Deep asked 7 years ago
How does Chief Seattle compare the number of the tribal people with that of their white counterpart in his famous speech of 1854?
Seattle describes the population of the two groups — The whites are spread like grass that covers the vast prairies and the red Indians resemble the scattering trees of a storm-swept plain. By this comparison of the two groups one can understand that whites are more in numbers and natives are less.
Seattle also says that there was a time when his people were large in number but now they are nothing more than a mournful memory.
To convey the difference between the number of his people and that of the White Chief, in his celebrated speech of 1854 Chief Seattle says —
His people are many. They are like the grass that covers vast prairies. My people are few. They resemble the scattering trees of a storm-swept plain.
Seattle compares the large community of White people with grass covering vast prairies. On the other hand, the tribal people are few like scattering trees on a storm-hit plain.
He also regrets that his people are “ebbing away like a rapidly receding tide” indicating the lean presence of their community in the recent times in comparison to their vast community once upon a time.
The narrator illustrate that chief Seattle’s people resemble the scattering trees of a strom-swept plain and white people are like the grass that covers vast prairies..