Enemy to Ally

Lt. Sprague reported that during the peace talks, Coacoochee's "manly bearing, his intelligent face, the calm subdued intonations of his voice … won the sympathy of those around, and commanded the respect of all." Speaking through John Horse, the chief delivered a speech that moved the hard-bitten officers:

"[T]he land I was upon I loved, my body is made of its sands; the Great Spirit gave me legs to walk over it; hands to aid myself; eyes to see its ponds, rivers, forests, and game ... The white man comes; he grows pale and sick, why cannot we live here in peace? .... The white men are as thick as the leaves in the hammock; they come upon us thicker every year. They may shoot us, drive our women and children night and day; they may chain our hands and feet, but the red man's heart will be always free." [full excerpt]