When Mr. Morris urged upon their attention the liberal sum he had proposed
to pay for their lands:--
Red Jacket replied,--"We are not yet convinced that it is best for us to
dispose of them at any price."
"But," said Mr. Morris, "what value can they be to you as they now are,
any further than the consciousness that you own them?"
"Yes," said Red Jacket, _but this knowledge is everything to us. It
raises us in our own estimation. It creates in our bosoms a proud feeling
which elevates us as a nation_. Observe the difference between the
estimation in which a Seneca and an Oneida are held. We are courted, while
the Oneidas are considered as a degraded people, fit only to make
_brooms_ and _baskets. Why this difference_? It is because the
Senecas are known to be the proprietors of a _broad domain_, while the
Oneidas are _cooped up in a narrow space_."
"Ah," said Mr. Morris, "you presume too much in regard to the consequence
of your nation. It is far from being as great as you seem to suppose; and
in proof of this let me refer you to the manner in which your deputation
to the Miamis was received in 1793. Though large and composed of many of
the first men of your nation, it had but little influence."
"Very true," replied Red Jacket, "_and why_? It was because we were in
_bad company. We went with the pale faces_. Had we gone alone, we
should have been treated with the _dignity which belongs to the Senecas
throughout the world_.
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