here to make you understand the Queen's will. I received your letter last night and was glad to learn that you wanted to accept the terms I had offered, and which had been accepted by the other Indians. Before I received your letter I had sent you one asking you to meet me here where we are now, and I am glad you have come, as I could not otherwise have met you.
"One of you made a request that if he were accepted as a Chief, he should have a blue coat. I do not yet know who the Chiefs are. To be a Chief he must have followers. One man came forward as a Chief and I had to tell him unless you have twenty tents you cannot continue as a Chief.
"The color of your Chief's coat is perhaps a little thing; red is the color all the Queen's Chiefs wear. I wear this coat, but it is only worn by those who stand as the Queen's Councillors; her soldiers and her officers wear red, and all the other Chiefs of the Queen wear the coats we have brought, and the good of this is that when the Chief is seen with his uniform and medal every one knows he is an officer of hers. I should be sorry to see you different from the others, and now that you understand you would not wish it."
KAH-MEE-YIS-TOO-WAYS (The Beardy)--"I feel grateful for this day, and I hope we will be blessed. I am glad that I see something that will be of use; I wish that we all as a people may be benefitted by this. I want that all these things should be preserved in a manner that they might be useful to us all; it is in the power of man to help each other. We should not act foolishly with the things that are given us to live by. I think some things are too little, they will not be sufficient for our wants. I do not want very much more than what has been promised, only a little thing. I will be glad if you will help me by writing my request down; on account of the buffalo I am getting anxious. I wish that each one should have an equal share, if that could be managed; in this I think we would be doing good. Perhaps this is not the only time
that we shall see each other. Now I suppose another can say what he wishes."
SAY-SWAY-KUS--"What my brother has said, I say the same, but I want to tell him and our mother the Queen, that although we understand the help they offer us, I am getting alarmed when I look at the buffalo, it appears to me as if there was only one. I trust to the Queen and to the Governor, it is only through their aid we can manage to preserve them. I want to hear from the Governor himself an answer to what I have said, so I may thoroughly understand."
THE BEARDY--"Those things which the Almighty has provided for the sustenance of his children may be given us as well; where our Father has placed the truth we wish the same to be carried out here, I do not set up a barrier to any road that my children may live by: I want the payment to exist as long as the sun shines and the river runs: if we exercise all our good, this surely will happen: all of our words upon which we agree, I wish to have a copy written on skin as promised; I want my brother to tell me where I can get this. He has said, 'what I have done with the others I will do with you:' I accept the terms, no doubt it will run further according to our number. When I am utterly unable to help myself I want to receive assistance. I will render all the assistance I can to my brother in taking care of the country. I want from my brother a suit of clothing in color resembling the sky so that he may be able when he sees me to know me; I want these two (sitting by him) to be Chiefs in our place with me and to have six Councillors (two each) in all."
GOVERNOR--"I will speak to you in regard to food as I have spoken to the other Indians; we cannot support or feed the Indians every day, further than to help them to find the means of doing it for themselves by cultivating the soil. If you were to be regularly fed some of you would do nothing at all for your own support; in this matter we will do as we have agreed with the other Indians, and no more. You will get
your share of the one thousand dollars' worth of provisions when you commence to work on your reserves.
"In a national famine or general sickness, not what happens in every day life, but if a great blow comes on the Indians, they would not be allowed to die like dogs.