My people still live there, but the treaties which have been made with them have been violated by the white men. I made a treaty with the great soldier who was president for eight years (Grant), and he assured me that my reservation should never be interfered with. Now white men want to divide the reservation into eighty-acre lots for my people to starve on. The lands are bad lands and we cannot raise crops there. In August the hot winds dry up everything, even the little streams.

"We want our lands as they are. so that we may make a living by raising horses and cattle,

HISTORY OF WESTERN NEBRASKA

because the lands are nearly all good grazing lands. We do not want money from the government in place of rations, because we can live on what the government sends us to eat ; but nearly all of the beef cattle sent to us are thin and starved to death. We prefer money and will buy our own clothing. The suits of clothes are made of poor cloth and they fall to nieces. Besides, the tall men get short suits and the small men get long suits, and the distribution is never satisfactory. We would rather have money than government blankets, because they are all rotten. They are made of cow's hair, dipped in ink, and in the rain or moisture the ink runs off of them. Besides, they fall to pieces. When we are compelled to take such goods and blankets we are charged big prices for them, and we trade them away for other clothing, and have to give money in addition in order to get decent things to wear. "We want the lands left as they are. We want decent food to eat. We are entitled to good clothing, or money in its place.