Bowing his head, in acknowledgment of his error, he
stepped a little back, and placing himself in an attitude of easy
dignity, he began to speak with the confidence of one who had been no
less distinguished for eloquence, than for deeds in arms. Keeping his
eyes riveted on the unconscious bride of Middleton, he proceeded in
the following words--
"I am a man with a red skin, but my eyes are dark. They have been open
since many snows. They have seen many things--they know a brave from a
coward. When a boy, I saw nothing but the bison and the deer. I went
to the hunts, and I saw the cougar and the bear. This made Mahtoree a
man. He talked with his mother no more. His ears were open to the
wisdom of the old men. They told him every thing--they told him of the
Big-knives. He went on the war-path. He was then the last; now, he is
the first. What Dahcotah dare say he will go before Mahtoree into the
hunting grounds of the Pawnees? The chiefs met him at their doors, and
they said, My son is without a home.
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