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diff --git a/old/50560-0.txt b/old/50560-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index e57fe8e..0000000 --- a/old/50560-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,19668 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Century of Dishonor, by Helen Hunt Jackson - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: A Century of Dishonor - A Sketch of the United States Government's Dealings with - some of the Indian Tribes - -Author: Helen Hunt Jackson - -Release Date: November 27, 2015 [EBook #50560] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A CENTURY OF DISHONOR *** - - - - -Produced by readbueno, Jan-Fabian Humann and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - - - A CENTURY OF DISHONOR - - - A SKETCH - - - OF THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT'S DEALINGS - - - WITH SOME OF THE INDIAN TRIBES - - - BY HELEN JACKSON (H. H.), - - AUTHOR OF "RAMONA," "VERSES," "BITS OF TRAVEL," - "BITS OF TRAVEL AT HOME," "BITS OF TALK ABOUT HOME MATTERS," - "BITS OF TALK FOR YOUNG FOLKS," "NELLY'S SILVER MINE," - H. H.'S CAT STORIES, ETC. - - "_Every human being born upon our continent, or who comes here - from any quarter of the world, whether savage or civilized, can go - to our courts for protection—except those who belong to the tribes - who once owned this country. The cannibal from the islands of the - Pacific, the worst criminals from Europe, Asia, or Africa, can appeal - to the law and courts for their rights of person and property—all, - save our native Indians, who, above all, should be protected from - wrong._" GOV. HORATIO SEYMOUR - - NEW EDITION, ENLARGED BY THE ADDITION OF THE REPORT OF - THE NEEDS OF THE MISSION INDIANS OF CALIFORNIA - - - BOSTON - - ROBERTS BROTHERS - - 1889 - - - - - _Copyright, 1885_, - BY ROBERTS BROTHERS. - - - University Press: - JOHN WILSON AND SON, CAMBRIDGE. - - - - - CONTENTS. - - - PAGE - - PREFACE, BY BISHOP WHIPPLE v - - INTRODUCTION, BY PRESIDENT JULIUS H. - SEELYE 1 - - - CHAPTER I. - - INTRODUCTORY 9 - - CHAPTER II. - - THE DELAWARES 32 - - CHAPTER III. - - THE CHEYENNES 66 - - CHAPTER IV. - - THE NEZ PERCÉS 103 - - CHAPTER V. - - THE SIOUX 136 - - CHAPTER VI. - - THE PONCAS 186 - - CHAPTER VII. - - THE WINNEBAGOES 218 - - CHAPTER VIII. - - THE CHEROKEES 257 - - - CHAPTER IX. - - MASSACRES OF INDIANS BY WHITES 298 - - I. The Conestoga Massacre 298 - - II. The Gnadenhütten Massacre 317 - - III. Massacres of Apaches 324 - - CHAPTER X. - - CONCLUSION 336 - - -APPENDIX. - - I. THE SAND CREEK MASSACRE 343 - - II. THE PONCA CASE 359 - - III. TESTIMONIES TO INDIAN CHARACTER 374 - - IV. OUTRAGES COMMITTED ON INDIANS BY WHITES 381 - - V. EXTRACTS FROM THE REPORT OF THE - COMMISSION SENT TO TREAT WITH THE SIOUX - CHIEF SITTING BULL, IN CANADA 386 - - VI. ACCOUNT OF SOME OF THE OLD GRIEVANCES OF - THE SIOUX 389 - - VII. LETTER FROM SARAH WINNEMUCCA, AN - EDUCATED PAH-UTE WOMAN 395 - - VIII. LAWS OF THE DELAWARE NATION OF INDIANS 396 - - IX. ACCOUNT OF THE CHEROKEE WHO INVENTED THE - CHEROKEE ALPHABET 404 - - X. PRICES PAID BY WHITE MEN FOR SCALPS 405 - - XI. EXTRACT FROM TREATY WITH CHEYENNES IN - 1865 406 - - XII. WOOD-CUTTING BY INDIANS IN DAKOTA 407 - - XIII. SEQUEL TO THE WALLA WALLA MASSACRE 407 - - XIV. AN ACCOUNT OF THE NUMBERS, LOCATION, AND - SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL CONDITION OF EACH - IMPORTANT TRIBE AND BAND OF INDIANS - WITHIN THE UNITED STATES 411 - - XV. REPORT ON THE CONDITION AND NEEDS OF THE - MISSION INDIANS OF CALIFORNIA 458 - - - - - PREFACE. - - -I have been requested to write a preface to this sad story of "A Century -of Dishonor." I cannot refuse the request of one whose woman's heart has -pleaded so eloquently for the poor Red men. The materials for her book -have been taken from official documents. The sad revelation of broken -faith, of violated treaties, and of inhuman deeds of violence will bring -a flush of shame to the cheeks of those who love their country. They -will wonder how our rulers have dared to so trifle with justice, and -provoke the anger of God. Many of the stories will be new to the reader. -The Indian owns no telegraph, employs no press reporter, and his side of -the story is unknown to the people. - -Nations, like individuals, reap exactly what they sow; they who sow -robbery reap robbery. The seed-sowing of iniquity replies in a harvest -of blood. The American people have accepted as truth the teaching that -the Indians were a degraded, brutal race of savages, whom it was the -will of God should perish at the approach of civilization. If they do -not say with our Puritan fathers that these are the Hittites who are to -be driven out before the saints of the Lord, they do accept the teaching -that manifest destiny will drive the Indians from the earth. The -inexorable has no tears or pity at the cries of anguish of the doomed -race. Ahab never speaks kindly of Naboth, whom he has robbed of his -vineyard. It soothes conscience to cast mud on the character of the one -whom we have wronged. - -The people have laid the causes of Indian wars at the door of the Indian -trader, the people on the border, the Indian agents, the army, and the -Department of the Interior. None of these are responsible for the Indian -wars, which have cost the United States five hundred millions of dollars -and tens of thousands of valuable lives. In the olden time the Indian -trader was the Indian's friend. The relation was one of mutual -dependence. If the trader oppressed the Indian he was in danger of -losing his debt; if the Indian refused to pay his debts, the trader must -leave the country. The factors and agents of the old fur companies tell -us that their goods were as safe in the unguarded trading-post as in the -civilized village. The pioneer settlers have had too much at stake to -excite an Indian massacre, which would overwhelm their loved ones in -ruin. The army are not responsible for Indian wars; they are "men under -authority," who go where they are sent. The men who represent the honor -of the nation have a tradition that lying is a disgrace, and that theft -forfeits character. General Crook expressed the feeling of the army when -he replied to a friend who said, "It is hard to go on such a campaign." -"Yes, it is hard; but, sir, the hardest thing is to go and fight those -whom you know are in the right." The Indian Bureau is often unable to -fulfil the treaties, because Congress has failed to make the -appropriations. If its agents are not men of the highest character, it -is largely due to the fact that we send a man to execute this difficult -trust at a remote agency, and expect him to support himself and family -on $1500 a year. The Indian Bureau represents a system which is a -blunder and a crime. - -The Indian is the only human being within our territory who has no -individual right in the soil. He is not amenable to or protected by law. -The executive, the legislative, and judicial departments of the -Government recognize that he has a possessory right in the soil; but his -title is merged in the tribe—the man has no standing before the law. A -Chinese or a Hottentot would have, but the native American is left -pitiably helpless. This system grew out of our relations at the first -settlement of the country. The isolated settlements along the Atlantic -coast could not ask the Indians, who outnumbered them ten to one, to -accept the position of wards. No wise policy was adopted, with altered -circumstances, to train the Indians for citizenship. Treaties were made -of the same binding force of the constitution; but these treaties were -unfilled. It may be doubted whether one single treaty has ever been -fulfilled as it would have been if it had been made with a foreign -power. The treaty has been made as between two independent sovereigns. -Sometimes each party has been ignorant of the wishes of the other; for -the heads of both parties to the treaty have been on the interpreter's -shoulders, and he was the owned creature of corrupt men, who desired to -use the Indians as a key to unlock the nation's treasury. Pledges, -solemnly made, have been shamelessly violated. The Indian has had no -redress but war. In these wars ten white men were killed to one Indian, -and the Indians who were killed have cost the Government a hundred -thousand dollars each. Then came a new treaty, more violated faith, -another war, until we have not a hundred miles between the Atlantic and -Pacific which has not been the scene of an Indian massacre. - -All this while Canada has had no Indian wars. Our Government has -expended for the Indians a hundred dollars to their one. They recognize, -as we do, that the Indian has a possessory right to the soil. They -purchase this right, as we do, by treaty; but their treaties are made -with _the Indian subjects_ of Her Majesty. They set apart a _permanent_ -reservation for them; they seldom remove Indians; they select agents of -high character, who receive their appointments for life; they make fewer -promises, but they fulfil them; they give the Indians Christian -missions, which have the hearty support of Christian people, and all -their efforts are toward self-help and civilization. An incident will -illustrate the two systems. The officer of the United States Army who -was sent to receive Alaska from the Russian Government stopped in -British Columbia. Governor Douglas had heard that an Indian had been -murdered by another Indian. He visited the Indian tribe; he explained to -them that the murdered man was a subject of Her Majesty; he demanded the -culprit. The murderer was surrendered, was tried, was found guilty, and -was hanged. On reaching Alaska the officer happened to enter the Greek -church, and saw on the altar a beautiful copy of the Gospels in a costly -binding studded with jewels. He called upon the Greek bishop, and said, -"Your Grace, I called to say you had better remove that copy of the -Gospels from the church, for it may be stolen." The bishop replied, "Why -should I remove it? It was the gift of the mother of the emperor, and -has lain on the altar seventy years." The officer blushed, and said, -"There is no law in the Indian country, and I was afraid it might be -stolen." The bishop said, "The book is in God's house, and it is His -book, and I shall not take it away." The book remained. The country -became ours, and the next day the Gospel was stolen. - -Our Indian wars are needless and wicked. The North American Indian is -the noblest type of a heathen man on the earth. He recognizes a Great -Spirit; he believes in immortality; he has a quick intellect; he is a -clear thinker; he is brave and fearless, and, until betrayed, he is true -to his plighted faith; he has a passionate love for his children, and -counts it joy to die for his people. Our most terrible wars have been -with the noblest types of the Indians, and with men who had been the -white man's friend. Nicolet said the Sioux were the finest type of wild -men he had ever seen. Old traders say that it used to be the boast of -the Sioux that they had never taken the life of a white man. Lewis and -Clarke, Governor Stevens, and Colonel Steptoe bore testimony to the -devoted friendship of the Nez Percés for the white man. Colonel Boone, -Colonel Bent, General Harney, and others speak in the highest praise of -the Cheyennes. The Navahoes were a semi-civilized people. - -Our best friends have suffered more deeply from our neglect and violated -faith than our most bitter foes. Peaceable Indians often say, "You leave -us to suffer; if we killed your people, then you would take care of us." - -Our Indian wars have not come wholly from violated faith. In time of -peace it has been our policy to establish "almshouses" to train and -educate savage paupers. We have purchased paint, beads, scalping-knives, -to deck warriors, and have fed them in idleness at the agency. Around -this agency and along the border were gathered influences to degrade the -savage, and sink him to a depth his fathers had never known. It has only -needed a real or a fancied wrong to have this pauperized savagery break -out in deeds of blood. Under President Grant a new departure was taken. -The peace policy was little more than a name. No change was made in the -Indian system; no rights of property were given; no laws were passed to -protect the Indians. The President did take the nomination of Indian -agents from politicians, who had made the office a reward for political -service. He gave the nomination of Indian agents to the executive -committees of the missionary societies of the different churches. Where -these Christian bodies established schools and missions, and the -Government cast its influence on the side of labor, it was a success. -More has been done to civilize the Indians in the past twelve years than -in any period of our history. The Indian Ring has fought the new policy -at every step; and yet, notwithstanding our Indian wars, our violated -treaties, and our wretched system, thousands of Indians, who were poor, -degraded savages, are now living as Christian, civilized men. There was -a time when it seemed impossible to secure the attention of the -Government to any wrongs done to the Indians: it is not so to-day. The -Government does listen to the friends of the Indians, and many of the -grosser forms of robbery are stopped. No permanent reform can be secured -until the heart of the people is touched. In 1862 I visited Washington, -to lay before the Administration the causes which had desolated our fair -State with the blood of those slain by Indian massacre. After pleading -in vain, and finding no redress, Secretary Stanton said to a friend, -"What does the Bishop want? If he came here to tell us that our Indian -system is a sink of iniquity, tell him we all know it. Tell him the -United States never cures a wrong until the people demand it; and when -the hearts of the people are reached the Indian will be saved." In this -book the reader will find the sad story of a century—no, not the whole -story, but the fragmentary story of isolated tribes. The author will -have her reward if it shall aid in securing justice to a noble and a -wronged race. Even with the sad experiences of the past we have not -learned justice. The Cherokees and other tribes received the Indian -Territory as a compensation and atonement for one of the darkest crimes -ever committed by a Christian nation. That territory was conveyed to -them by legislation as strong as the wit of statesmen could devise. The -fathers who conveyed this territory to the Cherokees are dead. Greedy -eyes covet the land. The plans are laid to wrest it from its rightful -owners. If this great iniquity is consummated, these Indians declare -that all hope in our justice will die out of their hearts, and that they -will defend their country with their lives. - -The work of reform is a difficult one; it will cost us time, effort, and -money; it will demand the best thoughts of the best men in the country. -We shall have to regain the confidence of our Indian wards by honest -dealing and the fulfilment of our promises. Now the name of a white man -is to the Indians a synonyme for "liar." Red Cloud recently paid a visit -to the Black Hills, and was hospitably entertained by his white friends. -In bidding them good-bye he expressed the hope that, if they did not -meet again on earth, they might meet beyond the grave "in a land where -white men ceased to be liars." - -Dark as the history is, there is a brighter side. No missions to the -heathen have been more blessed than those among the Indians. Thousands, -who were once wild, painted savages, finding their greatest joy in deeds -of war, are now the disciples of the Prince of Peace. There are Indian -churches with Indian congregations, in which Indian clergy are telling -the story of God's love in Jesus Christ our Saviour. Where once was only -heard the medicine-drum and the song of the scalp-dance, there is now -the bell calling Christians to prayer, and songs of praise and words of -prayer go up to heaven. The Christian home, though only a log-cabin, has -taken the place of the wigwam; and the poor, degraded Indian woman has -been changed to the Christian wife and mother. With justice, personal -rights, and the protection of law, the Gospel will do for our Red -brothers what it has done for other races—give to them homes, manhood -and freedom. - - H. B. WHIPPLE, _Bishop of Minnesota_. - -NEW YORK, _November 11th, 1880_. - - - - - INTRODUCTION. - - -The present number of Indians in the United States does not exceed three -hundred thousand, but is possibly as large now as when the Europeans -began the settlement of the North American continent. Different tribes -then existing have dwindled, and some have become extinct; but there is -reason to believe that the vast territory now occupied by the United -States, if not then a howling wilderness, was largely an unpeopled -solitude. The roaming wild men who met the new discoverers were, -however, numerous enough to make the Indian problem at the outset a -serious one, while neither its gravity nor its difficulty yet shows -signs of diminution. - -The difficulty is not because the Indians are wild and savage men, for -such men have in the past history of the human race been subdued and -civilized in unnumbered instances, while the changes which in our time -have been wrought among the cannibals of the South Sea and the -barbarians of South Africa, and among the wildest and most savage of the -North American Indians themselves, show abundantly that the agencies of -civilization, ready to our hand are neither wanting nor weak. - -The great difficulty with the Indian problem is not with the Indian, but -with the Government and people of the United States. Instead of a -liberal and far-sighted policy looking to the education and civilization -and possible citizenship of the Indian tribes, we have suffered these -people to remain as savages, for whose future we have had no adequate -care, and to the consideration of whose present state the Government has -only been moved when pressed by some present danger. We have encroached -upon their means of subsistence without furnishing them any proper -return; we have shut them up on reservations often notoriously unfit for -them, or, if fit, we have not hesitated to drive them off for our -profit, without regard to theirs; we have treated them sometimes as -foreign nations, with whom we have had treaties; sometimes as wards, who -are entitled to no voice in the management of their affairs; and -sometimes as subjects, from whom we have required obedience, but to whom -we have recognized no obligations. That the Government of the United -States, which has often plighted its faith to the Indian, and has broken -it as often, and, while punishing him for his crimes, has given him no -status in the courts except as a criminal, has been sadly derelict in -its duty toward him, and has reaped the whirlwind only because it has -sown the wind, is set forth in no exaggerated terms in the following -pages, and ought to be acknowledged with shame by every American -citizen. - -It will be admitted now on every hand that the only solution of the -Indian problem involves the entire change of these people from a savage -to a civilized life. They are not likely to be exterminated. Unless we -ourselves withdraw from all contact with them, and leave them to roam -untrammeled over their wilds, or until the power of a Christian -civilization shall make them consciously one with us, they will not -cease to vex us. - -But how shall they become civilized? Civilization is in a most important -sense a gift rather than an acquisition. Men do not gain it for -themselves, except as stimulated thereto by some incitement from above -themselves. The savage does not labor for the gratifications of -civilized life, since he does not desire these. His labors and his -desires are both dependent upon some spiritual gift, which, having -kindled him, quickens his desires and calls forth his toil. Unless he -has some help from without, some light and life from above to illumine -and inspire him, the savage remains a savage, and without this all the -blandishments of the civilization with which he might be brought into -contact could no more win him into a better state than could all the -light and warmth of the sun woo a desert into a fruitful field. When -English missionaries went to the Indians in Canada, they took with them -skilled laborers who should teach the Indians how to labor, and who, by -providing them at first with comfortable houses, and clothing, and food, -should awaken their desires and evoke their efforts to perpetuate and -increase these comforts. But the Indian would not work, and preferred -his wigwam, and skins, and raw flesh, and filth to the cleanliness and -conveniences of a civilized home; and it was only as Christian -influences taught him his inner need, and how this could be supplied, -that he was led to wish and work for the improvement of his outer -condition and habits of life. The same is true everywhere. Civilization -does not reproduce itself. It must first be kindled, and can then only -be kept alive by a power genuinely Christian. - -But it is idle to attempt to carry Christian influences to any one -unless we are Christian. The first step, therefore, toward the desired -transformation of the Indian is a transformed treatment of him by -ourselves. In sober earnest, our Government needs, first of all, to be -Christian, and to treat the Indian question as Christian principles -require. This means at the outset that we should be honest, and not talk -about maintaining our rights until we are willing to fulfil our -obligations. It means that we should be kind, and quite as eager to give -the Indian what is ours as to get what is his. It means that we should -be wise, and patient, and persevering, abandoning all makeshifts and -temporary expedients, and setting it before us as our fixed aim to act -toward him as a brother, until he shall act as a brother toward us. -There is no use to attempt to teach Christian duty to him in words till -he has first seen it exemplified in our own deeds. - -The true Christian principle of self-forgetful honesty and kindness, -clearly and continuously exhibited, is the first requisite of true -statesmanship in the treatment of the Indian question. This would not -require, however, the immediate entrance of the Indian upon all the -privileges of citizenship and self-direction. Christianized though he -might be, he would need for a longer or shorter time guardianship like a -child. A wise care for his own interests could not be expected of him at -the outset, and the Government should care for him with wise -forethought. Obedience to the law should be required of him, and the -protection of the law afforded him. The jurisdiction of the courts and -the presence of the Government should be felt in the Indian Territory -and upon every Indian reservation as powerfully as in the most -enlightened portions of the land. The court should go as early as the -school, if not before, and is itself an educational agency of -incalculable importance. - -When the Indian, through wise and Christian treatment, becomes invested -with all the rights and duties of citizenship, his special tribal -relations will become extinct. This will not be easily nor rapidly done; -but all our policy should be shaped toward the gradual loosening of the -tribal bond, and the gradual absorption of the Indian families among the -masses of our people. This would involve the bringing to an end of the -whole system of Indian reservations, and would forbid the continued -isolation of the Indian Territory. It is not wise statesmanship to -create impassable barriers between any parts of our country or any -portions of our people. - -Very difficult questions demanding very careful treatment arise in -reference to just this point. Certain Indian tribes now own certain -Indian reservations and the Indian Territory, and this right of property -ought to be most sacredly guarded. But it does not, therefore, follow -that these Indians, in their present state, ought to control the present -use of this property. They may need a long training before they are wise -enough to manage rightfully what is nevertheless rightfully their own. -This training, to which their property might fairly contribute means, -should assiduously be given in established schools with required -attendance. - -If the results thus indicated shall gradually come to pass, the property -now owned by the tribes should be ultimately divided and held in -severalty by the individual members of the tribes. Such a division -should not be immediately made, and, when made, it should be with great -care and faithfulness; but the Indian himself should, as soon as may be, -feel both the incentives and the restraints which an individual -ownership of property is fitted to excite, and the Government, which is -his guardian, having educated him for this ownership, should endow him -with it. But until the Indian becomes as able as is the average white -man to manage his property for himself, the Government should manage it -for him, no matter whether he be willing or unwilling to have this done. - -A difficulty arises in the cases—of which there are many—where treaties -have been made by the Government of the United States with different -Indian tribes, wherein the two parties have agreed to certain definitely -named stipulations. Such treaties have proceeded upon the false -view—false in principle, and equally false in fact—that an Indian tribe, -roaming in the wilderness and living by hunting and plunder, is a -nation. In order to be a nation, there must be a people with a code of -laws which they practise, and a government which they maintain. No vague -sense of some unwritten law, to which human nature, in its lowest -stages, doubtless feels some obligation, and no regulations -instinctively adopted for common defence, which the rudest people herded -together will always follow, are enough to constitute a nation. These -Indian tribes are not a nation, and nothing either in their history or -their condition could properly invest them with a treaty-making power. - -And yet when exigencies have seemed to require, we have treated them as -nations, and have pledged our own national faith in solemn covenant with -them. It were the baldest truism to say that this faith and covenant -should be fulfilled. Of course it should be fulfilled. It is to our own -unspeakable disgrace that we have so often failed therein. But it -becomes us wisely and honestly to inquire whether the spirit of these -agreements might not be falsified by their letter, and whether, in order -to give the Indian his real rights, it may not be necessary to set aside -prerogatives to which he might technically and formally lay claim. If -the Indian Territory and the Indian reservations have been given to -certain tribes as their possession forever, the sacredness of this -guarantee should not shut our eyes to the sacredness also of the real -interests of the people in whose behalf the guarantee was given. We -ought not to lose the substance in our efforts to retain the shadow; we -ought not to insist upon the _summum jus_, when this would become the -_summa injuria_. - -Of course the utmost caution is needed in the application of such a -principle. To admit that a treaty with the Indians may be set aside -without the consent of the Indians themselves, is to open the door again -to the same frauds and falsehoods which have so darkly branded a -"Century of Dishonor." But our great trouble has been that we have -sought to exact justice from the Indian while exhibiting no justice to -him; and when we shall manifest that all our procedure toward him is in -truth and uprightness, we need have no fear but that both his conscience -and his judgment will in the end approve. - - JULIUS H. SEELYE. - -AMHERST COLLEGE, _December 10, 1880_. - - - - - AUTHOR'S NOTE. - - -All the quotations in this book, where the name of the authority is not -cited, are from Official Reports of the War Department or the Department -of the Interior. - -The book gives, as its title indicates, only a sketch, and not a -history. - -To write in full the history of any one of these Indian communities, of -its forced migrations, wars, and miseries, would fill a volume by -itself. - -The history of the missionary labors of the different churches among the -Indians would make another volume. It is the one bright spot on the dark -record. - -All this I have been forced to leave untouched, in strict adherence to -my object, which has been simply to show our causes for national shame -in the matter of our treatment of the Indians. It is a shame which the -American nation ought not to lie under, for the American people, as a -people, are not at heart unjust. - -If there be one thing which they believe in more than any other, and -mean that every man on this continent shall have, it is "fair play." And -as soon as they fairly understand how cruelly it has been denied to the -Indian, they will rise up and demand it for him. - - H. H. - - - - - A CENTURY OF DISHONOR. - - - - - CHAPTER I. - - INTRODUCTORY. - - -The question of the honorableness of the United States' dealings with -the Indians turns largely on a much disputed and little understood -point. What was the nature of the Indians' right to the country in which -they were living when the continent of North America was discovered? -Between the theory of some sentimentalists that the Indians were the -real owners of the soil, and the theory of some politicians that they -had no right of ownership whatever in it, there are innumerable grades -and confusions of opinion. The only authority on the point must be the -view and usage as accepted by the great discovering Powers at the time -of discovery, and afterward in their disposition of the lands -discovered. - -Fortunately, an honest examination of these points leaves no doubt on -the matter. - -England, France, Spain, little Portugal—all quarrelling fiercely, and -fighting with each other for the biggest share in the new continent—each -claiming "sovereignty of the soil" by right of priority of discovery—all -recognized the Indians' "right of occupancy" as a right; a right -alienable in but two ways, either by purchase or by conquest. - -All their discussions as to boundaries, from 1603 down to 1776, -recognized this right and this principle. They reiterated, firstly, that -discoverers had the right of sovereignty—a right in so far absolute that -the discoverer was empowered by it not only to take possession of, but -to grant, sell, and convey lands still occupied by Indians—and that for -any nation to attempt to take possession of, grant, sell, or convey any -such Indian-occupied lands while said lands were claimed by other -nations under the right of discovery, was an infringement of rights, and -just occasion of war; secondly, that all this granting, selling, -conveying was to be understood to be "subject to the Indians' right of -occupancy," which remained to be extinguished either through further -purchase or through conquest by the grantee or purchaser. - -Peters, in his preface to the seventh volume of the "United States -Statutes at Large," says, "The history of America, from its discovery to -the present day, proves the universal recognition of these principles." - -Each discovering Power might regulate the relations between herself and -the Indians; but as to the existence of the Indians' "right of -occupancy," there was absolute unanimity among them. That there should -have been unanimity regarding any one thing between them, is remarkable. -It is impossible for us to realize what a sudden invitation to greed and -discord lay in this fair, beautiful, unclaimed continent—eight millions -of square miles of land—more than twice the size of all Europe itself. -What a lure to-day would such another new continent prove! The fighting -over it would be as fierce now as the fighting was then, and the "right -of occupancy" of the natives would stand small chance of such unanimous -recognition as the four Great Powers then justly gave it. - -Of the fairness of holding that ultimate sovereignty belonged to the -civilized discoverer, as against the savage barbarian, there is no -manner nor ground of doubt. To question this is feeble sentimentalism. -But to affirm and uphold this is not in any wise to overlook the lesser -right which remained; as good, of its kind, and to its extent, as was -the greater right to which, in the just nature of things, it was bound -to give way. - -It being clear, then, that the Indians' "right of occupancy" was a right -recognized by all the great discovering Powers, acted upon by them in -all their dispositions of lands here discovered, it remains next to -inquire whether the United States Government, on taking its place among -the nations, also recognized or accepted this Indian "right of -occupancy" as an actual right. Upon this point, also, there is no doubt. - -"By the treaty which concluded the War of our Revolution, Great Britain -relinquished all claims not only to the government, but to the -proprietary and territorial rights of the United States whose boundaries -were fixed in the second Article. By this treaty the powers of the -government and the right to soil which had previously been in Great -Britain passed definitely to these States. We had before taken -possession of them by declaring independence, but neither the -declaration of independence nor the treaty confirming it could give us -more than that which we before possessed, or to which Great Britain was -before entitled. It has never been doubted that either the United States -or the several States had a clear title to all the lands within the -boundary-lines described in the treaty, subject only to the Indian right -of occupancy, and that the exclusive right to extinguish that right was -vested in that government which might constitutionally exercise it."[1] - -Footnote 1: - - Peters, United States Statutes at Large, vol. vii. - -"Subject to the Indian right of occupancy." It is noticeable how -perpetually this phrase reappears. In their desire to define, assert, -and enforce the greater right, the "right of sovereignty," the makers, -interpreters, and recorders of law did not realize, probably, how -clearly and equally they were defining, asserting, and enforcing the -lesser right, the "right of occupancy." - -Probably they did not so much as dream that a time would come when even -this lesser right—this least of all rights, it would seem, which could -be claimed by, or conceded to, an aboriginal inhabitant of a country, -however savage—would be practically denied to our Indians. But if they -had foreseen such a time, they could hardly have left more explicit -testimony to meet the exigency. - -"The United States have unequivocally acceded to that great and broad -rule by which its civilized inhabitants now hold this country. They hold -and assert in themselves the title by which it was acquired. They -maintain, as all others have maintained, that discovery gave an -exclusive right to extinguish the Indian title of occupancy, either by -purchase or conquest, and gave also a right to such a degree of -sovereignty as the circumstances of the people would allow them to -exercise. - -"The power now possessed by the United States to grant lands resided, -while we were colonies, in the Crown or its grantees. The validity of -the titles given by either has never been questioned in our courts. It -has been exercised uniformly over territories in possession of the -Indians. The existence of this power must negative the existence of any -right which may conflict with and control it. An absolute title to lands -cannot exist at the same time in different persons or in different -governments. An absolute must be an exclusive title, or at least a title -which excludes all others not compatible with it. All our institutions -recognize the absolute title of the Crown, subject only to the Indian -right of occupancy, and recognize the absolute title of the Crown to -extinguish the right. This is incompatible with an absolute and complete -title in the Indians."[2] - -Footnote 2: - - Peters. - -Certainly. But it is also "incompatible with an absolute and perfect -title" in the white man! Here again, in their desire to define and -enforce the greater right, by making it so clear that it included the -lesser one, they equally define and enforce the lesser right as a thing -to be included. The word "subject" is a strong participle when it is -used legally. Provisions are made in wills, "subject to" a widow's right -of dower, for instance, and the provisions cannot be carried out without -the consent of the person to whom they are thus declared to be -"subject." A title which is pronounced to be "subject to" anything or -anybody cannot be said to be absolute till that subjection is removed. - -There have been some definitions and limitations by high legal authority -of the methods in which this Indian "right of occupancy" might be -extinguished even by conquest. - -"The title by conquest is acquired and maintained by force. The -conqueror prescribes its limits. Humanity, however, acting on public -opinion, has established as a general rule that the conquered shall not -be wantonly oppressed, and that their condition shall remain as eligible -as is compatible with the objects of the conquest. Usually they are -incorporated with the victorious nation, and become subjects or citizens -of the government with which they are connected. *** When this -incorporation is practicable, humanity demands, and a wise policy -requires, that the rights of the conquered to property should remain -unimpaired; that the new subjects should be governed as equitably as the -old. *** When the conquest is complete, and the conquered inhabitants -can be blended with the conquerors, or safely governed as a distinct -people, public opinion, which not even the conqueror can disregard, -imposes these restraints upon him, and he cannot neglect them without -injury to his fame, and hazard to his power."[3] - -Footnote 3: - - Peters, United States Statutes at Large, vol. vii. - -In the sadly famous case of the removal of the Cherokee tribe from -Georgia, it is recorded as the opinion of our Supreme Court that "the -Indians are acknowledged to have an unquestionable, and heretofore -unquestioned, right to the lands they occupy until that right shall be -extinguished by a voluntary cession to the Government." *** "The Indian -nations have always been considered as distinct independent political -communities, retaining their original natural rights as the undisputed -possessors of the soil, from time immemorial, with the single exception -of that imposed by irresistible power, which excluded them from -intercourse with any other European potentate than the first discoverer -of the coast of the particular region claimed; and this was a -restriction which those European potentates imposed on themselves as -well as on the Indians. The very term 'nation,' so generally applied to -them, means 'a people distinct from others.' The Constitution, by -declaring treaties already made, as well as those to be made, to be the -supreme law of the land, has adopted and sanctioned the previous -treaties with the Indian nations, and consequently admits their rank -among those powers who are capable of making treaties. The words -'treaty' and 'nation' are words of our own language, selected in our -diplomatic and legislative proceedings by ourselves, having each a -definite and well understood meaning. We have applied them to Indians as -we have applied them to other nations of the earth. They are applied to -all in the same sense."[4] - -Footnote 4: - - Worcester _vs._ State of Georgia, 6 Peters, 515. - -In another decision of the Supreme Court we find still greater emphasis -put upon the Indian right of occupancy, by stating it as a right, the -observance of which was stipulated for in treaties between the United -States and other nations. - -"When the United States acquired and took possession of the Floridas, -the treaties which had been made with the Indian tribes before the -acquisition of the territory by Spain and Great Britain remained in -force over all the ceded territory, as the law which regulated the -relations with all the Indians who were parties to them, and were -binding on the United States by the obligation they had assumed by the -Louisiana treaty as a supreme law of the land. - -"The treaties with Spain and England before the acquisition of Florida -by the United States, which guaranteed to the Seminole Indians their -lands, according to the right of property with which they possessed -them, were adopted by the United States, who thus became the protectors -of all the rights they (the Indians) had previously enjoyed, or could of -right enjoy, under Great Britain or Spain, as individuals or nations, by -any treaty to which the United States thus became parties in 1803. *** - -"The Indian right to the lands as property was not merely of possession; -that of alienation was concomitant; both were equally secured, -protected, and guaranteed by Great Britain and Spain, subject only to -ratification and confirmation by the license, charter, or deed from the -government representing the king." *** - -The laws made it necessary, when the Indians sold their lands, to have -the deeds presented to the governor for confirmation. The sales by the -Indians transferred the kind of right which they possessed; the -ratification of the sale by the governor must be regarded as a -relinquishment of the title of the Crown to the purchaser, and no -instance is known of refusal of permission to sell, or of the rejection -of an Indian sale.[5] - -Footnote 5: - - United States _vs._ Clark, 9 Peters, 168. - -"The colonial charters, a great portion of the individual grants by the -proprietary and royal governments, and a still greater portion by the -States of the Union after the Revolution, were made for lands within the -Indian hunting-grounds. North Carolina and Virginia, to a great extent, -paid their officers and soldiers of the Revolutionary War by such -grants, and extinguished the arrears due the army by similar means. It -was one of the great resources which sustained the war, not only by -those States but by other States. The ultimate fee, encumbered with the -right of occupancy, was in the Crown previous to the Revolution, and in -the States afterward, and subject to grant. This right of occupancy was -protected by the political power, and respected by the courts until -extinguished." *** "So the Supreme Court and the State courts have -uniformly held."[6] - -Footnote 6: - - Clark _vs._ Smith, 13 Peters. - -President Adams, in his Message of 1828, thus describes the policy of -the United States toward the Indians at that time: - -"At the establishment of the Federal Government the principle was -adopted of considering them as foreign and independent powers, and also -as proprietors of lands. As independent powers, we negotiated with them -by treaties; as proprietors, we purchased of them all the land which we -could prevail on them to sell; as brethren of the human race, rude and -ignorant, we endeavored to bring them to the knowledge of religion and -letters." - -Kent says: "The European nations which, respectively, established -colonies in America, assumed the ultimate dominion to be in themselves, -and claimed the exclusive right to grant a title to the soil, subject -only to the Indian right of occupancy. The natives were admitted to be -the rightful occupants of the soil, with a _legal_ as well as just claim -to retain possession of it, and to use it according to their own -discretion, though not to dispose of the soil at their own will, except -to the government claiming the right of pre-emption." *** "The United -States adopted the same principle; and their exclusive right to -extinguish the Indian title by purchase or conquest, and to grant the -soil and exercise such a degree of sovereignty as circumstances -required, has never been judicially questioned." - -Kent also says, after giving the Supreme Court decision in the case of -Johnson _vs._ M'Intosh: "The same court has since been repeatedly called -upon to discuss and decide great questions concerning Indian rights and -title, and the subject has of late become exceedingly grave and -momentous, affecting the faith and the character, if not the -tranquillity and safety, of the Government of the United States." - -In Gardner's "Institutes of International Law" the respective rights to -land of the Indians and the whites are thus summed up: "In our Union the -aborigines had only a possessory title, and in the original thirteen -States each owned in fee, _subject to the Indian right_, all ungranted -lands within their respective limits; and beyond the States the residue -of the ungranted lands were vested in fee in the United States, _subject -to the Indian possessory_ right, to the extent of the national limits." - -Dr. Walker, in his "American Law," makes a still briefer summary: "The -American doctrine on the subject of Indian title is briefly this: The -Indians have no fee in the lands they occupy. The fee is in the -Government. They cannot, of course, aliene them either to nations or -individuals, the exclusive right of pre-emption being in the Government. -Yet they have a qualified right of occupancy which can only be -_extinguished by treaty, and upon fair compensation_; until which they -are entitled to be protected in their possession." - -"Abbott's Digest," one of the very latest authorities, reiterates the -same principle: "The right of occupancy has been recognized in countless -ways, among others by many decisions of courts and opinions of -attorney-generals." - -It being thus established that the Indian's "right of occupancy" in his -lands was a right recognized by all the Great Powers discovering this -continent, and accepted by them as a right necessary to be extinguished -either by purchase or conquest, and that the United States, as a nation, -has also from the beginning recognized, accepted, and acted upon this -theory, it is next in order to inquire whether the United States has -dealt honorably or dishonorably by the Indians in this matter of their -recognized "right of occupancy." - -In regard to the actions of individuals there is rarely much room for -discussion whether they be honorable or dishonorable, the standard of -honor in men's conduct being, among the civilized, uniform, well -understood, and undisputed. Stealing, for instance, is everywhere held -to be dishonorable, as well as impolitic; lying, also, in all its forms; -breaking of promises and betrayals of trust are scorned even among the -most ignorant people. But when it comes to the discussion of the acts of -nations, there seems to be less clearness of conception, less uniformity -of standard of right and wrong, honor and dishonor. It is necessary, -therefore, in charging a government or nation with dishonorable conduct, -to show that its moral standard ought in nowise to differ from the moral -standard of an individual; that what is cowardly, cruel, base in a man, -is cowardly, cruel, base in a government or nation. To do this, it is -only needful to look into the history of the accepted "Law of Nations," -from the days of the Emperor Justinian until now. - -The Roman jurisconsults employed as synonymous, says Wheaton, "the two -expressions, 'jus gentium,' that law which is found among all the known -nations of the earth, and 'jus naturale,' founded on the general nature -of mankind; nevertheless, of these two forms of the same idea, the first -ought to be considered as predominant, since it as well as the 'jus -civile' was a positive law, the origin and development of which must be -sought for in history." - -Nations being simply, as Vattel defines them, "societies of men united -together," it is plain that, if there be such a thing as the "law of -nature," which men as individuals are bound to obey, that law is also -obligatory on the "societies" made up of men thus "united." - -Hobbes divides the law of nature into that of man and that of States, -saying, "The maxims of each of these laws are precisely the same; but as -States, once established, assume personal properties, that which is -termed the natural law when we speak of the duties of individuals is -called the law of nations when applied to whole nations or States." The -Emperor Justinian said, "The law of nations is common to the whole human -race." - -Grotius draws the distinction between the law of nature and the law of -nations thus: "When several persons at different times and in various -places maintain the same thing as certain, such coincidence of sentiment -must be attributed to some general cause. Now, in the questions before -us, that cause must necessarily be one or the other of these two—either -a just consequence drawn from natural principles, or a universal -consent; the former discovers to us the law of nature, and the latter -the law of nations." - -Vattel defines the "necessary law of nations" to be the "application of -the law of nature to nations." He says: "It is 'necessary,' because -nations are absolutely bound to observe it. This law contains the -precepts prescribed by the law of nature to States, on whom that law is -not less obligatory than on individuals; since States are composed of -men, their resolutions are taken by men, and the law of nations is -binding on all men, under whatever relation they act. This is the law -which Grotius, and those who follow him, call the Internal Law of -Nations, on account of its being obligatory on nations in the point of -conscience." - -Vattel says again: "Nations being composed of men naturally free and -independent, and who before the establishment of civil societies lived -together in the state of nature, nations or sovereign States are to be -considered as so many free persons living together in the state of -nature." - -And again: "Since men are naturally equal, and a perfect equality -prevails in their right and obligations as equally proceeding from -nature, nations composed of men, and considered as so many free persons -living together in the state of nature, are naturally equal, and inherit -from nature the same obligations and rights. Power or weakness does not -in this respect produce any difference. A dwarf is as much a man as a -giant; a small republic no less a sovereign State than the most powerful -kingdom." - -In these two last sentences is touched the key-note of the true law of -nations, as well as of the true law for individuals—justice. There is -among some of the later writers on jurisprudence a certain fashion of -condescending speech in their quotations from Vattel. As years have gone -on, and States have grown more powerful, and their relations more -complicated by reason of selfishness and riches, less and less has been -said about the law of nature as a component and unalterable part of the -law of nations. Fine subtleties of definition, of limitation have been -attempted. Hundreds of pages are full of apparently learned -discriminations between the parts of that law which are based on the law -of nature and the parts which are based on the consent and usage of -nations. But the two cannot be separated. No amount of legality of -phrase can do away with the inalienable truth underlying it. Wheaton and -President Woolsey to-day say, in effect, the same thing which Grotius -said in 1615, and Vattel in 1758. - -Says Wheaton: "International law, as understood among civilized nations, -may be defined as consisting of those rules of conduct which reason -deduces as consonant to justice from the nature of the society existing -among independent nations." - -President Woolsey says: "International law, in a wide and abstract -sense, would embrace those rules of intercourse between nations which -are deduced from their rights and moral claims; or, in other words, it -is the expression of the jural and moral relations of States to one -another. - -"If international law were not made up of rules for which reasons could -be given satisfactory to man's intellectual and moral nature, if it were -not built on principles of right, it would be even less of a science -than is the code which governs the actions of polite society." - -It is evident, therefore, that the one fundamental right, of which the -"law of nations" is at once the expression and the guardian, is the -right of every nation to just treatment from other nations, the right of -even the smallest republic equally with "the most powerful kingdom." -Just as the one fundamental right, of which civil law is the expression -and guardian, is the right of each individual to just treatment from -every other individual: a right indefeasible, inalienable, in nowise -lessened by weakness or strengthened by power—as majestic in the person -of "the dwarf" as in that of "the giant." - -Of justice, Vattel says: "Justice is the basis of all society, the sure -bond of all commerce. *** - -"All nations are under a strict obligation to cultivate justice toward -each other, to observe it scrupulously and carefully, to abstain from -anything that may violate it. *** - -"The right of refusing to submit to injustice, of resisting injustice by -force if necessary, is part of the law of nature, and as such recognized -by the law of nations. - -"In vain would Nature give us a right to refuse submitting to injustice, -in vain would she oblige others to be just in their dealings with us, if -we could not lawfully make use of force when they refused to discharge -this duty. The just would lie at the mercy of avarice and injustice, and -all their rights would soon become useless. From the foregoing right -arise, as two distinct branches, first, the right of a just defence, -which belongs to every nation, or the right of making war against -whoever attacks her and her rights; and this is the foundation of -defensive war. Secondly, the right to obtain justice by force, if we -cannot obtain it otherwise, or to pursue our right by force of arms. -This is the foundation of offensive war." - -Justice is pledged by men to each other by means of promises or -contracts; what promises and contracts are between men, treaties are -between nations. - -President Woolsey says: "A contract is one of the highest acts of human -free-will: it is the will binding itself in regard to the future, and -surrendering its right to change a certain expressed intention, so that -it becomes, morally and jurally, a wrong to act otherwise. - -"National contracts are even more solemn and sacred than private ones, -on account of the great interests involved; of the deliberateness with -which the obligations are assumed; of the permanence and generality of -the obligations, measured by the national life, and including thousands -of particular cases; and of each nation's calling, under God, to be a -teacher of right to all, within and without its borders." - -Vattel says: "It is a settled point in natural law that he who has made -a promise to any one has conferred upon him a real right to require the -thing promised; and, consequently, that the breach of a perfect promise -is a violation of another person's right, and as evidently an act of -injustice as it would be to rob a man of his property. *** - -"There would no longer be any security, no longer any commerce between -mankind, if they did not think themselves obliged to keep faith with -each other, and to perform their promises." - -It is evident that the whole weight of the recognized and accepted law -of nations is thrown on the side of justice between nation and nation, -and is the recognized and accepted standard of the obligation involved -in compacts between nation and nation. - -We must look, then, among the accepted declarations of the law of -nations for the just and incontrovertible measure of the shame of -breaking national compacts, and of the wickedness of the nations that -dare to do it. - -We shall go back to the earliest days of the world, and find no dissent -from, no qualification of the verdict of the infamy of such acts. Livy -says of leagues: "Leagues are such agreements as are made by the command -of the supreme power, and whereby the whole nation is made liable to the -wrath of God if they infringe it." - -Grotius opens his "Admonition," in conclusion of the third book of his -famous "Rights of War and Peace," as follows: "'For it is by faith,' -saith Cicero, 'that not commonwealths only, but that grand society of -nations is maintained.' 'Take away this,' saith Aristotle, 'and all -human commerce fails.' It is, therefore, an execrable thing to break -faith on which so many lives depend. 'It is,' saith Seneca, 'the best -ornament wherewith God hath beautified the rational soul; the strongest -support of human society, which ought so much the more inviolably to be -kept by sovereign princes by how much they may sin with greater license -and impunity than other men. Wherefore take away faith, and men are more -fierce and cruel than savage beasts, whose rage all men do horribly -dread. Justice, indeed, in all other of her parts hath something that is -obscure; but that whereunto we engage our faith is of itself clear and -evident; yea, and to this very end do men pawn their faith, that in -their negotiations one with another all doubts may be taken away, and -every scruple removed. How much more, then, doth it concern kings to -keep their faith inviolate, as well for conscience' sake as in regard to -their honor and reputation, wherein consists the authority of a -kingdom.'" - -Vattel says: "Treaties are no better than empty words, if nations do not -consider them as respectable engagements, as rules which are to be -inviolably observed by sovereigns, and held sacred throughout the whole -earth. - -"The faith of treaties—that firm and sincere resolution, that invariable -constancy in fulfilling our engagements, of which we make profession in -a treaty—is therefore to be held sacred and inviolable between the -nations of the earth, whose safety and repose it secures; and if mankind -be not wilfully deficient in their duty to themselves, infamy must ever -be the portion of him who violates his faith. *** - -"He who violates his treaties, violates at the same time the law of -nations, for he disregards the faith of treaties, that faith which the -law of nations declares sacred; and, so far as dependent on him, he -renders it vain and ineffectual. Doubly guilty, he does an injury to his -ally, and he does an injury to all nations, and inflicts a wound on the -great society of mankind. *** - -"On the observance and execution of treaties," said a respectable -sovereign, "depends all the security which princes and States have with -respect to each other, and no dependence could henceforward be placed in -future conventions if the existing ones were not to be observed." - -It is sometimes said, by those seeking to defend, or at least palliate, -the United States Government's repeated disregard of its treaties with -the Indians, that no Congress can be held responsible for the acts of -the Congress preceding it, or can bind the Congress following it; or, in -other words, that each Congress may, if it chooses, undo all that has -been done by previous Congresses. However true this may be of some -legislative acts, it is clearly not true, according to the principles of -international law, of treaties. - -On this point Vattel says: "Since public treaties, even those of a -personal nature, concluded by a king, or by another sovereign who is -invested with sufficient power, are treaties of State, and obligatory on -the whole nation, real treaties, which were intended to subsist -independently of the person who has concluded them, are undoubtedly -binding on his successors; and the obligation which such treaties impose -on the State passes successively to all her rulers as soon as they -assume the public authority. The case is the same with respect to the -rights acquired by those treaties. They are acquired for the State, and -successively pass to her conductors." - -Von Martens says: "Treaties, properly so called, are either personal or -real. They are personal when their continuation in force depends on the -person of the sovereign or his family, with whom they have been -contracted. They are real when their duration depends on the State, -independently of the person who contracts. Consequently, all treaties -between republics must be real. All treaties made for a time specified -or forever are real. *** - -"This division is of the greatest importance, because real treaties -never cease to be obligatory, except in cases where all treaties become -invalid. Every successor to the sovereignty, in virtue of whatever title -he may succeed, is obliged to observe them without their being renewed -at his accession." - -Wheaton says: "They (treaties) continue to bind the State, whatever -intervening changes may take place in its internal constitution or in -the persons of its rulers. The State continues the same, notwithstanding -such change, and consequently the treaty relating to national objects -remains in force so long as the nation exists as an independent State." - -There is no disagreement among authorities on this point. It is also -said by some, seeking to defend or palliate the United States -Government's continuous violations of its treaties with the Indians, -that the practice of all nations has been and is to abrogate a treaty -whenever it saw good reason for doing so. This is true; but the treaties -have been done away with in one of two ways, either by a mutual and -peaceful agreement to that effect between the parties who had made -it—the treaty being considered in force until the consent of both -parties to its abrogation had been given—or by a distinct avowal on the -part of one nation of its intention no longer to abide by it, and to -take, therefore, its chances of being made war upon in consequence. -Neither of these courses has been pursued by the United States -Government in its treaty-breaking with the Indians. - -Vattel says, on the dissolution of treaties: "Treaties may be dissolved -by mutual consent at the free-will of the contracting powers." - -Grotius says: "If either party violate the League, the other party is -freed; because each Article of the League hath the form and virtue of a -condition." - -Kent says: "The violation of any one article of a treaty is a violation -of the whole treaty. *** - -"It is a principle of universal jurisprudence that a compact cannot be -rescinded by one party only, if the other party does not consent to -rescind it, and does no act to destroy it. *** - -"To recommence a war by breach of the articles of peace, is deemed much -more odious than to provoke a war by some new demand or aggression; for -the latter is simply injustice, but in the former case the party is -guilty both of perfidy and injustice." - -It is also said, with unanswerable irrelevancy, by some who seek to -defend or palliate the United States Government's continuous violation -of its treaties with the Indians, that it was, in the first place, -absurd to make treaties with them at all, to consider them in any sense -as treaty-making powers or nations. The logic of this assertion, made as -a justification for the breaking of several hundred treaties, concluded -at different times during the last hundred years, and broken as fast as -concluded, seems almost equal to that of the celebrated defence in the -case of the kettle, which was cracked when it was lent, whole when -returned, and, in fact, was never borrowed at all. It would be a waste -of words to reason with minds that can see in this position any shelter -for the United States Government against the accusation of perfidy in -its treaty relations with the Indians. - -The statement is undoubtedly a true one, that the Indians, having been -placed in the anomalous position as tribes, of "domestic dependent -nations," and as individuals, in the still more anomalous position of -adult "wards," have not legally possessed the treaty-making power. Our -right to put them, or to consider them to be in those anomalous -positions, might be successfully disputed; but they, helpless, having -accepted such positions, did, no doubt, thereby lose their right to be -treated with as nations. Nevertheless, that is neither here nor there -now: as soon as our Government was established, it proceeded to treat -with them as nations by name and designation, and with precisely the -same forms and ratifications that it used in treating with other -nations; and it continued to treat with them as nations by name and -designation, and with continually increasing solemnity of asseveration -of good intent and good faith, for nearly a century. The robbery, the -cruelty which were done under the cloak of this hundred years of -treaty-making and treaty-breaking, are greater than can be told. Neither -mountains nor deserts stayed them; it took two seas to set their bounds. - -In 1871, Congress, either ashamed of making treaties only to break them, -or grudging the time, money, and paper it wasted, passed an act to the -effect that no Indian tribe should hereafter be considered as a foreign -nation with whom the United States might contract by treaty. There seems -to have been at the time, in the minds of the men who passed this act, a -certain shadowy sense of some obligation being involved in treaties; for -they added to the act a proviso that it should not be construed as -invalidating any treaties already made. But this sense of obligation -must have been as short-lived as shadowy, and could have had no element -of shame in it, since they forthwith proceeded, unabashed, to negotiate -still more treaties with Indians, and break them; for instance, the -so-called "Brunot Treaty" with the Ute Indians in Colorado, and one with -the Crow Indians in Montana—both made in the summer of 1873. They were -called at the time "conventions" or "agreements," and not "treaties;" -but the difference is only in name. - -They stated, in a succession of numbered articles, promises of payment -of moneys, and surrenders and cessions of land, by both parties; were to -be ratified by Congress before taking effect; and were understood by the -Indians agreeing to them to be as binding as if they had been called -treaties. The fact that no man's sense of justice openly revolted -against such subterfuges, under the name of agreements, is only to be -explained by the deterioration of the sense of honor in the nation. In -the days of Grotius there were men who failed to see dishonor in a trick -if profit came of it, and of such he wrote in words whose truth might -sting to-day as, no doubt, it stung then: - -"Whereas there are many that think it superfluous to require that -justice from a free people or their governors which they exact daily -from private men, the ground of this error is this: because these men -respect nothing in the law but the profit that ariseth from it, which in -private persons, being single and unable to defend themselves, is plain -and evident; but for great cities, that seem to have within themselves -all things necessary for their own well-being, it doth not so plainly -appear that they have any need of that virtue called justice which -respects strangers." - -These extracts from unquestioned authorities on international law prove -that we may hold nations to standards of justice and good faith as we -hold men; that the standards are the same in each case; and that a -nation that steals and lies and breaks promises, will no more be -respected or unpunished than a man who steals and lies and breaks -promises. It is possible to go still farther than this, and to show that -a nation habitually guilty of such conduct might properly be dealt with -therefore by other nations, by nations in no wise suffering on account -of her bad faith, except as all nations suffer when the interests of -human society are injured. - -"The interest of human society," says Vattel, "would authorize all the -other nations to form a confederacy, in order to humble and chastise the -delinquent." *** When a nation "regards no right as sacred, the safety -of the human race requires that she should be repressed. To form and -support an unjust pretension is not only doing an injury to the party -whose interests are affected by that pretension; but to despise justice -in general is doing an injury to all nations." - -The history of the United States Government's repeated violations of -faith with the Indians thus convicts us, as a nation, not only of having -outraged the principles of justice, which are the basis of international -law; and of having laid ourselves open to the accusation of both cruelty -and perfidy; but of having made ourselves liable to all punishments -which follow upon such sins—to arbitrary punishment at the hands of any -civilized nation who might see fit to call us to account, and to that -more certain natural punishment which, sooner or later, as surely comes -from evil-doing as harvests come from sown seed. - -To prove all this it is only necessary to study the history of any one -of the Indian tribes. I propose to give in the following chapters merely -outline sketches of the history of a few of them, not entering more into -details than is necessary to show the repeated broken faith of the -United States Government toward them. A full history of the wrongs they -have suffered at the hands of the authorities, military and civil, and -also of the citizens of this country, it would take years to write and -volumes to hold. - -There is but one hope of righting this wrong. It lies in appeal to the -heart and the conscience of the American people. What the people demand, -Congress will do. It has been—to our shame be it spoken—at the demand of -part of the people that all these wrongs have been committed, these -treaties broken, these robberies done, by the Government. - -So long as there remains on our frontier one square mile of land -occupied by a weak and helpless owner, there will be a strong and -unscrupulous frontiersman ready to seize it, and a weak and unscrupulous -politician, who can be hired for a vote or for money, to back him. - -The only thing that can stay this is a mighty outspoken sentiment and -purpose of the great body of the people. Right sentiment and right -purpose in a Senator here and there, and a Representative here and -there, are little more than straws which make momentary eddies, but do -not obstruct the tide. The precedents of a century's unhindered and -profitable robbery have mounted up into a very Gibraltar of defence and -shelter to those who care for nothing but safety and gain. That such -precedents should be held, and openly avowed as standards, is only one -more infamy added to the list. Were such logic employed in the case of -an individual man, how quick would all men see its enormity. Suppose -that a man had had the misfortune to be born into a family whose name -had been blackened by generations of criminals; that his father, his -grandfather, and his great-grandfather before them had lived in prisons, -and died on scaffolds, should that man say in his soul, "Go to! What is -the use? I also will commit robbery and murder, and get the same gain by -it which my family must have done?" Or shall he say in his soul, "God -help me! I will do what may be within the power of one man, and the -compass of one generation, to atone for the wickedness, and to make -clean the name of my dishonored house!" - -What an opportunity for the Congress of 1880 to cover itself with a -lustre of glory, as the first to cut short our nation's record of -cruelties and perjuries! the first to attempt to redeem the name of the -United States from the stain of a century of dishonor! - - - - - CHAPTER II. - - THE DELAWARES. - - -When Hendrik Hudson anchored his ship, the _Half Moon_, off New York -Island in 1609, the Delawares stood in great numbers on the shore to -receive him, exclaiming, in their innocence, "Behold! the gods have come -to visit us!" - -More than a hundred years later, the traditions of this event were still -current in the tribe. The aged Moravian missionary, Heckewelder, writing -in 1818, says: - -"I at one time, in April, 1787, was astonished when I heard one of their -orators, a great chief of the Delawares, Pachgants-chilias by name, go -over this ground, recapitulating the most extraordinary events which had -before happened, and concluding in these words: 'I admit that there are -good white men, but they bear no proportion to the bad; the bad must be -the strongest, for they rule. They do what they please. They enslave -those who are not of their color, although created by the same Great -Spirit who created them. They would make slaves of us if they could; but -as they cannot do it, they kill us. There is no faith to be placed in -their words. They are not like the Indians, who are only enemies while -at war, and are friends in peace. They will say to an Indian, "My -friend; my brother!" They will take him by the hand, and, at the same -moment, destroy him. And so you' (he was addressing himself to the -Christian Indians at Gnadenhütten, Pennsylvania) 'will also be treated -by them before long. Remember that this day I have warned you to beware -of such friends as these. I know the Long-knives. They are not to be -trusted.'" - -The original name of the Delawares was Lenni Lenape, or "original -people." They were also called by the Western tribes Wapenachki, "people -at the rising of the sun." When the name "Delawares" was given to them -by the whites, they at first resented it; but being told that they, and -also one of their rivers, were thus named after a great English -brave—Lord De la Warre—they were much pleased, and willingly took the -name. Their lands stretched from the Hudson River to the Potomac. They -were a noble-spirited but gentle people; much under the control of the -arrogant and all-powerful Iroquois, who had put upon them the -degradation of being called "women," and being forced to make war or -give up land at the pleasure of their masters. - -During William Penn's humane administration of the affairs of -Pennsylvania, the Delawares were his most devoted friends. They called -him Mignon, or Elder Brother. - -"From his first arrival in their country," says Heckewelder, "a -friendship was formed between them, which was to last as long as the sun -should shine, and the rivers flow with water. That friendship would -undoubtedly have continued to the end of time, had their good brother -always remained among them." - -In the French and Indian war of 1755 many of them fought on the side of -the French against the English; and in the beginning of our -Revolutionary war the majority of them sided with the English against -us. - -Most of the memorable Indian massacres which happened during this period -were the result of either French or English influence. Neither nation -was high-minded enough to scorn availing herself of savage allies to do -bloody work which she would not have dared to risk national reputation -by doing herself. This fact is too much overlooked in the habitual -estimates of the barbarous ferocity of the Indian character as shown by -those early massacres.[7] - -Footnote 7: - - See Appendix, Art. X. - -The United States' first treaty with the Delawares was made in 1778, at -Fort Pitt. The parties to it were said to be "the United States and the -Delaware Nation." It stipulates that there shall be peace, and that the -troops of the United States may pass "through the country of the -Delaware Nation," upon paying the full value of any supplies they may -use. It further says that, "Whereas the enemies of the United States -have endeavored by every artifice to possess the Indians with an opinion -that it is our design to extirpate them, and take possession of their -country; to obviate such false suggestions, the United States guarantee -to said nation of Delawares, and their heirs, all their territorial -rights in the fullest and most ample manner as bounded by former -treaties." - -The treaty also provides that, "should it for the future be found -conducive for the mutual interest of both parties to invite any other -tribes who have been friends to the interests of the United States to -join the present confederation and form a State, whereof the Delaware -Nation shall be the head," it shall be done; and the Delawares shall be -entitled to send a representative to Congress.[8] - -Footnote 8: - - It is superfluous to say that these provisions were never carried out. - -The Delawares agreed to send all the warriors they could spare to fight -for us, and that there should be peace and perpetual friendship. - -At this time the rest of the Ohio tribes, most of the New York tribes, -and a large part of the Delawares were in arms on the British side. When -the war of the Revolution was concluded, they were all forced to make -peace as best they could with us; and in our first treaty we provided -for the reinstating in the Delaware Nation of the chiefs and headmen who -had made that old alliance with us; they having lost caste in their -tribe for having fought on our side. - -"It is agreed," says the final Article of the treaty, "that the Delaware -chiefs, Kelelamand, or Lieut.-colonel Henry, Henque Pushees, or the Big -Cat, and Wicocalind, or Captain White Eyes, who took up the hatchet for -the United States, and their families, shall be received into the -Delaware Nation in the same situation and rank as before the war, and -enjoy their due portions of the lands given to the Wyandotte and -Delaware nations in this treaty, as fully as if they had not taken part -with America, or as any other person or persons in the said nations." - -This Captain White Eyes had adhered to our cause in spite of great -opposition from the hostile part of the tribe. At one time he was -threatened with a violent death if he should dare to say one word for -the American cause; but by spirited harangues he succeeded in keeping -the enthusiasm of his own party centred around himself, and finally -carrying them over to the side of the United States. Some of his -speeches are on record, and are worthy to be remembered: - -"If you will go out in this war," he said to them at one time, when the -band were inclined to join the British, "you shall not go without me. I -have taken peace measures, it is true, with the view of saving my tribe -from destruction; but if you think me in the wrong, if you give more -credit to runaway vagabonds than to your own friends—to a man, to a -warrior, to a Delaware—if you insist on fighting the Americans—go! and I -will go with you. And I will not go like the bear-hunter, who sets his -dogs on the animal to be beaten about with his paws, while he keeps -himself at a safe distance. No; I will lead you on; I will place myself -in the front; I will fall with the first of you! You can do as you -choose; but as for me, I will not survive my nation. I will not live to -bewail the miserable destruction of a brave people, who deserved, as you -do, a better fate." - -Were there many speeches made by commanders to their troops in those -revolutionary days with which these words do not compare favorably? - -This treaty, by which our faithful ally, Wicocalind, was reinstated in -his tribal rank, was made at Fort M'Intosh in 1785. The Wyandottes, -Chippewas, and Ottawas, as well as the Delawares, joined in it. They -acknowledged themselves and all their tribes to be "under the protection -of the United States, and of no other sovereign whatsoever." The United -States Government reserved "the post of Detroit" and an outlying -district around it; also, the post at Michilimackinac, with a -surrounding district of twelve miles square, and some other reserves for -trading-posts. - -The Indians' lands were comprised within lines partly indicated by the -Cuyahoga, Big Miami, and Ohio rivers and their branches; it fronted on -Lake Erie; and if "any citizen of the United States," or "any other -person not an Indian," attempted "to settle on any of the lands allotted -to the Delaware and Wyandotte nations in this treaty"—the fifth Article -of the treaty said—"the Indians may punish him as they please." - -Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania, all are largely made up of the -lands which were by this first treaty given to the Indians. - -Five years later, by another treaty at Fort Harmar, the provisions of -this treaty were reiterated, the boundaries somewhat changed and more -accurately defined. The privilege of hunting on all the lands reserved -to the United States was promised to the Indians "without hinderance or -molestation, so long as they behaved themselves peaceably;" and "that -nothing may interrupt the peace and harmony now established between the -United States and the aforesaid nations," it was promised in one of the -articles that white men committing offences or murders on Indians should -be punished in the same way as Indians committing such offences. - -The year before this treaty Congress had resolved that "the sum of -$20,000, in addition to the $14,000 already appropriated, be -appropriated for defraying the expenses of the treaties which have been -ordered, or which may be ordered to be held, in the present year, with -the several Indian tribes in the Northern Department; and for -extinguishing the Indian claims, the whole of the said $20,000, together -with $6,000 of the said $14,000, to be applied solely to the purpose of -extinguishing Indian claims to the lands they have already ceded to the -United States by obtaining regular conveyances for the same, and for -extending a purchase beyond the limits hitherto fixed by treaty." - -Here is one of the earliest records of the principle and method on which -the United States Government first began its dealings with Indians. -"Regular conveyances," "extinguishing claims" by "extending purchase." -These are all the strictest of legal terms, and admit of no double -interpretations. - -The Indians had been much dissatisfied ever since the first treaties -were made. They claimed that they had been made by a few only, -representing a part of the tribe; and, in 1786, they had held a great -council on the banks of the Detroit River, and sent a message to -Congress, of which the following extracts will show the spirit. - -They said: "It is now more than three years since peace was made between -the King of Great Britain and you; but we, the Indians, were -disappointed, finding ourselves not included in that peace according to -our expectations, for we thought that its conclusion would have promoted -a friendship between the United States and the Indians, and that we -might enjoy that happiness that formerly subsisted between us and our -Elder Brethren. We have received two very agreeable messages from the -Thirteen United States. We also received a message from the king, whose -war we were engaged in, desiring us to remain quiet, which we -accordingly complied with. During this time of tranquillity we were -deliberating the best method we could to form a lasting reconciliation -with the Thirteen United States. *** We are still of the same opinion as -to the means which may tend to reconcile us to each other; and we are -sorry to find, although we had the best thoughts in our minds during the -before-mentioned period, mischief has nevertheless happened between you -and us. We are still anxious of putting our plan of accommodation into -execution, and we shall briefly inform you of the means that seem most -probable to us of effecting a firm and lasting peace and reconciliation, -the first step toward which should, in our opinion, be that all treaties -carried on with the United States on our parts should be with the -general will of the whole confederacy, and carried on in the most open -manner, without any restraint on either side; and especially as landed -matters are often the subject of our councils with you—a matter of the -greatest importance and of general concern to us—in this case we hold it -indisputably necessary that any cession of our lands should be made in -the most public manner, and by the united voice of the confederacy, -holding all partial treaties as void and of no effect. *** We say, let -us meet half-way, and let us pursue such steps as become upright and -honest men. We beg that you will prevent your surveyors and other people -from coming upon our side of the Ohio River." - -These are touching words, when we remember that only the year before the -United States had expressly told these Indians that if any white -citizens attempted to settle on their lands they might "punish them as -they pleased." - -"We have told you before we wished to pursue just steps, and we are -determined they shall appear just and reasonable in the eyes of the -world. This is the determination of all the chiefs of our confederacy -now assembled here, notwithstanding the accidents that have happened in -our villages, even when in council, where several innocent chiefs were -killed when absolutely engaged in promoting a peace with you, the -Thirteen United States." - -The next year the President instructed the governor of the territory -northwest of the Ohio to "examine carefully into the real temper of the -Indian tribes" in his department, and says: "The treaties which have -been made may be examined, but must not be departed from, unless a -change of boundary beneficial to the United States can be obtained." He -says also: "You will not neglect any opportunity that may offer of -extinguishing the Indian rights to the westward, _as far as the -Mississippi_." - -Beyond that river even the wildest dream of greed did not at that time -look. - -The President adds, moreover: "You may stipulate that any white persons -going over the said boundaries without a license from the proper -officers of the United States may be treated in such manner as the -Indians may see fit." - -I have not yet seen, in any accounts of the Indian hostilities on the -North-western frontier during this period, any reference to those -repeated permissions given by the United States to the Indians, to -defend their lands as they saw fit. Probably the greater number of the -pioneer settlers were as ignorant of these provisions in Indian treaties -as are the greater number of American citizens to-day, who are honestly -unaware—and being unaware, are therefore incredulous—that the Indians -had either provocation or right to kill intruders on their lands. - -At this time separate treaties were made with the Six Nations, and the -governor says that these treaties were made separately because of the -jealousy and hostility existing between them and the Delawares, -Wyandottes, etc., which he is "not willing to lessen," because it -weakens their power. "Indeed," he frankly adds, "it would not be very -difficult, if circumstances required it, to set them at deadly -variance." - -Thus early in our history was the ingenious plan evolved of first -maddening the Indians into war, and then falling upon them with -exterminating punishment. The gentleman who has left on the official -records of his country his claim to the first suggestion and -recommendation of this method is "Arthur St. Clair, governor of the -territory of the United States northwest of the Ohio River, and -commissioner plenipotentiary of the United States of America for -removing all causes of controversy, regulating trade, and settling -boundaries with the Indian nations in the Northern Department." - -Under all these conditions, it is not a matter of wonder that the -frontier was a scene of perpetual devastation and bloodshed; and that, -year by year, there grew stronger in the minds of the whites a terror -and hatred of Indians; and in the minds of the Indians a stronger and -stronger distrust and hatred of the whites. - -The Delawares were, through the earlier part of these troubled times, -friendly. In 1791 we find the Secretary of War recommending the -commissioners sent to treat with the hostile Miamis and Wabash Indians -to stop by the way with the friendly Delawares, and take some of their -leading chiefs with them as allies. He says, "these tribes are our -friends," and, as far as is known, "the treaties have been well observed -by them." - -But in 1792 we find them mentioned among the hostile tribes to whom was -sent a message from the United States Government, containing the -following extraordinary paragraphs: - -"Brethren: The President of the United States entertains the opinion -that the war which exists is an error and mistake on your parts. That -you believe the United States want to deprive you of your lands, and -drive you out of the country. _Be assured that this is not so_; on the -contrary, that we should be greatly gratified with the opportunity of -imparting to you all the blessings of civilized life; of teaching you to -cultivate the earth, and raise corn; to raise oxen, sheep, and other -domestic animals; to build comfortable houses; and to educate your -children so as ever to dwell upon the land. - -"Consult, therefore, upon the great object of peace; call in your -parties, and enjoin a cessation of all further depredations; and as many -of the principal chiefs as shall choose repair to Philadelphia, the seat -of the Great Government, and there make a peace founded on the -principles of justice and humanity. _Remember that no additional lands -will be required of you, or any other tribe, to those that have been -ceded by former treaties._" - -It was in this same year, also, that General Putnam said to them, in a -speech at Post Vincennes: "The United States don't mean to wrong you out -of your lands. They don't want to take away your lands by force. They -want to do you justice." And the venerable missionary, Heckewelder, who -had journeyed all the way from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, to try to help -bring about peace, said to them, "The great chief who has spoken to you -is a good man. He loves you, and will always speak the truth to you. I -wish you to listen to his words, and do as he desires you." - -In 1793 a great council was held, to which came the chiefs and headmen -of the Delawares, and of twelve other tribes, to meet commissioners of -the United States, for one last effort to settle the vexed boundary -question. The records of this council are profoundly touching. The -Indians reiterated over and over the provisions of the old treaties -which had established the Ohio River as one of their boundaries. Their -words were not the words of ignorant barbarians, clumsily and doggedly -holding to a point; they were the words of clear-headed, statesman-like -rulers, insisting on the rights of their nations. As the days went on, -and it became more and more clear that the United States commissioners -would not agree to the establishment of the boundary for which the -Indians contended, the speeches of the chiefs grow sadder and sadder. -Finally, in desperation, as a last hope, they propose to the -commissioners that all the money which the United States offers to pay -to them for their lands shall be given to the white settlers to induce -them to move away. They say: - -"Money to us is of no value, and to most of us unknown; and as no -consideration whatever can induce us to sell the lands on which we get -sustenance for our women and children, we hope we may be allowed to -point out a mode by which your settlers may be easily removed, and peace -thereby obtained. - -"We know that these settlers are poor, or they would never have ventured -to live in a country which has been in continual trouble ever since they -crossed the Ohio. Divide, therefore, this large sum of money which you -have offered us among these people; give to each, also, a proportion of -what you say you would give to us annually, over and above this very -large sum of money, and we are persuaded they would most readily accept -of it in lieu of the lands you sold them. If you add, also, the great -sums you must expend in raising and paying armies with a view to force -us to yield you our country, you will certainly have more than -sufficient for the purpose of repaying these settlers for all their -labor and their improvements. - -"You have talked to us about concessions. It appears strange that you -should expect any from us, who have only been defending our just rights -against your invasions. We want peace. Restore to us our country, and we -shall be enemies no longer. - -"*** We desire you to consider, brothers, that our only demand is the -peaceable possession of a small part of our once great country. Look -back and review the lands from whence we have been driven to this spot. -We can retreat no farther, because the country behind hardly affords -food for its present inhabitants, and we have therefore resolved to -leave our bones in this small space to which we are now confined." - -The commissioners replied that to make the Ohio River the boundary was -now impossible; that they sincerely regretted that peace could not be -made; but, "knowing the upright and liberal views of the United States," -they trust that "impartial judges will not attribute the continuance of -the war to them." - -Notice was sent to the governor that the Indians "refused to make -peace;" and General Anthony Wayne, a few weeks later, wrote to the -Secretary of War, "The safety of the Western frontiers, the reputation -of the legion, the dignity and interest of the nation—all forbid a -retrograde manœuvre, or giving up one inch of ground we now possess, -till the enemy are compelled to sue for peace." - -The history of the campaigns that followed is to be found in many -volumes treating of the pioneer life of Ohio and other North-western -States. One letter of General Wayne's to the Secretary of War, in -August, 1794, contains a paragraph which is interesting, as showing the -habits and method of life of the people whom we at this time, by force -of arms, drove out from their homes—homes which we had only a few years -before solemnly guaranteed to them, even giving them permission to -punish any white intruders there as they saw fit. By a feint of -approaching Grand Glaize through the Miami villages, General Wayne -surprised the settlement, and the Indians, being warned by a deserter, -had barely time to flee for their lives. What General Wayne had intended -to do may be inferred from this sentence in his letter: "I have good -grounds to conclude that the defection of this villain prevented the -enemy from receiving a fatal blow at this place when least expected." - -However, he consoles himself by the fact that he has "gained possession -of the grand emporium of the hostile Indians of the West without loss of -blood. The very extensive and highly cultivated fields and gardens show -the work of many hands. The margins of those beautiful rivers—the -Miamis, of the Lake, and Au Glaize—appear like one continued village for -a number of miles, both above and below this place; nor have I ever -before beheld such immense fields of corn in any part of America, from -Canada to Florida." - -All these villages were burnt, and all these cornfields destroyed; the -Indians were followed up and defeated in a sharp fight. The British -agents did their best to keep them hostile, and no inconsiderable aid -was furnished to them from Canada. But after a winter of suffering and -hunger, and great vacillations of purpose, they finally decided to yield -to the inevitable, and in the summer of 1795 they are to be found once -more assembled in council, for the purpose of making a treaty; once more -to be told by the representatives of the United States Government that -"the heart of General Washington, the Great Chief of America, wishes for -nothing so much as peace and brotherly love;" that "such is the justice -and liberality of the United States," that they will now a third time -pay for lands; and that they are "acting the part of a tender father to -them and their children in thus providing for them not only at present, -but forever." - -Eleven hundred and thirty Indians (eleven tribes, besides the Delawares, -being represented) were parties to this treaty. By this treaty nearly -two-thirds of the present State of Ohio were ceded to the United States; -and, in consideration of these "cessions and relinquishments, and to -manifest the liberality of the United States as the great means of -rendering this peace strong and perpetual," the United States -relinquished all claims "to all other Indian lands northward of the -River Ohio, eastward of the Mississippi, and westward and southward of -the Great Lakes and the waters uniting them, according to the boundary -line agreed upon by the United States and the King of Great Britain, in -the treaty of peace made between them in the year 1783," with the -exception of four tracts of land. But it was stated to the Indians that -these reservations were not made "to annoy or impose the smallest degree -of restraint on them in the quiet enjoyment and full possession of their -lands," but simply to "connect the settlements of the people of the -United States," and "to prove convenient and advantageous to the -different tribes of Indians residing and hunting in their vicinity." - -The fifth Article of the treaty is: "To prevent any misunderstanding -about the Indian lands now relinquished by the United States, it is -explicitly declared that the meaning of that relinquishment is this: -that the Indian tribes who have a right to those lands are quietly to -enjoy them—hunting, planting, and dwelling thereon _so long as they -please_ without any molestation from the United States; but when those -tribes, or any of them, shall be disposed to sell their lands, or any -part of them, they are to be sold only to the United States; and until -such sale the United States will protect all the said Indian tribes in -the quiet enjoyment of their lands against all citizens of the United -States, and against all other white persons who intrude on the same." - -The sixth Article reiterates the old pledge, proved by the last three -years to be so worthless—that, "If any citizen of the United States, or -any other white person or persons, shall presume to settle upon the -lands now relinquished by the United States, such citizen or other -person shall be out of the protection of the United States; and the -Indian tribe on whose land the settlement may be made may drive off the -settler, or punish him in such manner as they shall think fit." - -The seventh Article gives the Indians the liberty "to hunt within the -territory and lands which they have now ceded to the United States, -without hinderance or molestation, so long as they demean themselves -peaceably." - -The United States agreed to pay to the Indians twenty thousand dollars' -worth of goods at once; and "henceforward, every year, forever, useful -goods to the value of nine thousand five hundred dollars." Peace was -declared to be "established" and "perpetual." - -General Wayne told the Indians that they might believe him, for he had -never, "in a public capacity, told a lie;" and one of the Indians said, -with much more dignity, "The Great Spirit above hears us, and I trust we -shall not endeavor to deceive each other." - -In 1813, by a treaty at Vincennes, the bounds of the reservation of the -Post of St. Vincennes were defined, and the Indians, "as a mark of their -regard and attachment to the United States, relinquished to the United -States the great salt spring on the Saline Creek." - -In less than a year we made still another treaty with them for the -extinguishment of their title to a tract of land between the Ohio and -the Wabash rivers (which they sold to us for a ten years' annuity of -three hundred dollars, which was to be "exclusively appropriated to -ameliorating their condition and promoting their civilization"); and in -one year more still another treaty, in which a still further cession of -land was made for a permanent annuity of one thousand dollars. - -In August of this year General Harrison writes to the Secretary of War -that there are great dissensions between the Delawares and Miamis in -regard to some of the ceded lands, the Miamis claiming that they had -never consented to give them up. General Harrison observes the most -exact neutrality in this matter, but says, "A knowledge of the value of -land is fast gaining ground among the Indians," and negotiations are -becoming in consequence much more difficult. In the course of this -controversy, "one of the chiefs has said that he knew a great part of -the land was worth six dollars an acre." - -It is only ten years since one of the chiefs of these same tribes had -said, "Money is to us of no value." However, they must be yet very far -from having reached any true estimate of real values, as General -Harrison adds: "From the best calculation I have been able to make, the -tract now ceded contains at least two millions of acres, and embraces -some of the finest lands in the Western country." - -Cheap at one thousand dollars a year!—even with the negro man thrown in, -which General Harrison tells the Secretary he has ordered Captain Wells -to purchase, and present to the chief, The Turtle, and to draw on the -United States Treasury for the amount paid for him. - -Four years later (1809) General Harrison is instructed by the President -"to take advantage of the most favorable moment for extinguishing the -Indian title to the lands lying east of the Wabash, and adjoining -south;" and the title was extinguished by the treaty of Fort Wayne—a -little more money paid, and a great deal of land given up. - -In 1814 we made a treaty, simply of peace and friendship, with the -Delawares and several other tribes: they agreeing to fight faithfully on -our side against the English, and we agreeing to "confirm and establish -all the boundaries" as they had existed before the war. - -In 1817 it was deemed advisable to make an effort to "extinguish the -Indian title to all the lands claimed by them within the limits of the -State of Ohio". Two commissioners were appointed, with great -discretionary powers; and a treaty was concluded early in the autumn, by -which there was ceded to the United States nearly all the land to which -the Indians had claim in Ohio, a part of Indiana, and a part of -Michigan. This treaty was said by the Secretary of War to be "the most -important of any hitherto made with the Indians." "The extent of the -cession far exceeded" his most sanguine expectations, and he had the -honesty to admit that "there can be no real or well-founded objection to -the amount of the compensation given for it, except that it is not an -adequate one." - -The commissioners who negotiated the treaty were apprehensive that they -would be accused of having made too liberal terms with the Indians, and -in their report to the department they enumerate apologetically the -reasons which made it impossible for them to get the land cheaper. Mr. -Cass says of the terms: "Under any circumstances, they will fall -infinitely short of the pecuniary and political value of the country -obtained." - -The Indians, parties to this treaty, surrendered by it almost the last -of their hunting-grounds, and would soon be driven to depending wholly -upon the cultivation of the soil. - -In 1818 the Delawares again ceded land to the United States—ceded all to -which they laid claim in the State of Indiana—and the United States -promised to provide for them "a country to reside in on the west side of -the Mississippi," and "to guarantee to them the peaceable possession" of -the same. They were to have four thousand dollars a year in addition to -all the sums promised by previous treaties, and they were to be allowed -to remain three years longer by sufferance in their present homes. The -Government also agreed to pay them for their improvements on their -lands, to give them a hundred and twenty horses, and a "sufficient -number of pirogues to aid in transporting them to the west side of the -Mississippi;" also provisions for the journey. - -In 1829 a supplementary Article was added to this treaty. The United -States Government began to show traces of compunction and pity. The -Article says, "Whereas the Delaware Nation are now willing to remove," -it is agreed upon that the country in the fork of the Kansas and -Missouri rivers, selected for their home, "shall be conveyed and forever -secured by the United States to the said Delaware Nation, as their -permanent residence; and the United States hereby pledges the faith of -the Government to guarantee to the said Delaware Nation, forever, the -quiet and peaceable and undisturbed enjoyment of the same against the -claims and assaults of all and every other people whatever." - -An additional permanent annuity of one thousand dollars is promised; -forty horses, "and the use of six wagons and ox-teams to assist in -removing heavy articles," provisions for the journey, and one year's -subsistence after they reach their new home; also the erection of a -grist and saw mill within two years. - -In 1833 the Secretary of War congratulated the country on the fact that -"the country north of the Ohio, east of the Mississippi, including the -States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and the Territory of Michigan as far -as the Fox and Wisconsin rivers," has been practically "cleared of the -embarrassments of Indian relations," as there are not more than five -thousand Indians, all told, left in this whole region. - -The Commissioner of Indian Affairs in the same year says that it is -"grateful to notice" how much the Indians' condition is "ameliorated -under the policy of removal." He says that they, "protected by the -strong arm of the Government, and dwelling on lands _distinctly_ and -permanently established as their own, enjoying a delightful climate and -a fertile soil, turn their attention to the cultivation of the earth, -and abandon the chase for the surer supply of domestic animals." - -This commissioner apparently does not remember, perhaps never read, the -records of the great fields of corn which the Delawares had on the Miami -River in 1795, and how they returned twice that summer and replanted -them, after General Wayne had cut down and burnt the young crops. They -had "turned their attention to the cultivation of the soil" forty years -ago, and that was what came of it. We shall see how much better worth -while it may be for them to plant corn in their new "permanent home," -than it was in their last one. - -The printed records of Indian Affairs for the first forty years of this -century are meagre and unsatisfactory. Had the practice prevailed then, -as at the present time, of printing full annual reports for the -different tribes, it would be possible to know much which is now forever -locked up in the traditions and the memories of the Indians themselves. -For ten years after the making of this last quoted treaty, there is -little official mention of the Delawares by name, beyond the mention in -the fiscal reports of the sums paid to them as annuities and for -education. In 1833 the commissioner says, "The agent for the Delawares -and Shawnees states that he was shown cloth that was spun and wove, and -shirts and other clothing made by the Indian girls." - -In 1838 the Delawares are reported as cultivating one thousand five -hundred acres of land in grain and vegetables, and raising a great many -hogs, cattle, and horses. "They are a brave, enterprising people," and -"at peace with all neighboring Indians." - -Parties of them frequently make excursions into the Rocky Mountains -after beaver, and return with a rich reward, sometimes as much as one -thousand dollars to an individual; but their money is soon spent, -chiefly for ardent spirits. The agent says: "The only hinderance now in -the way of the Delawares, Shawnees, and Kickapoos is ardent spirits. *** -These whiskey traffickers, who seem void of all conscience, rob and -murder many of these Indians; I say rob—they will get them drunk, and -then take their horses, guns, or blankets off their backs, regardless of -how quick they may freeze to death; I say they murder—if not directly, -indirectly, they furnish the weapon—they make them drunk, and, when -drunk, they kill their fellow-beings. Some freeze to death when drunk; -several drunken Indians have been drowned in the Missouri River this -season, aiming to cross when drunk." - -In 1844 the chiefs of the Delawares met together, and prepared a -remarkable document, which was forwarded to the Secretary of War. In -this paper they requested that all the school funds to which they were -entitled by treaty provisions might be paid to the Indian Manual Labor -School near the Fort Leavenworth Agency; might be pledged to that school -for ten years to come, and that they might therefor be guaranteed the -education and subsistence of Delaware children, not exceeding fifty at -any one time. It came out, in course of this negotiation, that two -thousand dollars were due them on arrearages of their school fund. - -The Secretary acceded to this request, but imposed five conditions upon -it, of which the fourth seems worth chronicling, as an indication of the -helplessness of the Delawares in the matter of the disposition of their -own money: "The interest to be paid annually when it may suit the -Treasury; and this ratification to be subject to withdrawal, and the -agreement itself to rescission, and to be annulled at the pleasure of -the Department." - -In 1845 the Delawares "raise a sufficiency to subsist on. The women do a -large portion of the work on the farms. In many families, however, the -women do not work on the farm. They raise corn, pumpkins, beans, pease, -cabbages, potatoes, and many kinds of garden vegetables. Some few raise -wheat and oats. They have lately had built, out of their own means, a -good saw and grist mill, with two run of stones, one for corn and the -other for wheat. There is a constant stream, called the Stranger, in -their country that affords excellent water privileges. On this stream -their mills are built." - -At this time they are waiting with much anxiety to see if their "Great -Father" will punish the Sioux, who have at two different times attacked -them, and murdered in all some thirty men. "They say they do not wish to -offend and disobey their Great Father, and before they attempt to -revenge themselves they will wait and see if their Great Father will -compel the Sioux to make reparation." - -In 1848 "almost every family is well supplied with farming-stock; and -they have raised abundance of corn, some wheat, potatoes, oats, and -garden vegetables; have made butter and cheese; and raised fruit, etc., -etc. They dwell in good log-cabins, and some have extremely neat houses, -well furnished. They have their outhouses, stables, well-fenced lots, -and some have good barns." There are seventy scholars in one school -alone that are taught by the Friends; and the teacher reports: "It is -truly astonishing to see the rapidity with which they acquire knowledge. -The boys work on the farm part of the time, and soon learn how to do -what they are set at. The girls spend a part of their time in doing -housework, sewing, etc. Many of them do the sewing of their own, and -some of the clothes of the other children." - -In 1853 the Delawares are recorded as being "among the most remarkable -of our colonized tribes. By their intrepidity and varied enterprise they -are distinguished in a high degree. Besides being industrious farmers -and herdsmen, they hunt and trade all over the interior of the -continent, carrying their traffic beyond the Great Salt Lake, and -exposing themselves to a thousand perils." - -Their agent gives, in his report for this year, a graphic account of an -incident such as has only too often occurred on our frontier. "A small -party of Delawares, consisting of a man, his squaw, and a lad about -eighteen years of age, recently returning from the mountains, with the -avails and profits of a successful hunt and traffic, after they had -commenced their journey homeward the second day the man sickened and -died. Before he died he directed his squaw and the young man to hasten -home with their horses and mules—thirteen in number—their money (four -hundred and forty-five dollars), besides many other articles of value. -After a few days' travel, near some of the forts on the Arkansas, they -were overtaken by four white men, deserters from the United States -Army—three on foot, and one riding a mule. The squaw and young man -loaned each of the men on foot a horse or mule to ride, and furnished -them with provisions. They all travelled on friendly together for some -six or seven days, till they arrived at Cottonwood Creek, thirty-five or -forty miles west of Council Grove. One evening, while resting, the young -man was killed by these men; and the squaw was also supposed by these -wretches to be dead, having had her throat cut badly and her head -fractured. The two were then dragged off in the grass, supposed to be -dead. The men gathered the mules, horses, money, guns, blankets—all that -they supposed of value—and made for Jackson County, Missouri, where they -disposed of the stock as best they could, and three of them took steamer -for St. Louis. The squaw, on the day after, resuscitated; and soon -discovering that her companion had been killed, and everything they -possessed had disappeared, she, in her feeble and dangerous condition, -took the road to Council Grove. The fifth day, she says, she was -overtaken by a Kaw Indian, and brought into Council Grove, where the -traders had every attention paid her, and sent a runner to the Delaware -traders and myself, and we soon succeeded in capturing one of the men in -Liberty, Clay County, Missouri, where he confessed the whole tragedy—the -murder, robbing, etc. The three others had left for St. Louis. A -telegraphic despatch to St. Louis, however, had the desired effect, and -the three men were taken and brought back to Liberty, where, on trial -before two justices of the peace, they were committed for trial in the -District Court of the United States for the State of Missouri. As feeble -as the squaw was, I was under the necessity of having her taken to -Liberty as a witness. She readily recognized and pointed out in a large -crowd of persons three of the prisoners. I have caused four of the -recovered mules and horses to be turned over to the unfortunate squaw. I -expect to recover two or three more; the balance, I am of opinion, will -never be obtained." - -In the report of the Indian Commissioner for this year there is also a -paragraph which should not be omitted from this sketch: "The present -seems to be an appropriate occasion for calling the attention of -Congress to certain treaty stipulations with various Indian tribes which -the Government, for a number of years, has failed to execute. In -consideration of the cession of their lands to the United States"—by -some nine tribes of the Mississippi and Missouri regions, among whom -were the Delawares—"it was stipulated on the part of the Government that -certain sums should be paid to said tribes, amounting in the aggregate -to $2,396,600, and that the same should be invested in safe and -profitable stocks, yielding an interest of not less than five per cent. -per annum. - -"Owing, however, to the embarrassed condition of the Treasury, it was -deemed advisable by Congress, in lieu of making the investments, to -appropriate from year to year a sum equal to the annual interest at five -per cent. on the several amounts required to be invested. On this amount -the Government has already paid from its treasury $1,742,240—a sum which -is now equal to two-thirds of the principal, and will in a few years be -equal to the whole, if the practice of appropriating the interest be -continued. As there is no limitation to the period of these payments, -such a policy indefinitely continued would prove a most costly one to -the Government. At the end of every twenty years it will have paid from -the public treasury by way of interest the full amount of the stipulated -investments. *** The public finances are in a prosperous condition. -Instead of fiscal embarrassment, there is now a redundancy of money, and -one of the vexed questions of the day is, What shall be done with the -surplus in the Treasury? Considering the premises, it seems to be quite -clear that so much thereof as may be necessary for the purpose should be -promptly applied to the fulfilment of our treaty obligations." - -In 1854 the influx of white settlers into Kansas was so great, it became -evident that the Indian reservations there could not be kept intact; and -the Delawares made a large cession of their lands back to the United -States, to be restored to the public domain. For this they were to -receive ten thousand dollars. The sixth Article of this treaty provided -for the giving of annuities to their chiefs. "The Delawares feel now, as -heretofore, grateful to their old chiefs for their long and faithful -services. In former treaties, when their means were scanty, they -provided by small life annuities for the wants of the chiefs, some of -whom are now receiving them. These chiefs are poor, and the Delawares -believe it their duty to keep them from want in their old age." The sum -of ten thousand dollars, therefore, was to be paid to their five -chiefs—two hundred and fifty dollars a year each. - -Article second provided that the President should cause the land now -reserved for their permanent home to be surveyed at any time when they -desired it, in the same manner as the ceded country was being surveyed -for the white settlers. - -In the following year their agent writes thus of the results which have -followed the opening of this large tract to white settlers: "The Indians -have experienced enough to shake their confidence in the laws which -govern the white race. The irruptions of intruders on their trust lands, -their bloody dissensions among themselves, outbreaks of party, etc., -must necessarily, to these unsophisticated people, have presented our -system of government in an unfavorable light. - -"Numerous wrongs have been perpetrated on many parts of the reserve; the -white men have wasted their most valuable timber with an unsparing hand; -the trust lands have been greatly injured in consequence of the -settlements made thereon. The Indians have complained, but to no -purpose. I have found it useless to threaten legal proceedings. *** The -Government is bound in good faith to protect this people. *** The -agricultural portion of this tribe have done well this season; abundant -crops of corn promise them a supply of food for the ensuing year." - -The simple-minded trustingness of these people is astonishing. Even now -they assent to an Article in this treaty which says that, as the means -arising from the sale of all this land they had given up would be more -than they could use, the remainder should be "from time to time invested -by the President of the United States in safe and profitable stocks; the -principal to remain unimpaired, and the interest to be applied annually -for the civilization, education, and religious culture of the Delaware -people, and such other objects of a beneficial character as in his -judgment are proper and necessary." Another Article stipulates that, if -any of the Delawares are worthless or idle, the President can withhold -their share of the moneys. - -Article fifteenth says, gravely, "The primary object of this instrument -being to advance the interests and welfare of the Delaware people, it is -agreed that, if it prove insufficient to effect these ends from causes -which cannot now be foreseen, Congress may hereafter make such farther -provision, by law not inconsistent herewith, as experience may prove to -be necessary to promote the interests, peace, and happiness of the -Delaware people." - -In 1860 the United States made its next treaty with the Delawares, in -which they consented to give the Leavenworth, Pawnee, and Western -Railroad Company right of way and certain lands in their reserve. In -1861 another treaty, in which, as the railway company had not paid, and -was not able to pay, the $286,742 which it had promised to pay the -Delawares, the President authorized the Commissioners of Indian Affairs -to take the bonds of said railroad for that amount, and a mortgage on -one hundred thousand acres of the land which the Indians had sold to the -railway company. - -There was another very curious bit of legislation in regard to the -Delawares this year, viz., an Act of Congress authorizing the Secretary -of the Treasury to enter on his books $423,990.26 to the credit of the -Delawares; being the amount of bonds which the United States had -invested for the Delawares in State bonds of Missouri, Tennessee, and -North Carolina, and which had been stolen while in the custody of Jacob -Thompson, late Secretary of the Interior, in whose department they had -been deposited for safe-keeping. (At the same time there were stolen -$66,735 belonging to the Iowas, and $169,686.75 belonging to the -confederated bands of Kaskaskias, Peorias, Piankeshaws, and Keas.) - -In this year the Commissioner of Indian Affairs visited the Delawares, -and reported them well advanced in civilization, in possession of -comfortable dwellings and farms, with personal property averaging one -thousand dollars to an individual. Many of them were traders, and -travelled even to the boundaries of California. - -In 1862 two regiments of Delawares and Osages enlisted as soldiers in an -expedition to the Indian Territory, under Colonel Weer, who says of -them: "The Indian soldiers have far exceeded the most sanguine -expectations. They bore the brunt of the fighting done by the -expedition, and, had they been properly sustained, would have -effectually ended the sway of the rebels in the Indian Territory." - -There was during this year a terrible condition of affairs in Kansas and -the Indian Territory. The Indians were largely on the side of the -rebels; yet, as the Indian Commissioner said in his report for this -year—a paragraph which is certainly a species of Irish bull—"While the -rebelling of a large portion of most of the tribes abrogates treaty -obligations, and places them at our mercy, the very important fact -should not be forgotten that the Government first wholly failed to keep -its treaty stipulations with them in protecting them." "By withdrawing -all the troops from the forts in the Indian Territory," it left them "at -the mercy of the rebels." That is, we first broke the treaty; and then -their subsequent failure to observe it "placed them at our mercy!" - -"It is," he says, "a well-known fact that in many instances -self-preservation compelled them to make the best terms they could with -the rebels; and that this is the case has been proved by a large number -of them joining our army as soon as a sufficient force had penetrated -their country to make it safe for them to do so." - -The Delawares enlisted, in 1862, one hundred and seventy men in the -Union army, and this out of a population of only two hundred males -between the ages of eighteen and forty-five. There was probably no -instance in the whole country of such a ratio of volunteers as this. -They were reported as being in the army "tractable, sober, watchful, and -obedient to the commands of their superiors." They officered their own -companies, and the use of spirituous liquors was strictly prohibited -among them—a fact the more remarkable, as drunkenness was one of their -chief vices at home. - -Already, however, the "interests" of the white settlers in Kansas were -beginning to be clearly in opposition to the interests of the Indians. -"Circumscribed as they are, and closely surrounded by white settlements, -I can see nothing in the future for them but destruction," says the -commissioner. "I think it is for the interest of the Indians that they -be removed to some other locality as soon as possible." - -"Several of them have from fifty to one hundred acres of land in -cultivation, with comfortable dwellings, barns, and out-houses. *** All -the families are domiciled in houses. *** Their crops of corn will yield -largely. Nearly every family will have a sufficiency for their own -consumption, and many of the larger farmers a surplus. *** There are but -few Delaware children of the age of twelve or fourteen that cannot -read." - -Here is a community of a thousand people, larger than many of the -farming villages in New England, for instance, "the average of personal -property amounting to one thousand dollars;" all living in their own -houses, cultivating from fifty to one hundred acres of land, nearly all -the children in schools, and yet it is for their "interest to be moved!" -The last sentence of the following paragraph tells the story: - -"When peace is restored to our country, a removal of all the Indians in -Kansas will certainly be advantageous to them as well as to the State." - -In 1863 their agent writes: "Since the question of the removal of the -Indians from Kansas has been agitated, improvements have been much -retarded among the Delawares and other Indians in Kansas. - -"I think they are sufficiently prepared to make new treaties with the -Government, *** having in view settlement in the Southern country of -those who elect to emigrate, compensation for the homes they relinquish, -and a permission to remain in their present homes for all who are -opposed to leaving Kansas." - -At this time, "one-half the adult population are in the volunteer -service of the United States. They make the best of soldiers, and are -highly valued by their officers. *** No State in the Union has furnished -so many men for our armies, from the same ratio of population, as has -the Delaware tribe. *** The tribe has 3900 acres of land under -cultivation, in corn, wheat, oats, and potatoes." (And yet one-half the -adult men are away!) - -In this year the Delawares, being "sufficiently prepared" to make new -treaties looking to their removal out of the way of the white settlers -in Kansas, petitioned the United States Government to permit them to -take eight hundred dollars of their annuity funds to pay the expense of -sending a delegation of their chiefs to the Rocky Mountains, to see if -they could find there a country which would answer for their new home. -The commissioner advises that they should not be allowed to go there, -but to the Indian Territory, of which he says, "The geographical -situation is such that its occupation by lawless whites can be more -easily prevented than any other portion of the country." "By common -consent, this appears to be recognized as the Indian country, and I have -strong hopes that it will eventually prove for them a prosperous and -happy home." - -In 1864 their agent writes that the greater part of the personal -property owned by the Delawares is in stock, "which is constantly being -preyed upon by the whites, until it has become so reduced that it is -difficult to obtain a good animal in the nation." He says he is unable, -for the want of proper information, to determine what amount they had at -the beginning of the year, but believes, from observation, "that it has -undergone a depletion to the extent of twenty thousand dollars in the -past year." - -What a picture of a distressed community! The men away at war, old men, -women, and children working the farms, and twenty thousand dollars of -stock stolen from them in one year! - -In 1865 a large proportion of those who had enlisted in the United -States Army were mustered out, and returned home. The agent says: "It -affords me great pleasure to chronicle the continued loyalty of this -tribe during the past four years; and, as events tend westward, they -evince every disposition to aid the Government by contributing their -knowledge of the country to the officers of the army, and rendering such -services thereto as they are qualified to perform." - -They "have distinguished themselves in many instances in the conflicts -on the borders;" nevertheless, in this same year, these discharged -soldiers were prohibited by the Government from carrying revolvers. When -the commissioner instructed the agent to disarm them, the agent very -properly replied, stating the difficulties in the case: "Firstly, what -disposition is to be made of weapons taken forcibly from these Indians? -Secondly, many of these Indians are intelligent, only using weapons when -any well-disposed white person would have done so; and if one class is -disarmed, all must be;" on which the commissioner so modified his order -as to say that "peaceably disposed Indians" might keep the usual weapons -used by them in hunting; but whenever they visited agencies or towns -they must deliver up all weapons to the agent, who would receipt for -them, and return them "at proper times." This order is to be enforced, -if possible, by an "appeal to their better judgment." - -There are no records of the practical working of this order. Very -possibly it fell at once, by its own weight, into the already large -category of dead-letter laws in regard to Indians. It is impossible to -imagine an Indian who had served four years as an officer in the army -(for the Delawares officered their own companies) submitting to be -disarmed by an agent on any day when he might need to go to Atchison on -business. Probably even that "appeal to his better judgment" which the -commissioner recommends, would only draw from him a very forcible -statement to the effect that any man who went about in Kansas at that -time unarmed was a fool. - -In 1866 the Indian Commissioner reports that "the State of Kansas is -fast being filled by an energetic population who appreciate good land; -and as the Indian reservations were selected as being the best in the -State, but _one result can be expected to follow_. - -"Most of the Indians are anxious to move to the Indian country south of -Kansas, where white settlers cannot interfere with them. - -"Intermingled as the Kansas reservations are with the public lands, and -surrounded in most cases by white settlers who too often act on the -principle that an Indian has no rights that a white man is bound to -respect, they are injured and annoyed in many ways. Their stock are -stolen, their fences broken down, their timber destroyed, their young -men plied with whiskey, their women debauched; so that, while the -uncivilized are kept in a worse than savage state, having the crimes of -civilization forced upon them, those farther advanced, and disposed to -honest industry, are discouraged beyond endurance." - -In spite of all this the Delawares raised, in 1866, 72,000 bushels of -grain, 13,000 bushels of potatoes, and owned 5000 head of cattle. - -In July of this year a treaty was made with them, providing for the -removal to the Indian Territory of all who should not decide to become -citizens of Kansas, and the sale of their lands. The superintendent of -the Fort Leavenworth Agency writes at this time: "The running of the -Union Pacific Railroad through the Delawares' diminished reserve has -been a source of grievous annoyance and damage to the Delawares, as has -also an organization styled the Delaware Lumber Company. Out of these -two companies grew much complaint and investigation, resulting in the -appointment of a special agent to sell to the railroad the timber -required for the construction of the road, and no more. The Delaware -Lumber Company being thus restricted" (_i.e._, being prevented from -helping themselves to the Indians' timber), immediately "gave up their -business, and stopped their mills," but not before they had damaged the -Indians' property to the amount of twenty-eight thousand dollars. - -Twenty thousand dollars' worth of stock and twenty-eight thousand -dollars' worth of timber having been stolen in two years from this -little village of farmers, no wonder they are "sufficiently prepared to -move." Other causes have conspired also to render them in haste to be -gone. The perpetual expectation of being obliged to remove had unsettled -the whole community, and made them indifferent to effort and -improvement. The return of their young men from the war had also had a -demoralizing effect. Drunken frays were not uncommon, in which deadly -weapons were used, spite of the Department's regulations for disarming -all Indians. - -In July of this year the Delaware chiefs, distressed by this state of -affairs, drew up for their nation a code of laws which compare favorably -with the laws of so-called civilized States.