"Do unto others"

Jared Waldo Daniels

Yellow Medicine

Excerpt from the “REMINISCENCES” of Jared Waldo Daniels

One evening in July, a crazy man made his appearance at the Agency, and disappeared as quietly as he came. The reason that we had to consider him of unsound mind was, that he would answer no questions, and was repeatedly making this remark, “Sixty-nine will surely come when no man can hold his own.” About ten days after this, two Indians came to the Agency with this man, having found him on the prairie, fifty miles west of this place.  They were on their way home from an Indian camp on Jim River. When they found him he had nothing on but a shirt, he was foot sore, and unable to travel.  They put on him leggings, moccasins, and a piece of cloth on his head, then they lifted him onto one of the horses they had been riding and one of them walked by his side and held him on.  The first water they came to he was provided with something to eat, as they had plenty of dried buffalo meat.  The following day he was much refreshed, but they had to support him all the way here, which took the greater part of three days.  The farmer sent him below where he could be taken care of. 

   There are people, for I have met them, who are so prejudiced against the Indians, that they will say it was a mercenary motive that prompted these Indians to perform the part of the “Good Samaritan.” Such persons have very little, if any knowledge of Indian character, or are incapable of appreciating the motive because of the evil within themselves.  There was no other motive but that which civilization teaches us is the foundation of all goodness, “Do unto others as you would like others to do unto you.”          Jared Waldo Daniels