Che Chemawa American.
VOL. V II.
C H E M A W A / ORE., JA N U A R Y 29, 1901.
FORWARD I
treated as individuals and given right
chances to see and learn, quickly be
ECAUSE you m ay n o t scale th e m o u n ta in
p eak
come efficient, common-sense, useful,
To c o m ra d e w ith th e th u n d e rc lo u d or sta r,
civilized and capable of holding their
Because y o u r sin g le a rm m ay be too w eak
To b re a k F a te ’s b ar,
own in any decent calling of our
American life, and away from a drink
s h a ll you, in sleepy in d o le n c e , re c lin e ,
Or sig h for s te rn e r souls to lead th e way,
ing, gambling community, they do
U n til th e s u n lig h t b lu sh e s in to w ine
At y o u r delay?
not get drunk or gamble.
The trouble is that few have been
Because you fear to try th e sh oreless sea.
A lone, u n p ilo te d across th e n ig h t,
so pei m itted to go outside the reser
Because y o u r cam p u n fo rtifie d m ay be
F o r fin al fight,
vation, and of these few, only a small
fraction have been allowed right
D espair n o t! F o r if th o u b u t do th y best,
W ith p re se n t w eapons a g a in st re a l th in g s,
chances, and that these when fitted
R em em b er H eav en , for th e fin a l test,
W ill len d th e e w ings!
are not persuaded or perm itted to
—E rn e st N eal Lyon.
stay, and go on to still higher civil
Col. Pratt on “ Condition ized usefulness but are rather hired
01 induced by the Indian system to
oi Che Indian.”
return to destroying agency and res
* * * The U nited States court ervation conditions, where the m an
was in session at one point visited, hood of white men subjected to it dete
and two hundred Indians were before riorates.
it either as principals or witnesses in
Some of our non-reservation and
whiskey cases.
all our reservation schools
are,
Not so m any years ago these In through Indian Bureau planning, the
dians knew nothing about the white enemies of real and right opportu
m an’s tire water. Who is to be blam nities for young Indians to become
ed for their knowledge and use of it useful citizens.
now? Have the moral forces of the
They are planned and calculated to
white m an made any m aterial coun be only an extention of the reserva
ter effort to hinder the whiskey influ tion system which now and always,
ences? Have we not rather quit bul only and absolutely, reservates aw ay
lets and resorted to whiskey in order from all contact and competition with
th a t our savage edict, “The only good our exemplary citizens generallv.
Indian is a dead In d ian ,” m ay not W hat else could such treatm ent say
fall.
to them than th at they are and m ust
Evidence is abundant th a t Indians, rem ain perpetual incompetents?
graciously perm itted to go outside
If in the beginning and all along,
their reservations and hum anely the Indians had resisted even to