The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 29, July 1925 - April, 1926 Page: 288

                                
Southwestern Historical Quarterly

lands, and all that Bean told us is true. He is a father to the
red men and he speaks the truth."
A Sawano then spoke and said:
"I have heard what my brothers, the Cherokees, have said, and
their words are good. We are red men and we do not know how
to read and write. We only know what is in our heads. We have
come from afar to this country, looking for the Mexicans, and they
have received us as brothers. We ought to be men of good faith
and not false as the Tahuacanos and Wacos. The enemies of the
Mexicans are our enemies; we have come to live with them and
we are all one. We do not want to go on wandering through the
woods like the other tribes; we want to raise cattle, to plant corn,
and to teach our children to be good men. These lands are good
for those who are willing to work. He who does not work will
always be hungry, he will lack clothing for himself, his wife, and
his children, all of whom will be thieves. The Mexicans are our
fathers, and we must teach our children to esteem them after we
are dead, for we are already old and the day is not far when we
shall return to mother earth from where we can no longer speak
to our fathers, the Mexicans."
Many others spoke, their speeches consisting, in short, of mani-
festations of love for the Mexicans and of their desire to form one
people with them to exterminate the Tahuacanos and Wacos, who
had broken the peace after they had established agreements with
the Mexicans that should have been lasting. It was the Cherokees
that showed the greatest uniformity in their arguments and the
best judgment in their proposals, the remainder agreeing or pre-
tending to agree with them.
The greater part of these Indians (the Cherokees) are fair, and
one does not see shell or feather ornaments among them as among
the others, though they are all alike in their filth. They wear no
paint on their faces, they hold no dances except in their pueblos,
never in the settlements of the Mexicans. They never ask for
food, though they may be in need, but they accept anything that
is given to them. They trade with skins and fruits, are good
workmen, and are the best of all the Indians I have known. They
are located, at present, to the east [west] of the Sabine on the
lands granted to Thorn's colony, and they hope that the Supreme
Government will grant them these lands.
[The diary which is unsigned, thus suddenly breaks off.]

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