When, however, the
time did come for the mysterious chief to speak, the man of many
scalps to open his mouth, profound was the attention that prevailed
among all present. Even after he had arisen, the orator stood
silently looking around him, as if the throes of his thoughts had to
be a little suppressed before he could trust his tongue to give them
utterance.
"What is the earth?" commenced Peter, in a deep, guttural tone of
voice, which the death-like stillness rendered audible even to the
outermost boundaries of the circle of admiring and curious
countenances. "It is one plain adjoining another; river after river;
lake after lake; prairie touching prairie; and pleasant woods, that
seem to have no limits, all given to men to dwell in. It would seem
that the Great Spirit parcelled out this rich possession into
hunting-grounds for all. He colored men differently. His dearest
children he painted red, which is his own color. Them that he loved
less he colored less, and they had red only in spots. Them he loved
least he dipped in a dark dye, and left them black. These are the
colors of men. If there are more, I have not seen them. Some say
there are.
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