The pipe was
smoked, and all the ordinary customs observed, when Bear's Meat
arose, the first speaker on that momentous occasion.
"Brothers," he said, "this is the great council on Prairie Round to
which we have been called. We have met before, but not here. This is
our first meeting here. We have travelled a long path to get here.
Some of our brethren have travelled farther. They are at Detroit.
They went there to meet our great Canada father, and to take Yankee
scalps. How many scalps they have taken I do not know, or I would
tell you. It is pleasant to me to count Yankee scalps. I would
rather count them, than count the scalps of red men. There are still
a great many left. The Yankees are many, and each Yankee has a
scalp. There should not be so many. When the buffaloes came in the
largest droves, our fathers used to go out to hunt them in the
strongest parties. Their sons should do the same. We are the sons of
those fathers. They say we look like them, talk like them, live like
them--we should ACT like them. Let another speak, for I have done."
After this brief address, which bore some resemblance to a
chairman's calling a meeting of civilized men to order, there was
more smoking.
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