Montana-Wyomin 2011 - Epilogue

---

I was troubled by me inability to find the origin of the phrase "as long as the grass shall grow and the waters flow" and similar phrases often used in connoting the length of the Ft. Laramie Treaties. Upon my return to Oklahoma, I asked for help from Robert Henry, and as usual he knew exactly who would be able to find the answer. Prof. Blue Clark at Oklahoma City University research this for me and found that the earliest reference is probably from 1818 and was from Andrew Jackson in instructions to Maj. David Haley for a proposed meeting with Choctaw and Chickasaw Indians. It is still widely felt in the Native American populace as being one of the most treacherous phrases used by the man they often consider the worst American President (many would rather carry two tens or twenty singles than carry a $20 bill with Jackson's picture on it). In view of his later push for the Indian Removal Act that resulted in the Trail of Tears, I think they are justified in their opinion of Jackson.

---