Memorial and Biographical History of Dallas County, Texas. Page: 143 of 1,110
vii, 9-1011 p. incl. ill., ports. : ports. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this book.
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__~~~~~iITR OF DALLA CONY4
Even among the savages there are some
who are approacllable, and can be influenced
to humblle sulbjection it' properly managed.
When disputed lords of the land, to go wliere
they pleased, anl do and act as they desire,
unmolested, it was perfectly natural for them
to fight against any intrusions; but on making
known to tllen by kind anid humane
treatment, that tlhe wliites mainly did not
desire to rob them, they have been known to
exhibit a reasonable degree of reconciliation,
andl after they have become somewhat civilizeld
have forcibly shown a spirit of' kindliiness
a nll( affection.
But it is alleged that they are treacherous
andt unreliable as to any agreements they as
a nationn or a class of people might make.
(Cc'ernling these characteristics, the much
admtlired historian above quoted, says further:
"A frequent ground of accusation against
tlth Ilndians is their disregard to treaties, and
the treachery and wantonness witlh whlichl, in
times of apparent peace, they will suddenly
tly to hostilities. Tlle intercourse of tile
white menl with tlhe Indians, however, is too
lat to 1b cold, (distrusttful, oppressive and
i,,tultilng. they seldomi treat them witli that
cotidetnce land frankness which is indispensaile
to real friendship; nor is a sufficient
cmtu il(n oservedl not to offend against tlose
feelings iof pride or superstition, wlicll often
prmntjl thle Indiat'ls hostility quicker tlian
lT re colsideration of interest. Tlie solitary
6s:wvage feels silently, but acutely. Iis sensijilities
are not diftluedl over so wide a surface
uts those of the white alll; llbut they run in
steIdtier and deeper channels. 11is pride, Is
,11affections, his superstitions are all directed
toward fewer objects; but the wounds inflicted
on them are proportionably severe, and
furnish motives of hostility which we cannot
sufficiently appreciate. Where a community
is also limited in number, and forms one
great patriarchal family, as in an Indian
tribe, the injury of an individual is the injury
of the whole; and the sentiment of vengeance
is almost instantaneously diffused. One
council-fire is sufficient for the discussion and
arrangement of a plan of hostilities. Here
all the figllting men and sages assemble. Eloquence
and superstition combine to inflame
tlie Ininds of the warriors. The orator
awakens their martial ardor, and they are
wrought up to a kind of religious desperation
by the visions of tlle prophet and the
dreamer. The story where some planters
had plundered the grave of the sachem's
mother of some skins, with which it had
been decorated, is an instance of one of those
sudden exasperations, arising from a motive
peculiar to tile Indian character, as exhibited
in tlle primeval days.
"Tlle Indians were remarkable for the reverence
wllich they entertained for the sepulchres
of tleir kind. * ' * Influenced by
tlis sublime and holy feeling, the sachem
wliose mother's tomb had been violated
gathered his men together and addressed them
ill tlle following beautifully simple and pathetic
haranguec, a curious specimen of Indian
eloquence and an affecting instance of filial
piety in the savage:
; 'Wthen last tlhe glorious light of all the
sky was underneath this globe, the birds grew
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Lewis Publishing Company. Memorial and Biographical History of Dallas County, Texas., book, 1892; Chicago, Illinois. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth20932/m1/143/?rotate=90: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Dallas Public Library.