I don’t go so far as to think that the only good Indians are dead Indians, but I believe nine out of ten are, and I shouldn’t inquire too closely into the case of the tenth.
The most vicious cowboy has more moral principle than the average Indian.”
Theodore Roosevelt (1858 - 1919)
...knowledge of Indians, & humanity are seldom found in the same individual.
- Letter to W. D. Howells, February 22, 1877
Years ago, I was accused of loading an Indian up with beans lubricated with nitro-glycerine & sending him in an ox wagon over a stumpy road.
This was impossible, on its face, for no one would risk oxen in that way.
But it shows how far malice will deflect an aborigine from the equator of truth.
- Letter to Charles H. Clark, March 6, 1880
MARK TWAIN
Note: I am part Choctaw!