Adventures of the Ojibbeway and Ioway Indians in England, France, and Belgium; Vol. 2 (of 2): being Notes of Eight Years' Travels and Residence in Europe with his North American Indian CollectionCatlin, George
History
Adventures of the Ojibbeway and Ioway Indians in England, France, and Belgium; Vol. 2 (of 2): being Notes of Eight Years' Travels and Residence in Europe with his North American Indian Collection
Catlin, George
England -- Description and travel; France -- Description and travel; Indians of North America
"My friends--I am willing to talk with you if it can do any good
to the hundreds and thousands of poor and hungry people that we
see in your streets every day when we ride out. We see hundreds
of little children with their naked feet in the snow, and we pity
them, for we know they are hungry, and we give them money every
time we pass by them. In four days we have given twenty dollars to
hungry children--we give our money only to children. We are told
that the fathers of these children are in the houses where they sell
fire-water, and are drunk, and in their words they every moment abuse
and insult the Great Spirit. You talk about sending _black-coats_
among the Indians: now we have no such poor children among us; we
have no such drunkards, or people who abuse the Great Spirit. Indians
dare not do so. They pray to the Great Spirit, and he is kind to
them. Now we think it would be better for your teachers all to stay
at home, and go to work right here in your own streets, where all
your good work is wanted. This is my advice. I would rather not say
any more." (To this all responded '_How, how, how!_')
Jim had evidently got ready to speak, and showed signs of beginning;
but White-cloud spoke to him, and wished him not to say anything. It
was decided by these gentlemen at once to be best not to urge the
conversation with them; and Mr. Melody explained to them the number of
times they had heard and said all that could be said on the subject
while in London, and that they were out of patience, and of course a
little out of the humour for it. These gentlemen, however, took great
interest in them, and handed to each of the chiefs a handsome Bible,
impressing upon them the importance of the words of the Great Spirit,
which were certainly all contained in them, and which they hoped the
Indians might have translated to them. And as I was descending the
stairs with them, one of them said to me that he never in his life
heard truer remarks, or a lesson that more distinctly and forcibly
pointed out the primary duties of his profession.
A few days more, the incidents of which I need not name, finished our
visit to the city of Glasgow; and an hour or more by the railway, along
the banks of the beautiful Clyde, and passing Dumbarton Castle, landed
us in the snug little town of Greenock, from which we were to take
steamer to Dublin.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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