Page:Speeches, correspondence and political papers of Carl Schurz, Volume 4.djvu/174

sarily be very imperfect. I have become acquainted with several chiefs of so-called “wild” tribes, who had won a reputation as men of ability, such as Spotted Tail, Red Cloud, Chief Joseph and others, and while I found them to possess considerable shrewdness in the management of their own affairs according to their Indian notions, their grasp of things outside of that circle was extremely uncertain. I may except only Ouray, the late chief of the Ute nation, a man of a comprehensive mind, of large views, appreciating with great clearness not only the present situation of his race, but also its future destiny and the measures necessary to save the Indians from destruction and to assimilate them with the white people with whom they have to live. We must not expect them, therefore, to evolve out of their own consciousness what is best for their salvation. We must in a great measure do the necessary thinking for them, and then in the most humane way possible induce them to accept our conclusions. This is in most cases much more easily accomplished than might generally be supposed; for, especially in the transition from savage to civilized life, the Indian looks up with natural respect to the superior wisdom of the “Great Father,” and, notwithstanding the distrust engendered by frequent deceptions in his intercourse with white men, it is not difficult to win his confidence if he is only approached with frankness and evidence of good-will. As to the severalty policy, those of the Indians who have become convinced of the necessity of adopting the “white man's way” are easily made to comprehend the advantage of each man's having his own piece of land, and a good title to it. The ulterior consequences, as the gradual dissolution of the tribal relations, the disposition to be made of the unused lands for a fair compensation and the opening of the large reservations,—these things will become intelligible and naturally acceptable to them as they go on. More op-