[9] - -Footnote 9: - - See Appendix, Art. 8. - -In 1867 the Delawares are said to be "very impatient to be gone from -their reserve, in order to build houses this autumn for winter use, and -to be fencing fields for the ensuing year at their new reserve." The -annuities due them in April of this year have not been paid till autumn, -and this has delayed their movements. Many of the young men are still -away, acting as scouts and guides in the army. In the course of this -year and the next the whole tribe moved by detachments to their new -home. "Those who removed during the winter went to work in a laudable -manner, and made their improvements—many building comfortable houses and -raising respectable crops" the first season. They are said to be now in -a fair way to be better off than ever before. They have "given up their -tribal organization and become Cherokee citizens. They report that they -are well pleased with their new homes; and, being separated from the -many temptations by which they were surrounded in their old reservation, -are learning to appreciate the many benefits to be derived from leading -a temperate, industrious, and consequently a prosperous and happy life." - -In 1869 it is said that, "as soon as the final arrangement relative to -their funds is perfected, they will lose their nationality and become -identified with the Cherokees." - -In 1870 we find nearly all the Delawares in Indian Territory; but it -seems that, owing to a carelessly surveyed boundary, some three hundred -of them had settled down on lands which were outside the Cherokee -Reservation, and had been assigned by the Government to the Osages. This -unfortunate three hundred, therefore, are removed again; this time to -the lands of the Peorias, where they ask permission to establish -themselves. But in the mean time, as they had made previous arrangements -with the Cherokees, and all their funds had been transferred to the -Cherokee Nation, it is thought to be "very unfortunate that they should -be thus obliged to seek a new home;" and it is said to be "quite -desirable that the parties in interest should reconcile their unsettled -affairs to mutual advantage." - -We are too much inclined to read these records carelessly, without -trying to picture to ourselves the condition of affairs which they -represent. It has come to be such an accepted thing in the history and -fate of the Indian that he is to be always pushed on, always in advance -of what is called the march of civilization, that to the average mind -statements of these repeated removals come with no startling force, and -suggest no vivid picture of details, only a sort of reassertion of an -abstract general principle. But pausing to consider for a moment what -such statements actually mean and involve; imagining such processes -applied to some particular town or village that we happen to be -intimately acquainted with, we can soon come to a new realization of the -full bearing and import of them; such uprooting, such perplexity, such -loss, such confusion and uncertainty, inflicted once on any community of -white people anywhere in our land, would be considered quite enough to -destroy its energies and blight its prospects for years. It may very -well be questioned whether any of our small communities would have -recovered from such successive shocks, changes, and forced migrations, -as soon and as well as have many of these Indian tribes. It is very -certain that they would not have submitted to them as patiently. - -After this we find in the Official Reports no distinctive mention of the -Delawares by name, except of a few who had been for some time living in -the Indian Territory, and were not included in the treaty provisions at -the time of the removal from Kansas. This little handful—eighty-one in -number—is all that now remain to bear the name of that strong and -friendly people to whom, a little more than one hundred years ago, we -promised that they should be our brothers forever, and be entitled to a -representation in our Congress. - -This band of Delawares is associated with six other dwindled remnants of -tribes—the Caddoes, Ionies, Wichitas, Towaconies, Wacoes, Keechies, and -Comanches—on the Wichita Agency, in Indian Territory. - -They are all reported as being "peaceable, well disposed," and "actively -engaged in agricultural pursuits." - -Of the Delawares it is said, in 1878, that they were not able to -cultivate so much land as they had intended to during that year, "on -account of loss of stock by horse-thieves." - -Even here, it seems, in that "Indian country south of Kansas, where" (as -they were told) "white settlers could not interfere with them," enemies -lie in wait for them, as of old, to rob and destroy; even here the -Government is, as before, unable to protect them; and in all -probability, the tragedies of 1866 and 1867 will before long be -re-enacted with still sadder results. - - - - - CHAPTER III. - - THE CHEYENNES. - - -Our first treaty with the Cheyennes was made in 1825, at the mouth of -the Teton River. It was merely a treaty of amity and friendship, and -acknowledgment on the part of the Cheyennes of the "supremacy" of the -United States. Two years before this, President Monroe reported the -"Chayenes" to be "a tribe of three thousand two hundred and fifty souls, -dwelling and hunting on a river of the same name, a western tributary of -the Missouri, a little above the Great Bend." Ten years later, Catlin, -the famous painter of Indians, met a "Shienne" chief and squaw among the -Sioux, and painted their portraits. He says, "The Shiennes are a small -tribe of about three thousand in number, living neighbors to the Sioux -on the west of them, between the Black Hills and the Rocky Mountains. -There is no finer race of men than these in North America, and none -superior in stature, except the Osages: scarcely a man in the tribe full -grown who is less than six feet in height." They are "the richest in -horses of any tribe on the continent; living where the greatest herds of -wild horses are grazing on the prairies, which they catch in great -numbers, and sell to the Sioux, Mandans, and other tribes, as well as to -the fur-traders. - -"These people are the most desperate set of warriors and horsemen, -having carried on almost unceasing wars with the Pawnees and Blackfeet. -The chief was clothed in a handsome dress of deer-skins, very neatly -garnished with broad bands of porcupine-quill work down the sleeves of -his shirt and leggings. The woman was comely, and beautifully dressed. -Her dress of the mountain-sheepskin tastefully ornamented with quills -and beads, and her hair plaited in large braids that hung down on her -breast." - -In 1837 the agent for the "Sioux, Cheyennes, and Poncas" reports that -"all these Indians live exclusively by the chase;" and that seems to be -the sum and substance of his information about them. He adds, also, that -these remote wandering tribes have a great fear of the border tribes, -and wish to avoid them. In 1838 the Cheyennes are reported as carrying -on trade at a post on the Arkansas River near the Santa Fe road, but -still depending on the chase. - -In 1842 they are spoken of as a "wandering tribe on the Platte;" and in -the same year, Mr. D. D. Mitchell, Supt. of Indian Affairs, with his -head-quarters at St. Louis, writes: "Generations will pass away before -this territory" [the territory in which the wild tribes of the Upper -Mississippi were then wandering] "becomes much more circumscribed; for -if we draw a line running north and south, so as to cross the Missouri -about the mouth of the Vermilion River, we shall designate the limits -beyond which civilized men are never likely to settle. At this point the -Creator seems to have said to the tides of emigration that are annually -rolling toward the West, 'Thus far shalt thou go, and no farther.' At -all events, if they go beyond this, they will never stop on the east -side of the Rocky Mountains. The utter destitution of timber, the -sterility of sandy soil, together with the coldness and dryness of the -climate, furnish obstacles which not even Yankee enterprise is likely to -overcome. A beneficent Creator seems to have intended this dreary region -as an asylum for the Indians, when the force of circumstances shall have -driven them from the last acre of the fertile soil which they once -possessed. Here no inducements are offered to the ever-restless Saxon -breed to erect their huts. *** The time may arrive when the whole of the -Western Indians will be forced to seek a resting-place in this Great -American Desert; and this, in all probability, will form a new era in -the history of this singular and ill-fated race. They will remain a -wandering, half civilized, though happy people. 'Their flocks and herds -will cover a thousand hills,' and will furnish beef and mutton for a -portion of the dense population of whites that will swarm in the more -fertile sections of the great valley of the Mississippi." - -This line, recommended by Mr. Mitchell, runs just east of Dakota, -through the extreme eastern portion of Nebraska, a little to the east of -the middle of Kansas, through the middle of Indian Territory and Texas, -to the Gulf of Mexico. Montana, Idaho, Colorado, and New Mexico, all lie -west of it. - -The records of the War Department for 1846 contain an interesting -account of a visit made to all the wild tribes of the Upper Missouri -Agency—the Yankton Sioux, the Arrikarees, Mandans, Assinaboines, -Arapahoes, Cheyennes, and others. In reply to the agent's remonstrances -with one of the Sioux chiefs in regard to their perpetual warring with -each other, the chief "was very laconic and decided, remarking 'that if -their great-grandfather desired them to cease to war with their enemies, -why did he not send each of them a petticoat, and make squaws of them at -once?'" This same chief refused to allow the boys of his tribe to go to -the Choctaw schools, saying, "They would return, as the few did who went -to St. Louis, drunkards, or die on the way." - -The Cheyennes and other Indians living on the Platte complained bitterly -of the passage of the emigrants through their country. They said they -ought to be compensated for the right of way, and that the emigrants -should be restricted by law and the presence of a military force from -burning the grass, and from unnecessary destruction of game. They were -systematically plundered and demoralized by traders. Whiskey was to be -had without difficulty; sugar and coffee were sold at one dollar a -pound; ten-cent calico at one dollar a yard; corn at seventy-five cents -a gallon, and higher. - -In 1847 a law was passed by Congress forbidding the introduction of -whiskey into the Indian country, and even the partial enforcement of -this law had a most happy effect. Foremost among those to acknowledge -the benefits of it were the traders themselves, who said that the -Indians' demand for substantial articles of trade was augmented two -hundred per cent.: "They enjoy much better health, look much better, and -are better people. *** You now rarely ever hear of a murder committed, -whereas when whiskey was plenty in that country murder was a daily -occurrence." These Indians themselves were said to be "opposed to the -introduction of ardent spirits into their country; *** but, like almost -all other Indians, will use it if you give it to them, and when under -its influence are dangerous and troublesome." There were at this time -nearly forty-six thousand of these Upper Missouri Indians. Five bands of -them—"the Sioux, Cheyennes, Gros Ventres, Mandans, and Poncas"—were -"excellent Indians, devotedly attached to the white man," living "in -peace and friendship with our Government," and "entitled to the special -favor and good opinion of the Department for their uniform good conduct -and pacific relations." - -In 1848 it was estimated from the returns made by traders that the trade -of this agency amounted to $400,000. Among the items were 25,000 buffalo -tongues. In consequence of this prosperity on the part of the Indians, -there was a partial cessation of hostilities on the whites; but it was -still a perilous journey to cross the plains, and in 1849 the necessity -for making some sort of treaty stipulations with all these wild tribes -begins to be forced emphatically upon the attention of the United States -Government. A safe highway across the continent must be opened. It is a -noticeable thing, however, that, even as late as this in the history of -our diplomatic relations with the Indian, his right to a certain control -as well as occupancy of the soil was instinctively recognized. The -Secretary of the Interior, in his report for 1849, says: "The wild -tribes of Indians who have their hunting-grounds in the great prairie -through which our emigrants to California pass, have, during the year, -been more than usually pacific. They have suffered our people to pass -through their country with little interruption, though they travelled in -great numbers, and consumed on their route much grass and game. For -these the Indians expect compensation, and their claim is just." - -The Secretary, therefore, concurs in the recommendation of the -Commissioner of Indian Affairs that treaties be negotiated with these -tribes, stipulating for the right of way through their country, and the -use of grass and game, paying them therefor small annuities in useful -articles of merchandise, and agricultural implements, and instruction. -"The right of way"—"through their country." A great deal is conceded, -covered, and conveyed by such phrases as these. If they mean anything, -they mean all that the Indians ever claimed. - -The Indians were supposed to be influenced to this peaceableness and -good-will more by a hope of rewards and gifts than by a wholesome fear -of the power of the Government; and it was proposed to take a delegation -of chiefs to Washington, "in order that they may acquire some knowledge -of our greatness and strength, which will make a salutary impression on -them, and through them on their brethren," and "will tend to influence -them to continue peaceful relations." - -It begins to dawn upon the Government's perception that peace is cheaper -as well as kinder than war. "We never can whip them into friendship," -says one of the superintendents of the Upper Missouri Agency. A treaty -"can do no harm, and the expense would be less than that of a six -months' war. *** Justice as well as policy requires that we should make -some remuneration for the damages these Indians sustain in consequence -of the destruction of their game, timber, etc., by the whites passing -through their country." - -"Their game, timber," "their country," again. The perpetual recurrence -of this possessive pronoun, and of such phrases as these in all that the -Government has said about the Indians, and in all that it has said to -them, is very significant. - -In 1850 the Indian Commission writes that "it is much to be regretted -that no appropriation was made at the last session of Congress for -negotiating treaties with the wild tribes of the plains. These Indians -have long held undisputed possession of this extensive region; and, -regarding it as their own, they consider themselves entitled to -compensation not only for the right of way through their territory, but -for the great and injurious destruction of game, grass, and timber -committed by our troops and emigrants." - -The bill providing for the negotiation of these treaties was passed -unanimously by the Senate, but "the unhappy difficulties existing on the -subject of slavery" delayed it in the House until it was too late to be -carried into effect. - -All the tribes had been informed of this pending bill, and were looking -forward to it with great interest and anxiety. In 1849 they had all -expressed themselves as "very anxious to be instructed in agriculture -and the civilized arts." Already the buffalo herds were thinning and -disappearing. From time immemorial the buffalo had furnished them food, -clothing, and shelter; with its disappearance, starvation stared them in -the face, and they knew it. There can be no doubt that at this time all -the wild tribes of the Upper Missouri region—the Sioux, Cheyennes, -Arapahoes—were ready and anxious to establish friendly relations with -the United States Government, and to enter into some arrangement by -which some means of future subsistence, and some certainty of lands -enough to live on, could be secured to them. Meantime they hunted with -greater diligence than ever; and in this one year alone had sold to the -fur-traders within the limits of one agency $330,000 worth of -buffalo-robes, and "furs, peltries, and miscellaneous goods to the -amount of $60,000. What they thus receive for their furs, robes, etc., -would be ample for their support," says Hatton, "were it not that they -have to give such exorbitant prices for what they purchase from the -whites." - -In the winter and spring of 1850 all these tribes were visited by an -agent of the Government. He reported them as "friendly disposed," but -very impatient to come to some understanding about the right of way. -"This is what the Indians want, and what they are anxious about; having -been told long since, and so often repeated by travellers passing (who -care little about the consequences of promises so they slip through -safely and unmolested themselves), that their 'Great Father' would soon -reward them liberally for the right of way, the destruction of timber, -game, etc., as well as for any kindness shown Americans passing through -their country." - -In the summer of 1851 this much desired treaty was made. Seven of the -prairie and mountain tribes gathered in great force at Fort Laramie. The -report of this council contains some interesting and noticeable points. - -"We were eighteen days encamped together, during which time the Indians -conducted themselves in a manner that excited the admiration and -surprise of every one. The different tribes, although hereditary -enemies, interchanged daily visits, both in their individual and -national capacities; smoked and feasted together; exchanged presents; -adopted each other's children, according to their own customs; and did -all that was held sacred or solemn in the eyes of these Indians to prove -the sincerity of their peaceful and friendly intentions, both among -themselves and with the citizens of the United States lawfully residing -among them or passing through the country." - -By this treaty the Indians formally conceded to the United States the -right to establish roads, military or otherwise, throughout the Indian -country, "so far as they claim or exercise ownership over it." - -They agreed "to maintain peaceful relations among themselves, and to -abstain from all depredations upon whites passing through their country, -and to make restitution for any damages or loss that a white man shall -sustain by the acts of their people." - -For all the damages which they had suffered up to that time in -consequence of the passing of the whites through their country, they -accepted the presents then received as payment in full. - -An annuity of $50,000 a year for fifty years to come was promised to -them. This was the price of the "right of way." - -"Fifty thousand dollars for a limited period of years is a small amount -to be distributed among at least fifty thousand Indians, especially when -we consider that we have taken away, or are rapidly taking away from -them all means of support," says one of the makers of this treaty. There -would probably be no dissent from this opinion. A dollar a year, even -assured to one for fifty years, seems hardly an adequate compensation -for the surrender of all other "means of support." - -The report continues: "Viewing the treaty in all its provisions, I am -clearly of opinion that it is the best that could have been made for -both parties. I am, moreover, of the opinion that it will be observed -and carried out in as good faith on the part of the Indians as it will -on the part of the United States and the white people thereof. There was -an earnest solemnity and a deep conviction of the necessity of adopting -some such measures evident in the conduct and manners of the Indians -throughout the whole council. On leaving for their respective homes, and -bidding each other adieu, they gave the strongest possible evidence of -their friendly intentions for the future, and the mutual confidence and -good faith which they had in each other. Invitations were freely given -and as freely accepted by each of the tribes to interchange visits, -talk, and smoke together like brothers, upon ground where they had never -before met except for the purpose of scalping each other. This, to my -mind, was conclusive evidence of the sincerity of the Indians, and -nothing but bad management or some untoward misfortune ever can break -it." - -The Secretary of the Interior, in his report for this year, speaks with -satisfaction of the treaties negotiated with Indians during the year, -and says: "It cannot be denied that most of the depredations committed -by the Indians on our frontiers are the offspring of dire necessity. The -advance of our population compels them to relinquish their fertile -lands, and seek refuge in sterile regions which furnish neither corn nor -game: impelled by hunger, they seize the horses, mules, and cattle of -the pioneers, to relieve their wants and satisfy the cravings of nature. -They are immediately pursued, and, when overtaken, severely punished. -This creates a feeling of revenge on their part, which seeks its -gratification in outrages on the persons and property of peaceable -inhabitants. The whole country then becomes excited, and a desolating -war, attended with a vast sacrifice of blood and treasure, ensues. This, -it is believed, is a true history of the origin of most of our Indian -hostilities. - -"All history admonishes us of the difficulty of civilizing a wandering -race who live mainly upon game. To tame a savage you must tie him down -to the soil. You must make him understand the value of property, and the -benefits of its separate ownership. You must appeal to those selfish -principles implanted by Divine Providence in the nature of man for the -wisest purposes, and make them minister to civilization and refinement. -You must encourage the appropriation of lands by individuals; attach -them to their homes by the ties of interest; teach them the uses of -agriculture and the arts of peace; *** and they should be taught to look -forward to the day when they may be elevated to the dignity of American -citizenship. - -"By means like these we shall soon reap our reward in the suppression of -Indian depredations; in the diminution of the expenses of the Department -of War; in a valuable addition to our productive population; in the -increase of our agriculture and commerce; and in the proud consciousness -that we have removed from our national escutcheon the stain left on it -by our acknowledged injustice to the Indian race." - -We find the Cheyennes, therefore, in 1851, pledged to peace and -good-will toward their Indian neighbors, and to the white emigrants -pouring through their country. For this conceded right of way they are -to have a dollar a year apiece, in "goods and animals;" and it is -supposed that they will be able to eke out this support by hunting -buffaloes, which are still not extinct. - -In 1852 the Commissioner of Indian Affairs writes: "Notwithstanding the -mountain and prairie Indians continue to suffer from the vast number of -emigrants who pass through their country, destroying their means of -support, and scattering disease and death among them, yet those who were -parties to the treaty concluded at Fort Laramie, in the fall of 1851, -have been true to their obligations, and have remained at peace among -themselves and with the whites." - -And the superintendent writes: "Congress made a very liberal -appropriation of $100,000 to make a treaty with the prairie and mountain -tribes. A very satisfactory treaty was made with them last fall at Fort -Laramie, the conditions of which, on their part, have been faithfully -observed—no depredations having been committed during the past season by -any of the tribes parties to the Fort Laramie treaty. The Senate amended -the treaty, substituting _fifteen_ instead of _fifty_ years as the -period for which they were to have received an annual supply of goods, -animals, etc., at the discretion of the President. This modification of -the treaty I think very proper, as the condition of these wandering -hordes will be entirely changed during the next fifteen years. The -treaty, however, should have been sent back to the Indians for the -purpose of obtaining their sanction to the modification, as was done in -the case of the Sioux treaty negotiated by Commissioners Ramsey and Lea. -It is hoped this oversight will be corrected as early as practicable -next spring, otherwise the large amounts already expended will have been -uselessly wasted, and the Indians far more dissatisfied than ever." - -To comment on the bad faith of this action on the part of Congress would -be a waste of words; but its impolicy is so glaring that one's -astonishment cannot keep silent—its impolicy and also its incredible -niggardliness. A dollar apiece a year, "in goods, animals," etc., those -Indians had been promised that they should have for fifty years. It must -have been patent to the meanest intellect that this was little to pay -each year to any one man from whom we were taking away, as the -commissioner said, "his means of support." But, unluckily for the -Indians, there were fifty thousand of them. It entered into some thrifty -Congressman's head to multiply fifty by fifty, and the aggregate -terrified everybody. This was much more likely to have been the cause of -the amendment than the cause assigned by the superintendent, viz., the -probable change of localities of all the "wandering hordes" in the next -fifteen years. No doubt it would be troublesome to the last degree to -distribute fifty thousand dollars, "in goods, animals," etc., to fifty -thousand Indians wandering over the entire Upper Missouri region; but no -more troublesome, surely, in the sixteenth year than in the fifteenth. -The sophistry is too transparent; it does not in the least gloss over -the fact that, within the first year after the making of our first -treaty of any moment with these tribes—while they to a man, the whole -fifty thousand of them, kept their faith with us—we broke ours with them -in the meanest of ways—robbing them of more than two-thirds of the money -we had promised to pay. - -All the tribes "promptly" assented to this amendment, however; so says -the Annual Report of the Indian Commissioner for 1853; and adds that, -with a single exception, they have maintained friendly relations among -themselves, and "manifested an increasing confidence in and kindness -toward the whites." - -Some of them have begun to raise corn, beans, pumpkins, etc., but depend -chiefly on the hunt for their support. But the agent who was sent to -distribute to them their annuities, and to secure their assent to the -amendment to the treaty, reports: "The Cheyennes and the Arapahoes, and -many of the Sioux, are actually in a starving state. They are in abject -want of food half the year, and their reliance for that scanty supply, -in the rapid decrease of the buffalo, is fast disappearing. The travel -upon the roads drives them off, or else confines them to a narrow path -during the period of emigration, and the different tribes are forced to -contend with hostile nations in seeking support for their villages. -Their women are pinched with want, and their children constantly crying -with hunger. Their arms, moreover, are unfitted to the pursuit of -smaller game, and thus the lapse of a few years presents only the -prospect of a gradual famine." And in spite of such suffering, these -Indians commit no depredations, and show increasing confidence in and -kindness toward the whites. - -This agent, who has passed many years among the Indians, speaks with -great feeling of the sad prospect staring them in the face. He says: -"But one course remains which promises any permanent relief to them, or -any lasting benefit to the country in which they dwell; that is, simply -to make such modifications in the 'intercourse' laws as will invite the -residence of traders among them, and open the whole Indian Territory for -settlement. Trade is the only civilizer of the Indian. It has been the -precursor of all civilization heretofore, and it will be of all -hereafter. It teaches the Indian the value of other things besides the -spoils of the chase, and offers to him other pursuits and excitements -than those of war. All obstructions to its freedom, therefore, only -operate injuriously. *** The Indians would soon lose their nomadic -character, and forget the relations of tribes. *** And this, while it -would avoid the cruel necessity of our present policy—to wit, -extinction—would make them an element in the population, and sharer in -the prosperity of the country." He says of the "system of removals, and -congregating tribes in small parcels of territory," that it has -"eventuated injuriously on those who have been subjected to it. It is -the legalized murder of a whole nation. It is expensive, vicious, and -inhuman, and producing these consequences, and these alone. The custom, -being judged by its fruits, should not be persisted in." - -It is in the face of such statements, such protests as these, that the -United States Government has gone steadily on with its policy, so -called, in regard to the treatment of the Indian. - -In 1854 the report from the Upper Missouri region is still of peace and -fidelity on the part of all the Indians who joined in the Fort Laramie -treaty. "Not a single instance of murder, robbery, or other depredation -has been committed by them, either on the neighboring tribes parties to -the treaty or on whites. This is the more remarkable, as before the -treaty they were foremost in the van of thieves and robbers—always at -war, pillaging whoever they met, and annoying their own traders in their -own forts." - -In the summer of this year the Cheyennes began to be dissatisfied and -impertinent. At a gathering of the northern band at Fort Laramie, one of -the chiefs demanded that the travel over the Platte road should be -stopped. He also, if the interpreter was to be relied on, said that next -year the Government must send them out one thousand white women for -wives. The Southern Cheyennes had given up to their agent some Mexican -prisoners whom they had taken in the spring, and this act, it was -supposed, had seemed to the northern band a needless interference on the -part of the United States. Moreover, it was a matter constantly open to -the observation of all friendly Indians that the hostiles, who were -continually plundering and attacking emigrant trains, made, on the -whole, more profit out of war than they made out of peace. On the North -Platte road during this year the Pawnees alone had stolen several -thousands of dollars' worth of goods; and, in addition to this, there -was the pressure of public sentiment—a thing which is as powerful among -Indians as among whites. It was popular to be on the war-path: the -whites were invaders; it was brave and creditable to slay them. Taking -all these things into account, it was only to be wondered at that these -Cheyennes, Arapahoes, and Sioux kept to the provisions of their treaty -at all. Nevertheless, the Cheyennes, Arapahoes, and some bands of the -Sioux continued peaceable and friendly; and in 1855 they begged to be -supplied with a farmer to teach them how to farm; also with a -blacksmith. Their agent strongly recommends that this be done, saying -that there is not "in the whole Indian country a more favorable location -for a farm for grazing stock and game than the South Platte. In a very -short period of time the Arapahoes and Cheyennes would become fixed and -settled, and a part of each tribe—the old women and men—would become -agriculturists; rude, it is true, yet sufficiently skilful to raise -corn, potatoes, and beans, and dwell in cabins or fixed habitations." - -In the summer of 1856 the Cheyennes were, by a disastrous accident, -forced into the position of hostiles. A small war-band went out to -attack the Pawnees; they were in camp near the North Platte road: as the -mail-wagon was passing, two of the Cheyennes ran toward it to beg -tobacco. The mail-carrier, terrified, fired on them, and the Indians -fired back, wounding him; the chiefs rushed out, stopped the firing, -explained the matter, and then severely flogged the Indians who had -returned the mail-carrier's fire. But the mischief had been done. - -The mail-carrier reported his having been fired at by a Cheyenne Indian, -and the next day troops from Fort Kearny attacked the Indians and killed -six of the war-party. The rest refused to fight, and ran away, leaving -their camp and all it contained. The war-party, thoroughly exasperated, -attacked an emigrant train, killed two men and a child, and took one -woman captive. The next day they killed her, because she could not ride -on horseback and keep up with them. Within a short time two more small -war-parties had left the band, attacked trains, and killed two men, two -women, and a child. The chiefs at first could not restrain them, but in -September they sent a delegation to the agency to ask their agent's -assistance and advice. They said that the war-party was now completely -under their control, and they wished to know what they could do. They -implored the Great Father not to be angry with them, "for they could not -control the war-party when they saw their friends killed by soldiers -after they had thrown down their bows and arrows and begged for life." - -In October the agent reported that the Cheyennes were "perfectly quiet -and peaceable, and entirely within control, and obedient to authority." -The chiefs had organized a sort of police, whose duty was to kill any -war-parties that might attempt to leave the camp. - -Through the winter the Cheyennes remained in the south and south-eastern -parts of the agency, and strictly observed the conditions which their -agent had imposed upon them. In the following August, however, a -military force under General Sumner was sent out "to demand from the -tribe the perpetrators of their late outrages on the whites, and ample -security for their good conduct." The Cheyennes were reported by General -Sumner as showing no disposition to yield to these demands; he therefore -attacked them, burnt their village to the ground, and destroyed their -winter supplies—some fifteen or twenty thousand pounds of buffalo meat. - -Of how they lived, and where, during the winter following this fight, -there is little record. In the next year's reports the Cheyennes are -said to be very anxious for a new treaty, which will assign to them a -country in which they can dwell safely. "They said they had learned a -lesson last summer in their fight with General Sumner—that it was -useless to contend with the white man, who would soon with his villages -occupy the whole prairie. They wanted peace; and as the buffalo—their -principal dependence for food and clothing (which even now they were -compelled to seek many miles from home, where their natural enemies, the -Pawnee and Osage, roamed), would soon disappear entirely, they hoped -their Great Father, the white chief at Washington, would listen to them, -and give them a home where they might be provided for and protected -against the encroachments of their white brothers, until at least they -had been taught to cultivate the soil and other arts of civilized life. -They have often desired ploughs and hoes, and to be taught their use." - -The next year's records show the Government itself aware that some -measures must be taken to provide for these troublesome wild tribes of -the prairie: almost more perplexing in time of peace than in time of war -is the problem of the disposition to be made of them. Agents and -superintendents alike are pressing on the Government's attention the -facts and the bearing of the rapid settling of the Indian lands by the -whites; the precariousness of peaceful relations; the dangers of Indian -wars. The Indians themselves are deeply anxious and disturbed. - -"They have heard that all of the Indian tribes to the eastward of them -have ceded their lands to the United States, except small reservations; -and hence, by an Indian's reasoning, in a few years these tribes will -emigrate farther west, and, as a matter of necessity, occupy the -hunting-grounds of the wild tribes." - -When the agent of the Upper Platte Agency tried to reason on this -subject with one of the Sioux chiefs, the chief said: "When I was a -young man, and I am not yet fifty, I travelled with my people through -the country of the Sac and Fox tribe, to the great water Minne Toukah -(Mississippi), where I saw corn growing, but no white people; continuing -eastward, we came to the Rock River valley, and saw the Winnebagoes, but -no white people. We then came to the Fox River valley, and thence to the -Great Lake (Lake Michigan), where we found a few white people in the -Pottawattomie country. Thence we returned to the Sioux country at the -Great Falls of Irara (St. Anthony), and had a feast of green corn with -our relations, who resided there. Afterward we visited the pipe-clay -quarry in the country of the Yankton Sioux, and made a feast to the -'Great Medicine,' and danced the 'sun dance,' and then returned to our -hunting-grounds on the prairie. And now our Father tells us the white -man will never settle on our lands, and kill our game; but see! the -whites cover all of those lands I have just described, and also the -lands of the Poncas, Omahas, and Pawnees. On the South Platte the white -people are finding gold, and the Cheyennes and Arapahoes have no longer -any hunting-grounds. Our country has become very small, and before our -children are grown up we shall have no game." - -In the autumn of this year (1859) an agent was sent to hold a council -with the Cheyennes and Arapahoes, and tell them of the wish of the -Government that they should "assume a fixed residence, and occupy -themselves in agriculture. This they at once received with favor, and -declared with great unanimity to be acceptable to them. They expected -and asked that the Department shall supply them with what is necessary -to establish themselves permanently. *** Both these tribes had -scrupulously maintained peaceful relations with the whites, and with -other Indian tribes, notwithstanding the many causes of irritation -growing out of the occupation of the gold region, and the emigration to -it through their hunting-grounds, which are no longer reliable as a -certain source of food to them." - -It was estimated that during the summer of 1859 over sixty thousand -emigrants crossed these plains in their central belt. The trains of -vehicles and cattle were frequent and valuable in proportion; and post -lines and private expresses were in constant motion. - -In 1860 a commissioner was sent out to hold a council with the Cheyennes -and Arapahoes at Bent's Fort, on the Upper Arkansas, and make a treaty -with them. The Arapahoes were fully represented; but there were present -only two prominent chiefs of the Cheyennes—Black Kettle and White -Antelope. (White Antelope was one of the chiefs brutally murdered five -years later in the Chivington massacre in Colorado.) As it was -impossible for the rest of the Cheyennes to reach the Fort in less than -twenty days, and the commissioner could not wait so long, Black Kettle -and White Antelope wished it to be distinctly understood that they -pledged only themselves and their own bands. - -The commissioner says: "I informed them as to the object of my visit, -and gave them to understand that their Great Father had heard with -delight of their peaceful disposition, although they were almost in the -midst of the hostile tribes. They expressed great pleasure on learning -that their Great Father had heard of their good conduct, and requested -me to say, in return, that they intended in every respect to conform to -the wishes of the Government. I then presented to them a diagram of the -country assigned them, by their treaty of 1851, as their -hunting-grounds, which they seemed to understand perfectly, and were -enabled without difficulty to give each initial point. In fact, they -exhibited a degree of intelligence seldom to be found among tribes where -no effort has been made to civilize them. I stated to them that it was -the intention of their Great Father to reduce the area of their present -reservation, and that they should settle down and betake themselves to -agriculture, and eventually abandon the chase as a means of support. -They informed me that such was their wish; and that they had been aware -for some time that they would be compelled to do so: that game was -growing more scarce every year, and that they had also noticed the -approach of whites, and felt that they must soon, in a great measure, -conform to their habits. *** It has not fallen to my lot to visit any -Indians who seem more disposed to yield to the wishes of the Government -than the Cheyennes and Arapahoes. Notwithstanding they are fully aware -of the rich mines discovered in their country, they are disposed to -yield up their claims without any reluctance. They certainly deserve the -fostering hand of the Government, and should be liberally encouraged in -their new sphere of life." - -This treaty was concluded in February of the next year, at Fort Wise. -The chiefs of the Cheyennes and Arapahoes there "ceded and relinquished" -all the lands to which they had any claim, "wherever situated," except a -certain tract whose boundaries were defined. The land relinquished -included lands in Kansas and Nebraska, and all of that part of Colorado -which is north of the Arkansas, and east of the Rocky Mountains. - -The Cheyennes and Arapahoes, in "consideration of their kind treatment -by the citizens of Denver and the adjoining towns," "respectfully -requested," in the eleventh Article of this treaty, that the United -States would permit the proprietors of these towns to enter their lands -at the minimum price of one dollar and twenty-five cents an acre. This -Article was struck out by the Senate, and the Indians consented to the -amendment; but the proof of their good-will and gratitude remained on -record, nevertheless. - -The desire of the Government to make farmers of these Indians was -reiterated in this treaty, and evidenced by pledges of purchase of -stock, agricultural implements, etc.; mills, also, and mechanic shops -they were to have, and an annuity of $30,000 a year for fifteen years. -There was this clause, however, in an article of the treaty, "Their -annuities may, at the discretion of the President of the United States, -be discontinued entirely should said Indians fail to make reasonable and -satisfactory efforts to improve and advance their condition; in which -case such other provision shall be made for them as the President and -Congress may judge to be suitable or proper." Could there be a more -complete signing away than this of all benefits provided for by the -treaty? - -Lands were to be assigned to them "in severalty," and certificates were -to be issued by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, specifying the names -of individuals; and that the "said tracts were set apart for the -exclusive use and benefit of the assignees and their heirs." Each Indian -was to have forty acres of land, "to include in every case, as far as -practicable, a reasonable portion of timber and water." - -The tenth Article of the treaty provided that the annuities now paid to -the Arapahoes and Cheyennes should be continued to them until the -stipulations of such treaties or articles of agreement should be -fulfilled; and the seventh Article provided that the President, with the -assent of Congress, should have power to modify or change any "of the -provisions of former treaties" "in such manner and to whatever extent" -he might judge it to be necessary and expedient for their best -interests. - -Could a community of people be delivered up more completely bound and at -the mercy of a government? Some of the bands of the Cheyennes who were -not represented at this council were much dissatisfied with the treaty, -as evidently they had great reason to be. And as time went on, all the -bands became dissatisfied. Two years later we find that, instead of -their being settled on those farms "in severalty," the survey of their -lands has been just completed, and that "a contract will soon be made -for the construction of a ditch for the purpose of irrigating their -arable land." "It is to be hoped," the Superintendent of the Colorado -Agency writes, that "when suitable preparations for their subsistence by -agriculture and grazing are made, these tribes will gradually cease -their roaming, and become permanently settled." It would seem highly -probable that under those conditions the half-starved creatures would be -only too glad to cease to roam. It is now ten years since they were -reported to be in a condition of miserable starvation every winter, -trying to raise a little corn here and there, and begging to have a -farmer and a blacksmith sent out to them. They are now divided and -subdivided into small bands, hunting the buffalo wherever they can find -him, and going in small parties because there are no longer large herds -of buffaloes to be found anywhere. The Governor of Colorado says, in his -report for 1863, that "these extensive subdivisions of the tribes caused -great difficulty in ascertaining the really guilty parties in the -commission of offences." Depredations and hostilities are being -frequently committed, but it is manifestly unjust to hold the whole -tribe responsible for the acts of a few. - -Things grew rapidly worse in Colorado. Those "preparations for their -subsistence by agriculture and grazing"—which it took so much room to -tell in the treaty—not having been made; the farmer, and the blacksmith, -and the grist-mill not having arrived; the contract not having been even -let for the irrigating-ditch, without which no man can raise any crops -in Colorado, not even on arable lands—many of the Cheyennes and -Arapahoes took to a system of pilfering reprisals from emigrant trains, -and in the fights resulting from this effort to steal they committed -many terrible murders. All the tribes on the plains were more or less -engaged in these outrages; and it was evident, before midsummer of 1864, -that the Government must interfere with a strong hand to protect the -emigrants and Western settlers—to protect them from the consequences of -its own bad faith with the Indians. The Governor of Colorado called for -military aid, and for authority to make a campaign against the Indians, -which was given him. But as there was no doubt that many of the Indians -were still peaceable and loyal, and he desired to avoid every -possibility of their sharing in the punishment of the guilty, he issued -a proclamation in June, requesting all who were friendly to come to -places which he designated, where they were to be assured of safety and -protection. This proclamation was sent to all the Indians of the plains. -In consequence of it, several bands of friendly Arapahoes and Cheyennes -came to Fort Lyon, and were there received by the officer in charge, -rationed, and assured of safety. Here there occurred, on the 29th of -November, one of the foulest massacres which the world has seen. This -camp of friendly Indians was surprised at daybreak, and men, women, and -children were butchered in cold blood. Most of those who escaped fled to -the north, and, joining other bands of the tribe, proceeded at once to -take most fearful, and, it must be said, natural revenge. A terrible war -followed. Some of them confederated with the Sioux, and waged relentless -war on all the emigrant routes across the plains. These hostilities were -bitter in proportion to the bitterness of resentment felt by the -refugees from this massacre. "It will be long before faith in the honor -and humanity of the whites can be re-established in the minds of these -barbarians," says an official report, "and the last Indian who escaped -from the brutal scene at Sand Creek will probably have died before its -effects will have disappeared."[10] - -Footnote 10: - - See Appendix, Arts. I. and XI. - -In October of the next year some of the bands, having first had their -safety assured by an old and tried friend, I. H. Leavenworth, Indian -Agent for the Upper Arkansas, gathered together to hold a council with -United States Commissioners on the Little Arkansas. The commissioners -were empowered by the President to restore to the survivors of the Sand -Creek massacre full value for all the property then destroyed; "to make -reparation," so far as possible. To each woman who had lost a husband -there they gave one hundred and sixty acres of land; to each child who -had lost a parent, the same. Probably even an Indian woman would -consider one hundred and sixty acres of land a poor equivalent for a -murdered husband; but the offers were accepted in good part by the -tribe, and there is nothing in all the history of this patient race more -pathetic than the calm and reasonable language employed by some of these -Cheyenne and Arapahoe chiefs at this council. Said Black Kettle, the -chief over whose lodge the American flag, with a white flag tied below, -was floating at the time of the massacre, "I once thought that I was the -only man that persevered to be the friend of the white man; but since -they have come and cleaned out our lodges, horses, and everything else, -it is hard for me to believe white men any more. *** All my friends, the -Indians that are holding back, they are afraid to come in; are afraid -that they will be betrayed as I have been. I am not afraid of white men, -but come and take you by the hand." Elsewhere, Black Kettle spoke of -Colonel Chivington's troops as "that fool-band of soldiers that cleared -out our lodges, and killed our women and children. This is hard on us." -With a magnanimity and common-sense which white men would have done well -to imitate in their judgments of the Indians, he recognized that it -would be absurd, as well as unjust, to hold all white men in distrust on -account of the acts of that "fool-band of soldiers."[11] - -Footnote 11: - - Gen. Harney, on being asked by Bishop Whipple if Black Kettle were a - hostile Indian, replied, laying his hand on his heart, "I have worn - this uniform fifty-five years. He was as true a friend of the white - man as I am." - -By the terms of this treaty, a new reservation was to be set apart for -the Cheyennes and Arapahoes; hostile acts on either side were to be -settled by arbitration; no whites were to be allowed on the reservation; -a large tract of country was to be "relinquished" by the Indians, but -they were "expressly permitted to reside upon and range at pleasure -throughout the unsettled portions of that part of the country they claim -as originally theirs." The United States reserved the right to build -roads and establish forts in the reservation, and pledged itself to pay -"annually, for the period of forty years," certain sums of money to each -person in the tribe: twenty dollars a head till they were settled on -their reservation; after that, forty dollars a head. To this end an -accurate annual census of the Indians was promised at the time of the -annuity payment in the spring. - -The Indians went away from this council full of hope and satisfaction. -Their oldest friends, Colonel Bent and Kit Carson, were among the -commissioners, and they felt that at last they had a treaty they could -trust. Their old reservation in Colorado (to which they probably could -never have been induced to return) was restored to the public domain of -that territory, and they hoped in their new home for greater safety and -peace. The Apaches, who had heretofore been allied with the Kiowas and -Comanches, were now allied with them, and to have the benefits of the -new treaty. A small portion of the tribe—chiefly young men of a -turbulent nature—still held aloof, and refused to come under the treaty -provisions. One riotous band, called the Dog Soldiers, were especially -refractory; but, before the end of the next year, they also decided to -go southward and join the rest of the tribe on the new reservation. -Occasional hostilities took place in the course of the winter, one of -which it is worth while to relate, the incident is so typical a one. - -On the 21st of February a son of one Mr. Boggs was killed and scalped by -a party of four Cheyenne Indians about six miles east of Fort Dodge, on -the Arkansas River. On investigation, it appeared that Mr. Boggs had -gone to the Indian camp without any authority, and had there traded off -eleven one-dollar bills for ten-dollar bills. The Indian on whom this -trick had been played found Mr. Boggs out, went to him, and demanded -reparation; and, in the altercation and fight which ensued, Mr. Boggs's -son was killed. This story is given in the official report of -Lieutenant-colonel Gordon, U.S.A., and Colonel Gordon adds, "I think -this case needs no further comment." - -The Cheyennes did not long remain at peace; in the summer the Senate had -added to this last treaty an amendment requiring their new reservation -to be entirely "outside the State of Kansas, and not within any Indian -territory, except on consent of the tribes interested." As the -reservation had been partly in Kansas, and partly on the lands of the -Cherokees, this amendment left them literally without any home whatever. -Under these circumstances, the young men of the tribe soon began to join -again with other hostile Indians in committing depredations and -hostilities along the great mail-routes on the plains. Again they were -visited with summary and apparently deserved vengeance by the United -States troops, and in the summer of 1867 a Cheyenne village numbering -three hundred lodges was burnt by United States soldiers under General -Hancock. Fortunately the women and children had all fled on the first -news of the approach of the army. Soon after this another council was -held with them, and once more the precarious peace was confirmed by -treaty; but was almost immediately broken again in consequence of the -failure of the Government to comply with the treaty provisions. That -some members of these tribes had also failed to keep to the treaty -provisions is undoubtedly true, but by far the greater part of them were -loyal and peaceable. "The substantial cause of this war," however, was -acknowledged by the Indian Bureau itself to be "the fact that the -Department, for want of appropriations, was compelled to stop their -supplies, and to permit them to recur to the chase for subsistence." - -In 1868 "the country bounded east by the State of Arkansas, south by -Texas, north by Kansas, and west by the hundredth meridian of longitude, -was set apart for the exclusive use of the Cheyennes, Arapahoes, Kiowas, -and Comanches, and such other bands as might be located there by proper -authority;" and the whole was declared to constitute "a military -district," under command of Major-general Hazen, U.S.A. In October of -the same year Major Wynkoop, who had been the faithful friend of the -Cheyennes and Arapahoes ever since the days of Sand Creek, published his -last protest in their behalf, in a letter to the Commissioner of Indian -Affairs. He says that the failure of the Government to fulfil treaty -provisions in the matter of supplies forced them to resort to hunting -again; and then the refusal of the Government to give them the arms and -ammunition promised in the treaty, left them without any means of -securing the game; hence the depredations. The chiefs had promised to -deliver up the guilty ones to Major Wynkoop, "but before sufficient time -had elapsed for them to fulfil their promises the troops were in the -field, and the Indians in flight. *** Even after the majority of the -Cheyennes had been forced to take the war-path, in consequence of the -bad acts of some of their nation, several bands of the Cheyennes, and -the whole Arapahoe tribe, could have been kept at peace had proper -action been taken at the time; but now all the Indians of the Upper -Arkansas are engaged in the struggle."[12] - -Footnote 12: - - On October 27th of this year Black Kettle and his entire band were - killed by Gen. Custer's command at Antelope Hills, on the Wichita - River. - -In 1869 many Arapahoes and Cheyennes had made their way to Montana, and -were living with the Gros Ventres; most of those who remained at the -south were quiet, and seemed to be disposed to observe the provisions of -the treaty, but were earnestly imploring to be moved farther to the -north, where they might hunt buffalo. - -In 1870, under the care of an agent of the Society of Friends, the -improvement of the Southern Cheyennes was remarkable. Buildings were put -up, land was broken and planted, and the agent reports that, "with -proper care on the part of the Government," there will not be any -"serious trouble" with the tribe, although there are still some -"restless spirits" among them. - -In 1872 the Cheyennes and Arapahoes are reported as "allied to the -Government in the maintenance of peace on the border. Very strong -inducements have been made by the raiding bands of Kiowas, at critical -times in the past two years, to join them in hostile alliance in raids -against the whites; but all such appeals have been rejected, and, as a -tribe, they have remained loyal and peaceful." - -Thirty lodges of the Northern Cheyennes returned this year and joined -their tribe, but many of them were still roaming among the Northern -Sioux. In 1874 there were said to be over three thousand of these -Northern Cheyennes and Arapahoes at the Red Cloud Agency. The Government -refused any longer to permit them to stay there; and, after repeated -protests, and expressions of unwillingness to move, they at last -consented to go to the Indian Territory. But their removal was deferred, -on account of the unsettled state of the Southern Cheyennes. Early in -the spring troubles had broken out among them, in consequence of a raid -of horse-thieves on their reservation. The chief, Little Robe, lost -forty-three head of valuable ponies. These ponies were offered for sale -in Dodge City, Kansas, where Little Robe's son, with a small band of -young men, made an unsuccessful effort to reclaim them. Failing in this, -the band, on their way back, stole the first stock they came to; were -pursued by the Kansas farmers, the stock recaptured, and Little Robe's -son badly wounded. This was sufficient to bring on a general war against -white men in the whole region; and the history of the next few months -was a history of murders and outrages by Cheyennes, Kiowas, Osages, and -Comanches. Sixty lodges of the Cheyennes took refuge under the -protection of the United States troops at the agency, and the old -problem returned again, how to punish the guilty without harming the -innocent. A vigorous military campaign was carried on under General -Miles against the hostiles until, in the spring of 1875, the main body -surrendered. Wretched, half starved, more than half naked, without -lodges, ponies—a more pitiable sight was never seen than this band of -Indians. It was inconceivable how they had so long held out; nothing but -a well-nigh indomitable pride and inextinguishable hatred of the whites -and sense of wrongs could have supported them. It was decided that -thirty-three of the most desperate ones should be sent as prisoners to -St. Augustine, Florida; but before the selection was completed a general -stampede among the surrendered braves took place, resulting in the final -escape of some four hundred. They held their ground from two P.M. until -dark against three companies of cavalry and two Gatling guns, and, -"under cover of an extremely dark and stormy night, escaped, leaving -only three dead on the field." It is impossible not to admire such -bravery as this. The Report of the Indian Bureau for 1875 says of the -condition of affairs at this agency at this time: "The friendly -Cheyennes have had their loyalty put to the severest test by comparing -their own condition with that of the full-fed and warmly-housed captives -of the War Department. Notwithstanding all privations, they have been -unswerving in their friendship, and ever ready to assist the agent in -maintaining order, and compelling the Northern Cheyennes who have -visited the agency to submit to a count." In consequence of the -hostilities, they were obliged to remain close to the agency in camp—a -hardship that could hardly be endured, and resulted in serious -suffering. Their rations were not enough to subsist them, and yet, being -cut off from hunting, they were entirely dependent on them. And even -these inadequate rations did not arrive when they were due. Their agent -writes, in 1875: "On last year's flour contract not a single pound was -received until the fourteenth day of First Month, 1875, when six months -of cold weather and many privations had passed, notwithstanding the many -protestations and urgent appeals from the agent." - -The now thoroughly subjugated Cheyennes went to work with a will. In one -short year they are reported as so anxious to cultivate the ground that, -when they could not secure the use of a plough or hoe, they used "axes, -sticks of wood, and their hands, in preparing the ground, planting and -cultivating their garden spots." - -The Northern Cheyennes are still on the Red Cloud Agency, and are -reported as restless and troublesome. - -In 1877 they were all removed to the Cheyenne and Arapahoe Agency, in -Indian Territory. The Reports of the Department say that they asked to -be taken there. The winter of 1866 and the summer of 1867 were seasons -of great activity and interest at this agency. In the autumn they went -off on a grand buffalo hunt, accompanied by a small detail of troops -from Fort Reno. Early in the winter white horse-thieves began to make -raids on their ponies, and stole so many that many of the Indians were -obliged to depend on their friends' ponies to help them return home. Two -hundred and sixty in all were stolen—carried, as usual, to Dodge City -and sold. A few were recovered; but the loss to the Indians was -estimated at two thousand nine hundred dollars. "Such losses are very -discouraging to the Indians," writes their agent, and are "but a -repetition of the old story that brought on the war of 1874." - -In midsummer of this year the "Cheyenne and Arapahoe Transportation -Company" was formed: forty wagons were sent out, with harness, by the -Government; the Indians furnished the horses; and on the 19th of July -the Indians set out in their new _rôle_ of "freighters" of their own -supplies. They went to Wichita, Kansas—one hundred and sixty-five -miles—in six days, with their ponies; loaded sixty-five thousand pounds -of supplies into the wagons, and made the return trip in two weeks, all -things being delivered in good condition. - -This experiment was thoroughly tested; and its results are notable among -the many unheeded refutations of the constantly repeated assertion that -Indians will not work. The agent of the Cheyennes and the Arapahoes, -testifying before a Senate Committee in 1879, says: "We have run a wagon -train, driven by Indians, to Wichita, for three years and over, and have -never had a drunken Indian yet." - -"Do they waste their money, or bring it home?" - -"They almost invariably spend it for saddles or clothing, or something -of use to them that is not furnished by the Government. *** They have -never stolen an ounce of sugar, coffee, or anything else: they have been -careful not to injure or waste anything, and have delivered everything -in good faith." - -The agent reports not a single case of drunkenness during the year. The -manual labor and boarding-school has one hundred and thirteen scholars -in it, "all it can accommodate." The children earned four hundred -dollars in the year by work of one sort and another, and have "expended -the money as judiciously as would white children of their ages." They -bought calico, cotton cloth, shoes, hats, several head of cattle, and -one horse. They also "bought many delicacies for their friends in camp -who were sick and in need." - -"One Cheyenne woman tanned robes, traded them for twenty-five -two-year-old heifers, and gave them to her daughter in the school. *** -The boys have one hundred and twenty acres of corn under cultivation, -ten acres of potatoes, broom-corn, sugar-cane, peanuts, melons, and a -good variety of vegetables. They are entitled to one-half the crop for -cultivating it." - -This is a marvellous report of the change wrought in a people in only -two years' time. It proves that the misdemeanors, the hostilities of -1874 and 1875, had been largely forced on them by circumstances. - -The winter of 1877 and summer of 1878 were terrible seasons for the -Cheyennes. Their fall hunt had proved unsuccessful. Indians from other -reservations had hunted the ground over before them, and driven the -buffalo off; and the Cheyennes made their way home again in straggling -parties, destitute and hungry. Their agent reports that the result of -this hunt has clearly proved that "in the future the Indian must rely on -tilling the ground as the principal means of support; and if this -conviction can be firmly established, the greatest obstacle to -advancement in agriculture will be overcome. With the buffalo gone, and -their pony herds being constantly decimated by the inroads of -horse-thieves, they must soon adopt, in all its varieties, the way of -the white man. *** The usual amount of horse-stealing has prevailed, and -the few cases of successful pursuit have only increased the boldness of -the thieves and the number of the thefts. Until some other system of law -is introduced we cannot hope for a cessation of this grievance." - -The ration allowed to these Indians is reported as being "reduced and -insufficient," and the small sums they have been able to earn by selling -buffalo-hides are said to have been "of material assistance" to them in -"supplementing" this ration. But in this year there have been sold only -$657 worth of skins by the Cheyennes and Arapahoes together. In 1876 -they sold $17,600 worth. Here is a falling off enough to cause very -great suffering in a little community of five thousand people. But this -was only the beginning of their troubles. The summer proved one of -unusual heat. Extreme heat, chills and fever, and "a reduced and -insufficient ration," all combined, resulted in an amount of sickness -heart-rending to read of. "It is no exaggerated estimate," says the -agent, "to place the number of sick people on the reservation at two -thousand. Many deaths occurred which might have been obviated had there -been a proper supply of anti-malarial remedies at hand. *** Hundreds -applying for treatment have been refused medicine." - -The Northern Cheyennes grew more and more restless and unhappy. "In -council and elsewhere they profess an intense desire to be sent North, -where they say they will settle down as the others have done," says the -report; adding, with an obtuseness which is inexplicable, that "no -difference has been made in the treatment of the Indians," but that the -"compliance" of these Northern Cheyennes has been "of an entirely -different nature from that of the other Indians," and that it may be -"necessary in the future to compel what so far we have been unable to -effect by kindness and appeal to their better natures." - -If it is "an appeal to men's better natures" to remove them by force -from a healthful Northern climate, which they love and thrive in, to a -malarial Southern one, where they are struck down by chills and -fever—refuse them medicine which can combat chills and fever, and -finally starve them—then, indeed, might be said to have been most -forcible appeals made to the "better natures" of these Northern -Cheyennes. What might have been predicted followed. - -Early in the autumn, after this terrible summer, a band of some three -hundred of these Northern Cheyennes took the desperate step of running -off and attempting to make their way back to Dakota. They were pursued, -fought desperately, but were finally overpowered, and surrendered. They -surrendered, however, only on the condition that they should be taken to -Dakota. They were unanimous in declaring that they would rather die than -go back to the Indian Territory. This was nothing more, in fact, than -saying that they would rather die by bullets than of chills and fever -and starvation. - -These Indians were taken to Fort Robinson, Nebraska. Here they were -confined as prisoners of war, and held subject to the orders of the -Department of the Interior. The department was informed of the Indians' -determination never to be taken back alive to Indian Territory. The army -officers in charge reiterated these statements, and implored the -department to permit them to remain at the North; but it was of no -avail. Orders came—explicit, repeated, finally stern—insisting on the -return of these Indians to their agency. The commanding officer at Fort -Robinson has been censured severely for the course he pursued in his -effort to carry out those orders. It is difficult to see what else he -could have done, except to have resigned his post. He could not take -three hundred Indians by sheer brute force and carry them hundreds of -miles, especially when they were so desperate that they had broken up -the iron stoves in their quarters, and wrought and twisted them into -weapons with which to resist. He thought perhaps he could starve them -into submission. He stopped the issue of food; he also stopped the issue -of fuel to them. It was midwinter; the mercury froze in that month at -Fort Robinson. At the end of two days he asked the Indians to let their -women and children come out that he might feed them. Not a woman would -come out. On the night of the fourth day—or, according to some accounts, -the sixth—these starving, freezing Indians broke prison, overpowered the -guards, and fled, carrying their women and children with them. They held -the pursuing troops at bay for several days; finally made a last stand -in a deep ravine, and were shot down—men, women, and children together. -Out of the whole band there were left alive some fifty women and -children and seven men, who, having been confined in another part of the -fort, had not had the good fortune to share in this outbreak and meet -their death in the ravine. These, with their wives and children, were -sent to Fort Leavenworth, to be put in prison; the men to be tried for -murders committed in their skirmishes in Kansas on their way to the -north. Red Cloud, a Sioux chief, came to Fort Robinson immediately after -this massacre, and entreated to be allowed to take the Cheyenne widows -and orphans into his tribe to be cared for. The Government, therefore, -kindly permitted twenty-two Cheyenne widows and thirty-two Cheyenne -children—many of them orphans—to be received into the band of the -Ogallalla Sioux. - -An attempt was made by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, in his Report -for 1879, to show by tables and figures that these Indians were not -starving at the time of their flight from Indian Territory. The attempt -only redounded to his own disgrace; it being proved, by the testimony -given by a former clerk of the Indian Bureau before the Senate committee -appointed to investigate the case of the Northern Cheyennes, that the -commissioner had been guilty of absolute dishonesty in his estimates, -and that the quantity of beef actually issued to the Cheyenne Agency was -hundreds of pounds less than he had reported it, and that the Indians -were actually, as they had claimed, "starving." - -The testimony given before this committee by some of the Cheyenne -prisoners themselves is heart-rending. One must have a callous heart who -can read it unmoved. - -When asked by Senator Morgan, "Did you ever really suffer from hunger?" -one of the chiefs replied, "We were _always_ hungry; we _never_ had -enough. When they that were sick once in awhile felt as though they -could eat something, we had nothing to give them." - -"Did you not go out on the plains sometimes and hunt buffalo, with the -consent of the agent?" - -"We went out on a buffalo-hunt, and nearly starved while out; we could -not find any buffalo hardly; we could hardly get back with our ponies; -we had to kill a good many of our ponies to eat, to save ourselves from -starving." - -"How many children got sick and died?" - -"Between the fall of 1877 and 1878 we lost fifty children. A great many -of our finest young men died, as well as many women." - -"Old Crow," a chief who served faithfully as Indian scout and ally under -General Crook for years, said: "I did not feel like doing anything for -awhile, because I had no heart. I did not want to be in this country. I -was all the time wanting to get back to the better country where I was -born, and where my children are buried, and where my mother and sister -yet live. So I have laid in my lodge most of the time with nothing to -think about but that, and the affair up north at Fort Robinson, and my -relatives and friends who were killed there. But now I feel as though, -if I had a wagon and a horse or two, and some land, I would try to work. -If I had something, so that I could do something, I might not think so -much about these other things. As it is now, I feel as though I would -just as soon be asleep with the rest." - -The wife of one of the chiefs confined at Fort Leavenworth testified -before the committee as follows: "The main thing I complained of was -that we didn't get enough to eat; my children nearly starved to death; -then sickness came, and there was nothing good for them to eat; for a -long time the most they had to eat was corn-meal and salt. Three or four -children died every day for awhile, and that frightened us." - -(This testimony was taken at Fort Reno, in Indian Territory.) - -When asked if there were anything she would like to say to the -committee, the poor woman replied: "I wish you would do what you can to -get my husband released. I am very poor here, and do not know what is to -become of me. If he were released he would come down here, and we would -live together quietly, and do no harm to anybody, and make no trouble. -But I should never get over my desire to get back north; I should always -want to get back where my children were born, and died, and were buried. -That country is better than this in every respect. *** There is plenty -of good, cool water there—pure water—while here the water is not good. -It is not hot there, nor so sickly. Are you going where my husband is? -Can you tell when he is likely to be released?" - -The Senators were obliged to reply to her that they were not going where -her husband was, and they could not tell when he would be released. - -In view of the accounts of the sickness and suffering of these Indians -in 1877 and 1878, the reports made in 1879 of the industry and progress -at the Cheyenne and Arapahoe Agency are almost incredible. The school -children have, by their earnings, bought one hundred head of cattle; -451,000 pounds of freight have been transported by the Indians during -the year; they have also worked at making brick, chopping wood, making -hay, hauling wood, and splitting and hauling rails; and have earned -thereby $7,121.25. Two of the girls of the school have been promoted to -the position of assistant teachers; and the United States mail -contractor between this agency and Fort Elliott, in Texas—a distance of -one hundred and sixty-five miles—has operated almost exclusively with -full-blooded Indians: "there has been no report of breach of trust on -the part of any Indians connected with this trust, and the contractor -expresses his entire approval of their conduct." - -It is stated also that there was not sufficient clothing to furnish each -Indian with a warm suit of clothing, "as promised by the treaty," and -that, "by reference to official correspondence, the fact is established -that the Cheyennes and Arapahoes are judged as having no legal rights to -any lands, having forfeited their treaty reservation by a failure to -settle thereon," and their "present reservation not having been, as yet, -confirmed by Congress. Inasmuch as the Indians fully understood, and -were assured that this reservation was given to them in lieu of their -treaty reservation, and have commenced farming in the belief that there -was no uncertainty about the matter, it is but common justice that -definite action be had at an early day, securing to them what is their -right." - -It would seem that there could be found nowhere in the melancholy record -of the experiences of our Indians a more glaring instance of confused -multiplication of injustices than this. The Cheyennes were pursued and -slain for venturing to leave this very reservation, which, it appears, -is not their reservation at all, and they have no legal right to it. Are -there any words to fitly characterize such treatment as this from a -great, powerful, rich nation, to a handful of helpless people? - - - - - CHAPTER IV. - - THE NEZ PERCÉS. - - -Bounded on the north, south, and east by snow-topped mountains, and on -the west by shining waters; holding in its rocky passes the sources of -six great rivers; bearing on its slopes and plains measureless forests -of pine and cedar and spruce; its meadows gardens of summer bloom and -fruit, and treasure-houses of fertility,—lies Oregon: wide, healthful, -beautiful, abundant, and inviting, no wonder it was coveted and fought -for. - -When Lewis and Clarke visited it, eighty years ago, they found living -there many tribes of Indians, numbering in all, at the lowest estimates, -between twenty and thirty thousand; of all these tribes the Nez Percés -were the richest, noblest, and most gentle. - -To the Cayuses, one of the most warlike of these tribes, Messrs. Lewis -and Clarke presented an American flag, telling them it was an emblem of -peace. The gay coloring and beauty of the flag, allied to this -significance, made a deep impression on the poetic minds of these -savages. They set the flag up in a beautiful valley called the Grande -Ronde—a fertile basin some twenty-five miles in diameter, surrounded by -high walls of basaltic rock, and watered by a branch of the Snake River: -around this flag they met their old enemies the Shoshones, and swore to -keep perpetual peace with them; and the spot became consecrated to an -annual meeting of the tribes—a sort of fair, where the Cayuse, Nez -Percé, and Walla Walla Indians came every summer and traded their roots, -skins, elk and buffalo meats, for salmon and horses, with the Shoshones. -It was a beautiful spot, nearly circular, luxuriantly covered with -grass, the hill wall around it thick grown with evergreen trees, chiefly -larch. The Indians called it Karpkarp, which being translated is "Balm -of Gilead." - -The life of these Indians was a peculiar one. Most of them had several -homes, and as they lived only a part of the year in each, were -frequently spoken of by travellers as nomadic tribes, while in fact they -were as wedded to their homes as any civilized inhabitants of the world; -and their wanderings were as systematic as the removals of wealthy city -people from town homes to country places. If a man were rich enough, and -fond enough of change, to have a winter house in New York, a house for -the summer in Newport, and one for autumn in the White Mountains, nobody -would think of calling him a nomad; still less if he made these -successive changes annually, with perfect regularity, owing to -opportunities which were offered him at regularly recurring intervals in -these different places to earn his living; which was the case with the -Oregon Indians. - -As soon as the snow disappears in the spring there is in certain -localities, ready for gathering, the "pohpoh"—a small bulb, like an -onion. This is succeeded by the "spatlam," and the "spatlam" by the -"cammass" or "ithwa," a root like a parsnip, which they make into fine -meal. In midsummer come the salmon in countless shoals up the rivers. -August is the month for berries, of which they dry great quantities for -winter use. In September salmon again—coming down stream now, exhausted -and ready to die, but in sufficiently good condition to be dried for the -winter. In October comes the "mesani," another root of importance in the -Indian larder. After this they must depend on deer, bears, small game, -and wild-fowl. When all these resources fail, there is a kind of lichen -growing on the trees, of which they can eat enough to keep themselves -from starving, though its nutritive qualities are very small. Thus each -season had its duty and its appointed place of abode, and year after -year the same month found them in the same spot. - -In 1833 a delegation from these Oregon Indians went to St. Louis, and -through Mr. Catlin, the artist, made known their object, which was "to -inquire for the truth of a representation which they said some white -men had made among them, that our religion was better than theirs, and -that they would all be lost if they did not embrace it." Two members -of this delegation were Nez Percés—"Hee-oh'ks-te-kin" and -"H'co-a-h'co-a-h'cotes-min," or "Rabbit-skin Leggings," and "No Horns -on his Head." Their portraits are to be found in "Catlin's American -Indians." One of these died on his way home; but the other journeyed -his thousands of miles safely back, and bore to his tribe the news -"that the report which they had heard was well founded, and that good -and religious men would soon come among them to teach this religion, -so that they could all understand and have the benefits of it." - -Two years later the Methodist Episcopal Society and the American Board -both sent missionaries to Oregon. Before this the religion of the -fur-traders was the only white man's religion that the Indians had had -the opportunity of observing. Eleven different companies and -expeditions, besides the Hudson's Bay and the North-west Companies, had -been established in their country, and the Indians had become only too -familiar with their standards and methods. It was not many years after -the arrival of the missionaries in Oregon that a traveller there gave -the following account of his experience with a Nez Percé guide: - -"Creekie (so he was named) was a very kind man; he turned my worn-out -animals loose, and loaded my packs on his own; gave me a splendid horse -to ride, and intimated by significant gestures that we would go a short -distance that afternoon. I gave my assent, and we were soon on our way; -having ridden about ten miles, we camped for the night. I noticed, -during the ride, a degree of forbearance toward each other which I had -never before observed in that race. When we halted for the night the two -boys were behind; they had been frolicking with their horses, and, as -the darkness came on, lost the trail. It was a half-hour before they -made their appearance, and during this time the parents manifested the -most anxious solicitude for them. One of them was but three years old, -and was lashed to the horse he rode; the other only seven years of -age—young pilots in the wilderness at night. But the elder, true to the -sagacity of his race, had taken his course, and struck the brook on -which we were encamped within three hundred yards of us. The pride of -the parents at this feat, and their ardent attachment to the children, -were perceptible in the pleasure with which they received them at their -evening fire, and heard the relation of their childish adventures. The -weather was so pleasant that no tent was spread. The willows were bent, -and the buffalo-robes spread over them. Underneath were laid other -robes, on which my Indian host seated himself, with his wife and -children on one side and myself on the other. A fire burnt brightly in -front. Water was brought, and the evening ablutions having been -performed, the wife presented a dish of meat to her husband and one to -myself. There was a pause. The woman seated herself between her -children. The Indian then bowed his head and prayed to God. A wandering -savage in Oregon, calling on Jehovah in the name of Jesus Christ! After -the prayer he gave meat to his children and passed the dish to his wife. -While eating, the frequent repetition of the words Jehovah and Jesus -Christ, in the most reverential manner, led me to suppose that they were -conversing on religious topics, and thus they passed an hour. Meanwhile -the exceeding weariness of a long day's travel admonished me to seek -rest. I had slumbered I know not how long, when a strain of music awoke -me. The Indian family was engaged in its evening devotions. They were -singing a hymn in the Nez Percés language. Having finished, they all -knelt and bowed their faces on the buffalo-robe, and Creekie prayed long -and fervently. Afterward they sung another hymn, and retired. To -hospitality, family affection, and devotion, Creekie added honesty and -cleanliness to a great degree, manifesting by these fruits, so contrary -to the nature and habits of his race, the beautiful influence of the -work of grace on the heart." - -The earliest mention of the Nez Percés in the official records of the -Indian Bureau is in the year 1843. In that year an agent was sent out to -investigate the condition of the Oregon tribes, and he reports as -follows: "The only tribes from which much is to be hoped, or anything to -be feared in this part of Oregon, are the Walla Wallas, Cayuses, and Nez -Percés, inhabiting a district on the Columbia and its tributaries, -commencing two hundred and forty miles from its mouth, and stretching -four hundred and eighty miles in the interior." - -The Nez Percés, living farther inland, "inhabit a beautiful grazing -district, not surpassed by any I have seen for verdure, water -privileges, climate, or health. This tribe forms an honorable exception -to the general Indian character—being more noble, industrious, sensible, -and better disposed toward the whites and their improvements in the arts -and sciences; and though brave as Cæsar, the whites have nothing to -dread at their hands in case of their dealing out to them what they -conceive to be right and equitable." - -When this agent arrived at the missionary station among the Nez Percés, -he was met there by a large body of the Indians with twenty-two of their -chiefs. The missionaries received him "with joyful countenances and glad -hearts;" the Indians, "with civility, gravity, and dignified reserve." - -He addressed them at length, explaining to them the kind intentions of -the Government toward them. They listened with "gravity, fixed -attention, and decorum." Finally an aged chief, ninety years of age, -arose and said: "I speak to-day; perhaps to-morrow I die. I am the -oldest chief of the tribe. I was the high chief when your great -brothers, Lewis and Clarke, visited this country. They visited me, and -honored me with their friendship and counsel. I showed them my numerous -wounds, received in bloody battle with the Snakes. They told me it was -not good; it was better to be at peace; gave me a flag of truce; I held -it up high. We met, and talked, but never fought again. Clarke pointed -to this day—to you and this occasion. We have long waited in -expectation; sent three of our sons to Red River school to prepare for -it; two of them sleep with their fathers; the other is here, and can be -ears, mouth, and pen for us. I can say no more; I am quickly tired; my -voice and limbs tremble. I am glad I live to see you and this day; but I -shall soon be still and quiet in death." - -At this council the Nez Percés elected a head chief named Ellis, and -adopted the following Code of Laws: - - _Art. 1._ Whoever wilfully takes life shall be hung. - - _Art. 2._ Whoever burns a dwelling-house shall be hung. - - _Art. 3._ Whoever burns an out-building shall be imprisoned six - months, receive fifty lashes, and pay all damages. - - _Art. 4._ Whoever carelessly burns a house or any property shall - pay damages. - - _Art. 5._ If any one enter a dwelling without permission of the - occupant, the chiefs shall punish him as they think proper. - Public rooms are excepted. - - _Art. 6._ If any one steal, he shall pay back twofold; and if it - be the value of a beaver-skin or less, he shall receive - twenty-five lashes; and if the value is over a beaver-skin, he - shall pay back twofold, and receive fifty lashes. - - _Art. 7._ If any one take a horse and ride it, without - permission, or take any article and use it, without liberty, he - shall pay for the use of it, and receive from twenty to fifty - lashes, as the chief shall direct. - - _Art. 8._ If any one enter a field and injure the crops, or - throw down the fence, so that cattle or horses go in and do - damage, he shall pay all damages, and receive twenty-five lashes - for every offence. - - _Art. 9._ Those only may keep dogs who travel or live among the - game. If a dog kill a lamb, calf, or any domestic animal, the - owner shall pay the damage, and kill the dog. - - _Art. 10._ If an Indian raise a gun or other weapon against a - white man, it shall be reported to the chiefs, and they shall - punish him. If a white man do the same to an Indian, it shall be - reported to Dr. White, and he shall punish or redress it. - - _Art. 11._ If an Indian break these laws, he shall be punished - by his chiefs; if a white man break them, he shall be reported - to the agent, and punished at his instance. - -These laws, the agent says, he "proposed one by one, leaving them as -free to reject as to accept. They were greatly pleased with all -proposed, but wished a heavier penalty to some, and suggested the -dog-law, which was annexed." - -In a history of Oregon written by one W. H. Gray, of Astoria, we find -this Indian agent spoken of as a "notorious blockhead." Mr. Gray's -methods of mention of all persons toward whom he has antagonism or -dislike are violent and undignified, and do not redound either to his -credit as a writer or his credibility as a witness. But it is impossible -to avoid the impression that in this instance he was not far from the -truth. Surely one cannot read, without mingled horror and incredulity, -this programme of the whipping-post, offered as one of the first -instalments of the United States Government's "kind intentions" toward -these Indians; one of the first practical illustrations given them of -the kind of civilization the United States Government would recommend -and introduce. - -We are not surprised to read in another narrative of affairs in Oregon, -a little later, that "the Indians want pay for being whipped, the same -as they did for praying—to please the missionaries—during the great -revival of 1839. *** Some of the influential men in the tribe desired to -know of what benefit this whipping-system was going to be to them. They -said they were willing it should continue, provided they were to receive -shirts and pants and blankets as a reward for being whipped. They had -been whipped a good many times, and had got nothing for it, and it had -done them no good. If this state of things was to continue, it was all -good for nothing, and they would throw it away." - -The Secretary of War does not appear to have seen this aspect of his -agent's original efforts in the line of jurisprudence. He says of the -report which includes this astounding code, merely that "it furnishes -some deeply interesting and curious details respecting certain of the -Indian tribes in that remote part of our territories," and that the -conduct of the Nez Percés on the occasion of this important meeting -"impresses one most agreeably." - -A report submitted at the same time by the Rev. Mr. Spaulding, who had -lived six years as missionary among the Nez Percés, is much pleasanter -reading. He says that "nearly all the principal men and chiefs are -members of the school; that they are as industrious in their schools as -on their farms. They cultivate their lands with much skill and to good -advantage, and many more would do so if they had the means. About one -hundred are printing their own books with the pen. This keeps up a deep -interest, as they daily have new lessons to print; and what they print -must be committed to memory as soon as possible. A good number are now -so far advanced in reading and printing as to render much assistance in -teaching. Their books are taken home at night, and every lodge becomes a -school-room. Their lessons are Scripture lessons; no others (except the -laws) seem to interest them." - -Even this missionary seems to have fallen under some strange glamour on -the subject of the whipping-code; for he adds: "The laws which you so -happily prepared, and which were unanimously adopted by the people, I -have printed in the form of a small school-book. A great number of the -school now read them fluently." - -In the next year's report of the Secretary of War we read that "the Nez -Percé tribe have adopted a few simple and plain laws as their code, -which will teach them self-restraint, and is the beginning of government -on their part." The Secretary also thinks it "very remarkable that there -should so soon be several well supported, well attended, and well -conducted schools in Oregon." (Not at all remarkable, considering that -the Congregationalists, the Methodist Episcopalians, and the Roman -Catholics have all had missionaries at work there for eight years.) - -In 1846, the Nez Percés, with the rest of the Oregon tribes, disappear -from the official records of the Indian Bureau. "It will be necessary to -make some provision for conducting our relations with the Indian tribes -west of the Rocky Mountains," it is said; but, "the whole subject having -been laid before Congress, it was not deemed advisable to continue a -service that was circumscribed in its objects, and originally designed -to be temporary." The founder of the whipping-post in Oregon was -therefore relieved from his duties, and it is to be hoped his laws -speedily fell into disuse. The next year all the Protestant missions in -Oregon were abandoned, in consequence of the frightful massacre by the -Cayuses of the missionary families living among them.[13] But the Nez -Percés, though deprived of their teaching, did not give up the faith and -the practice they had taught them. Six years later General Benjamin -Alvord bore the following testimony to their religious character: - -Footnote 13: - - See Appendix, Art. XIII. - -"In the spring of 1853 a white man, who had passed the previous winter -in the country of the Nez Percés, came to the military post at the -Dalles, and on being questioned as to the manners and customs of the -tribe, he said that he wintered with a band of several hundred in -number, and that the whole party assembled every evening and morning for -prayer, the exercises being conducted by one of themselves in their own -language. He stated that on Sunday they assembled for exhortation and -worship." - -In 1851 a superintendent and three agents were appointed for Indian -service in Oregon. Treaties were negotiated with some of the tribes, but -they were not ratified, and in 1853 there was, in consequence, a -wide-spread dissatisfaction among all the Indians in the region. "They -have become distrustful of all promises made them by the United States," -says the Oregon superintendent, "and believe the design of the -Government is to defer doing anything for them till they have wasted -away. The settlement of the whites on the tracts which they regarded as -secured to them by solemn treaty stipulations, results in frequent -misunderstandings between them and the settlers, and occasions and -augments bitter animosities and resentments. I am in almost daily -receipt of complaints and petitions for a redress of wrongs from both -parties." - -Governor Stevens, of Washington Territory, in charge of the Northern -Pacific Railroad Explorations and Survey, wrote, this year, "These -hitherto neglected tribes, whose progress from the wild wanderers of the -plains to kind and hospitable neighbors is personally known to you, are -entitled, by every consideration of justice and humanity, to the -fatherly care of the Government." - -In Governor Stevens's report is to be found a comprehensive and -intelligible account of all the Indian tribes in Oregon and Washington -Territory. The greater part of the Nez Percés' country was now within -the limits of Washington Territory, only a few bands remaining in -Oregon. They were estimated to number at least eighteen hundred, and -were said to be a "rich and powerful tribe, owning many horses." Every -year they crossed the mountains to hunt buffalo on the plains of the -Missouri. - -In 1855 there was a general outbreak of hostilities on the part of the -Oregon Indians. Tribe after tribe, even among those who had been -considered friendly, fell into the ranks of the hostiles, and some base -acts of treachery were committed. The Oregon settlers, menaced with -danger on all sides, became naturally so excited and terrified that -their actions were hasty and ill-advised. "They are without discipline, -without order, and similar to madmen," says one official report. "Every -day they run off the horses and the cattle of the friendly Indians. I -will soon no longer be able to restrain the friendly Indians. They are -indignant at conduct so unworthy of the whites, who have made so many -promises to respect and protect them if they remain faithful friends. I -am very sure, if the volunteers are not arrested in their brigand -actions, our Indians will save themselves by flying to the homes of -their relations, the Nez Percés, who have promised them help; and then -all these Indians of Oregon would join in the common defence until they -be entirely exterminated." - -It is difficult to do full justice to the moral courage which is shown -by Indians who remain friendly to whites under such circumstances as -these. The traditions of their race, the powerful influence of public -sentiment among their relatives and friends, and, in addition, terror -for their own lives—all combine in times of such outbreaks to draw even -the friendliest tribes into sympathy and co-operation with those who are -making war on whites. - -At this time the hostile Indians in Oregon sent word to the Nez Percés, -"Join us in the war against the whites, or we will wipe you out." They -said, "We have made the whites run out of the country, and we will now -make the friendly Indians do the same." - -"What can the friendly Indians do?" wrote the colonel of a company of -Washington Territory Volunteers; "they have no ammunition, and the -whites will give them none; and the hostiles say to them, 'We have -plenty; come and join us, and save your lives.' The Nez Percés are very -much alarmed; they say, 'We have no ammunition to defend ourselves with -if we are attacked.'" - -The Oregon superintendent writes to General Wool (in command at this -time of the Department of the Pacific), imploring him to send troops to -Oregon to protect both friendly Indians and white settlers, and to -enable this department to maintain guarantees secured to these Indians -by treaty stipulations. He says that the friendly Indians are "willing -to submit to almost any sacrifice to obtain peace, but there may be a -point beyond which they could not be induced to go without a struggle." - -This outbreak terminated after some sharp fighting, and about equal -losses on both sides, in what the Oregon superintendent calls "a sort of -armistice," which left the Indians "much emboldened," with the -impression on their minds that they have the "ability to contend -successfully against the entire white race." - -Moreover, "the non-ratification of the treaties heretofore made to -extinguish their title to the lands necessary for the occupancy and use -of our citizens, seems to have produced no little disappointment; and -the continued extension of our settlements into their territory, without -any compensation being made to them, is a constant source of -dissatisfaction and hostile feeling. - -"It cannot be expected that Indians situated like those in Oregon and -Washington Territory, occupying extensive sections of country where, -from the game and otherwise, they derive a comfortable support, will -quietly and peaceably submit, without any equivalent, to be deprived of -their homes and possessions, and to be driven off to some other locality -where they cannot find their usual means of subsistence. Such a -proceeding is not only contrary to our policy hitherto, but is repugnant -alike to the dictates of humanity and the principles of natural justice. - -"The principle of recognizing and respecting the usufruct right of the -Indians to the lands occupied by them has not been so strictly adhered -to in the case of the tribes in the Territories of Oregon and -Washington. When a territorial government was first provided for -Oregon—which then embraced the present Territory of Washington—strong -inducements were held out to our people to emigrate and settle there -without the usual arrangements being made in advance for the -extinguishment of the title of the Indians who occupied and claimed the -lands. Intruded upon, ousted of their homes and possessions without any -compensation, and deprived in most cases of their accustomed means of -support, without any arrangement having been made to enable them to -establish and maintain themselves in other locations, it is not a matter -of surprise that they have committed many depredations upon our -citizens, and been exasperated to frequent acts of hostility." - -As was to be expected, the armistice proved of no avail; and in 1858 the -unfortunate Territories had another Indian war on their hands. In this -war we find the Nez Percés fighting on the side of the United States -against the hostile Indians. One of the detachments of United States -troops was saved from destruction only by taking refuge with them. -Nearly destitute of ammunition, and surrounded by hundreds of hostile -Indians, the little company escaped by night; and "after a ride of -ninety miles mostly at a gallop, and without a rest, reached Snake -River," where they were met by this friendly tribe, who "received them -with open arms, succored the wounded men, and crossed in safety the -whole command over the difficult and dangerous river." - -The officer in command of the Nez Percé band writes as follows, in his -report to the Indian Commissioner: - -"Allow me, my dear sir, while this general war is going on, to point you -to at least a few green spots where the ravages of war do not as yet -extend, and which thus far are untainted and unaffected, with a view of -so retaining them that we may hereafter point to them as oases in this -desert of war. These green spots are the Nez Percés, the Flat-heads, and -Pend d'Oreilles. In this connection I refer with grateful pride to an -act of Colonel Wright, which embodies views and motives which, endorsed -and carried out by the Government, must redound to his credit and -praise, and be the means of building up, at no distant day, a bold, -brave, warlike, and numerous people. - -"Before leaving Walla-Walla, Colonel Wright assembled the Nez Percé -people, told them his object was to war with and punish our enemies; but -as this great people were and ever had been our friends, he wanted their -friendship to be as enduring as the mountains around which they lived; -and in order that no difference of views or difficulty might arise, that -their mutual promises should be recorded." - -With this view he there made a treaty of friendship with them, and -thirty of the bravest warriors and chiefs at once marshalled themselves -to accompany him against the enemy. - -When Colonel Wright asked these Indians what they wanted, "their reply -was worthy of a noble race—'Peace, ploughs, and schools.'" At this time -they had no agent appointed to attend to their welfare; they were -raising wheat, corn, and vegetables with the rude means at their -command, and still preserved the faith and many of the practices taught -them by the missionaries thirteen years before. - -In 1859 peace was again established in Oregon, and the Indians -"considered as conquered." The treaties of 1855 were ratified by the -Senate, and this fact went far to restore tranquillity in the -territories. Congress was implored by the superintendents to realize -"the importance of making the appropriations for fulfilling those treaty -stipulations at the earliest practicable moment;" that it may "prevent -the recurrence of another savage war, necessarily bloody and devastating -to our settlements, extended under the authority and sanction of our -Government." With marvellous self-restraint, the superintendents do not -enforce their appeals by a reference to the fact that, if the treaties -had been fulfilled in the outset, all the hostilities of the last four -years might probably have been avoided. - -The reservation secured to the Nez Percés was a fine tract of country, -one hundred miles long and sixty in width—well watered, timbered, and of -great natural resources. Already the Indians had begun to practice -irrigation in their fields; had large herds of horses, and were -beginning to give attention to improving the breed. Some of them could -read and write their own language, and many of them professed -Christianity, and were exemplary in their conduct—a most remarkable -fact, proving the depth of the impression the missionary teachings must -have made. The majority of them wore the American costume, and showed -"their progress in civilization by attaching little value to the gewgaws -and trinkets which so generally captivate the savage." - -In less than two years the peace of this noble tribe was again invaded; -this time by a deadly foe—the greed of gold. In 1861 there were said to -be no less than ten thousand miners in the Nez Percé country prospecting -for gold. Now arose the question, What will the Government do? Will it -protect the rights of the Indians or not? - -"To attempt to restrain miners would be like attempting to restrain the -whirlwind," writes the superintendent of Washington Territory; and he -confesses that, "seeing the utter impossibility of preventing miners -from going to the mines," he has refrained from taking any steps which, -by a certain want of success, would tend to weaken the force of the law. - -For the next few years the Nez Percés saw with dismay the steady stream -of settlers pouring into their country. That they did not resist it by -force is marvellous, and can only be explained by the power of a truly -Christian spirit. - -"Their reservation was overrun by the enterprising miners; treaty -stipulations were disregarded and trampled under foot; towns were -established thereon, and all the means that cupidity could invent or -disloyalty achieve were resorted to to shake their confidence in the -Government. They were disturbed in the peaceable possession of what they -regarded as their vested rights, sacredly secured by treaty. They were -informed that the Government was destroyed, and that whatever treaties -were made would never be carried out. All resistance on their part -proved unavailing, and inquietude and discontent predominated among -them," says the Governor of Idaho, in 1865. Shortly after, by the -organization of that new Territory, the Nez Percés' reservation had been -removed from the jurisdiction of Washington Territory to that of Idaho. - -A powerful party was organized in the tribe, advocating the forming of a -league with the Crows and Blackfeet against the whites. The non-arrival -of promised supplies; the non-payment of promised moneys; the unchecked -influx of miners throughout the reservation, put strong weapons into the -hands of these disaffected ones. But the chiefs "remained firm and -unwavering in their devotion to the Government and the laws. They are -intelligent—their head chief, Sawyer, particularly so—and tell their -people to still wait patiently." And yet, at this very time, there was -due from the United States Government to this chief Sawyer six hundred -and twenty-five dollars! He had for six months been suffering for the -commonest necessaries of life, and had been driven to disposing of his -vouchers at fifty cents on the dollar to purchase necessaries. The -warriors also, who fought for us so well in 1856, were still unpaid; -although in the seventh article of the treaty of 1863 it had been agreed -that "the claims of certain members of the Nez Percé tribe against the -Government, for services rendered and horses furnished by them to the -Oregon Mounted Volunteers, as appears by certificates issued by W. H. -Fauntleroy, Acting Regimental Quartermaster, and commanding Oregon -Volunteers, on the 6th of March, 1856, at Camp Cornelius, and amounting -to $4665, shall be paid to them in full in gold coin." - -How many communities of white men would remain peaceable, loyal, and -friendly under such a strain as this? - -In 1866 the Indian Bureau report of the state of our diplomatic -relations with the Nez Percés is that the treaty concluded with them in -1863 was ratified by the Senate, "with an amendment which awaited the -action of the Indians. The ratification of this treaty has been delayed -for several years for various reasons, partly arising from successive -changes in the Superintendent of Indian Affairs in Idaho, whose varying -opinions on the subject of the treaty have caused doubts in the minds of -senators. A later treaty had been made, but, on careful consideration of -the subject, it was deemed advisable to carry into effect that of 1863. -The Nez Percés claimed title to a very large district of country -comprised in what are now organized as Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, -but principally within the latter Territory; and already a large white -population is pressing upon them in the search for gold. They are -peaceable, industrious, and friendly, and altogether one of the most -promising of the tribes west of the Rocky Mountains, having profited -largely by the labors of missionaries among them." - -By the treaty ratified in this year they give up "all their lands except -a reservation defined by certain natural boundaries, and agree to remove -to this reservation within one year. Where they have improvements on -lands outside of it, such improvements are to be appraised and paid for. -The tillable lands are to be surveyed into tracts of twenty acres each, -and allotted to such Indians as desire to hold lands in severalty. The -Government is to continue the annuities due under former treaties, and, -in addition, pay the tribe, or expend for them for certain specific -purposes having their improvement in view, the sum of $262,500, and a -moderate sum is devoted to homes and salaries for chiefs. The right of -way is secured through the reservation, and the Government undertakes to -reserve all important springs and watering-places for public use." - -In this same year the Governor of Idaho writes, in his annual report to -the Department of the Interior: "Prominent among the tribes of Northern -Idaho stand the Nez Percés, a majority of whom boast that they have ever -been the faithful friends of the white man. But a few over half of the -entire tribe of the Nez Percés are under treaty. The fidelity of those -under treaty, even under the most discouraging circumstances, must -commend itself to the favorable consideration of the Department. The -non-payment of their annuities has had its natural effect on the minds -of some of those under treaty; but their confiding head chief, Sawyer, -remains unmoved, and on all occasions is found the faithful apologist -for any failure of the Government. Could this tribe have been kept aloof -from the contaminating vices of white men, and had it been in the power -of the Government promptly to comply with the stipulations of the treaty -of 1855, there can be no doubt but that their condition at this time -would have been a most prosperous one, and that the whole of the Nez -Percé nation would by this time have been willing to come under treaty, -and settle on the reservation with those already there." - -In 1867 the patience of the Nez Percés is beginning to show signs of -wearing out. The Governor of Idaho writes: "This disaffection is great, -and serious trouble is imminent. It could all be settled by prompt -payment by the Government of their just dues; but if delayed too long I -greatly fear open hostilities. They have been patient, but promises and -explanations are losing force with them now. *** Their grievances are -urged with such earnestness that even Sawyer, who has always been our -apologist, has in a measure abandoned his pacific policy, and asks -boldly that we do them justice. *** Even now it may not be too late; -but, if neglected, war may be reasonably expected. Should the Nez Percés -strike a blow, all over our Territory and around our boundaries will -blaze the signal-fires and gleam the tomahawks of the savages—Kootenays, -Pen d'Oreilles, Cœur d'Alenes, Blackfeet, Flat-heads, Spokanes, -Pelouses, Bannocks, and Shoshones will be involved." - -This disaffection, says the agent, "began to show itself soon after the -visit of George C. Haigh, Esq., special agent, last December, to obtain -their assent to the amendments to the treaty of June 9th, 1863—the -non-ratification of that treaty had gone on so long, and promises made -them by Governor Lyon that it would not be ratified, and that he was -authorized to make a new treaty with them by which they would retain all -of their country, as given them under the treaty of 1851, except the -site of the town of Lewiston. They had also been informed in March, -1866, that Governor Lyon would be here in the June following, to pay -them back-annuities due under the treaty of 1855. The failure to carry -out these promises, and the idea they have that the stipulations of the -treaty of 1863 will be carried out in the same manner, is one of the -causes of their bad feeling. It showed itself plainly at the council -lately held, and is on the increase. If there is the same delay in -carrying out the stipulations of the treaty of 1863 that there has been -in that of 1855, some of the chiefs with their bands will join the -hostile Indians. There are many things it is impossible to explain to -them. They cannot understand why the $1185 that was promised by Governor -Lyon to the Indian laborers on the church is not paid. He told them when -the walls were up they should receive their pay. These laborers were -poor men, and such inducements were held out to them that they commenced -the work in good faith, with the full expectation of receiving their pay -when their labors ceased." - -The head chief Sawyer's pay is still in arrears. For the last quarter of -1863, and the first and second of 1864, he has received no pay. No -wonder he has ceased to be the "apologist" of the Government, which four -years ago promised him an annuity of $500 a year. - -Spite of this increasing disaffection the Nez Percés are industrious and -prosperous. They raised in this year 15,000 bushels of wheat. "Many of -them carried their wheat to be ground to the mills, while many sold the -grain to packers for feed, while much of it is boiled whole for food. -Some few of the better class have had their wheat ground, and sold the -flour in the mining-camps at lower prices than packers could lay it down -in the camps. Some have small pack-trains running through the summer; -one in particular, Cru-cru-lu-ye, runs some fifteen animals; he -sometimes packs for whites, and again runs on his own account. A -Clearwater Station merchant a short time ago informed me of his buying -some oats of Cru-cru-lu-ye last fall. After the grain had been weighed, -and emptied out of the sacks, the Indian brought the empty sacks to the -scales to have them weighed, and the tare deducted, saying he only -wanted pay for the oats. Their sales of melons, tomatoes, corn, -potatoes, squashes, green pease, etc., during the summer, in the -different towns and mining-camps, bring in some $2000 to $3000. Their -stock of horses and cattle is increasing fast, and with the benefits to -be derived from good American stallions, and good bulls and cows, to be -distributed to them under the stipulations of the treaty of 1863, they -will rapidly increase in wealth." - -In 1869 their reservation is still unsurveyed, and when the Indians -claim that white settlers are establishing themselves inside the lines -there is no way of proving it, and the agent says all he can do is to -promise that "the white man's heart shall be better;" and thus the -matter will rest until another disturbance arises, when the same -complaints are made, and the same answers given as before—that "the -white man's heart shall be better, and the boundary-line shall be -surveyed." - -Other treaty stipulations are still unfulfilled; and the non-treaty -party, while entirely peaceable, is very strong, and immovably opposed -to treaties. - -In 1870, seven years after it was promised, the long deferred survey of -the reservation was made. The superintendent and the agent both -remonstrated, but in vain, against the manner in which it was done; and -three years later a Board of Special Commissioners, appointed to inquire -into the condition of the Indians in Idaho, examined the fence put up at -that time, and reported that it was "a most scandalous fraud. It is a -post-and-board fence. The posts are not well set. Much of the lumber is -deficient in width and length. The posts are not dressed. The lumber -laps at any joint where it may chance to meet, whether on the posts or -between them, and the boards are not jointed on the posts where they -meet; they are lapped and fastened generally with one nail, so that they -are falling down rapidly. The lumber was cut on the reservation. The -contract price of the fence was very high; the fencing done in places of -no value to any one, for the reason that water cannot be had for -irrigation. The Government cannot be a party to such frauds on the -people who intrust it with their property." - -In this year a commission was sent to Oregon to hold council with the -band of Nez Percés occupying Wallowa Valley, in Oregon, "with a view to -their removal, if practicable, to the Nez Percé Reservation in Idaho. -They reported this removal to be impracticable, and the Wallowa Valley -has been withdrawn from sale, and set apart for their use and occupation -by Executive order."