How does Chief Seattle compare the number of the tribal people with that of their white counterpart in his famous speech of 1854?
3 Answers
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..