I then heard the notes of natural oratory, coming in wild, but well-measured words, and recognized for the first time fully that nature does sometimes produce noble men without the line of civilized life. I send you a verbatim report of his speech as taken by Dr. McKay; because I understand we are all trying to solve the problem of civilization for Indians. I am not, myself, longer sceptical on that subject; but I know that a large proportion of our public men are; and you would not wonder, either, could you visit some reservations and see for yourself the inside workings of moral law.

But I assert that the Indians are not to blame;

let censure fall where it belongs; viz., on the men who are entrusted with the care and responsibility of leading and protecting these people, yet wink at and tolerate, in subordinates, the most demoralizing habits, and may be, in some cases, participants themselves. I do not speak of this agency in particular.

Said Allen David,—“I see you. All my people see you.—I saw you at Sprague river.—I watched your mouth.—I have seen but one tongue.—I have looked into your eyes.—I have seen your heart.—You have given me another heart.—All my people will have white hearts.—When I was a little boy I lived here.—I have always lived here.—A long time ago a white man told me I could be like him. I said my skin is red, it cannot change; it must be my heart, my brain, that is to be like a white man.—You think we are low people.—May be we are in your eyes.—Who made us so?—We do not know much; we can learn.—Some of the officers at the fort (referring to Fort Klamath, six miles from the agency) have been good men—some of them have been bad men.—Do you think a good white man will take an Indian wife?—A white man that will take an Indian wife is worse blood than Indian.—These things make our hearts sad.—We want you to stop it.... Your ears are large.—Your heart is large.—You see us.—Do not let your heart get sick.

“Take a white man into the woods, away from a store; set him down, with nothing in his hands, in the woods, and without a store to get tools from; and what could he do?

“When you lay down before us the axes, the saws, the iron wedges and mauls you have promised us, and

we do not take them up, then you can say we are ‘cul-tus’—lazy people.—You say your chief is like me—that he is an Indian—I am glad. What can I say that is worth writing down?—Mr. Parker does not know me.—When you do all Mr. Huntington promised in the treaty, 1864, we can go to work like white men.—Our hearts are tired waiting for the saw-mill.—When it is built, then we can have houses like white men.—We want the flour-mill; then we will not live on fish and roots. We will help to make the mills.—We made the fences on the big farms.—We did not get tired....

“Give us strong law; we will do what your law says. We want strong law—we want to be like white men. You say that Mr. Parker does not want bad men among our people.—Is B. a good man?—he took Frank’s wife—is that good? We do not want such men. Is —— a good man?—he took Celia from her husband—is that right?—Applegate gave us good laws—he is a good man.—Applegate told us not to gamble. Capt. —— won thirty-seven horses from us. He says there is no law about gambling.—Applegate said there was.—Which is right?”...

Mr. Meacham said, “You need not be afraid to talk—Keep nothing back. Your people are under a cloud. I see by their eyes that their hearts are sick; they look sorrowful. Open your hearts and I will hear you; tell me all, that I may know what to do to make them glad.”

Allen David said, “I will keep nothing back.—I have eyes—I can see that white men have white hands.—Some white men take our women—they have children—they are not Indian—they are not white—they