[14] - -Footnote 14: - - Report of the Secretary of the Interior for 1873. - -This commission report that one of the most troublesome questions in the -way of the Government's control of Indian affairs in Idaho is the -contest between the Catholic and Protestant churches. This strife is a -great detriment to the Indians. To illustrate this, they quote Chief -Joseph's reason for not wishing schools on his reservation. He was the -chief of the non-treaty band of Nez Percés occupying the Wallowa Valley, -in Oregon: - -"Do you want schools and school-houses on the Wallowa Reservation?" -asked the commissioners. - -_Joseph._ "No, we do not want schools or school-houses on the Wallowa -Reservation." - -_Com._ "Why do you not want schools?" - -_Joseph._ "They will teach us to have churches." - -_Com._ "Do you not want churches?" - -_Joseph._ "No, we do not want churches." - -_Com._ "Why do you not want churches?" - -_Joseph._ "They will teach us to quarrel about God, as the Catholics and -Protestants do on the Nez Percé Reservation, and at other places. We do -not want to learn that. We may quarrel with men sometimes about things -on this earth, but we never quarrel about God. We do not want to learn -that." - -Great excitement prevailed among the settlers in Oregon at the cession -of the Wallowa Valley to the Indians. The presence of United States -soldiers prevented any outbreak; but the resentment of the whites was -very strong, and threats were openly made that the Indians should not be -permitted to occupy it; and in 1875 the Commissioner of Indian Affairs -writes: - -"The settlements made in the Wallowa Valley, which has for years been -the pasture-ground of the large herds of horses owned by Joseph's band, -will occasion more or less trouble between this band and the whites, -until Joseph is induced or compelled to settle on his reservation." - -It is only two years since this valley was set apart by Executive order -for the use and occupation of these Indians; already the Department is -contemplating "compelling" them to leave it and go to the reservation in -Idaho. There were stormy scenes there also during this year. Suits were -brought against all the employés of the Lapwai Agency, and a claim set -up for all the lands of the agency, and for many of the Indian farms, by -one Langford, representing the old claim of the missionaries, to whom a -large tract of ground had been ceded some thirty years before. He -attempted to take forcible possession of the place, and was ejected -finally by military force, after the decision of the Attorney-general -had been given that his claim was invalid. - -The Indian Bureau recommended a revocation of the executive order giving -the Wallowa Valley to Joseph and his band. In June of this year -President Grant revoked the order, and in the autumn a commission was -sent out "to visit these Indians, with a view to secure their permanent -settlement on the reservation, their early entrance on a civilized life, -and to adjust the difficulties then existing between them and the -settlers." - -It is worth while to study with some care the reasons which this -commission gave to Chief Joseph why the Wallowa Valley, which had been -given to him by Executive order in 1873, must be taken away from him by -Executive order in 1875: - -"Owing to the coldness of the climate, it is not a suitable location for -an Indian reservation. *** It is now in part settled by white squatters -for grazing purposes. *** The President claimed that he extinguished the -Indian title to it by the treaty of 1863. *** It is embraced within the -limits of the State of Oregon. *** The State of Oregon could not -probably be induced to cede the jurisdiction of the valley to the United -States for an Indian reservation. *** In the conflicts which might arise -in the future, as in the past, between him and the whites, the President -might not be able to justify or defend him. *** A part of the valley had -already been surveyed and opened to settlement: *** if, by some -arrangement, the white settlers in the valley could be induced to leave -it, others would come." - -To all these statements Joseph replied that he "asked nothing of the -President. He was able to take care of himself. He did not desire -Wallowa Valley as a reservation, for that would subject him and his band -to the will of, and dependence on, another, and to laws not of their own -making. He was disposed to live peaceably. He and his band had suffered -wrong rather than do wrong. One of their number was wickedly slain by a -white man during the last summer, but he would not avenge his death." - -"The serious and feeling manner in which he uttered these sentiments was -impressive," the commissioners say, and they proceeded to reply to him -"that the President was not disposed to deprive him of any just right, -or govern him by his individual will, but merely subject him to the same -just and equal laws by which he himself as well as all his people were -ruled." - -What does it mean when commissioners sent by the President to induce a -band of Indians to go on a reservation to live, tell them that they -shall be subjected on that reservation "merely to the same just and -equal laws" by which the President and "all his people are ruled?" And -still more, what is the explanation of their being so apparently unaware -of the enormity of the lie that they leave it on official record, signed -by their names in full? It is only explained, as thousands of other -things in the history of our dealings with the Indians are only to be -explained, by the habitual indifference, carelessness, and inattention -with which questions relative to Indian affairs and legislation thereon -are handled and disposed of, in whatever way seems easiest and shortest -for the time being. The members of this commission knew perfectly well -that the instant Joseph and his band moved on to the reservation they -became subject to laws totally different from those by which the -President and "all his people were ruled," and neither "just" nor -"equal:" laws forbidding them to go beyond certain bounds without a pass -from the agent; laws making them really just as much prisoners as -convicts in a prison—the only difference being that the reservation is -an unwalled out-of-door prison; laws giving that agent power to summon -military power at any moment, to enforce any command he might choose to -lay on them, and to shoot them if they refused to obey.[15] "The same -just and equal laws by which the President himself and all his people -are ruled!" Truly it is a psychological phenomenon that four men should -be found willing to leave it on record under their own signatures that -they said this thing. - -Footnote 15: - - Witness the murder of Big Snake on the Ponca Reservation, Indian - Territory, in the summer of 1879. - -Farther on in the same report there is an enumeration of some of the -experiences which the Nez Percés who are on the Idaho Reservation have -had of the advantages of living there, and of the manner in which the -Government has fulfilled its promises by which it induced them to go -there; undoubtedly these were all as well known to Chief Joseph as to -the commissioners. For twenty-two years he had had an opportunity to -study the workings of the reservation policy. They say: - -"During an interview held with the agent and the treaty Indians, for the -purpose of ascertaining whether there were sufficient unoccupied -tillable lands for Joseph's band on the reservation, and for the further -purpose of securing their co-operation to aid us in inducing Joseph to -come upon the reservation, facts were brought to our attention of a -failure on the part of the Government to fulfil its treaty stipulations -with these Indians. The commission therefore deem it their duty to call -the attention of the Government to this subject. - -"1st. Article second of the treaty of June 9th, 1863, provides that no -white man—excepting such as may be employed by the Indian -Department—shall be permitted to reside upon the reservation without -permission of the tribe, and the superintendent and the agent. -Nevertheless, four white men are occupying or claiming large tracts on -the reservation. - -"It is clearly the duty of the Government to adjust and quiet these -claims, and remove the parties from the reservation. Each day's delay to -fulfil this treaty stipulation adds to the distrust of the Indians in -the good faith of the Government. - -"2d. Article third of the same treaty of 1863 provides for the survey of -the land suitable for cultivation into lots of twenty acres each; while -a survey is reported to have been early made, no measures were then, or -have been since, taken to adjust farm limits to the lines of the -surveyed lots. - -"3d. Rules and regulations for continuing the possession of these lots -and the improvements thereon in the families of deceased Indians, have -not been prescribed, as required by the treaty. - -"4th. It is also provided that certificates or deeds for such tracts -shall be issued to individual Indians. - -"The failure of the Government to comply with this important provision -of the treaty causes much uneasiness among the Indians, who are little -inclined to spend their labor and means in improving ground held by the -uncertain tenure of the pleasure of an agent. - -"5th. Article seventh of the treaty provides for a payment of four -thousand six hundred and sixty-five dollars in gold coin to them for -services and horses furnished the Oregon Mounted Volunteers in 1856. It -is asserted by the Indians that this provision of the treaty has -hitherto been disregarded by the Government." - -The commissioners say that "every consideration of justice and equity, -as well as expediency, demands from the Government a faithful and -literal compliance with all its treaty obligations toward the Indians. A -failure to do this is looked upon as bad faith, and can be productive of -only bad results." - -At last Chief Joseph consented to remove from the Wallowa Valley with -his band, and go to the Lapwai Reservation. The incidents of the council -in which this consent was finally wrung from him, are left on record in -Chief Joseph's own words, in an article written by him (through an -interpreter) and published in the _North American Review_ in 1874. It is -a remarkable contribution to Indian history. - -It drew out a reply from General O. O. Howard, who called his paper "The -true History of the Wallowa Campaign:" published in the _North American -Review_ two months after Chief Joseph's paper. - -Between the accounts given by General Howard and by Chief Joseph of the -events preceding the Nez Percé war, there are noticeable discrepancies. - -General Howard says that he listened to the "oft-repeated dreamer -nonsense of the chief, 'Too-hool-hool-suit,' with no impatience, but -finally said to him: 'Twenty times over I hear that the earth is your -mother, and about the chieftainship of the earth. I want to hear it no -more.'" - -Chief Joseph says: "General Howard lost his temper, and said 'Shut up! I -don't want to hear any more of such talk.' - -"Too-hool-hool-suit answered, 'Who are you, that you ask us to talk, and -then tell me I sha'n't talk? Are you the Great Spirit? Did you make the -world?'" - -General Howard, quoting from his record at the time, says: "The rough -old fellow, in his most provoking tone, says something in a short -sentence, looking fiercely at me. The interpreter quickly says: 'He -demands what person pretends to divide this land, and put me on it?' In -the most decided voice I said, 'I am the man. I stand here for the -President, and there is no spirit, bad or good, that will hinder me. My -orders are plain, and will be executed.'" - -Chief Joseph says: "General Howard replied, 'You are an impudent fellow, -and I will put you in the guard-house,' and then ordered a soldier to -arrest him." - -General Howard says: "After telling the Indians that this bad advice -would be their ruin, I asked the chiefs to go with me to look at their -land. 'The old man (Too-hool-hool-suit) shall not go. I will leave him -with Colonel Perry.' He says, 'Do you want to scare me with reference to -my body?' I said, 'I will leave your body with Colonel Perry.' I then -arose and led him out of the council, and gave him into the charge of -Colonel Perry." - -Chief Joseph says: "Too-hool-hool-suit made no resistance. He asked -General Howard, 'Is that your order? I don't care. I have expressed my -heart to you. I have nothing to take back. I have spoken for my country. -You can arrest me, but you cannot change me, or make me take back what I -have said.' The soldiers came forward and seized my friend, and took him -to the guard—house. My men whispered among themselves whether they -should let this thing be done. I counselled them to submit. *** -Too-hool-hool-suit was prisoner for five days before he was released." - -General Howard, it will be observed, does not use the word "arrested," -but as he says, later, "Too-hool-hool-suit was released on the pledge of -Looking-glass and White Bird, and on his own earnest promise to behave -better," it is plain that Chief Joseph did not misstate the facts. This -Indian chief, therefore, was put under military arrest, and confined for -five days, for uttering what General Howard calls a "tirade" in a -council to which the Indians had been asked to come for the purpose of -consultation and expression of sentiment. - -Does not Chief Joseph speak common-sense, as well as natural feeling, in -saying, "I turned to my people and said, 'The arrest of -Too-hool-hool-suit was wrong, but we will not resent the insult. We were -invited to this council to express our hearts, and we have done so.'" - -If such and so swift penalty as this, for "tirades" in council, were the -law of our land, especially in the District of Columbia, it would be "no -just cause of complaint" when Indians suffer it. But considering the -frequency, length, and safety of "tirades" in all parts of America, it -seems unjust not to permit Indians to deliver them. However, they do -come under the head of "spontaneous productions of the soil;" and an -Indian on a reservation is "invested with no such proprietorship" in -anything which comes under that head.[16] - -Footnote 16: - - Annual Report of the Indian Commissioner for 1878, p. 69. - -Chief Joseph and his band consented to move. Chief Joseph says: "I said -in my heart that, rather than have war, I would give up my country. I -would give up my father's grave. I would give up everything rather than -have the blood of white men upon the hands of my people." - -It was not easy for Joseph to bring his people to consent to move. The -young men wished to fight. It has been told that, at this time, Chief -Joseph rode one day through his village, with a revolver in each hand, -saying he would shoot the first one of his warriors that resisted the -Government. Finally, they gathered all the stock they could find, and -began the move. A storm came, and raised the river so high that some of -the cattle could not be taken across. Indian guards were put in charge -of the cattle left behind. White men attacked these guards and took the -cattle. After this Joseph could no longer restrain his men, and the -warfare began, which lasted over two months. It was a masterly campaign -on the part of the Indians. They were followed by General Howard; they -had General Crook on their right, and General Miles in front, but they -were not once hemmed in; and, at last, when they surrendered at Bear Paw -Mountain, in the Montana Hills, it was not because they were beaten, but -because, as Joseph says, "I could not bear to see my wounded men and -women suffer any longer; we had lost enough already. *** We could have -escaped from Bear Paw Mountain if we had left our wounded, old women and -children, behind. We were unwilling to do this. We had never heard of a -wounded Indian recovering while in the hands of white men. *** I -believed General Miles, or I never would have surrendered. I have heard -that he has been censured for making the promise to return us to Lapwai. -He could not have made any other terms with me at that time. I could -have held him in check until my friends came to my assistance, and then -neither of the generals nor their soldiers would ever have left Bear Paw -Mountain alive. On the fifth day I went to General Miles and gave up my -gun, and said, 'From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more.' My -people needed rest; we wanted peace." - -The terms of this surrender were shamefully violated. Joseph and his -band were taken first to Fort Leavenworth and then to the Indian -Territory. At Leavenworth they were placed in the river bottom, with no -water but the river water to drink. - -"Many of my people sickened and died, and we buried them in this strange -land," says Joseph. "I cannot tell how much my heart suffered for my -people while at Leavenworth. The Great Spirit Chief who rules above -seemed to be looking some other way, and did not see what was being done -to my people." - -Yet with a marvellous magnanimity, and a clear-headed sense of justice -of which few men would be capable under the circumstances, Joseph says: -"I believe General Miles would have kept his word if he could have done -so. I do not blame him for what we have suffered since the surrender. I -do not know who is to blame. We gave up all our horses, over eleven -hundred, and all our saddles, over one hundred, and we have not heard -from them since. Somebody has got our horses." - -This narrative of Chief Joseph's is profoundly touching; a very Iliad of -tragedy, of dignified and hopeless sorrow; and it stands supported by -the official records of the Indian Bureau. - -"After the arrival of Joseph and his band in Indian Territory, the bad -effect of their location at Fort Leavenworth manifested itself in the -prostration by sickness at one time of two hundred and sixty out of the -four hundred and ten; and 'within a few months' in the death of 'more -than one-quarter of the entire number.'"[17] - -Footnote 17: - - Annual Report of the Indian Commissioner for 1878, p. 33. - -"It will be borne in mind that Joseph has never made a treaty with the -United States, and that he has never surrendered to the Government the -lands he claimed to own in Idaho. *** Joseph and his followers have -shown themselves to be brave men and skilful soldiers, who, with one -exception, have observed the rules of civilized warfare. *** These -Indians were encroached upon by white settlers, on soil they believed to -be their own, and when these encroachments became intolerable, they were -compelled in their own estimation to take up arms."[18] - -Footnote 18: - - Same Report, p. 34. - -Chief Joseph and a remnant of his band are still in Indian Territory, -waiting anxiously the result of the movement now being made by the Ponca -chief, Standing Bear, and his friends and legal advisers, to obtain from -the Supreme Court a decision which will extend the protection of the -civil law to every Indian in the country. - -Of the remainder of the Nez Percés (those who are on the Lapwai -Reservation), the report of the Indian Bureau for 1879 is that they -"support themselves entirely without subsistence from the Government; -procure of their own accord, and at their own expense, wagons, harness, -and other farming implements beyond the amount furnished by the -Government under their treaty," and that "as many again as were taught -were turned away from school for lack of room." - -The Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions has contributed during this -year $1750 for missionary work among them, and the Indians themselves -have raised $125. - -Their reservation is thus described: "The majority of land comprising -the reservation is a vast rolling prairie, affording luxuriant pasturage -for thousands of their cattle and horses. The Clearwater River, flowing -as it does directly through the reserve, branching out in the North, -Middle, and South Forks, greatly benefits their locations that they have -taken in the valleys lying between such river and the bluffs of the -higher land, forming in one instance—at Kaimaih—one of the most -picturesque locations to be found in the whole North-west. Situated in a -valley on either side of the South Fork, in length about six miles, -varying in width from one-half to two miles; in form like a vast -amphitheatre, surrounded on all sides by nearly perpendicular bluffs -rising two thousand feet in height, it forms one of the prettiest -valleys one can imagine. A view from the bluff reveals a living -panorama, as one sees the vast fields of waving grain surrounding -well-built and tasty cottages adorned with porches, and many of the -conveniences found among industrious whites. The sight would lead a -stranger, not knowing of its inhabitance by Indians, to inquire what -prosperous white settlement was located here. It is by far the most -advanced in the ways of civilization and progress of any in the -Territory, if not on the coast." - -How long will the white men of Idaho permit Indians to occupy so fair a -domain as this? The small cloud, no larger than a man's hand, already -looms on their horizon. The closing paragraph of this (the last) report -from the Nez Percés is: - -"Some uneasiness is manifest about stories set afloat by renegade -whites, in relation to their treatment at the expiration of their treaty -next July, but I have talked the matter over, and they will wait -patiently to see the action on the part of the Government. They are well -civilized; but one mistake on the part of the Government at this time -would destroy the effects of the past thirty years' teachings. Give them -time and attention; they will astonish their most zealous friends in -their progress toward civilization." - - - - - CHAPTER V. - - THE SIOUX. - - -The word Sioux is a contraction from the old French word "Nadouessioux," -or "Enemies," the name given by the French traders to this most powerful -and warlike of all the North-western tribes. They called themselves -"Dakota," or "many in one," because so many bands under different names -were joined together. At the time of Captain Carver's travels among the -North American Indians there were twelve known bands of these -"Nadouwessies." They entertained the captain most hospitably for seven -months during the winter of 1766-'7; adopted him as one of their chiefs; -and when the time came for him to depart, three hundred of them -accompanied him for a distance on his journey, and took leave with -expressions of friendship for him, and good-will toward the Great -Father, the English king, of whom he had told them. The chiefs wished -him to say to the king "how much we desire that traders may be sent to -abide among us with such things as we need, that the hearts of our young -men, our wives, and children may be made glad. And may peace subsist -between us so long as the sun, the moon, the earth, and the waters shall -endure;" and "acquaint the Great King how much the Nadouwessies wish to -be counted among his good children." - -Nothing in all the history of the earliest intercourse between the -friendly tribes of North American Indians and the Europeans coming among -them is more pathetic than the accounts of their simple hospitality, -their unstinted invitations, and their guileless expressions of desire -for a greater knowledge of the white men's ways. - -When that saintly old bigot, Father Hennepin, sailed up the Illinois -River, in 1680, carrying his "portable chapel," chalice, and chasuble, -and a few holy wafers "in a steel box, shut very close," going to teach -the savages "the knowledge of the Captain of Heaven and Earth, and to -use fire-arms, and several other things relating to their advantage," -the Illinois were so terrified that, although they were several thousand -strong, they took to flight "with horrid cries and howlings." On being -reassured by signs and words of friendliness, they slowly returned—some, -however, not until three or four days had passed. Then they listened to -the good man's discourses with "great attention; afterward gave a great -shout for joy," and "expressed a great gratitude;" and, the missionaries -being footsore from long travel, the kindly creatures fell to rubbing -their legs and feet "with oil of bears, and grease of wild oxen, which -after much travel is an incomparable refreshment; and presented us some -flesh to eat, putting the three first morsels into our mouths with great -ceremonies." - -It was a pity that Father Hennepin had no more tangible benefit than the -doctrine of the "efficacy of the Sacraments" to communicate to the -hospitable Illinois in return for their healing ointments. Naturally -they did not appreciate this, and he proceeded on his way disheartened -by their "brutish stupidity," but consoling himself, however, with the -thought of the infants he had baptized. Hearing of the death of one of -them, he says he is "glad it had pleased God to take this little -Christian out of the world," and he attributed his own "preservation -amidst the greatest dangers" afterward to "the care he took for its -baptism." Those dangers were, indeed, by no means inconsiderable, as he -and his party were taken prisoners by a roaming party of these Indians, -called in the Father's quaint old book "Nadouwessians." He was forced to -accompany them on their expeditions, and was in daily danger of being -murdered by the more riotous and hostile members of the band. He found -these savages on the whole "good-natured men, affable, civil, and -obliging," and he was indebted for his life to the good-will of one of -the chiefs, who protected him again and again at no inconsiderable -danger to himself. The only evidence of religion among the Nadouwessies -which he mentions is that they never began to smoke without first -holding the pipe up to the sun, saying, "Smoke, sun!" They also offered -to the sun the best part of every beast they killed, carrying it -afterward to the cabin of their chief; from which Father Hennepin -concluded that they had "a religious veneration for the sun." - -The diplomatic relations between the United States Government and the -Sioux began in the year 1815. In that year and the year following we -made sixteen "treaties" of peace and friendship with different tribes of -Indians—treaties demanding no cessions of land beyond the original -grants which had been made by these tribes to the English, French, or -Spanish governments, but confirming those to the United States; -promising "perpetual peace," and declaring that "every injury or act of -hostility committed by one or other of the contracting parties shall be -mutually forgiven and forgot." Three of these treaties were made with -bands of the Sioux—one of them with "the Sioux of the Leaf, the Sioux of -the Broad Leaf, and the Sioux who shoot in the Pine-tops." - -In 1825 four more treaties were made with separate Sioux bands. By one -of those treaties—that of Prairie du Chien—boundaries were defined -between the Chippewas and the Sioux, and it was hoped that their -incessant feuds might be brought to an end. This hostility had continued -unabated from the time of the earliest travellers in the country, and -the Sioux had been slowly but steadily driven south and west by the -victorious Chippewas. A treaty could not avail very much toward keeping -peace between such ancient enemies as these. Fighting went on as before; -and white traders, being exposed to the attacks of all war-parties, -suffered almost more than the Indians themselves. The Government -consoled itself for this spectacle of bloody war, which it was powerless -to prevent, by the thought that the Indians would "probably fight on -until some one or other of the tribes shall become too reduced and -feeble to carry on the war, when it will be lost as a separate power"—an -equivocal bit of philosophizing which was unequivocally stated in these -precise words in one of the annual reports of the War Department. - -In the third Article of the next treaty, also at Prairie du Chien, in -1830, began the trouble which has been from that day to this a source of -never ending misunderstanding and of many fierce outbreaks on the part -of the Sioux. Four of the bands by this article ceded and relinquished -to the United States "forever" a certain tract of country between the -Mississippi and the Des Moines River. In this, and in a still further -cession, two other bands of Sioux, who were not fully represented at the -council, must join; also, some four or five other tribes. Landed and -"undivided" estate, owned in common by dozens of families, would be a -very difficult thing to parcel out and transfer among white men to-day, -with the best that fair intentions and legal skill combined could do; -how much more so in those days of unsurveyed forests, unexplored rivers, -owned and occupied in common by dozens of bands of wild and ignorant -Indians, to be communicated with only by interpreters. Misconstructions -and disputes about boundaries would have been inevitable, even if there -had been all possible fairmindedness and good-will on both sides; but in -this case there was only unfairmindedness on one side, and unwillingness -on the other. All the early makers of treaties with the Indians -congratulated themselves and the United States on the getting of acres -of valuable land by the million for next to nothing, and, as years went -on, openly lamented that "the Indians were beginning to find out what -lands were worth;" while the Indians, anxious, alarmed, hostile at -heart, seeing themselves harder and harder pressed on all sides, driven -"to provide other sources for supplying their wants besides those of -hunting, which must soon entirely fail them,"[19] yielded mile after -mile with increasing sense of loss, which they were powerless to -prevent, and of resentment which it would have been worse than impolitic -for them to show. - -Footnote 19: - - Treaty of Prairie du Chien. - -The first annuities promised to the Sioux were promised by this -treaty—$3000 annually for ten years to the Yankton and Santee bands; to -the other four, $2000. The Yankton and Santee bands were to pay out of -their annuity $100 yearly to the Otoes, because part of some land which -was reserved for the half-breeds of the tribe had originally belonged to -the Otoes. "A blacksmith, at the expense of the United States; also, -instruments for agricultural purposes; and iron and steel to the amount -of $700 annually for ten years to some of the bands, and to the amount -of $400 to the others; also, $3000 a year 'for educational purposes,' -and $3000 in presents distributed at the time," were promised them. - -It was soon after these treaties that the artist Catlin made his famous -journeys among the North American Indians, and gave to the world an -invaluable contribution to their history, perpetuating in his pictures -the distinctive traits of their faces and their dress, and leaving on -record many pages of unassailable testimony as to their characteristics -in their native state. He spent several weeks among the Sioux, and says -of them: "There is no tribe on the continent of finer looking men, and -few tribes who are better and more comfortably clad and supplied with -the necessaries of life. *** I have travelled several years already -among these people, and I have not had my scalp taken, nor a blow struck -me, nor had occasion to raise my hand against an Indian; nor has my -property been stolen as yet to my knowledge to the value of a shilling, -and that in a country where no man is punishable by law for the crime of -stealing. *** That the Indians in their native state are drunken, is -false, for they are the only temperance people, literally speaking, that -ever I saw in my travels, or expect to see. If the civilized world are -startled at this, it is the fact that they must battle with, not with -me. These people manufacture no spirituous liquor themselves, and know -nothing of it until it is brought into their country, and tendered to -them by Christians. - -"That these people are naked, is equally untrue, and as easily disproved -with the paintings I have made, and with their beautiful costumes which -I shall bring home. I shall be able to establish the fact that many of -these people dress not only with clothes comfortable for any latitude, -but that they dress also with some considerable taste and elegance. *** -Nor am I quite sure that they are entitled to the name of 'poor' who -live in a country of boundless green fields, with good horses to ride; -where they are all joint tenants of the soil together; where the Great -Spirit has supplied them with an abundance of food to eat." - -Catlin found six hundred families of the Sioux camped at one time around -Fort Pierre, at the mouth of the Teton River, on the west bank of the -Missouri. There were some twenty bands, each with their chief, over whom -was one superior chief, called Ha-won-je-tah (the One Horn), whose -portrait is one of the finest in Catlin's book. This chief took his -name, "One Horn," from a little shell which he wore always on his neck. -This shell had descended to him from his father, and he said "he valued -it more than anything which he possessed:" affording a striking instance -of the living affection which these people often cherish for the dead, -inasmuch as he chose to carry this name through life in preference to -many others and more honorable ones he had a right to have taken from -different battles and exploits of his extraordinary life. He was the -fleetest man in the tribe; "could run down a buffalo, which he had often -done on his own legs, and drive his arrow to the heart." - -This chief came to his death, several years later, in a tragic way. He -had been in some way the accidental cause of the death of his only son—a -very fine youth—and so great was the anguish of his mind at times that -he became insane. In one of these moods he mounted his favorite -war-horse, with his bow and arrows in his hand, and dashed off at full -speed upon the prairies, repeating the most solemn oath that he would -slay the first living thing that fell in his way, be it man or beast, -friend or foe. No one dared follow him, and after he had been absent an -hour or two his horse came back to the village with two arrows in its -body covered with blood. Fears of the most serious kind were now -entertained for the fate of the chief, and a party of warriors -immediately mounted their horses and retraced the animal's tracks to the -place of the tragedy, where they found the body of their chief horribly -mangled and gored by a buffalo-bull, whose carcass was stretched by the -side of him. - -A close examination of the ground was then made by the Indians, who -ascertained by the tracks that their unfortunate chief, under his -unlucky resolve, had met a buffalo-bull in the season when they are very -stubborn, and unwilling to run from any one, and had incensed the animal -by shooting a number of arrows into him, which had brought him into -furious combat. The chief had then dismounted and turned his horse -loose, having given it a couple of arrows from his bow, which sent it -home at full speed, and then had thrown away his bow and quiver, -encountering the infuriated animal with his knife alone, and the -desperate battle had resulted in the death of both. Many of the bones of -the chief were broken, and his huge antagonist lay dead by his side, -weltering in blood from a hundred wounds made by the chief's long and -two-edged knife. - -Had the provisions of these first treaties been fairly and promptly -carried out, there would have been living to-day among the citizens of -Minnesota thousands of Sioux families, good and prosperous farmers and -mechanics, whose civilization would have dated back to the treaty of -Prairie du Chien. - -In looking through the records of the expenditures of the Indian Bureau -for the six years following this treaty, we find no mention of any -specific provisions for the Sioux in the matter of education. The $3000 -annually which the treaty promised should be spent "on account of the -children of the said tribes and bands," is set down as expended on the -"Choctaw Academy," which was in Kentucky. A very well endowed -institution that must have been, if we may trust to the fiscal reports -of the Indian Bureau. In the year 1836 there were set down as expended -on this academy: On account of the Miamis, $2000; the Pottawattomies, -$5000; the Sacs, Foxes, and others, $3000; the Choctaws, $10,000; the -Creeks, east, $3000; the Cherokees, west, $2000; the Florida Indians, -$1000; the Quapaws, $1000; the Chickasaws, $3000; the Creeks, $1000: -being a total of $31,000. - -There were in this year one hundred and fifty-six pupils at the Choctaw -Academy, sixteen of them being from the Sacs, Foxes, Sioux, and others -represented in the Treaty of Prairie du Chien of 1830. For the education -of these sixteen children, therefore, these tribes paid $3000 a year. -The Miamis paid more in proportion, having but four youths at school, -and $2000 a year charged to them. The Pottawattomies, on a treaty -provision of $5000, educated twenty. - -In 1836 Congress appropriated $2000 "for the purpose of extinguishing -the Indian title between the State of Missouri and the Missouri River. -The land owned here by the Indians was a long, narrow belt of country, -separated from the rest of the Indian country by the Missouri River. The -importance of it to the State of Missouri was evident—an "obvious -convenience and necessity." The citizens of Missouri made -representations to this effect; and though the President is said to have -been "unwilling to assent, as it would be in disregard of the guarantee -given to the Indians in the Treaty of Prairie du Chien, and might be -considered by them as the first step in a series of efforts to obtain -possession of their new country," he nevertheless consented that the -question of such a cession should be submitted to them. Accordingly, -negotiations were opened, and nearly all the Indians who had rights in -these lands, "seeing that from their local position they could never be -made available for Indian purposes," relinquished them.[20] - -Footnote 20: - - For this relinquishment the Government gave to the Lower Sioux - presents to the amount of $400, and to the upper bands $530 in goods. - -In 1837 the Government invited deputations of chiefs from many of the -principal tribes to come to Washington. It was "believed to be important -to exhibit" to them "the strength of the nation they would have to -contend with" if they ventured to attack our borders, "and at the same -time to impress upon them the advantages which flow from civilization." -Among these chiefs came thirty chiefs and headmen of the Sioux; and, -being duly "impressed," as was most natural, concluded treaties by which -they ceded to the United States "all their land east of the Mississippi -River, and all their islands in the same." These chiefs all belonged to -the Medawakanton band, "community of the Mysterious Lakes." - -The price of this cession was $300,000, to be invested for them, and the -interest upon this sum, at five per cent., to be paid to them "annually -forever;" $110,000 to be distributed among the persons of mixed blood in -the tribe; $90,000 to be devoted to paying the just debts of the tribe; -$8230 to be expended annually for twenty years in stock, implements, on -physicians, farmers, blacksmiths, etc.; $10,000 worth of tools, cattle, -etc., to be given to them immediately, "to enable them to break up and -improve their lands;" $5300 to be expended annually for twenty years in -food for them, "to be delivered at the expense of the United States;" -$6000 worth of goods to be given to them on their arrival at St. Louis. - -In 1838 the Indian Bureau reports that all the stipulations of this -treaty have been complied with, "except those which appropriate $8230 to -be expended annually in the purchase of medicines, agricultural -implements, and stock; and for the support of a physician, farmers, and -blacksmiths," and "bind the United States to supply these Sioux as soon -as practicable with agricultural implements, tools, cattle, and such -other articles as may be useful to them, to an amount not exceeding -$10,000, to enable them to break up and improve their lands." The -fulfilment or non-fulfilment of these stipulations has been left to the -discretion of the agent; and the agent writes that it "must be obvious -to any one that a general personal intercourse" on his part "is -impracticable," and that "his interviews with many of the tribes must -result from casualty and accident." This was undoubtedly true; but it -did not, in all probability, occur to the Indians that it was a good and -sufficient reason for their not receiving the $18,000 worth of goods -promised. - -Five thousand seven hundred and eighty-nine dollars were expended the -next year under this provision of the treaty, and a few Indians, who -"all labored with the hoe," raised their own crops without assistance. -Six thousand bushels of corn in all were housed for the winter; but the -experiment of turning hunters into farmers in one year was thought not -to be, on the whole, an encouraging one. The "peculiar habits of -indolence, and total disregard and want of knowledge of the value and -uses of time and property," the agent says, "almost forbid hope." A more -reasonable view of the situation would have seen in it very great hope. -That out of five hundred warriors a few score should have been already -found willing to work was most reassuring, and promised well for the -future of the tribe. - -For the next ten years affairs went on badly with the Sioux; they were -continually attacked by the Chippewas, Ottawas, and others, and -continually retaliated. The authorities took a sensible view of this -state of things, as being the easiest way of securing the safety of the -whites. "So long as they (the Indians) are at war with each other they -will not feel a disposition to disturb the peace and safety of our -exposed frontier settlements," wrote Governor Dodge, in 1840. - -Whiskey traders flocked faster and faster into the neighborhood; fur -traders, also, found it much more for their interest to trade with -drunken Indians than with sober ones, and the Sioux grew rapidly -demoralized. Their annuities were in arrears; yet this almost seemed -less a misfortune than a blessing, since both money, goods, and -provisions were so soon squandered for whiskey. - -In 1842 several of the bands were reduced to a state of semi-starvation -by the failure of corn crops, and also by the failure of the Senate to -ratify a treaty they had made with Governor Doty in 1841.[21] Depending -on the annuities promised in this treaty, they had neglected to make -their usual provisions for the winter. Frosts, which came in June, and -drought, which followed in July, combined to ruin their crops. For -several years the water had been rapidly decreasing in all the lakes and -streams north-west of Traverse de Sioux: the musk-rat ponds, from which -the Indians used to derive considerable revenue, had dried up, and the -musk-rats had gone, nobody knew where; the beaver, otter, and other -furry creatures had been hunted down till they were hard to find; the -buffalo had long since been driven to new fields, far distant. Many of -the Indians were too poor to own horses on which to hunt. They were two -hundred miles from the nearest place where corn could be obtained, even -if they had money to pay for it. Except for some assistance from the -Government, they would have died by hundreds in the winter of this year. - -Footnote 21: - - Never ratified. - -In 1849 the "needs" of the white settlers on the east side of the -Mississippi made it imperative that the Sioux should be again removed -from their lands. "The desirable portions of Minnesota east of the -Mississippi were already so occupied by a white population as to seem to -render it absolutely necessary to obtain without delay a cession from -the Indians on the west side of the river, for the accommodation of our -citizens emigrating to that quarter, a large portion of whom would -probably be compelled to precipitate themselves on that side of the -Mississippi." - -Commissioners were accordingly sent to treat with the Indians owning -these desired lands. In the instructions given to these commissioners -there are some notable sentences: "Though the proposed purchase is -estimated to contain some twenty millions of acres, and some of it no -doubt of excellent quality," there are "sound reasons why it is -comparatively valueless to the Indians, and a large price should not be -paid for it." Alive to the apparent absurdity of the statement that -lands which are "absolutely necessary" for white farmers are -"comparatively valueless" to Indians whom the Government is -theoretically making every effort to train into farmers, and who have -for the last ten years made appreciable progress in that direction, the -commissioner adds, "With respect to its being valuable to the United -States, it is more so for the purpose of making room for our emigrating -citizens than for any other; and only a small part of it is now actually -necessary for that object. *** The extent of the proposed cession should -be no criterion of the amount that should be paid for it. On a full -consideration of the whole matter, it is the opinion of this office that -from two to two and a half cents an acre would be an ample equivalent -for it." Some discretion is left to the commissioners as to giving more -than this if the Indians are "not satisfied;" but any such increase of -price must be "based on such evidence and information as shall fully -satisfy the President and Senate."[22] - -Footnote 22: - - "Chrysostom was of opinion, and not without reason, that, in - contracts, as often as we strive earnestly to buy anything for less - than it is worth, or to have more than our just measure or weight, - there was in that fact a kind of theft."—GROTIUS _on Contracts_. - -Reading farther on in these instructions, we come at last to the real -secret of this apparent niggardliness on the part of the Government. It -is not selfishness at all; it is the purest of philanthropy. The -Government has all along been suffering in mind from two conflicting -desires—"the desire to give these Indians an equivalent for their -possessions," and, on the other hand, "the well-ascertained fact that no -greater curse can be inflicted on a tribe so little civilized as the -Sioux than to have large sums of money coming to them as annuities." *** -On the whole, the commissioner says that we are called on, "as a matter -of humanity and duty toward this helpless race, to make every exertion -in our power not to place much money at their discretion." The -Government is beginning very well in this direction, it must be -admitted, when it proposes to pay for Mississippi Valley lands in -Minnesota only two and a half cents per acre. "Humanity and duty" allied -could hardly do more at one stroke than that. - -We cannot ascribe to the same philanthropy, however, the withholding -from 1837 to 1850 the $3000 a year which the treaty of 1837 provided -should be expended "annually" as the President might direct, and which -was not expended at all, because President after President directed that -it should be applied to educational purposes; and there being no evident -and easy way of expending it in that manner, it was allowed to -accumulate, until in 1850 it amounted, according to the report of -Governor Ramsey, of Minnesota, to $50,000. The governor also thinks -better than the United States Government does of the country to be -relinquished this year by the Sioux. He says that it will be "settled -with great rapidity, possessing as it does from its situation -considerable prospective commercial as well as agricultural advantages." -It was evidently very cheap at two and a half cents an acre. - -In this same code of instructions by the Indian Bureau there is a record -of another instance of the Government's disregard of treaty -stipulations. At the time of the treaty of Prairie du Chien, in 1850, -the Sioux chiefs had requested that a certain tract be set apart and -bestowed upon the half-breeds of their nation. This was provided for in -the ninth Article of that treaty; but the Government refused to give to -the half-breeds any title to this land, except "in the same manner as -other Indian titles are held." It was agreed, however, that the -President might "assign to any of said half-breeds, to be held by him or -them in fee-simple, any portion of said tract not exceeding a section of -six hundred and forty acres to an individual." This tract of land was -known as the "Half-breed Reservation on Lake Tepin." - -The half-breeds had made almost unintermitting efforts to have these -assignments made, but the Government had as constantly refused to do it. -The Indian Bureau now assigns two reasons why this treaty stipulation -was never fulfilled: 1st, that "the half-breeds, or most of them, would -be speculated upon by designing persons, and cheated out of their -reservations;" 2d, that, "on account of the quality of the lands, some -would necessarily have much better reservations than others, which would -engender dissatisfaction and heart-burning among themselves as well as -against the United States." The Bureau felicitates itself that "the only -title they now have to this land, therefore, is that by which other -Indians hold their lands, viz., the occupant or usufruct right, and this -they enjoy by the permission of the United States." Such being the case, -and as the Government would probably never find it expedient and -advisable to make the assignment referred to, this tract, whatever may -be the character of the land, must be and would continue comparatively -worthless to them. - -Nevertheless, it appears that in 1841 one of the three treaties made -with the Sioux, but not ratified, was with these very half-breeds for -this same "valueless" tract of 384,000 acres of land; that they were to -be paid $200,000 for it, and also to be paid for all the improvements -they had made on it; and that the treaty commissioners are still -instructed "to allow them for it now whatever sum the commissioners deem -it to be" fairly worth; "under no circumstances," however, "to exceed -the sum stipulated in 1841." Putting this all into plain English, it -simply means that in 1830 the Government promised to let a band of men -take out tracts of land in fee-simple, and settle down like other men on -their homesteads; that for ten years the men begged to do so, and were -refused; that at the end of ten years, thinking there was no hope of -anything better, they agreed to sell the whole tract back to the -Government for $200,000; that this bargain, also, the Government did not -fulfil (the treaties never being ratified), and nine years later was -found congratulating itself on the fact that, by reason of all these -unfulfilled agreements, the land was still "held only in the same manner -as other Indian titles are held"—_i.e._, not "held" at all—only used on -sufferance of the Government, and could be taken possession of at any -time at the Government's pleasure. (This matter was supposed to be -finally settled in 1854 by a law of Congress; but in 1856 the thing -appears to have been still unsettled. A commission had been sent out to -investigate it, and the report was that "the subject has been one of -some difficulty and intricacy; but the final report of the commissioners -has just been received, and steps will be taken at once to cause the -scrip to issue to the parties entitled thereto.") - -A little farther on in this same notable document is a mention of -another tract, of which it is now "desirable to extinguish the title." -This was set apart by the tenth Article of that same old treaty for the -half-breeds of the Omahas, Otoes, Iowas, and Yankton and Santee Sioux. -This contains about 143,000 acres, but is "supposed to be of much less -value than that on Lake Tepin much less value than 'valueless;'" but the -"amount to be paid for it is left to the discretion" of the -commissioners. - -At this time the bands of the Medewakanton Sioux were occupying a tract -of over two hundred miles along the west shore of the Mississippi, -reaching also some twenty-five miles up the St. Peter's. The Yanktons, -Santees, and other bands lived high up the St. Peter's, reaching over -into the lands west of the Missouri, out of reach of ordinary facilities -of intercourse. These bands were often in great distress for food, owing -to the failure of the buffalo. They never lost an occasion to send -imploring messages to the Great Father, urging him to help them. They -particularly ask for hoes, that they may plant corn. In his report for -1850 the superintendent of the territory embracing these Indians says: -"The views of most of those who have lived the longest among the Indians -agree in one respect—that is, that no great or beneficial change can -take place in their condition until the General Government has made them -amenable to local laws—laws which will punish the evil-disposed, and -secure the industrious in their property and individual rights." - -Superintendents, agents, commissioners, secretaries, all reiteratedly -recommending this one simple and necessary step toward civilization—the -Indians themselves by hundreds imploring for titles to their farms, or -at least "hoes"—why did the United States Government keep on and on in -its obstinate way, feeding the Indian in gross and reckless improvidence -with one hand, plundering him with the other, and holding him steadily -down at the level of his own barbarism? Nay, forcing him below it by the -newly added vices of gambling and drunkenness, and yet all the while -boasting of its desire to enlighten, instruct, and civilize him. It is -as inexplicable as it is infamous: a phenomenal thing in the history of -the world. - -In the summer of 1851 the desired treaties were made, the upper and -lower bands of Sioux being treated with separately at Traverse de Sioux -and at Mendota. The upper bands were soon disposed of, though "some few -of them, having been taught to read," had become impressed with the idea -that their country was of immense value, and at first demanded six -million dollars for the lands to be ceded. The treaty with the lower -bands—the Medawakantons and Wahpacootas—was "exceedingly difficult of -attainment" on account of, firstly, "their proximity to the flourishing -settlements on the east side of the Mississippi producing necessarily -frequent contact with the whites, whose ideas of the great value of the -country had been imparted to these Indians; secondly, their great -experience in Indian diplomacy, being in the enjoyment already of -liberal annuities under former stipulations"—all these things rendered -them as "indifferent to the making of another treaty at present as the -whites on their borders were anxious that their lands should be -acquired." In consequence of this indomitable common-sense on the part -of the Indians the sessions of the commissioners were tedious and long; -not until a month had passed did they prevail on these Indians to sign -away the coveted lands, "the garden-spot of the Mississippi Valley," and -they were obliged to more than treble the number of cents per acre which -they had been instructed to pay. For thirty-five millions of acres of -land they agreed to pay nominally $3,075,000, which would be between -eight and nine cents an acre. But as $2,500,000 was to be held in trust, -and only the interest at five per cent, to be paid to the Indians, and -this only for the term of fifty years, at which time the principal was -to revert to the Government, it will be easily reckoned that the Indians -would receive, all told, only about six and one-quarter cents an acre. -And taking into account the great value of the relinquished lands, and -the price the Government would undoubtedly obtain for them, it will be -readily conceded that Governor Ramsey was not too sanguine when he -stated, in his report to the Interior Department, that the "actual cost -to the Government of this magnificent purchase is only the sum paid in -hand" ($575,000). - -The governor says that it was "by no means the purpose" of the -commission "to act other than justly and generously toward the Indians;" -that "a continuation of the payment of large sums of interest annually -would do them no further good "after fifty years had expired, and would -be "inconsistent with sound governmental policy." He says that the -Dakota nation, although warlike, is "friendly to the whites," and that -it may be reasonably expected that, "by a judicious expenditure of the -civilization and improvement funds provided for in these treaties," they -will soon take the lead "in agriculture and other industrial pursuits." - -One of the provisions of this treaty forbade the introduction of ardent -spirits into the new reservation. This was put in in accordance with the -"earnest desire" of the chiefs, who requested that "some stringent -measures should be taken by the Government to exclude all kinds of -liquors from their new home." - -By this treaty the four great bands of Minnesota Sioux were all to be -"consolidated together on one reservation in the upper part of the -Mississippi Valley." This region was thought to be "sufficiently remote -to guarantee" them against any pressure from the white population for -many years to come. Farms were to be opened for them, mills and schools -to be established, and dwelling-houses erected. They were to have now a -chance to own "that domestic country called home, with all the living -sympathies and all the future hopes and projects which people it." From -this time "a new era was to be dated in the history of the Dakotas: an -era full of brilliant promise." The tract of territory relinquished by -them was "larger than the State of New York, fertile and beautiful -beyond description," far the best part of Minnesota. It is "so far -diversified in natural advantages that its productive powers may be -considered almost inexhaustible. *** Probably no tract on the surface of -the globe is equally well watered. *** A large part is rich arable land; -portions are of unsurpassed fertility, and eminently adapted to the -production in incalculable quantities of the cereal grains. The -boundless plains present inexhaustible fields of pasturage, and the -river bottoms are richer than the banks of the Nile. In the bowels of -the earth there is every indication of extensive mineral fields." - -It would seem that the assertion made only a few lines before this -glowing paragraph—"to the Indians themselves the broad regions which -have been ceded are of inconsiderable value"—could not be true. It would -seem that for eight thousand people, who, according to this same writer, -"have outlived in a great degree the means of subsistence of the hunter -state," and must very soon "resort to the pursuits of agriculture," -nothing could have been more fortunate than to have owned and occupied -thirty-five millions of acres of just such land as this. - -They appear to be giving already some evidence of a disposition to turn -this land to account. The reports from the different farms and schools -show progress in farming industry and also in study. The farming is -carried on with difficulty, because there are only a few carts and -ploughs, which must be used in turn by the different farmers, and -therefore must come to some quite too late to be of use, and there is -much quarrelling among them owing to this trouble. Nevertheless, these -bands have raised over four thousand bushels of corn in the year. There -is also a great opposition to the schools, because the Indians have been -told that the accumulated fifty thousand dollars which is due to them -would be paid to them in cash if it were not for the schools. -Nevertheless, education is slowly progressing; in this year fifty copies -of a little missionary paper called _The Dakota Friend_ were subscribed -for in the one mission station of Lac qui Parle, and sixty scholars were -enrolled at the school. The blacksmith at St. Peter's reports that he -has made during the year 2506 pieces of one sort and another for the -Indians, and repaired 1430 more. Evidently a community keeping -blacksmiths so busy as this are by no means wholly idle themselves. - -It is worth while to dwell upon these seemingly trivial details at this -point in the history of the Minnesota Sioux, because they are all -significant to mark the point in civilization they had already reached, -and the disposition they had already shown toward industry before they -were obliged to submit to their first great removal. Their condition at -the end of two years from the ratification of these treaties is curtly -told in the official reports of the Indian Bureau: - -"The present situation of that portion of the Sioux Indians parties to -the treaties of July 23d and August 5th, 1851, is peculiar, unfortunate, -and to them must prove extremely injurious. By these treaties they -reluctantly parted with a very large extent of valuable country, which -it was of the greatest importance to the Government to acquire. An -insignificant portion of it near its western boundary, not deemed -necessary or desirable for a white population for many years, if at all, -was agreed to be reserved and assigned to them for their future -residence. The Senate amended the treaties, striking out this provision, -allowing ten cents an acre in lieu of the reservations, and requiring -the President, with the assent of the Indians, if they agreed to the -amendments, to assign them such tracts of country, beyond the limits of -that ceded, as might be satisfactory for their future home. To the -amendments was appended a proviso 'that the President may, by the -consent of the Indians, vary the conditions aforesaid, if deemed -expedient.' The Indians were induced to agree to the amendments; -'confiding in the justice, liberality, and humanity of the President and -the Congress of the United States, that such tracts of country will be -set apart for their future occupancy and home as will be to them -acceptable and satisfactory.' Thus, not only was the assent of the -Indians made necessary to a country being assigned to them without the -limits of that ceded, but, by the authority given to the President to -vary the conditions of the amendments to the treaties, he was empowered, -with the consent of the Indians, to place them upon the designated -reservations, or upon any other portion of the ceded territory, 'if -deemed expedient.' - -"To avoid collisions and difficulties between the Indians and the white -population which rapidly commenced pouring into the ceded country, it -became necessary that the former should vacate at least a large portion -of it without delay, while there was neither the time nor the means to -make the requisite explorations to find a suitable location for them -beyond the limits of the cession. - -"Under these pressing and embarrassing circumstances the late President -determined to permit them to remain five years on the designated -reservations, if they were willing to accept this alternative. They -assented, and many of them have been already removed. However -unavoidable this arrangement, it is a most unfortunate one. The Indians -are fully aware of its temporary character, and of the uncertainty as to -their future position, and will consequently be disinclined and deterred -from any efforts to make themselves comfortable and improve their -condition. The inevitable result must be that, at the end of the time -limited, they will be in a far worse condition than now, and the efforts -and expenditures of years to infuse into them a spirit of improvement -will all have been in vain. - -"The large investments in mills, farms, mechanic shops, and other -improvements required by the treaties to be made for their benefit, will -be entirely wasted if the Indians are to remain on their reservations -only during the prescribed five years. At the very period when they -would begin to reap the full advantage of these beneficial provisions -they would have to remove. Another unfortunate feature of this -arrangement, if temporary, is that the Indians will have expended the -considerable sums set apart in the treaties for the expenses of their -removal to a permanent home, and for subsistence until they could -otherwise provide it, leaving nothing for these important and necessary -purposes in the event of another emigration. In view of these facts and -considerations, no time should be lost in determining upon some final -and permanent arrangement in regard to them." - -The Governor of Minnesota also writes at this time: "The doubtful tenure -by which this tribe hold their supposed reservation is well understood -by their chiefs and headmen, and is beginning to give deep -dissatisfaction, and throwing daily more and more obstacles in the way -of their removal. This reservation will not be wanted for white men for -many years. - -"There is not wood, or timber, or coal sufficient for the purposes of -civilization, except immediately on the St. Peter's and its tributaries. -From near the vicinity of the new agency there commences a vast prairie -of more than one hundred miles in extent, entirely destitute of timber, -and I feel confident that we never shall be able to keep any very large -number of them at their new agency, or near there. - -"Already the fund set apart for the removal and subsistence the first -year of the Sissetons and Wah-pa-tons has been expended, and all their -provisions eaten up. Seventeen thousand dollars and upward have been -expended by Governor Ramsey, and one year in advance of the time fixed -by the treaty for their removal. This expenditure was made while he was -getting them to sign the Senate amendments to the treaty of 1851, which -they were very reluctant to do, and which not more than half the chiefs -have signed. These Indians want the Government to confirm this -reservation to them. I would recommend that this be done as the only -means to satisfy them, and humanity demands it." - -Here is a picture of a helpless people! Forced to give up the -"garden-spot of the State," and accept in its stead an "insignificant -tract, on the greater part of which there is not wood, or timber, or -coal sufficient for civilization;" and then, before the ink of this -treaty is dry, told that even from this insignificant tract they must -promise to move at the end of five years. What words could characterize -such a transaction between man and man? There is not a country, a -people, a community in which it would be even attempted! Was it less -base, or more, being between a strong government and a feeble race? - -From the infamy of accomplishing this purpose the United States was -saved. Remonstrances, and still more the resistance of the Indians, -prevailed, and in 1854 we find the poor creatures expressing "much -satisfaction" that the President has decreed that they are to remain -permanently on their "insignificant tract." - -The Upper Missouri Sioux are still suffering and destitute; a few of -them cultivating little patches of ground, depending chiefly on the -chase, and on roots and wild berries; when these resources fail there is -nothing left for them but to starve, or to commit depredations on white -settlers. Some of the bands, nevertheless, have scrupulously observed -the stipulations of the Fort Laramie treaty in 1851, show a "strong -desire for improvement," and are on the most friendly terms with the -whites. These peaceable and friendly bands are much distressed, as well -they may be, at the reckless course pursued by others of their tribe. -They welcome the presence of the soldiers sent to chastise the -offenders, and gladly render all the service to them they can, even -against their relatives and friends. - -In 1855 it is stated that "various causes have combined to prevent the -Minnesota Sioux from deriving, heretofore, much substantial benefit from -the very liberal provisions of the treaties of 1851. Until after the -reservations were permanently assured to the Indians (1854) it would -have been highly improper to have made the expenditures for permanent -improvements, and since then the affairs of the agency have not been -free from confusion." - -"Large sums of money have been expended for these Sioux, but they have -been indolent, extravagant, intemperate, and have wasted their means -without improving, or seeming to desire to improve their condition." - -Both these statements are made in grave good faith; certainly without -any consciousness of their bearing on each other. It is not stated, -however, what specific means the Sioux could have employed "to improve -their condition," had they "desired" to do so. - -The summer of 1857 was one which will long be remembered by the citizens -of Minnesota. It was opened by terrible massacres, which were all the -work of a strolling outcast band of Sioux, not more than fifteen in -number. They had been driven out of their tribe some sixteen years -previous, and had been ever since then leading a wandering and marauding -life. The beginning of the trouble was a trivial difficulty between one -of the white settlers on Rock River and an Indian. The settler's dog bit -the Indian, and the Indian shot the dog. For this the white settlers -beat the Indian severely, and then went to the camp and by force took -away all the guns of the band. This was at a season of the year when to -be without guns meant simply to be without food, and the Indians were -reduced at once to a condition of great suffering. By some means they -either repossessed themselves of their guns or procured others, and, -attacking the settlement, killed all the inhabitants except four women, -whom they carried away with them, and treated with the utmost barbarity. -The inevitable results of such horrors followed. The thousands of -peaceable Indians in Minnesota, who did not even know of this outrage, -were all held in one common terror and hatred by the general public; -only the very great firmness and discretion of the military officers -sent to deal with the outbreak saved Minnesota from a general uprising -and attack from all the Sioux bands, who were already in a state of -smouldering discontent by reason of the non-payment of their annuities. -However, they obeyed the demands of the Government that they themselves -should pursue this offending band, and either capture or exterminate it. -They killed four, and took three prisoners, and then returned "much -jaded and worn," and said they could do no more without the help of -United States soldiers; and that they thought they had now done enough -to show their loyalty, and to deserve the payment of their annuities. -One of the chiefs said: "The man who killed white people did not belong -to us, and we did not expect to be called to account for the people of -another band. We have always tried to do as our Great Father tells us." -Another said: "I am going to speak of the treaty. For fifty years we -were to be paid $50,000 per annum. We were also promised $300,000 that -we have not seen. I wish to say to my Great Father we were promised -these things, but have not seen them yet. Why does not the Great Father -do as he promised?" - -These hostilities were speedily brought to an end, yet the situation was -by no means reassuring for the Indians. But one sentiment seemed to -inspire the whole white population, and this was the desire to -exterminate the entire Indian race. - -"For the present," writes the superintendent, "it is equally important -to protect the Indians from the whites as the whites from the Indians -and this in spite of the fact that all the leading bands of the treaty -Sioux had contributed warriors to go in pursuit of the murderers, had -killed or captured all they could find, and stood ready to go again -after the remaining eight, if the United States troops would go also and -assist them. Spite of the exertions of one of the chiefs of the Lower -Sioux, "Little Crow," who, the superintendent says, labored with him -"night and day in organizing the party, riding continually between the -lower and upper agencies," so that they "scarcely slept" till the -war-party had set out on the track of the murderers; spite of the fact -that the whole body of the Sioux, without exception, "received the -intelligence with as much indignation and disapprobation as the whites -themselves, and did their best to stand clear of any suspicion of or -connection with the affair—spite of all this, they were in continual -danger of being shot at sight by the terrified and unreasoning settlers. -One band, under the chief Sleepy Eyes, were returning to their homes -from a hunt; and while they were "wondering what the panic among the -whites meant" (they having heard nothing of the massacre), were fired -into by some of the militia volunteers. - -The next day a white settler was found killed near that spot—presumably -by some member of Sleepy Eyes' band. This excitement slowly abated, and -for the next four years a steady improvement was visible in the -Minnesota Sioux. Hundreds of them threw aside the blanket—the -distinctive badge of their wild state; schools were well attended, and -farms were well tilled. That there was great hostility to this -civilization, on the part of the majority of the tribe, cannot be -denied; but that was only natural—the inevitable protest of a -high-spirited and proud race against abandoning all its race -distinctions. When we see the men of Lorraine, or of Montenegro, ready -to die for the sake merely of being called by the name of one power -rather than by that of another, we find it heroic, and give them our -sympathies; but when the North American Indian is ready to die rather -than wear the clothes and follow the ways of the white man, we feel for -him only unqualified contempt, and see in his instinct nothing more than -a barbarian's incapacity to appreciate civilization. Is this just? - -In 1861 the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, visiting these Sioux, -reports: "I was much surprised to find so many of the Sioux Indians -wearing the garb of civilization, many of them living in frame or brick -houses, some of them with stables or out-houses, and their fields -indicating considerable knowledge of agriculture. Their condition," he -says, "affords abundant evidence of what may be accomplished among the -Sioux Indians by steadily adhering to a uniform, undeviating policy. - -"The number that live by agricultural pursuits is yet small compared -with the whole; but their condition is so much better than that of the -wild Indian, that they, too, are becoming convinced that it is the -better way to live; and many are coming in, asking to have their hair -cut, and for a suit of clothes, and to be located on a piece of land -where they can build a house and fence in their fields." - -Many more of them would have entered on the agricultural life had the -Government provided ways and means for them to do so. In this same -report is a mention of one settlement of two thousand Indians at Big -Stone Lake, who "have been hitherto almost entirely neglected. These -people complain that they have lived upon promises for the last ten -years, and are really of opinion that white men never perform what they -promise. Many of them would go to work if they had any reasonable -encouragement." - -The annuities are still in arrears. Every branch of the industries and -improvements attempted suffers for want of the promised funds, and from -delays in payments expected. The worst result, however, of these delays -in the fulfilment of treaty stipulations was the effect on the Indians. -A sense of wrong in the past and distrust for the future was ever -deepening in their minds, and preparing them to be suddenly thrown by -any small provocation into an antagonism and hostility grossly -disproportionate to the apparent cause. This was the condition of the -Minnesota Sioux in the summer of 1862.[23] - -Footnote 23: - - See Appendix, Art. VI. - -The record of the massacres of that summer is scarcely equalled in the -history of Indian wars. Early in August some bands of the Upper Sioux, -who had been waiting at their agency nearly two months for their annuity -payments, and had been suffering greatly for food during that time—so -much so that "they dug up roots to appease their hunger, and when corn -was turned out to them they devoured it uncooked, like wild -animals"—became desperate, broke into the Government warehouse, and took -some of the provisions stored there. This was the real beginning of the -outbreak, although the first massacre was not till the 18th. When that -began, the friendly Indians were powerless to resist—in fact, they were -threatened with their lives if they did not join. Nevertheless, some of -them rescued whole families, and carried them to places of safety; -others sheltered and fed women and children in their own lodges; many -fled, leaving all their possessions behind—as much victims of the -outbreak as the Minnesota people themselves. For three days the hostile -bands, continually re-enforced, went from settlement to settlement, -killing and plundering. A belt of country nearly two hundred miles in -length and about fifty in width was entirely abandoned by the -population, who flocked in panic to the towns and forts. Nearly a -thousand were killed—men, women, and children—and nameless outrages were -committed on many. Millions of dollars' worth of property were -destroyed. The outbreak was quickly quelled by military force, and a -large number of Indians captured. Many voluntarily surrendered, bringing -with them over two hundred whites that they had taken prisoners. A -military commission tried these Indians, and sentenced over three -hundred to be hung. All but thirty-nine were reprieved and put into -prison. The remainder were moved to Dakota, to a barren desert, where -for three years they endured sufferings far worse than death. The -remainder escaped to the Upper Missouri region or to Canada.[24] - -Footnote 24: - - All the Winnebagoes were removed from Minnesota at the same time. - -Minnesota, at a terrible cost to herself and to the United States -Government, was at last free from the presence of Indians within her -borders—Indians who were her enemies only because they had been treated -with injustice and bad faith. - -During this time the bands of Sioux in the Upper Missouri region had -been more or less hostile, and military force in continual requisition -to subdue them. Re-enforced by the Minnesota refugees, they became more -hostile still, and in the summer of 1863 were in almost incessant -conflict. In 1864 the Governor of Dakota Territory writes to the -Department that the war is spreading into Nebraska and Kansas, and that -if provision is not made for the loyal treaty Indians in that region -before long, they also will join the hostiles. One band of the Sioux—the -Yanktons—has been persistently loyal, and rendered great service through -all the troubles. Fifty of these Yankton Sioux had been organized by -General Sibley into a company of scouts, and had proved "more effective -than twice the number of white soldiers." The only cost to the -Government "of this service on the part of the Yanktons had been fifty -suits of condemned artillery uniforms, arms, and rations in part to the -scouts themselves." - -In 1865 the Government, having spent about $40,000,000 on these -campaigns, began to cast about for cheaper, if not more humane methods, -and, partly at the instance of the Governor of Dakota, who knew very -well that the Indians desired peace, sent out a commission to treat with -them. There were now, all told, some 14,000 Sioux in this region, nearly -2000 being the refugees from Minnesota. - -The report of this commission is full of significant statements. There -seems to be no doubt that the great majority of the Indians are anxious -for peace; but they are afraid to meet the agents of the Government, -lest they be in some way betrayed. Such bands as are represented, -however, gladly assent to a treaty of peace and good-will. The -commissioners speak with great feeling of the condition of the loyal -Yanktons. "No improvements have been made on their lands, and the -commissioners were obliged to issue provisions to them to keep them from -starving. *** No crops met the eye, nor is there the semblance of a -school-house." - -Yet by Article four of the treaty with the Yankton Sioux the United -States Government had agreed to expend $10,000 in erecting a suitable -building or buildings, and to establish and maintain one or more normal -labor schools; and it is to be read in the United States Statutes at -Large that in each of the years 1860, 1861, 1862, and 1863, Congress -appropriated $65,000, as per treaty, for the benefit of the Yankton -Sioux. - -"With the exception of a few miserable huts, a saw-mill, and a small -amount of land enclosed, there are few vestiges of improvement. *** They -are reduced to the necessity of hunting for a living, and, unless soon -reassured and encouraged, they will be driven to despair, and the great -discontent existing among them will culminate in another formidable -Indian war." - -Nine treaties were concluded by this commission with as many different -bands of Sioux, the Indians pledging themselves to abstain from all -hostilities with each other and with the whites, and the Government -agreeing to pay to the Indians fifteen dollars a head per annum, and to -all who will settle down to farming twenty-five dollars a head. - -In the winter following these treaties all these Indians faithfully kept -their promises, in spite of terrible sufferings from cold and from lack -of food. Some of them were at the old Crow Creek Reservation in Dakota, -where they were "kept from absolute starvation only by the issue to them -of such scanty supplies as could be spared from the stores at Fort -Sully, and from the agency." It is much to the credit of these Indians -that, in spite of their manifold sufferings, scarcely a case of stealing -occurred among them, they being determined to keep their faith to the -Government. - -"They will run like chickens to gather the offal from the slop buckets -that are carried from the garrison kitchens; while they pass a pile of -corn and hundreds of loose cattle without touching a thing, except when -told they may gather up the grains of corn from the ground where the -rats in their depredations have let it fall from the sacks," says the -report of one of the commissioners. - -In the summer of 1865 still further treaties were concluded with the -Indians of the plains, and all the Sioux, with the exception of those in -the British possessions, were now pledged to peace. This summer also saw -the first recognition on the part of the Government of its flagrant -injustice toward the friendly Minnesota Sioux who were moved to Crow -Creek, Dakota, at the time of the massacre. There were nearly one -thousand of these—mostly old men, women, and children—many of them the -widows and children of those who had been hung or were in prison at -Davenport. For three years they had been "quiet and patient in their -sufferings." - -The two hundred prisoners in Davenport had also shown "an excellent -disposition and entire submission," although many of them were known and -proved to have been "absolutely guiltless of any acts of hostility; and -not only this, but deserving of reward for the rescue of white -captives." Certificates, petitions, and letters showing these facts were -forwarded from Iowa to the Department, but the commissioner says, in his -report for 1866, that "they have been mislaid in their passage through -the various departments, and cannot be found!" - -There was still another class of these Indians deserving of help from -the Government—some two hundred and fifty friendly farmer Indians, who -were living in 1862 quietly on their farms, "who have acted as scouts -for the Government; who never committed any acts of hostility, nor fled -with those who did commit them," and have still remained friendly -through these four years, "while compelled to a vagabond life by the -indiscriminate confiscation of all their land and property." - -"The crops belonging to these farmer Indians were valued at $125,000, -and they had large herds of stock of all kinds, fine farms, and -improvements. The United States troops engaged in suppressing the -massacre, also the prisoners taken by them—in all, some 3500 men—lived -for fifty days on this property." - -Strong efforts were made by Bishop Whipple and others to obtain from the -Government some aid for these friendly Indians, and the sum of $7500 was -appropriated by Congress for that purpose. The letter of Bishop Whipple, -who was requested to report on the division of this sum, is so eloquent -a summing up of the case of these Indians, that it ought to be placed on -permanent record in the history of our country. He writes: - -"There is positive injustice in the appropriation of so miserable a -pittance. *** A much larger sum would not pay the amount which we -honestly owe these men. The Government was the trustee of the Upper and -Lower Sioux. It held several millions of dollars for their benefit—the -joint property of the tribes. These friendly Sioux had abandoned their -wild life, and adopted the dress, habits, and customs of civilization; -and in doing this, which placed them in open opposition to the -traditions of their tribes, they were pledged the protection of the -Government. By a mistaken policy, by positive neglect to provide a -government, by the perversion of funds due them for the sale of one-half -their reservations, by withholding their annuities until two months -after they were due (which was caused by the use of a part of these -funds for claims), by permitting other causes of dissatisfaction to go -on unheeded, we provoked the hostility of the wild Indians, and it went -on until it ripened in massacre. These farmer Indians had been pledged a -patent for their farms: unless we violated our solemn pledge, these -lands were theirs by a title as valid as any title could be. They had -large crops, sufficient to support General Sibley's army for a number of -weeks. They lost all they had—crops, stock, clothing, furniture. In -addition to this, they were deprived of their share in these annuities, -and for four years have lived in very great suffering. You can judge -whether $5000 shall be deemed a just reward[25] for the bravery and -fidelity of men who, at the risk of their own lives, were instrumental -in saving white captives, and maintained their friendship to the whites. - -Footnote 25: - - Two thousand five hundred of the seven thousand five hundred dollars - had been especially set aside by the Government (unjust in its rewards - as in its punishments) for Chief Other Day, who was really less - deserving than many others. - -"I submit to you, sir, and through you hope to reach all who fear God -and love justice, whether the very least we can do for all the friendly -Sioux is not to fulfil the pledges we made years ago, and give to each -of them a patent of eighty acres of land, build them a house, and -provide them cattle, seeds, and implements of husbandry?" - -In 1866 all these Sioux were removed, and, in spite of the protestations -of the Nebraska citizens, settled on reservations on the Niobrara River, -in Northern Nebraska. It soon became evident that this place was -undesirable for a reservation, both on account of its previous occupancy -by the whites and scarcity of timber. - -In the fall they removed again to the mouth of Bazile Creek. Temporary -buildings were again erected, and here they spent the winters of 1866 -and 1867. In February they were cheered by the invitation sent their -chiefs and headmen to visit Washington. They went, feeling sure that -they should get a home for themselves and people. "All they got was a -promise that a commission should be sent out to visit them the next -year." They were told, however, to move to Breckenridge, on the west -bank of the Missouri, plant crops there, and were promised that, if they -liked the place, they should have it "secured to them as a permanent -home." Accordingly, the "agency buildings" were once more removed, and -two hundred acres of land were planted. Before the crops were harvested -the commission arrived, and urged the Indians to move farther up the -Missouri. The Indians being averse to this, however, they were allowed -to remain, and told that if they would cultivate the soil like white -men—take lands in severalty—the Government would assist them. The -Indians gladly consented to this, and signed a treaty to that effect. -But in 1868 their agent writes: "That treaty is not yet ratified, and, -instead of assistance to open farms, their appropriation has been cut -down one half. After paying for supplies purchased on credit last year, -it is entirely insufficient for clothing and subsistence, and leaves -nothing for opening farms, procuring cattle," etc. These Indians, only -five years previous, had been living on good farms, and had $125,000 -worth of stock, implements, etc. No wonder their agent writes: "Leave -them without a home a few years longer, and you offer strong inducements -for them to become idle and worthless." - -It is an intricate and perplexing task to attempt now to follow the -history of the different bands of the Sioux tribe through all their -changes of location and affiliation—some in Dakota, some in Nebraska, -and some on the Upper Arkansas with the hostile Cheyennes and -Arapahoes—signing treaties one summer, and on the war-path the -next—promised a home in spring, and ordered off it before harvest—all -the time more and more hemmed in by white settlers, and more and more -driven out of their buffalo ranges by emigrations—liable at any time to -have bodies of United States soldiers swoop down on them and punish -whole bands for depredations committed by a handful of men, perhaps of a -totally distinct band—the wonder is not that some of them were hostile -and vindictive, but that any of them remained peaceable and friendly. -Bandied about from civil authorities to military—the War Department -recommending "that all Indians not on fixed reservations be considered -at war," and proceeded against accordingly, and the Interior Department -neglecting to provide them with "fixed reservations," or to define or -enforce the boundaries of even their temporary reservations—tricked, -cheated on all sides—starving half the time—there is not a tribe of all -the persecuted tribes of Indians that has a more piteous record than the -Sioux. Nevertheless, we find many of the bands, in 1870, advancing in -civilization. In the Yankton band nearly one hundred children are in -school, and eight hundred acres of land are under cultivation. The Lower -Yanktons are peaceful and quiet, although they are near the Brulés, who -are always roving and hostile. The Sissetons and Wahpetons, who were by -a treaty of 1867 placed on reservations in Dakota, are "industrious, and -fast advancing in agricultural pursuits." Four schools are in operation -among them. The Yanktons are "anxious to farm, and state that the -Government has promised to assist and teach them to farm; that they are -and have been ready for some time, but as yet the agent has not received -any instructions or funds to permit of their accomplishing their -desire." - -Two events, important in the history of the Sioux tribe, happened in -1869 and 1870. One was the visit of a delegation of chiefs and headmen -from several of the bands, under the leadership of the chief Red Cloud, -to Washington, Philadelphia, and New York. They had thus an opportunity -of relating all their grievances, and of receiving the Government's -declarations of good intentions toward them. Red Cloud, after his return -home, became an ardent and determined advocate of peace and loyalty. The -other was the withdrawal of a portion of the Santee Sioux from their -band, for the purpose of taking up farms under the Homestead Act, and -becoming independent citizens. The story of this experiment, and the -manner in which it was met by the United States Government, is best told -in the words of Dr. Williamson, a missionary, who had lived thirty-five -years among them, and who pleaded thus warmly for them in a letter -addressed to the Department in the summer of 1870: "Several -considerations have influenced the Dakotas in going to the Big Sioux -River: 1st. The soil and climate are more similar to that to which they -have been accustomed in Minnesota, their former home, than is that of -their reservation on the Missouri; 2d. Feeling that they were men -capable of sustaining themselves if a fair opportunity is afforded them, -they felt that it was degrading to live as sinecures and pensioners -dependent on Government for food and clothing; 3d. And chiefly a desire -to make homes for their families where they could be subjected to, and -protected by, the laws of the United States, the same as all other men -are. This they thought could not be the case on their reservation. - -"These Sioux were parties to the treaties made in 1851, by which they -and other bands ceded to the United States all the best settled parts of -Minnesota west of the Mississippi for less than one-hundredth part of -its present value, and much less than the lands were worth to them as -hunting-grounds. And while as hunters they needed no protection of the -law, they knew that as agriculturists they could not live without it; -and they positively refused to sell their hunting-grounds till the -Commissioner of the United States promised that they should be protected -in their persons and property the same as white men. Government never -accorded to them this protection, which, in the view of the Indians, was -a very important consideration in selling the lands. This neglect on the -part of the Government led to yearly complaints, and the massacres of -1862. *** These Sioux were most of them previous to the war living in -comfortable homes, with well-cultivated farms and teams," and were -receiving by annuity provisions, either in money or the equivalent, -about $50 a head annually, from interest on their money invested in the -bonds of the Government. These Indians, in taking up their new -homesteads, were required by the Department to renounce, on oath, all -claims on the United States for annuities. Without doubt, citizenship of -the United States, the protection of our laws, is worth a great sum; but -is it wise or right in our Government to require these natives of the -country to purchase, at a price of several thousands of dollars, that -which is given without money or price to every immigrant from Asia, -Europe, or Africa that asks for it? - -"Besides their annuities, there is due them from the Government the -proceeds of the sale of their old reservation on the Minnesota River, -which is more than forty miles long and ten wide; which, after paying -expenses of survey and sale, are, according to a law of the United -States, to be expended in assisting them to make homes elsewhere; and as -these lands were valued at $1.25 an acre and upward, and are rapidly -selling, the portion which will be due each of the Indians cannot be -less than $200 or $300—or $1000 for each family. The oath required of -them is supposed to bar them from any claim to this also. Now, I cannot -see how this decision of the Indian Department is consistent either with -justice or good policy, and it is certainly inconsistent with both the -spirit and letter of Articles six and ten of a treaty between the United -States of America and different bands of Sioux Indians, concluded in -1868, and ratified and proclaimed February, 1869. *** What I ask for -them is that our Government restore to them a part of what we took from -them, and give them the same chance to live and thrive which we give to -all the other inhabitants of our country, whether white or black. *** -That some aid is very necessary must be obvious to you, who know how -difficult it is for even white men, trained to work, and with several -hundred dollars in property, to open a new farm in this Western -wilderness. Their number is probably greater than you are aware of. When -I administered the Lord's Supper there on the first Sabbath of this -month, there were present seventy-seven communicants of our church, -besides quite a number of other persons. *** It is owing to the Santee -Sioux—partly to those on the Big Sioux River, chiefly to those near Fort -Wadsworth—that in the last five years not a single white inhabitant of -Minnesota or Iowa has been murdered by the wild Indians, while many have -been cut off in every frontier State and Territory south-west of the -Missouri. So long as the Christian Sioux can be kept on the frontier, -the white settlements are safe. *** In conclusion, I wish again to call -your attention to the fact that these Indians on the Big Sioux purchase -citizenship at a very great sum, and to entreat you to do all in your -power to secure for them that protection of person or property for which -they bargain, and without which nothing our Government can do will make -them prosperous or happy." - -No attention was paid to this appeal; and the next year the -indefatigable missionary sent a still stronger one, setting forth that -this colony now numbered fifty families; had been under the instruction -of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions for many -years; had a church of one hundred members; a native preacher, partly -supported by them; had built log-cabins on their claims, and planted -farms, "many of them digging up the ground with hoes and spades." - -Dr. Williamson reiterates the treaty provisions under which he claims -that these Indians are entitled to aid. The sixth Article of the treaty -of 1868 closes as follows: "Any Indian or Indians receiving a patent for -land under the foregoing provisions, shall thereby and henceforth become -and be a citizen of the United States, and be entitled to all the -privileges and immunities of such citizenship, and shall at the same -time retain all his rights and benefits accruing to Indians under this -treaty." - -This treaty goes on to provide most liberally for all Indians adopting -the civilized mode of life. Article eighth specially provides for -supplying them with seed and agricultural implements, and this is what -they most of all need. - -The encouragement held forth in this treaty was one great motive in -leading these people to break tribal influences, so deleterious to -improvement, and adopt our democratic civilization. Is it not base -tyranny to disappoint them? They are the first Sioux, if not the first -Indians in the United States to adopt the spirit and life of our -American civilization. They have of their own accord done just what the -Government has been for generations trying to get the Indians to do. And -now will the Government refuse this helping hand? To our shame, it has -for two years refused. And why? Because the Indians said, "If we become -civilized, it is necessary for us to break up tribal relations, and -settle down like white men." - -In 1873 the Government at last yielded to this request, and sent out -oxen, wagons, ploughs, etc., enough to stock thirty farms. In 1874, Dr. -Williamson, having been appointed a special agent for them, reports -their progress: "They all live in log-houses and wear citizens' dress. -*** One hundred and nineteen can read their own language fluently. They -all go to church regularly. They have broken one hundred and -seventy-seven acres of new prairie. Twenty new houses have been built. -*** They have cut and hauled two hundred cords of wood, hauling some of -it forty miles to market. *** They have done considerable freighting -with their teams, going sometimes a hundred miles away. They have earned -thirty-five hundred dollars, catching small furs. *** One Indian has the -contract for carrying the mail through Flandreau, for which he receives -one thousand dollars a year. *** It is but a few miles from Flandreau to -the far-famed pipe-stone quarry, and these Indians make many little sums -by selling pipes, rings, ink-glasses, etc., made of this beautiful red -stone. *** They are anxious to be taught how to make baskets, mats, -cloth; and the young men ask to be taught the blacksmith and carpenter -trades." - -This is a community that only five years before had pushed out into an -unbroken wilderness without a dollar of money, without a plough, to open -farms. "Without ploughs, they had to dig the sod with their hoes, and at -the same time make their living by hunting. They suffered severe -hardships, and a number of their best men perished in snow-storms. -Believing they were carrying out the wishes of the Great Father, as -expressed in the treaty of 1868, to which they were parties, they were -disappointed when for three years no notice was taken of them." There is -something pathetic in the gratitude they are said now to feel for the -niggardly gift of a few oxen, wagons, and ploughs. They have apparently -given over all hope of ever obtaining any of the money due them on -account of their lands sold in Minnesota. No further allusion is made to -it by Dr. Williamson. - -From the Yankton Sioux this year comes a remarkable report: "We have no -jail, no law except the treaty and the agent's word, yet we have no -quarrels, no fighting, and, with one or two exceptions, not a single -case of drunkenness during the year. This I consider remarkable, when we -take into consideration the fact that the reservation is surrounded by -ranches where liquors of all kinds can be obtained." Is there another -village of two thousand inhabitants in the United States of which this -can be said? - -In this year a commission was sent to treat with some of the wilder -bands of Sioux for the relinquishment of their right to hunt and roam -over a large part of their unneeded territory in Kansas and Nebraska. -Some of the chiefs consented. Red Cloud's band refused at first; "but on -being told that the right would soon be taken from them," after a delay -of two days they "agreed to accept," merely stipulating that their share -of the twenty-five thousand dollars promised should be paid in horses -and guns. They insisted, however, on this proviso: "That we do not -surrender any right of occupation of the country situated in Nebraska -north of the divide, which is south of and near to the Niobrara River -and west of the one hundredth meridian." - -It was a significant fact that, when these Sioux gave up this hunting -privilege, "they requested that nearly all the $25,000 they received in -compensation for this relinquishment should be expended in cows, horses, -harness, and wagons," says the Commissioner of Indian Affairs in 1875. - -There are still some thousand or more of hostile Sioux roaming about -under the famous chief Sitting Bull—living by the chase when they can, -and by depredations when they must; occasionally, also, appearing at -agencies, and drawing rations among the other Indians unsuspected. The -remainder of the bands are steadily working their way on toward -civilization. The Santees are a Christian community; they have their -industrial-schools, Sabbath-schools, and night-schools; they publish a -monthly paper in the Dakota tongue, which prints twelve hundred copies. -The Yanktons have learned to weave, and have made cloth enough to give -every Indian woman in the tribe one good dress. The Flandreau citizen -Sioux have a Presbyterian church of one hundred and thirty-five members, -and pay half the salary of the native preacher. On the occasion of an -anniversary meeting of the Dakota missionaries there, these people -raised one hundred dollars to pay for their entertainment. These three -bands are far the most advanced, but all the others are making steady -progress. - -In 1876 the news from the Sioux on the agencies is that, owing to the -failure of appropriations, the Indian Bureau had been unable to send the -regular supplies, and the Indians, being in "almost a starving -condition," had been induced, by the "apparent purpose of the Government -to abandon them to starvation," to go north in large numbers, and join -the hostile camps of Sitting Bull. This was in the spring; again in -midsummer the same thing happened, and many of the Indians, growing -still more anxious and suspicious, left their agencies to join in the -war. - -Congress would probably have paid little attention at this time to the -reading of this extract from "Kent's Commentaries:" "Treaties of peace, -when made by the competent power, are obligatory on the whole nation. If -the treaty requires the payment of money to carry it into effect, and -the money cannot be raised but by an act of the legislature, the treaty -is morally obligatory upon the legislature to pass the law; and to -repeal it would be a breach of the public faith." - -A disturbed and unsettled condition of things prevailed at all the Sioux -agencies, consequent on this state of things. Companies of troops were -stationed at all of them to guard against outbreaks. Owing to lack of -funds, the Yanktons were obliged to give up their weaving and -basket-making. At the Standing Rock Agency, after the Indians had -planted eight hundred and seventy-two dollars' worth of seeds—of corn, -potatoes, and other vegetables—the grasshoppers came and devoured them. -"Many of these Indians, with their whole families, stood all day in -their fields fighting these enemies, and in several places succeeded so -far as to save a considerable part of their crops." The Santees were -made very anxious and unhappy by fresh rumors of their probable removal. -Public sentiment at the East, knowing no difference between different -tribes of Sioux, regarded it as maudlin sentimentalism to claim for the -Santees any more rights than for the hostiles that had murdered General -Custer. One of the agents in Dakota writes: - -"The recent troubles in the Indian country, and the existing uncertainty -as to the future intentions of the Government toward the Indians, -occasion considerable uneasiness among them. *** Reports are circulated -that no further assistance will be rendered by the Government, as the -Great Council in Washington refuses to furnish money unless the Indians -are turned over to the War Department. Every inducement is held out to -encourage secession from the agencies, and strengthen the forces of the -hostile camp. It is not surprising that, in view of the non-arrival of -supplies, and the recent order of the War Department to arrest parties -leaving and arriving, that people less credulous than Indians would feel -undecided and uneasy. *** It must be remembered that the whole Sioux -nation is related, and that there is hardly a man, woman, or child in -the hostile camp who has not blood relations at one or the other of the -agencies." - -Contrast the condition into which all these friendly Indians are -suddenly plunged now, with their condition only two years previous: -martial law now in force on all their reservations; themselves in danger -of starvation, and constantly exposed to the influence of emissaries -from their friends and relations, urging them to join in fighting this -treacherous government that had kept faith with nobody—neither with -friend nor with foe; that made no discriminations in its warfare between -friends and foes; burning villages occupied only by women and children; -butchering bands of Indians living peacefully under protection of its -flag, as at Sand Creek, in Colorado—no wonder that one of the military -commander's official reports says, "The hostile body was largely -re-enforced by accessions from the various agencies, where the -malcontents were, doubtless, in many cases, driven to desperation by -starvation and the heartless frauds perpetrated on them;" and that the -Interior Department is obliged to confess that, "Such desertions were -largely due to the uneasiness which the Indians had long felt on account -of the infraction of treaty stipulations by the white invasion of the -Black Hills, seriously aggravated at the most critical period by -irregular and insufficient issues of rations, necessitated by inadequate -and delayed appropriations." - -It was at this time that Sitting Bull made his famous reply: "Tell them -at Washington if they have one man who speaks the truth to send him to -me, and I will listen to what he has to say." - -The story of the military campaign against these hostile Sioux in 1876 -and 1877 is to be read in the official records of the War Department, so -far as statistics can tell it. Another history, which can never be read, -is written in the hearts of widowed women in the Sioux nation and in the -nation of the United States. - -Before midsummer the Sioux war was over. The indomitable Sitting Bull -had escaped to Canada—that sanctuary of refuge for the Indian as well as -for the slave. Here he was visited in the autumn by a commission from -the United States, empowered by the President to invite him with his -people to return, and be "assigned to agencies," and treated "in as -friendly a spirit as other Indians had been who had surrendered." It was -explained to him that every one of the Indians who had surrendered had -"been treated in the same manner as those of your nation who, during all -the past troubles, remained peaceably at their agencies." As a great -part of those who had fled from these same agencies to join Sitting Bull -had done so because they were starving, and the Government knew this -(had printed the record of the fact in the reports of two of its -Departments), this was certainly a strange phraseology of invitation for -it to address to Sitting Bull. His replies and those of his chiefs were -full of scathing sarcasm. Secure on British soil, they had for once safe -freedom of speech as well as of action, and they gave the United States -Commissioners very conclusive reasons why they chose to remain in -Canada, where they could "trade with the traders and make a living," and -where their women had "time to raise their children."[26] - -Footnote 26: - - See Appendix, Art. V. - -The commissioners returned from their bootless errand, and the Interior -Department simply entered on its records the statement that "Sitting -Bull and his adherents are no longer considered wards of the -Government." It also enters on the same record the statement that "in -the months of September and October, 1876, the various Sioux agencies -were visited by a commission appointed under the Act of Congress, August -15th of that year, to negotiate with the Sioux for an agreement to -surrender that portion of the Sioux Reservation which included the Black -Hills, and certain hunting privileges outside that reserve, guaranteed -by the treaty of 1868; to grant a right of way across their reserve; and -to provide for the removal of the Red Cloud and Spotted Tail bands to -new agencies on the Missouri River. The commission were also authorized -to take steps to gain the consent of the Sioux to their removal to the -Indian Territory. *** The commission were successful in all the -negotiations with which they were charged, and the Indians made every -concession that was desired by the Government, although we were engaged -at that very time in fighting their relatives and friends." The only -comment needed on this last paragraph is to suggest that a proper list -of errata for that page should contain: "For 'although' read 'because!'" -"On behalf of the United States the agreement thus entered into provided -for subsisting the Sioux on a stated ration until they should become -self-supporting; for furnishing schools, and all necessary aid and -instruction in agriculture and the mechanical arts, and for the -allotment of lands in severalty." - -In accordance with this act, a commission was sent to select a location -on the Missouri River for the two new Sioux agencies (the Red Cloud and -Spotted Tail). - -"For the former the site chosen is the junction of Yellow Medicine and -Missouri rivers, and at that point agency buildings have just been -erected," says the Report of the Indian Bureau for 1877. "For the latter -the old Ponca Reserve was decided on, where the agency buildings, -storehouses, one hundred and fifty Indian houses, and five hundred acres -of cultivated fields, left vacant by the Poncas, offer special -advantages for present quarters." - -The commissioner says: "The removal of fourteen thousand Sioux Indians -at this season of the year, a distance of three hundred miles from their -old agencies in Nebraska to their new quarters near the Missouri River, -is not a pleasant matter to contemplate. Neither the present Secretary -of the Interior nor the present Commissioner of Indian Affairs is -responsible for the movement, but they have carried out the law -faithfully though reluctantly. The removal is being made in accordance -with the Act of August 15th, 1876. It is proper to say here that I -cannot but look on the necessity thus imposed by law on the executive -branch of the Government as an unfortunate one, and the consequences -ought to be remedied as speedily as possible. - -"Let us for a moment consider that the Spotted Tail Agency was in 1871 -on the west bank of the Missouri River, where the whites became -exceedingly troublesome, and the river afforded abundant facilities for -the introduction of intoxicating liquors. In 1874 the Red Cloud and -Spotted Tail agencies were removed to what a subsequent survey proved to -be the State of Nebraska—the former agency one hundred and sixty-five -miles from Cheyenne, and the latter one hundred and eight miles from -Sidney, the nearest points on the Union Pacific Railroad. Here the usual -ill-fortune attending the removal of these Indians was again exemplified -in placing the agencies on absolutely barren land, where there was no -possibility of cultivating the soil, no hope of their being enabled to -become self-supporting, and where they have of necessity been kept in -the hopeless condition of paupers." - -In the hope of placing these Indians upon arable land, where they might -become civilized and self-supporting, the determination was hastily -taken to remove them back to the Missouri River. This step was taken -without a proper examination of other points on their reservation, where -it is stated that "a sufficient quantity of excellent wheat lands can be -found on either bank of the White River, and where there is also timber -sufficient in quantity and quality for all practical purposes. *** The -Indian chiefs, in their interview with the President in September last, -begged that they might not be sent to the Missouri River, as -whiskey-drinking and other demoralization would be the consequence. This -was the judgment of the best men of the tribe; but the necessity was one -that the President could not control. The provisions and supplies for -the ensuing winter had been placed, according to law, on the Missouri, -and, owing to the lateness of the season, it was impossible to remove -them to the old agencies. Accordingly, the necessities of the case -compelled the removal of these Indians in the midst of the snows and -storms of early winter, which have already set in." - -If there were absolutely no other record written of the management of -Indian affairs by the Interior Department than this one page of the -history of these two bands of the Sioux tribe, this alone would be -enough to show the urgent need of an entirely new system. So many and -such hasty, ill-considered, uninformed, capricious, and cruel decisions -of arbitrary power could hardly be found in a seven years' record of any -known tyrant; and there is no tyrant whose throne would not have been -rocked, if not upset, by the revolutions which would have followed on -such oppressions. - -There is a sequel to this story of the removal of the Red Cloud and -Spotted Tail bands—a sequel not recorded in the official reports of the -Department, but familiar to many men in the Western country. Accounts of -it—some humorous, some severe—were for some time floating about in -Western newspapers. - -The Red Cloud and Spotted Tail bands of Sioux consented to go to the old -Ponca Reserve only after being told that all their supplies had been -sent to a certain point on the Missouri River with a view to this move; -and it being too late to take all this freight northward again, they -would starve if they stayed where they were. Being assured that they -would be allowed to go back in the spring, and having a written pledge -from General Crook (in whose word they had implicit faith) that the -Government would fulfil this promise, they at last very reluctantly -consented to go to the Ponca Reserve for the winter. In the spring no -orders came for the removal. March passed, April passed—no orders. The -chiefs sent word to their friend, General Crook, who replied to them -with messages sent by a swift runner, begging them not to break away, -but to wait a little longer. Finally, in May, the Commissioner of Indian -Affairs went himself to hold a council with them. When he rose to speak, -the chief Spotted Tail sprung up, walked toward him, waving in his hand -the paper containing the promise of the Government to return them to -White Clay Creek, and exclaimed, "All the men who come from Washington -are liars, and the bald-headed ones are the worst of all! I don't want -to hear one word from you—you are a bald-headed old liar! You have but -one thing to do here, and that is to give an order for us to return to -White Clay Creek. Here are your written words; and if you don't give -this order, and everything here is not on wheels inside of ten days, -I'll order my young men to tear down and burn everything in this part of -the country! I don't want to hear anything more from you, and I've got -nothing more to say to you:" and he turned his back on the commissioner -and walked away. Such language as this would not have been borne from -unarmed and helpless Indians; but when it came from a chief with four -thousand armed warriors at his back, it was another affair altogether. -The order was written. In less than ten days everything was "on wheels," -and the whole body of these Sioux on the move to the country they had -indicated; and the Secretary of the Interior says, naïvely, in his -Report for 1868, "The Indians were found to be quite determined to move -westward, and the promise of the Government in that respect was -faithfully kept." - -The reports from all the bands of Sioux for the past two years have been -full of indications of their rapid and encouraging improvement. "The -most decided advance in civilization has been made by the Ogallalla and -Brulé Sioux," says the Report of the Indian Bureau for 1879. "Their -progress during the last year and a half has been simply marvellous." - -And yet this one band of Ogallalla Sioux has been moved, since 1863, -eight times. Is it not a wonder that they have any heart to work, any -hope of anything in the future? - -"It is no longer a question," says this same report, "whether Indians -will work. They are steadily asking for opportunities to do so, and the -Indians who to-day are willing and anxious to engage in civilized labor -are largely in the majority; *** there is an almost universal call for -lands in severalty; *** there is a growing desire to live in houses; the -demand for agricultural implements and appliances, and for wagons and -harness for farming and freighting purposes, is constantly increasing." - -That all this should be true of these wild, warlike Sioux, after so many -years of hardships and forced wanderings and removals, is -incontrovertible proof that there is in them a native strength of -character, power of endurance, and indomitable courage, which will make -of them ultimately a noble and superior race of people, if civilization -will only give them time to become civilized, and Christians will leave -them time and peace to learn Christianity. - - - - - CHAPTER VI. - - THE PONCAS. - - -In 1803 Captain Lewis and Lieutenant Clarke, of the First United States -Infantry, were commissioned by Congress to explore the river Missouri -from its mouth to its source, to "seek the best water communication from -thence to the Pacific Ocean," and to enter into conference with all the -Indian tribes on their route, with a view to the establishment of -commerce with them. They report the "Poncars" as "the remnant of a -nation once respectable in point of numbers; they formerly resided on a -branch of the Red River of Lake Winnipeg; being oppressed by Sioux, they -removed to the west side of the Missouri, on Poncar River, where they -built and fortified a village, and remained some years; but, being -pursued by their ancient enemies, the Sioux, and reduced by continual -wars, they have joined and now live with the Mahas (Omahas), whose -language they speak." Their numbers are estimated by Lewis and Clarke as -being only about two hundred, all told; but this small estimate is -probably to be explained by the fact that at this time the tribe was -away on its annual buffalo-hunt, and their village had been so long -empty and quiet that a buffalo was found grazing there. A few years -later the tribe is reckoned at four hundred: in a census of the Indian -tribes, taken by General Porter in 1829, they are set down at six -hundred. The artist Catlin, who visited them a few years later, rated -them a little less. He gives an interesting account of the chief of the -tribe, named Shoo-de-ga-cha (Smoke), and his young and pretty wife, -Hee-la'h-dee (the Pure Fountain), whose portraits he painted. He says: -"The chief, who was wrapped in a buffalo-robe, is a noble specimen of -native dignity and philosophy. I conversed much with him, and from his -dignified manners, as well as from the soundness of his reasoning; I -became fully convinced that he deserved to be the sachem of a more -numerous and prosperous tribe. He related to me with great coolness and -frankness the poverty and distress of his nation—and with the method of -a philosopher predicted the certain and rapid extinction of his tribe, -which he had not the power to avert. Poor, noble chief, who was equal to -and worthy of a greater empire! He sat on the deck of the steamer, -overlooking the little cluster of his wigwams mingled among the trees, -and, like Caius Marius weeping over the ruins of Carthage, shed tears as -he was descanting on the poverty of his ill-fated little community, -which he told me had 'once been powerful and happy; that the buffaloes -which the Great Spirit had given them for food, and which formerly -spread all over their green prairies, had all been killed or driven out -by the approach of white men, who wanted their skins; that their country -was now entirely destitute of game, and even of roots for food, as it -was one continuous prairie; and that his young men, penetrating the -countries of their enemies for buffaloes, which they were obliged to do, -were cut to pieces and destroyed in great numbers. That his people had -foolishly become fond of fire-water, and had given away everything in -their country for it; that it had destroyed many of his warriors, and -would soon destroy the rest; that his tribe was too small and his -warriors too few to go to war with the tribes around them; that they -were met and killed by the Sioux on the north, by the Pawnees on the -west, by the Osages and Konzas on the south, and still more alarmed from -the constant advance of the pale faces—their enemies from the east—with -whiskey and small-pox, which already had destroyed four-fifths of his -tribe, and would soon impoverish and at last destroy the remainder of -them.' In this way did this shrewd philosopher lament over the unlucky -destiny of his tribe, and I pitied him with all my heart." - -The day before Catlin arrived at this village this old chief's son—the -young Hongs-kay-de—had created a great sensation in the community by -accomplishing a most startling amount of bigamy in a single day. Being -the chief's son, and having just been presented by his father with a -handsome wigwam and nine horses, he had no difficulty whatever in -ingratiating himself with the fathers of marriageable daughters, and -had, with ingenious slyness, offered himself to and been accepted by -four successive fathers-in-law, promising to each of them two -horses—enjoining on them profound secrecy until a certain hour, when he -would announce to the whole tribe that he was to be married. At the time -appointed he appeared, followed by some of his young friends leading -eight horses. Addressing the prospective father-in-law who stood nearest -him, with his daughter by his side, he said, "You promised me your -daughter: here are the two horses." A great hubbub immediately arose; -the three others all springing forward, angry and perplexed, claiming -his promises made to them. The triumphant young Turk exclaimed, "You -have all now acknowledged your engagements to me, and must fulfil them. -Here are your horses." There was nothing more to be said. The horses -were delivered, and Hongs-kay-de, leading two brides in each hand, -walked off with great dignity to his wigwam. - -This was an affair totally unprecedented in the annals of the tribe, and -produced an impression as profound as it could have done in a civilized -community, though of a different character—redounding to the young -prince's credit rather than to his shame—marking him out as one daring -and original enough to be a "Big Medicine." Mr. Catlin says that he -visited the bridal wigwam soon afterward, and saw the "four modest -little wives seated around the fire, seeming to harmonize very well." Of -the prettiest one—"Mong-shong-shaw" (the Bending Willow)—he took a -portrait, and a very sweet-faced young woman she is too, wrapped in a -beautifully ornamented fur robe, much handsomer and more graceful than -the fur-lined circulars worn by civilized women. - -The United States' first treaty with this handful of gentle and -peaceable Indians was made in 1817. It was simply a treaty of peace and -friendship. - -In 1825 another was made, in which the Poncas admit that "they reside -within the territorial limits of the United States, acknowledge their -supremacy, and claim their protection." They also admit "the right of -the United States to regulate all trade and intercourse with them." The -United States, on their part, "agree to receive the Poncar tribe of -Indians into their friendship and under their protection, and to extend -to them from time to time such benefits and acts of kindness as may be -convenient, and seem just and proper to the President of the United -States." - -After this there is little mention, in the official records of the -Government, of the Poncas for some thirty years. Other tribes in the -Upper Missouri region were so troublesome and aggressive that the -peaceable Poncas were left to shift for themselves as they best could -amidst all the warring and warring interests by which they were -surrounded. In 1856 the agent of the Upper Platte mentions incidentally -that their lands were being fast intruded upon by squatters; and in 1857 -another agent reports having met on the banks of the Missouri a large -band of Poncas, who made complaint that all the Indians on the river -were receiving presents and they were overlooked; that the men from the -steamboats cut their trees down, and that white settlers were taking -away all their land. In 1858 the Commissioner for Indian Affairs writes: -"Treaties were entered into in March and April last with the Poncas and -Yankton Sioux, who reside west of Iowa, for the purpose of extinguishing -their title to all the lands occupied and claimed by them, except small -portions on which to colonize and domesticate them. This proceeding was -deemed necessary in order to obtain such control over these Indians as -to prevent their interference with our settlements, which are rapidly -extending in that direction. These treaties were duly laid before the -Senate at its last regular session, but were not, it is understood, -finally acted on by that body. - -"Relying on the ratification of their treaty, and the adoption of timely -measures to carry out its provisions in their favor the Poncas proceeded -in good faith to comply with its stipulations by abandoning their -settlements and hunting-grounds, and withdrawing to the small tract -reserved for their future home. Being without a crop to rely upon, and -having been unsuccessful in their usual summer hunt, they were reduced -to a state of desperation and destitution. As nothing had been done for -them under the treaty, they concluded it was void, and threatened to -fall back upon their former settlements, some of the most important of -which had, in the mean time, been taken possession of by numerous white -persons." - -The Poncas never heard of Grotius or Vattel; but, in assuming that the -treaty was void because it was not fulfilled, they only acted on the -natural principles of the law of nations and of treaties, as laid down -by all authorities. Thucydides said: "They are not the first breakers of -a league who, being deserted, seek for aid to others, but they that -perform not by their deeds what they have promised to do upon their -oaths." - -In consequence of this delay to fulfil the treaty provisions, the -Government was forced to step in at the last moment and "incur a heavy -expense" in furnishing the Poncas with food enough to keep them from -starving; and in 1859, under this pressure, the Senate ratified the -treaty. By it the Poncas ceded and relinquished to the United States all -the lands they had ever owned or claimed, "wherever situate," except a -small tract between the Ponca and Niobrara rivers. In consideration of -this cession, the United States Government agreed "to protect the Poncas -in the possession of this tract of land, and their persons and property -thereon, during good behavior on their part; to pay them annuities -annually for thirty years—$12,000 for the first five years, then $10,000 -for ten years, then $8000 for fifteen years; to expend $20,000 for their -subsistence during the first year, for building houses, etc.; to -establish schools, and to build mills, mechanics' shops, etc.; to