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Artifacts found in graves on hill. Republican Pawnee Village, Webster County, Nebr.

211

La-ceech-ne-sha-ru, the Knife Chief, a Pawnee Loup.

Father, Here I am before you. You see me. I am poor.

Father, I am a Pawnee wolf, and those you see there (pointing to his band) are Pawnee wolves.

Father, Look at my people, and see if they have any thing belonging to a white man.

Father, I tell you the truth, I am poor.

Father, Amongst my people, I believe, there is not an individual that has injured you. If any one of the other bands can say they have, let them speak.

Father, This medal which hangs upon my breast, I received from my red-headed father below (Governor Clarke) I listened to his words, and on my return I told them to my people, and they believed.

Father, You see that I am old; but I do not recollect that myself, or any of my people, ever injured any of the whites.

Father, Neither my hands, nor those of my young men, have ever been stained with the blood of the Americans.

Father, That is the reason why I have come to listen again in the words of my father.

Father, That is all I have to say. I have finished.

Major O'Fallon

Grand Pawnees, and Pawnee Republicans; I am not satisfied with what you have said. What you have said is good, but it is not enough. Until you drive those dogs from among you, I will not consider you in any other light than as dogs.

Pa-ne-ca-he-ga, Fool Robe's son, a Pawnee Republican

Father, I am a Pawnee Republican.

Father, What you have said is true: the Pawnee Republicans are dogs, they do not listen with their ears.

Father, I have never done ill to a white man myself; I have never even taken a knife from him; and my heart is distressed because my young people will not listen.

Father, It is true that Tar-ra-re-ca-wa-ho has said, that we whipped two white men; we did do it.

Father, I am poor; I say, I am poor.

Father, It is true that it is customary for my people to rob white men, when they go to war, but I never knew them to kill one.

Father, My heart is distressed because my young men will not listen; they have no ears.

Father, The offenders have not ears; they were afraid to come and see you, knowing they had done wrong.

Father, I came without fear, on a good horse, which I present to you. My people were afraid that I should come.

Father, I am without fear. I said, when I set out from my village, why should I fear, if my father strikes me, it is no more than a father does to his child.

Father, We are glad to hear your words; we will make peace; we will return to our village, and see what those dogs will do.

Father, That is all I have to say. I have done.

Chief of the Tappage Band of the Grand Pawnees

Father, I have come to see you; here I am, very poor.

Father, I have seen my father below, and this is my great father I wear round my neck.

Father, When he put this about my neck I heard what he said to me, and have recollected it.

Father, Our young people will not attend to what we say: we talk and repeat to them, but when they lie down, they forget all before midnight.

Father, You ought to have heard whether my band have injured you or not.

Father, There was a time when our hands were red with the blood of your people, but since we have been below, it has been washed off.

Father, We visited our father below; he told us, when we met a white man to treat him well, and let him never fear.

Father, I see you are looking on me; I am poor; I have nothing on me of the make of the whites; I have even turned my buffaloe robe to hide its tarnish.

Father, I came here to listen to your words, to hear what you have told us.

Father, You say there is a God above; I know it; when he is angry I hear him speak (alluding to the thunder).

Father, I consider you equal to him. You are the same to me.

Father, All you see here are your children; they are poor.

Father, That is all I have to say.

Major O'FalIon

Pawnee chiefs and soldiers; I called you here to adjust the difference that is between us. I called you here to bring the articles which were stolen from my people. I have not yet seen

them. I called you here to bring the dogs that stole them; but I have not seen them; I hope that you have brought them.

My eyes have been looking for them, and my ears have been listening, but I am not satisfied.

(The following articles were now given up.

One buffaloe robe, one horse, one pair double-barrelled pistols, one bird-bag, one tomahawk, one axe, one powder-flask, one shot-bag.

Fool Robe's son said, there are many articles lost, which my people took from you, and two of the horses gave out on the road, a few miles from this place.)

Long Hair

Those who did the mischief did not come. They were afraid. Here are two of their chiefs.

Major O'Fallon

Pawnee chiefs and warriors; I wish to know whether or not you are able to punish the offenders: whether or not there are good people enough amongst you to punish them. Our soldiers are anxious to march against you, but the chiefs restrain them, lest they injure the innocent. That is the reason why I wish to know if you are not able to punish the bad. Our people do not wish to spill innocent blood. Therefore I desire to place their punishment in your own hands.

I have come to this land, not to spill blood, but to prevent its flowing. I have come to give you rest, and peace, and happiness, not to make war. If your arms are not strong enough, come forward and say so; if you are not chiefs, say so.

Pawnees, If I were to see our troops marching towards your nation, tears would fall from my eyes; because I believe that there are some good men among you, whose blood would immediately flow. Red Skins have called us cowards when we have hesitated to spill blood, when it ought to have been spilt. Even some of your chiefs have insulted our people, thinking they would not resent it. I tell you, Pawnees, that we are tired of submitting to insults. My nation is most powerful, and that is the reason why the Great Spirit restrains our arm.

Come forward, you chiefs, and let me know what is the strength of your arm; my ears are anxious to hear; say, before it is too late, whether you can govern your people or not.

Pe-ta-Ie-sha-roo, Republican Chief.

