Originally posted by midnight Target
And Steve, your research is faulty... no its just plain wrong!
Take 5 minutes to read this. Written by some liberal hollywood type...lol.
Midnight, stop poking me with a stick. Do you think I have read that page or not? I got caught in a nasty flame war over this speech on another BB, and I spent a damn week going through all internet sources there is on this subject.
This is what I posted 7 posts before you. Read it and shut up.
The reason I used the word "legend" is this. Chief Seattle said "something" in 1854. A doctor was present when he said it, and that doctor later published his speech in a newspaper in 1887. In 1932 that newspaper-article was copied and published by John M. Rich. There exists 4-5 versions of the speech, the one I used was the one published by John M. Rich. We will never know exactly what the old indian did say in his speech. What we have to go on is the words of the doctor. Who on his deathbead swore it was true.
Perhaps he added something -such as the 1000 buffalos, or the disturbing cities, or perhaps he translated the original meaning in a different way to make it more understandable...who knows.
Basically it all comes down to this:
The absence of any evidence, the lack of a Duwimish-language text of the speech, the absence of notes bv Dr. Smith, the silence on the part of persons known to have been present during meetings between Stevens and Seattle, and the failure of the speech to appear in the official treaty proceedings create grave doubts about the accuracy of the reminiscences of Dr. Smith in 1887, some thirty-two years after the alleged episode.
Thus it is impossible (without new evidence) to either confirm or deny the validity of the speech.
