"'You white men may put on paper what you please, but again I tell you,
I never sold any lands higher up the Mississippi than the mouth of Rocky
River.'

"In the treaty first mentioned, the line commences opposite to the mouth
of Gasconade River, and running in a direct line to the head-waters of
Jefferson[59] River, thence down that river to the Mississippi
River--thence up the Mississippi River to the mouth of the Ouisconsin
River--thence up that river thirty-six miles--thence in a direct line to
a little lake in Fox River of Illinois, down Fox River to Illinois
River, down Illinois River to its mouth--thence down the Mississippi
River to the mouth of Missouri River--thence up that river to the place
of beginning. See treaty dated at St. Louis, 4th November, 1804.

"The Sauk and Fox nations were never consulted, nor had any hand in this
treaty, nor knew anything about it. It was made and signed by two Sauk
chiefs, one Fox chief and one warrior.

"When the annuities were delivered to the Sauk and Fox nations of
Indians, according to the treaty above referred to (amounting to $1000
per annum), the Indians always thought they were presents (as the
annuity for the first twenty years was always paid in goods, sent on
from Georgetown, District of Columbia, and poor articles of merchandise
they were, very often damaged and not suitable for Indians), until I, as
their Agent, convinced them of the contrary, in the summer of 1818. When
the Indians heard that the goods delivered to them were annuities for
land sold by them to the United States, they were astonished, and
refused to accept of the goods, denying that they ever sold the lands as
stated by me, their Agent. The Black Hawk in particular, who was present
at the time, made a great noise about this land, and would never receive
any part of the annuities from that time forward. He always denied the
authority of Quash-quame and others to sell any part of their lands, and
told the Indians not to receive any presents or annuities from any
American--otherwise their lands would be claimed at some future day.

"As the United States do insist, and retain the lands according to the
treaty of November 4, 1804, why do they not fulfil _their_ part of that
treaty as equity demands?

"The Sauk and Fox nations are allowed, according to that treaty, 'to
live and hunt on the lands so ceded, as long as the aforesaid lands
belong to the United States.' In the spring of the year 1827,