Father, I am not afraid of these people, these Pawnees you see here. They have never struck me with a whip; (meaning. that when he has chastised his people they have not retaliated upon him).

Father, I have travelled through all the nations below; they have not injured me.

Father, I have seen people travel in blood. I have travelled in blood myself, but it was the blood of Red Skins, no others.

Father, I have been in all the nations round about, and I have never feared a Red Skin.

Father, I have seen the time when blood flowed upon the ground. It drew tears from many eyes. But I went down to visit my father, (Governor Clarke,) and returned contented.

Father, I have no longer a desire for war. I delight to sit in peace.

Father, When I went to see my father below, although there was danger in the way, I was not afraid to go alone.

Father, But I am now like a squaw, and instead of carrying, the mark of a man, I have that of a woman.

Father, My right arm, and that half of my body is white man, and the other only Indian.

Father, When I returned from below, I related to my people what I had seen, but none of them had ears; they would not. hear me.

Father, I have often traded with the whites. I always traded fairly, while the Pawnee Loups did not. Here is a trader who knows me. (Mr. Pappan)

Father, We will punish the offenders. It is very easy; it is not difficult at all.

Father, I will score the back of him who cut your tent.

Father, It is some time since I have worn this on my neck; I have kept it secreted, because they will not respect it.

 Father, After our battles with the people around us, I have gone alone, crying into their villages, and have received no harm. (In other words, Indians have forgiven me for spilling their blood, then why should not the magnanimity of the whites forgive the comparative trifling injuries I have done them.)

Father, When the war-party that robbed your people returned, I was not told of this act. If I had known it, and had demanded the articles, perhaps they would have been given up to me; but they are now so widely distributed that it Is impossible to collect them all.

Father, I have never yet whipped my people, but I intend to begin now.

I will punish the offenders as soon as I return home Father, I am glad to see you writing down all that has been said. When a man dies, his actions are forgotten, but when they are written down, it is not so.

Father, some among us have had difficulty with the traders, because they would give but very little vermilion, &c., for our furs.

Father, When I have seen a person poor, and I had a horse to spare, or a blanket, I have given it to him.

Father, From this day I undergo a change; I am now an American, and you shall hear that it is true.

Father, It you hear of my being whipped when I return to my village, consider yourself the cause of it, for I will whip those dogs that insulted you as you desire me.

Father, You love your children; I love mine. Father, Be quick, do what you have to do. If you intend to punish us, let us know it.

(This is an artful, politic Indian. If he is sincere in what he has here said, his change has been a sudden one. When Mr. Dougherty delivered the talk sent by Major O'Fallon to this people, in their village, demanding the stolen articles, &c., this man ridiculed him, saying, that for his part he had nothing but an old pair of shoes that the Red Head had given him, and which he would return.)

Major O'Faflon

Do you wish to see our warriors among you, to punish these people. I do not wish to see them among you. You, chief of the Pawnee Republicans, (addressing the last speaker,) you say you  are able to punish them; I am in hopes that you have not lied; if you have, we must do it ourselves. If my eyes cannot see you punish them, my ears must tell me you have done it. Yes!  my ears must tell me it has been well done, that you have Liven two stripes for every one that those two unfortunate traders have suffered. And you, Long Hair, that have so strong an arm, assist him, lest our warriors should he obliged to visit you,  when yourself might not be distinguished from the others. I do not yet know you as chiefs, but I wish to know you as such; I want to have some proofs that you are chiefs. When I learn that you have punished those who have done wrong, as our chiefs punish, then I will recognize you. You tell me that our stomachs are empty: I will give you something to fill them. You show me your naked skin; my heart will not let me clothe it until this difference is settled. Were I to smoke with you on

this day, the smoke would not rise; it would fall to the ground. When I shall be able to cover what is past, and to forget when I smile upon you in shaking hands, then perhaps I may give you something to eat and to smoke. I come not to beg your friendship; I come not to ask your land or your skins; I ask nothing of you. Pawnees! I wish to be at peace with you, and all the Red Skins, I tell you again. I know that the Great Spirit has done little for you; he has done much for us. I come to do something for you, when I ace you willing to do something for yourselves. I come to give you advice to enable you to live happily, to calm your troubled minds, and to give peace to your troubled heads.

If in reality you punish those who have offended, and my ears tell me so, I will take you by the hand and smoke with you; but if your ears are unwilling to hear my words, close your ears and do not hear them.

I will work a change among you, Red Skins, and when my arm fails, my bones shall whiten on your plains, for my nation to come and bury.

Pawnee Loups, Before you leave this place I will give you something to make your hearts glad.

Long Hair, If you would make me believe that you are disposed to behave well, treat those good people (the Pawnee Loups) that reside with you kindly. Your arm is stronger than theirs; do not raise it against them, unless they insult you. I hope the day is not far distant, when I shall be able to smile on your people, as I now smile on them.

Pawnees, When you find yourselves unable to punish those dogs among you, think that you hear the sound of those bugles from the hills near your village.

(Presents were now made to the Pawnee Loups; but to the others only a little tobacco was given, and no chiefs were recognized.)

© 2004 for the NEGenWeb Project by Ted & Carole Miller