give -$20,000 for the payment of the existing obligations of the tribe." - -Two years later the agent newly appointed to take charge of the Poncas -reports to the Department the amount of improvements made on the -reservation: "One saw and grist-mill; two agency houses—story and a half -houses—without inside lining or plastering, 16 by 26 and 18 by 32 feet -in size; six small round log-houses (three with a small shed for a -stable), a light log-corral for cattle, and a canvas shed for storing -under; and about sixty acres of ground, broken, comprised all the -improvements." - -Evidently a very small part of the $20,000 had been spent as yet. He did -not find an Indian on the reservation. From fear of the Sioux (who in -1860 had stolen from them more than half the horses they owned) they had -moved down the Niobrara River, some twenty miles nearer the Missouri. It -was with the greatest difficulty that the agent induced them to return; -and after they did so, they huddled their tents close about the agency -buildings, and could not be induced to go half a mile away unless -accompanied by some of the white employés. - -As the agent had no food to feed them with, and no money to buy any -(spite of the appropriation of $20,000 for subsistence and -house-building), he induced them to go off on a hunt; but in less than a -month they came straggling back, "begging for provisions for their women -and children, whom they had left on the plains half-starved, having been -unable to find any game, or any food except wild-turnips. Some of them -went to visit the Omahas, others the Pawnees, where they remained until -the little corn they had planted produced roasting-ears. In the mean -time those who were here subsisted mainly on wild-cherries and plums and -the wild-turnip, and traded away most of their blankets and annuity -goods for provisions." - -In 1863 the reports are still more pitiful. "They started on their -summer hunt toward the last of May, immediately after the first hoeing -of their corn. At first they were successful and found buffaloes; but -afterward, the ground being occupied by the Yanktons, who were sent -south of the Niobrara by the general commanding the district, and who -were about double the number, and with four times as many horses, they -soon consumed what meat they had cured, and were compelled to abandon -the chase. They commenced to return in the latter part of July. They -went away with very high hopes, and reasonably so, of a large crop, but -returned to see it all withered and dried up. In the mean time the -plains had been burnt over, so that they could not discover the roots -they are in the habit of digging. Even the wild-plums, which grow on -bushes down in ravines and gullies, are withered and dried on the limbs. -The building I occupy was constantly surrounded by a hungry crowd -begging for food. *** I am warned by military authority to keep the -Poncas within the limits of the reservation; but this is an -impossibility. There is nothing within its limits, nor can anything be -obtained in sufficient quantity, or brought here soon enough to keep -them from starving. *** The Poncas have behaved well—quite as well, if -not better than, under like circumstances, the same number of whites -would have done. I have known whole families to live for days together -on nothing but half-dried corn-stalks, and this when there were cattle -and sheep in their sight." - -At this time martial law was in force on many of the Indian -reservations, owing to the presence of roving bands of hostile Sioux, -driven from Minnesota after their outbreak there. - -The Poncas through all these troubles remained loyal and peaceable, and -were "unwavering in their fidelity to their treaty," says the Indian -Commissioner. - -In December of this year what the governmental reports call "a very -unfortunate occurrence" took place in Nebraska. A party of Poncas, -consisting of four men, six women, three boys, and two girls, returning -from a visit to the Omahas, had camped for the night about twelve miles -from their own reservation. In the night a party of soldiers from a -military post on the Niobrara River came to their camp, and began to -insult the squaws, "offering money with one hand, and presenting a -revolver with the other." The Indians, alarmed, pulled up their lodge, -and escaped to a copse of willows near by. The soldiers fired at them as -they ran away, and then proceeded to destroy all their effects. They cut -the lodge covers to pieces, burnt the saddles and blankets, cut open -sacks of beans, corn, and dried pumpkin, and strewed their contents on -the ground, and went away, taking with them a skin lodge-covering, -beaver-skins, buffalo-robes, blankets, guns, and all the small articles. -The Indians' ponies were hid in the willows. Early in the morning they -returned with these, picked up all the corn which had not been -destroyed, and such other articles as they could find, packed their -ponies as best they might, and set off barefooted for home. After they -had gone a few miles they stopped and built a fire to parch some corn to -eat. Some of the women and children went to look for wild-beans, leaving -three women and a child at the camp. Here the soldiers came on them -again. As soon as the Indians saw them coming they fled. The soldiers -fired on them, wounding one woman by a ball through her thigh; another, -with a child on her back, by two balls through the child's thighs, one -of which passed through the mother's side. These women were fired on as -they were crossing the river on the ice. The soldiers then took -possession of the six ponies and all the articles at the camp, and left. -The squaws and children who were looking for beans were half a mile -below; a little dog belonging to them barked and revealed their -hiding-place in the willows. The soldiers immediately turned on them, -dismounted, and, making up to them, deliberately shot them dead as they -huddled helplessly together—three women and a little girl! - -One of the boys, a youth, ran for the river, pursued by the soldiers. On -reaching the river he dived into the water through a hole in the ice; as -often as he lifted his head they fired at him. After they went away he -crawled out and escaped to the agency. One of the murdered women, the -mother of this boy, had three balls in her head and cheek, her throat -cut, and her head half-severed by a sabre-thrust; another, the youngest -woman, had her cloth skirt taken off and carried away, and all her other -clothes torn from her body, leaving it naked! - -The men who did this deed belonged to Company B of the Seventh Iowa -Cavalry. - -The outrage was promptly reported to the Department, and the general -commanding the Nebraska District detailed an officer to examine into it. -There was some correspondence between the military authorities relative -to it, but with no result; and in the report of the next year the Indian -Commissioner says: "Attention was called last year to the fact that the -murderers of several of this loyal and friendly tribe had not been -discovered and punished. I trust that, as there seems to be no -probability that this will be done, a special appropriation may be made -for presents to the relatives of the deceased." - -In 1865 a supplementary treaty was made with the Poncas, extending their -reservation down the Niobrara to the Missouri River; and the Government -agreed to pay them $15,000, for the purpose of indemnifying them for the -loss they had sustained in this outrage and in others. For the -ratification of this treaty also they waited two years; and in 1867 the -Superintendent of the Dakota Territory says: "Schools would have been in -operation at the Ponca Agency before this time but for the long delay in -ratifying the supplementary treaty of 1865; and now that this measure -has fortunately been accomplished, there can be no further necessity for -delay, and it is confidently believed another year will witness the -foundation and rapid progress of an English school at this agency." - -This superintendent, having been in office only one year, was probably -not familiar with the provisions of the treaty of 1859 with the Poncas, -in which, by Article three, the United States Government had promised -"to establish and maintain for ten years, at an annual expense not to -exceed $5,000, one or more manual labor schools for the education and -training of the Ponca youth in letters, agriculture, mechanics, and -housewifery." - -This educational annuity has but one more year to run, whatever may have -been done with it up to this time, it really is now being spent on -schools, and it seems a great pity that it should soon cease. The -Governor of Dakota, in 1868, evidently thinks so too, for he writes to -the Department, in the autumn of 1868: "A school has been in successful -operation at this agency (the Ponca) for the past nine months, with an -average attendance of about fifty scholars, and with every evidence of -advancement in the primary department of an English education. But just -at this interesting period of its existence we are notified by the agent -that with this fiscal year all funds for school as well as for -agricultural purposes cease, agreeably to the terms and conditions of -their original treaty. This will be a serious and irreparable calamity -if not remedied by the most generous action of the Government. If funds -for this purpose cannot be otherwise procured, the Poncas are willing -and anxious to transfer their old reservation to the Government for a -moderate extension of these important and indispensable benefits." - -The governor also says that in the past year the Poncas have paid out of -their annuity money for all the improvements which had been made on -lands occupied by certain white settlers, who were ejected from their -new reservation by the terms of the last treaty. - -In the report for 1869 we read that the Ponca school has been -"discontinued for want of funds." The Department earnestly recommends an -appropriation of $25,000 to put it in operation again. The new Governor -of Dakota seconds the recommendation, and regrets to say that, "for the -enlightenment of the 35,000 Indians embraced in the Dakota -Superintendency, there is not one school in operation." - -In 1870 an appropriation of $5,000 was made by the Department from a -general educational fund, for the purpose of resuming this school. The -condition of the Poncas now is, on the whole, encouraging; they are "not -only willing, but extremely anxious to learn the arts by which they may -become self-supporting, and conform to the usages of white men. With the -comparatively small advantages that have been afforded them, their -advancement has been very great." - -In the summer of 1869 they built for themselves sixteen very comfortable -log-houses; in the summer of 1870 they built forty-four more; with their -annuity money they bought cookstoves, cows, and useful implements of -labor. They worked most assiduously in putting in their crops, but lost -them all by drought, and are in real danger of starvation if the -Government does not assist them. All this while they see herds of cattle -driven across their reservation to feed the lately hostile Sioux—flour, -coffee, sugar, tobacco, by the wagon-load, distributed to them—while -their own always peaceable, always loyal, long-suffering tribe is -digging wild roots to eat, and in actual danger of starvation. -Nevertheless they are not discouraged, knowing that but for the drought -they would have had ample food from their farms, and they make no -attempts to retaliate on the Sioux for raiding off their horses and -stock, because they hope "that the Government will keep its faith with -them," and that suitable remuneration for these losses will be made -them, according to the treaty stipulations. - -For the next two years they worked industriously and well; three schools -were established; a chapel was built by the Episcopal mission; the -village began to assume the appearance of permanence and thrift; but -misfortune had not yet parted company with the Poncas. In the summer of -1873 the Missouri River suddenly overflowed, washed away its banks -hundreds of yards back, and entirely ruined the Ponca village. By -working night and day for two weeks the Indians saved most of the -buildings, carrying them half a mile inland to be sure of safety. The -site of their village became the bed of the main channel of the river; -their cornfields were ruined, and the lands for miles in every direction -washed and torn up by the floods. - -"For nearly two weeks," the agent writes, "the work of salvage from the -ever-threatening destruction occupied our whole available force night -and day. We succeeded in carrying from the river bank to near half a -mile inland the whole of the agency buildings, mechanics' houses, -stabling, and sheds—more than twenty houses—nearly every panel of -fencing. The Poncas worked well and long, often through the night; and -the fact that the disaster did not cost us ten dollars of actual loss is -to be attributed to their labor, continuous and persevering—working -sometimes over the swiftly-flowing waters, terrible and turbid, on the -edge of the newly-formed current but a few inches below them, and into -which a fall would have been certain death, even for an Indian." - -In one year after this disaster they had recovered themselves -marvellously; built twenty new houses; owned over a hundred head of -cattle and fifty wagons, and put three hundred acres of land under -cultivation (about three acres to each male in the tribe). But this year -was not to close without a disaster. First came a drought; then three -visitations of locusts, one after the other, which so completely -stripped the fields that "nothing was left but a few prematurely dry -stalks and straw." One hundred young trees which had been set -out—box-elder, soft maple, and others—withered and died. - -In 1875 the locusts came again, destroyed the corn and oats, but left -the wheat. Much of this crop, however, was lost, as there was only one -reaping-machine on the agency, and it could not do all of the work. Many -of the Indians saved a part of their crop by cutting it with large -butcher-knives; but this was slow, and much of the wheat dried up and -perished before it could be harvested by this tedious process. - -This year was also marked by a flagrant instance of the helplessness of -Indians in the courts. Two Poncas were waylaid by a party of Santees, -one of the Poncas murdered, and the other seriously wounded. This -occurred at the Yankton Agency, where both parties were visiting. When -the case was brought up before the courts, a motion was made to quash -the indictment for want of jurisdiction, and the judge was obliged to -sustain the motion, there being under the present laws no jurisdiction -whatever "over crimes committed by one Indian on the person or property -of another Indian in the Indian country." - -In 1876 the project of consolidating all the Indians in the United -States upon a few reservations began to be discussed and urged. If this -plan were carried out, it would be the destiny of the Poncas to go to -the Indian Territory. It was very gratuitously assumed that, as they had -been anxious to be allowed to remove to Nebraska and join the Omahas, -they would be equally ready to remove to Indian Territory—a process of -reasoning whose absurdity would be very plainly seen if it were -attempted to apply it in the case of white men. - -After a series of negotiations, protestations, delays, and -bewilderments, the tribe at last gave what the United States Government -chose to call a "consent" to the removal. The story of the influences, -deceits, coercions brought to bear on these unfortunate creatures before -this was brought about, is one of the most harrowing among the harrowing -records of our dealings with the Indians. A party of chiefs were -induced, in the first place, to go, in company with a United States -inspector—Kemble by name—to the Indian Territory, to see whether the -country would suit them. It was distinctly promised to them that, if it -did not suit them, they should then be permitted to go to Washington and -consult with the President as to some further plan for their -establishment. - -The story of this journey and of its results is best told in the words -of one of the Ponca chiefs, Standing Bear. No official document, no -other man's narrative—no, not if a second Homer should arise to sing -it—could tell the story so well as he tells it: - -"We lived on our land as long as we can remember. No one knows how long -ago we came there. The land was owned by our tribe as far back as memory -of men goes. - -"We were living quietly on our farms. All of a sudden one white man -came. We had no idea what for. This was the inspector. He came to our -tribe with Rev. Mr. Hinman. These two, with the agent, James Lawrence, -they made our trouble. - -"They said the President told us to pack up—that we must move to the -Indian Territory. - -"The inspector said to us: 'The President says you must sell this land. -He will buy it and pay you the money, and give you new land in the -Indian Territory.' - -"We said to him: 'We do not know your authority. You have no right to -move us till we have had council with the President.' - -"We said to him: 'When two persons wish to make a bargain, they can talk -together and find out what each wants, and then make their agreement.' - -"We said to him: 'We do not wish to go. When a man owns anything, he -does not let it go till he has received payment for it.' - -"We said to him: 'We will see the President first.' - -"He said to us: 'I will take you to see the new land. If you like it, -then you can see the President, and tell him so. If not, then you can -see him and tell him so.' And he took all ten of our chiefs down. I -went, and Bright Eyes' uncle went. He took us to look at three different -pieces of land. He said we must take one of the three pieces, so the -President said. After he took us down there he said: 'No pay for the -land you left.' - -"We said to him: 'You have forgotten what you said before we started. -You said we should have pay for our land. Now you say not. You told us -then you were speaking truth.' All these three men took us down there. -The man got very angry. He tried to compel us to take one of the three -pieces of land. He told us to be brave. He said to us: 'If you do not -accept these, I will leave you here alone. You are one thousand miles -from home. You have no money. You have no interpreter, and you cannot -speak the language.' And he went out and slammed the door. The man -talked to us from long before sundown till it was nine o'clock at night. - -"We said to him: 'We do not like this land. We could not support -ourselves. The water is bad. How send us to Washington, to tell the -President, as you promised.' - -"He said to us: 'The President did not tell me to take you to -Washington; neither did he tell me to take you home.' - -"We said to him: 'You have the Indian money you took to bring us down -here. That money belongs to us. We would like to have some of it. People -do not give away food for nothing. We must have money to buy food on the -road.' - -"He said to us: 'I will not give you a cent.' - -"We said to him: 'We are in a strange country. We cannot find our way -home. Give us a pass, that people may show us our way.' - -"He said: 'I will not give you any.' - -"We said to him: 'This interpreter is ours. We pay him. Let him go with -us.' - -"He said: 'You shall not have the interpreter. He is mine, and not -yours.' - -"We said to him: 'Take us at least to the railroad; show us the way to -that.' - -"And he would not. He left us right there. It was winter. We started for -home on foot. At night we slept in hay-stacks. We barely lived till -morning, it was so cold. We had nothing but our blankets. We took the -ears of corn that had dried in the fields; we ate it raw. The soles of -our moccasins wore out. We were barefoot in the snow. We were nearly -dead when we reached the Otoe Reserve. It had been fifty days. We stayed -there ten days to strengthen up, and the Otoes gave each of us a pony. -The agent of the Otoes told us he had received a telegram from the -inspector, saying that the Indian chiefs had run away; not to give us -food or shelter, or help in any way. The agent said: 'I would like to -understand. Tell me all that has happened. Tell me the truth.'" - -(This Otoe agent afterward said that when the chiefs entered his room -they left the prints of their feet in blood on the floor as they came -in.) - -"Then we told our story to the agent and to the Otoe chiefs—how we had -been left down there to find our way. - -"The agent said: 'I can hardly believe it possible that any one could -have treated you so. That inspector was a poor man to have done this. If -I had taken chiefs in this way, I would have brought them home; I could -not have left them there.' - -"In seven days we reached the Omaha Reservation. Then we sent a telegram -to the President: asked him if he had authorized this thing. We waited -three days for the answer. No answer came. - -"In four days we reached our own home. We found the inspector there. -While we were gone, he had come to our people and told them to move. - -"Our people said: 'Where are our chiefs? What have you done with them? -Why have you not brought them back? We will not move till our chiefs -come back.' - -"Then the inspector told them: 'To-morrow you must be ready to move. If -you are not ready you will be shot.' Then the soldiers came to the doors -with their bayonets, and ten families were frightened. The soldiers -brought wagons; they put their things in and were carried away. The rest -of the tribe would not move. - -"When we got there, we asked the inspector why he had done this thing, -and he got very angry. - -"Then we said to him: 'We did not think we would see your face again, -after what has passed. We thought never to see your face any more. But -here you are.' - -"We said to him: 'This land is ours. It belongs to us. You have no right -to take it from us. The land is crowded with people, and only this is -left to us.' - -"We said to him: 'Let us alone. Go away from us. If you want money, take -all the money which the President is to pay us for twelve years to come. -You may have it all, if you will go and leave us our lands.' - -"Then, when he found that we would not go, he wrote for more soldiers to -come. - -"Then the soldiers came, and we locked our doors, and the women and -children hid in the woods. Then the soldiers drove all the people the -other side of the river, all but my brother Big Snake and I. We did not -go; and the soldiers took us and carried us away to a fort and put us in -jail. There were eight officers who held council with us after we got -there. The commanding officer said: 'I have received four messages -telling me to send my soldiers after you. Now, what have you done?' - -"Then we told him the whole story. Then the officer said: 'You have done -no wrong. The land is yours; they had no right to take it from you. Your -title is good. I am here to protect the weak, and I have no right to -take you; but I am a soldier, and I have to obey orders.' - -"He said: 'I will telegraph to the President, and ask him what I shall -do. We do not think these three men had any authority to treat you as -they have done. When we own a piece of land, it belongs to us till we -sell it and pocket the money.' - -"Then he brought a telegram, and said he had received answer from the -President. The President said he knew nothing about it. - -"They kept us in jail ten days. Then they carried us back to our home. -The soldiers collected all the women and children together; then they -called all the chiefs together in council; and then they took wagons and -went round and broke open the houses. When we came back from the council -we found the women and children surrounded by a guard of soldiers. - -"They took our reapers, mowers, hay-rakes, spades, ploughs, bedsteads, -stoves, cupboards, everything we had on our farms, and put them in one -large building. Then they put into the wagons such things as they could -carry. We told them that we would rather die than leave our lands; but -we could not help ourselves. They took us down. Many died on the road. -Two of my children died. After we reached the new land, all my horses -died. The water was very bad. All our cattle died; not one was left. I -stayed till one hundred and fifty-eight of my people had died. Then I -ran away with thirty of my people, men and women and children. Some of -the children were orphans. We were three months on the road. We were -weak and sick and starved. When we reached the Omaha Reserve the Omahas -gave us a piece of land, and we were in a hurry to plough it and put in -wheat. While we were working the soldiers came and arrested us. Half of -us were sick. We would rather have died than have been carried back; but -we could not help ourselves." - -Nevertheless they were helped. The news of their arrest, and the -intention of the Government to take them back by force to Indian -Territory, roused excitement in Omaha. An Omaha editor and two Omaha -lawyers determined to test the question whether the Government had a -legal right to do it. It seemed a bold thing, almost a hopeless thing, -to undertake. It has passed into a proverb that Providence is on the -side of the heaviest battalions: the oppressed and enslaved in all ages -have felt this. But there are times when a simple writ of habeas corpus -is stronger than cannon or blood-hounds; and this was one of these -times. Brought into the District Court of the United States for the -District of Nebraska, these Poncas were set free by the judge of that -court. Will not the name of Judge Dundy stand side by side with that of -Abraham Lincoln in the matter of Emancipation Acts? - -The Government attorney, the Hon. G. M. Lambertson, made an argument -five hours long, said to have been both "ingenious and eloquent," to -prove that an Indian was not entitled to the protection of the writ of -habeas corpus, "_not_ being a person or citizen under the law." - -Judge Dundy took several days to consider the case, and gave a decision -which strikes straight to the root of the whole matter—a decision which, -when it is enforced throughout our land, will take the ground out from -under the feet of the horde of unscrupulous thieves who have been -robbing, oppressing, and maddening the Indians for so long, that to try -to unmask and expose their processes, or to make clean their methods, is -a task before which hundreds of good men—nay, whole denominations of -good men—disheartened, baffled, and worn-out, have given up. - -When Standing Bear found that by the decision of Judge Dundy he was -really a free man, and could go where he pleased, he made a speech which -should never be forgotten or left out in the history of the dealings of -the United States Government with the Indians. - -After a touching expression of gratitude to the lawyers who had pleaded -his cause, he said: "Hitherto, when we have been wronged, we went to war -to assert our rights and avenge our wrongs. We took the tomahawk. We had -no law to punish those who did wrong, so we took our tomahawks and went -to kill. If they had guns and could kill us first, it was the fate of -war. But you have found a better way. You have gone into the court for -us, and I find that our wrongs can be righted there. Now I have no more -use for the tomahawk. I want to lay it down forever." - -Uttering these words with eloquent impressiveness, the old chief, -stooping down, placed the tomahawk on the floor at his feet; then, -standing erect, he folded his arms with native dignity, and continued: -"I lay it down. I have no more use for it. I have found a better way." - -Stooping again and taking up the weapon, he placed it in Mr. Webster's -hands, and said: "I present it to you as a token of my gratitude. I want -you to keep it in remembrance of this great victory which you have -gained. I have no further use for it. I can now seek the ways of peace." - -The first use that Standing Bear made of his freedom was to endeavor to -procure the freedom of his tribe, and establish their legal right to -their old home in Dakota. Accompanied by a young and well-educated Omaha -girl and her brother as interpreters, and by Mr. Tibbles, the champion -and friend to whom he owed his freedom, he went to the Eastern States, -and told the story of the sufferings and wrongs of his tribe to large -audiences in many of the larger cities and towns. Money was generously -subscribed everywhere for the purpose of bringing suits to test the -question of the Poncas' legal right to the lands which the United States -Government had by treaty ceded to them in specified "townships," thus -giving to them the same sort of title which would be given to any -corporation or individual. - -Very soon this movement of Standing Bear and his companions began to -produce on the community a strong effect, shown by the interest in their -public meetings, and by expressions of strong feeling in the newspapers. -This attracted the attention of the authorities at Washington. Letters -were published contradicting many of Standing Bear's assertions; -statements were circulated injurious to the reputation of all members of -the party. A careful observer of the whole course of the Department of -the Interior in this matter could not fail to come to the conclusion -that for some mysterious, unexplained, and unexplainable reason the -Department did not wish—in fact, was unwilling—that the Ponca tribe -should be reinstated on its lands. Discussions on the matter grew warm. -The inspector who had been concerned in their removal published long -letters reflecting equally on the veracity of Standing Bear and of the -Secretary of the Interior. Standing Bear replied in a few pithy words, -which were conclusive in their proving of the falsity of some of the -inspector's statements. The Secretary, also, did not think it beneath -his dignity to reply in successive newspaper articles to the inspector's -reflections upon him; but the only thing that was made clear by this -means was that either the Secretary or the inspector, or both, said what -was not true. - -In Boston the interest in the Ponca case reached such a height that a -committee was appointed to represent the case in Washington, and to -secure legislation upon it. Standing Bear and his party went to -Washington, and, in spite of the secret hostility of the Interior -Department, produced a powerful impression upon Congress. Senator Dawes, -of Massachusetts, and Senator Morgan, of Alabama, both became warm -advocates of their cause. The subject once started, case after case came -up for investigation; and the Congressional committees called for -evidence in regard to several of the more striking instances of -injustice to Indians. - -White Eagle, one of the Ponca chiefs, who had lost his wife and four -children, and who was himself fast sinking under disease developed by -the malarial Indian Territory, came to Washington and gave eloquent -testimony in behalf of his tribe. The physicians there predicted that he -had not three months to live. A bill was introduced into Congress for -restoring to the Poncas their old reservation in Dakota, and putting -their houses, farms, etc., in the same good condition they were at the -time of their removal. - -The story of that removal was written out in full at the time by the -agent who superintended it. That he should forward this report to the -Department of the Interior was natural; but that the Department of the -Interior should have been willing to publish it to the country, to have -it on the official record of its management of Indian affairs for the -year 1877, is strange. It will make a fitting conclusion to this sketch -of the history of the Ponca tribe. The name of this agent was E. A. -Howard. He calls the report "Journal of the March." - -"_May 21st._ Broke camp at seven o'clock and marched to Crayton, a -distance of thirteen miles. Roads very heavy. The child that died -yesterday was here buried by the Indians, they preferring to bury it -than to have it buried by the white people. - -"_May 22d._ Broke camp at seven o'clock and marched to Neligh, a -distance of about twenty-five miles. The day was cool, and, the road -being high and comparatively good, the travel was made without much -inconvenience. - -"_May 23d._ The morning opened with light rain; but at eight o'clock a -terrific thunder-storm occurred of two hours' duration, which was -followed by steady rain throughout the day, in consequence of which we -remained in camp. During the day a child died, and several women and -children were reported sick, and medical attendance and medicine were -procured for them. - -"_May 24th._ Buried the child that died yesterday in the cemetery at -Neligh, giving it a Christian burial. Broke camp at ten o'clock and -marched about eight miles, crossing the Elk-horn River about two miles -below Oakdale Village. Were unable to cross at Neligh, the road being -about two feet under water and the bridges being washed away. The road -was fearfully bad, and much time and labor were expended in making the -road and bridges at all passable over the Elk-horn flats, where the -crossing was effected. - -"_May 25th._ Broke camp at six o'clock and marched twenty miles, to a -point on Shell Creek. No wood at this place, and none to be had except -what little had been picked up and brought in by the trains. Weather -cold, damp, and dreary. The Indians during the day behaved well, and -marched splendidly. - -"_May 26th._ The morning opened with a heavy continuous rain, which -prevailed until ten o'clock. Broke camp at eleven o'clock and marched -eight miles farther down Shell Creek, when it again commenced raining, -and we went into camp. The evening set in cold and rainy, and no wood to -be had except what was purchased of a settler. - -"_May 27th._ The morning opened cold, with a misty rain. Rain ceased at -half-past seven o'clock, and we broke camp at eight and marched eight -miles farther down Shell Creek, when, a heavy thunder-storm coming on, -we again went into camp. Several of the Indians were here found to be -quite sick, and having no physician, and none being attainable, they -gave us much anxiety and no little trouble. The daughter of Standing -Bear, one of the chiefs, was very low of consumption, and moving her -with any degree of comfort was almost impossible, and the same trouble -existed in transporting all the sick. - -"_May 28th._ Last evening I gave orders to break camp at five o'clock -this morning, intending, if practicable, to reach Columbus before night; -but a heavy thunder-storm prevailed at that time. Broke camp at seven -o'clock. Marched seven miles, when we came to a slough confluent to -Shell Creek, which was only made passable after two hours of active work -in cutting willow-brush and bringing a large quantity of wheat straw -from a distance of thirty rods, with which we covered the road thickly. -After crossing the slough we marched to a point on Shell Creek and -camped, having made about fourteen miles during the day. - -"_May 29th._ Broke camp at seven o'clock and crossed Shell Creek. For -about five miles the road led over a divide, and was quite good; but in -coming down on the flats, which extended for five miles between the -Bluffs and Columbus, we found the roads for the entire distance almost -impassable, owing to the many deep, miry sloughs which cross the road, -and the generally flooded and yielding condition of the soil aside from -the sloughs. Teams had to be frequently doubled, in order to get the -wagons through. The difficulties were finally overcome, and the train -marched into Columbus at two o'clock, and went into camp at Soap Fork, -having made a march of about ten miles, the march of five miles across -the flats occupying about seven hours. Major Walker, who had accompanied -us from the Niobrara River to this place with twenty-five soldiers, -under orders from the War Department, took leave of us, and returned to -Dakota." - -It was asserted again and again by the Secretary of the Interior, and by -the inspector, E. C. Kemble, that these Indians were not removed by -force—that they consented to go. - -In another part of this same report this agent says: - -"On the 15th" (six days before the "march" began) "I held another -council, which was largely attended by the chiefs, headmen, and soldiers -of the tribe, and which was of more than four hours' duration. At this -council the Indians maintained that the Government had no right to move -them from the reservation, and demanded, as an inducement or equivalent -for them to give up the reservation and move to the Indian -Territory—first, the payment to them by the Government of the sum of -$3,000,000; and, second, that, before starting, I should show to them -the sum of $40,000 which they had been told had been appropriated by the -Government for their removal. To all of which I replied positively in -the negative, telling them that I would not accede to nor consider any -demands that they might make; but that I would take under my -consideration reasonable requests that they might submit touching their -removal, and, as their agent, do what I could for them in promoting -their welfare; that I demanded that they should at all times listen to -my words; that they should go with me to their new home; and that _they -should without delay give me their final answer whether they would go -peaceably or by force_. The Indians refused to give answer at this time; -the council closed without definite results; and the Indians dispersed -with a sullen look and determined expression." - -This evidently was not the "consent" of which we have heard. We come to -it presently. - -"On the following morning, however, May 16th, they sent word to me, at -an early hour, that they had considered my words, and had concluded to -go with me, and that they wanted assistance in getting the old and -infirm, together with their property, over the Niobrara River, which was -much swollen by the rains and at a low temperature." - -What a night must these helpless creatures have passed before this -"consent" was given! Seven hundred people, _more than half of them women -and children_; a farming people, not armed with rifles, as the Ogallalla -Sioux were, when, one year later, on this same ground, the Chief Spotted -Tail told Commissioner Hayt that, if he did not give an order to have -his tribe on the way back to White Clay Creek in ten days, his young men -would go on the war-path at once; and the much-terrified commissioner -wrote the order then and there, and the Sioux were allowed to go where -they had chosen to go. Behold the difference between the way our -Government treats the powerful and treats the weak! What could these -Ponca farmers do? They must, "without delay," give their "final answer -whether they would go peaceably or _by force_." What did "_by force_" -mean? It was "_by force_" that the Government undertook to compel the -Cheyennes to go to Indian Territory; and in that Cheyenne massacre the -Cheyenne men, women, children, and babies were all shot down together! - -What could these Ponca farmers do? What would any father, brother, -husband have done under the circumstances? He would have "consented" to -go. - -The agent, as was wise, took them at their word, quickly, and that very -day, "at five o'clock P.M., had the entire tribe, with their effects, -across the river, off the reservation, and in camp in Nebraska." - -The agent should have said, "with part of their effects," for it was -only a part, and a very small part, that this helpless _consenting_ -party were allowed to take with them. All their agricultural implements -and most of their furniture were left behind. - -"It was a hard day's work," the getting the tribe and their "effects" -across the river, the agent says; "the river being about forty rods -wide, and the current so swift that it was found impossible to move the -goods across in any other way than by packing them on the shoulders of -the men, the quicksand bottom rendering it unsafe to trust them on the -backs of animals; even the wagons having to be drawn across by hand." - -Let us dwell for a moment on this picture. Seven hundred helpless, -heart-broken people beginning their sad journey by having to ford this -icy stream with quicksands at bottom. The infirm, the sick, the old, the -infants, all carried "by packing them on the shoulders of the men!" What -a scene! The Honorable Secretary of the Interior said, in one of the -letters in his newspaper controversy with the inspector in regard to the -accounts of this removal, that "the highly-colored stories which are -told about the brutal military force employed in compelling their [the -Poncas'] removal from Dakota to the Indian Territory are sensational -fabrications; at least, the official record, which is very full, and -goes into minute details, does not in the least bear them out." - -There was never any accusation brought against the "military force" of -"brutality" in this removal. The brutality was on the part of the -Government. The simple presence of the "military force" was brutal. It -meant but one thing. The Indians understood it, and the Government -intended that they should understand it; and when the agent of the -Government said to these Indians that they must give him their "final -answer whether they would go peaceably or by force," he intended that -they should understand it. Has anybody any doubt what were the orders -under which that "military force" was there? any doubt what it would -have been the military duty of Major Walker to have done in case the -Poncas had refused to "consent" to go? - -And now let us return to the "Official Record," which is, indeed, as the -Honorable Secretary of the Interior says, "very full,"and" goes into -minute details," and let us see in how much it will "bear us out;" and -when we have done with this "Official Record," let us ask ourselves if -any imagination could have invented so "highly-colored" a "story" as it -tells. - -"_June 2d._ Broke camp at seven o'clock and marched seventeen miles, -going into camp near Ulysses. Roads in bad condition. - -"_June 3d._ Had some trouble in getting started. Broke camp at eleven -o'clock and marched eight miles. Went into camp on Blue River. Many -people sick, one of whom was reported in a dying condition. Had bad -roads. Rained during afternoon. - -"_June 4th._ Broke camp at six o'clock. Marched fifteen miles, and went -into camp on Lincoln Creek, near Seward. - -"_June 5th._ Broke camp at seven o'clock. Marched fourteen miles, and -went into camp near Milford. Daughter of Standing Bear, Ponca chief, -died at two o'clock, of consumption. - -"_June 6th._ Remained in camp all day, for the purpose of obtaining -supplies. Prairie Flower, wife of Shines White and daughter of Standing -Bear, who died yesterday, was here given Christian burial, her remains -being deposited in the cemetery at Milford, Nebraska, a small village on -Blue River. - -"In this connection I wish to take official knowledge and recognition of -the noble action performed by the ladies of Milford, in preparing and -decorating the body of the deceased Indian woman for burial in a style -becoming the highest civilization. In this act of Christian kindness -they did more to ameliorate the grief of the husband and father than -they could have done by adopting the usual course of this untutored -people and presenting to each a dozen ponies. It was here that, looking -on the form of his dead daughter thus arrayed for the tomb, Standing -Bear was led to forget the burial-service of his tribe, and say to those -around him that he was desirous of leaving off the ways of the Indian -and adopting those of the white men. - -"_June 7th._ Quite a heavy rain during the afternoon. The storm, most -disastrous of any that occurred during the removal of the Poncas under -my charge, came suddenly upon us while in camp on the evening of this -day. It was a storm such as I never before experienced, and of which I -am unable to give an adequate description. The wind blew a fearful -tornado, demolishing every tent in camp, and rending many of them into -shreds, overturning wagons, and hurling wagon-boxes, camp-equipages, -etc., through the air in every direction like straws. Some of the people -were taken up by the wind and carried as much as three hundred yards. -Several of the Indians were quite seriously hurt, and one child died the -next day from injuries received, and was given Christian burial. The -storm caused a delay until the 8th for repairs, and for medical -attendance upon the injured. - -"_June 8th._ Broke camp at Milford and marched seven miles. Roads very -bad. Child died during the day. - -"_June 9th._ Put the child that died yesterday in the coffin and sent it -back to Milford, to be buried in the same grave with its aunt, Prairie -Flower. Broke camp at seven o'clock and marched to within three miles of -Crete. - -"_June 10th._ Broke camp at seven o'clock and marched one mile beyond De -Witt, where I employed a physician to visit camp and prescribe for the -sick. A woman had a thumb accidentally cut off, which caused further -commotion in the camp. - -"_June 12th._ Broke camp at seven o'clock and marched to within two -miles of Otoe Agency. Crossed Wolf Creek with a part of the train, the -crossing being very difficult; but the Indians worked splendidly." - -"The Indians worked splendidly!" Is not this a well-nigh incredible -record of patience and long-suffering? These poor creatures, marching -from ten to twenty-five miles a day, for twenty-two days, through muddy -sloughs, swollen rivers, in tempests and floods and dreary cold, leaving -their wives and their children dead by the way—dead of the sufferings of -the march—are yet docile, obedient, and "work splendidly!" - -"_June 13th._ After considerable time we succeeded in building a bridge -over Wolf Creek out of drift-timber, and succeeded in crossing the -balance of the train. Broke camp and marched three miles, and went into -camp again near Otoe Agency. - -"_June 14th._ Water-bound, and had to remain in camp all day waiting for -creek to run down. The Otoe Indians came out to see the Poncas, and gave -them ten ponies. - -"_June 15th._ Still water-bound. Remained in camp all day. - -"_June 16th._ Broke camp at seven o'clock and reached Marysville, -Kansas, where we went into camp. During the march a wagon tipped over, -injuring a woman quite severely. Indians out of rations, and feeling -hostile." - -What wonder that the Indians felt hostile? Hunger added to all the rest -of their direful misery! - -"_June 18th._ Broke camp at seven o'clock. Marched nine miles and went -into camp at Elm Creek. Little Cottonwood died. Four families determined -to return to Dakota. I was obliged to ride nine miles on horseback to -overtake them, to restore harmony, and settle difficulty in camp. Had -coffin made for dead Indian, which was brought to camp at twelve o'clock -at night from Blue Rapids. A fearful thunder-storm during the night, -flooding the camp-equipage." - -This is a "highly-colored" story, indeed! The darkness; the camp flooded -by the driving rain; thunder and lightning; a messenger arriving at -midnight with a coffin; the four families of desperate fugitives setting -out to flee back to their homes! What "sensational fabrication" could -compete with this? - -"_June 19th._ The storm of last night left the roads in an impassable -condition, and, in consequence, was obliged to remain in camp all day. -Buried Little Cottonwood in a cemetery about five miles from camp. *** - -"_June 25th._ Broke camp at six o'clock. Marched to a point about -fifteen miles farther up Deep Creek. Two old women died during the day. -*** - -"_June 30th._ Broke camp at six o'clock. Passed through Hartford, and -camped about six miles above Burlington. A child of Buffalo Chief died -during the day. *** - -"_July 2d._ Broke camp at six o'clock. Made a long march of fifteen -miles for Noon Camp, for reason that no water could be got nearer. An -Indian became hostile, and made a desperate attempt to kill White Eagle, -head chief of the tribe. For a time every male in camp was on the -war-path, and for about two hours the most intense excitement prevailed, -heightened by continued loud crying by all the women and children." - -This Indian, who is reported here as having "become hostile," no doubt, -tried to kill White Eagle for having allowed the tribe to be brought -into all this trouble. It is the general feeling among the less -intelligent members of a tribe that their chiefs are bound, under all -circumstances, to see that they come to no harm. - -"_July 9th._ Broke camp at six o'clock, passing through Baxter Springs -at about one o'clock. Just after passing Baxter Springs a terrible -thunder-storm struck us. The wind blew a heavy gale and the rain fell in -torrents, so that it was impossible to see more than four or five rods -distant, thoroughly drenching every person and every article in the -train, making a fitting end to a journey commenced by wading a river and -thereafter encountering innumerable storms. - -"During the last few days of the journey the weather was exceedingly -hot, and the teams terribly annoyed and bitten by green-head flies, -which attacked them in great numbers. Many of the teams were nearly -exhausted, and, had the distance been but little farther, they must have -given out. The people were all nearly worn out from the fatigue of the -march, and were heartily glad that the long, tedious journey was at an -end, that they might take that rest so much required for the -recuperation of their physical natures." Now let us see what provision -the Government had made for that "rest" and "recuperation," surely "much -required" and fairly earned. Not one dollar had been appropriated for -establishing them in their new home; not one building had been put up. -This people was set down in a wilderness without one provision of any -kind for their shelter. - -"It is a matter of astonishment to me," says Agent Howard (p. 100 of -this "Report"), "that the Government should have ordered the removal of -the Ponca Indians from Dakota to the Indian Territory without having -first made some provision for their settlement and comfort. Before their -removal was carried into effect an appropriation should have been made -by Congress sufficient to have located them in their new home, by -building a comfortable home for the occupancy of every family of the -tribe. As the case now is, no appropriation has been made by Congress -except of a sum little more than sufficient to remove them; and the -result is that these people have been placed on an uncultivated -reservation, to live in their tents as best they may, and await further -legislative action." - -This journal of Mr. Howard's is the best record that can ever be written -of the sufferings of the Poncas in their removal from their homes. It is -"highly colored;" but no one, however much it may be for his interest to -do so, can call it "a sensational fabrication," or can discredit it in -the smallest particular, for it is an "official record," authorized and -endorsed by being published in the "Annual Report" of the Secretary of -the Interior. - -The remainder of the Ponca tribe is still in Indian Territory, awaiting -anxiously the result of the efforts to restore to them their old homes, -and to establish the fact of their indisputable legal right to them.[27] - -Footnote 27: - - See Appendix, Art. II., for later facts in the history of the Poncas. - - - - - CHAPTER VII. - - THE WINNEBAGOES. - - -The Winnebagoes belonged to the Dakota family, but, so far as can be -known, were naturally a peace-loving people, and had no sympathy with -the more warlike tribes of their race. The Algonquins gave them the name -of Winnebagoes, or "people of the salt-water;" and as the Algonquin word -for salt-water and stinking-water was the same, the French called them -"Les Puants," or "Stinkards." The Sioux gave them a more melodious and -pleasing name, "O-ton-kah," which signified "The large, strong people." - -Bancroft, in his account of the North American tribes, says: "One little -community of the Dakota (Sioux) family had penetrated the territories of -the Algonquins: the Winnebagoes dwelling between Green Bay and the lake -that bears their name preferred to be environed by Algonquins than to -stay in the dangerous vicinity of their own kindred." - -One of the earliest mentions that is found of this tribe, in the -diplomatic history of our country, is in the reports given of a council -held in July, 1815, at "Portage des Sioux," in Missouri, after the -treaty of Ghent. To this council the Winnebagoes refused to send -delegates; and their refusal was evidently considered a matter of some -moment. The commissioners "appointed to treat with the North-western -Indians" at this time reported that they found "the Indians much divided -among themselves in regard to peace with the United States." Some of -them "spoke without disguise of their opposition to military -establishments on the Mississippi," and many of them, "among whom were -the Winnebagoes, utterly refused to send deputies to the council." This -disaffection was thought by the commissioners to be largely due to the -influence of British traders, who plied the Indians with gifts, and -assured them that war would soon break out again between the United -States and Great Britain. It is probable, however, that the Winnebagoes -held themselves aloof from these negotiations more from a general -distrust of white men than from any partisan or selfish leaning to the -side of Great Britain; for when Dr. Jedediah Morse visited them, only -seven years later, he wrote: "There is no other tribe which seems to -possess so much jealousy of the whites, and such reluctance to have -intercourse with them, as this." - -Spite of this reluctance they made, in 1816, a treaty "of peace and -friendship with the United States," agreeing "to remain distinct and -separate from the rest of their nation or tribe, giving them no -assistance whatever until peace shall be concluded between the United -States and their tribe or nation." They agreed also to confirm and -observe all the lines of British, French, or Spanish cessions of land to -the United States. - -In 1825 the United States Government, unable to endure the spectacle of -Indians warring among themselves, and massacring each other, appears in -the North-western country as an unselfish pacificator, and compels the -Sacs, Foxes, Chippewas, and Sioux, including the Winnebagoes, to make a -treaty of peace and friendship with each other and with the United -States. The negotiations for this treaty occupied one month; which does -not seem a long time when one considers that the boundaries of all the -lands to be occupied by these respective tribes were to be defined, and -that in those days and regions definitions of distance were stated in -such phrases as "a half day's march," "a long day's march," "about a -day's paddle in a canoe," "to a point where the woods come out into the -meadows," "to a point on Buffalo River, half way between its source and -its mouth." These were surely precarious terms for peace to rest upon, -especially as it was understood by all parties that "no tribe shall hunt -within the actual limits of any other without their consent." - -At the close of this treaty there occurred a curious incident, which -Schoolcraft calls "an experiment on the moral sense of the Indians with -regard to intoxicating liquors." "It had been said by the tribes that -the true reason for the Commissioners of the United States speaking -against the use of ardent spirits by the Indians, and refusing to give -it to them, was the fear of expense, and not a sense of its bad effects. -To show them that the Government was above such a petty motive, the -commissioners had a long row of tin camp-kettles, holding several -gallons each, placed on the grass; and then, after some suitable -remarks, each kettle was spilled out in their presence. The thing was -ill-relished by the Indians, who loved the whiskey better than the -joke." - -At this time the lands of the Winnebagoes lay between the Rock and the -Wisconsin rivers, along the shore of Winnebago Lake, and the Indians -claimed that the whole lake belonged to them. It was here that President -Morse had found them living in 1822. He gives the following graphic -picture of their pleasant home: "They have five villages on the Lake, -and fourteen on Rock River. The country has abundance of springs, small -lakes, ponds, and rivers; a rich soil, producing corn and all sorts of -grain. The lakes abound with fine-flavored, firm fish." Of the Indians -themselves, he says: "They are industrious, frugal, and temperate. They -cultivate corn, potatoes, pumpkins, squashes, and beans, and are -remarkably provident. They numbered five hundred and eighty souls." - -In 1827 a third treaty was signed by the Winnebagoes, Chippewas, and -Menomonies with the United States and with each other. This treaty -completed the system of boundaries of their lands, which had been only -partially defined by the two previous treaties. Of these three treaties -Schoolcraft says: "These three conferences embody a new course and -policy for keeping the tribes in peace, and are founded on the most -enlarged consideration of the aboriginal right of fee-simple to the -soil. They have been held exclusively at the charge and expense of the -United States, and contain no cession of territory." - -They were the last treaties of their kind. In 1828 the people of -Northern Illinois were beginning to covet and trespass on some of the -Indian lands, and commissioners were sent to treat with the Indians for -the surrender of such lands. The Indians demurred, and the treaty was -deferred; the United States in the mean time agreeing to pay to the four -tribes $20,000, "in full compensation for all the injuries and damages -sustained by them in consequence of the occupation of any part of the -mining country." - -In 1829 a benevolent scheme for the rescue of these hard-pressed tribes -of the North-western territory was proposed by Mr. J. D. Stevens, a -missionary at Mackinaw. He suggested the formation of a colony of them -in the Lake Superior region. He says—and his words are as true to-day, -in 1879, as they were fifty years ago: "The Indian is in every view -entitled to sympathy. The misfortune of the race is that, seated on the -skirts of the domain of a popular government, they have no vote to give. -They are politically a nonentity. *** The whole Indian race is not worth -one white man's vote. If the Indian were raised to the right of giving -his suffrage, a plenty of politicians on the frontiers would enter into -plans to better him; whereas now the subject drags along like an incubus -in Congress." - -It did, indeed. Appropriations were sadly behindhand. The promises made -to the Indians could not be fulfilled, simply because there was no money -to fulfil them with. In 1829 a Washington correspondent writes to Mr. -Schoolcraft: "There is a screw loose in the public machinery somewhere. -In 1827 we were promised $48,000 for the Indian service, and got -$30,000; in 1828 $40,000, and got $25,000." A little later the Secretary -of War himself writes: "Our annual appropriation has not yet passed; and -when it will, I am sure I cannot tell." - -In 1830 the all-engrossing topic of Congress is said to be "the removal -of the Indians. It occupies the public mind throughout the Union, and -petitions and remonstrances are pouring in without number." - -Meantime the Indians were warring among themselves, and also retaliating -on the white settlers who encroached upon their lands. The inevitable -conflict had begun in earnest, and in September of 1832 the Winnebagoes -were compelled to make their first great cession of territory to the -United States. In exchange for it they accepted a tract west of the -Mississippi, and before the 1st of June, 1833, most of those who were -living on the ceded lands had crossed the river to their new homes. -Their title to this new country was not so good as they probably -supposed, for the treaty expressly stated that it was granted to them -"to be held as other Indian lands are held." - -Article three of this treaty said, "As the country hereby ceded by the -Winnebagoes is more extensive and valuable than that given by the United -States in exchange," the United States would pay to the Winnebagoes -$10,000 annually in specie for twenty-seven years. The Government also -promised to put up buildings for them, send teachers, make various -allowances for stock, implements, tobacco, etc., and to furnish them -with a doctor. - -The Winnebagoes agreed to deliver up some of their number who had -murdered white settlers. Lands were granted by patent to four -Winnebagoes by name—two men and two women; for what reason, does not -appear in the treaty. - -Five years later the Winnebagoes ceded to the United States all their -lands east of the Mississippi, and also relinquished the right to -occupy, "except for hunting," a portion of that which they owned on the -west side. For this cession and relinquishment they were to receive -$200,000; part of this sum to be expended in paying their debts, the -expense of their removal and establishment in their new homes, and the -rest to be invested by the United States Government for their benefit. - -In 1846 the Winnebagoes were forced to make another treaty, by which -they finally ceded and sold to the United States "all right, title, -interest, claim, and privilege to all lands heretofore occupied by -them;" and accepted as their home, "to be held as other Indian lands are -held," a tract of 800,000 acres north of St. Peter's, and west of the -Mississippi. For this third removal they were to be paid -$190,000—$150,000 for the lands they gave up, and $40,000 for -relinquishing the hunting privilege on lands adjacent to their own. Part -of this was to be expended in removing them, and the balance was to be -"left in trust" with the Government at five per cent. interest. - -This reservation proved unsuited to them. The tribe were restless and -discontented; large numbers of them were continually roaming back to -their old homes in Iowa and Wisconsin, and in 1855 they gladly made -another treaty with the Government, by which they ceded back to the -United States all the land which the treaty of 1846 had given them, and -took in exchange for it a tract eighteen miles square on the Blue Earth -River. The improved lands on which they had been living, their mills and -other buildings, were to be appraised and sold to the highest bidder, -and the amount expended in removing them, subsisting them, and making -them comfortable in their new home. This reservation, the treaty said, -should be their "permanent home;" and as this phrase had never before -been used in any of their treaties, it is to be presumed that the -Winnebagoes took heart at hearing it. They are said to have "settled -down quietly and contentedly," and have gone to work immediately, -"ploughing, planting, and building." - -The citizens of Minnesota did not take kindly to their new neighbors. -"An indignation meeting was held; a petition to the President signed; -and movements made, the object of all which was to oust these Indians -from their dearly-purchased homes," says the Report of the Indian -Commissioner for 1855. - -Such movements, and such a public sentiment on the part of the -population surrounding them, certainly did not tend to encourage the -Winnebagoes to industry, or to give them any very sanguine hopes of -being long permitted to remain in their "permanent home." Nevertheless -they worked on, doing better and better every year, keeping good faith -with the whites and with the Government, and trusting in the -Government's purpose and power to keep faith with them. The only serious -faults with which they could be charged were drunkenness and gambling, -and both of these they had learned of the white settlers. In the latter -they had proved to be apt scholars, often beating professional gamblers -at their own game. - -They showed the bad effects of their repeated removals, also, in being -disposed to wander back to their old homes. Sometimes several hundred of -them would be roaming about in Wisconsin. But the tribe, as a whole, -were industrious, quiet, always peaceable and loyal, and steadily -improving. They took hold in earnest of the hard work of farming; some -of them who could not get either horses or ploughs actually breaking up -new land with hoes, and getting fair crops out of it. Very soon they -began to entreat to have their farms settled on them individually, and -guaranteed to them for their own; and the Government, taking advantage -of this desire on their part, made a treaty with them in 1859, by which -part of their lands were to be "allotted" to individuals in "severalty," -as they had requested, and the rest were to be sold, the proceeds to be -partly expended in improvements on their farms, and partly to be "left -in trust" with the Government. This measure threw open hundreds of -thousands of acres of land to white settlers, and drew the belt of -greedy civilization much tighter around the Indians. Similar treaties to -this had been already made with some of the Sioux tribes and with -others. It was evident that "the surplus land occupied by the Indians -was required for the use of the increasing white population," and that -it was "necessary to reduce the reservations." - -There is in this treaty of 1859 one extraordinary provision: "In order -to render unnecessary any further treaty engagements or arrangements -with the United States, it is hereby agreed and stipulated that the -President, with the assent of Congress, shall have full power to modify -or change any of the provisions of former treaties with the Winnebagoes, -in such manner and to whatever extent he may judge to be necessary and -expedient for their welfare and best interest." - -It is impossible to avoid having a doubt whether the chiefs and headmen -of the Winnebago tribe who signed this treaty ever heard that proviso. -It is incredible that they could have been so simple and trustful as to -have assented to it. - -Prospects now brightened for the Winnebagoes. With their farms given to -them for their own, and a sufficient sum of money realized by the sale -of surplus lands to enable them to thoroughly improve the remainder, -their way seemed open to prosperity and comfort. They "entered upon -farming with a zeal and energy which gave promise of a prosperous and -creditable future." - -"Every family in the tribe has more or less ground under cultivation," -says their agent. He reports, also, the minutes of a council held by the -chiefs, which tell their own story: - -"When we were at Washington last winter, we asked our Great Father to -take $300,000 out of the $1,100,000, so that we could commence our next -spring's work. We do not want all of the $1,100,000, only sufficient to -carry on our improvements. This money we ask for we request only as a -loan; and when our treaty is ratified, we want it replaced. We want to -buy cattle, horses, ploughs, and wagons; and this money can be replaced -when our lands are sold. We hope you will get this money: we want good -farms and good houses. Many have already put on white man's clothes, and -more of us will when our treaty is ratified. - -"Father, we do not want to make you tired of talk, but hope you will -make a strong paper, and urgent request of our Great Father in respect -to our wishes." - -In 1860 the Commissioner of Indian Affairs writes: "The Winnebagoes -continue steadily on the march of improvement. *** The progress of the -Winnebagoes in agricultural growths is particularly marked with success. -There have been raised by individuals as high as sixty acres of wheat on -a single farm. *** The agent's efforts have been directed to giving to -each Indian his own allotment of land. *** Wigwams are becoming as -scarce as houses were two years ago. *** All Indians who had horses -ploughed and farmed their own lands. *** The Indians were promised that -new and comfortable houses should be built for them. The treaty not yet -being ratified, I have no funds in my hands that could be made -applicable to this purpose. *** The greater part of the Indians have -entreated me to carry out the meaning of the commissioner on his visit -here, and the reasons for my not doing so do not seem comprehensible to -them. *** The school is in a flourishing condition." - -In 1861 the commissioner writes that the allotment of lands in severalty -to the Winnebagoes has been "substantially accomplished;" but that the -sales of the remaining lands have not yet been made, owing to the -unsettled condition of the country, and therefore the funds on which the -Indians were depending for the improvements of their farms have not been -paid to them. They complain bitterly that the provisions of the treaty -of 1859 have not been fulfilled. "It has been two years and a half since -this treaty was concluded," says the agent, "and the Indians have been -told from one season to another that something would be done under it -for their benefit, and as often disappointed, till the best of them -begin to doubt whether anything will be done. *** The Indians who have -had their allotments made are 'clamoring for their certificates.'" - -Drunkenness is becoming one of the serious vices of the tribe. They are -surrounded on all sides by white men who traffic in whiskey, and who -are, moreover, anxious to reduce the Indians to as degraded a state as -possible. "There are some circumstances connected with the location of -this tribe which make it more difficult to protect them from the ravages -of liquor-selling than any other tribe. They are closely surrounded by a -numerous white population, and these people feel very indignant because -the Indians are settled in their midst, and are disposed to make it as -uncomfortable for them to remain here as they can, hoping at some future -time they may be able to cause their removal." - -The time was not far distant. In 1862 we find the Winnebagoes in trouble -indeed. A ferocious massacre of white settlers by the Sioux had so -exasperated the citizens of Minnesota, that they demanded the removal of -all Indians from the State. The people were so excited that not an -Indian could step outside the limits of the reservation without the risk -of being shot at sight. The Winnebagoes had utterly refused to join the -Sioux in their attack on the whites, and had been threatened by them -with extermination in consequence of this loyalty. Thus they were -equally in danger from both whites and Indians: their position was truly -pitiable. - -In the Annual Report of the Interior Department for 1862 the condition -of things is thus described: "While it may be true that a few of the -Winnebagoes were engaged in the atrocities of the Sioux, the tribe, as -such, is no more justly responsible for their acts than our Government -would be for a pirate who happened to have been born on our territory. -Notwithstanding this, the exasperation of the people of Minnesota -appears to be nearly as great toward the Winnebagoes as toward the -Sioux. They demand that the Winnebagoes as well as the Sioux shall be -removed from the limits of the State. The Winnebagoes are unwilling to -move. Yet the Minnesota people are so excited that not a Winnebago can -leave his reservation without risk of being shot; and as they have never -received their promised implements of agriculture, and the game on their -reservation is exhausted, and their arms have been taken from them, they -are starving." - -Their agent writes: "These Indians have been remaining here in a -continuous state of suspense, waiting for the Government to cause the -stipulations of the treaty of 1859 to be carried into operation: such -has been their condition for three years and a half, and they do not -understand why it is so. *** The fact that a very few of the Winnebagoes -were present and witnessed, if they did not take part in, the massacre -at the Lower Sioux Agency, has caused the Winnebagoes themselves to be -universally suspected of disloyalty. *** The hostile feelings of the -white people are so intense, that I am necessitated to use extra efforts -to keep the Indians upon their own lands. I have been notified by the -whites that the Indians will be massacred if they go out of their own -country; and it is but a few days since an Indian was killed while -crossing the Mississippi River, for no other reason than that he was an -Indian, and such is the state of public opinion that the murderer goes -unpunished." - -As to the loyalty of the tribe, the agent says: "There is no tribe of -Indians more so." There is "no doubt of their loyalty as a tribe. *** In -consequence of a threat made by the Sioux, immediately upon their -outbreak, that they (the Sioux) would exterminate the Winnebagoes unless -they joined them in a raid against the white people, the Winnebagoes -have lived in fear of an attack from the Sioux, and have almost daily -implored me for protection. *** To further assure them, I requested of -the Governor of the State that two companies of United States infantry -be stationed here in their midst, which has allayed their fears. *** -Notwithstanding the nearness of the belligerent Sioux, and the -unfriendly feelings of the white people, and other unfortunate -circumstances, I am confident that my Indians will remain loyal to the -last. *** They have been informed that, notwithstanding their fidelity -to the Government and the people, the people of this State are -memorializing Congress to remove them out of the State—which they -consider very unjust under the circumstances, for they have become -attached to this location and would not leave it willingly, and think -their fidelity ought to entitle them to respect and kind treatment." - -The "popular demand" of the people of Minnesota triumphed. In February, -1863, Congress passed an act authorizing the "peaceful and quiet removal -of the Winnebago Indians from the State of Minnesota, and the settling -of them on a new reserve." It was determined to locate them "on the -Missouri River somewhere within a hundred miles of Fort Randall, where -it is not doubted they will be secure from any danger of intrusion from -whites." All their guns, rifles, and pistols were to be taken from them, -"securely boxed up," labelled "with the names of their respective -owners." The Department impressed it on the agent in charge of the -removal that it was "absolutely necessary that no time should be lost in -the emigrating of these Indians." The hostile Sioux were to be removed -at the same time, and to a reservation adjoining the reservation of the -Winnebagoes. The reports of the Indian Bureau for 1863 tell the story of -this removal.[28] - -Footnote 28: - - See Appendix, Art. VI. - -The commissioner says: "The case of the Winnebagoes is one of peculiar -hardship. I am still of the opinion that this tribe was in no manner -implicated in or responsible for the cruel and wanton outbreak on the -part of the Sioux; but its consequences to the tribe have been as -disastrous as unmerited. In obedience to the Act of Congress, and the -popular demand of the people of Minnesota, they have been removed to a -new location upon the Missouri River, adjoining that selected for the -Sioux. Contrasting the happy homes, and the abundant supply for all -their wants which they have left behind them, with the extreme -desolation which prevails throughout the country, including their -present location, and their almost defenceless state, as against the -hostile savages in their vicinity, their present condition is truly -pitiable; and it is not surprising that they have become to some extent -discouraged, and are dissatisfied with their new homes. It cannot be -disguised that their removal, although nominally peaceable and with -their consent, was the result of the overwhelming pressure of the public -sentiment of the community in which they resided; and it is to be feared -that it will be many years before their confidence in the good faith of -our Government, in its professed desire to ameliorate and improve their -condition, will be restored. Their misfortunes and good conduct deserve -our sympathy." - -The Act of Congress above mentioned provides for the peaceable removal -of the Indians. In its execution some of the members of the tribe were -found unwilling to leave their homes; and as there was neither the -disposition nor the power to compel them to accompany their brethren, -they remained upon their old reservation. The most of them are -represented as having entirely abandoned the Indian habits and customs, -and as being fully qualified by good conduct and otherwise for civilized -life. Many of them are enlisted in the military service, and all are -desirous of retaining possession of the homes allotted to them under the -provisions of their treaty. - -"The trust lands belonging to the tribe have been placed in the market, -and from the amount already sold has been realized $82,537.62. An -appraisement has also been had of the lands of the diminished reserve, -and the same will soon be placed in the market." - -In the Report of the Superintendent of the North-west Territory for the -same year is the following summing up of their case: "The case of these -Winnebago Indians is one of peculiar hardship. Hurried from their -comfortable homes in Minnesota, in 1863, almost without previous notice, -huddled together on steamboats with poor accommodations, and transported -to the Crow Creek Agency in Dakota Territory at an expense to themselves -of more than $50,000, they were left, after a very imperfect and hasty -preparation of their new agency for their reception, upon a sandy beach -on the west bank of the Missouri River, in a country remarkable only for -the rigors of its winter climate and the sterility of its soil, to -subsist themselves where the most industrious and frugal white man would -fail, five years out of six, to raise enough grain upon which to subsist -a family. The stern alternative was presented to this unfortunate -people, thus deprived of comfortable homes (on account of no crime or -misdemeanor of their own), of abandoning this agency, or encountering -death from cold or starvation. They wisely chose the former; and after -encountering hardships and sufferings too terrible to relate, and the -loss of several hundred of their tribe by starvation and freezing, they -arrived at their present place of residence [the Omaha Agency] in a -condition which excited the active sympathy of all who became acquainted -with the story of their wrongs. There they have remained, trusting that -the Government would redeem its solemn promise to place them in a -position west of the Missouri which should be as comfortable as the one -which they occupied in Minnesota. - -"This tribe is characterized by frugality, thrift, and industry to an -extent unequalled by any other tribe of Indians in the North-west. Loyal -to the Government, and peaceable toward their neighbors, they are -entitled to the fostering care of the General Government. The -improvement of the homes which they have voluntarily selected for their -future residence will place them in a short time beyond the reach of -want, and take from the Government the burden of supplying their wants -at an actual expense of $100,000." - -It was in May, 1863, that the Winnebagoes gathered at Fort Snelling, -ready for their journey. The chiefs are said to have "acquiesced in the -move as a matter of necessity, for the protection of their people," but -some of them "actually shed tears on taking leave." Colonel Mix, who was -in charge of this removal, wrote to Washington, urgently entreating that -tents at least might be provided for them on their arrival at their new -homes in the wilderness. He also suggests that it is a question whether -they ought to be settled so near the hostile Sioux, especially as just -before leaving Minnesota some of the tribe had "scalped three Sioux -Indians, thinking it would propitiate them in the kind regards of their -Great Father at Washington, and, as a consequence, they would perhaps be -permitted to remain in Minnesota." - -The removal was accomplished in May and June. There were, all told, 1945 -of the Winnebagoes. They arrived to find themselves in an almost barren -wilderness—a dry, hard soil, "too strong for ploughs;" so much so, that -it was "difficult to get a plough to run a whole day without breaking." -A drought had parched the grass, so that in many places where the -previous year several tons of good hay to an acre had been raised there -was not now "pasturage for a horse." The cottonwood timber, all which -could be procured, was "crooked, difficult to handle, full of -wind-shakes, rots, etc." The channel of the Missouri River here was so -"changeable," and the banks so low, that it was "dangerous to get too -near." They were obliged therefore to settle half a mile away from the -river. No wonder that on July 1st the Winnebagoes are reported as "not -pleased with their location, and anxious to return to Minnesota, or to -some other place among the whites." They gathered together in council, -and requested Superintendent Thompson to write to their Great Father for -permission "to move among the whites again. *** They have lived so long -among the whites that they are more afraid of wild Indians than the -whites are." The superintendent hopes, however, they will be more -contented as soon as he can get them comfortable buildings. But on July -16th we find Brigadier-general Sulley, commander of the North-western -expedition against Indians, writing to the Department in behalf of these -unfortunate creatures. General Sulley having been detained in camp near -Crow Creek on account of the low water, the chiefs had gone to him with -their tale of misery. "They stated that nothing would grow here. They -dare not go out to hunt for fear of other tribes, and they would all -starve to death. This I believe to be true, without the Government -intends to ration them all the time. The land is sandy, dry, and parched -up. *** The land is poor; a low, sandy soil. I don't think you can -depend on a crop of corn even once in five years, as it seldom rains -here in the summer. *** I find them hard at work making canoes, with the -intention of quitting the agency and going to join the Omahas or some -other tribe down the river. They said they had been promised to be -settled on the Big Sioux River. *** I told them they must stay here till -they get permission from Washington to move; that, if they attempted it, -they would be fired on by my troops stationed down the river." - -This is a graphic picture of the condition of a band of two thousand -human beings, for whose "benefit" $82,537.62 had just been realized from -sale of their lands by the Government, to say nothing of the property -they owned in lands yet unsold, and in annuity provisions of previous -treaties to the amount of over $1,000,000 capital! Is not their long -suffering, their patience, well-nigh incredible? - -Spite of the dread of being fired on by the United States troops, they -continued to make canoes and escape in them from this "new home" in the -desert, and in October the Department of the Interior began to receive -letters containing paragraphs like this: "I have also to report that -small detachments of Winnebagoes are constantly arriving in canoes, -locating on our reserve, and begging for food to keep them from -starving."—_Agent for Omaha Agency._ - -These are the men who only one year before had been living in -comfortable homes, with several hundred acres of good ground under -cultivation, and "clamoring for certificates" of their "allotted" -farms—now shelterless, worse than homeless, escaping by canoe-loads, -under fire of United States soldiers, from a barren desert, and -"clamoring" for food at Indian agencies! - -The Department of the Interior promptly reports to the Superintendent of -Indian Affairs in Minnesota this "information," and calls it -"astounding." The Department had "presumed that Agent Balcombe would -adopt such measures as would induce the Winnebagoes to remain upon their -reservation," and had "understood that ample arrangements had been made -for their subsistence." It, however, ordered the Omaha agent to feed the -starving refugees till spring, and it sent word to those still remaining -on the reservation that they must not "undertake to remove without the -consent of their Great Father, as it is his determination that a home -that shall be healthy, pleasant, and fertile, shall be furnished to them -at the earliest practicable moment." - -This was in the autumn of 1863. In one year no less than 1222 of the -destitute Winnebagoes had escaped and made their way to the Omaha -Reservation in Nebraska. Here the Superintendent of the Northern -Superintendency held a council with them. - -"They expressed," he says, "a strong desire to have some arrangement -made by which they would be allowed to occupy a portion of that -reservation. It was represented that the Omahas wished it also. *** I -found that I could not gain their consent to go back to their -reservation, and I had no means within my reach of forcing them back, -even if I had deemed it proper to do so." The superintendent -recommended, therefore, that they be subsisted where they were "until -some arrangement be made for their satisfaction, or some concert of -action agreed upon between the War Department and the Interior -Department by which they can be kept on their reservation after they -shall have been moved there." - -In September of this same year the agent for the Winnebago Reserve wrote -that the absence of a protecting force had been one of the reasons of -the Indians leaving in such numbers. "Both the Winnebagoes and Sioux who -have stayed here have lived in fear and trembling close to the stockade, -and have refused to separate and live upon separate tracts of land." - -He gives some further details as to the soil and climate. "The region -has been subject, as a general rule, to droughts, and the destructive -visits of grasshoppers and other insects. The soil has a great quantity -of alkali in it; it is an excessively dry climate; it very seldom rains, -and dews are almost unknown here: almost destitute of timber. *** It is -generally supposed that game is plenty about here. This is an erroneous -impression. There are but a very few small streams, an entire absence of -lakes, and an almost entire destitution of timber—the whole country -being one wilderness of dry prairie for hundreds of miles around; hence -there is but a very little small game, fish, or wild fruit to be found. -In former times the buffalo roamed over this country, but they have -receded, and very seldom come here in any numbers. *** The Indians must -have horses to hunt them: horses they have not. The Winnebagoes had some -when they first arrived, but they were soon stolen by the hostile -Sioux." - -Agent Balcombe must have led a hard life on this reservation. Exposed to -all the inconveniences of a remote frontier, three hundred miles from -any food-raising country; receiving letters from the Interior Department -expressing itself "astounded" that he does not "induce the Indians in -his charge to remain on their reservation;" and letters from citizens, -and petitions from towns in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and Nebraska, -imploring him to "gather up" all the wandering Winnebagoes who have been -left behind; unprovided with any proper military protection, and -surrounded by hostile Indians—no wonder that he recommends to the -Government "to remove and consolidate" the different tribes of Indians -into "one territory" as soon as possible. - -The effects of this sojourn in the wilderness upon the Winnebagoes were -terrible. Not only were they rendered spiritless and desperate by -sufferings, they were demoralized by being brought again into conflict -with the wild Sioux. They had more than one skirmish with them, and, it -is said, relapsed so far into the old methods of their barbaric life -that at one of their dances they actually roasted and ate the heart of a -Sioux prisoner! Yet in less than a year after they were gathered -together once more on the Omaha Reservation, and began again to have -hopes of a "permanent home," we find their chiefs and headmen sending -the following petition to Washington: - -"OUR GREAT FATHER AT WASHINGTON, ALL GREETING,—From the chiefs, braves, -and headmen of your dutiful children the Winnebagoes. - -"Father, we cannot see you. You are far away from us. We cannot speak to -you. We will write to you; and, Father, we hope you will read our letter -and answer us. - -"Father: Some years ago, when we had our homes on Turkey River, we had a -school for our children, where many of them learned to read and write -and work like white people, and we were happy. - -"Father: Many years have passed away since our school was broken up; we -have no such schools among us, and our children are growing up in -ignorance of those things that should render them industrious, -prosperous, and happy, and we are sorry. Father: It is our earnest wish -to be so situated no longer. It is our sincere desire to have again -established among us such a school as we see in operation among your -Omaha children. Father: As soon as you find a permanent home for us, -will you not do this for us? And, Father, as we would like our children -taught the Christian religion, as before, we would like our school -placed under the care of the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions. And -last, Father, to show you our sincerity, we desire to have set apart for -its establishment, erection, and support, all of our school-funds and -whatever more is necessary. - -"Father: This is our prayer. Will not you open your ears and heart to -us, and write to us?" - -This letter was signed by thirty-eight of the chiefs and headmen of the -Winnebagoes. - -In March, 1865, a new treaty was made between the United States and this -long-suffering tribe of Indians, by which, in consideration of their -"ceding, selling, and conveying" to the United States all their right in -the Dakota Reserve, the United States agreed "to set apart for the -occupation and future home of the Winnebago Indians forever" a certain -tract of 128,000 acres in Nebraska—a part of the Omaha Reservation which -the Omahas were willing to sell. The United States also agreed to erect -mills, break land, furnish certain amounts of seeds, tools, guns, and -horses, oxen and wagons, and to subsist the tribe for one year, as some -small reparation for the terrible losses and sufferings they had -experienced. From this word "forever" the Winnebagoes perhaps took -courage. - -At the time of their removal from Minnesota, among the fugitives who -fled back to Wisconsin was the chief De Carry. He died there, two years -later, in great poverty. He was very old, but remarkably intelligent; he -was the grandson of Ho-po-ko-e-kaw, or "Glory of the Morning," who was -the queen of the Winnebagoes in 1776, when Captain Carver visited the -tribe. There is nothing in Carver's quaint and fascinating old story -more interesting than his account of the Winnebago country. He stayed -with them four days, and was entertained by them "in a very -distinguished manner." Indeed, if we may depend upon Captain Carver's -story, all the North-western tribes were, in their own country, a -gracious and hospitable people. He says: "I received from every tribe of -them the most hospitable and courteous treatment, and am convinced that, -till they are contaminated by the example and spirituous liquors of -their more refined neighbors, they will retain this friendly and -inoffensive conduct toward strangers." - -He speaks with great gusto of the bread that the Winnebago women made -from the wild maize. The soft young kernels, while full of milk, are -kneaded into a paste, the cakes wrapped in bass-wood leaves, and baked -in the ashes. "Better flavored bread I never ate in any country," says -the honest captain. - -He found the Winnebagoes' home truly delightful. The shores of the lake -were wooded with hickory, oak, and hazel. Grapes, plums, and other -fruits grew in abundance. The lake abounded in fish; and in the fall of -the year with geese, ducks, and teal, the latter much better flavored -than those found nearer the sea, as they "acquire their excessive -fatness by feeding on the wild rice which grows so plentifully in these -parts." - -How can we bear to contrast the picture of this peace, plenty, and -gracious hospitality among the ancient Winnebagoes with the picture of -their descendants—only two generations later—hunted, driven, starved? -And how can we bear to contrast the picture of the drunken, gambling -Winnebago of Minnesota with this picture which Captain Carver gives of a -young Winnebago chief with whom he journeyed for a few days? - -Captain Carver, after a four days' visit with the Winnebagoes, and -"having made some presents to the good old queen, and received her -blessing," went on his way. Two months later, as he was travelling to -the Falls of St. Anthony, he encountered a young Winnebago chief going -on an embassy to some of the bands of the "Nadouwessies" (Sioux). This -young chief, finding that Captain Carver was about to visit the Falls, -agreed to accompany him, "his curiosity having been often excited by the -accounts he had received from some of his chiefs. He accordingly left -his family (for the Indians never travel without their households) at -this place under charge of my Mohawk servant, and we proceeded together -by land, attended only by my Frenchman, to this celebrated place. We -could distinctly hear the noise of the water full fifty miles before we -reached the Falls; and I was greatly pleased and surprised when I -approached this astonishing work of nature; but I was not long at -liberty to indulge these emotions, my attention being called off by the -behavior of my companion. The prince had no sooner gained the point that -overlooks this wonderful cascade than he began with an audible voice to -address the Great Spirit, one of whose places of residence he imagined -this to be. He told him that he had come a long way to pay his -adorations to him, and now would make him the best offerings in his -power. He accordingly threw his pipe into the stream; then the roll that -contained his tobacco; after these the bracelets he wore on his arms and -wrists; next an ornament that encircled his neck, composed of beads and -wires; and at last the ear-rings from his ears; in short, he presented -to his god every part of his dress that was valuable. During this he -frequently smote his breast with great violence, threw his arms about, -and appeared to be much agitated. All this while he continued his -adorations, and at length concluded them with fervent petitions that the -Great Spirit would constantly afford us his protection on our travels, -giving us a bright sun, a blue sky, and clear, untroubled waters; nor -would he leave the place till we had smoked together with my pipe in -honor of the Great Spirit. - -"I was greatly surprised at beholding an instance of such elevated -devotion in so young an Indian. *** Indeed, the whole conduct of this -young prince at once charmed and amazed me. During the few days we were -together his attention seemed to be totally employed in yielding me -every assistance in his power, and even in so short a time he gave me -innumerable proofs of the most generous and disinterested friendship, so -that on our return I parted from him with the greatest reluctance." - -In 1866 the report from the Winnebagoes is that they are "improving;" -manifest "a good degree of industry;" that the health of the tribe is -generally poor, but "as good as can be expected when we remember their -exposures and sufferings during the last three years." The tribe has -"diminished some four or five hundred since they left Minnesota." One -hundred soldiers have returned, "who have served with credit to -themselves and to their tribe in the defence of their country." No -school has yet been established on the agency, and this is said to be -"their greatest want." - -The superintendent writes: "The appropriations under the late treaty -have all been made, and the work of fitting up the reservation is -progressing. It affords me the highest personal satisfaction to assure -the Department that this deeply-wronged and much-abused tribe will soon -be in all respects comfortable and self-sustaining. They entered upon -their new reservation late last May, and during the present year they -have raised at least twenty thousand bushels of corn." - -In 1867 the Commissioner of Indian Affairs says: "The Winnebagoes have a -just claim against the Government on account of their removal from -Minnesota, the expenses of which _were borne out of their own tribal -funds_. The Government is clearly bound in all honor to refund to them -moneys thus expended." - -It would seem that there could have been no question in the beginning as -to who should pay the costs of such a removal as that. It should not -even have been a tax on the general Government, but on the State of -Minnesota, which demanded it—especially as there was no shadow of doubt -that the demand was made—not because the citizens of Minnesota had any -real fear of the peaceable and kindly Winnebagoes (who were as much in -terror of the Sioux as they were themselves), but because they "coveted -the splendid country the Winnebagoes were occupying, and the Sioux -difficulties furnished the pretext to get rid of them with the aid of -Congressional legislation." - -Some members of the tribe who remained in Minnesota still claimed their -"allotted" lands; "their share of all moneys payable to the Winnebagoes -under treaty stipulations, and that their share of the funds of the -tribe be capitalized and paid to them in bulk; their peculiar relations -as Indians be dissolved, and they left to merge themselves in the -community where they have cast their lot." The commissioner urges upon -the Government compliance with these requests. - -In 1868 a school was opened on the Winnebago Agency, and had a daily -attendance of one hundred and fifty scholars. The tribe adopted a code -of laws for their government, and the year was one of peace and -quietness, with the exception of some dissatisfaction on the part of the -Indians in regard to three hundred cows, which, having been sent to the -agency in fulfilment of one of the provisions of the treaty, were -nevertheless ordered by the Indian Bureau to be "kept as Department -stock." The Indians very naturally held that they had a right to these -cows; nevertheless, they continued peaceable and contented, in the -feeling that they had "at last found a home," where they might "hope to -remain and cultivate the soil with the feeling that it is theirs, and -that their children will not in a few days be driven from their -well-tilled and productive lands." They are, however, "growing -exceedingly anxious for the allotment of their lands in severalty." - -In 1869 "preparations" were "being made for allotting the lands to heads -of families." - -In 1870 "the allotment of land in severalty to the Indians has been -nearly completed, each head of a family receiving eighty acres. *** The -Indians anxiously look for the patents to these, as many have already -commenced making improvements. *** At least thirty have broken four -acres of prairie apiece, and several have built houses. *** Three -schools are in operation, and four hundred acres of ground under -cultivation." - -In this year comes also an interesting report from the stray Winnebagoes -left behind in Wisconsin. They and the stray Pottawattomies? who are in -the same neighborhood are "remarkably quiet and inoffensive, giving no -cause of complaint; on the contrary, the towns and villages where they -trade their berries, maple-sugar, etc., are deriving considerable -benefit from them: a number have been employed in lumbering, harvesting, -and hop-picking. A number of mill-owners and lumbermen have informed me -that the Indians they have employed in their business have been steady, -good hands. *** There are nearly one thousand of these Winnebagoes. Some -of them have bought land; others are renting it; and all express an -anxiety that the 'Great Father' should give them a reservation in this -region, and allow them to remain." - -In 1871 the Nebraska Winnebagoes deposed their old chiefs, and elected -twelve new ones, to serve one year; these were mainly from the younger -members of the tribe who were in favor of civilization and progress. -This was an important step toward breaking up the old style of tribal -relations. - -In 1872 we hear again from the "strays" in Wisconsin. The whites having -complained of them, Congress has appropriated funds to move them to -their respective tribes "west of the Mississippi;" but the removal has -not been undertaken "for various reasons," and the commissioner doubts -"whether it can be accomplished without additional and severe -legislation on the part of Congress, as the Indians are attached to the -country, and express great repugnance to their contemplated removal from -it." - -The poor creatures are not wanted anywhere. Spite of their being -"steady, good hands" for hired labor, and useful to towns and villages -in furnishing fruits and fish, the Wisconsin people do not want them in -their State. And the agent of the Winnebago Reservation writes, -earnestly protesting against their being brought there. He thinks they -are in moral tone far below the Indians under his charge. Moreover, he -says "the prejudice in the surrounding country is such" that he believes -it would be bad policy to remove any "more Indians" there. Nebraska does -not like Indians any better than Wisconsin does, or Minnesota did. He -adds also that his Indians "would be greatly stimulated to improve their -claims if they could secure the titles for them. They have waited three -years since the first allotments were made. It is difficult to make them -believe that it requires so long a time to prepare the patents, and they -are beginning to fear that they are not coming." - -In 1873 the Winnebagoes are cited as a "striking example of what can be -accomplished in a comparatively short time in the way of civilizing and -Christianizing Indians. *** Their beautiful tract of country is dotted -over with substantially-built cottages; the farmers own their wagons, -horses, harness, furniture of their houses—dress in civilized costume, -raise crops—and several hundred Winnebago men assisted the farmers in -adjoining counties during the late harvest in gathering their grain -crop, and proved themselves efficient and satisfactory workmen." - -In the winter of 1874 the Wisconsin "strays" were moved down to the -Nebraska Reservation. They were discontented, fomented dissatisfaction -in the tribe, and in less than a year more than half of them had -wandered back to Wisconsin again; a striking instance of the differences -in the Government's methods of handling different bands of Indians. The -thirty Poncas who ran away from Indian Territory were pursued and -arrested, as if they had been thieves escaping with stolen property; but -more than five hundred Winnebagoes, in less than one year, stroll away -from their reserve, make their way back to Wisconsin, and nothing is -done about it. - -In 1875 there are only two hundred and four of the Wisconsin "strays" -left on the Nebraska Reservation. All the others are "back in their old -haunts, where a few seem to be making a sincere effort to take care of -themselves by taking land under the Homestead Act." - -The Nebraska Winnebagoes are reported as being "nearly civilized;" all -are engaged in civilized pursuits, "the men working with their own -hands, and digging out of the ground three-fourths of their -subsistence." They have raised in this year 20,000 bushels of corn, 5800 -bushels of wheat, and 6000 bushels of oats and vegetables. They have -broken 800 acres of new land, and have built 3000 rods of fencing. -Nearly one-sixth of the entire tribe is in attendance at schools. The -system of electing chiefs annually works well; the chiefs, in their -turn, select twelve Indians to serve for the year as policemen, and they -prove efficient in maintaining order. - -What an advance in six years! Six years ago there were but twenty-three -homes and only 300 acres of land under cultivation on the whole -reservation; the people were huddled together in ravines and -bottom-lands, and were dying of disease and exposure. - -In 1876 the Winnebagoes are reported again as "fast emerging from a -condition of dependence upon their annual appropriations. *** Each head -of a family has a patent for eighty acres of land. Many have fine farms, -and are wholly supporting themselves and families by their own industry. -*** The issue of rations has been discontinued, except to the Wisconsin -branch of the tribe and to the sick-list." - -In what does this report differ from the report which would be rendered -from any small farming village in the United States? The large majority -"wholly supporting themselves and their families by their own industry;" -a small minority of worthless or disabled people being fed by -charity—_i.e._, being fed on food bought, at least in part, by interest -money due on capital made by sales of land in which they had a certain -reckonable share of ownership. Every one of the United States has in -nearly every county an almshouse, in which just such a class of -worthless and disabled persons will be found; and so crowded are these -almshouses, and so appreciable a burden is their support on the -tax-payers of State and county, that there are perpetual disputes going -on between the authorities of neighboring districts as to the ownership -and responsibility of individual paupers: for the paupers in civilized -almshouses are never persons who have had proceeds of land sales -"invested" for their benefit, the interest to be paid to them "annually -forever." It is for nobody's interest to keep them paupers, or to take -care of them as such. - -We now find the Winnebagoes once more quietly established in comfortable -homes—as they were, in their own primitive fashion, in 1822, when Dr. -Morse visited them on the shores of their beautiful lake; as they were, -after our civilized fashion, in 1862, on the healthful and fertile -up-lands of Minnesota. In their present home they seem to have reason, -at last, to feel secure, to anticipate permanence, safety, and success. -Their lands have been allotted to them in severalty: each head of a -family has his patent for eighty acres. They are, in the main, -self-supporting. - -How does the United States Government welcome this success, this heroic -triumph of a patient people over disheartening obstacles and sufferings? - -In the Annual Report of the Secretary of the Interior for 1876 the -Secretary says: "As a matter of economy, the greatest saving could be -made by uniting all the Indians upon a few reservations; the fewer, the -better." He says that there is land enough in the Indian Territory to -give every Indian—man, woman, and child—in the country seventy-five -acres apiece. He says, "The arguments are all in favor of the -consolidation." He then goes on to enumerate those arguments: "Expensive -agencies would be abolished; the Indians themselves can be more easily -watched over and controlled; evil-designing men be the better kept away -from them, and illicit trade and barter in arms and ammunition and -whiskey prevented. Goods could be supplied at a greater saving; the -military service relieved; the Indians better taught, and friendly -rivalry established among them—those most civilized hastening the -progress of those below them; and _most of the land now occupied as -reserves reverting to the General Government, would be open to entry and -sale_." - -Here are nine reasons given for removing all Indians to Indian -Territory. Five of these reasons ostensibly point to benefits likely to -accrue from this removal to the Indians. The other four point to -benefits likely to accrue to the Government; the first three of these -last are, simply, "saving;" the fourth is the significant one, -"gain"—"most of the land reverting to the General Government would be -open to entry and sale." - -It was before this necessity of opening Indian lands "to entry and sale" -that the Winnebagoes had been fleeing, from 1815 to 1863. It seems they -are no safer now. There is evidently as much reason for moving them out -of Nebraska as there was for moving them out of Wisconsin and Minnesota. - -The Secretary goes on to say: "As soon as the Indian is taught to toil -for his daily bread, and realize the sense of proprietorship in the -results of his labor, it cannot but be further to his advantage to be -able to appreciate that his labor is expended upon his individual -possessions and for his personal benefit. *** The Indian must be made to -see the practical advantage to himself of his work, and feel that he -reaps the full benefit of it. Everything should teach him that he has a -home; *** a hearth-stone of his own, around which he can gather his -family, and in its possession be entirely secure and independent." - -The logical relation of these paragraphs to the preceding one is -striking, and the bearing of the two together on the case of the -Winnebagoes is still more striking. - -In the same report the Commissioner for Indian Affairs says: "If -legislation were secured giving the President authority to remove any -tribe or band, or any portion of a tribe or band, whenever in his -judgment it was practicable, to any one of the reservations named, and -if Congress would appropriate from year to year a sum sufficient to -enable him to take advantage of every favorable opportunity to make such -removals, I am confident that a few years' trial would conclusively -demonstrate the entire feasibility of the plan. I believe that all the -Indians in Kansas, Nebraska, and Dakota, and a part at least of those in -Wyoming and Montana, could be induced to remove to the Indian -Territory." - -He adds "that the Indian sentiment is opposed to such removal is true," -but he thinks that, "with a fair degree of persistence," the removal -"can be secured." No doubt it can. - -Later in the same report, under the head of "Allotments in Severalty," -he says: "It is doubtful whether any high degree of civilization is -possible without individual ownership of land. The records of the past, -and the experience of the present, testify that the soil should be made -secure to the individual by all the guarantees which law can devise, and -that nothing less will induce men to put forth their best exertions. It -is essential that each individual should feel that his home is his own; -*** that he has a direct personal interest in the soil on which he -lives, and that that interest will be faithfully protected for him and -for his children by the Government." - -The commissioner and the secretary who wrote these clear statements of -evident truths, and these eloquent pleas for the Indians' rights, both -knew perfectly well that hundreds of Indians had had lands "allotted to -them" in precisely this way, and had gone to work on the lands so -allotted, trusting "that that interest would be faithfully protected by -the Government;" and that these "allotments," and the "certificates" of -them, had proved to be good for nothing as soon as the citizens of a -State united in a "demand" that the Indians should be moved. The -commissioner and the secretary knew perfectly well, at the time they -wrote these paragraphs, that in this one Winnebago tribe in Nebraska, -for instance, "every head of a family owned eighty acres of land," and -was hard at work on it—industrious, self-supporting, trying to establish -that "hearth-stone" around which, as the secretary says, he must "gather -his family, and in its possession be entirely secure and independent." -And yet the secretary and the commissioner advise the moving of this -Winnebago tribe to Indian Territory with the rest: "all the Indians in -Kansas, Nebraska, and Dakota" could probably be "induced to move," they -say. - -These quotations from this report of the Interior Department are but a -fair specimen of the velvet glove of high-sounding phrase of -philanthropic and humane care for the Indian, by which has been most -effectually hid from the sight of the American people the iron hand of -injustice and cruelty which has held him for a hundred years helpless in -its grasp. - -In this same year an agent on one of the Nebraska agencies writes -feelingly and sensibly: - -"Nothing has tended to retard the progress of this tribe in the line of -opening farms for themselves so much as the unsettlement occasioned by a -continued agitation of the subject of selling their reservation and the -removal of the tribe. *** The improvement that has been made at this -agency during the past three years in the direction of developing among -the Indians the means of self-support, seems to have caused an -uneasiness that has been prolific of a great deal of annoyance, inasmuch -as it has alarmed this speculative element around us with the fear that -the same (continued) will eventually plant the Indians on their present -fertile land so firmly that they cannot be removed, and thus they be -deprived of the benefits of manipulating the sale of their reservation." - -Nevertheless, the Winnebagoes keep on in their work—building houses, -school-buildings, many of them of brick made on the ground. - -In this year (1876) they experienced a great injustice in the passing of -an Act of Congress fixing the total amount to be expended for pay of -employés at any one agency at not more than $10,000. This necessitated -the closing of the fine building they had built at a cost of $20,000 for -the purpose of an industrial boarding-school. - -In this year's report their agent gives a resumé of the financial -condition of the tribe: "By treaty proclaimed June 16th, 1838, the -Winnebagoes ceded to the United States all their land east of the -Mississippi, in consideration of which they were to receive $1,100,000. -The balance of this, after making certain payments, was to be invested -for their benefit, on which the United States guaranteed to pay them an -annual interest of not less than five per cent. - -"The Winnebagoes receive no support from the Government, other than from -the interest appropriated annually on what remains of these funds. This -in 1870 amounted to over $50,000. Since then the half-breeds, numbering -one hundred and sixty persons, members of the tribe remaining in -Minnesota at the time of the removal of the Indians from that State in -1863, have, in accordance with the provisions of the act making -appropriations for the Indian service, approved March 3d, 1871, been -paid their proportion of the principal of all Winnebago funds, as shown -on the books of the Treasury at that time, including the proportion of -$85,000, on which but five more instalments of interest were to be paid, -per fourth Article treaty October 13th, 1846. In computing this -proportion, the whole number of the tribe considered as being entitled -to participate in the benefits of the tribal funds was 1531; which -number included only those located on the Winnebago reservation in -Nebraska at that time, in addition to the one hundred and sixty already -spoken of. By this Act of Congress the Nebraska Winnebagoes, who -comprise only that portion of the tribe which has complied with treaty -stipulations, and quietly acquiesced in the demands of the Government, -were deprived of nearly one-eighth part of their accustomed support. - -"Other reductions were afterward made for the purchase of a reservation -adjoining the old one in this State, and for removing to it the -wandering bands of Winnebagoes in Wisconsin. These were supposed to have -numbered in all nearly one thousand persons. They had not been in the -habit of receiving any attention or acknowledgment from the Government -since they, as a tribal organization, had declined to treat with it. -Nearly all of them objected to removing from Wisconsin to their new -reservation in Nebraska, and, as a natural consequence, soon returned -after being compelled to do so. At the present time there are probably -less than one hundred of the number remaining here. For the past three -years the sum to which the Wisconsin Winnebagoes would have been -entitled had they remained on their reservation, amounting in all to -$48,521 07, has been set apart, awaiting such act of Congress as will -give relief in the premises; thus reducing the total amount received per -annum by that portion of the tribe living on the reservation to but -little more than one-half of what it was seven years ago. It seems -needless to say that they are very much dissatisfied at this, and that -when they refer to the subject I have some difficulty in satisfying them -as to the justice of the governmental policy in setting apart funds (to -be expended at some future time) for the benefit of certain individuals -who persist in absenting themselves from their reservation, while -others, who are absent but a few months, are deprived of all advantages -from issues of supplies or payments that may have been made during their -absence." - -This case is a good illustration of the working of the trustee relation -between the United States Government and its wards. - -In 1877 we find the Secretary of the Interior still recommending that -the Indians be "gradually gathered together on smaller reservations," to -the end that "greater facilities be afforded for civilization." He -reiterates that "the enjoyment and pride of individual ownership of -property is one of the most effective civilizing agencies," and -recommends that "allotments of small tracts of land should be made to -the heads of families on all reservations, to be held in severalty under -proper restrictions, so that they may have fixed homes." - -The commissioner also recommends "a steady concentration of the smaller -bands of Indians on the larger reservations." He calls attention again -to the fact that there are 58,000 square miles in the Indian Territory -"set apart for the use of Indians, and that there they can be fed and -clothed at a greatly diminished expense; and, better than all, can be -kept in obedience, and taught to become civilized and self-supporting." - -In 1878 the Commissioner of Indian Affairs reports that a bill has been -drawn "providing for the removal and consolidation of certain Indians in -the States of Oregon, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Wisconsin, and -Minnesota, and the Territories of Washington and Dakota. *** A reduction -of twenty-five reservations and eleven agencies will thus be effected. -*** There will be restored to the public domain 17,642,455 acres of -land." He says that "further consolidations of like character are not -only possible, but expedient and advisable. *** There is a vast area of -land in the Indian Territory not yet occupied." - -With the same ludicrous, complacent logic as before, he proceeds to give -as the reason for uprooting all these Indians from the homes where they -are beginning to thrive and take root, and moving them again—for the -third, fourth, fifth, sixth, or seventh time, as it may be—the fact -that, "among the most radical defects of the policy formerly pursued -with the Indians, has been the frequent changes in their location which -have been made. *** Permanent homes, sufficient aid to enable them to -build houses, cultivate the soil, and to subsist them until they have -harvested their first crops, will wean them entirely from their old -methods of life, and in the course of a few years enable them to become -entirely self-supporting. *** Among the more forcible arguments which -can be presented in connection with this subject is the fact that the -expenses attending the removal and consolidation of the Indians, as -herein proposed, _will be more than met from the sale of lands vacated_. -*** Much of the land now owned by these Indians is valuable only for its -timber, and may be sold at an appraised value for an amount far in -excess of the price fixed by law, and yet leave a large margin of profit -to the purchaser into whose hands the lands will fall. *** I can see no -reason why the Government should not avail itself of these facts, and in -effecting the consolidation of the Indians, and the opening of the lands -for settlement, sell the same for an amount sufficient to support the -Indians in their new locations, without any actual drain on the Treasury -in the future. *** The lands belong to the Indians, and they are clearly -entitled to receive the full value of the same when sold." - -In this sentence we reach the high-water mark of the sophistry and -dishonesty of the Department's position. "The lands belong to the -Indians," but we will compel them to "restore to the public domain" -(_i.e._, to give up to white settlers) 17,642,455 acres of them. The -Indians "are clearly entitled to receive the full value of the same when -sold," but we will compel them to expend that "full value" in removing -to a place where they do not want to go, opening new lands, building new -houses, buying new utensils, implements, furniture and stock, and -generally establishing themselves, "without any actual drain on the -Treasury" of the United States: and the Department of the Interior "can -see no reason why the Government should not avail itself of these -facts." - -All this is proposed with a view to the benefit of the Indians. The -report goes on to reiterate the same old story that the Indians must -have "a perfect title to their lands;" that they have come to feel that -they are at any time liable to be moved, "whenever the pressure of white -settlers upon them may create a demand for their lands," and that they -"decline to make any improvements on their lands, even after an -allotment in severalty has been made, until they have received their -patents for the same," and that even "after the issue of patents the -difficulties surrounding them do not cease." Evidently not, since, as we -have seen, it is now several years since every head of a family among -these Winnebagoes, whose "removal" the commissioner now recommends, -secured his "patent" for eighty acres of land. - -Finally, the commissioner says: "Every means that human ingenuity can -devise, legal or illegal, has been resorted to for the purpose of -obtaining possession of Indian lands." Of this there would seem to be -left no doubt in the mind of any intelligent person, after reading the -above quotations. - -It is not to be wondered that when the news of such schemes as these -reaches the Indians on their reservations great alarm and discontent are -the result. We find in the reports from the Nebraska agencies for this -year unmistakable indications of disheartenment and anxiety. The -Winnebagoes are reported to be very anxious to be made citizens. A -majority are in favor of it, "provided the Government will adopt certain -measures which they consider necessary for the care and protection of -their property." - -They have had a striking illustration of the disadvantage of not being -citizens, in an instance of the unpunished murder of one of their number -by a white man. The story is related by the agent tersely and well, and -is one of the notable incidents in the history of the relation between -the United States Government and its wards. - -"Henry Harris, a Winnebago in good standing, an industrious man and a -successful farmer, was employed by Joseph Smith, a white man, to cut -wood on his land in Dakota County, a short distance north of the -reservation. While alone and thus engaged, on the 29th of last January, -Harris was shot through the heart with a rifle-ball. I had his dead body -taken before the coroner of the county, and at the inquest held before -that officer it was shown, to the satisfaction of the jury that rendered -a verdict in accordance therewith, that the Indian came to his death at -the hands of one D. Balinska, who had been for many years leading a -hermit's life on a tract of land that he owned adjoining the -reservation, and who had threatened Harris's life a few months before, -when they quarrelled about damages for corn destroyed by Balinska's -horse. There being snow on the ground at the time of the murder, -Balinska was tracked from his home to the place where, under cover, he -did the shooting; and his shot-pouch, containing a moulded ball of the -same weight as the one cut from the body of the Indian, was found near -by and identified. Notwithstanding this direct evidence, which was laid -before the Grand-jury of Dakota County, that honorable body was -unwilling to find a 'true bill;' for the reason, as I understand, that -it was only an Indian that was killed, and it would not be popular to -incur the expense of bringing the case to trial. This is but another -illustration of the difficulty of punishing a white man for a wrong -committed against an Indian. I need hardly say that the Indians, when -comparing this murder with that of a white man, committed eight years -ago by five of their young men—who, upon less direct evidence, were -sentenced to imprisonment in the State Penitentiary for life—are struck -with the wonderful difference in the application of the same law to -whites and Indians." - -The report from the Winnebago Agency for 1879 tells the story of the -sequel to this unpunished murder of Henry Harris. The agent says: "In my -last report I referred to the murder of one of our best Indian farmers -by a white man, who was afterward arrested and discharged without trial, -though there was no question as to his guilt. As a sequel to this, one -white man is known to have been killed last May by Holly Scott, a nephew -of the murdered Indian; and another white man is supposed to have been -killed by Eddy Priest and Thomas Walker, two young Indians who have left -for Wisconsin. The murdered white men had temporarily stopped with the -Indians. Their antecedents are unknown, and they are supposed to have -belonged to the fraternity of tramps. Holly Scott was arrested by the -Indian police, and turned over to the authorities of Dakota County for -trial, the State Legislature having at its last session extended the -jurisdiction of that county over this reservation, by what authority I -am unable to say. - -"The effect of these murders was to unsettle the Indians, nearly all -industry being suspended for several weeks. They feared that the white -people would do as they did in Minnesota in 1862, after the Sioux -massacre, when the Winnebagoes were driven from their homes in -Minnesota. *** A number of our most quiet and industrious men became -alarmed, and moved their families to Wisconsin, encouraged in so doing -by the hope of receiving from the Government a share of the funds which -have been set apart from the annual appropriations during the past four -years for the benefit of the Wisconsin Winnebagoes, and which they -suppose aggregate a large amount which will soon be paid in cash." - -This brings the story of the Winnebagoes down to the present time. What -its next chapter may be is saddening to think. It is said by those -familiar with the Nebraska Indians that, civilized though they be, they -will all make war to the knife if the attempt is made by the Government -to rob them of their present lands on the plea again of offering them a -"permanent home." That specious pretence has done its last duty in the -United States service. No Indian is left now so imbecile as to believe -it once more. - -Whether the Winnebagoes' "patents" in Nebraska would, in such a case, -prove any stronger than did their "certificates" in Minnesota, and -whether the Winnebagoes themselves, peaceable and civilized though they -be, would side with the United States Government, or with their wronged -and desperate brethren, in such an uprising, it would be hard to -predict. - - - - - CHAPTER VIII. - - THE CHEROKEES. - - -The Cherokees were the Eastern Mountaineers of America. Their country -lay along the Tennessee River, and in the highlands of Georgia, -Carolina, and Alabama—the loveliest region east of the Mississippi -River. Beautiful and grand, with lofty mountains and rich valleys -fragrant with flowers, and forests of magnolia and pine filled with the -singing of birds and the melody of streams, rich in fruits and nuts and -wild grains, it was a country worth loving, worth fighting, worth dying -for, as thousands of its lovers have fought and have died, white men as -well as red, within the last hundred years. - -When Oglethorpe came with his cargo of Madeira wine and respectable -paupers from England in 1733, and lived in tents in midwinter on the -shores of the Savannah River, one of the first conditions of safety for -his colossal almshouse, in shape of a new colony, was that all the -Indians in the region should become its friends and allies. - -The reputation of his goodness and benevolence soon penetrated to the -fastnesses of their homes, and tribe after tribe sent chiefs and headmen -to greet him with gifts and welcome. When the Cherokee chief appeared, -Oglethorpe said to him, "Fear nothing. Speak freely." "I always speak -freely," answered the mountaineer. "Why should I fear? I am now among -friends: I never feared, even among my enemies." - -The principal intention of the English trustees who incorporated the -Georgia colony was to provide a home for worthy persons in England who -were "in decayed circumstances." Among other great ends which they also -avowed was "the civilization of the savages." In one of Oglethorpe's -first reports to the trustees he says: "A little Indian nation—the only -one within fifty miles—is not only in amity, but desirous to be subjects -to his Majesty King George; to have lands given to them among us, and to -breed their children at our schools. Their chief and his beloved man, -who is the second man in the nation, desire to be instructed in the -Christian religion." - -The next year he returned to England, carrying with him eight Indian -chiefs, to show them "so much of Great Britain and her institutions as -might enable them to judge of her power and dignity. *** Nothing was -neglected," we are told, "that was likely to awaken their curiosity or -impress them with a sense of the power and grandeur of the nation." They -were received by the Archbishop of Canterbury, and by the Fellows of -Eton, and for a space of four months were hospitably entertained, and -shown all the great sights of London and its vicinity. - -The tribes at home were much gratified by these attentions paid to their -representatives, and sent out to the trustees a very curious missive, -expressing their thanks and their attachment to General Oglethorpe. This -letter was the production of a young Cherokee chief. It was written in -black and red hieroglyphs on a dressed buffalo-skin. Before it was sent -to England it was exhibited in Savannah, and the meaning of the -hieroglyphs translated by an interpreter in a grand gathering of fifty -Indian chiefs and all the principal people of Savannah. Afterward the -curious document was framed and hung up in the Georgia Office in -Westminster. - -When the Wesleyan missionaries arrived in Georgia, two years later, some -of the chiefs who had made this visit to England went to meet them, -carrying large jars of honey and of milk as gifts, to "represent their -inclinations;" and one of the chiefs said to Mr. Wesley, "I am glad you -are come. When I was in England I desired that some one would speak the -Great Word to me. I will go up and speak to the wise men of our nation, -and I hope they will hear. But we would not be made Christians as the -Spaniards make Christians; we would be taught before we are baptized." - -In those early days Wesley was an intolerant and injudicious enthusiast. -His missionary work in the Georgia Colony was anything but successful in -the outset, either among the whites or the Indians, and there was ample -justification for the reply which this same Indian chief made later when -urged to embrace the doctrines of Christianity. - -"Why, these are Christians at Savannah. Those are Christians at -Frederica. Christians get drunk! Christians beat men! Christians tell -lies! Me no Christian!" On another occasion Wesley asked him what he -thought he was made for. "He that is above," answered the chief, "knows -what he made us for. We know nothing; we are in the dark; but white men -know much. And yet white men build great houses, as if they were to live -forever. But white men cannot live forever. In a little time white men -will be dust as well as I." - -For twenty years Oglethorpe's colony struggled on under great -difficulties and discouragements. Wars with France and with Spain; -tiresome squabbles with and among Methodist missionaries, all combined -to make Oglethorpe's position hard. Again and again England would have -lost her colony except for the unswerving fidelity of the Indian allies; -they gathered by hundreds to fight for Oglethorpe. In one expedition -against the frontier, four hundred Creeks and six hundred Cherokees set -out in one day, under an urgent call for help sent by Indian runners to -their towns. His Indian friends were the only friends Oglethorpe had who -stood by him past everything: nothing could shake their fidelity. - -"He is poor; he can give you nothing," said the St. Augustine Spaniards -to a Creek chief at this time; "it is foolish for you to go to him:" and -they showed to the Indian a fine suit of scarlet clothes, and a sword, -which they were about to give to a chief of the Tennessees who had -become their ally. - -But the Creek answered, "We love him. It is true, he does not give us -silver; but he gives us everything we want that he has. He has given me -the coat off his back, and the blanket from under him." - -At last the trustees of the Georgia Colony lost patience: very bitterly -they had learned that paupers, however worthy, are not good stuff to -build new enterprises of. In eighteen years the colony had not once -furnished a sufficient supply of subsistence for its own consumption: -farms which had been cultivated were going to ruin; and the country was -rapidly degenerating in every respect. Dishonest traders had tampered -with and exasperated the Indians, so that their friendliness could no -longer be implicitly trusted. For everything that went wrong the English -Company was held responsible, and probably there were no happier men in -all England on the 20th of June, 1752, than were the Georgia trustees, -who on that day formally resigned their charter, and washed their hands -of the colony forever. - -The province was now formed into a royal government, and very soon -became the seat of frightful Indian wars. The new authorities neither -understood nor kept faith with the Indians: their old friend Oglethorpe -had left them forever, and the same scenes of treachery and massacre -which were being enacted at the North began to be repeated with -heart-sickening similarity at the South. Indians fighting -Indians—fighting as allies to-day with the French, to-morrow with the -English; treaties made, and broken as soon as made; there was neither -peace nor safety anywhere. - -At last, in 1763, a treaty was concluded with the chiefs and headmen of -five tribes, which seemed to promise better things. The Cherokees and -Creeks granted to the King of England a large tract of land, cleared off -their debts with the sum paid for it, and observed its stipulations -faithfully for several years, until peace was again destroyed, this time -by no fault of the Indians, in consequence of the revolt of the American -Colonies against Great Britain. The English loyalists in Georgia now -availed themselves of the Indians' old habit of allegiance to the Crown. -One of their leading agents took a Cherokee woman as his mistress, -placed her at the head of his table, gave her the richest dress and -equipage that the country could afford, and distributed through her -lavish gifts to all the Indians he could reach. When war actually broke -out he retreated with her into the fastnesses of the Cherokee nation, -where he swayed them at his will. Attempts to capture him were repelled -by the Cherokees with ferocity. Prisoners taken by them at this time -were tortured with great cruelty; one instance is recorded (in a journal -kept by another prisoner, who escaped alive) of a boy about twelve years -of age who was suspended by the arms between two posts, and raised about -three feet from the ground. "The mode of inflicting the torture was by -light-wood splints of about eighteen inches long, made sharp at one end -and fractured at the other, so that the torch might not be extinguished -by throwing it. After these weapons of death were prepared, and a fire -made for the purpose of lighting them, the scene of horror commenced. It -was deemed a mark of dexterity, and accompanied by shouts of applause, -when an Indian threw one of these torches so as to make the sharp end -stick into the body of the suffering youth without extinguishing the -torch. This description of torture was continued for two hours before -the innocent victim was relieved by death." - -These are sickening details, and no doubt will be instinctively set down -by most readers as proof of innate cruelty peculiar to the Indian race. -Let us, therefore, set side by side with them the record that in this -same war white men (British officers) confined white men ("rebels") in -prison-ships, starved, and otherwise maltreated them till they died, -five or six a day, then threw their dead bodies into the nearest marsh, -and had them "_trodden down in the mud_—from whence they were soon -exposed by the washing of the tides, and at low-water the prisoners -beheld the carrion-crows picking the bones of their departed -companions!" Also, that white men (British officers) were known at that -time to have made thumb-screws out of musket-locks, to torture Georgia -women, wives of "rebels," to force them to reveal the places where their -husbands were in hiding. Innate cruelty is not exclusively an Indian -trait. - -The Cherokees had the worst of the fighting on the British side during -the Revolution. Again and again their towns were burnt, their winter -stores destroyed, and whole bands reduced to the verge of starvation. At -one time, when hard pressed by the American forces, they sent to the -Creeks for help; but the shrewd Creeks replied, "You have taken the -thorns out of our feet; you are welcome to them." The Creeks, having -given only limited aid to the British, had suffered much less severely. -That any of the Indians should have joined the "rebel" cause seems -wonderful, as they had evidently nothing to gain by the transfer of -their allegiance to what must have appeared to them for a long time to -be the losing side in the contest. For three years and a half Savannah -was in the possession of the British, and again and again they had -control of the entire State. And to show that they had no compunction -about inciting the Indians to massacres they left many a written -record—such, for instance, as this, which is in a letter written by -General Gage from Boston, June, 1775: "We need not be tender of calling -on the savages to attack the Americans."