The American Indian in the United States, Period 1850-1914 / ... The Present Condition of the American Indian; His Political History and Other Topics; A Plea for Justice

by Warren K. Moorehead

“In conclusion, in this my 80th year of age, I hope never to see the day when the Indian reservation will be thrown open to white settlers. Such a step would be a sure extermination of the Indians, who would soon be tricked out of their little holdings by bad Whites and sent to die on the beach of Puget Sound. The Indian race is doomed to disappear. Let us at least allow them to die a natural death and give them a decent funeral.”

Correspondent, Bellingham, Washington

“The Indians’ land is without water and worthless. Whites have taken all the water. The law is such the Indians can not hunt. Many of them suffer for food.”

Correspondent, Likely, California

“The Government should stop paying the Chippewa money, now and then. Give them all that belongs to them—allotments, houses, and no money. The more they get, the less they exert themselves. They are lazier today than twenty years ago.”

Correspondent, Cloquet, Minnesota

“With respect to the full-blood Indian here, it is to be said to his great credit that he has no desire to receive a patent in fee to his land, and the full-bloods are holding on to their original allotments, and inherited land, with a spirit which is truly commendable. Little land is offered for sale belonging to the full-blood, and there is a well-fixed determination among the full-bloods to hold on to their land. As the land here is so valuable and as they know they can receive a good figure if the land is sold, and knowing too of the great pressure brought to bear upon an Indian by white men who desire to purchase their land, I say again that the Indian full-blood here is to be congratulated upon his determination that he will not sell the land which the Government has allotted to him and his family.”

Correspondent, Pendleton, Oregon

BAY-BAH-DWUN-GAY-AUSH, AGE 87
Photographed in 1914
This old blind medicine man was possessed of a remarkable memory and knew the family history of some hundreds of Ojibwa. He was the chief witness for the Government in establishing blood relationship (See pages [95] and [399])