for your meat?" "Yes."

"And that I told you I agreed with you, and believed that some of the
steers could just as well be killed here by the agency herder and issued to
those Indians living near here?" "Yes."

"That change has been made, has it not? You now get your beef here, don't
you?" "Yes."

"You know that the Piegans have a certain amount of money coming to them
every year, don't you?" "Yes."

"And that some of that money goes to pay the expenses of the agency, some
for food, some to pay clerks and blacksmiths, some to buy mowing-machines,
wagons, harness, and rakes, and some to buy the cattle which have been
issued to you?" "Yes."

"Now, if a government storehouse were to be built over here, clerks hired
to manage it, a blacksmith shop built and another blacksmith hired, that
would all cost money, wouldn't it?" "Yes."

"And that money would be taken out of the money coming next year to the
Piegans, wouldn't it?" "Yes."

"And if that money were spent for those things, the people would have just
so many fewer wagons, mowing-machines, rakes, and cattle issued to them
next year, wouldn't they?" "Yes."

"Well, which would be best for the tribe, which would you rather have, a
store and a blacksmith shop here on Cut Bank, or the money which those
things would cost in cows and farming implements?"

"I would prefer that we should have the cattle and the tools."

"I think you are right. It would save trouble to each man, if the
government would build a storehouse for him right next his house, but it
would be a waste of money. Many white men have to drive ten, twenty, or
thirty miles to the store, and you ought not to complain if you have to do
so."

After this conversation the man saw clearly that his request was an
unreasonable one, but if I had merely told him that he was a fool to want a
store on Cut Bank, he would never have been satisfied, for his experiences
were so limited that he could not have reasoned the thing out for himself.

In my talks with these people, I praise those who have worked hard and
lived well during the past year, while to those who have been idle or
drunken or have committed crimes, I explain how foolish their course has
been and try to show them how impossible it is for a man to be successful
if he acts like a child, and shows that he is a person of no sense. A
little quiet talk will usually demonstrate to them that they have been
unwise, and they make fresh resolutions and prom