[29] - -Footnote 29: - - See Appendix, Art. X. - -The first diplomatic relations of the United States Government with the -Cherokees were in the making of the treaty of Hopewell, in 1785. At the -Hopewell council the United States commissioners said: "Congress is now -the sovereign of all our country which we now point out to you on the -map. They want none of your lands, nor anything else which belongs to -you; and as an earnest of their regard for you, we propose to enter into -articles of a treaty perfectly equal and conformable to what we now tell -you. *** This humane and generous act of the United States will no doubt -be received by you with gladness, and held in grateful remembrance; and -the more so, as many of your young men, and the greater number of your -warriors, during the late war, were our enemies, and assisted the King -of Great Britain in his endeavors to conquer our country." - -The chiefs complained bitterly of the encroachments of white settlers -upon lands which had been by old treaties distinctly reserved to the -Cherokees. They demanded that some of these settlers should be removed; -and when the commissioners said that the settlers were too numerous for -the Government to remove, one of the chiefs asked, satirically, "Are -Congress, who conquered the King of Great Britain, unable to remove -those people?" - -Finally, the chiefs agreed to accept payment for the lands which had -been taken. New boundaries were established, and a general feeling of -good-will and confidence was created. One notable feature in this -council was the speech of an Indian woman, called the "war-woman of -Chota." (Chota was the Cherokees' city of refuge. All murderers were -safe so long as they lived in Chota. Even Englishmen had not disdained -to take advantage of its shelter; one English trader who had killed an -Indian, having fled, lived there for many months, his own house being -but a short distance away. After a time he resolved to return home, but -the headmen of the tribe assured him that, though he was entirely safe -there, he would surely be killed if he left the town.) The chief who -brought this "war-woman" to the council introduced her as "one of our -beloved women who has borne and raised up warriors." She proceeded to -say, "I am fond of hearing that there is a peace, and I hope you have -now taken us by the hand in real friendship. I have a pipe and a little -tobacco to give the commissioners to smoke in friendship. I look on you -and the red people as my children. Your having determined on peace is -most pleasing to me, for I have seen much trouble during the late war. I -am old, but I hope yet to bear children who will grow up and people our -nation, as we are now to be under the protection of Congress, and shall -have no disturbance." - -A brief summary of the events which followed on the negotiation of this -treaty may be best given in the words of a report made by the Secretary -of War to the President four years later. In July, 1789, General Knox -writes as follows of the Cherokees: "This nation of Indians, consisting -of separate towns or villages, are seated principally on the head-waters -of the Tennessee, which runs into the Ohio. Their hunting-grounds extend -from the Cumberland River along the frontiers of Virginia, North and -South Carolina, and part of Georgia. - -"The frequent wars they have had with the frontier people of the said -States have greatly diminished their number. The commissioners estimated -them in November, 1785, at 2000 warriors, but they were estimated in -1787 at 2650; yet it is probable they may be lessened since by the -depredations committed on them. - -"The United States concluded a treaty with the Cherokees at Hopewell, on -the Keowee, the 28th of November, 1785, which is entered on the printed -journals of Congress April 17th, 1786. The negotiations of the -commissioners on the part of the United States are hereunto annexed, -marked A. It will appear by the papers marked B. that the State of North -Carolina, by their agent, protested against the said treaty as -infringing and violating the legislative rights of that State. - -"By a variety of evidence which has been submitted to the last Congress, -it has been proved that the said treaty has been entirely disregarded by -the white people inhabiting the frontiers, styling themselves the State -of Franklin. The proceedings of Congress on the 1st of September, 1788, -and the proclamation they then issued on this subject, will show their -sense of the many unprovoked outrages committed against the Cherokees. - -"The information contained in the papers marked C., from Colonel Joseph -Martin, the late agent to the Cherokees, and Richard Winn, Esq., will -further evince the deplorable situation of the Cherokees, and the -indispensable obligation of the United States to vindicate their faith, -justice, and national dignity. - -"The letter of Mr. Winn, the late superintendent, of the 1st of March, -informs that a treaty will be held with the Cherokees on the third -Monday of May, at the Upper War-ford on French Broad River. But it is to -be observed that the time for which both he and Colonel Joseph Martin, -the agent to the Cherokees and Chickasaws, were elected has expired, and -therefore they are not authorized to act on the part of the Union. If -the commissioners appointed by North Carolina, South Carolina, and -Georgia, by virtue of the resolve of Congress of the 26th of October, -1787, should attend the said treaty, their proceedings thereon may soon -be expected. But, as part of the Cherokees have taken refuge within the -limits of the Creeks, it is highly probable they will be under the same -direction; and, therefore, as the fact of the violation of the treaty -cannot be disputed, and as the commissioners have not power to replace -the Cherokees within the limits established in 1785, it is not probable, -even if a treaty should be held, as stated by Mr. Winn, that the result -would be satisfactory." - -This is the summing up of the situation. The details of it are to be -read in copious volumes of the early history of Tennessee, North and -South Carolina, and Georgia—all under the head of "Indian Atrocities." -To very few who read those records does it occur that the Indians who -committed these "atrocities" were simply ejecting by force, and, in the -contests arising from this forcible ejectment, killing men who had -usurped and stolen their lands—lands ceded to them by the United States -Government in a solemn treaty, of which the fifth Article was as -follows: - -"If any citizen of the United States or other person, not being an -Indian, shall attempt to settle on any of the lands westward or -southward of the said boundaries which are hereby allotted to the -Indians for their hunting-grounds, or having already settled and will -not remove from the same within six months after the ratification of -this treaty, such person shall forfeit the protection of the United -States, and the Indians _may punish him or not as they please_." - -It is evident that it is necessary to go back to the days of the first -treaties with our Indians to possess ourselves of the first requisites -for fair judgment of their conduct toward white men. What would a -community of white men, situated precisely as these Cherokees were, have -done? What did these very Southern colonists themselves do to Spaniards -who encroached on their lands? Fought them; killed them; burnt their -houses over their heads, and drove them into the sea! - -In a later communication in the same year to the President, the -Secretary says: "The disgraceful violation of the treaty of Hopewell -with the Cherokees requires the serious consideration of Congress. If so -direct and manifest contempt of the authority of the United States be -suffered with impunity, it will be in vain to attempt to extend the arm -of the Government to the frontiers. The Indian tribes can have no faith -in such imbecile promises, and the lawless whites will ridicule a -government which shall on paper only make Indian treaties and regulate -Indian boundaries." - -The President, thus entreated, addressed himself to the Senate, and -asked their advice. He recapitulated the facts as set forth by General -Knox, "that upward of five hundred families are settled on the Cherokee -lands," and asks, - -"1st. Is it the judgment of the Senate that overtures shall be made to -the Cherokees to arrange a new boundary, so as to embrace the -settlements made by the white people since the treaty of Hopewell in -November, 1785? - -"2d. If so, shall compensation to the amount of $—— annually, or of $—— -in gross, be made to the Cherokees for the land they shall relinquish, -holding the occupiers of the land accountable to the United States for -its value? - -"3d. Shall the United States stipulate solemnly to guarantee the new -boundary which may be arranged?" - -The Senate thereupon resolved that the President should, at his -discretion, cause the Hopewell treaty to be carried out, or make a new -one; but, in case a new one was made, the "Senate do advise and consent -solemnly to guarantee the same." - -Accordingly, in July, 1791, a new treaty—the treaty of Holston—was made -with the Cherokees, new boundaries established, and $1000 a year -promised to the tribe for the lands relinquished. - -By the seventh Article of this treaty the United States "solemnly -guarantee to the Cherokee nation all their lands not hereby ceded:" the -eighth Article reiterates the old permission that if any citizen of the -United States or other person (not an Indian) shall settle on the -Cherokees' lands, the Cherokees may punish him as they please. Article -ninth says that no citizen or inhabitant of the United States shall hunt -or destroy game on the Cherokee lands, or go into the Cherokee country -without a passport from the governor or some other authorized person. - -The next year the Cherokees sent an embassy to Philadelphia to ask for -an increase of $500 in their annuity. One of the chiefs said that he had -told Governor Blunt the year before that he would not consent to selling -the lands for $1000 a year. "It would not buy a breech-clout for each of -my nation;" which was literally true. - -To this additional annuity the Senate consented, and with this the -chiefs said they were "perfectly satisfied." But they begged for the -ploughs, hoes, cattle, etc., which had been promised in the treaty. They -said, "Game is going fast away from among us. We must plant corn and -raise cattle, and we want you to assist us." - -In 1794 it was necessary to make another treaty, chiefly to declare that -the Holston treaty was in "full force and binding." It had not been -"fully carried into execution by reason of misunderstandings," it was -said. This was very true; white settlers had gone where they pleased, as -if it did not exist; Cherokees had murdered them, as they were, by their -treaty, explicitly permitted to do. The whites had retaliated by -unprovoked attacks on friendly Indians, and the Indians had retaliated -again. The exasperated Indians implored Congress to protect them: the -still more exasperated whites demanded of Congress to protect them. The -Secretary of War writes despairingly, that "The desire of too many -frontier white people to seize by force or fraud on the neighboring -Indian lands continues to be an unceasing cause of jealousy and hatred -on the part of the Indians; and it would appear, upon a calm -investigation, that until the Indians can be quieted on this point, and -rely with confidence on the protection of their lands by the United -States, no well-grounded hope of tranquillity can be entertained." - -In this miserable manner, unjust equally to the white men and to the -Indians, affairs went on for several years, until in 1801 it became -absolutely necessary that in some way a definite understanding of -boundaries, and an authoritative enforcement of rights on both sides, -should be brought about; accordingly, commissioners were sent by the -President "to obtain the consent of the Cherokees" to new grants of land -and establishment of boundaries. The instructions given to these -commissioners are remarkable for their reiterated assertion of the -Indians' unquestioned right to do as they please about ceding these -lands. Such phrases as these: "Should the Indians refuse to cede to the -United States any of the above-designated lands," and "you will endeavor -to prevail upon them to cede," and "you will endeavor to procure the -consent of the Indians," are proof of the fulness of the recognition the -United States Government at that time gave of the Indians' "right of -occupancy;" also of the realization on the part of the Government that -these Indian nations were powers whose good-will it was of importance to -conciliate. "It is of importance," the instructions say, "that the -Indian nations generally should be convinced of the certainty in which -they may at all times rely upon the friendship of the United States, and -that the President will never abandon them or their children;" and, "It -will be incumbent on you to introduce the desires of the Government in -such a manner as will permit you to drop them, as you may find them illy -received, without giving the Indians an opportunity to reply with a -decided negative, or raising in them unfriendly and inimical -dispositions. You will state none of them in the tone of demands, but in -the first instance merely mention them as propositions which you are -authorized to make, and their assent to which the Government would -consider as new testimonials of their friendship." - -Nevertheless, the Cherokees did reply with "a decided negative." They -utterly refused to cede any more lands, or to give their consent to the -opening of any more roads through their territory. But it only took four -years to bring them to the point where they were ready to acquiesce in -the wishes of the Government, and to make once more the effort to secure -to themselves an unmolested region, by giving up several large tracts of -land and a right of way on several roads. In 1805 they concluded another -treaty, ceding territory for which the United States thought it worth -while to pay $15,000 immediately, and an annuity of $3000. - -Ten years later (in 1816) they gave up all their lands in South -Carolina, and the United States became surety that South Carolina should -pay to them $5000 for the same. In the autumn of the same year they made -still another cession of lands to the United States Government, for -which they were to have an annuity of $6000 a year for ten years, and -$5000 as compensation for the improvements they surrendered. - -In 1817 an important treaty was concluded, making still further cessions -of lands, and defining the position of a part of the Cherokee nation -which had moved away, with the President's permission, to the Arkansas -River in 1809. The eighth Article of this treaty promises that the -United States will give to every head of an Indian family residing on -the east side of the Mississippi, who may wish to become a citizen, "a -reservation of six hundred and forty acres of land, in which they will -have a life estate, with a reversion in fee-simple to their children." - -What imagination could have foreseen that in less than twenty years the -chiefs of this Cherokee nation would be found piteously pleading to be -allowed to remain undisturbed on these very lands? In the whole history -of our Government's dealings with the Indian tribes, there is no record -so black as the record of its perfidy to this nation. There will come a -time in the remote future when, to the student of American history, it -will seem well-nigh incredible. From the beginning of the century they -had been steadily advancing in civilization. As far back as 1800 they -had begun the manufacture of cotton cloth, and in 1820 there was -scarcely a family in that part of the nation living east of the -Mississippi but what understood the use of the card and spinning-wheel. -Every family had its farm under cultivation. The territory was laid off -into districts, with a council-house, a judge, and a marshal in each -district. A national committee and council were the supreme authority in -the nation. Schools were flourishing in all the villages. -Printing-presses were at work. - -Their territory was larger than the three States of Massachusetts, Rhode -Island, and Connecticut combined. It embraced the North-western part of -Georgia, the North-east of Alabama, a corner of Tennessee and of North -Carolina. They were enthusiastic in their efforts to establish and -perfect their own system of jurisprudence. Missions of several sects -were established in their country, and a large number of them had -professed Christianity, and were living exemplary lives. - -There is no instance in all history of a race of people passing in so -short a space of time from the barbarous stage to the agricultural and -civilized. And it was such a community as this that the State of -Georgia, by one high-handed outrage, made outlaws!—passing on the 19th -of December, 1829, a law "to annul all laws and ordinances made by the -Cherokee nation of Indians;" declaring "all laws, ordinances, orders, -and regulations of any kind whatever, made, passed, or enacted by the -Cherokee Indians, either in general council or in any other way -whatever, or by any authority whatever, null and void, and of no effect, -as if the same had never existed; also, that no Indian, or descendant of -any Indian residing within the Creek or Cherokee nations of Indians, -shall be deemed a competent witness in any court of this State to which -a white man may be a party." - -What had so changed the attitude of Georgia to the Indians within her -borders? Simply the fact that the Indians, finding themselves hemmed in -on all sides by fast thickening white settlements, had taken a firm -stand that they would give up no more land. So long as they would cede -and cede, and grant and grant tract after tract, and had millions of -acres still left to cede and grant, the selfishness of white men took no -alarm; but once consolidated into an empire, with fixed and inalienable -boundaries, powerful, recognized, and determined, the Cherokee nation -would be a thorn in the flesh to her white neighbors. The doom of the -Cherokees was sealed on the day when they declared, once for all, -officially as a nation, that they would not sell another foot of land. -This they did in an interesting and pathetic message to the United -States Senate in 1822. - -Georgia, through her governor and her delegates to Congress, had been -persistently demanding to have the Cherokees compelled to give up their -lands. She insisted that the United States Government should fulfil a -provision, made in an old compact of 1802, to extinguish the Indian -titles within her limits as soon as it could be peaceably done. This she -demanded should be done now, either peaceably or otherwise. - -"We cannot but view the design of those letters," says this message, "as -an attempt bordering on a hostile disposition toward the Cherokee nation -to wrest from them by arbitrary means their just rights and liberties, -the security of which is solemnly guaranteed to them by these United -States. *** We assert under the fullest authority that all the -sentiments expressed in relation to the disposition and determination of -the nation never to cede another foot of land, are positively the -production and voice of the nation. *** There is not a spot out of the -limits of any of the States or Territories thereof, and within the -limits of the United States, that they would ever consent to inhabit; -because they have unequivocally determined never again to pursue the -chase as heretofore, or to engage in wars, unless by the common call of -the Government to defend the common rights of the United States. *** The -Cherokees have turned their attention to the pursuits of the civilized -man: agriculture, manufactures, and the mechanic arts and education are -all in successful operation in the nation at this time; and while the -Cherokees are peacefully endeavoring to enjoy the blessings of -civilization and Christianity on the soil of their rightful inheritance, -and while the exertions and labors of various religious societies of -these United States are successfully engaged in promulgating to them the -words of truth and life from the sacred volume of Holy Writ, and under -the patronage of the General Government, they are threatened with -removal or extinction. *** We appeal to the magnanimity of the American -Congress for justice, and the protection of the rights and liberties and -lives of the Cherokee people. We claim it from the United States by the -strongest obligation which imposes it on them—by treaties: and we expect -it from them under that memorable declaration, 'that all men are created -equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable -rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of -happiness.'" - -The dignified and pathetic remonstrances of the Cherokee chiefs, their -firm reiterations of their resolve not to part with their lands, were -called by the angry Georgian governor "tricks of vulgar cunning," and -"insults from the polluted lips of outcasts and vagabonds;" and he is -not afraid, in an official letter to the Secretary of War, to openly -threaten the President that, if he upholds the Indians in their -rejection of the overtures for removal, the "consequences are -inevitable," and that, in resisting the occupation of the Cherokee lands -by the Georgians, he will be obliged to "make war upon, and shed the -blood of brothers and friends." - -To these Cherokees Mr. Jefferson had written, at one time during his -administration, "I sincerely wish you may succeed in your laudable -endeavors to save the remnant of your nation by adopting industrious -occupations, and a government of regular law. In this you may always -rely on the counsel and assistance of the United States." - -In 1791 he had written to General Knox, defining the United States' -position in the matter of Indian lands: "Government should firmly -maintain this ground, that the Indians have a right to the occupation of -their lands independent of the States within whose chartered lines they -happen to be; that until they cede them by treaty, or other transaction -equivalent to treaty, no act of a State can give a right to such lands. -*** The Government is determined to exert all its energy for the -patronage and protection of the rights of the Indians." - -And the year before General Washington had said to the Six Nations: "In -future you cannot be defrauded of your lands. No State or person can -purchase your lands unless at some public treaty held under the -authority of the United States. The General Government will never -consent to your being defrauded; but it will protect you in all your -just rights. *** You possess the right to sell, and the right of -refusing to sell your lands. *** The United States will be true and -faithful to their engagements." - -What could Cherokee men and women have thought when, only thirty years -later, they found this United States Government upholding the State of -Georgia in her monstrous pretensions of right to the whole of their -country, and in her infamous cruelties of oppression toward them? when -they found this United States Government sending its agents to seduce -and bribe their chiefs to bargain away their country; even stooping to -leave on the public records of official instructions to a commissioner -such phrases as these: "Appeal to the chiefs and influential men—not -together, but apart, at their own houses;" "make offers to them of -extensive reservations in fee-simple, and other rewards, to obtain their -acquiescence;" "the more careful you are to secure from even the chiefs -the official character you bear, the better;" "enlarge on the advantage -of their condition in the West: there the Government would protect -them." This the Secretary of War called "moving on them in the line of -their prejudices." - -In a report submitted to the War Department in 1825 by Thomas L. -McKenney is a glowing description of the Cherokee country and nation at -that time: "The country is well watered; abundant springs of pure water -are found in every part; a range of majestic and lofty mountains stretch -themselves across it. The northern part is hilly and mountainous; in the -southern and western parts there are extensive and fertile plains, -covered partly with tall trees, through which beautiful streams of water -glide. These plains furnish immense pasturage, and numberless herds of -cattle are dispersed over them; horses are plenty; numerous flocks of -sheep, goats, and swine cover the valleys and the hills. On Tennessee, -Ustanula, and Canasagi rivers Cherokee commerce floats. The climate is -delicious and healthy; the winters are mild; the spring clothes the -ground with the richest scenery; flowers of exquisite beauty and -variegated hues meet and fascinate the eye in every direction. In the -plains and valleys the soil is generally rich, producing Indian-corn, -cotton, tobacco, wheat, oats, indigo, and sweet and Irish potatoes. The -natives carry on considerable trade with the adjoining States; some of -them export cotton in boats down the Tennessee to the Mississippi, and -down that river to New Orleans. Apple and peach orchards are quite -common, and gardens are cultivated, and much attention paid to them. -Butter and cheese are seen on Cherokee tables. There are many public -roads in the nation, and houses of entertainment kept by natives. -Numerous and flourishing villages are seen in every section of the -country. Cotton and woollen cloths are manufactured: blankets of various -dimensions, manufactured by Cherokee hands, are very common. Almost -every family in the nation grows cotton for its own consumption. -Industry and commercial enterprise are extending themselves in every -part. Nearly all the merchants in the nation are native Cherokees. -Agricultural pursuits engage the chief attention of the people. -Different branches in mechanics are pursued. The population is rapidly -increasing. *** White men in the nation enjoy all the immunities and -privileges of the Cherokee people, except that they are not eligible to -public offices. *** The Christian religion is the religion of the -nation. Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists, and Moravians are the most -numerous sects. Some of the most influential characters are members of -the Church, and live consistently with their professions. The whole -nation is penetrated with gratitude for the aid it has received from the -United States Government, and from different religious societies. -Schools are increasing every year; learning is encouraged and rewarded; -the young class acquire the English, and those of mature age the -Cherokee system of learning. *** Our relations with all nations are of -the most friendly character. We are out of debt, and our public revenue -is in a flourishing condition. Besides the amount arising from imports, -perpetual annuity is due from the United States in consideration of -lands ceded in former periods. Our system of government, founded on -republican principles by which justice is equally distributed, secures -the respect of the people. New Town, pleasantly situated in the centre -of the nation, and at the junction of the Canasagi and Gusuwati, two -beautiful streams, is the seat of government. The legislative power is -vested in what is denominated in native dialect Tsalagi Tinilawige, -consisting of a national committee and council. Members of both branches -are chosen by and from the people for a limited period. In New Town a -printing-press is soon to be established; also a national library and -museum. An immense concourse of people frequent the seat of government -when the Tsalagi Tinilawige is in session, which takes place once a -year. - -"The success which has attended the philological researches of one in -the nation whose system of education has met with universal approbation -among the Cherokees certainly entitles him to great consideration, and -to rank with the benefactors of man. His name is Guess, and he is a -native and unlettered Cherokee; but, like Cadmus, he has given to his -people the alphabet of their language. It is composed of eighty-six -characters, by which in a few days the older Indians, who had despaired -of deriving an education by means of the schools, and who are not -included in the existing school system, may read and correspond."[30] - -Footnote 30: - - See Appendix, Art. IX. - -Never did mountaineers cling more desperately to their homes than did -the Cherokees. The State of Georgia put the whole nation in duress, but -still they chose to stay. Year by year high-handed oppressions increased -and multiplied; military law reigned everywhere; Cherokee lands were -surveyed, and put up to be drawn by lottery; missionaries were arrested -and sent to prison for preaching to Cherokees; Cherokees were sentenced -to death by Georgia juries, and hung by Georgia executioners. Appeal -after appeal to the President and to Congress for protection produced -only reiterated confessions of the Government's inability to protect -them—reiterated proposals to them to accept a price for their country -and move away. Nevertheless they clung to it. A few hundreds went, but -the body of the nation still protested and entreated. There is nothing -in history more touching than the cries of this people to the Government -of the United States to fulfil its promises to them. And their cause was -not without eloquent advocates. When the bill for their removal was -before Congress, Frelinghuysen, Sprague, Robbins, Storrs, Ellsworth, -Evans, Huntington, Johns, Bates, Crockett, Everett, Test—all spoke -warmly against it; and, to the credit of Congress be it said, the bill -passed the Senate by only one majority. - -The Rev. Jeremiah Evarts published a series of papers in the _National -Intelligencer_ under the signature of William Penn, in which he gave a -masterly analysis and summing up of the case, recapitulated the sixteen -treaties which the Government had made with the Cherokees, all -guaranteeing to them their lands, and declared that the Government had -"arrived at the bank of the Rubicon," where it must decide if it would -or would not save the country from the charge of bad faith. Many of his -eloquent sentences read in the light of the present time like -prophecies. He says, "in a quarter of a century the pressure upon the -Indians will be much greater from the boundless prairies, which must -ultimately be subdued and inhabited, than it would ever have been from -the borders of the present Cherokee country;" and asks, pertinently, "to -what confidence would such an engagement be entitled, done at the very -moment that treaties with Indians are declared not to be binding, and -for the very reason that existing treaties are not strong enough to bind -the United States." Remonstrances poured in upon Congress, petitions and -memorials from religious societies, from little country villages, all -imploring the Government to keep its faith to these people. - -The Cherokees' own newspaper, _The Phœnix_, was filled at this time with -the records of the nation's suffering and despair. - -"The State of Georgia has taken a strong stand against us, and the -United States must either defend us and our rights or leave us to our -foe. In the latter case she will violate her promise of protection, and -we cannot in future depend upon any guarantee to us, either here or -beyond the Mississippi. - -"If the United States shall withdraw their solemn pledges of protection, -utterly disregard their plighted faith, deprive us of the right of -self-government, and wrest from us our land, then, in the deep anguish -of our misfortunes, we may justly say there is no place of security for -us, no confidence left that the United States will be more just and -faithful toward us in the barren prairies of the West than when we -occupied the soil inherited from the Great Author of our existence." - -As a last resort the Cherokees carried their case before the Supreme -Court, and implored that body to restrain the State of Georgia from her -unjust interference with their rights. The reports of the case of the -Cherokee Nation _vs._ the State of Georgia fill a volume by themselves, -and are of vital importance to the history of Indian affairs. The -majority of the judges decided that an Indian tribe could not be -considered as a foreign nation, and therefore could not bring the suit. -Judge Thompson and Judge Story dissented from this opinion, and held -that the Cherokee tribe did constitute a foreign nation, and that the -State of Georgia ought to be enjoined from execution of its unjust laws. -The opinion of Chancellor Kent coincided with that of Judges Thompson -and Story. Chancellor Kent gave it as his opinion that the cases in -which the Supreme Court had jurisdiction would "reach and embrace every -controversy that can arise between the Cherokees and the State of -Georgia or its officers under the execution of the act of Georgia." - -But all this did not help the Cherokees; neither did the fact of the -manifest sympathy of the whole court with their wrongs. The technical -legal decision had been rendered against them, and this delivered them -over to the tender mercies of Georgia: no power in the land could help -them. Fierce factions now began to be formed in the nation, one for and -one against the surrender of their lands. Many were ready still to -remain and suffer till death rather than give them up; but wiser -counsels prevailed, and in the last days of the year 1835 a treaty was -concluded with the United States by twenty of the Cherokee chiefs and -headmen, who thereby, in behalf of their nation, relinquished all the -lands claimed or possessed by them east of the Mississippi River. - -The preamble of this treaty is full of pathos: "_Whereas_, The Cherokees -are anxious to make some arrangement with the Government of the United -States whereby the difficulties they have experienced by a residence -within the settled parts of the United States under the jurisdiction and -laws of the State governments may be terminated and adjusted; and with a -view to reuniting their people in one body, and securing a permanent -home for themselves and their posterity in the country selected by their -forefathers without the territorial limits of the State sovereignties, -and where they can establish and enjoy a government of their choice, and -perpetuate such a state of society as may be most consonant with their -views, habits, and condition, and as may tend to their individual -comfort and their advancement in civilization." - -By this treaty the Cherokees gave up a country "larger than the three -States of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut combined, and -received therefor five millions of dollars and seven millions of acres -of land west of the Mississippi." This the United States "guaranteed, -and secured to be conveyed in patent," and defined it by exact -boundaries; and, "in addition to the seven millions of acres of land -thus provided for and bounded," the United States did "further guarantee -to the Cherokee nation a perpetual outlet west, and a free and -unmolested use of all the country west of the western boundary of said -seven millions of acres, as far west as the sovereignty of the United -States and their rights of soil extend." - -The fifth Article of this treaty is, "The United States hereby covenant -and agree that the lands ceded to the Cherokee nation in the foregoing -article shall in no future time, without their consent, be included -within the territorial limits or jurisdiction of any State or -Territory." - -In the sixth Article is this promise: "The United States agree to -protect the Cherokee nation from domestic strife and foreign enemies, -and against intestine wars between the several tribes." - -Even after this treaty was made a great part of the nation refused to -sanction it, saying that it did not represent their wish; they would -never carry it out; hundreds refused to receive any longer either money -or supplies from the United States agents, lest they should be -considered to have thereby committed themselves to the treaty. - -In 1837 General Wool wrote from the Cherokee country that the people -"uniformly declare that they never made the treaty in question. *** So -determined are they in their opposition that not one of all those who -were present, and voted in the council held but a day or two since at -this place, however poor or destitute, would receive either rations or -clothing from the United States, lest they might compromise themselves -in regard to the treaty. These same people, as well as those in the -mountains of North Carolina, during the summer past preferred living on -the roots and sap of trees rather than receive provisions from the -United States. Thousands, I have been informed, had no other food for -weeks." - -For two years—to the very last moment allowed them by the treaty—they -clung to their lands, and at last were removed only by military force. -In May, 1838, General Scott was ordered to go with a sufficient military -force to compel the removal. His proclamation "to the Cherokee people -remaining in North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, and Alabama" opens -thus: - -"CHEROKEES,—The President of the United States has sent me with a -powerful army to cause you, in obedience to the treaty of 1835, to join -that part of your people who are already established on the other side -of the Mississippi. Unhappily the two years which were allowed for the -purpose you have suffered to pass away without following, and without -making any preparation to follow; and now, or by the time that this -solemn address shall reach your distant settlements, the emigration must -be commenced in haste, but I hope without disorder. I have no power, by -granting a further delay, to correct the error that you have committed. -The full-moon of May is already on the wane, and before another shall -have passed away every Cherokee man, woman, and child in those States -must be in motion to join their brethren in the West." - -The tone of this proclamation, at once firm and kindly, could not fail -to profoundly impress the unfortunate people to whom it was addressed. -"My troops," said the humane and sympathizing general, "already occupy -many positions in the country that you are to abandon, and thousands and -thousands are approaching from every quarter, to render resistance and -escape alike hopeless. All those troops, regular and militia, are your -friends. Receive them and confide in them as such; obey them when they -tell you that you can remain no longer in this country. Soldiers are as -kind-hearted as brave, and the desire of every one of us is to execute -our painful duty in mercy. *** - -"Chiefs, headmen, and warriors, will you then, by resistance, compel us -to resort to arms? God forbid. Or will you by flight seek to hide -yourselves in mountains and forests, and thus oblige us to hunt you -down? Remember that in pursuit it may be impossible to avoid conflicts. -The blood of the white man or the blood of the red man may be spilt; and -if spilt, however accidentally, it may be impossible for the discreet -and humane among you or among us to prevent a general war and carnage. -Think of this, my Cherokee brethren! I am an old warrior, and have been -present at many a scene of slaughter; but spare me, I beseech you, the -horror of witnessing the destruction of the Cherokees. Do not even wait -for the close approach of the troops, but make such preparations for -emigration as you can, and hasten to this place, to Ross's Landing, or -to Guinter's Landing, where you will be received in kindness by officers -selected for the purpose. *** This is the address of a warrior to -warriors. May its entreaties be kindly received, and may the God of both -prosper the Americans and Cherokees, and preserve them long in peace and -friendship with each other." - -The reply of the council of the Cherokee nation to this proclamation is -worthy to be put on record. They make no further protest against going; -they simply ask the privilege of undertaking the whole charge of the -removal themselves. They say: "The present condition of the Cherokee -people is such that all dispute as to the time of emigration is set at -rest. Being already severed from their homes and their property, their -persons being under the absolute control of the commanding general, and -being altogether dependent on the benevolence and humanity of that high -officer for the suspension of their transportation to the West at a -season and under circumstances in which sickness and death were to be -apprehended to an alarming extent, all inducements to prolong their stay -in this country are taken away. And however strong their attachment to -the homes of their fathers may be, their interests and their wishes are -now to depart as early as may be consistent with their safety." - -The council therefore submitted to General Scott several propositions: -1st. "That the Cherokee nation will undertake the whole business of -removing their people to the west of the river Mississippi." Their -estimates of cost, and arrangement as to time, intervals, etc., were -wise and reasonable. To their estimate of $65,880 as the cost for every -thousand persons transported General Scott objected, thinking it high. -He said that he was "confident" that it would be found that out of every -thousand there would be "at least five hundred strong men, women, boys, -and girls not only capable of marching twelve or fifteen miles a day, -but to whom the exercise would be beneficial; and another hundred able -to go on foot half that distance daily." He also objected to the -estimate of the ration at sixteen cents as too high. - -The council replied that they believed the estimate reasonable, "having -the comfortable removal of our people solely in view, and endeavoring to -be governed, as far as that object will allow, by the rates of -expenditure fixed by the officers of the Government. After the necessary -bedding, cooking-utensils, and other indispensable articles of twenty -persons—say, four or five families—are placed in a wagon, with -subsistence for at least two days, the weight already will be enough to -exclude, in our opinion, more than a very few persons being hauled. The -great distance to be travelled, liability to sickness on the way of -grown persons, and the desire of performing the trip in as short a time -as possible, induce us still to think our estimate of that item not -extravagant. *** Whatever may be necessary in the emigration of our -people to their comfort on the way, and as conducive to their health, we -desire to be afforded them; at the same time it is our anxious wish, in -the management of this business, to be free at all times from the -imputation of extravagance." They added that the item of soap had been -forgotten in their first estimate, and must now be included, at the rate -of three pounds to every hundred pounds of rations. - -General Scott replied, "as the Cherokee people are exclusively -interested in the cost as well as the comfort of the removal," he did -not feel himself at liberty to withhold his sanction from these -estimates. In the report of the Indian Commissioner, also, it is stated -that "the cost of removal, according to the Indian estimate, is high;" -but the commissioner adds, "as their own fund pays it, and it was -insisted on by their own confidential agents, it was thought it could -not be rejected." - -Noble liberality! This nation of eighteen thousand industrious, -self-supporting people, compelled at the point of the bayonet to leave -their country and seek new homes in a wilderness, are to be permitted, -as a favor, to spend on their journey to this wilderness as much of -their own money as they think necessary, and have all the soap they -want. - -The record which the United States Government has left in official -papers of its self-congratulations in the matter of this Cherokee -removal has an element in it of the ludicrous, spite of the tragedy and -shame. - -Says the Secretary of War: "The generous and enlightened policy evinced -in the measures adopted by Congress toward that people during the last -session was ably and judiciously carried into effect by the general -appointed to conduct their removal. The reluctance of the Indians to -relinquish the land of their birth in the East, and remove to their new -homes in the West, was entirely overcome by the judicious conduct of -that officer, and they departed with alacrity under the guidance of -their own chiefs. The arrangements for this purpose made by General -Scott, in compliance with his previous instructions, although somewhat -costly to the Indians themselves, met the entire approbation of the -Department, as it was deemed of the last importance that the Cherokees -should remove to the West voluntarily, and that upon their arrival at -the place of their ultimate destination they should recur to the manner -in which they had been treated with kind and grateful feelings. Humanity -no less than good policy dictated this course toward these children of -the forest; and in carrying out in this instance with an unwavering hand -the measures resolved upon by the Government, in the hope of preserving -the Indians and of maintaining the peace and tranquillity of the whites, -it will always be gratifying to reflect that this has been effected not -only without violence, but with every proper regard for the feelings and -interests of that people." - -The Commissioner of Indian Affairs says, in his report: "The case of the -Cherokees is a striking example of the liberality of the Government in -all its branches. *** A retrospect of the last eight months in reference -to this numerous and more than ordinarily enlightened tribe cannot fail -to be refreshing to well-constituted minds." - -A further appropriation had been asked by the Cherokee chiefs to meet -the expense of their removal (they not thinking $5,000,000 a very -munificent payment for a country as large as all Massachusetts, Rhode -Island, and Connecticut together), and Congress had passed a law giving -them $1147.67 more, and the commissioner says of this: "When it is -considered that by the treaty of December, 1835, the sum of $5,000,000 -was stipulated to be paid them as the full value of their lands, after -that amount was declared by the Senate of the United States to be an -ample consideration for them, the spirit of this whole proceeding cannot -be too much admired. By some the measure may be regarded as just; by -others generous: it perhaps partook of both attributes. If it went -farther than naked justice could have demanded, it did not stop short of -what liberality approved. *** If our acts have been generous, they have -not been less wise and politic. A large mass of men have been -conciliated; the hazard of an effusion of human blood has been put by; -good feeling has been preserved, and we have quietly and gently -transported eighteen thousand friends to the west bank of the -Mississippi." - -To dwell on the picture of this removal is needless. The fact by itself -is more eloquent than pages of detail and description could make it. No -imagination so dull, no heart so hard as not to see and to feel, at the -bare mention of such an emigration, what horrors and what anguish it -must have involved. "Eighteen thousand friends!" Only a great -magnanimity of nature, strengthened by true Christian principle, could -have prevented them from being changed into eighteen thousand bitter -enemies. - -For some years after this removal fierce dissensions rent the Cherokee -nation. The party who held that the treaty of 1835 had been unfair, and -that the nation still had an unextinguished right to its old country at -the East, felt, as was natural, a bitter hatred toward the party which, -they claimed, had wrongfully signed away the nation's lands. Several of -the signers of the treaty, influential men of the nation, were murdered. -Party-spirit ran to such a height that the United States Government was -compelled to interfere; and in 1846, after long negotiations and -dissensions, a new treaty was made, by the terms and concessions of -which the anti-treaty party were appeased, a general amnesty provided -for, and comparative harmony restored to the nation. - -The progress of this people in the ten years following this removal is -almost past belief. In 1851 they had twenty-two primary schools, and had -just built two large houses for a male and female seminary, in which the -higher branches of education were to be taught. They had a temperance -society with three thousand members, and an auxiliary society in each of -the eight districts into which the country was divided. They had a Bible -Society and twelve churches; a weekly newspaper, partly in English, -partly in Cherokee; eight district courts, two circuit courts, and a -supreme court. Legislative business was transacted as before by the -national council and committee, elected for four years. Nearly one -thousand boys and girls were in the public schools. - -In 1860 the agitation on the subject of slavery began to be felt, a -strong antislavery party being organized in the nation. There were -stormy scenes also in that part of the country nearest the Kansas line. -For several years white settlers had persisted in taking up farms there, -and the Cherokees had in vain implored the Government to drive them -away. The officer at last sent to enforce the Cherokees' rights and -dislodge the squatters was obliged to burn their cabins over their heads -before they would stir, so persuaded were they of the superior right of -the white man over the Indian. "The only reason the settlers gave for -not heeding the notices was that they had been often notified before to -quit the reservation; and, no steps having been taken to enforce -obedience, they supposed they would be allowed to remain with like -security in this instance." - -"It is surprising," says the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, "to see the -growing disposition on the part of our citizens to wholly disregard our -treaty obligations with Indian tribes within our borders; and it is to -be hoped that in future their rights will be held more sacred, or that -the Government will in every instance promptly see that they are -observed and respected." - -In the first year of the Civil War a large number of the Cherokees took -up arms on the rebel side. That this was not from any love or liking for -the Southern cause, it would seem, must be evident to any one who -believed that they were possessed of memories. The opportunity of -fighting against Georgians could not but have been welcome to the soul -of a Cherokee, even if he bought it at the price of fighting on the side -of the government which had been so perfidious to his nation. Their -defection was no doubt largely due to terror. The forts in their -vicinity were surrendered to the rebels; all United States troops were -withdrawn from that part of the country. They had no prospect of -protection from the Government, and, as if to leave them without one -incentive to loyalty, the Government suspended the payment of their -annuities. - -The Confederate Government stepped in, artfully promising to pay what -the Northern Government refused. It would have taken a rare loyalty, -indeed, to have stood unmoved in such circumstances as these; yet -thousands of the Indians in Indian Territory did remain loyal, and fled -for their lives to avoid being pressed into the rebel service; almost -half of the Creek nation, many Seminoles, Chickasaws, Quapaws, -Cherokees, and half a dozen others—over six thousand in all—fled to -Kansas, where their sufferings in the winter of 1862 were heart-rending. - -That the Cherokees did not lightly abandon their allegiance is on record -in the official history of the Department of the Interior. The Report of -the Indian Bureau for 1863 says: "The Cherokees, prior to the Rebellion, -were the most numerous, intelligent, wealthy, and influential tribe of -this superintendency (the southern). For many months they steadily -resisted the efforts made by the rebels to induce them to abandon their -allegiance to the Federal Government; but being wholly unprotected, and -without the means of resistance, they were finally compelled to enter -into treaty stipulations with the rebel authorities. This connection -was, however, of short duration, for upon the first appearance of United -States forces in their country an entire regiment of Indian troops, -raised ostensibly for service in the rebel army, deserted and came over -to us, and have ever since been under our command, and upon all -occasions have proved themselves faithful and efficient soldiers." In -the course of the next year, however, many more joined the rebels: it -was estimated that between six and seven thousand of the wealthier -portion of the nation co-operated in one way or another with the rebels. -The result was that at the end of the war the Cherokee country was -ruined. - -"In the Cherokee country," says the Report of the Indian Bureau for -1865, "where the contending armies have moved to and fro; where their -foraging parties have gone at will, sparing neither friend nor foe; -where the disloyal Cherokees in the service of the rebel government were -determined that no trace of the homesteads of their loyal brethren -should remain for their return; and where the swindling cattle-thieves -have made their ill-gotten gains for two years past, the scene is one of -utter desolation." - -The party feeling between the loyal and disloyal Cherokees ran as high -as it did between the loyal and disloyal whites, and it looked for a -time as if it would be as impossible to make the two opposing parties in -the Cherokee nation agree to live peaceably side by side with each -other, as it would to make discharged soldiers from Georgia and from -Maine settle down in one village together. But after long and -troublesome negotiations a treaty was concluded in 1866, by which all -the necessary points seemed to be established of a general amnesty and -peace. - -That the Indians were at a great disadvantage in the making of these new -treaties it is unnecessary to state. The peculiarity of the Government's -view of their situation and rights is most näively stated in one of the -reports for 1862. Alluding to the necessity of making at no very distant -time new treaties with all these Southern tribes, one of the Indian -superintendents says: "While the rebelling of a large portion of most of -these tribes abrogates treaty obligations, and places them at our mercy, -the very important fact should not be forgotten that the Government -first wholly failed to keep its treaty stipulations with those people, -and in protecting them, by withdrawing all the troops from the forts in -Indian Territory, and leaving them at the mercy of the rebels. It is a -well-known fact that self-preservation in many instances compelled them -to make the best terms they could with the rebels." - -Nevertheless they are "at our mercy," because their making the "best -terms they could with the rebels abrogates treaty obligations." The -trite old proverb about the poorness of rules that do not work both ways -seems to be applicable here. - -With a recuperative power far in advance of that shown by any of the -small white communities at the South, the Cherokees at once addressed -themselves to rebuilding their homes and reconstructing their national -life. In one year they established fifteen new schools, set all their -old industries going, and in 1869 held a large agricultural fair, which -gave a creditable exhibition of stock and farm produce. Thus a second -time they recovered themselves, after what would seem to be well-nigh -their destruction as a people. But the Indian's fate of perpetual -insecurity, alarm, and unrest does not abandon them. In 1870 they are -said to be "extremely uneasy about the security of their possession of -the lands they occupy." When asked why their high-schools are not -re-established, reforms introduced into the administration of justice, -desirable improvements undertaken, the reply inevitably comes, "We -expect to have our lands taken away: what is the use of all that when -our doom as a nation is sealed?" - -"Distrust is firmly seated in their minds. National apathy depresses -them, and until they realize a feeling of assurance that their title to -their lands will be respected, and that treaties are an inviolable law -for all parties, the Cherokees will not make the efforts for national -progress of which they are capable." - -When their delegates went to Washington, in 1866, to make the new -treaty, they were alarmed by the position taken by the Government that -the nation, as a nation, had forfeited its rights. They were given to -understand that "public opinion held them responsible for complicity in -the Rebellion; and, although they could point to the fact that the only -countenance the rebels received came from less than one-third of the -population, and cite the services of two Cherokee regiments in the Union -cause, it was urged home to them that, before being rehabilitated in -their former rights by a new treaty, they were not in a position to -refuse any conditions imposed. Such language from persons they believed -to possess the power of injuring their people intimidated the Cherokee -delegates. They sold a large tract in South-eastern Kansas at a dollar -an acre to an association of speculators, and it went into the -possession of a railroad company. They also acceded, against the wishes -of the Cherokee people, to a provision in the treaty granting right of -way through the country for two railroads. This excited great uneasiness -among the Indians." - -And well it might. The events of the next few years amply justified this -uneasiness. The rapacity of railroad corporations is as insatiable as -their methods are unscrupulous. The phrase "extinguishing Indian titles" -has become, as it were, a mere technical term in the transfer of lands. -The expression is so common that it has probably been one of the -agencies in fixing in the minds of the people the prevalent impression -that extinction is the ultimate and inevitable fate of the Indian; and -this being the case, methods and times are not, after all, of so much -consequence; they are merely foreordained conditions of the great -foreordained progression of events. This is the only explanation of the -unconscious inhumanity of many good men's modes of thinking and speaking -in regard to the Indians being driven from home after home, and robbed -of tract after tract of their lands. - -In the Report of the Indian Bureau for 1875 is an account of a remnant -of the Cherokee tribe in North Carolina: "They number not far from -seventeen hundred, and there are probably in other parts of North -Carolina, and scattered through Georgia and Tennessee, between three and -four hundred more. These Cherokees have had an eventful history. When -the main portion of the tribe was compelled to remove west of the -Mississippi they fled to the mountains, and have steadily refused to -leave their homes. The proceeds of their lands, which were sold in -accordance with a treaty with the main body of the Cherokees, have been -mainly expended in the purchase of lands, and providing funds for the -Western Cherokees. At various times previous to the year 1861 the agent -for the Eastern Cherokees, at their request, purchased lands with their -funds, upon which they might make their homes. These purchases, though -probably made with good intent, carelessly left the title in their agent -personally, and not in trust. By this neglect, when subsequently the -agent became insolvent, all their lands were seized and sold for his -debts. By special legislation of Congress their case has been brought -before the courts of North Carolina, and their rights to a certain -extent asserted, and they are enabled to maintain possession of their -lands; and, by the use of their own funds in extinguishing liens, are -now in possession of above seventy thousand acres of fair arable, -timber, and grazing lands. They have shown themselves capable of -self-support, and, I believe, have demonstrated the unwisdom of removing -Indians from a country which offers to them a home, and where a white -man could make a living. This is shown by the fact that they are now, -though receiving scarcely any Government aid, in a more hopeful -condition, both as to morals, and industry, and personal property, than -the Cherokees who removed West." - -The Report of the Indian Bureau for 1876 fully bears out this statement. -The North Carolina Cherokees have, indeed, reason to be in a more -hopeful condition, for they have their lands secured to them by patent, -confirmed by a decision of State courts; but this is what the Department -of the Interior has brought itself to say as to the Western Cherokees' -lands, and those of all other civilized tribes in the Indian Territory: -"By treaty the Government has ceded to the so-called civilized -tribes—the Cherokees, Creeks, Choctaws, Chickasaws, and Seminoles—a -section of country altogether disproportionate in amount to their needs. -*** The amount susceptible of cultivation must be many-fold greater than -can ever be cultivated by the labor of the Indians. But the Indians -claim, it is understood, that they hold their lands by sanctions so -solemn that it would be a gross breach of faith on the part of the -Government to take away any portion thereof without their consent; and -that consent they apparently propose to withhold." - -Let us set side by side with this last paragraph a quotation from the -treaty by virtue of which "the Indians claim, it is understood, that -they hold" these lands, which they now "apparently propose to withhold." -We will not copy it from the original treaty; we will copy it, and a few -other sentences with it, from an earlier report of this same Department -of the Interior. Only so far back as 1870 we find the Department in a -juster frame of mind toward the Cherokees. "A large part of the Indian -tribes hold lands to which they are only fixed by laws that define the -reservations to which they shall be confined. It cannot be denied that -these are in a great measure dependent on the humanity of the American -people. *** But the Cherokees, and the other civilized Indian nations no -less, hold lands in perpetuity by titles defined by the supreme law of -the land. The United States agreed 'to possess the Cherokees, and to -guarantee it to them forever,' and that guarantee 'was solemnly pledged -of seven million acres of land.' The consideration for this territory -was the same number of acres elsewhere located. The inducement to the -bargain set forth in the treaty was 'the anxious desire of the -Government of the United States to secure to the Cherokee nation of -Indians a permanent home, and which shall, under the most solemn -guarantee of the United States, be and remain theirs forever—a home that -shall never in all future time be embarrassed by having extended around -it the lines or placed over it the jurisdiction of a Territory or State, -or be pressed upon by the extension in any way of the limits of any -existing State.' To assure them of their title, a patent for the -Territory was issued." - -This was the view of the Department of the Interior in 1870. In 1876 the -Department says that affairs in the Indian Territory are "complicated -and embarrassing, and the question is directly raised whether an -extensive section of country is to be allowed to remain for an -indefinite period practically an uncultivated waste, or whether the -Government shall determine to reduce the size of the reservation." - -The phrase "whether the Government shall determine to reduce the size of -the reservation" sounds much better than "whether the Government shall -rob the Indians of a few millions of acres of land;" but the latter -phrase is truth, and the other is the spirit of lying. - -The commissioner says that the question is a difficult one, and should -be "considered with calmness, and a full purpose to do no injustice to -the Indians." He gives his own personal opinion on it "with hesitancy," -but gives it nevertheless, that "public policy will soon require the -disposal of a large portion of these lands to the Government for the -occupancy either of other tribes of Indians or of white people. There is -a very general and growing opinion that observance of the strict letter -of treaties with Indians is in many cases at variance with their own -best interests and with sound public policy." He adds, however, that it -must not be understood from this recommendation that it is "the policy -or purpose of this office to in any way encourage the spirit of rapacity -which demands the throwing open of the Indian Territory to white -settlement." He says, "the true way to secure its perpetual occupancy by -Indians is to fill it up with other Indians, to give them lands in -severalty, and to provide a government strong and intelligent enough to -protect them effectually from any and all encroachments on the part of -the whites." - -Comment on these preposterously contradictory sentences would be idle. -The best comment on them, and the most fitting close to this sketch of -the Cherokee nation, is in a few more quotations from the official -reports of the Indian Bureau. - -Of this people, from whom the Department of the Interior proposes, for -"public policy," to take away "a large portion" of their country, it has -published within the last three years these records: - -"It has been but a few years since the Cherokees assembled in council -under trees or in a rude log-house, with hewed logs for seats. Now the -legislature assembles in a spacious brick council-house, provided with -suitable committee-rooms, senate chamber, representative hall, library, -and executive offices, which cost $22,000. - -"Their citizens occupy neat hewed double log-cabins, frame, brick, or -stone houses, according to the means or taste of the individual, with -ground adorned by ornamental trees, shrubbery, flowers, and nearly every -improvement, including orchards of the choicest fruits. Some of these -orchards have existed for nearly twenty years, and are now in a good, -fruitful condition. Their women are usually good house-keepers, and give -great attention to spinning and weaving yarns, jeans, and linsey, and -make most of the pants and hunter-jackets of the men and boys. The -farmers raise most of their own wool and cotton, and it is not an -uncommon sight, in a well-to-do Cherokee farmer's house, to see a -sewing-machine and a piano. - -"They have ample provision for the education of all their children to a -degree of advancement equal to that furnished by an ordinary college in -the States. They have seventy-five common day-schools, kept open ten -months in the year, in the different settlements. For the higher -education of their young men and women they have two commodious and -well-furnished seminaries, one for each sex; and, in addition to those -already mentioned, they have a manual labor school and an orphan asylum. -The cost of maintaining these schools the past year (1877) was, as -reported by the superintendent of public instruction, $73,441.65, of -which $41,475 was paid as salary to teachers. - -"They have twenty-four stores, twenty-two mills, and sixty-five -smith-shops, owned and conducted by their own citizens. - -"Their constitution and laws are published in book form; and from their -printing-house goes forth among the people in their own language, and -also in English, the _Cherokee Advocate_, a weekly paper, which is -edited with taste and ability. - -"They have (and this is true also of the Choctaws, Creeks, Chickasaws, -and Seminoles) a constitutional government, with legislative, judicial, -and executive departments, and conducted upon the same plan as our State -governments, the entire expenses of which are paid out of their own -funds, which are derived from interest on various stocks and bonds—the -invested proceeds of the sale of their lands, and held in trust by the -Government of the United States—which interest is paid the treasurers of -the different nations semi-annually, and by them disbursed on national -warrants issued by the principal chief and secretary, and registered by -the auditors. - -"They are an intelligent, temperate, and industrious people, who live by -the honest fruits of their labor, and seem ambitious to advance both as -to the development of their lands and the conveniences of their homes. -In their council may be found men of learning and ability; and it is -doubtful if their rapid progress from a state of wild barbarism to that -of civilization and enlightenment has any parallel in the history of the -world. What required five hundred years for the Britons to accomplish in -this direction they have accomplished in one hundred years." - -Will the United States Government determine to "reduce the size of the -reservation?" - - - - - CHAPTER IX. - - MASSACRES OF INDIANS BY WHITES. - - -I.—_The Conestoga Massacre._ - -When the English first entered Pennsylvania messengers from the -Conestoga Indians met them, bidding them welcome, and bringing gifts of -corn and venison and skins. The whole tribe entered into a treaty of -friendship with William Penn, which was to last "as long as the sun -should shine or the waters run into the rivers." - -The records of Pennsylvania history in the beginning of the eighteenth -century contain frequent mention of the tribe. In 1705 the governor sent -the secretary of his council, with a delegation of ten men, to hold an -interview with them at Conestoga, for purposes of mutual understanding -and confidence. And in that same year Thomas Chalkley, a famous Quaker -preacher, while sojourning among the Maryland Quakers, was suddenly -seized with so great a "concern" to visit these Indians that he laid the -matter before the elders at the Nottingham meeting; and, the idea being -"promoted" by the elders, he set off with an interpreter and a party of -fourteen to make the journey. He says: "We travelled through the woods -about fifty miles, carrying our provisions with us; and on the journey -sat down by a river and spread our food on the grass, and refreshed -ourselves and horses, and then went on cheerfully and with good-will and -much love to the poor Indians. And when we came they received us kindly, -treating us civilly in their way. We treated about having a meeting with -them in a religious way; upon which they called a council, in which they -were very grave, and spoke, one after another, without any heat or -jarring. Some of the most esteemed of their women speak in their -councils." - -When asked why they suffered the women to speak, they replied that "some -women were wiser than some men." It was said that they had not for many -years done anything without the advice of a certain aged and grave -woman, who was always present at their councils. The interpreter said -that she was an empress, and that they gave much heed to what she said. -This wise queen of Conestoga looked with great favor on the Quakers, the -interpreter said, because they "did not come to buy or sell, or get -gain;" but came "in love and respect" to them, "and desired their -well-doing, both here and hereafter." Two nations at this time were -represented in this Conestoga band—the Senecas and the Shawanese. - -The next year the governor himself, anxious to preserve their -inalienable good-will, and to prevent their being seduced by emissaries -from the French, went himself to visit them. On this occasion one of the -chiefs made a speech, still preserved in the old records, which contains -this passage: "Father, we love quiet; we suffer the mouse to play; when -the woods are rustled by the wind, we fear not; when the leaves are -disturbed in ambush, we are uneasy; when a cloud obscures your brilliant -sun, our eyes feel dim; but when the rays appear, they give great heat -to the body and joy to the heart. Treachery darkens the chain of -friendship; but truth makes it brighter than ever. This is the peace we -desire." - -A few years later a Swedish missionary visited them, and preached them a -sermon on original sin and the necessity of a mediator. When he had -finished, an Indian chief rose and replied to him; both discourses being -given through an interpreter. The Swede is said to have been so -impressed with the Indian's reasoning that, after returning to Sweden, -he wrote out his own sermon and the Indian's reply in the best Latin at -his command, and dedicated the documents to the University of Upsal, -respectfully requesting them to furnish him with some arguments strong -enough to confute the strong reasonings of this savage. - -"Our forefathers," said the chief, "were under a strong persuasion (as -we are) that those who act well in this life will be rewarded in the -next according to the degrees of their virtues; and, on the other hand, -that those who behave wickedly here will undergo such punishments -hereafter as were proportionate to the crimes they were guilty of. This -has been constantly and invariably received and acknowledged for a truth -through every successive generation of our ancestors. It could not, -then, have taken its rise from fable; for human fiction, however -artfully and plausibly contrived, can never gain credit long among -people where free inquiry is allowed, which was never denied by our -ancestors. *** Now we desire to propose some questions. Does he believe -that our forefathers, men eminent for their piety, constant and warm in -their pursuit of virtue, hoping thereby to merit eternal happiness, were -all damned? Does he think that we who are zealous imitators in good -works, and influenced by the same motives as we are, earnestly -endeavoring with the greatest circumspection to tread the path of -integrity, are in a state of damnation? If that be his sentiment, it is -surely as impious as it is bold and daring. *** Let us suppose that some -heinous crimes were committed by some of our ancestors, like to that we -are told of another race of people. In such a case God would certainly -punish the criminal, but would never involve us that are innocent in the -guilt. Those who think otherwise must make the Almighty a very -whimsical, evil-natured being. *** Once more: are the Christians more -virtuous, or, rather, are they not more vicious than we are? If so, how -came it to pass that they are the objects of God's beneficence, while we -are neglected? Does he daily confer his favors without reason and with -so much partiality? In a word, we find the Christians much more depraved -in their morals than we are; and we judge from their doctrine by the -badness of their lives." - -It is plain that this Indian chief's speech was very much Latinized in -the good Swede's hands; but if the words even approached being a true -presentation of what he said, it is wonderful indeed. - -In 1721 His Excellency Sir William Keith, Bart., Governor of the -Province of Pennsylvania, went with an escort of eighty horsemen to -Conestoga, and spent several days in making a treaty with the -representatives of the Five Nations, "the Indians of Conestoga and their -friends." He was entertained at "Captain Civility's cabin." When he left -them, he desired them to give his "very kind love and the love of all -our people to your kings and to all their people." He invited them to -visit him in Philadelphia, saying, "We can provide better for you and -make you more welcome. People always receive their friends best at their -own homes." He then took out a coronation medal of the King, and -presented it to the Indian in these words: "That our children when we -are dead may not forget these things, but keep this treaty between us in -perpetual remembrance, I here deliver to you a picture in gold, bearing -the image of my great master, the King of all the English. And when you -return home, I charge you to deliver this piece into the hands of the -first man or greatest chief of all the Five Nations, whom you call -Kannygoodk, to be laid up and kept as a token to our children's children -that an entire and lasting friendship is now established forever between -the English in this country and the great Five Nations." - -At this time the village of Conestoga was described as lying "about -seventy miles west of Philadelphia. The land thereabout being exceeding -rich, it is now surrounded with divers fine plantations and farms, where -they raise quantities of wheat, barley, flax, and hemp, without the help -of any dung." - -The next year, also, was marked by a council of great significance at -Conestoga. In the spring of this year an Indian called Saanteenee had -been killed by two white men, brothers, named Cartledge. At this time it -was not only politic but necessary for the English to keep on good terms -with as many Indians as possible. Therefore, the old record says, -"Policy and justice required a rigid inquiry" into this affair, and the -infliction of "exemplary punishment." - -Accordingly, the Cartledges were arrested and confined in Philadelphia, -and the high-sheriff of Chester County went, with two influential men of -the province, to Conestoga, to confer with the Indians as to what should -be done with them. The Indians were unwilling to decide the matter -without advice from the Five Nations, to whom they owed allegiance. A -swift runner (Satcheecho) was, therefore, sent northward with the news -of the occurrence; and the governor, with two of his council, went to -Albany to hear what the Five Nations had to say about it. What an -inconceivable spectacle to us to-day: the governments of Pennsylvania -and New York so fully recognizing an Indian to be a "person," and his -murder a thing to be anxiously and swiftly atoned for if possible! - -Only a little more than a hundred and fifty years lie between this -murder of Saanteenee in Conestoga and the murder of Big Snake on the -Ponca Reservation in 1880. Verily, Policy has kept a large assortment of -spectacles for Justice to look through in a surprising short space of -time. - -On the decision of the king and chiefs of the Five Nations hung the fate -of the murderers. Doubtless the brothers Cartledge made up their minds -to die. The known principles of the Indians in the matter of avenging -injuries certainly left them little room for hope. But no! The Five -Nations took a different view. They "desired that the Cartledges should -not suffer death, and the affair was at length amicably settled," says -the old record. "One life," said the Indian king, "on this occasion, is -enough to be lost. There should not two die." - -This was in 1722. In 1763 there were only twenty of these Conestoga -Indians left—seven men, five women, and eight children. They were still -living in their village on the Shawanee Creek, their lands being assured -to them by manorial gift; but they were miserably poor—earned by making -brooms, baskets, and wooden bowls a part of their living, and begged the -rest. They were wholly peaceable and unoffending, friendly to their -white neighbors, and pitifully clinging and affectionate, naming their -children after whites who were kind to them, and striving in every way -to show their gratitude and good-will. - -Upon this little community a band of white men, said by some of the old -records to be "Presbyterians," from Paxton, made an attack at daybreak -on the 14th of December. They found only six of the Indians at -home—three men, two women, and a boy. The rest were away, either at work -for the white farmers or selling their little wares. "These poor -defenceless creatures were immediately fired upon, stabbed, and -hatcheted to death; the good Shebaes, among the rest, cut to pieces in -his bed. All of them were scalped and otherwise horribly mangled, then -their huts were set on fire, and most of them burnt down." - -"Shebaes was a very old man, having assisted at the second treaty held -with Mr. Penn, in 1701, and ever since continued a faithful friend to -the English. He is said to have been an exceeding good man, considering -his education; being naturally of a most kind, benevolent temper." - -From a manuscript journal kept at this time, and belonging to the -great-granddaughter of Robert Barber, the first settler in Lancaster -County, are gathered the few details known of this massacre. "Some of -the murderers went directly from the scene of their crime to Mr. -Barber's house. They were strangers to him; but, with the hospitality of -those days, he made a fire for them and set refreshments before them. - -"While they warmed themselves they inquired why the Indians were -suffered to live peaceably here. Mr. Barber said they were entirely -inoffensive, living on their own lands and injuring no one. They asked -what would be the consequence if they were all destroyed. Mr. Barber -said he thought they would be as liable to punishment as if they had -destroyed so many white men. They said _they_ were of a different -opinion, and in a few minutes went out. In the mean time two sons of Mr. -Barber's, about ten or twelve years old, went out to look at the -strangers' horses, which were hitched at a little distance from the -house. - -"After the men went the boys came in, and said that they had tomahawks -tied to their saddles which were all bloody, and that they had Christy's -gun. Christy was a little Indian boy about their own age. They were much -attached to him, as he was their playmate, and made bows and arrows for -them." - -While the family were talking over this, and wondering what it could -mean, a messenger came running breathless to inform them of what had -happened. Mr. Barber went at once to the spot, and there he found the -murdered Indians lying in the smouldering ruins of their homes, "like -half-consumed logs." He, "with some trouble, procured their bodies, to -administer to them the rights of sepulture." - -"It was said that at the beginning of the slaughter an Indian mother -placed her little child under a barrel, charging it to make no noise, -and that a shot was fired through the barrel which broke the child's -arm, and still it kept silent." - -The magistrates of Lancaster, shocked, as well they might be, at this -frightful barbarity, sent messengers out immediately, and took the -remaining Indians, wherever they were found, brought them into the town -for protection, and lodged them in the newly-erected workhouse or jail, -which was the strongest building in the place. The Governor of -Pennsylvania issued a proclamation, ordering all judges, sheriffs, and -"all His Majesty's liege subjects in the province," to make every effort -to apprehend the authors and perpetrators of this crime, also their -abettors and accomplices. But the "Paxton Boys" held magistrates and -governor alike in derision. Two weeks later they assembled again, fifty -strong, rode to Lancaster, dismounted, broke open the doors of the jail, -and killed every Indian there. - -"When the poor wretches saw they had no protection nigh, nor could -possibly escape, and being without the least weapon of defence, they -divided their little families, the children clinging to their parents. -They fell on their faces, protested their innocence, declared their love -to the English, and that in their whole lives they had never done them -injury. And in this posture they all received the hatchet. Men, women, -and children were every one inhumanly murdered in cold blood. *** The -barbarous men who committed the atrocious act, in defiance of -government, of all laws, human and divine, and to the eternal disgrace -of their country and color, then mounted their horses, huzzaed in -triumph, as if they had gained a victory, and rode off unmolested. *** -The bodies of the murdered were then brought out and exposed in the -street till a hole could be made in the earth to receive and cover them. -But the wickedness cannot be covered, and the guilt will lie on the -whole land till justice is done on the murderers. The blood of the -innocent will cry to Heaven for vengeance." - -These last extracts are from a pamphlet printed in Philadelphia at the -time of the massacre; printed anonymously, because "so much had fear -seized the minds of the people" that neither the writer nor the printer -dared to give "name or place of abode." - -There are also private letters still preserved which give accounts of -the affair. A part of one from William Henry, of Lancaster, to a friend -in Philadelphia, is given in "Rupp's History of Lancaster County." He -says, "A regiment of Highlanders were at that time quartered at the -barracks in the town, and yet these murderers were permitted to break -open the doors of the city jail and commit the horrid deed. The first -notice I had of the affair was that, while at my father's store near the -court-house, I saw a number of people running down-street toward the -jail, which enticed me and other lads to follow them. At about six or -eight yards from the jail we met from twenty-five to thirty men, well -mounted on horses, and with rifles, tomahawks, and scalping-knives, -equipped for murder. I ran into the prison-yard, and there, oh, what a -horrid sight presented itself to my view! Near the back door of the -prison lay an old Indian and his squaw, particularly well known and -esteemed by the people of the town on account of his placid and friendly -conduct. His name was Will Soc. Around him and his squaw lay two -children, about the age of three years, whose heads were split with the -tomahawk and their scalps taken off. Toward the middle of the jail-yard, -along the west side of the wall, lay a stout Indian, whom I particularly -noticed to have been shot in his breast. His legs were chopped with the -tomahawk, his hands cut off, and finally a rifle-ball discharged in his -mouth, so that his head was blown to atoms, and the brains were splashed -against and yet hanging to the wall for three or four feet around. This -man's hands and feet had been chopped off with a tomahawk. In this -manner lay the whole of them—men, women, and children—spread about the -prison-yard, shot, scalped, hacked, and cut to pieces." - -After this the Governor of Pennsylvania issued a second proclamation, -still more stringent than the first, and offering a reward of $600 for -the apprehension of any three of the ringleaders. - -But the "Paxton Boys" were now like wild beasts that had tasted blood. -They threatened to attack the Quakers and all persons who sympathized -with or protected Indians. They openly mocked and derided the governor -and his proclamations, and set off at once for Philadelphia, announcing -their intention of killing all the Moravian Indians who had been placed -under the protection of the military there. - -Their march through the country was like that of a band of maniacs. In a -private letter written by David Rittenhouse at this time, he says, -"About fifty of these scoundrels marched by my workshop. I have seen -hundreds of Indians travelling the country, and can with truth affirm -that the behavior of these fellows was ten times more savage and brutal -than theirs. Frightening women by running the muzzles of guns through -windows, hallooing and swearing; attacking men without the least -provocation, dragging them by the hair to the ground, and pretending to -scalp them; shooting dogs and fowls: these are some of their exploits." - -It is almost past belief that at this time many people justified these -acts. An Episcopalian clergyman in Lancaster wrote vindicating them, -"bringing Scripture to prove that it was right to destroy the heathen;" -and the "Presbyterians think they have a better justification—nothing -less than the Word of God," says one of the writers on the massacre. - -"With the Scriptures in their hands and mouths, they can set at naught -that express command, 'Thou shalt do no murder,' and justify their -wickedness by the command given to Joshua to destroy the heathen. Horrid -perversion of Scripture and religion, to father the worst of crimes on -the God of Love and Peace!" It is a trite saying that history repeats -itself; but it is impossible to read now these accounts of the massacres -of defenceless and peaceable Indians in the middle of the eighteenth -century, without the reflection that the record of the nineteenth is -blackened by the same stains. What Pennsylvania pioneers did in 1763 to -helpless and peaceable Indians of Conestoga, Colorado pioneers did in -1864 to helpless and peaceable Cheyennes at Sand Creek, and have -threatened to do again to helpless and peaceable Utes in 1880. The word -"extermination" is as ready on the frontiersman's tongue to-day as it -was a hundred years ago; and the threat is more portentous now, seeing -that we are, by a whole century of prosperity, stronger and more -numerous, and the Indians are, by a whole century of suffering and -oppression, fewer and weaker. But our crime is baser and our infamy -deeper in the same proportion. - -Close upon this Conestoga massacre followed a "removal" of friendly -Indians—the earliest on record, and one whose cruelty and cost to the -suffering Indians well entitle it to a place in a narrative of -massacres. - -Everywhere in the provinces fanatics began to renew the old cry that the -Indians were the Canaanites whom God had commanded Joshua to destroy; -and that these wars were a token of God's displeasure with the Europeans -for permitting the "heathen" to live. Soon it became dangerous for a -Moravian Indian to be seen anywhere. In vain did he carry one of the -Pennsylvania governor's passports in his pocket. He was liable to be -shot at sight, with no time to pull his passport out. Even in the -villages there was no safety. The devoted congregations watched and -listened night and day, not knowing at what hour they might hear the -fatal warwhoop of hostile members of their own race, coming to slay -them; or the sudden shots of white settlers, coming to avenge on them -outrages committed by savages hundreds of miles away. - -With every report that arrived of Indian massacres at the North, the -fury of the white people all over the country rose to greater height, -including even Christian Indians in its unreasoning hatred. But, in the -pious language of a narrative written by one of the Moravian -missionaries, "God inclined the hearts of the chief magistrates to -protect them. November 6th an express arrived from Philadelphia, -bringing an order that all the baptized Indians from Nain and -Wechquetank should be brought to Philadelphia, and be protected in that -city, having first delivered up their arms." - -Two days later both these congregations set out on their sad journey, -weeping as they left their homes. They joined forces at Bethlehem, on -the banks of the Lecha, and "entered upon their pilgrimage in the name -of the Lord, the congregation of Bethlehem standing spectators, and, as -they passed, commending them to the grace and protection of God, with -supplication and tears." - -Four of the Moravian missionaries were with them, and some of the -brethren from Bethlehem accompanied them all the way, "the sheriff, Mr. -Jennings, caring for them as a father." - -The aged, the sick, and the little children were carried in wagons. All -the others, women and men, went on foot. The November rains had made the -roads very heavy. As the weary and heart-broken people toiled slowly -along through the mud, they were saluted with curses and abuse on all -sides. As they passed through the streets of Germantown a mob gathered -and followed them, taunting them with violent threats of burning, -hanging, and other tortures. It was said that a party had been organized -to make a serious attack on them, but was deterred by the darkness and -the storm. Four days were consumed in this tedious march, and on the -11th of November they reached Philadelphia. Here, spite of the -governor's positive order, the officers in command at the barracks -refused to allow them to enter. From ten in the forenoon till three in -the afternoon there the helpless creatures stood before the shut -gate—messengers going back and forth between the defiant garrison and -the bewildered and impotent governor; the mob, thickening and growing -more and more riotous hour by hour, pressing the Indians on every side, -jeering them, reviling them, charging them with all manner of outrages, -and threatening to kill them on the spot. The missionaries, bravely -standing beside their flock, in vain tried to stem or turn the torrent -of insult and abuse. All that they accomplished was to draw down the -same insult and abuse on their own heads. - -Nothing but the Indians' marvellous patience and silence saved them from -being murdered by this exasperated mob. To the worst insults they made -no reply, no attempt at retaliation or defence. They afterward said that -they had comforted themselves "by considering what insult and mockery -our Saviour had suffered on their account." - -At last, after five hours of this, the governor, unable to compel the -garrison to open the barracks, sent an order that the Indians should be -taken to Province Island, an island in the Delaware River joined to the -main-land by a dam. Six miles more, every mile in risk of their lives, -the poor creatures walked. As they passed again through the city, -thousands followed them, the old record says, and "with such tumultuous -clamor that they might truly be considered as sheep among wolves." - -Long after dark they reached the island, and were lodged in some unused -buildings, large and comfortless. There they kept their vesper service, -and took heart from the fact that the verse for the day was that verse -of the beautiful thirty-second psalm which has comforted so many -perplexed souls: "I will teach thee in the way thou shalt go." - -Here they settled themselves as best they could. The missionaries had -their usual meetings with them, and humane people from Philadelphia, -"especially some of the people called Quakers," sent them provisions and -fuel, and tried in various ways to "render the inconvenience of their -situation less grievous." - -Before they had been here a month some of the villages they had left -were burnt, and the riotous Paxton mob, which had murdered all the -peaceful Conestoga Indians, announced its intention of marching on -Province Island and killing every Indian there. The Governor of -Pennsylvania launched proclamation after proclamation, forbidding any -one, under severest penalties, to molest the Indians under its -protection, and offering a reward of two hundred pounds for the -apprehension of the ringleaders of the insurgents. But public sentiment -was inflamed to such a degree that the Government was practically -powerless. The known ringleaders and their sympathizers paraded -contemptuously in front of the governor's house, mocking him derisively, -and not even two hundred pounds would tempt any man to attack them. In -many parts of Lancaster County parties were organized with the avowed -intention of marching on Philadelphia and slaughtering all the Indians -under the protection of the Government. Late on the 29th of December -rumors reached Philadelphia that a large party of these rioters were on -the road; and the governor, at daybreak the next day, sent large boats -to Province Island, with orders to the missionaries to put their people -on board as quickly as possible, row to Leek Island, and await further -orders. In confusion and terror the congregations obeyed, and fled to -Leek Island. Later in the day came a second letter from the governor, -telling them that the alarm had proved a false one. They might return to -Province Island, where he would send them a guard; and that they would -better keep the boats, to be ready in case of a similar emergency. - -"They immediately returned with joy to their former habitation," says -the old record, "comforted by the text for the day—'The Lord is my -strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him' (Ps. xxviii., 7)—and -closed this remarkable year with prayer and thanksgiving for all the -proofs of the help of God in so many heavy trials." - -Four days later the missionaries received a second order for instant -departure. The reports of the murderous intentions of the rioters being -confirmed, and the governor seeing only too clearly his own -powerlessness to contend with them, he had resolved to send the Indians -northward, and put them under the protection of the English army, and -especially of Sir William Johnson, agent for the Crown among the -Northern Indians. No time was to be lost in carrying out this plan, for -at any moment the mob might attack Province Island. Accordingly, at -midnight of January 4th, the fugitives set out once more, passed through -Philadelphia, undiscovered, to the meeting-house of the Moravian -Brethren, where a breakfast had been provided for them. Here they were -met by the commissary, Mr. Fox, who had been detailed by the governor to -take charge of their journey. Mr. Fox, heart-stricken at their suffering -appearance, immediately sent out and bought blankets to be distributed -among them, as some protection against the cold. Wagons were brought for -the aged, sick, blind, little children, and the heavy baggage; and again -the pitiful procession took up its march. Again an angry mob gathered -fast on its steps, cursing and reviling in a terrible manner, only -restrained by fear from laying violent hands on them. Except for the -protection of a military escort they would scarcely have escaped -murderous assault. - -At Amboy two sloops lay ready to transport them to New York; but just as -they reached this place, and were preparing to go on shore, a messenger -arrived from the Governor of New York with angry orders that not an -Indian should set foot in that territory. Even the ferry-men were -forbidden, under heavy penalties, to ferry one across the river. - -The commissioner in charge of them, in great perplexity, sent to the -Governor of Pennsylvania for further orders, placing the Indians, -meantime, in the Amboy barracks. Here they held their daily meetings, -singing and praying with great unction, until finally many of their -enemies were won to a hearty respect and sympathy for them; even -soldiers being heard to say, "Would to God all the white people were as -good Christians as these Indians." - -The Pennsylvania governor had nothing left him to do but to order the -Indians back again, and, accordingly, says the record, "The Indian -congregation set out with cheerfulness on their return, in full -confidence that the Lord in his good providence, for wise purposes best -known to himself, had ordained their travelling thus to and fro. This -belief supported them under all the difficulties they met with in their -journeys made in the severest part of winter." - -They made the return journey under a large military escort, one party in -advance and one bringing up the rear. This escort was composed of -soldiers, who, having just come from Niagara, where they had been -engaged in many fights with the North-western savages, were at first -disposed to treat these defenceless Indians with brutal cruelty; but -they were soon disarmed by the Indians' gentle patience, and became -cordial and friendly. - -The return journey was a hard one. The aged and infirm people had become -much weakened by their repeated hardships, and the little children -suffered pitiably. In crossing some of the frozen rivers the feeble ones -were obliged to crawl on their hands and feet on the ice. - -On the 24th of January they reached Philadelphia, and were at once taken -to the barracks, where almost immediately mobs began again to molest and -threaten them. The governor, thoroughly in earnest now, and determined -to sustain his own honor and that of the province, had eight heavy -pieces of cannon mounted and a rampart thrown up in front of the -barracks. The citizens were called to arms, and so great was the -excitement that it is said even Quakers took guns and hurried to the -barracks to defend the Indians; and the governor himself went at -midnight to visit them, and reassure them by promises of protection. - -On February 4th news was received that the rioters in large force were -approaching the city. Hearing of the preparations made to receive them, -they did not venture to enter. On the night of the 5th, however, they -drew near again. The whole city was roused, church-bells rung, bonfires -lighted, cannon fired, the inhabitants waked from their sleep and -ordered to the town-house, where arms were given to all. Four more -cannon were mounted at the barracks, and all that day was spent in -hourly expectation of the rebels. But their brave boasts were not -followed up by action. Seeing that the city was in arms against them, -they halted. The governor then sent a delegation of citizens to ask them -what they wanted. - -They asserted, insolently, that there were among the Indians some who -had committed murders, and that they must be given up. Some of the -ringleaders were then taken into the barracks and asked to point out the -murderers. Covered with confusion, they were obliged to admit they could -not accuse one Indian there. They then charged the Quakers with having -taken away six and concealed them. This also was disproved, and finally -the excitement subsided. - -All through the spring and summer the Indians remained prisoners in the -barracks. Their situation became almost insupportable from confinement, -unwholesome diet, and the mental depression inevitable in their state. -To add to their misery small-pox broke out among them, and fifty-six -died in the course of the summer from this loathsome disease. - -"We cannot describe," said the missionaries, "the joy and fervent desire -which most of them showed in the prospect of seeing their Saviour face -to face. We saw with amazement the power of the blood of Jesus in the -hearts of poor sinners." This was, no doubt, true; but there might well -have entered into the poor, dying creatures' thoughts an ecstasy at the -mere prospect of freedom, after a year of such imprisonment and -suffering. - -At last, on December 4th, the news of peace reached Philadelphia. On the -6th a proclamation was published in all the newspapers that war was -ended and hostilities must cease. The joy with which the prisoned -Indians received this news can hardly be conceived. It "exceeded all -descriptions," says the record, and "was manifested in thanksgivings and -praises to the Lord." - -It was still unsafe, however, for them to return to their old homes, -which were thickly surrounded by white settlers, who were no less -hostile now at heart than they had been before the proclamation of -peace. It was decided, therefore, that they should make a new settlement -in the Indian country on the Susquehanna River. After a touching -farewell to their old friends of the Bethlehem congregation, and a -grateful leave-taking of the governor, who had protected and supported -them for sixteen months, they set out on the 3d of April for their new -home in the wilderness. For the third time their aged, sick, and little -children were placed in overloaded wagons, for a long and difficult -journey—a far harder one than any they had yet taken. The -inhospitalities of the lonely wilderness were worse than the curses and -revilings of riotous mobs. They were overtaken by severe snow-storms. -They camped in icy swamps, shivering all night around smouldering fires -of wet wood. To avoid still hostile whites they had to take great -circuits through unbroken forests, where each foot of their path had to -be cut tree by tree. The men waded streams and made rafts for the women -and children. Sometimes, when the streams were deep, they had to go into -camp, and wait till canoes could be built. They carried heavy loads of -goods for which there was no room in the wagons. Going over high, steep -hills, they often had to divide their loads into small parcels, thus -doubling and trebling the road. Their provisions gave out. They ate the -bitter wild potatoes. When the children cried with hunger, they peeled -chestnut-trees, and gave them the sweet-juiced inner bark to suck. Often -they had no water except that from shallow, muddy puddles. Once they -were environed by blazing woods, whose fires burnt fiercely for hours -around their encampment. Several of the party died, and were buried by -the way. - -"But all these trials were forgotten in their daily meetings, in which -the presence of the Lord was most sensibly and comfortably felt. These -were always held in the evening, around a large fire, in the open air." - -They celebrated a "joyful commemoration" of Easter, and spent the -Passion-week "in blessed contemplation" of the sufferings of Jesus, -whose "presence supported them under all afflictions, insomuch that they -never lost their cheerfulness and resignation" during the five long -weeks of this terrible journey. - -On the 9th of May they arrived at Machwihilusing, and "forgot all their -pain and trouble for joy that they had reached the place of their future -abode. *** With offers of praise and thanksgiving, they devoted -themselves anew to Him who had given them rest for the soles of their -feet." - -"With renewed courage" they selected their home on the banks of the -Susquehanna, and proceeded to build houses. They gave to the settlement -the name of Friedenshutten—a name full of significance, as coming from -the hearts of these persecuted wanderers: Friedenshutten—"Tents of -Peace." - -If all this persecution had fallen upon these Indians because they were -Christians, the record, piteous as it is, would be only one out of -thousands of records of the sufferings of Christian martyrs, and would -stir our sympathies less than many another. But this was not the case. -It was simply because they were Indians that the people demanded their -lives, and would have taken them, again and again, except that all the -power of the Government was enlisted for their protection. The fact of -their being Christians did not enter in, one way or the other, any more -than did the fact that they were peaceable. They were Indians, and the -frontiersmen of Pennsylvania intended either to drive all Indians out of -their State or kill them, just as the frontiersmen of Nebraska and of -Colorado now intend to do if they can. We shall see whether the United -States Government is as strong to-day as the Government of the Province -of Pennsylvania was in 1763; or whether it will try first (and fail), as -John Penn did, to push the helpless, hunted creatures off somewhere into -a temporary makeshift of shelter, for a temporary deferring of the -trouble of protecting them. - -Sixteen years after the Conestoga massacre came that of Gnadenhütten, -the blackest crime on the long list; a massacre whose equal for -treachery and cruelty cannot be pointed out in the record of massacres -of whites by Indians. - -II.—_The Gnadenhütten Massacre._ - -In the year 1779 the congregations of Moravian Indians living at -Gnadenhütten, Salem, and Schonbrun, on the Muskingum River, were -compelled by hostile Indians to forsake their villages and go northward -to the Sandusky River. This movement was instigated by the English, who -had become suspicious that the influence of the Moravian missionaries -was thrown on the side of the colonies, and that their villages were -safe centres of information and supplies. These Indians having taken no -part whatever in the war, there was no pretext for open interference -with them; but the English agents found it no difficult matter to stir -up the hostile tribes to carry out their designs. And when the harassed -congregations finally consented to move, the savages who escorted them -were commanded by English officers. - -"The savages drove them forward like cattle," says an old narrative; -"the white brethren and sisters in the midst, surrounded by the -believing Indians." "One morning, when the latter could not set out as -expeditiously as the savages thought proper, they attacked the white -brethren, and forced them to set out alone, whipping their horses -forward till they grew wild, and not even allowing mothers time to -suckle their children. The road was exceeding bad, leading through a -continuance of swamps. Sister Zeisberger fell twice from her horse, and -once, hanging in the stirrup, was dragged for some time; but assistance -was soon at hand, and the Lord preserved her from harm. Some of the -believing Indians followed them as fast as possible, but with all their -exertions did not overtake them till night." - -For one month these unfortunate people journeyed through the wilds in -this way. When they reached the Sandusky Creek the savages left them to -take care of themselves as best they might. They were over a hundred -miles from their homes, "in a wilderness where there was neither game -nor provisions." Here they built huts of logs and bark. They had neither -beds nor blankets. In fact, the only things which the savages had left -them were their utensils for making maple sugar. It was the middle of -October when they reached Sandusky. Already it was cold, and the winter -was drawing near. In November Governor De Peyster, the English commander -at Fort Detroit, summoned the missionaries to appear before him and -refute the accusations brought against their congregations of having -aided and abetted the colonies. - -"The missionaries answered that they doubted not in the least but that -very evil reports must have reached his ears, as the treatment they had -met with had sufficiently proved that they were considered as guilty -persons, but that these reports were false. *** That Congress, indeed, -knew that they were employed as missionaries to the Indians, and did not -disturb them in their labors; but had never in anything given them -directions how to proceed." - -The governor, convinced of the innocence and single-heartedness of these -noble men, publicly declared that "he felt great satisfaction in their -endeavors to civilize and Christianize the Indians, and would permit -them to return to their congregations." He then gave them passports for -their journey back to Sandusky, and appended a permission that they -should perform the functions of their office among the Christian Indians -without molestation. - -This left them at rest so far as apprehensions of attack from hostile -Indians were concerned; but there still remained the terrible -apprehension of death by starvation and cold. Deep snows lay on the -ground. Their hastily-built huts were so small that it was impossible to -make large fires in them. Their floors being only the bare earth, -whenever a thaw came the water forced itself up and then froze again. -Cattle died for lack of food, and their carcasses were greedily -devoured; nursing children died for want of nourishment from their -starving mothers' breasts; the daily allowance of corn to each adult was -one pint, and even this pittance it was found would not last till -spring. - -Nevertheless, "they celebrated the Christmas holidays with cheerfulness -and blessing, and concluded this remarkable year with thanks and praise -to Him who is ever the Saviour of his people. But, having neither bread -nor wine, they could not keep the communion." - -Meantime the corn still stood ungathered in their old fields on the -Muskingum River. Weather-beaten, frozen, as it was, it would be still a -priceless store to these starving people. The project of going back -there after it began to be discussed. It was one hundred and twenty-five -miles' journey; but food in abundance lay at the journey's end. Finally -it was decided that the attempt should be made. Their first plan was to -hide their families in the woods at some distance from the settlements -lest there might be some danger from hostile whites. On their way, -however, they were met by some of their brethren from Schonbrun, who -advised them to go back openly into their deserted towns, assuring them -that the Americans were friendly to them now. They accordingly did so, -and remained for several weeks at Salem and Gnadenhütten, working day -and night gathering and husking the weather-beaten corn, and burying it -in holes in the ground in the woods for future supply. On the very day -that they were to have set off with their packs of corn, to return to -their starving friends and relatives at Sandusky, a party of between one -and two hundred whites made their appearance at Gnadenhütten. Seeing the -Indians scattered all through the cornfields, they rode up to them, -expressing pleasure at seeing them, and saying that they would take them -into Pennsylvania, to a place where they would be out of all reach of -persecution from the hostile savages or the English. They represented -themselves as "friends and brothers, who had purposely come out to -relieve them from the distress brought on them on account of their being -friends to the American people. *** The Christian Indians, not in the -least doubting their sincerity, walked up to them and thanked them for -being so kind; while the whites again gave assurances that they would -meet with good treatment from them. They then advised them to -discontinue their work and cross over to the town, in order to make -necessary arrangements for the journey, as they intended to take them -out of the reach of their enemies, and where they would be supplied -abundantly with all they stood in need of." - -They proposed to take them to Pittsburg, where they would be out of the -way of any assault made by the English or the savages. This the Indians -heard, one of their missionaries writes, "with resignation, concluding -that God would perhaps choose this method to put an end to their -sufferings. Prepossessed with this idea, they cheerfully delivered their -guns, hatchets, and other weapons to the murderers, who promised to take -good care of them, and in Pittsburg to return every article to its -rightful owner. Our Indians even showed them all those things which they -had secreted in the woods, assisted in packing them up, and emptied all -their beehives for these pretended friends." - -In the mean time one of the assistants, John Martin by name, went to -Salem, ten miles distant, and carried the good news that a party of -whites had come from the settlements to carry them to a place of safety -and give them protection. "The Salem Indians," says the same narrative, -"did not hesitate to accept of this proposal, believing unanimously that -God had sent the Americans to release them from their disagreeable -situation at Sandusky, and imagining that when arrived at Pittsburg they -might soon find a safe place to build a settlement, and easily procure -advice and assistance from Bethlehem." - -Some of the whites expressed a desire to see the village of Salem, were -conducted thither, and received with much friendship by the Indians. On -the way they entered into spiritual conversation with their unsuspecting -companions, feigning great piety and discoursing on many religious and -scriptural subjects. They offered also to assist the Salem Indians in -moving their effects. - -In the mean time the defenceless Indians at Gnadenhütten were suddenly -attacked, driven together, bound with ropes, and confined. As soon as -the Salem Indians arrived, they met with the same fate. - -The murderers then held a council to decide what should be done with -them. By a majority of votes it was decided to kill them all the next -day. To the credit of humanity be it recorded, that there were in this -band a few who remonstrated, declared that these Indians were innocent -and harmless, and should be set at liberty, or, at least, given up to -the Government as prisoners. Their remonstrances were unavailing, and, -finding that they could not prevail on these monsters to spare the -Indians' lives, "they wrung their hands, calling God to witness that -they were innocent of the blood of these Christian Indians. They then -withdrew to some distance from the scene of slaughter." - -The majority were unmoved, and only disagreed as to the method of -putting their victims to death. Some were for burning them alive; others -for tomahawking and scalping them. The latter method was determined on, -and a message was sent to the Indians that, "as they were Christian -Indians, they might prepare themselves in a Christian manner, for they -must all die to-morrow." - -The rest of the narrative is best told in the words of the Moravian -missionaries: "It may be easily conceived how great their terror was at -hearing a sentence so unexpected. However, they soon recollected -themselves, and patiently suffered the murderers to lead them into two -houses, in one of which the brethren were confined and in the other the -sisters and children. *** Finding that all entreaties to save their -lives were to no purpose, and that some, more blood-thirsty than others, -were anxious to begin upon them, they united in begging a short delay, -that they might prepare themselves for death, which request was granted -them. Then asking pardon for whatever offence they had given, or grief -they had occasioned to each other, they knelt down, offering fervent -prayers to God their Saviour and kissing one another. Under a flood of -tears, fully resigned to his will, they sung praises unto him, in the -joyful hope that they would soon be relieved from all pains and join -their Redeemer in everlasting bliss. *** The murderers, impatient to -make a beginning, came again to them while they were singing, and, -inquiring whether they were now ready for dying, they were answered in -the affirmative, adding that they had commended their immortal souls to -God, who had given them the assurance in their hearts that he would -receive their souls. One of the party, now taking up a cooper's mallet -which lay in the house, saying, 'How exactly this will answer for the -purpose,' began with Abraham, and continued knocking down one after -another until he counted fourteen that he had killed with his own hands. -He now handed the instrument to one of his fellow-murderers, saying: 'My -arm fails me. Go on in the same way. I think I have done pretty well.' -In another house, where mostly women and children were confined, Judith, -a remarkably pious aged widow, was the first victim. After they had -finished the horrid deed they retreated to a small distance from the -slaughterhouses; but, after a while, returning again to view the dead -bodies, and finding one of them (Abel), although scalped and mangled, -attempting to raise himself from the floor, they so renewed their blows -upon him that he never rose again. *** Thus ninety-six persons magnified -the name of the Lord by patiently meeting a cruel death. Sixty-two were -grown persons and thirty-four children. Many of them were born of -Christian parents in the society, and were among those who in the year -1763 were taken under the protection of the Pennsylvania Government at -the time of the riots of the Paxton Boys. *** Two boys, about fourteen -years of age, almost miraculously escaped from this massacre. One of -them was scalped and thrown down for dead. Recovering himself, he looked -around; but, with great presence of mind, lay down again quickly, -feigning death. In a few moments he saw the murderers return, and again -bury their hatchets in the head of Abel, who was attempting to rise, -though scalped and terribly mangled. As soon as it was dark, Thomas -crept over the dead bodies and escaped to the woods, where he hid -himself till night. The other lad, who was confined in the house with -the women, contrived unnoticed to slip through a trap-door into the -cellar, where he lay concealed through the day, the blood all the while -running down through the floor in streams. At dark he escaped through a -small window and crept to the woods, where he encountered Thomas, and -the two made their way together, after incredible hardships, to -Sandusky. To describe the grief and terror of the Indian congregation on -hearing that so large a number of its members was so cruelly massacred -is impossible. Parents wept and mourned for the loss of their children, -husbands for their wives, and wives for their husbands, children for -their parents, sisters for brothers, and brothers for sisters. But they -murmured not, nor did they call for vengeance on the murderers, but -prayed for them. And their greatest consolation was a full assurance -that all their beloved relatives were now at home in the presence of the -Lord, and in full possession of everlasting happiness." - -An account of this massacre was given in the _Pennsylvania Gazette_, of -April 17th, 1782. It runs as follows: - -"The people being greatly alarmed, and having received intelligence that -the Indian towns on the Muskingum had not moved, as reported, a number -of men, properly provided, collected and rendezvoused on the Ohio, -opposite the Mingo Bottom, with a desire to surprise the above towns. - -"One hundred men swam the river, and proceeded to the towns on the -Muskingum, where the Indians had collected a large quantity of -provisions to supply their war-parties. They arrived at the town in the -night, undiscovered, attacked the Indians in their cabins, and so -completely surprised them that they killed and scalped upward of -ninety—but a few making their escape—about forty of whom were warriors, -the rest old women and children. About eighty horses fell into their -hands, which they loaded with the plunder, the greatest part furs and -skins, and returned to the Ohio without the loss of a man." - -III.