University of Virginia Library

1. They All Do It

(from Indian Journal, May 17, 1901)

Chas. Gibson's Argument Proves That.

The humblest, the greatest, the richest, the poorest all, all do it. Take a minister of the Gospel, take the good old deacons; in fact any Indian of the Five tribes--there is not one in 500 but what will take a little "sumthin" and one calls for two drinks, etc., and so on up to where they lose all respect and pride and of course are prone to go down under the weight of drink.

We often hear the white man preacher score the public for drinking. Not one in five whites get in the gutter while four out of five Indians will get to the gutter. Some of the ablest and best Indians of the Five tribes will make no halt at one or two drinks of whiskey. After getting one drink all of them [lose] their self respect and will get gloriously drunk. The first or second drink is taken with closed doors but after this they will take it where there is room to elevate the elbow and bottle. This thing of drink is a worse curse to Indians than any other race on the face of the earth to-day. Had it not been for Christopher Columbus and his four ten-gallon kegs of whiskey this U.S. would belong to the American Indians. This is a whole mouth full to say but Indian tradition tells us when Columbus was unable to get communication with the Indian he one night had a lifeboat landed on the beach with four kegs of whiskey with three or four dozen tin cups handily placed around the kegs and had the heads knocked out, in which shape Mr. Indian found things on the beach. He approached the kegs with caution, looked into the well filled kegs of whiskey with a great deal of pride. In fact he had all his pride with him. He stuck the end of his finger into the kegs and tasted each and saw that it was good not only to look upon but was fair to the Indian taste. He and others went from keg to keg tasting with the tips of their fingers until they were all feeling, as the fellow said, salubrious. Just there is where he lost his pride and each of them got a tin cup and drank with the white man's whiskey.

The next morning found several of the bucks in the gutter as it were, not able to stagger away. Then Columbus knew he had the ropes on Mr. Injun so he landed another yawl or lifeboat and proceeded to scoop Mr. Injun and dump him into his life boat previous to carrying him to his ships which he did on short notice. After getting him or them aboard it was no trouble to swap land, his friendship, his birthright or anything else that came handy for whiskey. Since which time the Indian has had a weakness for strong drink. If the Indians could, in making treaties with the U.S., have the U.S. to make a law to hang every white man who sells whiskey to Indians and to hang the Indian for drinking the whiskey it would settle the Indian problem, which problem has caused the U.S. no little trouble.

In case the Cherokees make another agreement we would suggest that this little hanging clause aforesaid be amended to their next agreement and all will be calm and serene in the Cherokee nation and we will try and have congress do likewise unto us.