On the following day a solemn convocation was held, at which one of the
chiefs addressed the governor in the name of all the rest. "My brother,"
said he, "we have been thinking over the proposition of our Great Father at
Washington, to send teachers and set up schools among us. We are very
thankful for the interest be takes in our welfare; but after much
deliberation have concluded to decline his offer. What will do very well
for white men will not do for red men. I know you white men say we all come
from the same father and mother, but you are mistaken. We have a tradition
handed down from our forefathers, and we believe it, that the Great Spirit,
when he undertook to make men, made the black man; it was his first
attempt, and pretty well for a beginning; but he soon saw he had bungled;
so he determined to try his hand again. He did so, and made the red man. He
liked him much better than the black man, but still he was not exactly what
he wanted. So he tried once more, and made the white man; and then he was
satisfied.
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