Читать книгу The Collected Works - Henry Rowe Schoolcraft - Страница 57

Speech of Six Chippewa Chiefs36 on the Sioux War, delivered at Michilimackinac, in July, 1833.

My father: listen to your children. Look upon the blood that is shed by our enemies. I hold in my hand the wampum belt, and the articles of the treaty of Prairie du Chien. This belt is stained by blood. It has passed through all our bands. We have all taken hold of it with our hands. So have we in our hearts taken hold of the words of the treaty. You have told us to sit still, and we have done it. But what have our enemies done? Six times we have been attacked by them. Twice on Sioux land and four times on our own. Look on us, father; our mouths are full of blood. You are the cause of this. It is owing to our listening to your advice. You bade us sit still. You told us that your arm was long and strong, and that you would reach it out and pull back any that crossed the lines. We believed it. We remained quiet. Even when struck, we ceased to revenge ourselves, as we formerly revenged ourselves.

We have been again struck. Our people have been killed on their own lands. Yet we are told to keep quiet. We have been killed while relying upon your flag, thinking our enemies came to smoke the pipe of peace. Father, think not that we are fools. We have right hearts. We cannot sit with our eyes shut. But we will keep them open. They are looking upon the lines. They are looking upon you. We will wait one summer more, in hopes that our voices will reach you.37