council and concluded to ask the Government for cash instead of dry
goods; because they saw that there was a great deal of waste in
distributing the goods among them, as there were lots of remnants, and
much of it left after distribution which they never knew what became
of. Therefore their belief respecting it was that the Government
officials had appropriated to themselves some of these dry goods and
given away freely to their white friends and relatives. After
conclusion of the council, they came before the Indian agent, Hon. H.
Schoolcraft, and presented their views and their request in this
matter. He told them that he could not give them any conclusive reply
upon this subject, but that he would make known their wishes to their
Great Father at Washington, and would inform them thereafter. That was
the last of it. In the next payment there were neither goods nor money
instead, as they requested, and no reply ever came to this day. It was
also stipulated that at the expiration of twenty-one years, $20,000 was
to be given to the Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, that is, one year after
the expiration of the payment of their annuities. And where are those
lawful promises gone to now? Alas! when we inquire of them to the head
department they refer us to the third article of the Treaty of 1855,
where it is worded, "That the Ottawa and Chippewa Indians hereby
release and discharge the United States from all liability on account
of former treaty stipulations, either land or money," etc. But this
part of the stipulation was never explained to them at the Council of
Detroit, as they would never have consented to it, and would not have
signed the contract. We did not know anything about it, but some time
after we saw it with our own eyes, printed in the pamphlet form of the
contract, where our names had been already subscribed to it. Then it
was too late to make any remedy in the matter.