n plains. Snarling Bear, the most noted
chief of his tribe, was a great warrior. Fifty scalps adorned his
wigwam. Some of them had once belonged to his best friends. He was
murdered while in the prime of life by a white man whose wife he had
accidentally shot at the door of her cabin. He was one of the first to
welcome the white men and adopt the improvements they brought with them.
When he became sufficiently civilized to understand that polygamy was
unlawful, he separated from his oldest wife. Her scalp was carefully
preserved among those of the great warriors he had conquered. His son,
Flying Deer, who is with us to-day, will address you in his own
language, which I shall interpret for you. The last twenty years have
made a great change in their condition. These men are not savages, but
educated gentlemen. They are all graduates of Tomahawk College, at
Bloody Mountain, near the Gray Wolf country. They are chiefs of their
tribes, each one holding a position equal to the Governor of our own
State. Their influence at the West is great. Last year they sent a small
party of missionaries to the highlands of the Wolf country, where the
women and children pasture the ponies during the dry season. Not one of
these noble men ever returned. Unfortunately for the success of this
mission, the Gray Wolf warriors were at home. The medicine man's dreams
had been unfavorable, and they dared not set out on their annual hunt.
This year they will send a larger party well armed.

"These devoted men have left their Western homes and come here to assure
you of their confidence in your affection, and the love and gratitude
they feel toward you. They come to ask for churches and schools, that
their children may grow up like yours. But these things require money.
On account of the great scarcity of stone in the Rocky Mountains, and
the necessity of preserving standing timber for the Indian
hunting-grounds, all building materials for churches and school-houses
must be carried from the East at great expense. The door-steps of the
third orthodox Kickapoo church cost one hundred and fifty dollars. But
it is money well invested. The gradual decrease of crime at the West has
convinced the most sceptical that a great work can be done among these
people. The number of murders committed in this country last year was
one hundred and twenty-five; this year only one hundred and
twenty-three.

"Although a great deal has been done for these people, you wi