Indian Tribes of the Upper Missouri / Edited with Notes and Biographical Sketch

by Edwin Thompson Denig

They use no studied maxims of expression in conversation, nor are there observed any compositions partaking of the nature of laments, unless the speeches made to departed spirits and the universal monotonous mourning chant[38] would be construed in that light. Their ordinary talk is pretty much the same as that of other men, though perhaps the Indians use fewer words in conversation, selecting only those which have a direct reference to the subject. They do not evince a quickness in repartee, even in their jokes, and all conversation, except the obscene, is carried on more deliberately and concisely than among other races. The effect of their oratory is a great deal enhanced by the position, bearing, and gesticulation of the speaker, yet it is not without its merits; simplicity, clearness, and strength of language are its distinguishing traits. We have heard and understood some hundreds of speeches on every subject of interest among the Sioux, Assiniboin, and Cree Nations, and must confess we can not discern the figures and tropes attributed to their oratory by fiction writers. Metaphor is sometimes used, but not often. Their eloquence lies in the few words, bold assertions, and pointed questions with which they clothe their ideas, added to fierce expression of countenance and earnestness of gesticulation.

Everything they say in a speech has a tendency to gain their object if they have any, and Indians seldom speak otherwise. No set forms are followed, their thoughts finding utterance as they arise, or rather according to their feelings, and consequently make an impression on their auditors. The principal aims of the Indian speeches we have heard were to gain something or to impress the mass with the spirit of emulation, a desire for war or peace, and for the better regulation of their national affairs. One or two addresses of this kind have already been inserted and now follow two more, both heard and interpreted by myself and copied from our records. We fear in reading them, a woeful disappointment on the part of novel writers and romantic authors of Indian tales, but such as they are they exhibit true samples of Indian eloquence at the present day, however much it may differ from that in the time of the celebrated Logan and others. In interpreting these speeches, the exact and entire ideas of the Indians are preserved, though the words chosen to express them are not always the same. We have had occasion to remark on this head before that no Indian language admits of being translated word for word; to do so, the purport desired by the Indian would fail, injustice be done to his ideas as realized by him, and a futility of words presented so devoid of order as to make no impression on the person for whom they are intended.

Nevertheless it is not to be inferred that the ideas have been improved upon. They are entire, and only so because clothed in the only kind of words sufficient to convey the real extent of their signification.

The occasion which produced the following speech by the Crazy Bear was this: In the summer of 1837 the Assiniboin, with other nations, were invited to attend the treaty at Laramie. It was with great difficulty any of them could be persuaded to go, as the road along the Yellowstone was beset with Blackfeet war parties; but this man with three others went in company with A. Culbertson, Esq., who was authorized to conduct them. The Crazy Bear was, while at the treaty, made chief of the Assiniboin Nation by Col. D. D. Mitchell, the United States commissioner, and on his return to his people repeated to the nation the stipulations of the treaty, together with the “talk” held at the rendezvous, but, as usual with Indians, was not believed. It also happened that in the ensuing spring, by some delay, the merchandise intended for the Indians and promised them at the treaty did not arrive in the West in time to be forwarded, so that summer passed and the Missouri froze over without any appearance 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. Culbertson arrived from St. Louis with orders from the superintendent to supply the amount due the Indians as per treaty from the merchandise 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 powerful. 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 depredations on whites, respect your chief as a chief, and listen to his words. For this he sends you these presents which will be repeated every year for 15 years, unless by your misconduct you incur his displeasure. I have heard the words; they are true. I have seen his soldiers and know he has the power to punish those who have no ears.

“A great deal of what you do and say is foolishness, the work and talk of children, not of men. Last fall in despite, you raised war parties, made threats against myself and the whites, gave me trouble. You now see the rashness of your proceedings. Who gives you these goods?