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Chief of the Miamis-Little Turtle
The Answer of Little Turtle the Chief of the Miamis to M. Volney
The answer of Little Turtle the chief of the Miamis to M. Volney, who asked him what prevented him from living among the whites, and if he were not more comfortable in Philadelphia, than upon the banks of the Wabash.
"Taking all things," he said, "together, you have the advantage over us; but here I am deaf and dumb, I do not talk your language; I can neither hear, nor make myself heard. When I walk through the streets, I see every person in his shop employed about something: one makes shoes, another hats, a third sells cloth, and every one lives by his labour. I say to myself, which of all these things can you do: not one. I can make a bow or an arrow, catch fish, kill game, and go to war; but none of these is of any use here. To learn what is done here would require a long time, old age comes on. I should be a piece of furniture useless to my natiou, useless to the whites, useless to myself. I must return to my own country."
The answer of Little Turtle the chief of the Miamis to M. Volney, who asked him what prevented him from living among the whites, and if he were not more comfortable in Philadelphia, than upon the banks of the Wabash.
"Taking all things," he said, "together, you have the advantage over us; but here I am deaf and dumb, I do not talk your language; I can neither hear, nor make myself heard. When I walk through the streets, I see every person in his shop employed about something: one makes shoes, another hats, a third sells cloth, and every one lives by his labour. I say to myself, which of all these things can you do: not one. I can make a bow or an arrow, catch fish, kill game, and go to war; but none of these is of any use here. To learn what is done here would require a long time, old age comes on. I should be a piece of furniture useless to my natiou, useless to the whites, useless to myself. I must return to my own country."
