But at the end of a year I thought I might as well give it up. I wrote to my friends that I thought of resigning. Then I called the Indians to a last council. I told them what I felt, why I came, what I had endeavored to do. I spoke feelingly. When I had finished, an old chief, “Struck by the Ree,” got up and said: “We have listened to your words for a year. We have now come to the conclusion that we will both listen and obey. We had been told that you were not a good man. Many of us believed what we heard, but you have convinced us that you are good, and we will obey you.” Well I stayed, and I had no more trouble, except such as was unavoidable. The councils were more and more pleasant. I never had a rude or disagreeable word from them again. They would sometimes disagree with me, but generally took my advice, and were always courteous. I laid before them first this plan. I told them that rations and aid from government are only temporary. They will come to an end. They are given to aid them to be self-supporting. I told them I had come to help them to become so. They were not much interested in that idea at first, but as continued dropping wears away the rock, my words from day to day had some effect, and here and there I saw some improvement. I found all the work at the agency done by whites—only two Indians employed out of 2,000 Sioux at the station. I employed the Indians as fast as possible to give them work. I put one boy in the blacksmith shop, another with the carpenter, another in the mill, two or three with the agency farmer, two in the butcher house, and to help issue rations. When I came there I found the cattle were slaughtered in a brutal manner, shot in a filthy yard, where the Indians dressed the meat in a careless, unclean way. I applied for a slaughter-house, cattle-pens and a proper butcher, and got them. I put my Indian boys with him, as I said, and at the end of a month they could take hold and do the work properly themselves, and did it so six years. The beef was issued clean. The system of employing Indians and encouraging industry was pleasing. They were glad to see their young men employed; they were willing to go to work when there was any encouragement to do so.