—_Massacres of Apaches._ - -In less than one hundred years from this Gnadenhütten massacre an -officer of the United States Army, stationed at Camp Grant, in Arizona -Territory, writes to his commanding officer the following letter: - - "Camp Grant, Arizona Territory, May 17th, 1871. - -"DEAR COLONEL,—Thanks for your kind letter of last week. If I could see -you and have a long talk, and answer all your questions, I could come -nearer giving you a clear idea of the history of the Indians at this -post than by any written account. Having had them constantly under my -observation for nearly three months, and the care of them constantly on -my mind, certain things have become so much a matter of certainty to me -that I am liable to forget the amount of evidence necessary to convince -even the most unprejudiced mind that has not been brought in contact -with them. I will, however, try and give you a connected account, and if -it proves not sufficiently full in detail, you may be sure all its -positive statements will be sustained by the testimony of all competent -judges who have been at this post and cognizant of the facts. - -"Sometime in February a party of five old women came in under a flag of -truce, with a letter from Colonel Greene, saying they were in search of -a boy, the son of one of the number taken prisoner near Salt River some -months before. This boy had been well cared for, and had become attached -to his new mode of life, and did not wish to return. The party were -kindly treated, rationed while here, and after two days went away, -asking permission to return. They came in about eight days, I think, -with a still larger number, with some articles for sale, to purchase -manta, as they were nearly naked. Before going away they said a young -chief would like to come in with a party and have a talk. This I -encouraged, and in a few days he came with about twenty-five of his -band. He stated in brief that he was chief of a band of about one -hundred and fifty of what were originally the Aravapa Apaches; that he -wanted peace; that he and his people had no home, and could make none, -as they were at all times apprehensive of the approach of the cavalry. I -told him he should go to the White Mountains. He said, 'That is not our -country, neither are they our people. We are at peace with them, but -never have mixed with them. Our fathers and their fathers before them -have lived in these mountains, and have raised corn in this valley. We -are taught to make mescal, our principal article of food, and in summer -and winter here we have a never-failing supply. At the White Mountains -there is none, and without it now we get sick. Some of our people have -been in at Goodwin, and for a short time at the White Mountains; but -they are not contented, and they all say, "Let us go to the Aravapa and -make a final peace, and never break it."' - -"I told him I had no authority to make any treaty with him, or to -promise him that he would be allowed a permanent home here, but that he -could bring in his hand, and I would feed them, and report his wishes to -the Department commander. In the mean time runners had been in from two -other small bands, asking the same privileges and giving the same -reasons. I made the same reply to all, and by about the 11th of March I -had over three hundred here. I wrote a detailed account of the whole -matter, and sent it by express to Department Head-quarters, asking for -instructions, having only the general policy of the Government in such -cases for my guidance. After waiting more than six weeks my letter was -returned to me without comment, except calling my attention to the fact -that it was not briefed properly. At first I put them in camp, about -half a mile from the post, and counted them, and issued their rations -every second day. The number steadily increased until it reached the -number of five hundred and ten. - -"Knowing, as I did, that the responsibility of the whole movement rested -with me, and that, in case of any loss to the Government coming of it, I -should be the sufferer, I kept them continually under my observation -till I came not only to know the faces of the men, but of the women and -children. They were nearly naked, and needed everything in the way of -clothing. I stopped the Indians from bringing hay, that I might buy of -these. I arranged a system of tickets with which to pay them and -encourage them; and to be sure that they were properly treated, I -personally attended to the weighing. I also made inquiries as to the -kind of goods sold them, and prices. This proved a perfect success; not -only the women and children engaged in the work, but the men. The amount -furnished by them in about two months was nearly 300,000 pounds. - -"During this time many small parties had been out with passes for a -certain number of days to burn mescal. These parties were always mostly -women, and I made myself sure by noting the size of the party, and from -the amount of mescal brought in, that no treachery was intended. From -the first I was determined to know not only all they did, but their -hopes and intentions. For this purpose I spent hours each day with them -in explaining to them the relations they should sustain to the -Government, and their prospects for the future in case of either -obedience or disobedience. I got from them in return much of their -habits of thought and rules of action. I made it a point to tell them -all they wished to know, and in the plainest and most positive manner. -They were readily obedient, and remarkably quick of comprehension. They -were happy and contented, and took every opportunity to show it. They -had sent out runners to two other bands which were connected with them -by intermarriages, and had received promises from them that they would -come in and join them. I am confident, from all I have been able to -learn, that but for this unlooked-for butchery, by this time we would -have had one thousand persons, and at least two hundred and fifty -able-bodied men. As their number increased and the weather grew warmer, -they asked and obtained permission to move farther up the Aravapa to -higher ground and plenty of water, and opposite to the ground they were -proposing to plant. They were rationed every third day. Captain Stanwood -arrived about the first of April, and took command of the post. He had -received, while _en route_, verbal instructions from General Stoneman to -recognize and feed any Indians he might find at the post as prisoners of -war. After he had carefully inspected all things pertaining to their -conduct and treatment, he concluded to make no changes, but had become -so well satisfied of the integrity of their intentions that he left on -the 24th with his whole troop for a long scout in the lower part of the -Territory. The ranchmen in this vicinity were friendly and kind to them, -and felt perfectly secure, and had agreed with me to employ them at a -fair rate of pay to harvest their barley. The Indians seemed to have -lost their characteristic anxiety to purchase ammunition, and had, in -many instances, sold their best bows and arrows. I made frequent visits -to their camp, and if any were absent from count, made it my business to -know why. - -"Such was the condition of things up to the morning of the 30th of -April. They had so won on me that, from my first idea of treating them -justly and honestly, as an officer of the army, I had come to feel a -strong personal interest in helping to show them the way to a higher -civilization. I had come to feel respect for men who, ignorant and -naked, were still ashamed to lie or steal; and for women who would work -cheerfully like slaves to clothe themselves and children, but, untaught, -held their virtue above price. Aware of the lies industriously -circulated by the puerile press of the country, I was content to know I -had positive proof they were so. - -"I had ceased to have any fears of their leaving here, and only dreaded -for them that they might be at any time ordered to do so. They -frequently expressed anxiety to hear from the general, that they might -have confidence to build for themselves better houses; but would always -say, 'You know what we want, and if you can't see him you can write, and -do for us what you can.' It is possible that, during this time, -individuals from here had visited other bands; but that any number had -ever been out to assist in any marauding expedition I know is false. On -the morning of April 30th I was at breakfast at 7.30 o'clock, when a -despatch was brought to me by a sergeant of Company P, 21st Infantry, -from Captain Penn, commanding Camp Lowell, informing me that a large -party had left Tucson on the 28th with the avowed purpose of killing all -the Indians at this post. I immediately sent the two interpreters, -mounted, to the Indian camp, with orders to tell the chiefs the exact -state of things, and for them to bring their entire party inside the -post. As I had no cavalry, and but about fifty infantry (all recruits), -and no other officer, I could not leave the post to go to their defence. -My messengers returned in about an hour with intelligence that they -could find no living Indians. - -"Their camp was burning, and the ground strewed with their dead and -mutilated women and children. I immediately mounted a party of about -twenty soldiers and citizens, and sent them with the post surgeon with a -wagon to bring in the wounded, if any could be found. The party returned -late in the afternoon, having found no wounded, and without having been -able to communicate with any of the survivors. Early the next morning I -took a similar party with spades and shovels, and went out and buried -the dead immediately in and about the camp. I had, the day before, -offered the interpreters, or any one who would do so, $100 to go to the -mountains and communicate with them, and convince them that no officer -or soldier of the United States Government had been concerned in the -vile transaction; and, failing in this, I thought the act of caring for -their dead would be an evidence to them of our sympathy, at least, and -the conjecture proved correct; for while we were at the work, many of -them came to the spot and indulged in expressions of grief too wild and -terrible to be described. - -"That evening they began to come in from all directions, singly and in -small parties, so changed as hardly to be recognizable in the -forty-eight hours during which they had neither eaten nor slept. Many of -the men, whose families had all been killed, when I spoke to them and -expressed sympathy for them, were obliged to turn away, unable to speak, -and too proud to show their grief. The women whose children had been -killed or stolen were convulsed with grief, and looked to me -appealingly, as if I were their last hope on earth. Children, who two -days before had been full of frolic, kept at a distance, expressing -wondering horror. - -"I did what I could: I fed them, talked to them, and listened patiently -to their accounts. I sent horses to the mountains to bring in two badly -wounded women, one shot through the left leg, one with an arm shattered. -These were attended to, and are doing well, and will recover. - -"Their camp was surrounded and attacked at daybreak. So sudden and -unexpected was it, that I found a number of women shot while asleep -beside their bundles of hay, which they had collected to bring in on -that morning. The wounded who were unable to get away had their brains -beaten out with clubs or stones, while some were shot full of arrows -after having been mortally wounded by gun-shots. The bodies were all -stripped. Of the number buried, one was an old man, and one was a -well-grown boy; all the rest women and children. Of the whole number -killed and missing—about one hundred and twenty-five—only eight were -men. It has been said that the men were not there: they were all there. -On the 28th we counted one hundred and twenty-eight men, a small number -being absent for mescal, all of whom have since been in. I have spent a -good deal of time with them since the affair, and have been astonished -at their continued unshaken faith in me, and their perfectly clear -understanding of their misfortune. They say, 'We know there are a great -many white men and Mexicans who do not wish us to live at peace. We know -that the Papagos would never have come out against us at this time -unless they had been persuaded to do so.' What they do not understand -is, while they are at peace and are conscious of no wrong intent, that -they should be murdered. - -"One of the chiefs said: 'I no longer want to live; my women and -children have been killed before my face, and I have been unable to -defend them. Most Indians in my place would take a knife and cut their -throats; but I will live to show these people that all they have done, -and all they can do, shall not make me break faith with you so long as -you will stand by us and defend us, in a language we know nothing of, to -a great governor we never have and never shall see.' - -"About their captives they say: 'Get them back for us. Our little boys -will grow up slaves, and our girls, as soon as they are large enough, -will be diseased prostitutes, to get money for whoever owns them. Our -women work hard, and are good women, and they and our children have no -diseases. Our dead you cannot bring to life; but those that are living -we gave to you, and we look to you, who can write and talk and have -soldiers, to get them back.' - -"I assure you it is no easy task to convince them of my zeal when they -see so little being done. I have pledged my word to them that I never -would rest, day or night, until they should have justice, and just now I -would as soon leave the army as to be ordered away from them, or be -obliged to order them away from here. But you well know the difficulties -in the way. You know that parties who would engage in murder like this -could and would make statements and multiply affidavits without end in -their justification. I know you will use your influence on the right -side. I believe, with them, this may be made either a means of making -good citizens of them and their children, or of driving them out to a -hopeless war of extermination. They ask to be allowed to live here in -their old homes, where nature supplies nearly all their wants. They ask -for a fair and impartial trial of their faith, and they ask that all -their captive children may be returned to them. Is their demand -unreasonable?" - -This letter was written to Colonel T. G. C. Lee, U.S.A., by Lieut. Royal -E. Whitman, 3d U.S. Cavalry. It is published in the Report of the Board -of Indian Commissioners for 1871. There is appended to it the following -affidavit of the post surgeon at Camp Grant: - -"On this 16th day of September, 1871, personally appeared Conant B. -Brierley, who, being duly sworn according to law, deposeth and saith: 'I -am acting-assistant surgeon, U.S.A., at Camp Grant, Arizona, where I -arrived April 25th, 1871, and reported to the commanding officer for -duty as medical officer. Some four hundred Apache Indians were at that -time held as prisoners of war by the military stationed at Camp Grant, -and during the period intervening between April 25th and 30th I saw the -Indians every day. They seemed very well contented, and were busily -employed in bringing in hay, which they sold for manta and such little -articles as they desired outside the Government ration. April 29th -Chiquita and some of the other chiefs were at the post, and asked for -seeds and for some hoes, stating that they had ground cleared and ready -for planting. They were told that the garden-seeds had been sent for, -and would be up from Tucson in a few days. They then left, and I saw -nothing more of them until after the killing. - -"'Sunday morning I heard a rumor that the Indians had been attacked, and -learned from Lieutenant Whitman that he had sent the two interpreters to -the Indian camp to warn the Indians, and bring them down where they -could be protected, if possible. The interpreters returned and stated -that the attack had already been made and the Indians dispersed, and -that the attacking party were returning. - -"'Lieutenant Whitman then ordered me to go to the Indian camp to render -medical assistance, and bring down any wounded I might find. I took -twelve men and a wagon, and proceeded without delay to the scene of the -murder. On my arrival I found that I should have but little use for the -wagon or medicine. The work had been too thoroughly done. The camp had -been fired, and the dead bodies of twenty-one women and children were -lying scattered over the ground; those who had been wounded in the first -instance had their brains beaten out with stones. Two of the squaws had -been first ravished, and then shot dead. One infant of some two months -was shot twice, and one leg nearly hacked off. *** I know from my own -personal observations that, during the time the Indians were in, after -my arrival, they were rationed every three days, and Indians absent had -to be accounted for; their faces soon became familiar to me, and I could -at once tell when any strange Indian came in. - -"'And I furthermore state that I have been among nearly all the tribes -on the Pacific coast, and that I have never seen any Indians who showed -the intelligence, honesty, and desire to learn manifested by these -Indians. I came among them greatly prejudiced against them; but, after -being with them, I was compelled to admit that they were honest in their -intentions, and really desired peace. - - "'C. B. Brierley, - "'Acting Assistant Surgeon, U.S.A.'" - - * * * * * - -This is not the only instance of cruel outrage committed by white men on -the Apaches. In the Report of the Board of Indian Commissioners for 1871 -is the following letter from one of the Arizona pioneers, Mr. J. H. -Lyman, of Northampton, Mass. Mr. Lyman spent the years of 1840-'41 among -the Apaches, and thus briefly relates an occurrence which took place at -a time when they were friendly and cordial to all Americans going among -them: - -"The Indians were then, as now, hostile to the Mexicans of Sonora, and -they were constantly making raids into the State and driving off the -cattle. The Mexicans feared them, and were unable to meet them man to -man. At that time American trappers found the beaver very abundant about -the head-waters of the Gila River, among those rich mountain valleys -where the Apaches had, and still have, their secure retreats. At the -time I speak of there were two companies of trappers in that region. One -of the companies, about seventeen men, was under a captain named -Johnson. The other company consisted of thirty men, I think. I was -trapping on another head of the Gila, several miles north. The valleys -were full of Apaches, but all peaceful toward the white men, both -Indians and whites visiting each other's camps constantly and -fearlessly, with no thought of treachery or evil. Besides the Mexicans, -the only enemies of the Apaches were the Piutes and Navajoes, in the -north-west. But here in their fastnesses they felt safe from all foes. - -"One day Johnson concluded to go down into Sonora on a spree, as was -occasionally the way with mountain-men. He there saw the Governor of -Sonora, who, knowing that he had the confidence of the Indians, offered -him an ounce of gold for every Apache scalp he would bring him. The -bargain was struck. Johnson procured a small mountain howitzer, and -then, with supplies for his party, returned to his camp. Previous to -entering it he loaded his howitzer with a quantity of bullets. On -approaching the valley he was met by the Indians, who joyfully welcomed -him back, and proceeded at once to prepare the usual feast. While they -were boiling and roasting their venison and bear meat, and were gathered -in a small group around the fire, laughing and chatting in anticipation -of the pleasure they expected in entertaining their guests, Johnson told -those of his party who had remained behind of the offer of the governor, -and with such details of temptation as easily overcame any scruples such -men might have. - -"As they were all armed with rifles, which were always in hand day and -night, together with pistols in belt, they needed no preparation. The -howitzer, which the Indians might have supposed to be a small keg of -whiskey, was placed on the ground and pointed at the group of warriors, -squaws, and little children round the fire, watching the roasting meal. - -"While they were thus engaged, with hearts full of kindly feelings -toward their white friends, Johnson gave the signal. The howitzer was -discharged, sending its load of bullets scattering and tearing through -the mass of miserable human beings, and nearly all who were not stricken -down were shot by the rifles. A very few succeeded in escaping into the -ravine, and fled over the dividing ridge into the northern valleys, -where they met others of their tribe, to whom they told the horrible -story. - -"The Apaches at once showed that they could imitate their more civilized -brothers. Immediately a band of them went in search of the other company -of trappers, who, of course, were utterly unconscious of Johnson's -infernal work. They were attacked, unprepared, and nearly all killed; -and then the story that the Apaches were treacherous and cruel went -forth into all the land, but nothing of the wrongs they had received." - -Is it to be wondered at that the Apaches became one of the most hostile -and dangerous tribes on the Pacific coast? - -These are but four massacres out of scores, whose history, if written, -would prove as clearly as do these, that, in the long contest between -white men and Indians, the Indian has not always been the aggressor, and -that treachery and cruelty are by no means exclusively Indian traits. - - - - - CHAPTER X. - - CONCLUSION. - - -There are within the limits of the United States between two hundred and -fifty and three hundred thousand Indians, exclusive of those in Alaska. -The names of the different tribes and bands, as entered in the -statistical tables of the Indian Office Reports, number nearly three -hundred. One of the most careful estimates which have been made of their -numbers and localities gives them as follows: "In Minnesota and States -east of the Mississippi, about 32,500; in Nebraska, Kansas, and the -Indian Territory, 70,650; in the Territories of Dakota, Montana, -Wyoming, and Idaho, 65,000; in Nevada and the Territories of Colorado, -New Mexico, Utah, and Arizona, 84,000; and on the Pacific slope, -48,000." - -Of these, 130,000 are self-supporting on their own reservations, -"receiving nothing from the Government except interest on their own -moneys, or annuities granted them in consideration of the cession of -their lands to the United States."[31] - -Footnote 31: - - A Annual Report of Indian Commissioner for 1872. - -This fact alone would seem sufficient to dispose forever of the -accusation, so persistently brought against the Indian, that he will not -work. - -Of the remainder, 84,000 are partially supported by the Government—the -interest money due them and their annuities, as provided by treaty, -being inadequate to their subsistence on the reservations where they are -confined. In many cases, however, these Indians furnish a large part of -their support—the White River Utes, for instance, who are reported by -the Indian Bureau as getting sixty-six per cent. of their living by -"root-digging, hunting, and fishing;" the Squaxin band, in Washington -Territory, as earning seventy-five per cent., and the Chippewas of Lake -Superior as earning fifty per cent. in the same way. These facts also -would seem to dispose of the accusation that the Indian will not work. - -There are about 55,000 who never visit an agency, over whom the -Government does not pretend to have either control or care. These 55,000 -"subsist by hunting, fishing, on roots, nuts, berries, etc., and by -begging and stealing;" and this also seems to dispose of the accusation -that the Indian will not "work for a living." There remains a small -portion, about 31,000, that are entirely subsisted by the Government. - -There is not among these three hundred bands of Indians one which has -not suffered cruelly at the hands either of the Government or of white -settlers. The poorer, the more insignificant, the more helpless the -band, the more certain the cruelty and outrage to which they have been -subjected. This is especially true of the bands on the Pacific slope. -These Indians found themselves of a sudden surrounded by and caught up -in the great influx of gold-seeking settlers, as helpless creatures on a -shore are caught up in a tidal wave. There was not time for the -Government to make treaties; not even time for communities to make laws. -The tale of the wrongs, the oppressions, the murders of the -Pacific-slope Indians in the last thirty years would be a volume by -itself, and is too monstrous to be believed. - -It makes little difference, however, where one opens the record of the -history of the Indians; every page and every year has its dark stain. -The story of one tribe is the story of all, varied only by differences -of time and place; but neither time nor place makes any difference in -the main facts. Colorado is as greedy and unjust in 1880 as was Georgia -in 1830, and Ohio in 1795; and the United States Government breaks -promises now as deftly as then, and with an added ingenuity from long -practice. - -One of its strongest supports in so doing is the wide-spread sentiment -among the people of dislike to the Indian, of impatience with his -presence as a "barrier to civilization," and distrust of it as a -possible danger. The old tales of the frontier life, with its horrors of -Indian warfare, have gradually, by two or three generations' telling, -produced in the average mind something like an hereditary instinct of -unquestioning and unreasoning aversion which it is almost impossible to -dislodge or soften. - -There are hundreds of pages of unimpeachable testimony on the side of -the Indian; but it goes for nothing, is set down as sentimentalism or -partisanship, tossed aside and forgotten. - -President after president has appointed commission after commission to -inquire into and report upon Indian affairs, and to make suggestions as -to the best methods of managing them. The reports are filled with -eloquent statements of wrongs done to the Indians, of perfidies on the -part of the Government; they counsel, as earnestly as words can, a trial -of the simple and unperplexing expedients of telling truth, keeping -promises, making fair bargains, dealing justly in all ways and all -things. These reports are bound up with the Government's Annual Reports, -and that is the end of them. It would probably be no exaggeration to say -that not one American citizen out of ten thousand ever sees them or -knows that they exist, and yet any one of them, circulated throughout -the country, read by the right-thinking, right-feeling men and women of -this land, would be of itself a "campaign document" that would initiate -a revolution which would not subside until the Indians' wrongs were, so -far as is now left possible, righted. - -In 1869 President Grant appointed a commission of nine men, representing -the influence and philanthropy of six leading States, to visit the -different Indian reservations, and to "examine all matters appertaining -to Indian affairs." - -In the report of this commission are such paragraphs as the following: -"To assert that 'the Indian will not work' is as true as it would be to -say that the white man will not work. - -"Why should the Indian be expected to plant corn, fence lands, build -houses, or do anything but get food from day to day, when experience has -taught him that the product of his labor will be seized by the white man -to-morrow? The most industrious white man would become a drone under -similar circumstances. Nevertheless, many of the Indians" (the -commissioners might more forcibly have said 130,000 of the Indians) "are -already at work, and furnish ample refutation of the assertion that 'the -Indian will not work,' There is no escape from the inexorable logic of -facts. - -"The history of the Government connections with the Indians is a -shameful record of broken treaties and unfulfilled promises. The history -of the border white man's connection with the Indians is a sickening -record of murder, outrage, robbery, and wrongs committed by the former, -as the rule, and occasional savage outbreaks and unspeakably barbarous -deeds of retaliation by the latter, as the exception. - -"Taught by the Government that they had rights entitled to respect, when -those rights have been assailed by the rapacity of the white man, the -arm which should have been raised to protect them has ever been ready to -sustain the aggressor. - -"The testimony of some of the highest military officers of the United -States is on record to the effect that, in our Indian wars, almost -without exception, the first aggressions have been made by the white -man; and the assertion is supported by every civilian of reputation who -has studied the subject. In addition to the class of robbers and outlaws -who find impunity in their nefarious pursuits on the frontiers, there is -a large class of professedly reputable men who use every means in their -power to bring on Indian wars for the sake of the profit to be realized -from the presence of troops and the expenditure of Government funds in -their midst. They proclaim death to the Indians at all times in words -and publications, making no distinction between the innocent and the -guilty. They irate the lowest class of men to the perpetration of the -darkest deeds against their victims, and as judges and jurymen shield -them from the justice due to their crimes. Every crime committed by a -white man against an Indian is concealed or palliated. Every offence -committed by an Indian against a white man is borne on the wings of the -post or the telegraph to the remotest corner of the land, clothed with -all the horrors which the reality or imagination can throw around it. -Against such influences as these the people of the United States need to -be warned." - -To assume that it would be easy, or by any one sudden stroke of -legislative policy possible, to undo the mischief and hurt of the long -past, set the Indian policy of the country right for the future, and -make the Indians at once safe and happy, is the blunder of a hasty and -uninformed judgment. The notion which seems to be growing more -prevalent, that simply to make all Indians at once citizens of the -United States would be a sovereign and instantaneous panacea for all -their ills and all the Government's perplexities, is a very -inconsiderate one. To administer complete citizenship of a sudden, all -round, to all Indians, barbarous and civilized alike, would be as -grotesque a blunder as to dose them all round with any one medicine, -irrespective of the symptoms and needs of their diseases. It would kill -more than it would cure. Nevertheless, it is true, as was well stated by -one of the superintendents of Indian Affairs in 1857, that, "so long as -they are not citizens of the United States, their rights of property -must remain insecure against invasion. The doors of the federal -tribunals being barred against them while wards and dependents, they can -only partially exercise the rights of free government, or give to those -who make, execute, and construe the few laws they are allowed to enact, -dignity sufficient to make them respectable. While they continue -individually to gather the crumbs that fall from the table of the United -States, idleness, improvidence, and indebtedness will be the rule, and -industry, thrift, and freedom from debt the exception. The utter absence -of individual title to particular lands deprives every one among them of -the chief incentive to labor and exertion—the very mainspring on which -the prosperity of a people depends." - -All judicious plans and measures for their safety and salvation must -embody provisions for their becoming citizens as fast as they are fit, -and must protect them till then in every right and particular in which -our laws protect other "persons" who are not citizens. - -There is a disposition in a certain class of minds to be impatient with -any protestation against wrong which is unaccompanied or unprepared with -a quick and exact scheme of remedy. This is illogical. When pioneers in -a new country find a tract of poisonous and swampy wilderness to be -reclaimed, they do not withhold their hands from fire and axe till they -see clearly which way roads should run, where good water will spring, -and what crops will best grow on the redeemed land. They first clear the -swamp. So with this poisonous and baffling part of the domain of our -national affairs—let us first "clear the swamp." - -However great perplexity and difficulty there may be in the details of -any and every plan possible for doing at this late day anything like -justice to the Indian, however hard it may be for good statesmen and -good men to agree upon the things that ought to be done, there certainly -is, or ought to be, no perplexity whatever, no difficulty whatever, in -agreeing upon certain things that ought not to be done, and which must -cease to be done before the first steps can be taken toward righting the -wrongs, curing the ills, and wiping out the disgrace to us of the -present condition of our Indians. - -Cheating, robbing, breaking promises—these three are clearly things -which must cease to be done. One more thing, also, and that is the -refusal of the protection of the law to the Indian's rights of property, -"of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." - -When these four things have ceased to be done, time, statesmanship, -philanthropy, and Christianity can slowly and surely do the rest. Till -these four things have ceased to be done, statesmanship and philanthropy -alike must work in vain, and even Christianity can reap but small -harvest. - - - - - APPENDIX. - - - - - I. - - THE SAND CREEK MASSACRE. - - -The following letters were printed in the _New York Tribune_ in the -winter of 1879. They are of interest, not only as giving a minute -account of one of the most atrocious massacres ever perpetrated, but -also as showing the sense of justice which is to be found in the -frontiersman's mind to-day. That men, exasperated by atrocities and -outrages, should have avenged themselves with hot haste and cruelty, -was, perhaps, only human; but that men should be found, fifteen years -later, apologizing for, nay, justifying the cruel deed, is indeed a -matter of marvel. - - -LETTER I. - -In June, 1864, Governor Evans, of Colorado, sent out a circular to the -Indians of the Plains, inviting all friendly Indians to come into the -neighborhood of the forts, and be protected by the United States troops. -Hostilities and depredations had been committed by some bands of -Indians, and the Government was about to make war upon them. This -circular says: - -"In some instances they (the Indians) have attacked and killed soldiers, -and murdered peaceable citizens. For this the Great Father is angry, and -will certainly hunt them out and punish them; but he does not want to -injure those who remain friendly to the whites. He desires to protect -and take care of them. For this purpose I direct that all friendly -Indians keep away from those who are at war, and go to places of safety. -Friendly Arapahoes and Cheyennes belonging to the Arkansas River will go -to Major Colby, United States Agent at Fort Lyon, who will give them -provisions and show them a place of safety." - -In consequence of this proclamation of the governor, a band of -Cheyennes, several hundred in number, came in and settled down near Fort -Lyon. After a time they were requested to move to Sand Creek, about -forty miles from Fort Lyon, where they were still guaranteed "perfect -safety" and the protection of the Government. Rations of food were -issued to them from time to time. On the 27th of November, Colonel J. M. -Chivington, a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Denver, and -Colonel of the First Colorado Cavalry, led his regiment by a forced -march to Fort Lyon, induced some of the United States troops to join -him, and fell upon this camp of friendly Indians at daybreak. The chief, -White Antelope, always known as friendly to the whites, came running -toward the soldiers, holding up his hands and crying "Stop! stop!" in -English. When he saw that there was no mistake, that it was a deliberate -attack, he folded his arms and waited till he was shot down. The United -States flag was floating over the lodge of Black Kettle, the head chief -of the tribe; below it was tied also a small white flag as additional -security—a precaution Black Kettle had been advised by United States -officers to take if he met troops on the Plains. In Major Wynkoop's -testimony, given before the committee appointed by Congress to -investigate this massacre, is the following passage: - -"Women and children were killed and scalped, children shot at their -mothers' breasts, and all the bodies mutilated in the most horrible -manner. *** The dead bodies of females profaned in such a manner that -the recital is sickening, Colonel J. M. Chivington all the time inciting -his troops to their diabolical outrages." - -Another man testified as to what he saw on the 30th of November, three -days after the battle, as follows: - -"I saw a man dismount from his horse and cut the ear from the body of an -Indian, and the scalp from the head of another. I saw a number of -children killed; they had bullet-holes in them; one child had been cut -with some sharp instrument across its side. I saw another that both ears -had been cut off. *** I saw several of the Third Regiment cut off -fingers to get the rings off them. I saw Major Sayre scalp a dead -Indian. The scalp had a long tail of silver hanging to it." - -Robert Bent testified: - -"I saw one squaw lying on the bank, whose leg had been broken. A soldier -came up to her with a drawn sabre. She raised her arm to protect -herself; he struck, breaking her arm. She rolled over, and raised her -other arm; he struck, breaking that, and then left her without killing -her. I saw one squaw cut open, with an unborn child lying by her side." - -Major Anthony testified: - -"There was one little child, probably three years old, just big enough -to walk through the sand. The Indians had gone ahead, and this little -child was behind, following after them. The little fellow was perfectly -naked, travelling in the sand. I saw one man get off his horse at a -distance of about seventy-five yards and draw up his rifle and fire. He -missed the child. Another man came up and said, 'Let me try the son of a -b——. I can hit him.' He got down off his horse, kneeled down, and fired -at the little child, but he missed him. A third man came up, and made a -similar remark, and fired, and the little fellow dropped." - -The Indians were not able to make much resistance, as only a part of -them were armed, the United States officers having required them to give -up their guns. Luckily they had kept a few. - -When this Colorado regiment of demons returned to Denver they were -greeted with an ovation. _The Denver News_ said: "All acquitted -themselves well. Colorado soldiers have again covered themselves with -glory;" and at a theatrical performance given in the city, these scalps -taken from Indians were held up and exhibited to the audience, which -applauded rapturously. - -After listening, day after day, to such testimonies as these I have -quoted, and others so much worse that I may not write and _The Tribune_ -could not print the words needful to tell them, the committee reported: -"It is difficult to believe that beings in the form of men, and -disgracing the uniform of United States soldiers and officers, could -commit or countenance the commission of such acts of cruelty and -barbarity;" and of Colonel Chivington: "He deliberately planned and -executed a foul and dastardly massacre, which would have disgraced the -veriest savage among those who were the victims of his cruelty." - -This was just fifteen years ago, no more. Shall we apply the same rule -of judgment to the white men of Colorado that the Government is now -applying to the Utes? There are 130,000 inhabitants of Colorado; -hundreds of them had a hand in this massacre, and thousands in cool -blood applauded it when it was done. There are 4000 Utes in Colorado. -Twelve of them, desperate, guilty men, have committed murder and rape, -and three or four hundred of them did, in the convenient phrase of our -diplomacy, "go to war against the Government;" _i.e._, they attempted, -by force of arms, to restrain the entrance upon their own lands—lands -bought, owned and paid for—of soldiers that the Government had sent -there, to be ready to make way upon them, in case the agent thought it -best to do so! This is the plain English of it. This is the plain, naked -truth of it. - -And now the Secretary of the Interior has stopped the issue of rations -to 1000 of these helpless creatures; rations, be it understood, which -are not, and never were, a charity, but are the Utes' rightful dues, on -account of lands by them sold; dues which the Government promised to pay -"annually forever." Will the American people justify this? There is such -a thing as the conscience of a nation—as a nation's sense of justice. -Can it not be roused to speak now? Shall we sit still, warm and well -fed, in our homes, while five hundred women and little children are -being slowly starved in the bleak, barren wildernesses of Colorado? -Starved, not because storm, or blight, or drouth has visited their -country and cut off their crops; not because pestilence has laid its -hand on them and slain the hunters who brought them meat, but because it -lies within the promise of one man, by one word, to deprive them of -one-half their necessary food for as long a term of years as he may -please; and "the Secretary of the Interior cannot consistently feed a -tribe that has gone to war against the Government." - -We read in the statutes of the United States that certain things may be -done by "executive order" of the President. Is it not time for a -President to interfere when hundreds of women and children are being -starved in his Republic by the order of one man? Colonel J. M. -Chivington's method was less inhuman by far. To be shot dead is a mercy, -and a grace for which we would all sue, if to be starved to death were -our only other alternative. - - H. H. - -New York, Jan 31st, 1880. - - * * * * * - -This letter drew from the former editor of the _Rocky Mountain News_, a -Denver newspaper, the following reply: - -LETTER II. - - _To the Editor of the Tribune_: - -SIR,—In your edition of yesterday appears an article, under the above -caption, which arraigns the people of Colorado as a community of -barbarous murderers, and finally elevates them above the present -Secretary of the Interior, thereby placing the latter gentleman in a -most unenviable light if the charges averred be true. "The Sand Creek -Massacre" of 1864 is made the text and burden of the article; its -application is to the present condition of the White River band of Utes -in Colorado. Quotations are given from the testimony gathered, and the -report made thereon by a committee of Congress charged with a so-called -investigation of the Sand Creek affair. That investigation was made for -a certain selfish purpose. It was to break down and ruin certain men. -Evidence was taken upon one side only. It was largely false, and -infamously partial. There was no answer for the defence. - -The Cheyenne and Arapahoe Indians assembled at Sand Creek were not under -the protection of a United States fort. A few of them had been encamped -about Fort Lyon and drawing supplies therefrom, but they had gradually -disappeared and joined the main camp on Dry Sandy, forty miles from the -fort, separated from it by a waterless desert, and entirely beyond the -limit of its control or observation. While some of the occupants were -still, no doubt, occasional visitors at the fort, and applicants for -supplies and ammunition, most of the warriors were engaged in raiding -the great Platte River Road, seventy-five miles farther north, robbing -and burning trains, stealing cattle and horses, robbing and destroying -the United States mails, and killing white people. During the summer and -fall they had murdered over fifty of the citizens of Colorado. They had -stolen and destroyed provisions and merchandise, and driven away stock -worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. They had interrupted the mails, -and for thirty-two consecutive days none were allowed to pass their -lines. When satiated with murder and arson, and loaded with plunder, -they would retire to their sacred refuge on Sand Creek to rest and -refresh themselves, recruit their wasted supplies of ammunition from -Fort Lyon—begged under the garb of gentle, peaceful savages—and then -return to the road to relieve their tired comrades, and riot again in -carnage and robbery. These are facts; and when the "robbers' roost" was -cleaned out, on that sad but glorious 27th day of November, 1864, they -were sufficiently proven. Scalps of white men not yet dried; letters and -photographs stolen from the mails; bills of lading and invoices of -goods; bales and bolts of the goods themselves, addressed to merchants -in Denver; half-worn clothing of white women and children, and many -other articles of like character, were found in that poetical Indian -camp, and recovered by the Colorado soldiers. They were brought to -Denver, and those were the scalps exhibited in the theatre of that city. -There was also an Indian saddle-blanket entirely fringed around the -edges with white women's scalps, with the long, fair hair attached. -There was an Indian saddle over the pommel of which was stretched skin -stripped from the body of a white woman. Is it any wonder that soldiers -flushed with victory, after one of the hardest campaigns ever endured by -men, should indulge—some of them—in unwarranted atrocities after finding -such evidence of barbarism, and while more than forty of their comrades -were weltering in their own blood upon the field? - -If "H. H." had been in Denver in the early part of that summer, when the -bloated, festering bodies of the Hungate family—father, mother, and two -babes—were drawn through the streets naked in an ox-wagon, cut, -mutilated, and scalped—the work of those same red fiends who were so -justly punished at Sand Creek; if, later, "H. H." had seen an upright -and most estimable business man go crazy over the news of his son's -being tortured to death a hundred miles down the Platte, as I did; if -"H. H." had seen one-half the Colorado homes made desolate that fateful -season, and a tithe of the tears that were caused to flow, I think there -would have been one little word of excuse for the people of -Colorado—more than a doubtful comparison with an inefficient and -culpable Indian policy. Bear in mind that Colorado had no railroads -then. Her supplies reached her by only one road—along the Platte—in -wagons drawn by oxen, mules, or horses. That line was in full possession -of the enemy. Starvation stared us in the face. Hardly a party went or -came without some persons being killed. In some instances whole trains -were cut off and destroyed. Sand Creek saved Colorado, and taught the -Indians the most salutary lesson they had ever learned. And now, after -fifteen years, and here in the shadow of the Nation's Capitol, with the -spectre of "H. H.'s" condemnation staring me in the face, I am neither -afraid nor ashamed to repeat the language then used by _The Denver -News_: "All acquitted themselves well. Colorado soldiers have again -covered themselves with glory." - -Thus much of history is gone over by "H. H." to present in true dramatic -form the deplorable condition of the White River Utes, 1000 in number, -who are now suffering the pangs of hunger and the discomfort of cold in -the wilds of Western Colorado, without any kind agent to issue rations, -provide blankets, or build fires for them. It is really too bad. A -painful dispensation of Providence has deprived them of their best -friend, and they are desolate and bereaved. He placed his life and its -best efforts, his unbounded enthusiasm for their good, his great -Christian heart—all at their service. But an accident befell him, and he -is no more. The coroner's jury that sat upon his remains found that his -dead body had a barrel stave driven into his mouth, a log-chain around -his neck, by which it had been dragged about like a dead hog, and sundry -bullet-holes through his body. The presumption was that from the effect -of some one of these accidents he died; and, alas! he is no longer to -serve out weekly rations to his flock of gentle Utes. There is no sorrow -over his death or the desolation it wrought, but there is pity, oceans -of pity, for the Indians who are hungry and cold. True, at the time he -died they took the flour, the pork, and salt, and coffee, and sugar, and -tobacco, and blankets, and all the other supplies that he would have -issued to them through all this long winter had he lived. With his care -these would have lasted until spring, and been sufficient for their -wants; but, without it, "H. H." is suspicious that they are all gone, -and yet it is but just past the middle of winter. Can "H. H." tell why -this is thus? It is also true that they drove away the large herd of -cattle from the increase of which that same unfortunate agent and his -predecessors had supplied them with beef for eleven years past, and yet -the consumption did not keep pace with the natural increase. They took -them all, and are presumed to have them now. True, again, they had at -the beginning of winter, or at the period of the melancholy loss of -their best friend, about 4000 horses that were rolling fat, and three -acres of dogs—not bad food in an emergency, or for an Indian -thanksgiving feast—some of which should still remain. - -THE WHOLE WHITE RIVER BAND GUILTY. - -But "H. H." intimates that there is an alleged excuse for withholding -rations from these poor, persecuted red angels. "Twelve" of them have -been bad, and the tyrant at the head of the Interior Department is -systematically starving all of the 1000 who constitute the band, and -their 4000 horses, and 1800 cattle, and three acres of dogs, and six -months' supplies, because those twelve bad Indians cannot -conscientiously pick themselves out and be offered up as a -burnt-offering and a sacrifice to appease the wrath of an outraged and -partly civilized nation. This is the present indictment, and the -Secretary and the President are commanded to stand up and plead "Guilty -or not guilty, but you know you are guilty, d—n you." Now I challenge -and defy "H. H.," or any other person living, to pick out or name twelve -White River male Utes, over sixteen years of age, who were _not_ guilty, -directly or indirectly, as principals or accomplices before the fact, in -the Thornburgh attack or in the Agency massacre. I know these Indians -well enough to know that these attacks were perfectly understood and -deliberately planned. I cannot be made to believe that a single one of -them, of common-sense and intelligence, was ignorant of what was to take -place, and that knowledge extended far beyond the White River band. -There were plenty of recruits from both the Los Pinos and the Uintah -bands. In withholding supplies from the White River Utes the Secretary -of the Interior is simply obeying the law. He cannot, except upon his -own personal responsibility, issue supplies to a hostile Indian tribe, -and the country will hold him accountable for a departure from his line -of duty. Inferentially the Indians are justified by "H. H." in their -attack upon Thornburgh's command. Their object was to defend "their own -lands—lands bought, owned, and paid for." Bought of whom, pray? Paid for -by whom? To whom was payment made? The soldiers were making no attack; -they contemplated none. The agent had no authority to order an attack. -He could not proclaim war. He could have no control whatever over the -troops. But his life was in danger. The honor of his family was at -stake. He asked for protection. "H. H." says he had no right to it. His -life and the honor of his aged wife and of his virgin daughter are gone, -and "H. H." is the champion of fiends who wrought the ruin. - - WM. N. BYERS. - -Washington, D. C., Feb. 6th, 1880. - - * * * * * - -The most fitting reply to the assertions in this extraordinary document -was by still further citations from the sworn testimony given before the -Congressional committees—evidence with which volumes could have been -filled. - -LETTER III. - - _To the Editor of the Tribune_: - -SIR,—In reply to the letter in Sunday's _Tribune_, headed "The Starving -Utes," I would like to place before the readers of _The Tribune_ some -extracts from sworn testimony taken in Colorado on the subject of the -Sand Creek massacre. The writer of this letter says: - -"The Cheyenne and Arapahoe Indians assembled at Sand Creek were not -under the protection of a United States fort." - -The following testimony is that of Lieutenant Craven, Senate Document, -vol. ii., 1866-67, p. 46: - -"I had some conversation with Major Downing, Lieutenant Maynard, and -Colonel Chivington. I stated to them my feelings in regard to the -matter—that I believed it to be murder—and stated the obligations that -we of Major Wynkoop's command were under to those Indians. - -"To Colonel Chivington I know I stated that Major Wynkoop had pledged -his word as an officer and man to those Indians, and that all officers -under him were indirectly pledged in the same manner that he was, and -that I felt that it was placing us in very embarrassing circumstances to -fight the same Indians that had saved our lives, as we all felt that -they had. - -"Colonel Chivington's reply was that he believed it to be right and -honorable to use any means under God's heaven to kill Indians that would -kill women and children; and, 'damn any one that was in sympathy with -Indians;' and, 'such men as Major Wynkoop and myself had better get out -of the United States service.'" - -This conversation was testified to by other witnesses. Major Wynkoop, it -will be remembered, was the officer in command at Fort Lyon when this -band of Cheyennes and Arapahoes came in there to claim protection, in -consequence of the governor's proclamation, saying that, - -"All friendly Arapahoes and Cheyennes, belonging on the Arkansas River, -will go to Major Colby, United States Indian Agent at Fort Lyon, who -will give them provisions and show them a place of safety." - -Major Wynkoop was succeeded in the command of Fort Lyon by Major -Anthony, who continued for a time to issue rations to these Indians, as -Major Wynkoop had done; but after a time he called them together and -told them he could not feed them any longer; they would better go where -they could hunt. _He selected the place to which they were to move on -Sandy Creek._ They obeyed, and he gave back to them some of the arms -which had been taken away. They were moved to Sandy Creek, about forty -miles from Fort Lyon, partly "for fear of some conflict between them and -the soldiers or emigrants," Fort Lyon being on a thoroughfare of travel. -One of the chiefs—One Eye—was hired by Major Anthony at $125 a month "to -obtain information for the use of the military authorities. Several -times he brought news to the fort of proposed movements of hostile -Indians." This chief was killed in the massacre. - -This is the testimony of Captain Soule, First Colorado Cavalry: - -"Did you protest against attacking those Indians?" - -"I did." - -"Who was your commanding officer?" - -"Major Anthony." - -"Did you inform Major Anthony of the relations existing with Black -Kettle?" - -"I did. He knew the relations. I frequently talked to him about it." - -"What answer did Major Anthony make to your protests?" - -"He said that we were going to fight the hostile Indians at Smoky Hill. -He also said that he was in for killing all Indians, and that he had -only been acting friendly with them until he could get a force large -enough to go out and kill all of them." - -This is the testimony of S. E. Brown: - -"Colonel Chivington in a public speech said his policy was to kill and -scalp all, little and big: nits made lice." - -Governor Hunt testified as follows: [Governor Hunt was one of the -earliest settlers in Colorado. He was United States Marshal, Delegate to -Congress, and afterward Governor of the Territory.] - -"We have always regarded Black Kettle and White Antelope as the special -friends of the white man ever since I have been in this country." - -"Do you know of any acts of hostility committed by them or with their -consent?" - -"No, sir, I do not." - -"Did you ever hear any acts of hostility attributed to them by any one?" - -"No, sir." *** - -The following extract is: - -"The regiment, when they marched into Denver, exhibited Indian scalps." - -This is from the official report of Major Wynkoop, major commanding Fort -Lyon. - -"In conclusion, allow me to say that, from the time I held the -consultation with the Indian chiefs on the head-waters of Smoky Hill up -to the date of this massacre by Colonel Chivington, not one single -depredation had been committed by the Cheyenne and Arapahoe Indians. The -settlers of the Arkansas Valley had returned to their ranches, from -which they had fled, had taken in their crops, and had been resting in -perfect security under assurances from myself that they would be in no -danger for the present. Since this last horrible murder by Colonel -Chivington the country presents a scene of desolation. All communication -is cut off with the States, except by sending large bodies of troops, -and already over a hundred whites have fallen victims to the fearful -vengeance of these betrayed Indians." - - January 15th, 1865. - - * * * * * - -The writer of this letter says, in regard to the investigation of the -Sand Creek massacre by the Congressional committee, that "evidence was -taken upon one side only," and "there was no answer for the defence." - -A large part of the testimony is sworn evidence, given by the Governor -of Colorado, by Colonel J. M. Chivington himself, who planned and -executed the massacre, and by Major Anthony, who accompanied him with -troops from Fort Lyon. The writer of this article says that "the -investigation was made for a certain selfish purpose, *** to break down -and ruin certain men." - -The names of Senator Foster, Senator Doolittle, and "honest Ben Wade -"are the best refutation of this statement. It will be hard to impeach -the trustworthiness of reports signed by these names, and one of these -reports says: - -"It is difficult to believe that beings in the form of men, and -disgracing the uniform of United States soldiers and officers, could -commit or countenance the commission of such acts of cruelty and -barbarity." - -Of Colonel Chivington, it says: - -"He deliberately planned and executed a foul and dastardly massacre, -which would have disgraced the veriest savage among those who were the -victims of his cruelty." - -And of Major Anthony: - -"The testimony of Major Anthony, who succeeded an officer disposed to -treat these Indians with justice and humanity, is sufficient of itself -to show how unprovoked and unwarranted was this massacre. He testifies -that he found these Indians camped near Fort Lyon when he assumed -command of that fort; that they professed their friendliness to the -whites, and their willingness to do whatever he demanded of them; that -they delivered their arms up to him; that they went to and encamped on -the place designated by him; that they gave him information from time to -time of acts of hostility which were meditated by other hostile bands, -and in every way conducted themselves properly and peaceably; and yet he -says it was fear and not principle which prevented his killing them -while they were completely in his power; and, when Colonel Chivington -appeared at Fort Lyon on his mission of murder and barbarity, Major -Anthony made haste to accompany him with men and artillery." - -The writer of this letter says that the evidence given in this -"so-called investigation" was "largely false and infamously partial." If -this were the case, why did not all persons so "infamously" slandered -see to it that before the year ended their own version of the affair -should reach, if not the general public, at least the Department of the -Interior? Why did they leave it possible for the Secretary of the -Interior to incorporate in his Annual Report for 1865—to be read by all -the American people—these paragraphs? - -"No official account has ever reached this office from its own proper -sources of the most disastrous and shameful occurrence, the massacre of -a large number of men, women, and children of the Indians of this agency -(the Upper Arkansas) by the troops under the command of Colonel -Chivington of the United States Volunteer Cavalry of Colorado. *** - -"When several hundred of them had come into a place designated by -Governor Evans as a rendezvous for those who would separate themselves -from the hostile parties, these Indians were set upon and butchered in -cold blood by troops in the service of the United States. The few who -escaped to the northward told a story which effectually prevented any -more advances toward peace by such of the bands as were well disposed." - -And why did the Government of the United States empower General Sanborn, -in the Council held October 12th, 1865, with the Arapahoes and -Cheyennes, including the remnants of bands that had escaped from the -Sand Creek massacre, to formally and officially repudiate the action of -the United States soldiers in that massacre? General Sanborn said, in -this council: - -"We all feel disgraced and ashamed when we see our officers or soldiers -oppressing the weak, or making war on those who are at peace with us. -*** We are willing, as representatives of the President, to restore all -the property lost at Sand Creek, or its value. *** He has sent out his -commissioners to make reparation, as far as we can. *** So heartily do -we repudiate the actions of our soldiers that we are willing to give to -the chiefs in their own right 320 acres of land each, to hold as his own -forever, and to each of the children and squaws who lost husbands or -parents; we are also willing to give 160 acres of land as their own, to -keep as long as they live." - -The writer of this letter, quoting the statement from a previous article -in _The Tribune_, that the White River Utes, in their attack on Major -Thornburgh's command, fought "to defend their own lands—lands bought, -owned, and paid for," asks: - -"Bought of whom, pray? Paid for by whom? To whom was payment made?" - -"Bought" of the United States Government, thereby recognizing the United -States Government's right to "the sovereignty of the soil" as superior -to the Indians' "right of occupancy." - -"Paid for" by the Ute Indians, by repeated "relinquishments" of said -"right of occupancy" in large tracts of valuable lands; notably by the -"relinquishment," according to the Brunot Treaty of 1873, of 4,000,000 -acres of valuable lands, "unquestionably rich in mineral -deposits."—_Annual Report of the Secretary of the Interior for 1873_, p. -464. - -"To whom was payment made?" - -To the United States Government, which has accepted and ratified such -exchanges of "right of occupancy" for "right of sovereignty," and such -sales of "right of occupancy" for large sums of money by repeated and -reiterated treaties. - -The Secretary of the Interior has incorporated in his Annual Report for -1879 (in the report on Indian Affairs, p. 36) the following paragraphs: - -"Let it be fully understood that the Ute Indians have a good and -sufficient title to 12,000,000 acres of land in Colorado, and that these -Indians did not thrust themselves in the way of the white people, but -that they were originally and rightfully possessors of the soil, and -that the land they occupy has been acknowledged to be theirs by solemn -treaties made with them by the United States. - -"It will not do to say that a treaty with an Indian means nothing. It -means even more than the pledge of the Government to pay a bond. It is -the most solemn declaration that any government of any people ever -enters into. Neither will it do to say that treaties never ought to have -been made with Indians. That question is now not in order, as the -treaties have been made, and must be lived up to whether convenient or -otherwise. - -"By beginning at the outset with the full acknowledgment of the absolute -and indefeasible right of these Indians to 12,000,000 acres in Colorado, -we can properly consider what is the best method of extinguishing the -Indian title thereto without injustice to the Indians, and without -violating the plighted faith of the Government of the United States." - -The writer of this letter says: - -"In withholding supplies from the White River Utes, the Secretary of the -Interior is simply obeying the law. He cannot, except upon his own -personal responsibility, issue supplies to a hostile Indian tribe." - -Secretary Schurz has published, in the Annual Report of the Department -of the Interior for 1879, the following paragraph in regard to this case -of the White River Utes: - -"The atrocity of the crimes committed should not prevent those -individuals who are innocent from being treated as such, according to -Article 17 of the treaty, viz.: _Provided_, that if any chief of either -of the confederated bands make war against the United States, or in any -manner violate this treaty in any essential part, said chief shall -forfeit his position as chief, and all rights to any of the benefits of -this treaty; but, _provided further_, any Indian of either of these -confederated bands who shall remain at peace, and abide by the terms of -this treaty in all its essentials, shall be entitled to its benefits and -provisions, notwithstanding his particular chief and band have forfeited -their rights thereto." - -The writer of this letter says, in allusion to the murders and outrages -committed by some of the White River Utes, that "H. H. is the champion -of the fiends who wrought the ruin." Have the readers of _The Tribune_ -so understood my protests against the injustice of punishing the -innocent for the crimes of the guilty? - - H. H. - -New York, Feb. 22d, 1880. - - * * * * * - -This letter was followed by a card from Mr. Byers, reiterating some of -his assertions; and by a second short letter, which closed the -discussion. - - _To the Editor of the Tribune_: - -SIR,—I ask only a little space for reference to the communication of "H. -H." in to-day's _Tribune_. It is asked, "If the investigation of the -Sand Creek affair was so unfair, why did not the people of Colorado -correct the false impression by presenting their own version of the -case?" The answer is that the case was prejudged, and we were denied a -hearing in our defence. - -The inference is conveyed in to-day's article that Indian hostilities on -the plains were provoked by and followed after the Sand Creek massacre. -We, who were so unfortunate as to be citizens of Colorado at the time, -know that a very great majority of the savage atrocities of that period -occurred before the battle of Sand Creek. We know that the Sand Creek -Indian camp was the common rendezvous of the hostile bands who were -committing those atrocities. We know that comparatively few occurred -afterward. No amount of special pleading, no reiteration of partial -statements, and withholding of more important truths, will change the -facts so well known to the earlier settlers of Colorado. - -I deny that the Utes have either bought or paid for any land. They have -relinquished for a consideration a certain portion of the land they -formerly claimed, and still retain the other portion. I deny, also, that -only twelve of the White River Utes are guilty and the great mass of -them innocent. The contrary is the fact. - - WM. N. BYERS. - -New York, Feb. 24th, 1880. - - _To the Editor of the Tribune_: - -SIR,—In reply to the assertion that the perpetrators of the Sand Creek -massacre were "denied a hearing in their defence," I wish to state to -the readers of _The Tribune_ that, in addition to the Congressional -committees from whose reports I have already quoted, there was appointed -a Military Commission to investigate that massacre. This commission sat -seventy-three days, in Denver and at Fort Lyon. Colonel J. M. Chivington -called before it, in his "defence," all the witnesses he chose, and gave -notice on the seventy-third day of the commission's sitting that he did -not "wish to introduce any more witnesses for the defence." He also had -(and used) the privilege of cross-examining every witness called by the -commission. The evidence given before this commission occupies over two -hundred pages of Volume II., Senate Documents for 1866-'67. - -In reply to the assertion that "a great majority of the savage -atrocities of that period occurred before" the massacre at Sand Creek, -and that "comparatively few occurred after," I will give to the readers -of _The Tribune_ one extract from the report of the Indian Peace -Commission of 1868. Alluding to the Sand Creek massacre, the report -says: - -"It scarcely has its parallel in the records of Indian barbarity. -Fleeing women, holding up their hands and praying for mercy, were shot -down; infants were killed and scalped in derision; men were tortured and -mutilated in a manner that would put to shame the savages of interior -Africa. No one will be astonished that a war ensued which cost the -Government $30,000,000, and carried conflagration and death into the -border settlements. During the spring and summer of 1865 no less than -8000 troops were withdrawn from the effective forces engaged in the -Rebellion to meet this Indian war." - -The Commissioners who made this report were N. J. Taylor, President; J. -B. Henderson, John B. Sanborn, William T. Sherman, Lieutenant-general; -William S. Harvey, Brevet Major-general; Alfred H. Terry, Brevet -Major-general; C. C. Augur, Brevet Major-general; S. F. Tappan. - -In reply to the assertion that the Utes have not "either bought or paid -for any land," I will ask such of _The Tribune_ readers as are -interested in the subject to read the "Brunot Treaty," made September -13th, 1873, "between Felix R. Brunot, Commissioner for the United -States, and the chiefs, headmen, and men" of the seven confederated -bands of Utes. It is to be found in the report of the Department of the -Interior for 1873, p. 454. - -In conclusion of the discussion as to the Sand Creek massacre, I will -relate one more incident of that terrible day. It has not been recorded -in any of the reports. It was told in Colorado, to one of the members of -the Senate Committee at the time of their investigation: One of the -squaws had escaped from the village, and was crouching behind some low -sage brush. A frightened horse came running toward her hiding-place, its -owner in hot pursuit. Seeing that the horse was making directly for her -shelter, and that she would inevitably be seen, and thinking that -possibly if she caught the horse, and gave him back to the owner, she -might thus save her life, she ran after the horse, caught it, and stood -holding it till the soldier came up. Remembering that with her blanket -rolled tight around her she might possibly be taken for a man, as she -put into the soldier's hand the horse's bridle, with the other hand she -threw open her blanket enough to show her bosom, that he might see that -she was a woman. He put the muzzle of his pistol between her breasts and -shot her dead; and afterward was "not ashamed" to boast of the act. It -was by such deeds as this that "the Colorado soldiers acquitted -themselves well, and covered themselves with glory." - - H. H. - -New York, Feb. 28th, 1880. - - - - - II. - - THE PONCA CASE. - - -_Extract from Treaty with the Poncas, giving them Dakota Lands._ - -"ART. II.—In consideration of the cession or release of that portion of -the reservation above described by the Ponca tribe of Indians to the -Government of the United States, the Government of the United States, by -way of rewarding them for their constant fidelity to the Government -thereof, and with a view of returning to the said tribe of Ponca Indians -their old burying-grounds and cornfields, hereby cede and relinquish to -the tribe of Ponca Indians the following described fractional townships, -to wit, township thirty-one (31), north range, seven (7) west; also -fractional township thirty-two (32), north ranges, six (6), seven (7), -eight (8), nine (9), and ten (10) west; also fractional township -thirty-three (33), north ranges, seven (7) and eight (8) west; and also -all that portion of township thirty-three (33), north ranges, nine (9) -and ten (10) west, lying south of Ponca Creek; and also all the islands -in the Niobrara or Running Water River lying in front of lands or -townships above ceded by the United States to the Ponca tribe of -Indians." - -A correspondence which was held with the Secretary of the Interior in -the winter of 1879, in regard to the Poncas, is so excellent an -illustration of the methods and policy of the Interior Department that -it is worth while to give it at length here. - -FIRST LETTER. - -MRS. JACKSON TO SECRETARY SCHURZ. - - New York, Friday, Jan. 9th, 1880. - -_To the Secretary of the Interior_: - -DEAR SIR,—I have received from a Boston lady a letter which has so -important a bearing on the interests of the Poncas that I take the -liberty of asking you to read and reply to the following extracts. I -send them to you with the writer's permission: - -"In Boston most of those who are likely to give most largely and feel -most strongly for the Indians have confidence in Secretary Schurz. They -think that so far he has shown himself their friend, and they feel -unprepared to help any plan with regard to the Indians which he opposes. -The greatest service which could be rendered to the Indian cause at -present would be given, therefore, by some one sufficiently interested -to obtain an answer who would write to Secretary Schurz, and request -him, on the part of the Indians, either to aid them by publicly and -cordially endorsing this effort of the Poncas to secure their legal -rights in the courts, or else to give his reasons against this attempt, -in so clear a form that one could understand them. If there are good -reasons, there can be no ground for keeping them secret, and the public -has a right to know them. If not, no man can call himself a friend of -the Indians who throws cold water on the present interest of the public -in this matter. - -"Secretary Schurz has already stated that it was not worth while to sue -for the Ponca lands, as the Poncas are better off where they now are; -but Secretary Schurz cannot deny that it is worth ten times $10,000 to -prove that if the Government seizes land given to the Indians forever by -solemn compact, the latter can by the courts recover it. Secretary -Schurz has also said that a bill to give the Indians land in severalty -is already before Congress. If he wishes that bill to pass he must know -that it is only by help of the people that the ignorance, apathy, and -greed which are accountable for the shameful record of the past can be -overcome; and that, whatever his sentiments toward these particular -Poncas, he cannot afford to throw aside the interest they have excited. - -"For a hundred years the Indians have been the victims of fraud and -oppression on the part of the Government. Will anything put an end to it -but to give the Indians the legal right to protect themselves? Promises -and plans will not do it, for who can assure their performance? -Secretary Schurz's position is a strange one, and the public are waiting -and watching to see what it means. Is it possible that he is satisfied -to have 250,000 human beings, with valuable possessions (however -uncivilized), held as absolute slaves, with no rights, and at the mercy -of a government like ours, whose constant changes, to say the least, -render most improbable the wise, equitable, and humane treatment he -recommends in his report—and when the distance of the Indian from the -personal interests of all but those States which have a personal -interest in possessing his lands makes the assistance of Congress in -such treatment still more unlikely? I cannot but believe that he has -allowed himself to be driven into an opposition he does not really feel; -and that he will yet have the magnanimity to forget any criticism on his -own acts, and take the lead with those who would try to give the Indians -a permanent defence against the vicissitudes of party and the greed of -men. - -"I will not forget to add that if the three thousand and odd hundreds of -dollars needed to complete the ten thousand required to pay the costs of -the Ponca suits cannot be raised in the great city of New York, I will -myself guarantee to raise it in Boston in twenty-four hours if Secretary -Schurz will openly endorse the plan." - -The matter stands, therefore, in this shape: If you can say that you -approve of the Poncas bringing the suits they wish to bring for the -recovery of their lands, all the money for which they ask can be placed -in their hands immediately. The writer of the above letter assured me -that she would herself give the entire sum if there were any difficulty -in raising it. If you do not approve of the Poncas bringing these suits, -or making an effort to bring them, are you willing to give the reasons -of your disapproval? It would be a great satisfaction to those Boston -friends of yours whose action in this matter turns solely on your -decision, if these reasons could be stated in clear and explicit form. - - Yours respectfully, - - HELEN JACKSON. - -SECRETARY SCHURZ TO MRS. JACKSON. - - Department of the Interior, Office of the Secretary, Jan. 17th, 1880. - -DEAR MADAM,—I should certainly have answered your letter of the 9th -instant more promptly had I not been somewhat overburdened with official -business during the past week. I hope you will kindly pardon the -involuntary delay. - -As I understand the matter, money is being collected for the purpose of -engaging counsel to appear for the Poncas in the courts of the United -States, partly to represent them in the case of an appeal from Judge -Dundy's _habeas corpus_ decision, and partly to procure a decision for -the recovery of their old reservation on the Missouri River. I believe -that the collection of money for these purposes is useless. An appeal -from Judge Dundy's _habeas corpus_ decision can proceed only from the -Government, not from the Poncas, for the simple reason that the decision -was in favor of the latter. An appeal was, indeed, entered by the United -States District-attorney at Omaha immediately after the decision had -been announced. Some time ago his brief was submitted to me. On -examining it, I concluded at once to advise the attorney-general of my -opinion that it should be dropped, as I could not approve the principles -upon which the argument was based. The attorney-general consented to -instruct the district-attorney accordingly, and thus Judge Dundy's -decision stands without further question on the part of the Government. -Had an appeal been prosecuted, and had Judge Dundy's decision been -sustained by the court above, the general principles involved in it -would simply have been affirmed without any other practical effect than -that already obtained. This matter is therefore ended. - -As to the right of the Poncas to their old reservation on the Missouri, -the Supreme Court has repeatedly decided that an Indian tribe cannot sue -the United States or a State in the federal courts. The decisions are -clear and uniform on this point. Among lawyers with whom I discussed -this matter, I have not found a single one who entertained a different -view; but I did find among them serious doubts as to whether a decision, -even if the Poncas could bring suits, would be in their favor, -considering the facts in the case. But, inasmuch as such a suit cannot -be brought at all, this is not the question. It is evidently idle to -collect money and to fee attorneys for the purpose of doing a thing -which cannot be done. Had the disinterested friends of the Indians who -are engaged in this work first consulted lawyers on the question of -possibility, they would no doubt have come to the same conclusion. - -The study I have given to the Indian question in its various aspects, -past and present, has produced in my mind the firm conviction that the -only certain way to secure the Indians in their possessions, and to -prevent them from becoming forever a race of homeless paupers and -vagabonds, is to transform their tribal title into individual title, -inalienable for a certain period; in other words, to settle them in -severalty, and give them by patent an individual fee-simple in their -lands. Then they will hold their lands by the same title by which white -men hold theirs, and they will, as a matter of course, have the same -standing in the courts, and the same legal protection of their property. -As long as they hold large tracts in the shape of reservations, only -small parts of which they can make useful to themselves and to others, -the whole being held by the tribe in common, their tenure will always be -insecure. It will grow more and more so as our population increases, and -the quantity of available land diminishes. We may call this an ugly and -deplorable fact, but it is a fact for all that. Long experience shows -that the protests of good people in the name of justice and humanity -have availed but very little against this tendency, and it is useless to -disguise and unwise to overlook it, if we mean to do a real service to -the Indians. - -For this reason I attach much more importance to the passage of -legislation providing for the settlement of the Indians in severalty, -and giving them individual title in fee-simple, the residue of their -lands not occupied by them to be disposed of for their benefit, than to -all the efforts, however well intended, to procure judicial decisions -which, as I have shown, cannot be had. I am glad to say that the -conversations I have had with senators and representatives in Congress -on the policy of settling the Indians in severalty have greatly -encouraged my hope of the success of the "severalty bill" during the -present session. - -I need not repeat here what I said in a letter to Mr. Edward Atkinson, -which you may possibly have seen some time ago in the Boston papers, -about the necessity of educating Indian children. You undoubtedly -understand that as well as I do, and I hope you will concur in my -recommendation that the money collected for taking the Ponca case into -the courts, which is impossible of accomplishment, and as much more as -can be added, be devoted to the support and enlargement of our Indian -schools, such as those at Hampton and Carlisle. Thus a movement which -undoubtedly has the hearty sympathy of many good men and women, but -which at present seems in danger of being wasted on the unattainable, -may be directed into a practical channel, and confer a real and lasting -benefit on the Indian race. - - Very respectfully yours, - - C. SCHURZ. - -Mrs. HELEN JACKSON, New York. - -MRS. JACKSON'S SECOND LETTER. - - Brevoort House, New York, Thursday, Jan. 22d, 1880. - -_Hon. Carl Schurz_: - -DEAR SIR,—Your letter of the 17th instant is at hand. If I understand -this letter correctly, the position which you take is as follows: That -there is in your opinion, and in the opinion of the lawyers whom you -have consulted on the subject, no way of bringing before the courts the -suits for the prosecution of which money has been and is being -contributed by the friends of the Poncas; that the reason you do not -approve of this movement is that "it is evidently idle to collect money -and to fee attorneys for the purpose of doing a thing which cannot be -done." This is the sole reason which I understand you to give for -discountenancing the collection of money for these suits. Am I correct -in this? And are we to infer that it is on this ground and no other that -you oppose the collection of money for this purpose? Are we to -understand that you would be in favor of the Poncas recovering their -lands by process of law, provided it were practicable? - -You say, also, that you hope I will "concur" in your "recommendation -that the money collected for taking the Ponca case into the courts shall -be devoted to the support and enlargement of our Indian schools." May I -ask how it would be, in your opinion, possible to take money given by -thousands of people for one specific purpose and use it for another -different purpose? You say, "Had the friends of the Indians who are -engaged in this work first consulted lawyers on the question of -possibility, they would, no doubt, have come to the same conclusion." -Had the friends of the Indians engaged in this work, and initiated this -movement without having consulted lawyers, it would have been indeed -foolish. But this was not the case. Lawyers of skill and standing were -found ready to undertake the case; and the matter stands therefore -to-day precisely as it stood when I wrote to you on the 17th instant. -All the money which is thought to be needed for carrying the Ponca case -before the courts can be raised in twenty-four hours in Boston, if you -can say that you approve of the suits being brought. If your only -objection to the movement is the one objection which you have stated, -namely, that it would be futile, can you not say that, if lawyers of -standing are ready to undertake the case, you would be glad to see the -attempt made in the courts, and the question settled? If it is, as you -think, a futile effort, it will be shown to be so. If it is, as the -friends and lawyers of the Poncas think, a practicable thing, a great -wrong will be righted. - -You say that "to settle them (the Indians) in severalty, and give them -by patent an individual fee-simple in their lands," will enable them to -"hold their lands by the same title by which white men hold theirs," and -that "then they will, as a matter of course, have the same standing in -the courts and the same legal protection of their property." May I ask -you if any bill has been brought before Congress which is so worded as -to secure these ends? My only apology for troubling you again is my deep -interest in the Indians, and in the Ponca case especially. - - Yours truly, - - HELEN JACKSON. - -REPLY OF SECRETARY SCHURZ TO THE SECOND LETTER. - - Washington, D.C., Jan. 26th, 1880. - -DEAR MADAM,—In reply to your letter of the 22d instant, I beg leave to -say that if an Indian tribe could maintain an action in the courts of -the United States to assert its rights, I should object to it just as -little as I would object to the exercise of the same privilege on the -part of white men. What I do object to is the collection of money from -philanthropic and public-spirited persons, ostensibly for the benefit of -the Indians, but in fact for the benefit of attorneys and others who are -to be paid for again testing a question which has been tested more than -once, and has been decided by the Supreme Court so clearly and -comprehensively that further testing seems utterly futile. You say that -there are lawyers of skill and standing ready to undertake the case. Of -course there are such. You can find lawyers of skill and standing to -undertake for a good fee any case, however hopeless: that is their -business. But I am by no means of your opinion that, whether it be -futile or not, the experiment should be tried once more, and for this -purpose the collection of money should be further encouraged. It cannot -be said in this case that if the attempt will not help it will not hurt. -There seems to be now a genuine and active interest in the Indian -question springing up. Many sincere friends of the Indian are willing to -spend time and money for the promotion of their welfare. Such a movement -can do great good if wisely guided in the direction of attainable -objects; but if it be so conducted that it can result only in putting -money into the pockets of private individuals, without any benefit to -the Indians, the collapse will be as hurtful as it seems to be -inevitable. It will not only be apt to end a movement which, if well -directed, might have become very useful, but it will also deter the -sincere friends of the Indians who contributed their means in the hope -of accomplishing something from further efforts of that kind, so that we -may find it very difficult, for a long time at least, to engage this -active sympathy again. Confidence once abused does not revive very -quickly. This is my view of the case. You ask me "how it would be -possible to take money given by thousands of people for one specific -purpose, and use it for another and different purpose," meaning the -support of Indian schools. It would, in my opinion, be far better to lay -the matter in its true aspect frankly before the contributors, and to -ask them for their consent to the change of purpose, than to throw away -the money for a purpose which cannot be accomplished. - -In reply to your inquiry whether any bill has been brought before -Congress providing for the settlement of the Indians in severalty, and -for conferring upon the individual title in fee-simple to the lands -allotted to them, I am glad to say that several bills of this kind have -been introduced in both the Senate and the House, and are now before the -respective committees on Indian affairs for consideration. If such a -bill passes, of which there is great hope, the Indian, having a fee -title by patent to the piece of land which he individually, not as a -member of a tribe, holds as his own, will stand in the eye of the law -just like any other owner of property in his individual right, and, as a -matter of course, will have the same standing in court. This will do -more in securing the Indian in the practical enjoyment of his property -than anything else I can think of, and it has long been my endeavor to -bring about just this result. I trust we shall obtain the desired -legislation during the present session of Congress. - - Very respectfully yours, - - C. SCHURZ. - -Mrs. HELEN JACKSON, New York. - - * * * * * - -The evasive and inconclusive character of these replies of the Secretary -provoked much comment, and gave rise to a very wide-spread and natural -impression that he was for some reason or other averse to the -restoration to the Poncas of their old homes. The letters were reviewed -by one of the editors of the _New York Times_ in a paper so admirable -that the letters ought not to be printed without it. - -CIVIL RIGHTS IN ACRES. - -(From the _New York Times_, February 21st, 1880.) - -"As most of the readers of the _Times_ already know, friends of the -Ponca Indians are endeavoring to have the tribe restored to their old -reservation in Dakota. Or, more strictly speaking, it is proposed that -their reservation shall be restored to them. The lands occupied by the -Poncas were ceded to them by the United States by solemn treaty. By a -cruel and wicked blunder, which no man has attempted to explain, those -lands were ceded to the Sioux. But the Sioux did not want the lands, and -they have never occupied them unto this day. To this robbery of the -tribe was added the destruction of their houses, movable property, and -farms. A citizen of the United States would have redress in the courts -for such an outrage as this. An Indian has no legal status. He is merely -a live and particularly troublesome animal, in the eye of the law. But, -while the Poncas were trying to get back on their lands, they were -arrested by order of the Secretary of the Interior, on the charge of -running away from the agency to which they had been sent by the -Government when their lands were taken from them. It is not necessary to -add words to intensify this accumulation of criminal folly and wrong. -Certain citizens of Nebraska, hearing of the injustice which was being -perpetrated on the Poncas, raised funds, and had the chiefs brought -before United States District Judge Dundy on a writ of _habeas corpus_, -to inquire why they were thus restrained of their liberty. Judge Dundy -decided that an Indian was 'a person' within the meaning of the _Habeas -Corpus_ Act, and that these persons were unlawfully held in duress. - -"It was thought that the United States would appeal from this dictum, -but no appeal was taken, much to the disappointment of the friends of -the Indians, as it was hoped that a decision could be reached to show -whether the Indian was or was not so far clothed with the privilege of a -citizen that he could have a standing in the courts of law. Accordingly, -the public-spirited and philanthropic persons who had espoused the cause -of the Poncas resolved to make up a case, which, carried to the United -States Supreme Court, should determine once and forever this moot point. -To this end money has been raised by subscription, by special gift, and -by contributions taken at public meetings in various parts of the -country. A lady residing in Boston, moved by the pitiful condition of -the Indians, who tried to struggle toward civilization, offered to -supply all the money which was lacking toward the expenses of the suit, -provided Secretary Schurz would give some public assurances that he -favored this manner of determining the case, or would give his reasons -against this attempt. The lady's proposition was sent to Mrs. Helen Hunt -Jackson, whose disinterested and efficient labors in behalf of the -deeply-wronged Poncas had already attracted attention. Mrs. Jackson -forwarded to Secretary Schurz the whole statement. Thereupon an -interesting correspondence ensued. This correspondence has been printed -in the Boston papers, presumably by direction of Secretary Schurz. - -"In reply to the request to say whether he approves of the movement to -carry the Ponca case to the Supreme Court, in order that the tribe may -recover their old reservation, the Secretary says that this would be -useless, as the courts have repeatedly decided that an Indian tribe -cannot sue the United States. Unfortunately, Mr. Schurz does not cite -these cases, but we must take it for granted that he knows what he is -talking about. He adds that he has taken the advice of lawyers, who -coincide with him in this opinion. As a suit cannot be brought at all, -according to the Secretary and his legal advisers, it would be idle to -collect money for this purpose; and the Secretary suggests that, if the -disinterested friends of the Indians had consulted lawyers before they -began their work, they would be of his opinion as to the futility of the -attempt. This, of course, leaves the impression that the Secretary -withholds his approval of the movement to secure legal rights for the -Poncas, though he does not say so in express terms. His reason for not -approving the attempt is that it will do no good. His solution to the -Indian problem, as it is vaguely called, is to settle the Indians in -severalty, breaking up their tribal organization, and giving to each -individual his lands in fee-simple. This, the Secretary thinks, will -enable them to hold their lands by the same title as that by which white -men hold theirs, and, 'as a matter of course, they will have the same -standing in the courts' as white men. It is to be regretted that the -Secretary did not pause here long enough to show how the giving to an -Indian of 160 acres of land can clothe him with civil rights which he -does not now possess, and which the Secretary thinks that the courts -cannot give him. For this reason, however, Mr. Schurz is greatly in -favor of legislation providing for the settlement of the Indians in -severalty, various bills to accomplish which, he says, are in -preparation. As for the money raised already, the Secretary suggests -that since, in his opinion, it would be misspent in obtaining judicial -decision, it might be used in the education of Indian children. - -"Replying to this, Mrs. Jackson asks if the Secretary would be in favor -of the Poncas recovering their lands by process of law, provided that -could be done. To this direct and very important inquiry we regret to -notice that the Secretary finds himself unable to reply, although, in a -letter immediately following this, he does say that if an Indian tribe -could maintain an action at law in the courts to assert its rights, he -would no more object to it than he would to a white man's doing the same -thing. As to the suggestion that the money collected for the expenses of -legal proceedings be used for educational purposes, Mrs. Jackson asks -the Secretary how it would be possible to take money given for one -specific purpose and use it for another and wholly different purpose. -Mr. Schurz rejoins that the consent of the donors may first be obtained; -but he forgets that it would be impossible to canvass the country to -ascertain the wishes of thousands of unknown givers to this fund. -Referring to the intimation that the friends of the Indians had not -taken legal counsel in this matter, and that the Secretary had, Mrs. -Jackson observes that they did take such counsel, and that an omission -to do so would have been indeed foolish. - -"It will be observed that the Secretary's objection to the attempt to -secure civil rights is its futility; and, in answer to Mrs. Jackson's -statement that the friends of the Indians have sought the opinions of -lawyers in this case, he replies that one 'can find lawyers of skill and -standing to undertake, for a good fee, any case, however hopeless.' To -those who might think that this is unjustly severe on the legal -profession, it should be said that Mr. Schurz has been by profession a -lawyer, and should know what he is talking about. And we must presume -that Mr. Schurz's profound knowledge of the law, which is fortified by -the opinions of eminent legal men, induces him to consider the whole -case closed in advance of its submission to the courts. It would be -interesting, however, to know if the Secretary's lawyers of skill and -standing are less easily influenced by the prospect of a 'good fee' than -the lawyers of skill and standing consulted by the friends of the -Poncas. The exceedingly able opinion of Secretary Schurz, we find, is -that it is useless to give the Indian a standing in the courts through -judicial decisions, as he can readily secure this by accepting from the -Government of the United States a deed of 160 acres of land." - -CONDITION OF THE PONCAS IN THE SUMMER OF 1880. - -Standing Bear and his party, after their release by the decision of -Judge Dundy, settled on an island in the Niobrara River, which was a -part of their old reservation, and had fortunately been overlooked when -the United States Government took forcible possession of the rest of -their land and presented it to the Sioux. Here they were joined by other -fugitives of their tribe till the number reached about one hundred and -thirty. A committee which had been organized in Omaha for their relief -supplied them with farming implements, and they went industriously to -work. This committee published in July, 1880, a report containing the -following paragraphs: - -"We consider the treatment of the Ponca Indians as one of the most -heart-sickening chapters in our national record of Indian wrongs, and we -are determined to spare no effort to restore to them their stolen homes -and rights, and to relieve the American people of the stigma of this -terrible wrong. - -"The Senate of the United States during the past winter appointed a -select committee 'to ascertain and report the circumstances of the -removal of the Ponca Indians from their reservation, and whether the -said Indians are not entitled to be restored thereto.' This Senate -Committee devoted a long time to a thorough and patient investigation of -this whole Ponca case, and reported that the Poncas had been 'forced, -without authority of law, from their homes to the Indian Territory,' and -reported also a bill for their restoration to their former reservation, -and recommending 'that $50,000 be appropriated for the purpose of taking -the Poncas back, and restoring their now dilapidated homes.' - -"This able report of the United States Senate says that 'in dealing with -one of the most peaceable and orderly and well-disposed of all the -tribes of Indians, the Government has violated in the most flagrant -manner their rights of property, and disregarded their appeals to the -honor and justice of the United States, and the dictates of humanity.'" - -The report also says that "the committee can find no language -sufficiently strong to condemn the whole proceeding, and trace to it all -the troubles which have come upon the Poncas, and the hardships and -sufferings which have followed them since they were taken from their old -reservation and placed in their present position in the Indian -Territory." - -The Omaha Ponca Relief Committee need no better vindication of their -action in behalf of this distressed and outraged people than these -strong and weighty words of a committee of United States Senators, -composed of representative men of both political parties. - -The Omaha Committee consisted of Bishop Clarkson, of Nebraska, chairman; -Rev. A. F. Sherrill, Rev. W. I. Harsha, Leavitt Burnham, W. M. Yates, -and P. L. Perine. - -At the request of this committee, Mr. T. H. Tibbles in June went to the -Indian Territory to visit the Poncas (of whom only about 400 were left -alive). He was authorized "to assure them of the interest and efforts of -humane people all over the country in their behalf, and to notify them -that the Omaha Committee were ready to assist them in any practical way -to return to their old homes, from which they had been unjustly and -inhumanly ejected." - -Mr. Tibbles succeeded in visiting the Poncas, although the Government -agent interfered with him in many ways, and finally arrested him by -authority of an order from Washington to arrest any member of the Omaha -Committee who came upon the reservation. He was insulted by the agent, -taken by force out of the reservation, and threatened with much more -severe treatment if he ever returned. - -This high-handed outrage on a free citizen of the United States aroused -indignation throughout the country. The comments of the Press on the -occurrence showed that people were at last waking up to a sense of the -tyrannical injustice of the Indian Department. The _New York Tribune_ -said, editorially: - -"The Indian Department may as well understand at once that the Ponca -case has passed out of their control. It is a matter of simple justice -which the people are determined to see righted. *** No petty Indian -agent has the legal right to imprison, maltreat, and threaten the life -of any citizen totally guiltless of offence beyond that of working to -give these serfs of the Government the standing of human beings. *** It -is the Government of this great Republic, where all men are free and -equal, that holds these Poncas prisoners on a tract where to remain is -death. They are innocent of any crime except that they have been robbed -of their land, and that they ask to bring suit, as a black man or -convict could do, in the courts for its recovery." - -Mr. Tibbles reported the condition of the Poncas in Indian Territory as -"deplorable in the extreme. They live in constant dread and fear, and -are as much imprisoned as if they were in a penitentiary." They seem "to -have lost all hope, are broken-hearted and disconsolate. With one or two -exceptions, they are making no effort to help themselves. Their -so-called farms are miserable little patches, to which they pay very -little attention. One of them said to me, 'If the Government forces me -to stay here, it can feed me. I had a good farm back at our old home, -and if I was back there I would farm again; I have no heart to work -here.' The one hundred and fifteen who are back on the old reservation -have a much larger amount of land under cultivation than the whole four -hundred who are in Indian Territory. They have kept their crops in good -condition, and are full of energy and hope." - -The Government Agency for the Poncas having been transferred to the -Indian Territory, the annuities due the tribe were of course paid there, -and that portion of the tribe which had fled back to Dakota received -nothing. Moreover, the Indian Bureau issued an order forbidding any -Ponca who should leave the Indian Territory to take with him any kind of -property whatsoever, under penalty of being arrested for stealing. As -they could not take their families on the long, hard journey to Dakota -without food or means of transportation, this order kept them imprisoned -in Indian Territory as effectually as a military guard could have done. - -The Government employés in charge of them reported, meanwhile, that they -had "made up their minds to live and die where they are. *** There -exists a feeling of contentment in the tribe that will make it very -difficult for any one to induce them to leave their present home," says -a general press despatch, presumably dictated by the Indian Bureau, and -sent throughout the country on July 15th. - -It seems an insult to people's common-sense to suppose that this -statement would be believed, close on the heels of the general order for -the arrest of all fleeing Poncas who should dare to take with them out -of the Indian Territory one dollar's worth of property. A very -superfluous piece of legislation, surely, for a community so "contented" -that it would be "difficult for any one to induce them to leave their -homes." - -THE LEGAL ASPECT OF THE CASE. - -The chivalric and disinterested attorneys who had had the charge of the -Ponca case from the outset, were not to be intimidated by the threats -nor outwitted by the expedients of the Indian Bureau. The ingenious -devices practised by the Department of the Interior to hinder the -getting service of summons upon the defendants in the suits necessary to -recover the Poncas' lands, make by themselves a shameful chapter, which -will some day be written out. But on the 13th of July the attorneys were -able to report to the Omaha Committee as follows: - -REPORT OF THE ATTORNEYS. - - Omaha, July 13th, 1880. - - _To Omaha Ponca Indian Committee_: - -In response to the inquiry of one of your members as to the condition of -the suits instituted by us to liberate Standing Bear and his associate -from the custody of the military, and to recover possession of the Ponca -reservation, we make the following statement: - -On April 8th, 1879, was filed by us the petition in the case of United -States _ex rel._ Ma-chu-nah-zha (Standing Bear) _et al._ _vs._ George -Crook, a Brigadier-general of the Army of the United States and -Commander of the Department of the Platte, in the U.S. District Court -for the District of Nebraska, for a writ of _habeas corpus_ for the -release of Standing Bear and his companions. This cause was tried about -the first of May, 1879, and Standing Bear and his companions were -restored to their liberty. Thereupon the U. S. District-attorney took -the case to the United States Circuit Court for this District by appeal, -and about May 19th, upon hearing before Mr. Justice Miller, Associate -Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, was there continued, -and on January 5th, 1880, the appeal was dismissed on the motion of the -U. S. District-attorney. - -On April 3d, 1880, was commenced by us the case of Ponca tribe of -Indians _vs._ Makh-pi-ah-lu-ta, or Red Cloud, in his own behalf, and in -behalf of the Sioux nation of Indians, in the U. S. Circuit Court for -the District of Nebraska, and on May 18th, 1880, we commenced in the -same court the case of Ponca tribe of Indians _vs._ Sioux nation of -Indians. These cases were commenced, and are being prosecuted by us, to -recover possession of and establish the title of the Ponca tribe of -Indians to so much of their old reservation as lies within the limits of -Nebraska. Great delay was made necessary in the commencement of these -cases, and the ones subsequently commenced in Dakota, of which we below -make mention, owing to difficulties in getting service of summons upon -the defendants. On May 22d, 1880, service of summons was had on the -defendants in both cases, and some action will be taken therein at the -next term of the court. - -About the 20th of May, 1880, there were commenced in Dakota other suits -in the name of the Ponca tribe of Indians, and against the Sioux nation -of Indians, and against certain of their chiefs, to settle and establish -the title of the Ponca tribe of Indians to so much of their old -reservation as lies within the limits of Dakota. Service has been had in -these cases, and the several suits mentioned will be prosecuted by us -with all convenient speed. - -We might add that we also have in charge the case of John Elk _vs._ -Charles Wilkins, in the U. S. Circuit Court for this District, which is -being prosecuted by us to determine the rights of Indians under the -Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States. - - Respectfully submitted, - - A. J. POPPLETON, - JNO. L. WEBSTER. - - - - - III. - - TESTIMONIES TO INDIAN CHARACTER. - - -"Early in 1800 the Governor of the North-west Territory, in his -message to the assembly, invited their attention to the condition of -the Indians. He observed that, irrespective of the principles of -religion and justice, it was the interest and should be the policy of -the United States to be at peace with them; but that could not -continue to be the case if the treaties existing between them and the -Government were broken with impunity by the inhabitants of the -Territory. He referred to the well-known fact that while the white men -loudly complained of every injury committed by the Indians, however -trifling, and demanded immediate reparation, they were daily -perpetrating against them injuries and wrongs of the most provoking -and atrocious nature, for which the perpetrators had not been brought -to justice. *** He stated that the number of those unfortunate people -who had been murdered since the peace of Greenville was sufficient to -produce serious alarm for the consequences. He added, further, that a -late attempt to bring to punishment a white man, who was clearly -proved to have killed two adult Indians and wounded two of their -children, had proved abortive."—BURNET'S _Notes on North-west -Territory_. - -CHARACTER OF NORTH-WESTERN INDIANS. - -"Among other falsehoods it has been asserted confidently, but without a -shadow of argument or fact to sustain the assertion, that they cannot be -brought to a state of civilization, or be induced to form communities -and engage in the pursuits of agriculture and the arts, in consequence -of some physical difference between them and the Anglo-Saxon race. This -hypothesis is contradicted by experience, which has abundantly shown -that the two races, when placed in the same situation, and acted upon by -the same causes, have invariably resorted to the same expedients and -pursued the same policy. - -"This averment is sustained by a reference to the white people who have -been taken prisoners in childhood and brought up among the Indians. In -every such case the child of civilization has become the ferocious adult -of the forest, manifesting all the peculiarities, tastes, and -preferences of the native Indian. His manners, habits, propensities, and -pursuits have been the same, so that the most astute philosophical -observer has not been able to discover any difference between them, -except in the color of the skin, and in some instances even this has -been removed by long exposure to the elements, and the free use of oils -and paints." - -The many instances which there are on record of cases in which persons -taken captive by the Indians, while young, have utterly refused in later -life to return to their relatives and homes, go to confirm this -statement of Judge Burnet's. - -On the other hand, he says: "The attempts that have been made at -different times to improve the minds and cultivate the morals of these -people have always been attended by success. - -"On an unprejudiced comparison between the civilized educated white man -and the civilized educated Indian, all this theory of an organic -constitutional difference between the European and the native Indian -vanishes. - -"In what respect have Ross, Boudinot, Hicks, Ridge, and others differed -from the educated men of our own race? Inasmuch then as the reclaimed -educated Indian becomes assimilated to the white man, and the European -brought up from infancy among the Indians becomes identified with them, -this alleged difference cannot be real, it must be imaginary. - -"The fact is, the difficulty of civilizing the natives of this continent -is neither greater nor less than that which retarded the improvement of -the barbarous nations of Europe two thousand years ago. *** Men -uncivilized have always delighted in the chase, and had a propensity to -roam; both history and experience prove that nothing but necessity, -arising from such an increase of population as destroys the game, has -ever induced men to settle in communities, and rely on the cultivation -of the earth for subsistence. In the progress of civilization the chase -has given way to the pastoral state, and that has yielded to agriculture -as the increase of numbers has rendered it necessary. - -"As soon as the Cherokees and the Wyandots were surrounded by a white -population, and their territory was so contracted as to cut off their -dependence on hunting and fishing, they became farmers, and manifested a -strong desire to cultivate the arts; and this would have been the choice -of the whole Indian race if the policy of the Government had permitted -it! - -"It is not just to consider the natives of this country as a distinct -and inferior race because they do not generally imitate us, when we not -only remove every consideration that could induce them to do so, but in -fact render it impossible. What motive of ambition was there to -stimulate them to effort, when they were made to feel that they held -their country as tenants at will, liable to be driven off at the -pleasure of their oppressors? - -"As soon as they were brought to a situation in which necessity prompted -them to industry, and induced them to begin to adopt our manners and -habits of life, the covetous eye of the white man was fixed on their -incipient improvements, and they received the chilling notice that they -must look elsewhere for permanent homes. - -"At the time our settlements were commencing north-west of the Ohio, the -Indians were its acknowledged owners and sovereigns; the Government -claimed no right either of occupancy or soil, except as they obtained it -by purchase." - -(On the 31st of July, 1793, the United States Commissioners said to the -assembled chiefs of the North-western tribes, in a council held at the -home of one Captain Elliott, on the Detroit River: "By the express -authority of the President of the United States, we acknowledge the -property, or right of soil to the great country above described, to be -in the Indian nations as long as they desire to occupy it; we claim only -the tracts before particularly mentioned, and the right of pre-emption -granted by the King, as before explained.") - -"The entire country from Pennsylvania to the Mississippi was admitted to -be theirs, and a more delightful, fertile valley cannot be found on the -earth. *** - -"Unconscious of the ruinous consequences that were to follow their -intimacy with white men, they ceded to the American Government large and -valuable portions of the country at nominal prices. Those lands were -rapidly settled by Americans, in whose purity and friendship the -unsuspecting natives had great confidence; nor did they awake from that -delusion till their habits of sobriety and morality had been undermined, -and the vices engendered by intemperance and idleness had contaminated -every tribe. *** - -"Their subsistence became precarious; their health declined; their -self-respect, their dignity of character, and the heroism inherited from -their ancestors were lost. They became in their own estimation a -degraded, dependent race. The Government, availing itself of their -weakness and want of energy, succeeded by bribes and menaces in -obtaining the best portions of their country, and eventually in driving -them from the land of their birth to a distant home in an unknown -region. - -"This distressing chapter of aboriginal history began at the treaty of -Greenville, in 1795, and terminated in less than fifty years. The writer -of these notes witnessed its commencement, progress, and -close."—BURNET'S _Notes on North-west Territory_. - -NEZ PERCÉS AND FLAT-HEADS IN THEIR OWN COUNTRY. - -"They were friendly in their dispositions, and honest to the most -scrupulous degree in their intercourse with the white men. *** Simply to -call these people religious would convey but a faint idea of the deep -hue of piety and devotion which pervades the whole of their conduct. -Their honesty is immaculate; and their purity of purpose and their -observance of the rites of their religion are most uniform and -remarkable. They are certainly more like a nation of saints than a horde -of savages."—CAPTAIN BONNEVILLE'S _Narrative_, _revised by_ W. IRVING. - -"I fearlessly assert to the world, and I defy contradiction, that the -North American Indian is everywhere in his native state a highly moral -and religious being, endowed by his Maker with an intuitive knowledge of -some great Author of his being and the universe—in dread of whose -displeasure he constantly lives with the apprehension before him of a -future state, when he expects to be rewarded or punished according to -the merits he has gained or forfeited in this world. - -"I never saw any other people who spend so much of their lives in -humbling themselves before and worshipping the Great Spirit as these -tribes do, nor any whom I would not as soon suspect of insincerity and -hypocrisy. - -"Self-denial and self-torture, and almost self-immolation, are continual -modes of appealing to the Great Spirit for his countenance and -forgiveness. - -"To each other I have found these people kind and honorable, and endowed -with every feeling of parental, filial, and conjugal affection that is -met with in more enlightened communities."