un- less something was done to better thier condition and that soon; they must in a very few years all be wastid away in consequence of the wickedness and treachery of the whiskey sellers and other traders who are taking advan- tage of these poor ignorant natives, by obtaining thier money and other valuable articles, in exchange for whiskey and other trifling commodities of no real val- ue to the Indians. These articles, he remarked, are frequently sold to them for ten or twenty and in some instances for one hundred times their real cost, and in a very short time these unprincipled traders manage to obtain the last dollar the Indian has. And further, he said that some of the accounts brought in against the Indians stagger credulity; that in one instance one of these was exhibited for settlement amounting to Sixteen Thou-sand Dollars, which he had ascertained to have grown out of the remnants of an old stock of goods not worth five hundred Dollars. He remarked that whiskey was no doubt in many instances sold to the In- dians and charged as corn, blankets and other articles which the licensed traders may have a right to sell to the Indians; while it is unlawful to sell them whiskey. He said also that the advice of the whiskey sellers and other traders, in its influence upon the Indians was unbounded; and that he had found much difficulty in treating with them on that account; as they were constantly hanging about them and advising them against adopting such a course as would be for thier good, cautioning them not to leave the chase, not lay down the gun, nor the blanket--not to have school, established amongst them; and in fine against civilization in any way. And from what we saw and heard, during our stay at the Council Ground, we were led to place the most implicit confidence in the remarks of the Governor. While we were at the Council we met with men of the popular class, some of whom it is known have been long engaged in a trade with the Indians by which they have amassed great wealth--these men used their utmost skill to make us believe that the Indians were a happy people; that there was no necessity for any benevolent exertions on thier behalf, and that they were now living very comfortably. An Indian (say they) was made to hunt not