—CATLIN'S _North American -Indians_. - -Mr. Catlin spent eight years among the Indians more than forty years -ago. He travelled among the wildest of them, lived with them in the -freest intimacy, and this is his verdict as to their native traits, when -uncontaminated by white men and whiskey. - -As long ago as 1724, the Jesuit Father Lafitau wrote of the Indians, and -stated that to his own experience he added that of Father Garnier, who -had lived sixty years among them: "They are possessed," says he, "of -sound judgment, lively imagination, ready conception, and wonderful -memory. All the tribes retain at least some trace of an ancient -religion, handed down to them from their ancestors, and a form of -government. They reflect justly upon their affairs, and better than the -mass of the people among ourselves. They prosecute their ends by sure -means; they evince a degree of coolness and composure which would exceed -our patience; they never permit themselves to indulge in passion, but -always, from a sense of honor and greatness of soul, appear masters of -themselves. They are high-minded and proud; possess a courage equal to -every trial, an intrepid valor, the most heroic constancy under -torments, and an equanimity which neither misfortunes nor reverses can -shake. Toward each other they behave with a natural politeness and -attention, entertaining a high respect for the aged, and a consideration -for their equals which appears scarcely reconcilable with that freedom -and independence of which they are so jealous. They make few professions -of kindness, but yet are affable and generous. Toward strangers and the -unfortunate they exercise a degree of hospitality and charity which -might put the inhabitants of Europe to the blush." - -Father Lafitau does not disguise the fact that the Indians have great -faults. He says they are "suspicious and vindictive, cruel to their -enemies." - -Père Lallemant, a missionary among the Hurons, says: "In point of -intellect they are not at all inferior to the natives of Europe; I could -not have believed that, without instruction, nature could have produced -such ready and vigorous eloquence, or such a sound judgment in their -affairs as that which I have so much admired among the Hurons. I admit -that their habits and customs are barbarous in a thousand ways; but, -after all, in matters which they consider as wrong, and which their -public condemns, we observe among them less criminality than in France, -although here the only punishment of a crime is the shame of having -committed it." - -In a history of New France, published in 1618, it is stated of the -Indians that "they are valorous, faithful, generous, and humane; their -hospitality is so great that they extend it to every one who is not -their enemy. They speak with much judgment and reason, and, when they -have any important enterprise to undertake, the chief is attentively -listened to for two or three hours together, and he is answered point to -point, as the subject may require." - -In 1656 the Jesuit missionaries among the Iroquois reported: "Among many -faults caused by their blindness and barbarous education, we meet with -virtues enough to cause shame among the most of Christians. Hospitals -for the poor would be useless among them, because there are no beggars; -those who have are so liberal to those who are in want, that everything -is enjoyed in common. The whole village must be in distress before any -individual is left in necessity." - -Captain Carver, who travelled in 1766 among the wildest tribes, -describes them as "cruel, barbarous, and revengeful in war, persevering -and inflexible in pursuit of an enemy, sanguinary in their treatment of -prisoners, and sparing neither age nor sex." On the other hand, he found -them temperate in their mode of living, patient of hunger and fatigue, -sociable and humane to all whom they looked on as friends, and ready to -share with them the last morsel of food they possessed, or to expose -their lives in their defence. In their public character he describes -them as "possessing an attachment to their nation unknown to the -inhabitants of any other country, combining as if actuated by one soul -against a common enemy, never swayed in their councils by selfish or -party views, but sacrificing everything to the honor and advantage of -their tribe, in support of which they fear no danger, and are affected -by no sufferings. They are not only affectionately attached, indeed, to -their own offspring, but are extremely fond of children in general. They -instruct them carefully in their own principles, and train them up with -attention in the maxims and habits of their nation. Their system -consists chiefly in the influence of example, and impressing on them the -traditionary histories of their ancestors. When the children act wrong, -their parents remonstrate and reprimand but never chastise -them."—_HALKETT'S Hist. Notes._ - -The very idea of corporal punishment of little children seems to have -been peculiarly obnoxious to the native North American. In the "Relation -de Nouvelle France," published in 1633, there is a curious story of an -incident which took place at Quebec. A party of Indians, watching a -French drummer-boy beat his drum, pressed more closely around him than -he liked, and he struck one of the Indians in the face with his -drum-stick so sharply that the blow drew blood. The Indians, much -offended, went to the interpreter and demanded apologies and a present, -according to their custom. "No," said the interpreter, "our custom is to -punish the offender; we will punish the boy in your presence." When the -Indians saw the child stripped for the flogging they began immediately -to beg for his pardon; but as the soldiers continued their preparations -for whipping the lad, one of the Indians suddenly stripped himself and -threw his robe over the boy, crying out, "Scourge me, if you choose, but -do not strike the boy!" The good Father Le Jeune, who tells this story, -adds that this unwillingness of the Indians to see any child chastised -"will probably occasion trouble to us in the design we have to instruct -their youth." - -As far back as 1587 we find evidence that the Indians were not without -religion. Thomas Hariot, an employé of Sir Walter Raleigh's, writing -from the Virginia colony, says of the Virginia Indians: "Theye beleeve -that there are many gods, which theye call Mantaoc, but of different -sorts and degrees; one onely chief and Great God, which hath been from -all eternitie; who, as theye affirme, when hee proposed to make the -world, made first other gods of a principall order, to bee as means and -instruments to bee used in the creation and government to folow; and -after the sunne, moone, and starres as pettie gods, and the instruments -of the other order more principall." - -"In general," says Hunter, "a day seldom passes with an elderly Indian, -or others who are esteemed wise and good, in which a blessing is not -asked, or thanks returned to the Giver of Life, sometimes audibly, but -more generally in the devotional language of the heart." - -All the employés of the North-west Fur Company bear the same testimony -to the fidelity and honesty of the Indians. - -General H. Sibley once said to Bishop Whipple that for thirty years it -had been the uniform boast of the Sioux in every council that they had -never taken the life of a white man. - - - - - IV. - - OUTRAGES COMMITTED ON INDIANS BY WHITES. - - -In Captain Bonneville's narrative of five years spent in the Rocky -Mountains are many instances of cruel outrages committed by whites upon -Indians. - -"One morning one of his trappers, discovering that his traps had been -carried off in the night, took a horrid oath that he would kill the -first Indian he should meet, innocent or guilty. As he was returning -with his comrades to camp, he beheld two unfortunate Root Diggers seated -on the bank, fishing; advancing upon them, he levelled his rifle, shot -one on the spot, and flung his bleeding body into the stream. - -"A short time afterward, when this party of trappers were about to cross -Ogden's River, a great number of Shoshokies, or Root Diggers, were -posted on the opposite bank, when they imagined they were there with -hostile intent; they advanced upon them, levelled their rifles, and -killed twenty-five of them on the spot. The rest fled to a short -distance, then halted and turned about, howling and whining like wolves, -and uttering most piteous wailings. The trappers chased them in every -direction. The poor wretches made no defence, but fled in terror; nor -does it appear from the accounts of the boasted victors that a weapon -had been wielded by the Indians throughout the affair." - -There seemed to be an emulation among these trappers which could inflict -the greatest outrages on the natives. They chased them at full speed, -lassoed them like cattle, and dragged them till they were dead. - -At one time, when some horses had been stolen by the Riccarees, this -same party of trappers took two Riccaree Indians prisoners, and declared -that, unless the tribe restored every horse that had been stolen, these -two Indians, who had strayed into the trappers' camp without any -knowledge of the offence committed, should be burnt to death. - -"To give force to their threat, a pyre of logs and fagots was heaped up -and kindled into a blaze. The Riccarees released one horse and then -another; but, finding that nothing but the relinquishment of all their -spoils would purchase the lives of the captives, they abandoned them to -their fate, moving off with many parting words and howlings, when the -prisoners were dragged to the blazing pyre and burnt to death in sight -of their retreating comrades. - -"Such are the acts that lead to terrible recriminations on the part of -the Indians. Individual cases of the kind dwell in the recollections of -whole tribes, and it is a point of honor and conscience to avenge them. - -"The records of the wars between the early settlers of Virginia and New -England and the natives exhibit cruelties on both sides that make one -shudder. *** When the Indian would tear the scalp from the crown of the -scarcely yet dead victim, and mutilate the body, could he be expected to -reform those cruelties when he saw the white man in his turn cut off the -heads of his people, and mutilate and quarter their bodies, as was done -with King Philip's, whose head, after being cut off, was sent to -Plymouth and hung up there on a gibbet, where it remained twenty years, -while one of his hands was sent to Boston as a trophy, his body being -quartered and hung upon four trees?"—_M'FORLEY'S History and Travels._ - -FROM REPORT OF THE INDIAN BUREAU FOR 1854. - - "Port Orford, Oregon Territory, February 5th, 1854. - -"I grieve to report to you that a most horrid massacre, or rather an -out-and-out barbarous murder, was perpetrated on a portion of the Nason -tribe, residing at the mouth of the Coquille River, on the morning of -the 28th of January last, by a party of forty miners. Before giving you -the result of my examination and my own conclusions, I will give you the -reasons which that party assign in justification of their acts. - -"They avow that, for some time past, the Indians at the mouth of the -Coquille have been insolent; that they have been in the habit of riding -the horses of white men without permission; that of late they have -committed many thefts, such as stealing paddles and many other articles -the property of white men; that one of their number recently discharged -his gun at the ferry-house; and that but a few days prior to the attack -on the Indians, the chief, on leaving the ferry-house, where he had just -been fed, fired his gun at a party of four white men standing near the -door of the house. They further state that, on the 27th of January, they -sent for the chief to come in for a talk; that he not only refused to -come in, but sent back word that he would kill white men if they came to -his home; that he meant to kill all the white men he could; that he was -determined to drive the white men out of his country; that he would kill -the men at the ferry, and burn their houses. Immediately after this -conversation with the chief, the white men at and near the ferry-house -assembled, and deliberated on the necessity of an immediate attack on -the Indians. - -"The result of their deliberation, with the full proceedings of their -meeting, is herein enclosed. At the conclusion, a courier was despatched -to the upper mines for assistance. A party of about twenty responded to -the call, and arrived at the ferry-house on the evening preceding the -morning of the massacre. On the arrival of this re-enforcement the -proceedings of the meeting first held were reconsidered, and unanimously -approved. - -"At the dawn of day on the morning of the 28th of January the party of -the ferry, joined by about twenty men from the upper mines, organized, -and, in three detachments, marched upon the Indian ranches, and -consummated a most inhuman slaughter. A full account of what they term -'a fight' you will find in the report which their captain, George H. -Abbott, forwarded to me on the day of the massacre. - -"The Indians were roused from sleep to meet their death, with but feeble -show of resistance. They were shot down as they were attempting to -escape from their houses; fifteen men and one squaw killed; two squaws -badly wounded. On the part of the white men, not even the slightest -wound was received. The houses of the Indians, with but one exception, -were fired, and entirely destroyed. Thus was committed a massacre too -inhuman to be readily believed. Now for my examination of this horrid -affair. - -"On the morning of the 29th of January I left Port Orford for the -Coquille. We arrived at the ferry-house early in the evening of that -day. Early in the morning of the day after my arrival I sent for the -chief, who immediately came in, attended by about thirty of his people. -The chief, as well as his people, was so greatly alarmed—apparently -apprehensive that the white men would kill them even in my presence—that -it was with a good deal of difficulty that I could induce him to express -his mind freely. He seemed only anxious to stipulate for peace and the -future safety of his people; and to procure this he was willing to -accept any terms that I might dictate. The chief was evidently afraid to -complain of or censure the slaughterers of his tribe, and for a time -replied to all the charges made against him with hesitancy. After -repeated assurances of protection, he finally answered to the point -every interrogatory. I asked him if he had at any time fired at the man -at the ferry-house. 'No!' was his prompt reply. At the time he was said -to have fired at the white man, he declared with great earnestness that -he shot at a duck in the river, at a distance of some two hundred yards -from the ferry-house, when on his way home, and possibly the ball of his -gun might have bounded from the water. My subsequent observation of the -course of the river, and the point from which he was said to have fired, -convinced me that his statement was entitled to the fullest credit. His -statement is confirmed by the doubt expressed by one of the party at -whom he was said to have fired. - -"The white men making the accusation only heard the whizzing of a -bullet. This was the only evidence adduced in proof of the chief having -fired at them. I asked the chief if he, or if to his knowledge any of -his people, had ever fired at the ferry-house. To this he answered, -'No.' He most emphatically denied ever sending threatening language to -the men at the ferry, but admitted that some of his people had. He also -admitted that some of his tribe had stolen from white men, and that they -had used their horses without permission. He did not deny that his heart -had been bad toward white men, and that he had hoped they would leave -his country. He promised to do all I required of him. If I desired, he -said he would leave the home of his fathers and take his people to the -mountains; but, with my permission and protection, he would prefer -remaining in the present home of his people. - -"Everything I asked or required of him he readily assented to, promising -most solemnly to maintain on his part permanent friendly relations with -white men. My interview with the tribe occupied about two hours. During -the entire council they listened with most profound attention, evidently -being determined to fasten on their minds all that fell from my lips. At -the conclusion of the council I requested the chief to send for all the -guns and pistols in the possession of his men. You will be surprised -when I tell you that all the guns and pistols in the hands of the -Indians at the ranches amounted to just five pieces, two of which were -unserviceable; as to powder and ball, I do not believe they had five -rounds. Does this look like being prepared for war? Can any sane man -believe those Indians, numbering not over seventy-five, all told, -including women and children, had concocted a plan to expel from their -country some three hundred whites? Such a conclusion is too preposterous -to be entertained for a moment. There was no necessity for resorting to -such extreme measures. I regard the murder of those Indians as one of -the most barbarous acts ever perpetrated by civilized men. But what can -be done? The leaders of the party cannot be arrested, though justice -loudly demands their punishment. Here we have not even a justice of the -peace; and as to the military force garrisoned at Fort Orford, it -consists of four men. If such murderous assaults are to be continued, -there will be no end of Indian war in Oregon."—_F. M. SMITH, Sub-Agent._ - -The Simon Kenton referred to in the following narrative was an -experienced Indian fighter, and commanded a regiment in the war of 1812. - -"In the course of the war of 1812 a plan was formed by some of the -militia stationed at Urbana, Ohio, to attack an encampment of friendly -Indians, who had been threatened by the hostile tribes, and were invited -to remove with their families within our frontier settlements as a place -of safety, under an assurance that they should be protected. Kenton -remonstrated against the movement as being not only mutinous, but -treacherous and cowardly. He vindicated the Indian character against the -false charges which were alleged in justification of the outrage they -were about to perpetrate, and warned them against the infamy they would -incur by destroying a defenceless band of men, women, and children, who -had been induced to place themselves in their power by a solemn promise -of protection. - -"He appealed to their humanity, their honor, and their duty as soldiers. -He contrasted his knowledge of the character of those unfortunate people -with their ignorance of it. He told them that he had endured suffering -and torture at their hands again and again, but that it was in time of -war, when they were defending their wives and children, and when he was -seeking to destroy and exterminate them; and that, under those -circumstances, he had no right to complain, and never did complain. But, -said he, in time of peace they have always been kind, faithful friends, -and generous, trustworthy men. - -"Having exhausted the means of persuasion without effect, and finding -them still resolved on executing their purpose, he took a rifle and -called on them to proceed at once to the execution of the foul -deed—declaring with great firmness that he would accompany them to the -encampment, and shoot down the first man who attempted to molest it. 'My -life,' said he, 'is drawing to a close: what remains of it is not worth -much;' but, much or little, he was resolved that, if they entered the -Indian camp, it should be done by passing over his corpse. Knowing that -the old veteran would fulfil his promise, their hearts failed them; not -one ventured to take the lead; their purpose was abandoned, and the -Indians were saved."—_BURNET on the North-west Territory._ - - - - - V. - - EXTRACTS - - FROM THE REPORT OF THE COMMISSION SENT TO TREAT WITH - THE SIOUX CHIEF, SITTING BULL, IN CANADA. - - -The commission consisted of Brigadier-general Terry, Hon. A. G. -Lawrence, and Colonel Corbin, secretary. After one month's journey, -_via_ Omaha, Nebraska, Helena, Montana, and Fort Benton, these gentlemen -were met on the Canadian boundary by a Canadian officer with a mounted -escort, who conducted them to Fort Walsh, when they were met by Sitting -Bull and the other chiefs. - -General Terry recapitulated to them the advantages of being at peace -with the United States, the kindly treatment that all surrendered -prisoners had received, and said: "The President invites you to come to -the boundary of his and your country, and there give up your arms and -ammunition, and thence to go to the agencies to which he will assign -you, and there give up your horses, excepting those which are required -for peace purposes. Your arms and horses will then be sold, and with all -the money obtained for them cows will be bought and sent to you." - -It is mortifying to think that representatives of the United States -should have been compelled gravely to submit in a formal council -proposals so ludicrous as these. The Indians must have been totally -without sense of humor if they could have listened to them without -laughter. Sitting Bull's reply is worthy of being put on record among -the notable protests of Indian chiefs against the oppressions of their -race. - -He said: "For sixty-four years you have kept me and my people, and -treated us bad. What have we done that you should want us to stop? We -have done nothing. It is all the people on your side that have started -us to do all these depredations. We could not go anywhere else, and so -we took refuge in this country. *** I would like to know why you came -here. In the first place I did not give you the country; but you -followed me from one place to another, so I had to leave and come over -to this country. *** You have got ears, and you have got eyes to see -with them, and you see how I live with these people. You see me. Here I -am. If you think I am a fool, you are a bigger fool than I am. This -house is a medicine house. You come here to tell us lies, but we don't -want to hear them. I don't wish any such language used to me—that is, to -tell me lies in my Great Mother's house. This country is mine, and I -intend to stay here and to raise this country full of grown people. See -these people here. We were raised with them" (again shaking hands with -the British officers). "That is enough, so no more. *** The part of the -country you gave me you ran me out of. *** I wish you to go back, and to -take it easy going back." - -The-one-that-runs-the-Ree, a Santee chief, said: "You didn't treat us -well, and I don't like you at all. *** I will be at peace with these -people as long as I live. This country is ours. We did not give it to -you. You stole it away from us. You have come over here to tell us lies, -and I don't propose to talk much, and that is all I have to say. I want -you to take it easy going home. Don't go in a rush." - -Nine, a Yankton, said: "Sixty-four years ago you got our country, and -you promised to take good care of us and keep us. You ran from one place -to another killing us and fighting us. *** You did not treat us right -over there, so we came back over here. *** I come in to these people -here, _and they give me permission to trade with the traders_. _That is -the way I make my living._ Everything I get I buy from the traders. I -don't steal anything. *** I am going to live with these people here." - -So profound a contempt did the Indians feel for this commission that -they allowed a squaw to address it. - -A squaw, named The-one-that-speaks-once, wife of -The-man-that-scatters-the-bear, said: "I was over at your country. I -wanted to raise my children there, but you did not give me any time. I -came over to this country to raise my children, and have a little peace" -(shaking hands with the British officers); "that is all I have to say to -you. I want you to go back where you came from. These are the people -that I am going to stay with and raise my children with." - -The Indians having risen, being apparently about to leave the room, the -interpreter was directed to ask the following questions: "Shall I say to -the President that you refuse the offers that he has made to you? Are we -to understand that you refuse those offers?" Sitting Bull answered: "I -could tell you more, but that is all I have to tell. If we told you -more, you would not pay any attention to it. This part of the country -does not belong to your people. You belong on the other side, this side -belongs to us." - -The Crow, shaking hands, and embracing Colonel McLeod, and shaking hands -with the other British officers, said: "This is the way I will live in -this part of the country. *** _These people that don't hide anything_, -they are all the people I like. *** Sixty-four years ago I shook hands -with the soldiers, and ever since that I have had hardships. I made -peace with them; and ever since then I have been running from one place -to another to keep out of their way. *** Go to where you were born, and -stay there. I came over to this country, and my Great Mother knows all -about it. She knows I came over here, and she don't wish anything of me. -We think, and all the women in the camp think, we are going to have the -country full of people. *** I have come back in this part of the country -again to have plenty more people, to live in peace, and raise children." - -The Indians then inquired whether the commission had anything more to -say, and the commission answered that they had nothing more to say, and -the conference closed. - -The commission, with a naïve lack of comprehension of the true situation -of the case, go on to say that "they are convinced that Sitting Bull and -the bands under him will not seek to return to this country at present. -It is believed that they are restrained from returning," partly by their -recollection of the severe handling they had by the military forces of -the United States in the last winter and spring, and partly "by their -belief that, for some reason which they cannot fathom, the Government of -the United States earnestly desires that they shall return. *** In their -intense hostility to our Government, they are determined to contravene -its wishes to the best of their ability." It would seem so—even to the -extent of foregoing all the privileges offered them on their return—the -giving up of all weapons—the exchanging of their horses for cows—and the -priceless privilege of being shut up on reservations, off which they -could not go without being pursued, arrested, and brought back by -troops. What a depth of malignity must be in the breasts of these -Indians, that to gratify it they will voluntarily relinquish all these -benefits, and continue to remain in a country where they must continue -to hunt, and make their own living on the unjust plan of free trade in -open markets! - - - - - VI. - - ACCOUNT OF SOME OF THE OLD GRIEVANCES OF - THE SIOUX. - - -INTERVIEW BETWEEN RED IRON, CHIEF OF THE SISSETON SIOUX, AND GOVERNOR -RAMSEY, IN DECEMBER, 1852. - -Claims had been set up by the Indian traders for $400,000 of the money -promised to the Sioux by the treaties of 1851 and 1852. The Indians -declared that they did not owe so much. Governor Ramsey endeavored to -compel Red Iron to sign a receipt for it; he refused. He said his tribe -had never had the goods. He asked the governor to appoint -arbitrators—two white men and one Indian; it was refused. He then said -that he would accept three white men as arbitrators, if they were honest -men: this was refused. - -An eye-witness has sketched the appearance of the chief on that -occasion, and the interview between him and the governor: The council -was crowded with Indians and white men when Red Iron was brought in, -guarded by soldiers. He was about forty years old, tall and athletic; -about six feet high in his moccasins, with a large, well-developed head, -aquiline nose, thin compressed lips, and physiognomy beaming with -intelligence and resolution. He was clad in the half-military, -half-Indian costume of the Dakota chiefs. He was seated in the -council-room without greeting or salutation from any one. In a few -minutes the governor, turning to the chief in the midst of a breathless -silence, by the aid of an interpreter, opened the council. - -Governor Ramsey asked: "What excuse have you for not coming to the -council when I sent for you?" - -The chief rose to his feet with native grace and dignity, his blanket -falling from his shoulders, and purposely dropping the pipe of peace, he -stood erect before the governor with his arms folded, and right hand -pressed on the sheath of his scalping-knife; with firm voice he replied: - -"I started to come, but your braves drove me back." - -_Gov._ "What excuse have you for not coming the second time I sent for -you?" - -_Red Iron._ "No other excuse than I have given you." - -_Gov._ "At the treaty I thought you a good man, but since you have acted -badly, and I am disposed to break you. I do break you." - -_Red Iron._ "You break me! My people made me a chief. My people love me. -I will still be their chief. I have done nothing wrong." - -_Gov._ "Why did you get your braves together and march around here for -the purpose of intimidating other chiefs, and prevent their coming to -the council?" - -_Red Iron._ "I did not get my braves together, they got together -themselves to prevent boys going to council to be made chiefs, to sign -papers, and to prevent single chiefs going to council at night, to be -bribed to sign papers for money we have never got. We have heard how the -Medewakantons were served at Mendota; that by secret councils you got -their names on paper, and took away their money. We don't want to be -served so. My braves wanted to come to council in the daytime, when the -sun shines, and we want no councils in the dark. We want all our people -to go to council together, so that we can all know what is done." - -_Gov._ "Why did you attempt to come to council with your braves, when I -had forbidden your braves coming to council?" - -_Red Iron._ "You invited the chiefs only, and would not let the braves -come too. This is not the way we have been treated before; this is not -according to our customs, for among Dakotas chiefs and braves go to -council together. When you first sent for us, there were two or three -chiefs here, and we wanted to wait till the rest would come, that we -might all be in council together and know what was done, and so that we -might all understand the papers, and know what we were signing. When we -signed the treaty the traders threw a blanket over our faces and -darkened our eyes, and made us sign papers which we did not understand, -and which were not explained or read to us. We want our Great Father at -Washington to know what has been done." - -_Gov._ "Your Great Father has sent me to represent him, and what I say -is what he says. He wants you to pay your old debts, in accordance with -the paper you signed when the treaty was made, and to leave that money -in my hands to pay these debts. If you refuse to do that I will take the -money back." - -_Red Iron._ "You can take the money back. We sold our land to you, and -you promised to pay us. If you don't give us the money I will be glad, -and all our people will be glad, for we will have our land back if you -don't give us the money. That paper was not interpreted or explained to -us. We are told it gives about 300 boxes ($300,000) of our money to some -of the traders. We don't think we owe them so much. We want to pay all -our debts. We want our Great Father to send three good men here to tell -us how much we do owe, and whatever they say we will pay; and that's -what all these braves say. Our chiefs and all our people say this." All -the Indians present responded, "Ho! ho!" - -_Gov._ "That can't be done. You owe more than your money will pay, and I -am ready now to pay your annuity, and no more; and when you are ready to -receive it, the agent will pay you." - -_Red Iron._ "We will receive our annuity, but we will sign no papers for -anything else. The snow is on the ground, and we have been waiting a -long time to get our money. We are poor; you have plenty. Your fires are -warm. Your tepees keep out the cold. We have nothing to eat. We have -been waiting a long time for our moneys. Our hunting-season is past. A -great many of our people are sick, for being hungry. We may die because -you won't pay us. We may die, but if we do we will leave our bones on -the ground, that our Great Father may see where his Dakota children -died. We are very poor. We have sold our hunting-grounds and the graves -of our fathers. We have sold our own graves. We have no place to bury -our dead, and you will not pay us the money for our lands." - -The council was broken up, and Red Iron was sent to the guard-house, -where he was kept till next day. Between thirty and forty of the braves -of Red Iron's band were present during this arrangement before the -governor. When he was led away, they departed in sullen silence, headed -by Lean Bear, to a spot a quarter of a mile from the council-house, -where they uttered a succession of yells—the gathering signal of the -Dakotas. Ere the echoes died away, Indians were hurrying from their -tepees toward them, prepared for battle. They proceeded to the eminence -near the camp, where mouldered the bones of many warriors. It was the -memorable battle-ground, where their ancestors had fought, in a conflict -like Waterloo, the warlike Sacs and Foxes, thereby preserving their -lands and nationality. Upon this field stood two hundred resolute -warriors ready to do battle for their hereditary chief. Lean Bear, the -principal brave of Red Iron's band, was a large, resolute man, about -thirty-five years of age, and had great influence in his nation. - -Here, on their old battle-ground, Lean Bear recounted the brave deeds of -Red Iron, the long list of wrongs inflicted on the Indians by the white -men, and proposed to the braves that they should make a general attack -on the whites. By the influence of some of the half-breeds, and of white -men who were known to be friendly to them, Lean Bear was induced to -abandon his scheme; and finally, the tribe, being starving, consented to -give up their lands and accept the sum of money offered to them. - -"Over $55,000 of this treaty money, paid for debts of the Indians, went -to one Hugh Tyler, a stranger in the country, 'for getting the treaties -through the Senate, and for necessary disbursements in securing the -assent of the chiefs.'" - -Five years later another trader, under the pretence that he was going to -get back for them some of this stolen treaty money, obtained their -signature to vouchers, by means of which he cheated them out of $12,000 -more. At this same time he obtained a payment of $4,500 for goods he -said they had stolen from him. Another man was allowed a claim of $5,000 -for horses he said they had stolen from him. - -"In 1858 the chiefs were taken to Washington, and agreed to the treaties -for the cession of all their reservation north of the Minnesota River, -under which, as ratified by the Senate, they were to have $166,000; but -of this amount they never received one penny till four years afterward, -when $15,000 in goods were sent to the Lower Sioux, and these were -deducted out of what was due them under former treaties."—_History of -the Sioux War_, by ISAAC V. D. HEARD. - -This paragraph gives the causes of the fearful Minnesota massacre, in -which eight hundred people lost their lives. - -The treaty expressly provided that no claims against the Indians should -be paid unless approved by the Indians in open council. No such council -was held. A secret council was held with a few chiefs, but the body of -the Indians were ignorant of it. There was a clause in this treaty that -the Secretary of the Interior might use any funds of the Indians for -such purposes of civilization as his judgment should dictate. Under this -clause the avails of over six hundred thousand acres of land were taken -for claims against the Indians. Of the vast amount due to the Lower -Sioux, only a little over $800 was left to their credit in Washington at -the time of the outbreak. Moreover, a portion of their annual annuity -was also taken for claims. - -REMOVAL OF THE SIOUX AND WINNEBAGOES FROM MINNESOTA in 1863. - -"The guard that accompanied these Indians consisted of four commissioned -officers, one hundred and thirty-five soldiers, and one laundress; in -all, one hundred and forty persons. The number of Santee Sioux -transported was thirteen hundred and eighteen. For the transportation -and subsistence of these Indians and the guard there was paid the sum of -$36,322.10. - -"The number of Winnebagoes transported was nineteen hundred and -forty-five; for their transportation and subsistence there was paid the -farther sum of $56,042.60—making the whole amount paid the contractors -$92,364.70. - -"The Sioux were transported from Fort Snelling to Hannibal, Missouri, on -two steamboats. One of the boats stopped there, and the Indians on it -crossed over to St. Joseph, on the Missouri River, by rail. The other -boat continued to the junction of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, -and thence up the latter to St. Joseph; and here the Indians that -crossed over by rail were put upon the boat, and from thence to Crow -Creek all of them were on one boat. They were very much crowded from St. -Joseph to Crow Creek. Sixteen died on the way, being without attention -or medical supplies. All the Indians were excluded from the cabin of the -boat, and confined to the lower and upper decks. It was in May, and to -go among them on the lower deck was suffocating. They were fed on hard -bread and mess pork, much of it not cooked, there being no opportunity -to cook it only at night when the boat laid up. They had no sugar, -coffee, or vegetables. Confinement on the boat in such a mass, and want -of proper food, created much sickness, such as diarrhœa and fevers. For -weeks after they arrived at Crow Creek the Indians died at the rate of -from three to four per day. In a few weeks one hundred and fifty had -died, mainly on account of the treatment they had received after leaving -Fort Snelling."—_MANEYPENNY, Our Indian Wards._ - -FOOD OF THE INDIANS AT CROW CREEK, DAKOTA, IN THE WINTER OF 1864. - -"During the summer the Indians were fed on flour and pork; they got no -beef till fall. They suffered for want of fresh beef as well as for -medical supplies. In the fall their ration began to fail; and the issue -was gradually reduced; and the Indians complained bitterly. *** The beef -furnished was from the cattle that hauled the supplies from Minnesota. -These cattle had travelled over three hundred miles, hauling the train, -with nothing to eat but the dry prairie grass, there being no -settlements on the route they came. The cattle were very poor. Some died -or gave out on the trip, and such were slaughtered, and the meat brought -in on the train for food for the Indians. About the 1st of January, -1864, near four hundred of the cattle were slaughtered. Except the dry -prairie grass, which the frost had killed, these cattle had no food from -the time they came to Crow Creek until they were slaughtered. A part of -the beef thus made was piled up in the warehouse in snow, and the -remainder in like manner packed in snow outside. This beef was to keep -the Indians until the coming June. The beef was black, and very poor—the -greater part only skin and bone. Shortly after the arrival of the train -from Minnesota the contractors for supplying the Indians with flour took -about one hundred head of the oxen, selecting the best of them, yoked -them up, and sent them with wagons to Sioux City, some two hundred and -forty miles, to haul up flour. This train returned in February, and -these oxen were then slaughtered, and fed to the Indians. - -"In January the issue of soup to the Indians commenced. It was made in a -large cotton-wood vat, being cooked by steam carried from the boiler of -the saw-mill in a pipe to the vat. The vat was partly filled with water, -then several quarters of beef chopped up were thrown into it, and a few -sacks of flour added. The hearts, lights, and entrails were added to the -compound, and in the beginning a few beans were put into the vat; but -this luxury did not continue long. This soup was issued every other -day—to the Santee Sioux one day, the alternate day to the Winnebagoes. -It was very unpalatable. On the day the Indians received the soup they -had no other food issued to them. They were very much dissatisfied, and -said they could not live on the soup, when those in charge told them if -they could live elsewhere they had better go, but that they must not go -to the white settlements. Many of them did leave the agency, some going -to Fort Sully, others to Fort Randall, in search of food. From a -description of this nauseous mess called soup, given by Samuel C. -Haynes, then at Fort Randall, and assistant-surgeon in the military -service, it is seen that the Indians had good cause to leave Crow Creek. -He states that there were thrown into the vat 'beef, beef-heads, -entrails of the beeves, some beans, flour, and pork. I think there were -put into the vat two barrels of flour each time, which was not oftener -than once in twenty-four hours. This mass was then cooked by the steam -from the boiler passing through the pipe into the vat. When that was -done, all the Indians were ordered to come with their pails and get it. -It was dipped out to the Indians with a long-handled dipper made for the -purpose. I cannot say the quantity given to each. It was about the -consistency of very thin gruel. The Indians would pour off the thinner -portion and eat that which settled at the bottom. As it was dipped out -of the vat, some of the Indians would get the thinner portions and some -would get some meat. I passed there frequently when it was cooking, and -was often there when it was being issued. It had a very offensive odor. -It had the odor of the contents of the entrails of the beeves. I have -seen the settlings of the vat after they were through issuing it to the -Indians, when they were cleaning the vat, and the settlings smelled like -carrion—like decomposed meat. Some of the Indians refused to eat it, -saying they could not, it made them sick.'"—_MANEYPENNY, Our Indian -Wards._ - - - - - VII. - - LETTER FROM SARAH WINNEMUCCA, - - AN EDUCATED PAH-UTE WOMAN. - - - _To Major H. Douglas, U. S. Army_: - -SIR,—I learn from the commanding officer at this post that you desire -full information in regard to the Indians around this place, with a -view, if possible, of bettering their condition by sending them on the -Truckee River Reservation. All the Indians from here to Carson City -belong to the Pah-Ute tribe. My father, whose name is Winnemucca, is the -head chief of the whole tribe; but he is now getting too old, and has -not energy enough to command, nor to impress on their minds the -necessity of their being sent on the reservation. In fact, I think he is -entirely opposed to it. He, myself, and most of the Humboldt and Queen's -River Indians were on the Truckee Reservation at one time; but if we had -stayed there, it would be only to starve. I think that if they had -received what they were entitled to from the agents, they would never -have left them. So far as their knowledge of agriculture extends, they -are quite ignorant, as they have never had the opportunity of learning; -but I think, if proper pains were taken, that they would willingly make -the effort to maintain themselves by their own labor, providing they -could be made to believe that the products were their own, for their own -use and comfort. It is needless for me to enter into details as to how -we were treated on the reservation while there. It is enough to say that -we were confined to the reserve, and had to live on what fish we might -be able to catch in the river. If this is the kind of civilization -awaiting us on the reserves, God grant that we may never be compelled to -go on one, as it is much preferable to live in the mountains and drag -out an existence in our native manner. So far as living is concerned, -the Indians at all military posts get enough to eat and considerable -cast-off clothing. - -But how long is this to continue? What is the object of the Government -in regard to Indians? Is it enough that we are at peace? Remove all the -Indians from the military posts and place them on reservations such as -the Truckee and Walker River Reservations (as they were conducted), and -it will require a greater military force stationed round to keep them -within the limits than it now does to keep them in subjection. On the -other hand, if the Indians have any guarantee that they can secure a -permanent home on their own native soil, and that our white neighbors -can be kept from encroaching on our rights, after having a reasonable -share of ground allotted to us as our own, and giving us the required -advantages of learning, I warrant that the savage (as he is called -to-day) will be a thrifty and law-abiding member of the community -fifteen or twenty years hence. - -Sir, if at any future time you should require information regarding the -Indians here, I will be happy to furnish the same if I can. - - SARAH WINNEMUCCA. - -Camp McDermitt, Nevada, April 4th, 1870. - - - - - VIII. - - LAWS OF THE DELAWARE NATION OF INDIANS. - -[Adopted July 21st, A.D. 1866.] - - -The chiefs and councillors of the Delaware tribe of Indians convened at -their council-house, on the reservation of said tribe, adopted July -21st, 1866, the following laws, to be amended as they think proper: - - -ARTICLE I. - -_Section 1._ A national jail shall be built on the public grounds, upon -which the council-house is now situated. - -_Sec. 2._ Any person who shall steal any horse, mule, ass, or cattle of -any kind, shall be punished as follows: For the first offence the -property of the offender shall be sold by the sheriff, to pay the owner -of the animal stolen the price of said animal, and all costs he may -sustain in consequence of such theft. But if the offender has no -property, or if his property be insufficient to pay for the animal -stolen, so much of his annuity shall be retained as may be necessary to -pay the owner of said animal, as above directed, and no relative of said -offender shall be permitted to assist him in paying the penalties of -said theft. For the second offence the thief shall be sent to jail for -thirty-five days, and shall pay all costs and damages the owner may -sustain on account of said theft. For the third offence the thief shall -be confined in jail three months, and shall pay all costs and damages, -as above provided. - -_Sec. 3._ If any person shall steal a horse beyond the limits of the -reserve, and bring it within the limits thereof, it shall be lawful for -the owner to pursue and reclaim the same upon presenting satisfactory -proof of ownership, and, if necessary, receive the assistance of the -officers of the Delaware nation. _And it is further provided_, that such -officials as may from time to time be clothed with power by the United -States agent may pursue such offender either within or without the -limits of the reserve. - -_Sec. 4._ Whoever shall ride any horse without the consent of the owner -thereof shall, for the first offence, pay the sum of ten dollars for -each day and night that he may keep the said animal; and for the second -offence shall be confined in jail for the term of twenty-one days, -besides paying a fine of ten dollars. - -_Sec. 5._ Whoever shall reclaim and return any such animal to the -rightful owner, other than the wrong-doer, as in the last section -mentioned, shall receive therefor the sum of two and fifty-hundredths -dollars. - -_Sec. 6._ In all cases of theft, the person or persons convicted of such -theft shall be adjudged to pay all costs and damages resulting -therefrom; and in case of the final loss of any animal stolen, then the -offender shall pay the price thereof in addition to the costs and -damages, as provided in a previous section. - -_Sec. 7._ Whoever shall steal any swine or sheep shall, for the first -offence, be fined the sum of fifteen dollars; ten of which shall be paid -to the owner of the sheep or swine taken, and five dollars to the -witness of the theft; for the second offence the thief shall, in -addition to the above penalty, be confined in jail for twenty-eight -days; and for the third offence the thief shall be confined four weeks -in jail, and then receive a trial, and bear such punishment as may be -adjudged upon such trial. - -_Sec. 8._ Whoever shall steal a fowl of any description shall, for the -first offence, pay to the owner of such animal the sum of five dollars; -for the second offence, in addition to the above penalty, the thief -shall be confined in jail for twenty-one days. The witness by whom such -theft shall be proven shall be entitled to receive such reasonable -compensation as may be allowed to him, to be paid by the offender. - -_Sec. 9._ A lawful fence shall be eight rails high, well staked and -ridered. If any animal shall break through or over a lawful fence, as -above defined, and do any damage, the owner of the enclosure shall give -notice thereof to the owner of such animal, without injury to the -animal. The owner of such animal shall therefore take care of the same, -and prevent his doing damage; but should he neglect or refuse so to do, -the animal itself shall be sold to pay for the damage it may have done. -But if the premises be not enclosed by a lawful fence, as above defined, -the owner of the enclosure shall receive no damages; but should he -injure any animal getting into such enclosure, shall pay for any damage -he may do such animal. - -_Sec. 10._ Every owner of stock shall have his or her brand or mark put -on such stock, and a description of the brand or mark of every person in -the tribe shall be recorded by the national clerk. - -ARTICLE II. - -_Sec. 1._ Whoever shall maliciously set fire to a house shall, for the -first offence, pay to the owner of such house all damages which he may -sustain in consequence of such fire; and, in addition thereto, for the -second offence shall be confined in jail for the term of twenty-one -days. - -_Sec. 2._ Should human life be sacrificed in consequence of any such -fire, the person setting fire as aforesaid shall suffer death by -hanging. - -_Sec. 3._ It shall be unlawful for any person to set on fire any woods -or prairie, except for the purpose of protecting property, and then only -at such times as shall permit the person so setting the fire to -extinguish the same. - -_Sec. 4._ Whoever shall violate the provisions of the last preceding -section shall, for the first offence, be fined the sum of five dollars, -and pay the full value of all property thereby destroyed; for the second -offence, in addition to the penalty above described, the offender shall -be confined in jail for the term of thirty-five days; and for the third -offence the same punishment, except that the confinement in jail shall -be for the period of three months. - -_Sec. 5._ Any person living outside of the reserve cutting hay upon the -land of one living on the reserve, shall pay to the owner of such land -the sum of one dollar per acre, or one-half of the hay so cut. - -_Sec. 6._ No person shall sell any wood on the reserve, except said wood -be first cut and corded. - -ARTICLE III. - -_Sec. 1._ Whoever shall find any lost article shall forthwith return the -same to the owner, if he can be found, under the penalty imposed for -stealing such article, for a neglect of such duty. - -_Sec. 2._ Whoever shall take any article of property without permission -of its owner shall pay the price of the article so taken, and receive -such punishment as the judge in his discretion may impose. - -ARTICLE IV. - -_Sec. 1._ Whoever shall take up any animal on the reserve as a stray -shall, within one week, have the description of such animal recorded in -the stray-book kept by the council. - -_Sec. 2._ If the owner of said stray shall claim the same within one -year from the day on which the description was recorded, he shall be -entitled to take it, after duly proving his property, and paying at the -rate of five dollars per month for the keeping of such animal. - -_Sec. 3._ The title to any stray, duly recorded, and not claimed within -one year from the date of such record, shall rest absolutely in the -person taking up and recording the same. - -_Sec. 4._ Whoever shall take up a stray, and refuse or neglect to record -a description of the same, as provided in Section 1 of this Article, -shall be deemed to have stolen such animal, if the same be found in his -possession, and shall suffer the penalties inflicted for stealing like -animals. The stray shall be taken from him, and remain at the disposal -of the council, and a description of the same shall be recorded in the -stray-book. - -ARTICLE V. - -_Sec. 1._ If a person commit murder in the first degree, he shall, upon -conviction, suffer the penalty of death; but if the evidence against him -be insufficient, or if the killing be done in self-defence, the person -doing the killing shall be released. - -_Sec. 2._ Whoever shall, by violence, do bodily harm to the person of -another shall be arrested, and suffer such punishment as may on trial be -adjudged against him; and should death result from such bodily harm done -to the person of another, the offender shall be arrested, and suffer -such punishment as may be adjudged against him. - -_Sec. 3._ Whoever shall wilfully slander an innocent party shall be -punished for such slander at the discretion of the judge. - -_Sec. 4._ Whoever, being intoxicated or under the influence of liquor, -shall display at the house of another, in a dangerous or threatening -manner, any deadly weapons, and refuse to desist therefrom, being -commanded so to do, and put up such weapons, either by the owner of the -house or by any other person, shall for the first offence be fined the -sum of five dollars, and pay all damages which may accrue; for the -second offence shall be confined in jail twenty-one days, and pay a fine -of ten dollars, and pay all damages which may accrue; and for the third -offence shall be imprisoned in the jail for thirty-five days, be fined -twenty dollars, and pay all damages as aforesaid. - -_Sec. 5._ Officers shall be appointed to appraise all damages accruing -under the last preceding section, who shall hear all the evidence, and -render judgment according to the law and the evidence. - -_Sec. 6._ Whoever shall, being under the influence of liquor, attend -public worship or any other public meeting, shall first be commanded -peaceably to depart; and if he refuses, it shall be the duty of the -sheriff to arrest and confine such person until he becomes sober; and -the offender shall pay a fine of five dollars. - -_Sec. 7._ It shall be the duty of the sheriff to attend all meetings for -public worship. - -_Sec. 8._ No member of the Delaware nation shall be held liable for any -debts contracted in the purchase of intoxicating liquors. - -_Sec. 9._ The United States Agent and the chiefs shall have power to -grant license to bring merchandise to the national payment ground for -sale to so many traders as they may think proper for the interest of the -nation. - -_Sec. 10._ It shall be unlawful for any one person to bring any kind of -drinks, except coffee, on the payment ground; and any person who shall -offend against this section shall forfeit his drinkables and his right -to remain on the payment ground. - -_Sec. 11._ It shall be unlawful for any one person to bring within the -reserve more than one pint of spirituous liquors at any one time. For -the first offence against this section the offender shall forfeit his -liquors, and pay a fine of five dollars; for the second offence he shall -forfeit his liquors, and pay a fine of ten dollars; and for the third -offence he shall forfeit his liquors, and be fined the sum of -twenty-five dollars. - -_Sec. 12._ Any person who shall find another in possession of more than -one pint of liquor at one time upon the reserve may lawfully spill and -destroy the same, and shall use such force as may be necessary for such -purpose. Should the owner resist, and endeavor to commit bodily harm -upon the person engaged in spilling or destroying said liquor, he shall -be taken into custody by the sheriff, and be punished as an offender -against the law. - -_Sec. 13._ The sheriff may lawfully compel any man or any number of men, -ministers of the Gospel excepted, to assist in capturing any person who -shall violate these laws. - -_Sec. 14._ Whoever shall offer resistance to any capture or arrest for -violating any of the provisions of these laws shall be punished, not -only for the original offence for which he was arrested, but also for -resisting an officer. - -ARTICLE VI. - -_Sec. 1._ All business affecting the general interest of the nation -shall be transacted by the council in regular sessions. - -_Sec. 2._ All personal acts of chiefs, councillors, or private -individuals, in such matters as affect the general interest of the -nation, shall be considered null and void. - -_Sec. 3._ Whoever shall violate the last preceding section by -undertaking, in a private capacity and manner, to transact public and -national business, shall be imprisoned in the national jail for a period -not less than six months nor more than one year, and shall forfeit his -place of office or position in the nation; which place or position shall -be filled by the appointment of other suitable persons. - -_Sec. 4._ Councillors shall be appointed who shall take an oath -faithfully to perform their duties to the nation, and for neglect of -such duties others shall be appointed to fill their places. - -_Sec. 5._ Should a councillor go on a journey, so that it is impossible -for him to attend the meetings of the council regularly, he may appoint -a substitute who shall act for him in his absence. - -_Sec. 6._ Certain days shall be set apart for council and court days. - -_Sec. 7._ The chiefs and councillors shall appoint three sheriffs, at a -salary of one hundred and fifty dollars per annum each; one clerk, at -one hundred dollars per annum; and one jailer, at a salary of one -hundred dollars per annum, whose salary shall be due and payable -half-yearly; and in case either of the above officers shall neglect or -refuse to perform any of the duties of his office, he shall forfeit his -salary, and his office shall be declared vacant, and another shall be -appointed to fill the office. - -_Sec. 8._ The chiefs and councillors shall semi-annually, in April and -October, make an appropriation for national expenses, which -appropriation shall be taken from the trust fund, or any other due the -Delawares, and paid to the treasury. - -_Sec. 9._ There shall be a treasurer appointed annually, on the first -day of April, whose duty it shall be to receive and disburse all moneys -to be used for national purposes; but the treasurer shall pay out money -only on order of chiefs and councillors, and for his services shall be -paid five per cent. on the amount disbursed. - -ARTICLE VII. - -_Sec. 1._ It shall be lawful for any person, before his or her death, to -make a will, and thereby dispose of his or her property as he or she may -desire. - -_Sec. 2._ If a man dies, leaving no will to show the disposal of his -property, and leaves a widow and children, one-fourth of his property -shall be set aside for the payment of his debts. Should the property so -set aside be insufficient to pay all his debts in full, it shall be -divided among his creditors _pro rata_, which _pro rata_ payment shall -be received by his creditors in full satisfaction of all claims and -demands whatever. - -_Sec. 3._ If the property so set apart for the payment of debts is more -than sufficient to pay all debts, the remainder shall be equally divided -among the children. - -_Sec. 4._ The widow shall be entitled to one-third of the property not -set aside for the payment of debts. - -_Sec. 5._ If a man dies, leaving no widow or children, his debts shall -first be paid out of the proceeds of his personal property, and the -remainder, if any, with the real estate, shall be given to the nearest -relative. - -_Sec. 6._ Whoever shall take or receive any portion of the property -belonging to the widow and orphans, shall be punished as if he had -stolen the property. - -_Sec. 7._ The council shall appoint guardians for orphan children when -they deem it expedient so to do. - -ARTICLE VIII. - -_Sec. 1._ If a white man marry a member of the nation, and accumulate -property by such marriage, said property shall belong to his wife and -children; nor shall he be allowed to remove any portion of such property -beyond the limits of the reserve. - -_Sec. 2._ Should such white man lose his wife, all the property shall -belong to the children, and no subsequent wife shall claim any portion -of such property. - -_Sec. 3._ Should such white man die in the nation, leaving no children, -all his property shall belong to his wife, after paying his debts. - -_Sec. 4._ Should such white man lose his wife, and have no children, -one-half of the personal property shall belong to him, and the other -half shall belong to his wife's nearest relatives. - -_Sec. 5._ Should such white man be expelled from the reserve, and the -wife choose to follow her husband, she shall forfeit all her right and -interest in the reserve. - -ARTICLE IX. - -_Sec. 1._ No member of the nation shall lease any grounds to persons not -members of the nation. - -_Sec. 2._ Should a white man seek employment of any member of the -nation, he shall first give his name to the United States Agent, and -furnish him with a certificate of good moral character, and also a -statement of the time for which he is employed, and the name of his -employer. - -_Sec. 3._ The employed shall pay all hired help according to agreement. - -_Sec. 4._ Any person or persons violating any of the provisions of these -laws on the reserve shall be punished as therein provided. - -_Sec. 5._ All white men on the reserve disregarding these laws shall -also be expelled from the reserve. - - -ARTICLE X. - -_Sec. 1._ Whoever shall forcibly compel any woman to commit adultery, or -who shall commit a rape upon a woman, shall, for the first offence, be -fined the sum of fifty dollars, and be imprisoned in jail for -thirty-five days; for the second offence he shall be fined one hundred -dollars, and be confined three months in the national jail; and for the -third offence he shall be punished as the court shall see proper. - - - - - IX. - - ACCOUNT OF THE CHEROKEE WHO INVENTED THE - CHEROKEE ALPHABET. - - -"Sequoyah, a Cherokee Indian, instead of joining the rude sports of -Indian boys while a child, took great delight in exercising his -ingenuity by various mechanical labors. He also assisted in the -management of his mother's property, consisting of a farm and cattle and -horses. In his intercourse with the whites he became aware that they -possessed an art by which a name impressed upon a hard substance might -be understood at a glance by any one acquainted with the art. He -requested an educated half-breed, named Charles Hicks, to write his -name; which being done, he made a die containing a fac-simile of the -word, which he stamped upon all the articles fabricated by his -mechanical ingenuity. From this he proceeded to the art of drawing, in -which he made rapid progress before he had the opportunity of seeing a -picture or engraving. These accomplishments made the young man very -popular among his associates, and particularly among the red ladies; but -it was long before incessant adulation produced any evil effect upon his -character. At length, however, he was prevailed upon to join his -companions, and share in the carouse which had been supplied by his own -industry. But he soon wearied of an idle and dissipated life, suddenly -resolved to give up drinking, and learned the trade of a blacksmith by -his own unaided efforts. In the year 1820, while on a visit to some -friends in a Cherokee village, he listened to a conversation on the art -of writing, which seems always to have been the subject of great -curiosity among the Indians. Sequoyah remarked that he did not regard -the art as so very extraordinary, and believed he could invent a plan by -which the red man might do the same thing. The company were incredulous; -but the matter had long been the subject of his reflections, and he had -come to the conclusion that letters represented words or ideas, and -being always uniform, would always convey the same meaning. His first -plan was to invent signs for words; but upon trial he was speedily -satisfied that this would be too cumbrous and laborious, and he soon -contrived the plan of an alphabet which should represent sounds, each -character standing for a syllable. He persevered in carrying out his -intention, and attained his object by forming eighty-six characters. - -"While thus employed he incurred the ridicule of his neighbors, and was -entreated to desist by his friends. The invention, however, was -completely successful, and the Cherokee dialect is now a written -language; a result entirely due to the extraordinary genius of Sequoyah. -After teaching many to read and write, he left the Cherokee nation in -1822 on a visit to Arkansas, and introduced the art among the Cherokees -who had emigrated to that country; and, after his return home, a -correspondence was opened in the Cherokee language between the two -branches of the nation. In the autumn of 1823 the General Council -bestowed upon him a silver medal in honor of his genius, and as an -expression of gratitude for his eminent public services."—_North -American Review._ - -"We may remark, with reference to the above, that as each letter of this -alphabet represents one of eighty-six sounds, of which in various -transpositions the language is composed, a Cherokee can read as soon as -he has learned his alphabet. It is said that a clever boy may thus be -taught to read in a single day."—_The Saturday Magazine_, London, April, -1842. - - - - - X. - - PRICES PAID BY WHITE MEN FOR SCALPS. - - -"In the wars between France and England and their colonies, their -Indian allies were entitled to a premium for every scalp of an enemy. -In the war preceding 1703 the Government of Massachusetts gave twelve -pounds for every Indian scalp. In 1722 it was augmented to one hundred -pounds—a sum sufficient to purchase a considerable extent of American -land. On the 25th of February, 1745, an act was passed by the American -colonial legislature, entitled 'An Act for giving a reward for -scalps.'"—_Sketches of the History, Manners, and Customs of the North -American Indians, by JAMES BUCHANAN, 1824._ - -"There was a constant rivalry between the Governments of Great Britain, -France, and the United States as to which of them should secure the -services of the barbarians to scalp their white enemies, while each in -turn was the loudest to denounce the shocking barbarities of such tribes -as they failed to secure in their own service; and the civilized world, -aghast at these horrid recitals, ignores the fact that nearly every -important massacre in the history of North America was organized and -directed by agents of some one of these Governments."—_GALE, Upper -Mississippi._ - - - - - XI. - - EXTRACT FROM TREATY WITH CHEYENNES, IN 1865. - - -ART. 6th of the treaty of Oct. 14th, 1865, between the United States and -the chiefs and headmen representing the confederated tribes of the -Arapahoe and Cheyenne Indians: - -"The United States being desirous to express its condemnation of, and as -far as may be repudiate the gross and wanton outrages perpetrated -against certain bands of Cheyenne and Arapahoe Indians by Colonel J. M. -Chivington, in command of United States troops, on the 29th day of -November, 1864, at Sand Creek, in Colorado Territory, while the said -Indians were at peace with the United States and under its flag, whose -protection they had by lawful authority been promised and induced to -seek, and the Government, being desirous to make some suitable -reparation for the injuries thus done, will grant 320 acres of land by -patent to each of the following named chiefs of said bands, *** and will -in like manner grant to each other person of said bands made a widow, or -who lost a parent on that occasion, 160 acres of land. *** The United -States will also pay in United States securities, animals, goods, -provisions, or such other useful articles as may in the discretion of -the Secretary of the Interior be deemed best adapted to the respective -wants and conditions of the persons named in the schedule hereto -annexed, they being present and members of the bands who suffered at -Sand Creek on the occasion aforesaid, the sums set opposite their names -respectively, as a compensation for property belonging to them, and then -and there destroyed or taken from them by the United States troops -aforesaid." - -One of the Senate amendments to this treaty struck out the words "by -Colonel J. M. Chivington, in command of United States troops." If this -were done with a view of relieving "Colonel J. M. Chivington" of -obloquy, or of screening the fact that "United States troops" were the -instruments by which the murders were committed, is not clear. But in -either case the device was a futile one. The massacre will be known as -"The Chivington Massacre" as long as history lasts, and the United -States must bear its share of the infamy of it. - - - - - XII. - - WOOD-CUTTING BY INDIANS IN DAKOTA. - - -In his report for 1877 the Superintendent of Indian Affairs in Dakota -says: "Orders have been received to stop cutting of wood by Indians, to -pay them for what they have already cut, to take possession of it and -sell it. This I am advised is under a recent decision which deprives -Indians of any ownership in the wood until the land is taken by them in -severalty. If agents do not enforce these orders, they lay themselves -liable. If they do enforce them, the Indians are deprived of what little -motive they have for labor. In the mean time, aliens of all nations cut -wood on Indian lands, sell to steamboats, fill contracts for the army -and for Indian agencies at high prices. *** Cutting wood is one of the -very few things an Indian can do in Dakota at this time." - - - - - XIII. - - SEQUEL TO THE WALLA WALLA MASSACRE. - -[This narrative was written by a well-known army officer, correspondent -of the _Army and Navy Journal_, and appeared in that paper Nov. 1st, -1879.] - - -The history of that affair (the Walla Walla Massacre) was never written, -we believe; or, if it was, the absolute facts in the case were never -given by any unprejudiced person, and it may be interesting to not a few -to give them here. The story, as told by our Washington correspondent, -"Ebbitt," who was a witness of the scenes narrated, is as follows: - -"The first settlements in Oregon, some thirty years ago, were made by a -colony of Methodists. One of the principal men among them was the late -Mr. or Governor Abernethy, as he was called, as he was for a short time -the prominent Governor of Oregon. He was the father-in-law of our genial -Deputy Quartermaster-general Henry C. Hodges, an excellent man, and he -must not be remembered as one of those who were responsible for the -shocking proceedings which we are about to relate. A minister by the -name of Whitman, we believe, had gone up to the Walla Walla region, -where he was kindly received by the Cayuse and other friendly Indians, -who, while they did not particularly desire to be converted to the -Christian faith as expounded by one of Wesley's followers, saw no -special objection to the presence of the missionary. So they lived -quietly along for a year or two; then the measles broke out among the -Indians, and a large number of them were carried off. They were told by -their medicine men that the disease was owing to the presence of the -whites, and Mr. Whitman was notified that he must leave their country. -Filled with zeal for the cause, and not having sense enough to grasp the -situation, he refused to go. - -"At this time the people of the Hudson's Bay Company had great influence -with all the Indians in that region, and the good old Governor Peter -Skeen Ogden was the chief factor of the Company at Fort Vancouver. He -was apprised of the state of feeling among the Indians near the mission -by the Indians themselves, and he was entreated by them to urge Whitman -to go away, for if he did not he would surely be killed. The governor -wrote up to the mission advising them to leave, for a while at least, -until the Indians should become quiet, which they would do as soon as -the measles had run its course among them. His efforts were useless, and -sure enough one day in 1847, we believe, the mission was cleaned out, -the missionary and nearly all of those connected with it being killed. - -"An Indian war follows. This was carried on for some months, and with -little damage, but sufficient for a claim by the territory upon the -General Government for untold amounts of money. Two or three years -later, when the country had commenced to fill up with emigration, and -after the regiment of Mounted Riflemen and two companies of the First -Artillery had taken post in Oregon, the people began to think that it -would be well to stir up the matter of the murder of the Whitman family. -General Joseph Lane had been sent out as governor in 1849, and he -doubtless thought it would be a good thing for him politically to humor -the people of the territory. Lane was a vigorous, resolute, Western man, -who had been a general officer during the Mexican war, and he then had -Presidential aspirations. So the governor came to Fort Vancouver, where -the head-quarters of the department were established, under Colonel -Loring, of the Mounted Rifles, and procured a small escort, with which -he proceeded to hunt up the Indians concerned in the massacre, and -demand their surrender. By this time the Indians had begun to comprehend -the power of the Government; and when the governor found them, and -explained the nature of his mission, they went into council to decide -what was to be done. After due deliberation, they were convinced that if -they were to refuse to come to any terms they would be attacked by the -soldiers, of whom they then had deadly fear, and obliged to abandon -their country forever. So they met the governor, and the head chief said -that they had heard what he had to say. It was true that his people had -killed the whites at the mission, but that they did so for the reason -that they really thought that a terrible disease had been brought among -them by the whites; that they had begged them to go away from them, for -they did not wish to kill them, and that they only killed them to save -their own lives, as they thought. He said that for this the whites from -down the Columbia had made war upon them, and killed many more of their -people than had been killed at the mission, and they thought they ought -to be satisfied. As they were not, three of their principal men had -volunteered to go back with the governor to Oregon City to be tried for -the murder. This satisfied the governor, and the men bid farewell to -their wives and little ones and to all their tribe, for they very well -knew that they would never see them again. They knew that they were -going among those who thirsted for their blood, and that they were going -to their death, and that death the most ignominious that can be accorded -to the red man, as they were to be hung like dogs. - -"The governor and his party left. The victims gave one long last look at -the shore as they took the little boat on the Columbia, but no word of -complaint ever came from their lips. When they arrived at Fort Vancouver -we had charge of these Indians. They were not restrained in any way—no -guard was ever kept over them, for there was no power on earth that -could have made them falter in their determination to go down to Oregon -City, and die like men for the salvation of their tribe. - -"At Oregon City these men walked with their heads erect, and with the -bearing of senators, from the little boat, amidst the jibes and jeers of -a brutal crowd, to the jail which was to be the last covering they would -ever have over their heads. - -"The trial came on, the jury was empanelled, and Captain Claiborne, of -the Mounted Rifles, volunteered to defend the Indians, who were told -that they were to have a fair trial, and that they would not be punished -unless they were found guilty. To all this they paid no heed. They said -it was all right, but they did not understand a word of what they were -compelled to listen to for several days, and they cared nothing for the -forms of the law. They had come to die, and when some witnesses swore -that they recognized them as the very Indians who killed Whitman—all of -which was explained to them—not a muscle of their faces changed, -although it was more than suspected that the witnesses were never near -the mission at the time of the massacre. The trial was over, and, of -course, the Indians were condemned to be hanged. Without a murmur or -sigh of regret, and with a dignity that would have impressed a Zulu with -profound pity, these men walked to the gallows and were hung, while a -crowd of civilized Americans—men, women, and children of the nineteenth -century—looked on and laughed at their last convulsive twitches. - -"We have read of heroes of all times, but never did we read of or -believe that such heroism as these Indians exhibited could exist. They -knew that to be accused was to be condemned, and they would be executed -in the civilized town of Oregon City just as surely as would a poor -woman accused of being a witch have been executed in the civilized and -Christian town of Salem, in the good State of Massachusetts, two hundred -years ago. - -"A generation has passed away since the execution or murder of these -Indians at Oregon City. Governor Lane still lives, not as ex-President, -but as a poor but vigorous old man down in the Rogue River Valley. The -little nasty town of Oregon City was the scene of a self-immolation as -great as any of which we read in history, and there were not three -persons there who appreciated it. The accursed town is, we hear, still -nastier than ever, and the intelligent jury—no man of whom dared to have -a word of pity or admiration for those poor Indians—with the spectators -of that horrid scene, are either dead and damned, or they are sunk in -the oblivion that is the fate of those who are born without souls." - - - - - XIV. - - AN ACCOUNT - - - OF THE NUMBERS, LOCATION, AND SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL - CONDITION OF EACH IMPORTANT TRIBE AND BAND OF INDIANS - WITHIN THE UNITED STATES, WITH THE EXCEPTION - OF THOSE DESCRIBED IN THE PREVIOUS PAGES. - -[From the Report of Francis A. Walker, United States Commissioner of -Indian Affairs for the year 1872.] - - -The Indians within the limits of the United States, exclusive of those -in Alaska, number, approximately, 300,000. - -They may be divided, according to their geographical location or range, -into five grand divisions, as follows: in Minnesota, and States east of -the Mississippi River, about 32,500; in Nebraska, Kansas, and the Indian -Territory, 70,650; in the Territories of Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, and -Idaho, 65,000; in Nevada, and the Territories of Colorado, New Mexico, -Utah, and Arizona, 84,000; and on the Pacific slope, 48,000. *** As -regards their means of support and methods of subsistence, they may be -divided as follows: those who support themselves upon their own -reservations, receiving nothing from the Government except interest on -their own moneys, or annuities granted them in consideration of the -cession of their lands to the United States, number about 130,000; those -who are entirely subsisted by the Government, about 31,000; those in -part subsisted, 84,000,—together, about 115,000; those who subsist by -hunting and fishing, upon roots, nuts, berries, etc., or by begging and -stealing, about 55,000. - -TRIBES EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. - -NEW YORK. - -The Indians of New York, remnants of the once powerful "Six Nations," -number 5070. They occupy six reservations in the State, containing in -the aggregate 68,668 acres. Two of these reservations, viz., the -Alleghany and Cattaraugus, belonged originally to the Colony of -Massachusetts; but, by sale and assignment, passed into the hands of a -company, the Indians holding a perpetual right of occupancy, and the -company referred to, or the individual members thereof, owning the -ultimate fee. The same state of facts formerly existed in regard to the -Tonawanda reserve; but the Indians who occupy it have purchased the -ultimate fee of a portion of the reserve, which is now held in trust for -them by the Secretary of the Interior. The State of New York exercises -sovereignty over these reservations. The reservations occupied by the -Oneidas, Onondagas, and Tuscaroras have been provided for by treaty -stipulations between the Indians and the State of New York. All six -reserves are held and occupied by the Indians in common. While the -Indian tribes of the continent, with few exceptions, have been steadily -decreasing in numbers, those of New York have of late more than held -their own, as is shown by an increase of 100 in the present reports over -the reported number in 1871, and of 1300 over the number embraced in the -United States census of 1860. On the New York reservations are -twenty-eight schools; the attendance during some portions of the past -year exceeding 1100; the daily average attendance being 608. Of the -teachers employed, fifteen are Indians, as fully competent for this -position as their white associates. An indication of what is to be -accomplished in the future, in an educational point of view, is found in -the successful effort, made in August last, to establish a teacher's -institute on the Cattaraugus Reservation for the education of teachers -specially for Indian schools. Thirty-eight applicants attended, and -twenty-six are now under training. The statistics of individual wealth -and of the aggregate product of agricultural and other industry are, in -general, favorable; and a considerable increase in these regards is -observed from year to year. Twenty thousand acres are under cultivation; -the cereal crops are good; while noticeable success has been achieved in -the raising of fruit. - -MICHIGAN. - -The bands or tribes residing in Michigan are the Chippewas of Saginaw, -Swan Creek, and Black River; the Ottawas and Chippewas; the -Pottawattomies of Huron; and the L'Anse band of Chippewas. - -_The Chippewas_ of Saginaw, Swan Creek, and Black River, numbering 1630, -and the Ottawas and Chippewas, 6039, are indigenous to the country. They -are well advanced in civilization; have, with few exceptions, been -allotted lands under treaty provisions, for which they have received -patents; and are now entitled to all the privileges and benefits of -citizens of the United States. Those to whom no allotments have been -made can secure homesteads under the provisions of the Act of June 10th, -1872. All treaty stipulations with these Indians have expired. They now -have no money or other annuities paid to them by the United States -Government. The three tribes first named have in all four schools, with -115 scholars; and the last, two schools, with 152 scholars. - -_The Pottawattomies_ of Huron number about fifty. - -_The L'Anse_ band of Chippewas, numbering 1195, belong with the other -bands of the Chippewas of Lake Superior. They occupy a reservation of -about 48,300 acres, situated on Lake Superior, in the extreme northern -part of the State. But few of them are engaged in agriculture, most of -them depending for their subsistence on hunting and fishing. They have -two schools, with an attendance of fifty-six scholars. - -The progress of the Indians of Michigan in civilization and industry has -been greatly hindered in the past by a feeling of uncertainty in regard -to their permanent possession and enjoyment of their homes. Since the -allotment of land, and the distribution of either patents or homestead -certificates to these Indians (the L'Anse or Lake Superior Chippewas, a -people of hunting and fishing habits, excepted), a marked improvement -has been manifested on their part in regard to breaking land and -building houses. The aggregate quantity of land cultivated by the -several tribes is 11,620 acres—corn, oats, and wheat being the chief -products. The dwellings occupied consist of 244 frame and 835 -log-houses. The aggregate population of the several tribes named -(including the confederated "Chippewas, Ottawas, and Pottawattomies," -about 250 souls, with whom the Government made a final settlement in -1866 of its treaty obligations) is, by the report of their agent for the -current year, 9117—an increase over the number reported for 1871 of 402; -due, however, perhaps as much to the return of absent Indians as to the -excess of births over deaths. In educational matters these Indians have, -of late, most unfortunately, fallen short of the results of former -years; for the reason mainly that, their treaties expiring, the -provisions previously existing for educational uses failed. - -WISCONSIN. - -The bands or tribes in Wisconsin are the Chippewas of Lake Superior, the -Menomonees, the Stockbridges, and Munsees, the Oneidas, and certain -stray bands (so-called) of Winnebagoes, Pottawattomies, and Chippewas. - -_The Chippewas_ of Lake Superior (under which head are included the -following bands: Fond du Lac, Boise Forte, Grand Portage, Red Cliff, Bad -River, Lac de Flambeau, and Lac Court D'Oreille) number about 5150. They -constitute a part of the Ojibways (anglicized in the term Chippewas), -formerly one of the most powerful and warlike nations in the north-west, -embracing many bands, and ranging over an immense territory, extending -along the shores of Lakes Huron, Michigan, and Superior to the steppes -of the Upper Mississippi. Of this great nation large numbers are still -found in Minnesota, many in Michigan, and a fragment in Kansas. - -The bands above mentioned by name are at present located on several -small reservations set apart for them by treaties of September 30th, -1854, and April 7th, 1866, in Wisconsin and Minnesota, comprising in all -about 695,290 acres. By Act of Congress of May 29th, 1872, provision was -made for the sale, with the consent of the Indians, of three of these -reservations, _viz._, the Lac de Flambeau and Lac Court D'Oreille in -Wisconsin, and the Fond du Lac in Minnesota; and for the removal of the -Indians located thereon to the Bad River Reservation, where there is -plenty of good arable land, and where they can be properly cared for, -and instructed in agriculture and mechanics. - -The greater part of these Indians at present lead a somewhat roving -life, finding their subsistence chiefly in game hunted by them, in the -rice gathered in its wild state, and in the fish afforded by waters -conveniently near. Comparatively little is done in the way of -cultivating the soil. Certain bands have of late been greatly -demoralized by contact with persons employed in the construction of the -Northern Pacific Railroad, the line of which runs near one (the Fond du -Lac) of their reservations. Portions of this people, however, especially -those situated at the Bad River Reservation, have begun to evince an -earnest desire for self-improvement. Many live in houses of rude -construction, and raise small crops of grain and vegetables; others -labor among the whites; and a number find employment in cutting rails, -fence-posts, and saw-logs for the Government. In regard to the efforts -made to instruct the children in letters, it may be said that, without -being altogether fruitless, the results have been thus far meagre and -somewhat discouraging. The majority of the parents profess to wish to -have their children educated, and ask for schools; but when the means -are provided and the work undertaken, the difficulties in the way of -success to any considerable extent appear in the undisciplined character -of the scholars, which has to be overcome by the teacher without -parental co-operation, and in the great irregularity of attendance at -school, especially on the part of those who are obliged to accompany -their parents to the rice-fields, the sugar-camps, or the -fishing-grounds. - -_The Menomonees_ number 1362, and are located on a reservation of -230,400 acres in the north-eastern part of Wisconsin. They formerly -owned most of the eastern portion of the State, and, by treaty entered -into with the Government on the 18th of October, 1848, ceded the same -for a home in Minnesota upon lands that had been obtained by the United -States from the Chippewas; but, becoming dissatisfied with the -arrangement, as not having accorded them what they claimed to be -rightfully due, subsequently protested, and manifested great -unwillingness to remove. In view of this condition of affairs, they -were, by the President, permitted to remain in Wisconsin, and -temporarily located upon the lands they now occupy, which were secured -to them by a subsequent treaty made with the tribe on the 12th of May, -1854. This reservation is well watered by lakes and streams, the latter -affording excellent power and facilities for moving logs and lumber to -market; the most of their country abounding with valuable pine timber. A -considerable portion of the Menomonees have made real and substantial -advancement in civilization; numbers of them are engaged in agriculture; -others find remunerative employment in the lumbering camp established -upon their reservation, under the management of the Government Agent, -while a few still return at times to their old pursuits of hunting and -fishing. - -Under the plan adopted by the Department in 1871, in regard to cutting -and selling the pine timber belonging to these Indians, 2,000,000 feet -have been cut and driven, realizing $23,731, of which individual Indians -received for their labor over $3000, the treasury of the tribe deriving -a net profit of five dollars per thousand feet. The agent estimates -that, for labor done by the Indians upon the reservation, at lumbering, -and for work outside on railroads, during the past year, about $20,000 -has been earned and received, exclusive of the labor rendered in -building houses, raising crops, making sugar, gathering rice, and -hunting for peltries. The work of education upon the reservations has -been of late quite unsatisfactory, but one small school being now in -operation, with seventy scholars, the average attendance being fifty. - -_The Stockbridges and Munsees_, numbering 250, occupy a reservation of -60,800 acres adjoining the Menomonees. The Stockbridges came originally -from Massachusetts and New York. After several removals, they, with the -Munsees, finally located on their present reservation. Under the -provisions of the Act of February 6th, 1871, steps are now being taken -to dispose of all of their reservation, with the exception of eighteen -sections best adapted for agricultural purposes, which are reserved for -their future use. They have no treaty stipulations with the United -States at the present time; nor do they receive any annuities of any -kind from the Government. These tribes—indeed it may be said this tribe -(the Stockbridges), for of the Munsees there probably remain not more -than half a dozen souls—were formerly an intelligent, prosperous people, -not a whit behind the most advanced of the race, possessed of good -farms, well instructed, and industrious. Unfortunately for them, though -much to the advantage of the Government, which acquired thereby a -valuable tract of country for white settlement, they removed, in 1857, -to their present place of abode. The change has proved highly -detrimental to their interests and prospects. Their new reservation, the -greater part poor in soil and seriously affected by wet seasons and -frequent frosts, has never yielded them more than a meagre subsistence. -Many have for this reason left the tribe, and have been for years -endeavoring to obtain a livelihood among the whites, maintaining but -little intercourse with those remaining on the reservation, yet still -holding their rights in the tribal property. The result has been -bickerings and faction quarrels, prejudicial to the peace and -advancement of the community. More than one-half of the present -membership of the tribe, from both the "citizen" and the "Indian" -parties, into which it has been long divided, are reported by the agent -as having decided to avail themselves of the enrolment provisions in the -Act of Congress of February, 1871, before referred to, by which they -will finally receive their share of the tribal property, and become -citizens of the United States. Those who desire to retain their tribal -relation under the protection of the United States may, under the act -adverted to, if they so elect by their council, procure a new location -for their future home. The school interests and religious care of this -people are under the superintendence of Mr. Jeremiah Slingerland, a -Stockbridge of much repute for his intelligence, and his success in the -cause of the moral and educational improvement of his people. - -_The Oneidas_, numbering 1259, have a reservation of 60,800 acres near -Green Bay. They constitute the greater portion of the tribe of that name -(derived from Lake Oneida, where the tribe then resided), formerly one -of the "Six Nations." *** - -MINNESOTA. - -The Indians residing within the limits of Minnesota, as in the case of -those of the same name living in Wisconsin, heretofore noticed, -constitute a portion of the Ojibway or Chippewa nation, and comprise the -following bands: Mississippi, Pillager, Winnebagoshish, Pembina, Red -Lake, Boise Forte, Fond du Lac, and Grand Portage. The last three bands, -being attached to the agency for the Chippewas of Lake Superior, have -been treated of in connection with the Indians of Wisconsin. The five -first-named bands number in the aggregate about 6455 souls, and occupy, -or rather it is intended they shall ultimately occupy, ample -reservations in the central and northern portion of the State, known as -the White Earth, Leech Lake, and Red Lake reservations, containing -altogether about 4,672,000 acres—a portion of which is very valuable for -its pine timber. *** _Mississippi Bands._—These Indians reside in -different localities. Most of them are on their reservation at White -Earth; others are at Mille Lac, Gull Lake, and some at White Oak Point -reservations. Upon the first-named reservation operations have been -quite extensive in the erection of school-buildings, dwelling-houses, -shops, and mills, and in breaking ground. At one time during the past -summer there was a prospect of an abundant yield from 300 acres sown in -cereals; but, unfortunately, the grasshoppers swept away the entire -crop; and a second crop of buckwheat and turnips proved a failure. The -Indians on this reservation are well-behaved, and inclined to be -industrious. Many of them are engaged in tilling the soil, while others -are learning the mechanical arts; and they may, as a body, be said to be -making considerable progress in the pursuits of civilized life. About -one-half of the Indians at Gull Lake have been removed to White Earth: -the remainder are opposed to removal, and will, in their present -feeling, rather forfeit their annuities than change their location. The -Mille Lac Chippewas, who continue to occupy the lands ceded by them in -1863, with reservation of the right to live thereon during good -behavior, are indisposed to leave their old home for the new one -designed for them on the White Earth Reservation. Only about twenty-five -have thus far been induced to remove. Their present reservation is rich -in pine lands, the envy of lumber dealers; and there is a strong -pressure on all sides for their early removal. They should have help -from the Government, whether they remain or remove; and this could be -afforded to a sufficient extent by the sale for their benefit of the -timber upon the lands now occupied by them. Probably the Government -could provide for them in no better way. - -_The White Oak Point Chippewas_ were formerly known as Sandy Lake -Indians. They were removed in 1867 from Sandy Lake and Rabbit Lake to -White Oak Point, on the Mississippi, near the eastern part of the Leech -Lake Reservation. This location is unfavorable to their moral -improvement and material progress, from its proximity to the lumber -camps of the whites. Thus far the effort made to better their condition, -by placing them on farming land, has proved a failure. The ground broken -for them has gone back into grass, and their log-houses are in ruins, -the former occupants betaking themselves to their wonted haunts. It -would be well if these Indians could be induced to remove to the White -Earth Reservation. - -At Red Lake the Indians have had a prosperous year: good crops of corn -and potatoes have been raised, and a number of houses built. This band -would be in much better circumstances were they possessed of a greater -quantity of arable lands. That to which they are at present limited -allows but five acres, suitable for that use, to each family. It is -proposed to sell their timber, and with the proceeds clear lands, -purchase stock, and establish a manual-labor school. - -_The Pembina_ bands reside in Dakota Territory, but are here noticed in -connection with the Minnesota Indians, because of their being attached -to the same agency. They have no reservation, having ceded their lands -by treaty made in 1863, but claim title to Turtle Mountain in Dakota, on -which some of them resided at the time of the treaty, and which lies -west of the line of the cession then made. They number, the full-bloods -about 350, and the half-breeds about 100. They lead a somewhat nomadic -life, depending upon the chase for a precarious subsistence, in -connection with an annuity from the Government of the United States. - -_The Chippewas_ of Minnesota have had but few educational advantages; -but with the facilities now being afforded, and with the earnest -endeavors that are now being put forth by their agent and the teachers -employed, especially at White Earth, it is expected that their interests -in this regard will be greatly promoted. At White Earth school -operations have been quite successful; so much so, that it will require -additional accommodations to meet the demands of the Indians for the -education of their children. The only other school in operation is that -at Red Lake, under the auspices of the American Indian Mission -Association. - -INDIANA. - -There are now in Indiana about 345 Miamis, who did not go to Kansas when -the tribe moved to that section under the treaty of 1840. They are good -citizens, many being thrifty farmers, giving no trouble either to their -white neighbors or to the Government. There is also a small band called -the Eel River band of Miamis, residing in this State and in Michigan. - -NORTH CAROLINA, TENNESSEE, AND GEORGIA. - -_Cherokees._—There are residing in these States probably about 1700 -Cherokees, who elected to remain, under the provisions respecting -Cherokees averse to removal, contained in the twelfth article of the -treaty with the Cherokees of 1835. Under the Act of July 29th, 1848, a -_per capita_ transportation and subsistence fund of $53.33 was created -and set apart for their benefit, in accordance with a census-roll made -under the provisions of said act; the interest on which fund, until such -time as they shall individually remove to the Indian country, is the -only money to which those named in said roll, who are living, or the -heirs of those who have deceased, are entitled. This interest is too -small to be of any benefit; and some action should be taken by Congress, -with a view of having all business matters between these Indians and the -Government settled, by removing such of them west as now desire to go, -and paying those who decline to remove the _per capita_ fund referred -to. The Government has no agent residing with these Indians. In -accordance with their earnestly expressed desire to be brought under the -immediate charge of the Government, as its wards, Congress, by law -approved July 27th, 1868, directed that the Secretary of the Interior -should cause the Commissioner of Indian Affairs to take the same -supervisory charge of them as of other tribes of Indians; but this -practically amounts to nothing, in the absence of means to carry out the -intention of the law with any beneficial result to the Indians. The -condition of this people is represented to be deplorable. Before the -late Rebellion they were living in good circumstances, engaged, with all -the success which could be expected, in farming, and in various minor -industrial pursuits. Like all other inhabitants of this section, they -suffered much during the war, and are now, from this and other causes, -much impoverished. - -FLORIDA. - -_Seminoles._—There are a few Seminoles, supposed to number about 300, -still residing in Florida—being those, or the descendants of those, who -refused to accompany the tribe when it removed to the West many years -ago. But little is known of their condition and temper. - -NEBRASKA, KANSAS, AND THE INDIAN TERRITORY. - -The tribes residing in Nebraska, Kansas, and the Indian Territory are -divided as follows: in Nebraska, about 6485; in Kansas, 1500; in the -Indian Territory, 62,465. - -NEBRASKA. - -The Indians in Nebraska are the Santee Sioux, Winnebagoes Omahas, -Pawnees, Sacs and Foxes of the Missouri, Iowas, and the Otoes and -Missourias. *** - -_Omahas._—The Omahas, a peaceable and inoffensive people, numbering 969, -a decrease since 1871 of fifteen, are native to the country now occupied -by them, and occupy a reservation of 345,600 acres adjoining the -Winnebagoes. They have lands allotted to them in severalty, and have -made considerable advancement in agriculture and civilization, though -they still follow the chase to some extent. Under the provisions of the -Act of June 10th, 1872, steps are being taken to sell 50,000 acres of -the western part of their reservation. The proceeds of the sale of these -lands will enable them to improve and stock their farms, build houses, -etc., and, with proper care and industry, to become in a few years -entirely self-sustaining. A few cottages are to be found upon this -reservation. There are at present three schools in operation on this -reservation, with an attendance of 120 scholars. - -_Pawnees._—The Pawnees, a warlike people, number 2447, an increase for -the past year of eighty-three. They are located on a reservation of -288,000 acres, in the central part of the State. They are native to the -country now occupied by them, and have for years been loyal to the -Government, having frequently furnished scouts for the army in -operations against hostile tribes or marauding bands. Their location, so -near the frontier, and almost in constant contact with the Indians of -the plains, with whom they have been always more or less at war, has -tended to retard their advancement in the arts of civilization. They -are, however, gradually becoming more habituated to the customs of the -whites, are giving some attention to agriculture, and, with the -disappearance of the buffalo from their section of the country, will -doubtless settle down to farming and to the practice of mechanical arts -in earnest. The Act of June 10th, 1872, heretofore referred to, provides -also for the sale of 50,000 acres belonging to the Pawnees, the same to -be taken from that part of their reservation lying south of Loup Fork. -These lands are now being surveyed; and it is believed that, with the -proceeds of this sale, such improvements, in the way of building houses -and opening and stocking farms, can be made for the Pawnees as will at -an early day induce them to give their entire time and attention to -industrial pursuits. There are two schools in operation on the -reservation—one a manual-labor boarding-school, the other a day-school, -with an attendance at both of 118 scholars. Provision was also made by -Congress, at its last session, for the erection of two additional -school-houses for the use of this tribe. - -_Sacs and Foxes of the Missouri._—These Indians, formerly a portion of -the same tribe with the Indians now known as the Sacs and Foxes of the -Mississippi, emigrated many years ago from Iowa, and settled near the -tribe of Iowas, hereafter to be mentioned. They number at the present -time but eighty-eight, having been steadily diminishing for years. They -have a reservation of about 16,000 acres, lying in the south-eastern -part of Nebraska and the north-eastern part of Kansas, purchased for -them from the Iowas. Most of it is excellent land; but they have never, -to any considerable extent, made use of it for tillage, being almost -hopelessly disinclined to engage in labor of any kind, and depending -principally for their subsistence, a very poor one, upon their annuity, -which is secured to them by the treaty of October 31st, 1837, and -amounts to $7870. By Act of June 10th, 1872, provision was made for the -sale of a portion or all of their reservation, the proceeds of such sale -to be expended for their immediate use, or for their removal to the -Indian Territory or elsewhere. They have consented to the sale of their -entire reservation; and, so soon as funds shall have been received from -that source, steps will be taken to have them removed to the Indian -Territory south of Kansas. - -_Iowas._—These Indians, numbering at present 225, emigrated years ago -from Iowa and North-western Missouri, and now have a reservation -adjoining the Sacs and Foxes of the Missouri, containing about 16,000 -acres. They belong to a much better class of Indians than their -neighbors the Sacs and Foxes, being temperate, frugal, industrious, and -interested in the education of their children. They were thoroughly -loyal during the late rebellion, and furnished a number of soldiers to -the Union army. Many of them are good farmers; and as a tribe they are -generally extending their agricultural operations, improving their -dwellings, and adding to their comforts. A large majority of the tribe -are anxious to have their reservation allotted in severalty; and, -inasmuch as they are not inclined to remove to another locality, it -would seem desirable that their wishes in this respect should be -complied with. One school is in operation on the reservation, with an -attendance of sixty-eight scholars, besides an industrial home for -orphans, supported by the Indians themselves. - -_Otoes and Missourias._—These Indians, numbering 464, an increase of -fourteen over last year, were removed from Iowa and Missouri to their -present beautiful and fertile reservation, comprising 160,000 acres, and -situated in the southern part of Nebraska. Until quite recently they -have evinced but little disposition to labor for a support, or in any -way to better their miserable condition; yet cut off from their wonted -source of subsistence, the buffalo, by their fear of the wild tribes -which have taken possession of their old hunting-grounds, they have -gradually been more and more forced to work for a living. Within the -last three years many of them have opened farms and built themselves -houses. A school has also been established, having an attendance of -ninety-five scholars. - -KANSAS. - -The Indians still remaining in Kansas are the Kickapoos, Pottawattomies -(Prairie band), Chippewas and Munsees, Miamis, and the Kansas or Kaws. - -_Kickapoos._—The Kickapoos emigrated from Illinois, and are now located, -to the number of 290, on a reservation of 19,200 acres, in the -north-eastern part of the State. During the late war a party of about -one hundred, dissatisfied with the treaty made with the tribe in 1863, -went to Mexico, upon representations made to them by certain of their -kinsmen living in that republic that they would be welcomed and -protected by the Mexican Government; but, finding themselves deceived, -attempted to return to the United States. Only a few, however, succeeded -in reaching the Kickapoo Agency. The Kickapoos now remaining in Mexico -separated from the tribe more than twenty years ago, and settled among -the southern Indians in the Indian Territory, on or near the Washita -River, whence they went to Mexico where they still live, notwithstanding -the efforts of the Government of late to arrange with Mexico for their -removal to the Indian Territory, and location upon some suitable -reservation. Their raids across the border have been a sore affliction -to the people of Texas; and it is important that the first promising -occasion should be taken to secure their return to the United States, -and their establishment where they may be carefully watched, and -restrained from their depredatory habits, or summarily punished if they -persist in them. The Kickapoos remaining in Kansas are peaceable and -industrious, continuing to make commendable progress in the cultivation -of their farms, and showing much interest in the education of their -children. Under the provisions of the treaty of June 28th, 1862, a few -of these Indians have received lands in severalty, for which patents -have been issued, and are now citizens of the United States. Two schools -are in operation among these Indians, with a daily average attendance of -thirty-nine scholars. - -_Pottawattomies._—The Prairie band is all of this tribe remaining in -Kansas, the rest having become citizens and removed, or most of them, to -the Indian Territory. The tribe, excepting those in Wisconsin heretofore -noticed, formerly resided in Michigan and Indiana, and removed to Kansas -under the provisions of the treaty of 1846. The Prairie band numbers, as -nearly as ascertained, about 400, and is located on a reserve of 77,357 -acres, fourteen miles north of Topeka. Notwithstanding many efforts to -educate and civilize these Indians, most of them still cling tenaciously -to the habits and customs of their fathers. Some, however, have recently -turned their attention to agricultural pursuits, and are now raising -stock, and most of the varieties of grain produced by their white -neighbors. They are also showing more interest in education than -formerly—one school being in operation on the reservation, with an -attendance of eighty-four scholars. - -_Chippewas and Munsees._—Certain of the Chippewas of Saginaw, Swan -Creek, and Black River, removed from Michigan under the treaty of 1836; -and certain Munsees, or Christian Indians, from Wisconsin under the -treaty of 1839. These were united by the terms of the treaty concluded -with them July 16th, 1859. The united bands now number only fifty-six. -They own 4760 acres of land in Franklin County, about forty miles south -of the town of Lawrence, holding the same in severalty, are considerably -advanced in the arts of life, and earn a decent living, principally by -agriculture. They have one school in operation, with an attendance of -sixteen scholars. These Indians at present have no treaty with the -United States; nor do they receive any assistance from the Government. - -_Miamis._—The Miamis of Kansas formerly resided in Indiana, forming one -tribe with the Miamis still remaining in that State, but removed in 1846 -to their present location, under the provisions of the treaty of 1840. - -Owing to the secession of a considerable number who have allied -themselves with the Peorias in the Indian Territory, and also to the -ravages of disease consequent on vicious indulgences, especially in the -use of intoxicating drinks, this band, which on its removal from Indiana -embraced about five hundred, at present numbers but ninety-five. These -have a reservation of 10,240 acres in Linn and Miami Counties, in the -south-eastern part of Kansas, the larger part of which is held in -severalty by them. - -The Superintendent of Indian Affairs, in immediate charge, in his report -for this year says the Miamis remaining in Kansas are greatly -demoralized, their school has been abandoned, and their youth left -destitute of educational advantages. Considerable trouble has been for -years caused by white settlers locating aggressively on lands belonging -to these Indians, no effort for their extrusion having been thus far -successful. - -_Kansas or Kaws._—These Indians are native to the country they occupy. -They number at present 593; in 1860 they numbered 803. Although they -have a reservation of 80,640 acres of good land in the eastern part of -the State, they are poor and improvident, and have in late years -suffered much for want of the actual necessaries of life. They never -were much disposed to labor, depending upon the chase for a living, in -connection with the annuities due from the Government. They have been -growing steadily poorer; and even now, in their straitened -circumstances, and under the pressure of want, they show but little -inclination to engage in agricultural pursuits, all attempts to induce -them to work having measurably proved failures. Until quite recently -they could not even be prevailed upon to have their children educated. -One school is now in operation, with an attendance of about forty-five -scholars. By the Act of May 8th, 1872, provision was made for the sale -of all the lands owned by these Indians in Kansas, and for their removal -to the Indian Territory. Provision was also made, by the Act of June -5th, 1872, for their settlement within the limits of a tract of land -therein provided to be set apart for the Osages. Their lands in Kansas -are now being appraised by commissioners appointed for the purpose, -preparatory to their sale. - -INDIAN TERRITORY. - -The Indians at present located in the Indian Territory—an extensive -district, bounded north by Kansas, east by Missouri and Arkansas, south -by Texas, and west by the one hundredth meridian, designated by the -commissioners appointed under Act of Congress, July 20th, 1867, to -establish peace with certain hostile tribes, as one of two great -Territories (the other being, in the main, the present Territory of -Dakota, west of the Missouri) upon which might be concentrated the great -body of all the Indians east of the Rocky Mountains—are the Cherokees, -Choctaws, Chickasaws, Creeks, Seminoles, Senecas, Shawnees, Quapaws, -Ottawas of Blanchard's Fork and Roche de Bœuf, Peorias, and confederated -Kaskaskias, Weas and Piankeshaws, Wyandottes, Pottawattomies, Sacs and -Foxes of the Mississippi, Osages, Kiowas, Comanches, the Arapahoes and -Cheyennes of the south, the Wichitas and other affiliated bands, and a -small band of Apaches long confederated with the Kiowas and Comanches. -*** - -_Choctaws and Chickasaws._—These tribes are for certain national -purposes confederated. The Choctaws, numbering 16,000—an increase of -1000 on the enumeration for 1871—have a reservation of 6,688,000 acres -in the south-eastern part of the Territory; and the Chickasaws, -numbering 6000, own a tract containing 4,377,600 acres adjoining the -Choctaws on the west. These tribes originally inhabited the section of -country now embraced within the State of Mississippi, and were removed -to their present location in accordance with the terms of the treaties -concluded with them, respectively, in 1820 and 1832. The remarks made -respecting the language, laws, educational advantages, industrial -pursuits, and advancement in the arts and customs of civilized life of -the Cherokees will apply in the main to the Choctaws and Chickasaws. The -Choctaws have thirty-six schools in operation, with an attendance of 819 -scholars; the Chickasaws eleven, with 379 scholars. The Choctaws, under -the treaties of November 16th, 1805, October 18th, 1820, January 20th, -1825, and June 22d, 1855, receive permanent annuities as follows: in -money, $3000; for support of government, education, and other beneficial -purposes, $25,512 89; for support of light-horsemen, $600; and for iron -and steel, $320. They also have United States and State stocks, held in -trust for them by the Secretary of the Interior, to the amount of -$506,427 20, divided as follows: on account of "Choctaw general fund," -$454,000; of "Choctaw school fund," $52,427 20. The interest on these -funds, and the annuities, etc., are turned over to the treasurer of the -nation, and expended under the direction of the National Council in the -manner and for the objects indicated in each case. The Chickasaws, under -Act of February 25th, 1799, and treaty of April 28th, 1866, have a -permanent annuity of $3000. They also have United States and State -stocks, held in trust for them by the Secretary of the Interior, to the -amount of $1,185,947 03-2/3—$183,947 03-2/3 thereof being a "national -fund," and $2000 a fund for "incompetents." The interest on these sums, -and the item of $3000 first referred to, are paid over to the treasurer -of the nation, and disbursed by him under the direction of the National -Council, and for such objects as that body may determine. - -_Creeks._—The Creeks came originally from Alabama and Georgia. They -numbered at the latest date of enumeration 12,295, and have a -reservation of 3,215,495 acres in the eastern and central part of the -territory. They are not generally so far advanced as the Cherokees, -Choctaws, and Chickasaws, but are making rapid progress, and will -doubtless in a few years rank in all respects with their neighbors, the -three tribes just named. The Creeks, by the latest reports, have -thirty-three schools in operation; one of which is under the management -of the Methodist Mission Society, and another supported by the -Presbyterians. The number of scholars in all the schools is 760. These -Indians have, under treaties of August 7th, 1790, June 16th, 1802, -January 24th, 1826, August 7th, 1856, and June 14th, 1866, permanent -annuities and interest on moneys uninvested as follows: in money, -$68,258 40; for pay of blacksmiths and assistants, wagon-maker, -wheelwright, iron and steel, $3250; for assistance in agricultural -operations, $2000; and for education, $1000. The Secretary of the -Interior holds in trust for certain members of the tribe, known as -"orphans," United States and State bonds to the amount of $76,999 66, -the interest on which sum is paid to those of said orphans who are -alive, and to the representatives of those who have deceased. - -_Seminoles._—The Seminoles, numbering 2398, an increase of 190 over the -census of 1871, have a reservation of 200,000 acres adjoining the Creeks -on the west. This tribe formerly inhabited the section of country now -embraced in the State of Florida. Some of them removed to their present -location under the provisions of the treaties of 1832 and 1833. The -remainder of the tribe, instigated by the former chief, Osceola, -repudiated the treaties, refused to remove, and soon after commenced -depredating upon the whites. In 1835 these depredations resulted in war, -which continued seven years, with immense cost of blood and treasure. -The Indians were at last rendered powerless to do further injury, and, -after efforts repeated through several years, were finally, with the -exception of a few who fled to the everglades, removed to a reservation -in the now Indian territory. In 1866 they ceded to the United States, by -treaty, the reservation then owned by them, and purchased the tract they -at present occupy. They are not so far advanced in the arts of civilized -life as the Cherokees, Choctaws, Chickasaws, and Creeks, but are making -rapid progress in that direction, and will, it is confidently believed, -soon rank with the tribes named. They cultivate 7600 acres; upon which -they raised during the past year 300,000 bushels of corn, and 6000 -bushels of potatoes. They live in log-houses, and own large stocks of -cattle, horses, and hogs. The schools of the Seminoles number four, with -an attendance of 169 scholars. - -They receive, under treaties made with them August 7th, 1856, and March -21st, 1866, annuities, etc., as follows: interest on $500,000, amounting -to $25,000 annually, which is paid to them as annuity; interest on -$50,000, amounting to $2500 annually, for support of schools; and $1000, -the interest on $20,000, for the support of their government. - -_Senecas and Shawnees._—The Senecas, numbering 214, and the Shawnees, -numbering ninety, at the present time, removed, some thirty-five or -forty years ago, from Ohio to their present location in the -north-eastern corner of the territory. They suffered severely during the -Rebellion, being obliged to leave their homes and fly to the north, -their country being devastated by troops of both armies. Under the -provisions of the treaty of 1867, made with these and other tribes, the -Senecas, who were then confederated with the Shawnees, dissolved their -connection with that tribe, sold to the United States their half of the -reservation owned by them in common with the Shawnees, and connected -themselves with those Senecas who then owned a separate reservation. The -Shawnees now have a reservation of 24,960 acres, and the united Senecas -one of 44,000 acres. These tribes are engaged in agriculture to a -considerable extent. They are peaceable and industrious. Many are -thrifty farmers, and in comfortable circumstances. They have one school -in operation, with an attendance of thirty-six scholars, which includes -some children of the Wyandottes, which tribe has no schools. - -_Quapaws._—These Indians number at the present time about 240. They are -native to the country, and occupy a reservation of 104,000 acres in the -extreme north-east corner of the territory. They do not appear to have -advanced much within the past few years. In common with other tribes in -that section, they suffered greatly by the late war, and were rendered -very destitute. Their proximity to the border towns of Kansas, and the -facilities thereby afforded for obtaining whiskey, have tended to retard -their progress; but there has recently been manifested a strong desire -for improvement; and with the funds derived from the sale of a part of -their lands, and with the proposed opening of a school among them, -better things are hoped for in the future. - -_Ottawas._—The Ottawas of Blanchard's Fork and Roche de Bœuf number, at -the present time, 150. They were originally located in Western Ohio and -Southern Michigan, and were removed, in accordance with the terms of the -treaty concluded with them in 1831, to a reservation within the present -limits of Kansas. Under the treaty of 1867 they obtained a reservation -of 24,960 acres, lying immediately north of the western portion of the -Shawnee Reservation. They have paid considerable attention to education, -are well advanced in civilization, and many of them are industrious and -prosperous farmers. They have one school, attended by fifty-two -scholars. The relation of this small band to the Government is somewhat -anomalous, inasmuch as, agreeably to provisions contained in the -treaties of 1862 and 1867, they have become citizens of the United -States, and yet reside in the Indian country, possess a reservation -there, and maintain a purely tribal organization. They removed from -Franklin Co., Kansas, in 1870. - -_Peorias_, _etc._—The Peorias, Kaskaskias, Weas, and Piankeshaws, who -were confederated in 1854, and at that time had a total population of -259, now number 160. They occupy a reservation of 72,000 acres, -adjoining the Quapaw Reservation on the south and west. Under treaties -made with these tribes in 1832, they removed to a tract within the -present limits of Kansas, where they remained until after the treaty of -1867 was concluded with them, in which treaty provision was made whereby -they obtained their present reservation. These Indians are generally -intelligent, well advanced in civilization, and, to judge from the -statistical reports of their agent, are very successful in their -agricultural operations, raising crops ample for their own support. With -the Peorias are about forty Miamis from Kansas. They have one school in -operation, with an attendance of twenty-nine scholars. - -_Wyandottes._—The Wyandottes number at the present time 222 souls. Ten -years ago there were 435. They occupy a reservation of 20,000 acres, -lying between the Seneca and Shawnee reservations. This tribe was -located for many years in North-western Ohio, whence they removed, -pursuant to the terms of the treaty made with them in 1842, to a -reservation within the present limits of Kansas. By the treaty made with -them in 1867 their present reservation was set apart for those members -of the tribe who desired to maintain their tribal organization, instead -of becoming citizens, as provided in the treaty of 1855. They are poor, -and, having no annuities and but little force of character, are making -slight progress in industry or civilization. They have been lately -joined by members of the tribe, who, under the treaty, accepted -citizenship. These, desiring to resume their relations with their -people, have been again adopted into the tribe. - -_Pottawattomies._—These Indians, who formerly resided in Michigan and -Indiana, whence they removed to Kansas, before going down into the -Indian Territory numbered about 1600. They have, under the provisions of -the treaty of 1861 made with the tribe, then residing in Kansas, become -citizens of the United States. By the terms of said treaty they received -allotments of land, and their proportion of the tribal funds, with the -exception of their share of certain non-paying State stocks, amounting -to $67,000, held in trust by the Secretary of the Interior for the -Pottawattomies. Having disposed of their lands, they removed to the -Indian Territory, where a reservation thirty miles square, adjoining the -Seminole Reservation on the west, had been, by the treaty of 1867, -provided for such as should elect to maintain their tribal organization. -It having been decided, however, by the Department that, as they had all -become citizens, there was consequently no part of the tribe remaining -which could lay claim, under treaty stipulations, to the reservation in -the Indian Territory, legislation was had by Congress at its last -session—Act approved May 23d, 1872—by which these citizen Pottawattomies -were allowed allotments of land within the tract originally assigned for -their use as a tribe, to the extent of 160 acres to each head of family, -and to each other person twenty-one years of age, and of eighty acres to -each minor. Most if not all of them are capable of taking care of -themselves; and many of them are well-educated, intelligent, and thrifty -farmers. - -_Absentee Shawnees._—These Indians, numbering 663, separated about -thirty years ago from the main tribe, then located in Kansas, and -settled in the Indian Territory, principally within the limits of the -thirty miles square tract heretofore referred to in the remarks relative -to the Pottawattomies, where they engaged in farming, and have since -supported themselves without assistance from the Government. - -_Sacs and Foxes._—The Sacs and Foxes of the Mississippi number at the -present time 463. In 1846 they numbered 2478. They have a reservation of -483,340 acres, adjoining the Creeks on the west, and between the North -Fork of the Canadian and the Red Fork of the Arkansas Rivers. They -formerly occupied large tracts of country in Wisconsin, Iowa, and -Missouri, whence they removed, by virtue of treaty stipulations, to a -reservation within the present limits of Kansas. By the terms of the -treaties of 1859 and 1868 all their lands in Kansas were ceded to the -United States, and they were given in lieu thereof their present -reservation. These Indians, once famous for their prowess in war, have -not, for some years, made any marked improvement upon their former -condition. Still they have accomplished a little, under highly adverse -circumstances and influences, in the way of opening small farms and in -building houses, and are beginning to show some regard for their women -by relieving them of the burdens and labors heretofore required of them. -There is hope of their further improvement, although they are still but -one degree removed from the Blanket or Breech-clout Indians. They have -one school in operation, with an attendance of only about twelve -scholars. Three hundred and seventeen members of these tribes, after -their removal to Kansas, returned to Iowa, where they were permitted to -remain, and are now, under the Act of March 2d, 1867, receiving their -share of the tribal funds. They have purchased 419 acres of land in Tama -County, part of which they are cultivating. They are not much disposed -to work, however, on lands of their own, preferring to labor for the -white farmers in their vicinity, and are still much given to roving and -hunting. - -_Osages._—The Osages, numbering 3956, are native to the general section -of the country where they now live. Their reservation is bounded on the -north by the south line of Kansas, east by the ninety-sixth degree of -west longitude, and south and west by the Arkansas River, and contains -approximately 1,760,000 acres. They still follow the chase, the buffalo -being their main dependence for food. Their wealth consists in horses -(of which they own not less than 12,000) and in cattle. - -_Kiowas, Comanches, and Apaches._—These tribes, confederated under -present treaty stipulations, formerly ranged over an extensive country -lying between the Rio Grande and the Red River. As nearly as can be -ascertained, they number as follows: Kiowas, 1930; Comanches, 3180; and -Apaches, 380. They are now located upon a reservation secured to them by -treaty made in 1867, comprising 3,549,440 acres in the south-western -part of the Indian Territory, west of and adjoining the Chickasaw -country. Wild and intractable, these Indians, even the best of them, -have given small signs of improvement in the arts of life; and, -substantially, the whole dealing of the Government with them thus far -has been in the way of supplying their necessities for food and -clothing, with a view to keeping them upon their reservation, and -preventing their raiding into Texas, with the citizens of which State -they were for many years before their present establishment on terms of -mutual hatred and injury. Some individuals and bands have remained quiet -and peaceable upon their reservation, evincing a disposition to learn -the arts of life, to engage in agriculture, and to have their children -instructed in letters. To these every inducement is being held out to -take up land, and actively commence tilling it. Thus far they have under -cultivation but 100 acres, which have produced the past year a good crop -of corn and potatoes. The wealth of these tribes consists in horses and -mules, of which they own to the number, as reported by their agent, of -16,500, a great proportion of the animals notoriously having been stolen -in Texas. - -However, it may be said, in a word, of these Indians, that their -civilization must follow their submission to the Government, and that -the first necessity in respect to them is a wholesome example, which -shall inspire fear and command obedience. So long as four-fifths of -these tribes take turns at raiding into Texas, openly and boastfully -bringing back scalps and spoils to their reservation, efforts to inspire -very high ideas of social and industrial life among the communities of -which the raiders form so large a part will presumably result in -failure. - -_Arapahoes and Cheyennes of the South._—These tribes are native to the -section of country now inhabited by them. The Arapahoes number at the -present time 1500, and the Cheyennes 2000. By the treaty of 1867, made -with these Indians, a large reservation was provided for them, bounded -on the north by Kansas, on the east by the Arkansas River, and on the -south and west by the Red Fork of the Arkansas. They have, however, -persisted in a refusal to locate on this reservation; and another tract, -containing 4,011,500 acres, north of and adjoining the Kiowa and -Comanche Reservation, was set apart for them by Executive order of -August 10th, 1869. By Act of May 29th, 1872, the Secretary of the -Interior was authorized to negotiate with these Indians for the -relinquishment of their claim to the lands ceded to them by the said -treaty, and to give them in lieu thereof a "sufficient and permanent -location" upon lands ceded to the United States by the Creeks and -Seminoles in treaties made with them in 1866. Negotiations to the end -proposed were duly entered into with these tribes unitedly; but, in the -course of such negotiations, it has become the view of this office that -the tribes should no longer be associated in the occupation of a -reservation. The Arapahoes are manifesting an increasing disinclination -to follow farther the fortunes of the Cheyennes, and crave a location of -their own. Inasmuch as the conduct of the Arapahoes is uniformly good, -and their disposition to make industrial improvement very decided, it is -thought that they should now be separated from the more turbulent -Cheyennes, and given a place where they may carry out their better -intentions without interruption, and without the access of influences -tending to draw their young men away to folly and mischief. With this -view a contract, made subject to the action of Congress, was entered -into between the Commissioner of Indian Affairs and the delegation of -the Arapahoe tribe which visited Washington during the present season -(the delegation being fully empowered thereto by the tribe), by which -the Arapahoes relinquish all their interest in the reservation granted -them by the treaty of 1867, in consideration of the grant of a -reservation between the North Fork of the Canadian River and the Red -Fork of the Arkansas River, and extending from a point ten miles east of -the ninety-eighth to near the ninety-ninth meridian of west longitude. -Should this adjustment of the question, so far as the Arapahoes are -concerned, meet the approval of Congress, separate negotiations will be -entered into with the Cheyennes, with a view to obtaining their -relinquishment of the reservation of 1867, and their location on some -vacant tract within the same general section of the Indian Territory. - -A considerable number of the Arapahoes are already engaged in -agriculture, though at a disadvantage; and, when the question of their -reservation shall have been settled, it is confidently believed that -substantially the whole body of this tribe will turn their attention to -the cultivation of the soil. Two schools are conducted for their benefit -at the agency, having an attendance of thirty-five scholars. Of the -Cheyennes confederated with the Arapahoes, the reports are less -favorable as to progress made in industry, or disposition to improve -their condition. Until 1867 both these tribes, in common with the Kiowas -and Comanches, were engaged in hostilities against the white settlers in -Western Kansas; but since the treaty made with them in that year they -have, with the exception of one small band of the Cheyennes, remained -friendly, and have committed no depredations. - -_Wichitas_, _etc._—The Wichitas and other affiliated bands of Keechies, -Wacoes, Towoccaroes, Caddoes, Ionies, and Delawares, number 1250, -divided approximately as follows: Wichitas, 299; Keechies, 126; Wacoes, -140; Towoccaroes, 127; Caddoes, 392; Ionies, 85; Delawares, 81. These -Indians, fragments of once important tribes originally belonging in -Louisiana, Texas, Kansas, and the Indian Territory, were all, excepting -the Wichitas and Delawares, removed by the Government from Texas, in -1859, to the "leased district," then belonging to the Choctaws and -Chickasaws, where they have since resided, at a point on the Washita -River near old Fort Cobb. They have no treaty relations with the -Government, nor have they any defined reservation. They have always, or -at least for many years, been friendly to the whites, although in close -and constant contact with the Kiowas and Comanches. A few of them, -chiefly Caddoes and Delawares, are engaged in agriculture, and are -disposed to be industrious. Of the other Indians at this agency some -cultivate small patches in corn and vegetables, the work being done -mainly by women; but the most are content to live upon the Government. -The Caddoes rank among the best Indians of the continent, and set an -example to the other bands affiliated with them worthy of being more -generally followed than it is. In physique, and in the virtues of -chastity, temperance, and industry, they are the equals of many white -communities. - -A permanent reservation should be set aside for the Indians of this -agency; and, with proper assistance, they would doubtless in a few years -become entirely self-sustaining. But one school is in operation, with an -attendance of eighteen scholars. These Indians have no annuities; but an -annual appropriation of $50,000 has for several years been made for -their benefit. This money is expended for goods and agricultural -implements, and for assistance and instruction in farming, etc. - -DAKOTA, MONTANA, WYOMING, AND IDAHO. - -The tribes residing in Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho are divided -as follows: in Dakota, about 28,000; Montana, 30,000; Wyoming, 2000; and -Idaho, 5000. The present temporary location of the Red Cloud Agency has, -however, drawn just within the limits of Wyoming a body of Indians -varying from 8000 to 9000, who are here, and usually reckoned as -belonging to Dakota. - -DAKOTA. - -The Indians within the limits of Dakota Territory are the Sioux, the -Poncas, and the Arickarees, Gros Ventres, and Mandans. *** - -_Arickarees, Gros Ventres, and Mandans._—These tribes number 2200, and -have a reservation set apart for their occupancy by Executive order of -April 12th, 1870, comprising 8,640,000 acres, situated in the -north-western part of Dakota and the eastern part of Montana, extending -to the Yellowstone and Powder rivers. They have no treaty with the -Government, are now and have always been friendly to the whites, are -exceptionally known to the officers of the army and to frontiersmen as -"good Indians," and are engaged to some extent in agriculture. Owing to -the shortness of the agricultural season, the rigor of the climate, and -the periodical ravages of grasshoppers, their efforts in this direction, -though made with a degree of patience and perseverance not usual in the -Indian character, have met with frequent and distressing reverses; and -it has from time to time been found necessary to furnish them with more -or less subsistence to prevent starvation. They are traditional enemies -of the Sioux; and the petty warfare maintained between them and the -Sioux of the Grand River and Cheyenne River Agencies—while, like most -warfare confined to Indians alone, it causes wonderfully little loss of -life—serves to disturb the condition of these agencies, and to retard -the progress of all the parties concerned. These Indians should be moved -to the Indian Territory, south of Kansas, where the mildness of the -climate and the fertility of the soil would repay their labors, and -where, it is thought, from their willingness to labor and their docility -under the control of the Government, they would in a few years become -wholly self-supporting. The question of their removal has been submitted -to them, and they seem inclined to favor the project, but have expressed -a desire to send a delegation of their chiefs to the Indian Territory, -with a view of satisfying themselves as to the desirableness of the -location. Their wishes in this respect should be granted early next -season, that their removal and settlement may be effected during the -coming year. Notwithstanding their willingness to labor, they have shown -but little interest in education. Congress makes an appropriation of -$75,000 annually for goods and provisions, for their instruction in -agricultural and mechanical pursuits, for salaries of employés, and for -the education of their children, etc. - -MONTANA. - -The Indian tribes residing within the limits of Montana are the -Blackfeet, Bloods, and Piegans, the Gros Ventres of the Prairie, the -Assinaboines, the Yanktonais, Santee and Teton (so-called) Sioux, a -portion of the Northern Arapahoes and Cheyennes, the River Crows, the -Mountain Crows, the Flat-heads, Pend d'Oreilles and Kootenays, and a few -Shoshones, Bannocks, and Sheep-eaters, numbering in the aggregate about -32,412. They are all, or nearly all, native to the regions now occupied -by them respectively. - -The following table will exhibit the population of each of these tribes, -as nearly as the same can be ascertained: - - Blackfeet, Bloods, and Piegans 7500 - - Assinaboines 4790 - - Gros Ventres 1100 - - Santee, Yanktonais, Uncpapa, and - Cut-head Sioux, at Milk River Agency 2625 - - River Crows 1240 - - Mountain Crows 2700 - - Flat-heads 460 - - Pend d'Oreilles 1000 - - Kootenays 320 - - Shoshones, Bannocks, and Sheep-eaters 677 - - Roving Sioux, commonly called Teton - Sioux, including those gathered during - 1872 at and near Fort Peck (largely - estimated) 8000 - - -------- - - Estimated total 30,412 - -The number of Northern Cheyennes and Arapahoes roaming in Montana, who, -it is believed, have co-operated with the Sioux under Sitting Bull, in -their depredations, is not known: it is probably less than 1000. - -The Blackfeet, Bloods, and Piegans (located at the Blackfeet Agency, on -the Teton River, about seventy-five miles from Fort Benton), the Gros -Ventres, Assinaboines, the River Crows, about 1000 of the Northern -Arapahoes and Cheyennes, and the Santee and Yankton Sioux (located at -the Milk River Agency, on the Milk River, about one hundred miles from -its mouth), occupy jointly a reservation in the extreme northern part of -the Territory, set apart by treaties (not ratified) made in 1868 with -most of the tribes named, and containing about 17,408,000 acres. The -Blackfeet, Bloods, and Piegans, particularly the last-named band, have -been, until within about two years, engaged in depredating upon the -white settlers. The Indians at the Milk River Agency, with the exception -of the Sioux, are now, and have been for several years, quiet and -peaceable. The Sioux at this agency, or most of them, were engaged in -the outbreak in Minnesota in 1862. On the suppression of hostilities -they fled to the northern part of Dakota, where they continued roaming -until, in the fall of 1871, they went to their present location, with -the avowed intention of remaining there. Although they had been at war -for years with the Indians properly belonging to the Milk River Agency, -yet, by judicious management on the part of the agent of the Government -stationed there, and the influence of some of the most powerful chiefs, -the former feuds and difficulties were amicably arranged; and all -parties have remained friendly to each other during the year past. The -Indians at neither the Blackfeet nor the Milk River Agency show any -disposition to engage in farming; nor have they thus far manifested any -desire for the education of their children. They rely entirely upon the -chase and upon the bounty of the Government for their support. They, -however, quite scrupulously respect their obligation to preserve the -peace; and no considerable difficulty has of late been experienced, or -is anticipated, in keeping them in order. The Blackfeet, Bloods, and -Piegans have an annual appropriation of $50,000 made for their benefit; -the Assinaboines, $30,000; the Gros Ventres of the Prairie, $35,000; the -River Crows, $30,000. These funds are used in furnishing the respective -tribes with goods and subsistence, and generally for such other objects -as may be deemed necessary to keep the Indians quiet. - -_Mountain Crows._—These Indians have a reservation of 6,272,000 acres, -lying in the southern part of the Territory, between the Yellowstone -River and the north line of Wyoming Territory. They have always been -friendly to the whites, but are inveterate enemies of the Sioux, with -whom they have for years been at war. By the treaty of 1868—by the terms -of which their present reservation was set apart for their -occupancy—they are liberally supplied with goods, clothing, and -subsistence. But few of them are engaged in farming, the main body -relying upon their success in hunting, and upon the supplies furnished -by the Government for their support. They have one school in operation, -with an attendance, however, of only nine scholars. By the treaty of May -7th, 1868, provision is made by which they are to receive for a limited -number of years the following annuities, etc., viz.: in clothing and -goods, $22,723 (twenty-six instalments due); in beneficial objects, -$25,000 (six instalments due); in subsistence, $131,400 (one instalment -due). Blacksmiths, teachers, physician, carpenter, miller, engineer, and -farmer are also furnished for their benefit, at an expense to the -Government of $11,600. - -_Flat-heads_, _etc._—The Flat-heads, Pend d'Oreilles, and Kootenays have -a reservation of 1,433,600 acres in the Jocko Valley, situated in the -north-western part of the Territory, and secured to them by treaty of -1855. This treaty also provided for a reservation in the Bitter-root -Valley, should the President of the United States deem it advisable to -set apart another for their use. The Flat-heads have remained in the -last-named valley; but under the provisions of the Act of June 5th, -1872, steps are being taken for their removal to the Jocko Reservation. -Many of these Indians are engaged in agriculture; but, as they receive -little assistance from the Government, their progress in this direction -is slow. They have one school in operation, with an attendance of -twenty-seven scholars. - -_Shoshones_, _etc._—The Shoshones, Bannocks, and Sheep-eaters are at -present located about twenty miles above the mouth of the Lemhi Fork of -the Salmon River, near the western boundary of the Territory. They have -shown considerable interest in agriculture, and many of them are quite -successful as farmers. They have no reservation set apart for them, -either by treaty or by Executive order. They are so few in number that -it would probably be better to remove them, with their consent, to the -Fort Hall Reservation in Idaho, where their brethren are located, than -to provide them with a separate reservation. They have no schools in -operation. An annual appropriation of $25,000 is made for these Indians, -which sum is expended for their benefit in the purchase of clothing, -subsistence, agricultural implements, etc. - -WYOMING. - -The Indians in this Territory, with the exception of the Sioux and -Northern Arapahoes and Cheyennes, mentioned under the heads of Dakota -and Montana, respectively, are the eastern band of Shoshones, numbering -about 1000. The Shoshones are native to the country. Their reservation -in the Wind River Valley, containing 2,688,000 acres, was set apart for -them by treaty of 1868. - -But little advancement in civilization has been made by these Indians, -owing to their indisposition to labor for a living, and to the incessant -incursions into their country of the Sioux and the Northern Arapahoes -and Cheyennes, with which tribes they have for many years been at war. -The losses sustained from these incursions, and the dread which they -inspire, tend to make the Shoshones unsettled and unwilling to remain -continuously on the reservation. They therefore spend most of the year -in roaming and hunting, when they should be at work tilling the soil and -improving their lands. There is one school at the agency, having an -attendance of ten scholars, in charge of an Episcopal missionary as -teacher. - -IDAHO. - -The Indian tribes in Idaho are the Nez Percés, the Boisé and Bruneau -Shoshones, and Bannocks, the Cœur d'Alênes, and Spokanes, with several -other small bands, numbering in the aggregate about 5800 souls. *** - -_Shoshones and Bannocks._—These Indians, numbering 1037—the former 516 -and the latter 521—occupy a reservation in the south-eastern part of the -Territory, near Fort Hall, formerly a military post. This reservation -was set apart by treaty of 1868 and Executive order of July 30th, 1869, -and contains 1,568,000 acres. The Shoshones on this reservation have no -treaty with the Government. Both bands are generally quiet and -peaceable, and cause but little trouble; are not disposed to engage in -agriculture, and, with some assistance from the Government, depend upon -hunting and fishing for subsistence. There is no school in operation on -the reservation. - -_Cœur d'Alênes_, _etc._—The Cœur d'Alênes, Spokanes, Kootenays, and Pend -d'Oreilles, numbering about 2000, have no treaty with the United States, -but have a reservation of 256,000 acres set apart for their occupancy by -Executive order of June 14th, 1867, lying thirty or forty miles north of -the Nez Percés Reservation. They are peaceable, have no annuities, -receive no assistance from the Government, and are wholly -self-sustaining. These Indians have never been collected upon a -reservation, nor brought under the immediate supervision of an agent. So -long as their country shall remain unoccupied, and not in demand for -settlement by the whites, it will scarcely be desirable to make a change -in their location; but the construction of the Northern Pacific -Railroad, which will probably pass through or near their range, may make -it expedient to concentrate them. At present they are largely under the -influence of Catholic missionaries of the Cœur d'Alêne Mission. - -COLORADO, NEW MEXICO, UTAH, ARIZONA, AND NEVADA. - -The tribes residing in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Arizona, and Nevada -are divided as follows: in Colorado, about 3800; New Mexico, 19,000; -Utah, 10,000; Arizona, 25,000; and Nevada, 13,000. - -COLORADO. - -The Indians residing in Colorado Territory are the Tabequache band of -Utes, at the Los Pinos Agency, numbering 3000, and the Yampa, Grand -River, and Uintah bands of the White River Agency, numbering 800. They -are native to the section which they now inhabit, and have a reservation -of 14,784,000 acres in the western part of the Territory, set apart for -their occupancy by treaty made with them in 1868. The two agencies above -named are established on this reservation, the White River Agency being -in the northern part, on the river of that name, and the other in the -south-eastern part. This reservation is much larger than is necessary -for the number of Indians located within its limits; and, as valuable -gold and silver mines have been, or are alleged to have been, discovered -in the southern part of it, the discoveries being followed by the -inevitable prospecting parties and miners, Congress, by Act of April -23d, 1872, authorized the Secretary of the Interior to enter into -negotiations with the Utes for the extinguishment of their right to the -south part of it. - -A few of these Indians, who have declined to remove to and remain upon -the reservation, still roam in the eastern part of the Territory, -frequently visiting Denver and its vicinity, and causing some annoyance -to the settlers by their presence, but committing no acts of violence or -extensive depredations. The Indians of Colorado have thus far shown but -little interest in the pursuits of civilized life or in the education of -their children. A school is in operation at the Northern or White River -Agency, with an attendance of forty scholars. Steps are also being taken -to open one at the southern or Los Pinos Agency. - -NEW MEXICO. - -The tribes residing and roaming within the limits of New Mexico are the -Navajoes, the Mescalero, Gila, and Jicarilla bands of Apaches; the -Muache, Capote, and Weeminuche bands of Utes; and the Pueblos. - -_Navajoes._—The Navajoes now number 9114, an increase of 880 over last -year's enumeration. Superintendent Pope considers this increase to be -mainly due to the return, during the year, of a number who had been held -in captivity by the Mexicans. They have a reservation of 3,328,000 acres -in the north-western part of New Mexico and north-eastern part of -Arizona, set apart for them by treaty of 1868. These Indians are natives -of the section of the country where they are now located. Prior to 1864 -no less than seven treaties had been made with these tribes, which were -successively broken on their part, and that, with but one exception, -before the Senate could take action on the question of their -ratification. In 1864 the Navajoes were made captives by the military, -and taken to the Bosque Redondo Reservation, which had been set apart -for the Mescalero Apaches, where they were for a time held as prisoners -of war, and then turned over to this Department. After the treaty of -1868 had been concluded, they were removed to their present location, -where they have, as a tribe, remained quiet and peaceable, many of them -being engaged in agriculture and in raising sheep and goats. Of these -they have large flocks, numbering 130,000 head, which supply them not -only with subsistence, but also with material from which they -manufacture the celebrated, and for warmth and durability unequalled, -Navajo blanket. They also have a stock of 10,000 horses. These Indians -are industrious, attend faithfully to their crops, and even put in a -second crop when the first, as frequently happens, is destroyed by -drought or frost. One school is in operation on the reservation, with an -attendance of forty scholars. - -_Mescalero Apaches._—These Indians, numbering about 830, are at present -located—not, however, upon a defined reservation secured to them—near -Fort Stanton, in the eastern part of the Territory, and range generally -south of that point. Prior to 1864 they were located on the Bosque -Redondo Reservation, where they were quiet and peaceable until the -Navajoes were removed to that place. Being unable to live in harmony -with the newcomers, they fled from the reservation, and until quite -recently have been more or less hostile. They are now living at peace -with the whites, and conducting themselves measurably well. They have no -schools, care nothing apparently about the education of their children, -and are not to any noticeable extent engaged in farming, or in any -pursuit of an industrial character. These Indians have no treaty with -the United States; nor do they receive any annuities. They are, however, -subsisted in part by the Government, and are supplied with a limited -quantity of clothing when necessary. In addition to the Mescaleros -proper, Agent Curtis reports as being embraced in his agency other -Indians, called by him Aguas Nuevos, 440; Lipans, 350 (probably from -Texas); and Southern Apaches, 310, whose proper home is no doubt upon -the Tularosa Reservation. These Indians, the agent remarks, came from -the Comanche country to his agency at various dates during the past -year. - -_Gila (sometimes called Southern) Apaches._—This tribe is composed of -two bands, the Mimbres and Mogollons, and number about 1200. They are -warlike, and have for years been generally unfriendly to the Government. -The citizens of Southern New Mexico, having long suffered from their -depredatory acts, loudly demanded that they be removed; and to comply -with the wish of the people, as well as to prevent serious difficulties -and possibly war, it was a year or two since decided to provide the -Indians with a reservation distant from their old home, and there -establish them. With a view to that end a considerable number of them -were collected early last year at Cañada Alamosa. Subsequently, by -Executive order dated November 9th, 1871, a reservation was set apart -for them with other roving bands of Apaches in the Tularosa Valley, to -which place 450 of them are reported to have been removed during the -present year by United States troops. These Indians, although removed -against their will, were at first pleased with the change, but, after a -short experience of their new home, became dissatisfied; and no small -portion left the reservation to roam outside, disregarding the system of -passes established. They bitterly object to the location as unhealthy, -the climate being severe and the water bad. There is undoubtedly much -truth in these complaints. They ask to be taken back to Cañada Alamosa, -their own home, promising there to be peaceable and quiet. Of course -nothing can be said of them favorable to the interests of education and -labor. Such of these Indians as remain on the reservation are being fed -by the Government. They have no treaty with the United States; nor do -they receive annuities of any kind. - -_Jicarilla Apaches._—These Indians, numbering about 850, have for -several years been located with the Muache Utes, about 650 in number, at -the Cimarron Agency, upon what is called "Maxwell's Grant," in -North-eastern New Mexico. They have no treaty relations with the -Government; nor have they any reservation set apart for them. Efforts -were made some years ago to have them, with the Utes referred to, remove -to the large Ute Reservation in Colorado, but without success. The -Cimarron Agency, however, has lately been discontinued; and these -Apaches will, if it can be effected without actual conflict, be removed -to the Mescalero Agency at Fort Stanton. Four hundred Jicarilla Apaches -are also reported as being at the Tierra Amarilla Agency. - -_Muache, Weeminuche, and Capote Utes._—These bands—the Muache band, -numbering about 650, heretofore at the Cimarron Agency, and the other -two bands, numbering 870, at the Abiquiu Agency—are all parties to the -treaty made with the several bands of Utes in 1868. It has been desired -to have these Indians remove to their proper reservation in Colorado; -but all efforts to this end have thus far proved futile. The -discontinuance of the Cimarron Agency may have the effect to cause the -Muaches to remove either to that reservation or to the Abiquiu Agency, -now located at Tierra Amarilla, in the north-western part of the -territory. These three bands have generally been peaceable, and friendly -to the whites. Recently, however, some of them have shown a disposition -to be troublesome; but no serious difficulty is apprehended. None of -them appear disposed to work for a subsistence, preferring to live by -the chase and on the bounty of the Government; nor do they show any -inclination or desire to have their children educated, and taught the -habits and customs of civilized life. Declining to remove to and locate -permanently upon the reservation set apart for the Utes in Colorado, -they receive no annuities, and participate in none of the benefits -provided in the treaties of 1863 and 1868 with the several bands of Ute -Indians referred to under the head of "Colorado." - -_Pueblos._—The Pueblos, so named because they live in villages, number -7683. They have 439,664 acres of land confirmed to them by Act of -Congress of December 22d, 1858, the same consisting of approved claims -under old Spanish grants. They have no treaty with the United States, -and receive but little aid from the Government. During the past two -years efforts have been made, and are still being continued, to secure -the establishment of schools in all the villages of the Pueblos, for the -instruction of their children in the English language. Five such schools -are now being conducted for their benefit. - -The history of the Pueblos is an interesting one. They are the remains -of a once powerful people, and in habits and modes of life are still -clearly distinguished from all other aborigines of the continent. The -Spanish invaders found them living generally in towns and cities. They -are so described by Spanish historians as far back as 1540. They early -revolted, though without success, against Spanish rule; and in the -struggle many of their towns were burnt, and much loss of life and -property occasioned. It would seem, however, that, in addition to the -villagers, there were others at that time living dispersed, whose -reduction to Pueblos was determined upon and made the subject of a -decree by Charles V. of Spain, in 1546, in order chiefly, as declared, -to their being instructed in the Catholic faith. Under the Spanish -Government schools were established at the villages; the Christian -religion was introduced, and impressed upon the people, and the rights -of property thoroughly protected. By all these means a high degree of -civilization was secured, which was maintained until after the -establishment of Mexican independence; when, from want of Government -care and support, decay followed, and the Pueblos measurably -deteriorated, down to the time when the authority of the United States -was extended over that country: still they are a remarkable people, -noted for their sobriety, industry, and docility. They have few wants, -and are simple in their habits and moral in their lives. They are, -indeed, scarcely to be considered Indians, in the sense traditionally -attached to that word, and, but for their residence upon reservations -patented to these bands in confirmation of ancient Spanish grants, and -their continued tribal organization, might be regarded as a part of the -ordinary population of the country. There are now nineteen villages of -these Indians in New Mexico. Each village has a distinct and organized -government, with its governor and other officers, all of whom are -elected annually by the people, except the _cacique_, a sort of -high-priest, who holds his office during life. Though nominally -Catholics in religion, it is thought that their real beliefs are those -of their ancestors in the days of Montezuma. - -UTAH. - -The tribes residing wholly or in part within the limits of Utah are the -North-western, Western, and Goship bands of Shoshones; the Weber, Yampa, -Elk Mountain, and Uintah bands of Utes; the Timpanagos, the San Pitches, -the Pah-Vents, the Piedes, and She-be-rechers—all, with the exception of -the Shoshones, speaking the Ute language, and being native to the -country inhabited by them. - -_North-western, Western, and Goship Shoshones._—These three bands of -Shoshones, numbering together about 3000, have treaties made with the -Government in 1863. No reservations were provided to be set apart for -them by the terms of said treaties, the only provision for their benefit -being the agreement on the part of the United States to furnish them -with articles, to a limited extent and for a limited term, suitable to -their wants as hunters or herdsmen. Having no reservations, but little -can be done for their advancement. They live in North-western Utah and -North-eastern Nevada, and are generally inclined to be industrious, many -of them gaining a livelihood by working for the white settlers, while -others cultivate small tracts of land on their own account. - -The Weber Utes, numbering about 300, live in the vicinity of Salt Lake -City, and subsist by hunting, fishing, and begging. The Timpanagos, -numbering about 500, live south of Salt Lake City, and live by hunting -and fishing. The San Pitches, numbering about 300, live, with the -exception of some who have gone to the Uintah Valley Reservation, in the -country south and east of the Timpanagos, and subsist by hunting and -fishing. The Pah-Vents number about 1200, and occupy the Territory south -of the Goships, cultivate small patches of ground, but live principally -by hunting and fishing. The Yampa Utes, Piedes, Piutes, Elk Mountain -Utes, and She-be-rechers live in the eastern and southern parts of the -Territory. They number, as nearly as can be estimated, 5200; do not -cultivate the soil, but subsist by hunting and fishing, and at times by -depredating in a small way upon the white settlers. They are warlike and -migratory in their habits, carrying on a petty warfare pretty much all -the time with the southern Indians. These bands of Utes have no treaties -with the United States: they receive no annuities, and but very little -assistance from the Government. - -The Uintah Utes, numbering 800, are now residing upon a reservation of -2,039,040 acres in Uintah Valley, in the north-eastern corner of the -Territory, set apart for the occupancy of the Indians in Utah by -Executive order of October 3d, 1861, and by Act of Congress of May 5th, -1864. This reservation comprises some of the best farming land in Utah, -and is of sufficient extent to maintain all the Indians in the -Territory. Some of the Indians located here show a disposition to engage -in agriculture, though most of them still prefer the chase to labor. No -steps have yet been taken to open a school on the reservation. The -Uintah Utes have no treaty with the United States; but an appropriation -averaging about $10,000 has been annually made for their civilization -and improvement since 1863. - -ARIZONA. - -The tribes residing in the Territory of Arizona are the Pimas and -Maricopas, Papagoes, Mohaves, Moquis, and Orivas Pueblos, Yumas, -Yavapais, Hualapais, and different bands of the Apaches. All are native -to the districts occupied by them, respectively. - -_Pimas and Maricopas._—These, said to have been in former years -"Village" or "Pueblo" Indians, number 4342, and occupy a reservation of -64,000 acres, set apart for them under the Act of February 28th, 1859, -and located in the central part of the Territory, on the Gila River. -They are, and always have been, peaceful and loyal to the Government; -are considerably advanced, according to a rude form of civilization, and -being industrious, and engaged quite successfully, whenever the -conditions of soil and climate are favorable, in farming operations, are -nearly self-sustaining. The relations of these bands with the -neighboring whites are, however, very unfavorable to their interests; -and the condition of affairs is fast growing worse. The difficulty -arises out of the fact of the use, and probably the improvident use, by -the whites above them, of the water of the Gila River, by which they are -deprived of all means of irrigating their lands. Much dissatisfaction is -manifested on this account; and the result is, so far, that many of the -Indians have left the reservation, and gone to Salt River Valley, where -they are making a living by tilling the soil, not, however, without -getting into trouble at this point also with the settlers. - -The Pimas and Maricopas are greatly interested in the education of their -children. Two schools are in operation on the reservation, with an -attendance of 105 scholars. These tribes have no treaty with the United -States, and receive but little assistance from the Government. - -_Papagoes._—These Indians, numbering about 5000, are of the same class, -in some respects, as the Pueblos in New Mexico, living in villages, -cultivating the soil, and raising stock for a support. They have no -reservation set apart for their occupancy, but inhabit the south-eastern -part of the Territory. Many of them have embraced Christianity; and they -are generally well-behaved, quiet, and peaceable. They manifest a strong -desire to have their children educated; and steps to this end have been -taken by the Department. These Indians have no treaty relations with the -United States, and receive no assistance from the Government. The -expediency of assigning to the Papagoes a reservation, and concentrating -them where they can be brought within the direct care and control of the -Government, is under consideration by the Department. There seems to be -no reason to doubt that, if so established, and once supplied with -implements and stock, they would become in a short time not only -self-sustaining but prosperous. - -_Mohaves._—These Indians have a reservation of 75,000 acres, located on -the Colorado River, and set apart for them and other tribes in the -vicinity of said river, under the Act of March 3d, 1865. The Mohaves -number about 4000, of whom only 828 are on the reservation, the rest -either roaming at large or being fed at other reservations in the -Territory. An irrigating canal has been built for them at great expense; -but farming operations have not as yet proved very successful. Over 1100 -acres, however, are being cultivated by the Indians. The crops consist -of corn, melons, and pumpkins. These Indians show but little progress in -civilization. The parents objecting to the education of their children, -no schools have been put in operation on the reservation, as they could -be conducted only on a compulsory system. The Mohaves have no treaty -stipulations with the United States; but they are partly subsisted, and -are largely assisted in their farming operations, from the general -incidental fund of the Territory. - -_Yumas._—These Indians number probably 2000. They inhabit the country -near the mouth of the Colorado River, but belong to the reservation -occupied by the Mohaves. They refuse, however, to remove to the -reservation, and gain a scanty subsistence by planting, and by cutting -wood for steamers plying on the river. Many of them remain about Arizona -City, performing menial services for the whites, and gratifying their -inveterate passion for gambling. They have no treaty with the United -States, and receive but little assistance from the Government. - -_Hualapais._—These Indians, numbering about 1500, inhabit the country -near the Colorado River, north of the Mohaves, ranging a considerable -distance into the interior. They have been, and still are, more or less -hostile. Those who are quiet and peaceable are, with members of other -bands of Indians, being fed by the Government at Camps McDowell, Beal's -Spring, and Date Creek. - -_Yavapais and Apaches._—These Indians are estimated to number from 8000 -to 12,000, the lower estimate being the more reasonable. Their -ranging-grounds are in the central, northern, and eastern parts of the -Territory. Most of them have long been hostile to the Government, -committing numerous robberies and murders. Earnest efforts have been -made during the past year to settle them on reservations, three of -which, viz., Camp Apache, Camp Grant, and Camp Verde, were set apart for -their occupancy by Executive order dated November 9th, 1871. These -efforts, however, have not resulted very successfully; the Indians -occasionally coming upon the reservations in large numbers, but leaving -without permission, and, indeed, defiantly, whenever so disposed, -oftentimes renewing their depredations before their supplies of -government rations are exhausted. Many of the bands of this tribe (if it -can be called a tribe; habits, physical structure, and language all -pointing to a great diversity in origin among the several bands) are -seemingly incorrigible, and will hardly be brought to cease their -depredations and massacres except by the application of military force. - -NEVADA. - -The tribes residing in Nevada are Pah-Utes, Piutes, Washoes, Shoshones, -and Bannocks, and are native to the districts inhabited by them -respectively. - -_Pah-Utes._—These Indians, numbering about 6000, inhabit the western -part of the State. Two reservations have been set apart for them—one -known as the Walker River, the other as the Pyramid Lake Reservation, -containing each 320,000 acres. These Indians are quiet, and friendly to -the whites—are very poor, and live chiefly upon fish, game, seeds, and -nuts, with such assistance as the Government from time to time renders -them. They show considerable disposition to labor; and those on the -reservations, especially the Walker River Reservation, are cultivating -small patches of ground. The Pyramid Lake Reservation affords, in -addition, excellent fishing, and the surrounding settlements a ready -market for the catch over and above what the Indians require for their -own consumption. No schools have been established for these Indians. -They have no treaty relations with the Government, and receive no -annuities. - -_Piutes._—The Piutes, numbering probably 2500, inhabit the south-eastern -part of the State. They have no reservation set apart for them; nor have -they any treaty with the United States. They roam about at will, are -very destitute, and obtain a living principally by pilfering from the -whites, although a few of them are engaged in a small way in farming. -But very little can be done for these Indians by the Government in their -present unsettled condition. They should be brought upon one of the -reservations set apart for the Indians in Nevada, or upon the Uintah -Reservation in Utah, where they could receive suitable care and proper -instruction in the arts of civilized life. - -_Washoes._—These Indians, numbering about 500, are a poor, miserable, -and debauched people, and spend most of their time among the white -settlements, where they gain some supplies of food and clothing by -menial services. They have no reservation and no treaty, are not in -charge of any agent of the Government; and vice and disease are rapidly -carrying them away. - -_Shoshones._—The Shoshones are a portion of the North-western, Western, -and Goship bands, referred to under the head of "Utah." Those roaming or -residing in the eastern part of Nevada number about 2000. The remarks -made respecting their brethren in Utah will equally apply to them. - -_Bannocks._—The Bannocks, roaming in the north-eastern part of the -State, number, probably, 1500, and are doubtless a portion of the people -of that name ranging in Eastern Oregon and Southern Idaho. They have no -treaty with the Government, nor any reservation set apart for them, and -are not in charge of any United States agent. They should, if possible, -be located upon the Fort Hall Reservation in Idaho, where some steps -could be taken to advance them in civilization. - -THE PACIFIC SLOPE. - -The Indians on the Pacific slope are divided as follows: in Washington -Territory, about 14,000; in Oregon, 12,000; in California, 22,000. - -WASHINGTON TERRITORY. - -The tribes residing in Washington Territory are the Nisqually, Puyallup, -and other confederate tribes; the D'Wamish and other allied bands; the -Makahs, the S'Klallams, the Qui-nai-elts and Qui-leh-utes, the Yakamas, -the Chehalis, and other allied tribes, and the Colville, Spokanes, Cœur -d'Alênes, Okanagans, and others. - -_Nisqually, Puyallup, and others._—These Indians, numbering about 1200, -have three reservations, containing, as per treaty of 1854, 26,776 -acres, situated on the Nisqually and Puyallup Rivers, and on an island -in Puget Sound. Some of these Indians are engaged in farming, and raise -considerable wheat, also potatoes and other vegetables. Many are -employed by the farmers in their vicinity; while others still are idle -and shiftless, spending their time wandering from place to place. One -school is in operation on the Puyallup Reservation, with an attendance -of eleven scholars. - -_D'Wamish and others._—The D'Wamish and other allied tribes number 3600, -and have five reservations, containing in all 41,716 acres, set apart by -treaty made with them in 1855, and located at as many points on Puget -Sound. Many of these Indians, particularly those residing on the Lummi -Reservation, are industrious farmers, raising all the produce necessary -for their support, and owning a large number of cattle, horses, hogs, -etc.; while others are either employed by the neighboring white farmers -or engaged in lumbering on their own account. They are generally -Christianized, most of them members of the Catholic Church. One school, -with fifty-seven scholars, is in operation on the Tulalip Reservation, -where all the Government buildings are located. This school has had a -remarkable degree of success, as reported by the agent and by -disinterested visitors. - -_Makahs._—These Indians number 604, and have a reservation of 12,800 -acres, set apart by treaty made with them in 1855, and located at the -extreme north-west corner of the Territory. They are a bold, hardy race, -not inclined to till the soil for a support, but depending principally -upon fishing and the taking of fur-seal for their livelihood. One school -is in operation among them, with an attendance of sixteen scholars. - -_S'Klallams._—These Indians, numbering 919, have a reservation of 4000 -acres, set apart by treaty made with them in 1855, and located on what -is known as "Hood's Canal." Some of them are engaged, in a small way, in -farming; and others are employed in logging for the neighboring -saw-mills. Their condition generally is such that their advancement in -civilization must necessarily be slow. A school has been established on -the reservation, and is attended by twenty-two scholars. - -_Qui-nai-elts, Qui-leh-utes, Hohs, and Quits._—These Indians number 520, -and have a reservation of 25,600 acres, in the extreme eastern part of -the Territory, and almost wholly isolated from white settlements, set -apart under a treaty made with them July 1st, 1855. But one of the four -tribes mentioned, the Qui-nai-elts, live upon the reservation: the -others reside at different points along the coast, northward from the -reservation. These declare that they never agreed to sell their country, -and that they never knowingly signed any treaty disposing of their right -to it. The bottom land on the reservation is heavily timbered, and a -great deal of labor is required to clear it; but, when cleared, it -produces good crops. Many of the Indians, though in the main fish-eaters -(the Qui-nai-elt River furnishing them with salmon in great abundance), -are cultivating small patches, and raise sufficient vegetables for their -own use. One school is in operation on the reservation, with an -attendance of fifteen scholars. - -_Yakamas._—The Yakamas number 3000, and have a reservation in the -southern part of the Territory, containing 783,360 acres, set apart for -them by treaty of June 9th, 1855. These Indians belong to numerous -bands, confederated under the title of Yakamas. Many of them, under the -able management of their present agent, have become noticeably advanced -in civilization, and are good farmers or skilled mechanics. The -manual-labor school at the Yakama Agency has been a complete success, -and of incalculable benefit in imparting to the children a practical -knowledge of farming and of the different mechanical arts. Their -principal wealth is in horses, of which they own 12,000. The fact that -the reservation for these Indians is located east of the Cascade -Mountains, away from all contact with the whites, has doubtless tended, -in a great measure, to make this what it is—the model agency on the -Pacific slope: though to this result the energy and devotion of Agent -Wilbur have greatly contributed. Churches have been built on the -reservation, which are well attended, the services being conducted by -native preachers. There are at present two schools, with an attendance -of forty-four scholars. - -_Chehalis and others, Remnants of Tribes, and Parties to no Treaty with -the Government._—These Indians number about 600, and have a reservation -of 4322 acres in the eastern part of the territory, set apart for them -by Executive order of July 8th, 1864. A considerable portion of the land -in this reservation is excellent for agricultural purposes; and quite -extensive crops are being raised by the Indians of the Chehalis tribe. -None of the other tribes for whom the reservation was intended reside -upon it, declining to do so for the reason that they do not recognize it -as their own, and fear to prejudice their claims to other lands by so -doing. - -All these Indians have horses and cattle in abundance. They are -industrious; and, being good field-hands, those of them who do not farm -on their own account find ready employment from the surrounding farmers, -their services always commanding the highest wages. Having no treaty -relations with the Government, no direct appropriations are made for -their benefit. They, however, receive some assistance from the general -incidental fund of the Territory. The Indians herein referred to as not -living upon the reservation are of the Cowlitz, Chinook, Shoalwater Bay, -and Humboldt tribes. They profess to desire a home at the mouth of the -Humboldt and Coinoose rivers, where they originated. - -_Colville and other Tribes._—These Indians, numbering 3349, occupy the -north-eastern portion of the territory. They have no treaty relations -with the Government, and, until the present year, have had no -reservation set apart for them. They are now, however, to be -established, under an order of the President of July 2d, 1872, in the -general section of the Territory where they now are, upon a tract which -is bounded on the south and east by the Columbia River, on the west by -the Okinakane River, and on the north by British Columbia. The tribes -for whom this reservation is designed are known as Colvilles, -Okinakanes, San Poels, Lake Spokanes, Cœur d'Alênes, Calispells, and -Methows. Some of these Indians, however, have settled upon valuable -tracts of land, and have made extensive improvements, while others, to a -considerable number, have begun farming in a small way at various points -within the district from which it is proposed to remove their respective -tribes. It is doubtful whether these individuals will voluntarily remove -to the reservation referred to, which is some distance west of their -present location. It is proposed, therefore, to allow such as are -engaged in farming to remain where they are, if they so desire. Owing to -the influx of whites into the country thus claimed or occupied by these -Indians, many of them have been crowded out; and some of them have had -their own unquestionable improvements forcibly wrested from them. This -for a time during the past summer caused considerable trouble, and -serious difficulties were apprehended; but thus far peace has been -preserved by a liberal distribution among them of agricultural -implements, seeds, blankets, etc. No funds are appropriated specially -for these Indians, such supplies and presents as are given them being -furnished from the general incidental fund of the Territory. - -OREGON. - -The tribes residing in Oregon are the Umatillas, Cayuses, Walla-Wallas, -Wascoes, Molels, Chasta Scotans, Coosas, Alseas, Klamath, Modocs, and -Wal-pah-pee Snakes, besides numerous other small bands. They are all -native to the country. On account of the great number of small tribes -and bands in this State—the number of tribes and bands parties to the -same treaty being in some cases as high as ten or fifteen—these Indians -will be treated of, and the remarks concerning them will be made, under -the heads of the agencies at which they are respectively located. - -_Umatilla Agency._—The tribes located at this agency are the Umatillas, -Cayuses, and a portion of the Walla-Wallas, and number 837. They have a -reservation of 512,000 acres, situated in the north-eastern part of the -State, set apart for them by treaty of June 9th, 1855. This reservation -is very fertile, and, as usual in such cases, has attracted the cupidity -of the whites. A proposition was made last year, under the authority of -Congress, to have the Indians take land in severalty, or sell and remove -to some other reservation. The Indians, however, in the exercise of -their treaty rights, refused to accede to this proposition. These -Indians are successfully engaged in agricultural operations, are nearly -self-supporting, and may be considered, comparatively speaking, wealthy. -It is gratifying to state that the introduction of whiskey by whites -upon this reservation, and its sale to the Indians, has, during the last -year, received a decided check through the vigilance of Agent Cornoyer -in causing the arrest and trial of four citizens for a violation of the -law in this respect. All the parties charged were convicted, and are now -in prison. This is especially worthy of note, from the fact that it is -always exceedingly difficult to obtain convictions for such dealing with -Indians in any section of the country. There is one school in operation -on the reservation, with an attendance of twenty-seven scholars. - -_Warm Spring Agency._—The Indians at this agency, known as the -"Confederated Tribes and Bands of Indians in Middle Oregon," comprise -seven bands of the Walla-Walla and Wasco tribes, numbering 626. They -have a reservation of 1,024,000 acres, located in the central part of -the State, set apart for them by the treaty of June 25th, 1855. Though -there is but little really good land in this reservation, many of the -Indians, by reason of their industry, have succeeded measurably in their -farming operations, and may be considered as self-sustaining. In morals -they have greatly improved; so that polygamy, the buying and selling of -wives, gambling, and drunkenness have ceased to be common among them, as -in the past. There are some, however, who are disposed to wander off the -reservation and lead a vagabond life. But little advancement has been -made in education among these Indians. One school is in operation at the -agency, with an attendance of fifty-one scholars. - -_Grand Ronde Agency._—The Indians at this agency comprise the Molalla, -Clackama, Calapooia, Molel, Umpqua, Rogue River, and other bands, -seventeen in all, with a total population of 870. The reservation upon -which these bands are located is in the northwestern part of the State. -It contains 69,120 acres, and was set apart for their occupation by -treaty of January 22d, 1855, with the Molallas, Clackamas, etc., and by -Executive order of June 30th, 1857. Some portions of this reservation -are well adapted to grain-raising, though much of it is rough and -heavily timbered. An allotment of land in severalty has been directed to -be made, much to the gratification and encouragement of the tribes. -These Indians are inclined to industry, and show commendable zeal in -cultivating their farms, growing crops which compare favorably with -those of their white neighbors. Their customs and habits of life also -exhibit a marked improvement. One school is in operation, with an -attendance of fifty scholars. - -_Siletz Agency._—The Indians at this agency are the Chasta Scotans and -fragments of fourteen other bands, called, generally, coast-tribes, -numbering altogether about 2500. These Indians, including those at the -Alsea Sub-agency, have a reservation of 1,100,800 acres set apart for -them by treaty of August 11th, 1855; which treaty, however, has never -been ratified, although the reservation is occupied by the Indians. They -were for a long time much averse to labor for a support; but recently -they have shown more disposition to follow agriculture, although -traditionally accustomed to rely chiefly upon fish for food. Many -already have their farms well fenced and stocked, with good, comfortable -dwellings and out-houses erected thereon. There is no reason why they -should not, in time, become a thoroughly prosperous people. The failure -to make allotments of land in severalty, for which surveys were -commenced in 1871, has been a source of much uneasiness to the Indians, -and has tended to weaken their confidence in the good intentions of the -Government. One school is in operation on the reservation, with an -attendance of twenty scholars. None of the tribes or bands at this -agency have any treaty relations with the United States, unless it may -be a few members of the Rogue River band, referred to under the head of -the Grand Ronde Agency. - -_Alsea Sub-agency._—The Indians at this sub-agency are the Alseas, -Coosas, Sinselans, and a band of Umpquas, numbering in all 300, located -within the limits of the reservation referred to under the head of the -Siletz Agency. The remarks made about the Indians at the Siletz Agency -will generally apply to the Indians of this sub-agency. The Coosas, -Sinselans, and Umpquas are making considerable advancement in -agriculture, and, had they advantages of instruction, would rapidly -acquire a proficiency in the simpler mechanical branches of industry. -The Alseas are not so tractable, and exhibit but little desire for -improvement. All the assistance they receive from the Government is -supplied out of the limited amount appropriated for the general -incidental expenses of the service in Oregon. - -_Klamath Agency._—The Indians belonging to this agency are the Klamaths -and Modocs, and the Yahooskin and Wal-pah-pee bands of Snakes, numbering -altogether about 4000, of whom only 1018 are reported at the agency. -They have a reservation containing 768,000 acres, set apart for them by -the treaty of October 14th, 1864, and by Executive order of March 14th, -1871, situated in the extreme southern portion of the State. This -reservation is not well adapted to agriculture. The climate is cold and -uncertain; and the crops are consequently liable to be destroyed by -frosts. It is, however, a good grazing country. Although this -reservation is, comparatively speaking, a new one, the Indians located -upon it are making commendable progress, both in farming operations and -in lumbering. A part of the Modocs, who belong by treaty to this agency, -and who were at one time located upon the reservation, have, on account -of their troubles with the Klamaths—due principally to the overbearing -disposition of the latter—left the agency, and refuse to return to it. -They desire to locate upon a small reservation by themselves. Under the -circumstances they should be permitted to do this, or else be allowed to -select a tract on the Malheur Reservation. There is no school at present -in operation for these Indians. - -_Malheur Reservation._—This reservation, set apart by Executive order of -September 12th, 1872, is situated in the south-eastern part of the -State. Upon this it is the intention of the Department eventually to -locate all the roving and straggling bands, in Eastern and South-eastern -Oregon, which can be induced to settle there. As no funds are at the -disposal of the Department with which to make the necessary -improvements, and to provide temporary subsistence for Indians removed, -the work has not yet been fairly commenced. The Indians who should be -collected upon this reservation are now a constant source of annoyance -to the white settlers. They hang about the settlements and military -posts, begging and stealing; and, unless some prompt measures be taken -to bring them under the care and control of an agent of the Government, -serious trouble may result at any time. Congress should make the -necessary appropriation during the coming session to maintain an agent -for these Indians, to erect the agency buildings, and to provide -subsistence for such as may be collected and may remain upon the -reservation. - -_Indians not upon Reservations._—There are a number of Indians, probably -not less than 3000, "renegades," and others of roving habits, who have -no treaty relations with the Government, and are not in charge of any -agent. The tribal names of some of these are the Clatsops, Nestucals, -Tillamooks, Nehalims, Snakes, and Nez Percés. The "renegades," such in -fact, and so called, roam on the Columbia River, and are of considerable -annoyance to the agents at Warm Springs and Umatilla: others, the -Snakes, 200 in number, are upon the edge of the Grand Ronde Reservation. -These live by hunting and fishing, and profess to desire to have lands -allotted to them, and a school provided for their children. The Nez -Percés, belonging in Idaho, to the estimated number of 200, are found in -Wallowa Valley, in the eastern part of the State. They claim that they -were not parties to the treaty with the Nez Percé tribe years ago; that -the valley in which they live has always belonged to them; and they -strenuously oppose its settlement by the whites. - -CALIFORNIA. - -The tribes in California are the Ukie, Pitt River, Wylackie, Concon, -Redwood, Humboldt, Hoonsolton, Miscott, Siah, Tule, Tejon, Coahuila, -King's River, and various other bands and tribes, including the "Mission -Indians," all being native to the country. - -_Round Valley Agency._—The Indians belonging to this agency are the -Ukies, Concons, Pitt Rivers, Wylackies, and Redwoods, numbering in all -1700. The number has been increased during the past year by bringing in -1040 Indians collected in Little Lake and other valleys. A reservation -containing 31,683 acres has been set apart, per Act of April 8th, 1864, -and Executive order of March 30th, 1870, in the western and northern -part of the State, for these Indians, and for such others as may be -induced to locate thereon. The lands in the reservation are very -fertile; and the climate admits of a widely varied growth of crops. More -produce being raised than is necessary for the subsistence of the -Indians, the proceeds derived from the sale of the surplus are used in -purchasing stock and work animals, and for the further improvement of -the reservation. Several of the Indians are engaged in cultivating -gardens, while others work as many as twenty-five or thirty acres on -their own account. - -The Indians on this reservation are uniformly quiet and peaceable, -notwithstanding that they are much disturbed by the white trespassers. -Suits, by direction of the Department, were commenced against such -trespassers, but without definite results as yet; the Attorney-general -having directed the United States District-attorney to suspend -proceedings. Of this reservation the Indian Department has in actual -possession and under fence only about 4000 acres; the remainder being in -the possession of settlers, all clamorous for breaking up the -reservation and driving the Indians out. - -The Indians at this reservation have shown no especial disposition to -have their children educated; and no steps were taken to that end until -in the summer of 1871, when a school was commenced. There is now one -school in operation, with an attendance of 110 scholars. These Indians -have no treaties with the Government; and such assistance as is rendered -them in the shape of clothing, etc., is from the money appropriated for -the general incidental expenses of the Indian service in the State. - -_Hoopa Valley Agency._—The Indians belonging to this agency are the -Humboldts, Hoonsoltons, Miscotts, Siahs, and several other bands, -numbering 725. - -A reservation was set apart, per Act of April 8th, 1864, for these and -such other Indians in the northern part of the State as might be induced -to settle thereon. This reservation is situated in the north-western -part of the State, on both sides of the Trinity River, and contains -38,400 acres. As a rule, sufficient is raised on the reservation to -supply the wants of the Indians. These Indians are quiet and peaceable, -and are not disposed to labor on the reservation in common, but will -work industriously when allowed to do so on their own individual -account. One school is in operation on the reservation, with an -attendance of seventy-four scholars. Having no treaty relations with the -United States, and, consequently, no regular annuities appropriated for -their benefit, the general incidental fund of the State is used so far -as may be necessary, and so far as the amount appropriated will admit, -to furnish assistance in the shape of clothing, agricultural implements, -seeds, etc. Besides these, their agent has a general supervisory control -of certain Klamath Indians, who live adjacent to the reservation and -along the banks of the Klamath River. These formerly belonged to a -reservation bearing their name, which was, years ago, abandoned in -consequence of the total destruction by flood of agency buildings and -improvements. They now support themselves chiefly by hunting and -fishing, and by cultivating small patches in grain and vegetables. - -_Tule River Farm, or Agency._—The Indians located at this point are the -Tules and Manaches, numbering 374. These Indians are gradually -improving, are quite proficient in all kinds of farm-work, and show a -good disposition to cultivate the soil on their own account. There is -one school in operation at the Tule River Farm, with an attendance of -thirty-seven scholars. About sixty miles from the agency reside several -hundred King's River Indians, who are in a wretched and destitute -condition. They desire to be attached to the agency, and have in the -past received occasional supplies of food from it. - -_Indians not on Reservations._—In addition to the Indians located at the -three agencies named, there are probably not less than 20,000, including -the Mission Indians (so called), the Coahuilas, Owen's River, and -others, in the southern part of the State; and those on the Klamath, -Trinity, Scott, and Salmon rivers, in the northern part. The Mission -Indians, having been for the past century under the Catholic missions -established on the California coast, are tolerably well advanced in -agriculture, and compare favorably with the most highly civilized tribes -of the east. The Coahuilas, and others inhabiting the south-eastern and -eastern portions of the State, and those in the north, support -themselves by working for white settlers, or by hunting, fishing, -begging, and stealing, except, it may be, a few of the northern Indians, -who go occasionally to the reservations and the military posts in that -section for assistance in the way of food. - -There are also about 4000 Owen's River and Manache Indians east of the -Sierras, whom the settlers would gladly see removed to a reservation, -and brought under the care of an agent. The Department has under -consideration the propriety of establishing a new reservation, upon -which shall be concentrated these and numerous other Indians, in which -event the Tule River Agency could advantageously be discontinued. - - - - - XV. - - - REPORT - - ON THE CONDITION AND NEEDS OF THE MISSION INDIANS OF - CALIFORNIA, MADE BY SPECIAL AGENTS HELEN JACKSON AND - ABBOT KINNEY, TO THE COMMISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. - - - Colorado Springs, Col., July 13th, 1883. - -SIR,—In compliance with our instructions bearing dates November 28th, -1882, and January 12th, 1883, we have the honor to submit to you the -following report on the subject of the Mission Indians in Southern -California. - -The term "Mission Indians" dates back over one hundred years, to the -time of the Franciscan missions in California. It then included all -Indians who lived in the mission establishments, or were under the care -of the Franciscan Fathers. Very naturally the term has continued to be -applied to the descendants of those Indians. In the classification of -the Indian Bureau, however, it is now used in a somewhat restricted -sense, embracing only those Indians living in the three southernmost -counties of California, and known as Serranos, Cahuillas, San Luisenos, -and Dieguinos; the last two names having evidently come from the names -of the southernmost two missions, San Luis Rey and San Diego. A census -taken in 1880, of these bands, gives their number as follows: - - Serranos 381 - Cahuillas 675 - San Luisenos 1,120 - Dieguinos 731 - ------- - Total 2,907 - -This estimate probably falls considerably short of the real numbers, as -there are no doubt in hiding, so to speak, in remote and inaccessible -spots, many individuals, families, or even villages, that have never -been counted. These Indians are living for the most part in small and -isolated villages; some on reservations set apart for them by Executive -order; some on Government land not reserved, and some upon lands -included within the boundaries of confirmed Mexican grants. - -Considerable numbers of these Indians are also to be found on the -outskirts of white settlements, as at Riverside, San Bernardino, or in -the colonies in the San Gabriel Valley, where they live like gypsies in -brush huts, here to-day, gone to-morrow, eking out a miserable existence -by days' works, the wages of which are too often spent for whiskey in -the village saloons. Travellers in Southern California, who have formed -their impressions of the Mission Indians from these wretched wayside -creatures, would be greatly surprised at the sight of some of the Indian -villages in the mountain valleys, where, freer from the contaminating -influence of the white race, are industrious, peaceable communities, -cultivating ground, keeping stock, carrying on their own simple -manufactures of pottery, mats, baskets, &c., and making their living,—a -very poor living, it is true; but they are independent and -self-respecting in it, and ask nothing at the hands of the United States -Government now, except that it will protect them in the ownership of -their lands,—lands which, in many instances, have been in continuous -occupation and cultivation by their ancestors for over one hundred -years. - -From tract after tract of such lands they have been driven out, year by -year, by the white settlers of the country, until they can retreat no -farther; some of their villages being literally in the last tillable -spot on the desert's edge or in mountain fastnesses. Yet there are in -Southern California to-day many fertile valleys, which only thirty years -ago were like garden spots with these same Indians' wheat-fields, -orchards, and vineyards. Now, there is left in these valleys no trace of -the Indians' occupation, except the ruins of their adobe houses; in some -instances these houses, still standing, are occupied by the robber -whites who drove them out. The responsibility for this wrong rests, -perhaps, equally divided between the United States Government, which -permitted lands thus occupied by peaceful agricultural communities to be -put "in market," and the white men who were not restrained either by -humanity or by a sense of justice, from "filing" homestead claims on -lands which had been fenced, irrigated, tilled, and lived on by Indians -for many generations. The Government cannot justify this neglect on the -plea of ignorance. Repeatedly, in the course of the last thirty years, -both the regular agents in charge of the Mission Indians and special -agents sent out to investigate their condition have made to the Indian -Bureau full reports setting forth these facts. - -In 1873 one of these special agents, giving an account of the San -Pasquale Indians, mentioned the fact that a white man had just -pre-empted the land on which the greater part of the village was -situated. He had paid the price of the land to the register of the -district land office, and was daily expecting his patent from -Washington. "He owned," the agent says, "that it was hard to wrest from -these well-disposed and industrious creatures the homes they had built -up; but," said he, "if I had not done it, somebody else would; for all -agree that the Indian has no right to public lands." This San Pasquale -village was a regularly organized Indian pueblo, formed by about one -hundred neophytes of the San Luis Rey Mission, under and in accordance -with the provisions of the Secularization Act in 1834. The record of its -founding is preserved in the Mexican archives at San Francisco. These -Indians had herds of cattle, horses, and sheep; they raised grains, and -had orchards and vineyards. The whole valley in which this village lay -was at one time set off by Executive order as a reservation, but by the -efforts of designing men the order was speedily revoked; and no sooner -has this been done than the process of dispossessing the Indians began. -There is now, on the site of that old Indian pueblo, a white settlement -numbering 35 voters. The Indians are all gone,—some to other villages; -some living near by in cañons and nooks in the hills, from which, on the -occasional visits of the priest, they gather and hold services in the -half-ruined adobe chapel built by them in the days of their prosperity. - -This story of the San Pasquale Indians is only a fair showing of the -experiences of the Mission Indians during the past fifty years. Almost -without exception they have been submissive and peaceable through it -all, and have retreated again and again to new refuges. In a few -instances there have been slight insurrections among them, and -threatenings of retaliation; but in the main their history has been one -of almost incredible long suffering and patience under wrongs. - -In 1851 one of the San Luiseno bands, the Aqua Caliente Indians, in the -north part of San Diego County, made an attack on the house of a white -settler, and there was for a time great fear of a general uprising of -all the Indians in the country. It is probable that this was instigated -by the Mexicans, and that there was a concerted plan for driving the -Americans out of the country. The outbreak was easily quelled, however; -four of the chiefs were tried by court-martial and shot by order of -General Heintzelman, and in January of the following year a treaty was -made with the San Luiseno and Dieguino Indians, setting off for them -large tracts of land. This treaty was made by a United States -commissioner, Dr. Wozencraft, and Lieutenant Hamilton, representing the -Army, and Col. J. J. Warner, the settler whose house had been attacked. -The greater part of the lands which were by this treaty assigned to the -Indians are now within the boundaries of grants confirmed and patented -since that time; but there are many Indian villages still remaining on -them, and all Indians living on such lands are supposed to be there -solely on the tolerance and at the mercy of the owners of said ranches, -and to be liable to ejectment by law. Whether this be so or not is a -point which it would seem to be wise to test before the courts. It is -certain that in the case of all these Mission Indians the rights -involved are quite different from and superior to the mere "occupancy" -right of the wild and uncivilized Indian. - -At the time of the surrender of California to the United States these -Mission Indians had been for over seventy years the subjects, first of -the Spanish Government, secondly of the Mexican. They came under the -jurisdiction of the United States by treaty provisions,—the treaty of -Guadalupe Hidalgo, between the United States and Mexico, in 1848. At -this time they were so far civilized that they had become the chief -dependence of the Mexican and white settlers for all service indoors and -out. In the admirable report upon these Indians made to the Interior -Department in 1853, by the Hon. B. D. Wilson, of Los Angeles, are the -following statements:— - -"These same Indians had built all the houses in the country, planted all -the fields and vineyards. Under the Missions there were masons, -carpenters, plasterers, soap-makers, tanners, shoe-makers, blacksmiths, -millers, bakers, cooks, brick-makers, carters and cart-makers, weavers -and spinners, saddlers, shepherds, agriculturalists, horticulturalists, -vineros, vaqueros; in a word, they filled all the laborious occupations -known to civilized society." - -The intentions of the Mexican Government toward these Indians were wise -and humane. At this distance of time, and in face of the melancholy -facts of the Indians' subsequent history, it is painful to go over the -details of the plans devised one short half-century ago for their -benefit. In 1830 there were in the twenty-one missions in California -some 20,000 or 30,000 Indians, living comfortable and industrious lives -under the control of the Franciscan Fathers. The Spanish colonization -plan had, from the outset, contemplated the turning of these mission -establishments into pueblos as soon as the Indians should have become -sufficiently civilized to make this feasible. The Mexican Government, -carrying out the same general plan, issued in 1833 an act, called the -Secularization Act, decreeing that this change should be made. This act -provided that the Indians should have assigned to them cattle, horses, -and sheep from the mission herds; also, lands for cultivation. One -article of Governor Figueroa's regulations for the carrying out of the -Secularization Act provided that there should be given to every head of -a family, and to all above twenty-one years of age, though they had no -family, a lot of land not exceeding 400 varas square, nor less than 100. -There was also to be given to them in common, enough land for pasturing -and watering their cattle. Another article provided that one-half the -cattle of each mission school should be divided among the Indians of -that mission in a proportionable and equitable manner; also one-half of -the chattels, instruments, seeds, &c. Restrictions were to be placed on -the disposition of this property. The Indians were forbidden "to sell, -burden, or alienate under any pretext the lands given them. Neither can -they sell the cattle." The commissioners charged with the carrying out -of these provisions were ordered to "explain all the arrangements to the -Indians with suavity and patience;" to tell them that the lands and -property will be divided among them so that each one may "work, -maintain, and govern himself without dependence on any one." It was also -provided that the rancherias (villages) situated at a distance from the -missions, and containing over twenty-five families, might, if they -chose, form separate pueblos, and the distribution of lands and property -to them should take place in the same manner provided for those living -near the missions. - -These provisions were in no case faithfully carried out. The -administration of the Missions' vast estates and property was too great -a temptation for human nature, especially in a time of revolution and -misrule. The history of the thirteen years between the passing of the -Secularization Act and the conquest of California is a record of -shameful fraud and pillage, of which the Indians were the most hapless -victims. Instead of being permitted each one to work, maintain, and -govern himself without dependence on any one, as they had been promised, -their rights to their plats of land were in the majority of cases -ignored; they were forced to labor on the mission lands like slaves; in -many instances they were hired out in gangs to cruel masters. From these -cruelties and oppressions they fled by hundreds, returning to their old -wilderness homes. Those who remained in the neighborhood of the pueblos -became constantly more and more demoralized, and were subjected to every -form of outrage. By a decree of the Los Angeles aqumiento, about the -time of our taking possession of California, all Indians found without -passes, either from the alcalde of the pueblos in which they lived, or -from their "masters [significant phrase], were to be treated as -horse-thieves and enemies." At this time there were, according to Mr. -Wilson's report, whole streets in Los Angeles where every other house -was a grog-shop for Indians; and every Saturday night the town was -filled with Indians in every stage of intoxication. Those who were -helpless and insensible were carried to the jail, locked up, and on -Monday morning bound out to the highest bidders at the jail gates. "The -Indian has a quick sense of justice," says Mr. Wilson; "he can never see -why he is sold out to service for an indefinite period for intemperance, -while the white man goes unpunished for the same thing, and the very -richest and best men, to his eye, are such as tempt him to drink, and -sometimes will pay him for his labor in no other way." Even the sober -and industrious and best skilled among them could earn but little; it -having become a custom to pay an Indian only half the wages of a white -man. - -From this brief and necessarily fragmentary sketch of the position and -state of the Mission Indians under the Mexican Government, at the time -of the surrender of California to the United States, it will be seen -that our Government received by the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo a legacy -of a singularly helpless race in a singularly anomalous position. It -would have been very difficult, even at the outset, to devise -practicable methods of dealing justly with these people, and preserving -to them their rights. But with every year of our neglect the -difficulties have increased and the wrongs have been multiplied, until -now it is, humanly speaking, impossible to render to them full measure -of justice. All that is left in our power is to make them some -atonement. Fortunately for them, their numbers have greatly diminished. -Suffering, hunger, disease, and vice have cut down more than half of -their numbers in the last thirty years; but the remnant is worth saving. -Setting aside all question of their claim as a matter of atonement for -injustice done, they are deserving of help on their own merits. No one -can visit their settlements, such as Aqua Caliente, Saboba, Cahuilla -Valley, Santa Ysabel, without having a sentiment of respect and profound -sympathy for men who, friendless, poor, without protection from the law, -have still continued to work, planting, fencing, irrigating, building -houses on lands from which long experience has taught them that the -white man can drive them off any day he chooses. That drunkenness, -gambling, and other immoralities are sadly prevalent among them, cannot -be denied; but the only wonder is that so many remain honest and -virtuous under conditions which make practically null and void for them -most of the motives which keep white men honest and virtuous. - -Having thus given as brief a presentation as possible of the general -situation and nature of these Indians, we will proceed to state what, to -the best of our judgment, are the steps which ought to be taken by the -United States Government in their behalf. The descriptions of the most -important villages we visited, and the detailed accounts of -circumstances and situations on which our suggestions are based, are -given for convenience of reference in separate exhibits. - -1st. The first and most essential step, without which there is no -possibility of protecting these Indians or doing anything intelligently -for them, is the determining, resurveying, rounding out, and distinctly -marking, their reservations already existing. The only way of having -this done accurately and honestly, is to have it done by a surveyor who -is under the orders and constant supervision of an intelligent and -honest commissioner; not by an independent surveyor who runs or "floats" -reservation lines where he and his friends or interested parties choose, -instead of where the purpose of the United States Government, looking to -the Indians' interests, had intended. There have been too many surveys -of Indian reservations in Southern California of this sort. (See -Exhibits C, H, I, J, L.) All the reservations made in 1876—and that -comprises nearly all now existing—were laid off by guess, by the -surveyor in San Diego, on an imperfect county map. These sections, thus -guessed at by the surveyor, were reported by the commissioner to the -Interior Department, set aside by Executive order, and ordered to be -surveyed. When the actual survey came to be made, it was discovered that -in the majority of cases the Indian villages intended to be provided for -were outside the reservation lines, and that the greater part of the -lands set apart were wholly worthless. The plats of these reservations -are in the surveyor-general's office at San Francisco. On each of them -was marked by the surveyor an additional line in color, showing what -tracts ought to be added to take in the Indian villages and fields. So -far as we could learn, no action was taken in regard to these proposed -additions. - -The reservation lines, when thus defined, should be marked plainly and -conspicuously by monuments and stakes, leaving no room for doubt. A plat -of each reservation should then be given to the Indians living on it. It -was pathetic, in our visits to village after village, to hear the -Indians' request reiterated for this thing,—"a paper to show to the -white men where their lands were." Every fragment of writing they had -ever received, which could by any possibility bear on their title to -their lands, they had carefully preserved; old tattered orders from Army -officers thirty years back, orders from justices of the peace, &c., all -worthless of course, but brought forward with touching earnestness to -show us. In no single instance had the reservation lines ever been -pointed out to them. One band, the Sequan Indians, who had never seen -any agent, said they had been told that they were on a reservation, but -they did not know if it were true or not. They had been obliged to give -up keeping stock, because they could not find any place where the whites -would let them pasture cattle. (See Exhibit J.) - -There are some settlements of Indians on Government lands not set off as -reservations, in some instances not surveyed. These tracts should all be -surveyed, their boundaries marked, and the lands withdrawn from market -to be permanently set aside for the Indians' use. We use the term -"rounding out" in regard to these reservations chiefly on account of the -complication which results from their being in some cases within the -limit of railroad grants, and made subsequent to those grants. Some are -actually within the limits of the Southern Pacific Railroad grant; -others will be within the limits of the Texas Pacific grant, should that -be confirmed. The odd sections thus belonging to the railroads should be -secured to the Indians. There are also a few claims to lands within -reservation boundaries, which are legal on account of their having been -made before the reservations were set off. These should be extinguished. -(See Exhibit O.) - -2d. All white settlers now on reservations should be removed. For the -last four years stray settlers have been going in upon reservation -tracts. This is owing to the lack of boundary definitions and marks as -aforesaid, also to the failure of the surveys to locate the reservations -so as to take in all the ground actually occupied by Indian villages. -Thus, in many instances, the Indians' fields and settlements have been -wrested from them, and they in their turn have not known where they -could or could not go. There is not a single reservation of any size -which is free from white settlers. It would seem that agents in charge -of these Indians should have been authoritatively instructed in no case -to allow squatters to settle on lands known to be within reservation -lines, whether they were occupied by Indians or not. (See Exhibits H, I, -O.) - -The amount of land set off in Indian reservations in Southern California -appears by the record to be very large, but the proportion of it which -is really available is very small. San Diego County itself is -four-fifths desert and mountain, and it is no exaggeration to say that -the proportion of desert and mountain in the reservation is even larger -than this. By thus resurveying, rounding out, and freeing from white -settlers the present reservations, adding to them all Government lands -now actually in occupation by Indians, there will be, according to the -best of our judgment, nearly land enough for the accommodation of all -the Mission Indians except those whose settlements are on grants. - -3d. In regard to this latter class, _i.e._, those whose villages are now -within the boundaries of confirmed grants, the Government has to choose -between two courses of action,—either to remove them and make other -provision for them, or to uphold and defend their right to remain where -they are. In support of the latter course we believe a strong case could -be made out, and we have secured from one of the ablest firms in -Southern California a written legal opinion on this point. (See Exhibit -A.) It seems clear that this contest should be made by the Government -itself. It is impossible for these poverty-stricken and ignorant people -to undertake on their own account and at their own expense the legal -settlement of this matter. It would be foolish to advise it; inhuman to -expect it. A test case could be made which would settle the question for -all. (See Exhibit B.) In case the decision be favorable to the Indians -remaining, the ranch owners should then be called on to mark off the -boundaries of the Indians' lands according to the California State law -covering such cases. (See Exhibit R.) Whether the lands thus reverting -to the Indians could properly be considered as Government lands or not, -would be a question to be determined. Probably the surest way of -securing them for the Indians' permanent use would be to consider them -as such and have them defined as reservations by act of Congress. - -4th. And this brings us to our fourth recommendation, which is, that all -these Indians' reservations, those already set off by Executive order, -and all new ones made for them, whether of Government lands now in their -occupation, or of lands which may be hereafter by legal process -reclaimed for them from the grant lands on which they are now living, be -patented to the several bands occupying them; the United States to hold -the patent in trust for the period of twenty-five years; at the -expiration of that time the United States to convey the same by patent -to said Indians, as has been done for the Omaha Indians. The insecurity -of reservations made merely by Executive order is apparent, and is -already sadly illustrated in Southern California by the history of the -San Pasquale Reservation, that of Aqua Caliente, and others. The -insecurity of reservations set apart by act of Congress is only a degree -less. The moment it becomes the interest and purpose of white men in any -section of the country to have such reservation tracts restored to the -public domain, the question of its being done is only a question of -influence and time. It is sure to be done. The future of these -industrious, peaceable, agricultural communities ought not to be left a -single day longer than is necessary, dependent on such chances; chances -which are always against and never for Indians' interests in the matter -of holding lands. The best way and time of allotting these Indians' -lands to them in severalty must be left to the decision of the -Government, a provision being incorporated in their patent to provide -for such allotments from time to time as may seem desirable, and agents -and commissioners being instructed to keep the advantages of this system -constantly before the Indians' minds. Some of them are fit for it now, -and earnestly desire it, but the majority are not ready for it. The -communal system, on which those now living in villages use their lands, -satisfies them, and is apparently administered without difficulty. It is -precisely the same system as that on which the pueblo lands were -cultivated by the early Spanish settlers in Southern California. They -agree among themselves to respect each other's right of occupancy; a -man's right to a field this year depending on his having cultivated it -last year, and so on. It seems not to occur to these Indians that land -is a thing to be quarrelled over. - -In the village of Aqua Caliente, one of the most intelligent of the -young men was so anxious to show us his fields that we went with him a -little distance outside the village limits to see them. He had some -eight acres in grain, vine, and fruit trees. Pointing first in one -direction, then in another, he indicated the places where his ground -joined other men's ground. There was no line of demarcation whatever, -except it chanced to be a difference of crops. We said to him, -"Alessandro, how do you know which is your land and which is theirs?" He -seemed perplexed, and replied, "This was my mother's land. We have -always had it." "But," we persisted, "suppose one of these other men -should want more land and should take a piece of yours?" "He couldn't," -was all the reply we could get from Alessandro, and it was plain that he -was greatly puzzled by the suggestion of the possibility of neighbors -trespassing on each other's cultivated fields. - -5th. We recommend the establishment of more schools. At least two more -are immediately needed, one at the Rincon, and one at Santa Ysabel. (See -Exhibits G, L.) As the reservations are gradually cleared, defined and -assured for the Indians' occupancy, hundreds of Indians who are now -roving from place to place, without fixed homes, will undoubtedly settle -down in the villages, and more schools will be needed. It is to be -hoped, also, that some of the smaller bands will unite with the larger -ones, for the sake of the advantages of the school and other advantages -of a larger community. The isolated situation of many of the smaller -settlements is now an insuperable difficulty in the way of providing -education for all the children. These Indians are all keenly alive to -the value of education. In every village that we visited we were urged -to ask the Government to give them a school. In one they insisted upon -ranging the children all in rows, that we might see for ourselves that -there were children enough to justify the establishing of a school. - -In this connection we would suggest that if a boarding and industrial -school, similar to those at Hampton and Carlisle, could be established -in Southern California, it would be of inestimable value, and would -provide opportunities for many children who, owing to the isolation of -their homes, could not be reached in any other way. - -We would further suggest that, in our judgment, only women teachers -should be employed in these isolated Indian villages. There is a great -laxity of morals among these Indians; and in the wild regions where -their villages lie, the unwritten law of public sentiment, which in more -civilized communities does so much to keep men virtuous, hardly exists. -Therefore the post of teacher in these schools is one full of -temptations and danger to a man. (See Exhibit M.) Moreover, women have -more courage and self-denying missionary spirit, sufficient to undertake -such a life, and have an invaluable influence outside their -school-rooms. They go familiarly into the homes, and are really -educating the parents as well as the children in a way which is not -within the power of any man, however earnest and devoted he may be. - -We would also suggest that great good might be accomplished among these -Indians by some form of itinerary religious and educational labor among -them. In the list of assignments of Indian agencies to different -religious denominations, as given in the report of the Indian Bureau for -1882, the Mission Agency is assigned to the Evangelical Lutheran; but we -could not learn that this denomination had done any work among them. So -far as the Mission Indians have any religion at all they are Catholics. -In many of the villages are adobe chapels, built in the time of the -missions, where are still preserved many relics of the mission days, -such as saints' images, holy-water kettles, &c. In these chapels on the -occasions of the priest's visits the Indians gather in great numbers, -women sometimes walking two days' journey, bringing their babies on -their backs to have them baptized. There are also in several of the -villages old Indians, formerly trained at the missions, who officiate -with Catholic rites at funerals, and on Sundays repeat parts of the -Mass. As these Indians are now situated in isolated settlements so far -apart, and so remote from civilized centres, the only practicable method -of reaching them all would be by some form of itinerary labor. A fervent -religious and practical teacher, who should spend his time in going from -village to village, remaining in each a few days or weeks, as the case -might be, would sow seed which would not cease to grow during the -intervals of his absence. If he were a man of sound common-sense and -knowledge of laws of life, fitted to instruct the Indians in matters of -hygiene, cleanliness, ventilation, &c., and in a few of the simple -mechanical arts, as well as in the doctrines of religion and morality, -he would do more for the real good of these people at present than can -be accomplished by schools. - -6th. The suggestion of the value of itinerary labor among the Indians -leads to our next recommendation, which we consider of great importance, -_viz._, that it should be made the duty of any Government agent in -charge of the Mission Indians to make a round of inspection at least -twice a year, visiting each village or settlement however small. In no -other way can anything like a proper supervision of these Indians' -interests be attained. This proof of the Government's intention to keep -a sharp eye on all that might occur in relation to the Indians would -have a salutary moral effect, not only on the Indians, but on the white -settlers in their neighborhood. It would also afford the means of -dealing with comparative promptitude with the difficulties and troubles -continually arising. As it is now, it is not to be wondered at that the -Indians feel themselves unprotected and neglected, and the white -settlers feel themselves safe in trespassing on Indians' property or -persons. In some of the villages, where pre-emption claims have been -located within the last four years, no agent has ever been. It is safe -to say, that had an agent been on the ground each year, with the proper -authority to take efficient measures, much of the present suffering and -confusion would have been prevented. In the case, for instance, of the -Los Coyotes village, filed on a few months ago (see Exhibit F), there -was no reason why those lands should not have been set apart for the -Indians long ago, had their situation been understood; so in the San -Ysidro case, and others. The whole situation of an agent in regard to -the Mission Indians is totally different from that of ordinary agency on -a reservation. The duties of an Indian agent on a reservation may be -onerous, but they are in a sense simple. His Indians are all together, -within comparatively narrow limits, and, so to speak, under his hand, -and dependent largely on the Government. The Mission Indians, on the -contrary, are scattered in isolated settlements thirty, forty, a hundred -miles away from the agency headquarters, many of them in regions -difficult of access. Moreover, the Indians are in the main -self-supporting and independent. Protection or oversight worth anything -to them can only be given by a systematic method of frequent visitation. - -What is true in this respect of the agent's work is, if possible, still -truer of the physician's. If there is to be an agency physician for the -Mission Indians at all, he should be a young, strong, energetic man, who -is both able and willing to make at least four circuits a year through -the villages, and who will hold himself bound to go when called in all -cases of epidemics, serious illness, or accidents occurring among -Indians within one day's journey of the agency headquarters. Whatever -salary it is necessary to pay to secure such service as this should be -paid, or else the office of agency physician to the Mission Indians -should be abolished. Anything less than this is a farce and a fraud. - -7th. We recommend that there be secured the appointment of a lawyer, or -a law firm in Los Angeles, to act as special United States attorney in -all cases affecting the interests of these Indians. They have been so -long without any protection from the law that outrages and depredations -upon them have become the practice in all white communities near which -they live. Indians' stock is seized, corraled and held for fines, -sometimes shot, even on the Indians' own reservations or in the public -domain. In seasons of dearth roving stockmen and shepherds drive their -herds and flocks into Indians' grain-fields, destroying their -subsistence for a whole year. Lands occupied by Indians or by Indian -villages are filed on for homestead entry precisely as if they were -vacant lands. This has been more than once done without the Indians -receiving any warning until the sheriff arrived with the writ for their -ejectment. The Indians' own lives are in continual danger, it being a -safe thing to shoot an Indian at any time when only Indian witnesses are -present. (See Exhibits C, E.) It is plain that all such cases as these -should be promptly dealt with by equal means. One of the greatest -difficulties in the position of the Mission Indians' agent is, that in -all such cases he is powerless to act except through the at best slow -and hitherto unsatisfactory channel of reporting to the Interior -Department. He is in the embarrassing position of a guardian of wards -with property and property rights, for the defence of which he is unable -to call in prompt legal assistance. In instances in which the Indians -themselves have endeavored to get redress through the courts, they have -in the majority of cases—to the shame of the Southern California bar be -it spoken—been egregiously cheated. They are as helpless as children in -the hands of dishonest, unscrupulous men. We believe that the mere fact -of there being such a United States legal authority near at hand to act -for the Indians would in a short time, after a few effective -illustrations of its power, do away with the greater proportion of the -troubles demanding legal interference. - -The question of the rights of Indians living on grant lands to remain -there will, if the Department decides to test it by law, involve some -litigation, as it will no doubt be contested by the ranch owners; but -this point once settled, and the Indians secured in the ownership of -their lands, a very few years will see the end of any special need of -litigation in their behalf. We recommend in this connection and for this -office the firm of Brunson & Wells, of Los Angeles. We have obtained -from this firm a clear and admirable opinion on these Indians' right to -their present homes (see Exhibit A), and we know them to be of high -standing at the bar and to have a humane sympathy for Indians. - -8th. We recommend that there should be a judicious distribution of -agricultural implements among these Indians. No village should be -omitted. Wagons, harness, ploughs, spades, and hoes are greatly needed. -It is surprising to see what some of these villages have accomplished -with next to no implements. In the Santa Ysabel village the Indians had -three hundred acres in wheat; there were but three old broken ploughs in -the village, no harness, and no wagon. (See Exhibit G.) There is at -present much, and not unfounded, sore feeling in some of the villages -which have thus far received no help of this kind, while others of the -villages have been supplied with all that was needed. - -9th. There should always be provided for the Mission Indians' agency a -small fund for the purchase of food and clothing for the very old and -sick in times of especial destitution. The Mission Indians as a class do -not beg. They are proud-spirited, and choose to earn their living. They -will endure a great deal before they will ask for help. But in seasons -of drought or when their little crops have, for any cause, failed, there -is sometimes great distress in the villages. Last winter the Cahuillas, -in the Cahuilla Valley (see Exhibit C), were for many weeks without -sufficient food. The teacher of their school repeatedly begged them to -let her write to the agent for help, but they refused. At last one night -the captain and two of the head men came to her room and said she might -write. They could no longer subdue the hunger. She wrote the letter; the -next morning at daylight the Indians were at her door again. They had -reconsidered it, they said, and they would not beg. They would rather -starve, and they would not permit her to send the letter. - -10th. The second and third special points on which we were instructed to -report to the Department were, whether there still remains in Southern -California any Government land suitable for an Indian reservation, and -if not, in case lands must be bought for that purpose, what lands can be -most advantageously purchased. There is no Government land remaining in -Southern California in blocks of any size suitable for either white or -Indian occupancy. The reason that the isolated little settlements of -Indians are being now so infringed upon and seized, even at the desert's -edge and in stony fastnesses of mountains, is that all the good -lands—_i.e._, lands with water or upon which water can be developed—are -taken up. - -We recommend two purchases of land,—one positively, the other -contingently. The first is the Pauma Ranch, now owned by Bishop Mora, of -Los Angeles. (See Exhibit P.) This ranch, lying as it does between the -Rincon and Pala Reservations on the north and south, and adjoining the -La Jolla Reservation, affords an admirable opportunity to consolidate a -large block of land for Indian occupancy. It is now, in our opinion, a -desirable tract. While it is largely hilly and mountainous, there is -considerable good sheep and cattle pasturing on it, and a fair amount of -bottom land for cultivation along the river. The price asked for it is, -as lands are now selling in Southern California, low. If the already -existing reservations are cleared of whites, unified, and made ready for -Indian occupancy, and the Government lands now in actual occupation by -Indians be assured to them, the addition of this Pauma Ranch will be, in -our opinion, all that will be required to make comfortable provision for -all the Indians, except those living within the boundaries of confirmed -grants. - -Should the Department decide to remove all these and provide them with -new homes, we recommend the purchase of the Santa Ysabel ranch. (See -Exhibit Q.) The purchase of this ranch for an Indian reservation was -recommended to the Government some years ago, but it was rejected on -account of the excessive price asked for it. It is now offered to the -Government for $95,000. During the past ten years the value of lands in -Southern California has in many places quadrupled; in some it is worth -more than twenty times what it was then. We have no hesitation in saying -that it is not now possible to buy an equally suitable tract for any -less money. The ranch contains 17,719.40 acres; is within the rain belt -of San Diego County, is well watered, and, although it is largely -mountainous, has good pasture, some meadow land, and some oak timber. It -is, moreover, in the region to which the greater proportion of these -Indians are warmly attached and in the vicinity of which most of them -are now living. One large Indian village is on the ranch. (See Exhibit -G.) Father Ubach, the Catholic priest of San Diego, who has known these -Indians for seventeen years, says of it, "it is the only tract to which -human power can force these Indians to remove." We recommend this -purchase only as a last resort in the event of the Department's being -compelled to provide new homes for all the Indians now living within the -boundaries of confirmed grants. - -In conclusion, we would make the suggestion that there are several small -bands of Mission Indians north of the boundaries of the so-called -Mission Indians' agency, for whom it would seem to be the duty of the -Government to care as well as for those already enumerated. One of these -is the San Carlos Indians, living near the old San Carlos Mission at -Monterey. There are nearly one hundred of these, and they are living on -lands which were given to them before the Secularization Act in 1834. -These lands are close to the boundaries of the ranch San Francisquito of -Monterey. These boundaries have been three times extended, each time -taking in a few more acres of the Indians' lands, until now they have -only ten or twelve acres left. There are also some very destitute -Indians living in the neighborhood of the San Antonio Mission, some -sixty miles south of Monterey, and of San Miguel, forty miles farther -south, and of Santa Juez near Santa Barbara. These Indians should not be -overlooked in arrangements made for the final establishing of the -Mission Indians in Southern California. - -Hoping that these recommendations may be approved by the Department, we -are, - - Very respectfully yours, - - HELEN JACKSON. - ABBOT KINNEY. - -HON. H. PRICE, Commissioner of Indian Affairs - - - - - INDEX OF EXHIBITS. - - - Page - - A. Legal brief of Brunson & Wells 475 - - B. Saboba 479 - - C. Cahuilla Reservation 481 - - D. Warner's Ranch Indians 485 - - E. San Ysidros 488 - - F. Los Coyotes 490 - - G. Santa Ysabel 492 - - H. Mesa Grande 494 - - I. Capitan Grande 496 - - J. Sequan 500 - - K. The Conejos 501 - - L. Pala and neighborhood, including Rincon, - Pauma, and La Jolla 502 - - M. Pachanga 504 - - N. The Desert Indians 506 - - O. San Gorgonio Reservation 508 - - P. Pauma Ranch and the proposal for its - sale to the U. S. Government 512 - - Q. Proposition for sale of Santa Ysabel - Ranch to the U. S. Government 513 - - R. Copy of California State law for the - government and protection of Indians 513 - - -EXHIBIT A. - - Los Angeles, Cal., May 12th, 1883. - -SIR,—In response to your verbal request asking our opinion as to the -following questions, _viz._:— - -1st. Have civilized Indians and those who are engaged in agriculture or -labor of any kind, and also those who are known as Pueblos or Rancheros -Indians in California, a right to occupy and possess lands which they -and their predecessors had continuously occupied, possessed, and enjoyed -while said lands were under the jurisdiction of the Mexican Government, -up to and at the date of the ratification of the treaty Guadalupe -Hidalgo between the United States and the Mexican Republic, March, 1848, -notwithstanding that said lands so occupied and enjoyed by the Indians -aforesaid had been while they were so occupying and possessing the same, -by the proper Spanish and Mexican authorities before the ratification of -said treaty granted to certain Spanish and Mexican citizens, and since -the acquisition by the United States of the territory embracing said -lands so granted been by the United States confirmed, surveyed, and -patented to the grantees or their legal representatives? - -2d. Has the United States Government the right to condemn lands within -the State of California for the purpose of giving Indians homes thereon? - -We have the honor to submit the following as our reply and answer to the -above interrogatories. Before and at the date of the treaty of Guadalupe -Hidalgo, all the territory now known as California was a part of and -under the jurisdiction of the Mexican Republic. We do not regard it as -necessary, in order to answer the questions propounded, to give a -history of the land-laws of Spain and Mexico, nor the method of -acquiring land prior to August 18th, 1824. - -On August 18th, 1824, the Mexican Congress enacted a general -colonization law, prescribing the mode of granting lands throughout the -Mexican territory. This law was limited and defined by a series of -regulations ordained by the Mexican Government, November 21st, 1828. By -these laws and regulations, which have ever since continued in force, -the governors of Territories were authorized to grant, with certain -specified exceptions, vacant land. By the fundamental laws of 1824, the -regulations of 1824, and the regulations of the departmental legislature -consistent therewith, all Mexican grants in California have been -determined; and by this has been determined the validity of every grant -of land in California. (Lesse & Vallejo _vs._ Clark, 3 Cal. 17.) The -limitations, as well as the fundamental laws mentioned, provided that in -making grants or distribution of land (such as are now known as Mexican -grants),— - -1st. It must be vacant land, and, if occupied by Indians, then without -prejudice to them. - -2d. That such land as would be granted to the damage and injury of the -Indians should be returned to the rightful owners. - -The Mexican Government reserved from private grant all lands occupied -and possessed by the Indians. Great care was taken to make strict -reservation of such land; and by law no valid grant of land occupied or -possessed by Indians could be made so as to dispossess them. When -California was ceded to the United States, the rights of property of its -citizens remained unchanged. By the law of nations those rights were -sacred and inviolable, and the obligations passed to the new government -to protect and maintain them. The term property, as applied to lands, -embraces all titles, legal or equitable, perfect or imperfect. -(Teschemacher _vs._ Thompson, 18 Cal. 12.) The United States never had, -and does not now possess, any power under or by virtue of said treaty -whereby it could or can confer upon a citizen holding and claiming -property granted by the Mexican Government other or different property -rights than those conferred by such Government, and such as were -possessed, enjoyed, and held by him while under the jurisdiction of such -government. It cannot abridge or enlarge the right to enjoy and to -possess property held by virtue of Mexican law at the date of said -treaty, nor can it deprive persons of any right to property which -belonged to them at the date of said treaty. - -A mere grant of land by the Mexican governor without compliance by the -grantee with the further requisitions of the Mexican laws forms but an -inchoate title, and the land passed to the United States, which hold it -subject to the trust imposed by the treaty and the equities of the -grantee. _The execution of the trust is a political power._ (Lesse _vs._ -Clark, 3 Cal. 17.) - -By the fundamental laws of 1824, the regulation of 1828, and the -regulation of the departmental legislature, one condition was that in -making private grants of lands the lands granted must be vacant lands. -Lands occupied by and in possession of Indians were not such vacant -lands; for by the same laws and regulations it was provided that such -grants must be without prejudice or damage to the Indians, and that such -land granted to the damage and injury of the Indians should be returned -to the rightful owners. (New Code, law 9, title 12, book 4.) - -The Mexican authorities recognized the rights of Indians to hold, enjoy, -and possess lands, and there are of record a number of grants made by -the Mexican authorities to Indians. They not only had the right to -receive grants of land under the Mexican laws, but also to convey the -lands so granted. (United States _vs._ Sinnol, Hoffman's Reports, 110.) - -It will be observed that at the date when private grants of land were -made with some regard for law, the limitation and conditions required by -law to be observed were inserted in such grants, _viz._: L.C., No. -342-6, S. D., 398; L. C., No. 254-219, S. D., 228-407; L. C., No. -740-372, N. D., 208; L. C., No. 326-359, N. D., 389; Hoffman's Report -Land Cases, pp. 35 _et seq._; Surveyor-General's letter, dated San -Francisco, March 14, 1883, and addressed to Mrs. William S. Jackson. - -The Indians and their descendants, who occupied and now occupy lands -within the grants above named, as well as grants containing claims of a -similar character, are in our opinion possessed and seized of the lands -which were and have been and now are in their possession; and they can -hold the same against persons claiming the same by virtue of a United -States patent, issued upon a confirmed Mexican grant. This leaves to be -answered the following question: Can the Indians hold lands for which a -United States patent has issued conditioned as set out in the first -question, provided no conditions or limitations are contained or -expressed in the grant? This is a question beset and surrounded by many -difficulties; nor do we deem it necessary to do more than refer to -restrictions and limitations contained in the laws of Mexico concerning -private grants of lands upon which Indians were residing,—lands which -were occupied by them. It is certain that if such lands were granted by -a Mexican official, and the authorities omitted to recite the conditions -and limitations required by law, and reserve from the operation of such -grant such lands as the law conditioned could not be conveyed by such -grant, such a grant would and could not take it out of the operation of -the law. It could not defeat the rights of those whose rights attached -by reason of law. If the officers of the Mexican Government to whom was -confided the trust exceeded their authority as regulated by the -solemnities and formalities of the law, the courts are bound to take -notice of it, and cannot shield those claiming under such title from the -necessary consequence of ignorance, carelessness, or arbitrary -assumption of power. (Lesse & Vallejo _vs._ Clark, 3 Cal. 17.) - -It is now necessary to inquire how far and to what extent will the -issuance to the grantee of the United States patent change or modify -this rule. We shall not discuss, as we do not deem it necessary, the -decision of the United States Supreme Court, that "a United States -patent cannot be attached collaterally, but may be by a direct -proceeding," as we did not regard these decisions as in any way -affecting the question submitted and now before us. - -In 1851, March 3d, Congress passed an act entitled "An act to ascertain -and settle the private land-claims in the State of California." By said -statute it was enacted "that it shall be the duty of the commission -herein provided for to ascertain and report to the Secretary of the -Interior the tenure by which the Mission lands are held, and those held -by civilized Indians, and those who are engaged in agriculture or labor -of any _kind_, and also those which are _occupied_ and cultivated by -Pueblos or Rancheros Indians." (U. S. Statutes at Large, vol. ix. p. -634, sec. 16, Little & Brown's ed.) We have no means of ascertaining -whether such a report was made, or, if made, its contents. We have no -doubt the commission did their duty and complied with the law, and that -their report will be found on file in the Department of the Interior. -This report, if in our hands, would greatly aid us in reaching a correct -conclusion. By the same act it is further provided that the patent of -the United States issued to parties holding Mexican grants are -conclusive between the United States and the said claimants only, and -shall not affect the interest of that person. (_Ib._ p. 634.) If the -report of the commission established the fact that the Indians were -residing upon and occupying lands within the boundaries of claimed -grants, which grants have no conditions or limitation inserted therein, -that they claimed such lands by virtue of the laws of Mexico, this -evidence, with such other evidence as we understand can be furnished, is -in our opinion enough to establish under the law, as we regard it, a -right in the Indians to hold and occupy such lands against the confirmee -or patentee. If, however, no such report has been made, we are of the -opinion, if conclusive evidence can be furnished proving that these -Indians were in possession of these lands at the time these grants were -made by the Mexican authorities, that they continued in possession, and -were in possession at the date of the treaty, and have since continued -in possession, the law will entitle them to hold such land against all -persons claiming under the patent. - -We answer the second question propounded as follows:— - -By the fifth amendment to the Constitution of the United States it is -provided: *** "Nor shall private property be taken for public use -without just compensation." Would the taking of lands belonging to -citizens for the purpose of giving the same to Indians be such a public -use as is contemplated by the Constitution? We are of the opinion it -would not. (Walther _vs._ Warner, 25 Mo. 277; Board of Education _vs._ -Hockman, 48 Mo. 243; Buffalo & New York Railroad Company _vs._ Brannan, -9 N.Y. 100; Bradley _vs._ New York, &c. Railroad Company, 21 Conn. 294; -Fisher _vs._ Horicon Iron Work, &c. Company, 10 Wis. 354; New Orleans & -Railroad Company _vs._ Railroad Company, 53 Ala. 211; Conn _vs._ -Horrigan, 2 Allen, 159; Chambers _vs._ Sattuler, 40 Cal. 497; Railroad -Company _vs._ City of Stockton, 41 Cal. 149; Channel Company _vs._ -Railroad Company, 51 Cal. 269; Gilmer _vs._ Lime Point, 18 Cal. 229; -Conn _vs._ Tewksbury, 11 Metcalf, 55; Manufacturing Company _vs._ Head, -56 N.H. 386; Olmstead _vs._ Camp, 33 Conn. 532; Buckman _vs._ Saratoga -Railroad Company, 3 Paige Ch. 45; Memphis Freight Company _vs._ Memphis, -4 Cold. 419; Enfield Toll Bridge Company _vs._ Hartford Railroad -Company, 17 Conn. 42.) - - We are, very respectfully, - - BRUNSON & WELLS, Attorneys-at-Law. - - ABBOT KINNEY, Esq., Los Angeles, Cal. - - -EXHIBIT B. - -SABOBA. - -Saboba is the name of a village of Indians of the Serrano tribe, one -hundred and fifty-seven in number, living in the San Jacinto Valley, at -the base of the San Jacinto Mountains, in San Diego County. The village -is within the boundaries of a Mexican grant, patented to the heirs of J. -Estudillo, January 17th, 1880. The greater part of the grant has been -sold to a company which, in dividing up its lands, allotted the tract -where the Saboba village lies to one M. R. Byrnes, of San Bernardino, -who proposes to eject the Indians unless the United States Government -will buy his whole tract of seven hundred acres at an exorbitant price. -The Saboba village occupies about two hundred acres, the best part of -Mr. Byrnes's tract. The Indians have lived in the place for over a -hundred years. They have adobe houses, fenced fields and orchards, and -irrigating ditches. There is in the village a never-failing spring, with -a flow of about twenty-five miner's inches. It is claimed by the Indians -that the first surveys did not take in their village. This is probably -true; the resurveying of grants and "floating" their lines so as to take -in lands newly discovered to be of value, and leave out others -discovered to be worthless, being a common practice in California. In a -country where water is gold, such a spring as these Saboba Indians owned -could not long escape notice or be left long in the undisturbed -possession of Indians. These Indians support themselves now, and have -always done so, by farming, and by going out in organized bands as -sheep-shearers and vintagers. They are industrious and peaceable, and -make in good seasons a fairly comfortable living. They formerly kept -stock, but since the new occupancy, allotting and fencing of the valley, -have been obliged to give it up. There is a Government school in this -village, numbering from thirty to forty pupils, who have made remarkable -progress in their studies. The school is taught by a Pennsylvania lady, -formerly a teacher of the freedmen. Her gentleness and refinement have -exerted an influence all through the village, and her self-denying -labors among the people in times of sickness and suffering have been the -work of a missionary rather than of a teacher. The following letters -were written by two of the children in this school, both under fourteen -years of age. They were written without the teacher's knowledge or aid, -and brought to her with the request that she would send them. The -handwritings are clear and good:— - -_To the President of the United States_: - -MR. PRESIDENT: DEAR SIR,—I wish to write a letter for you, and I will -try to tell you some things. The white people call San Jacinto rancho -their land, and I don't want them to do it. We think it is ours, for God -gave it to us first. Now I think you will tell me what is right, for you -have been so good to us, giving us a school and helping us. Will you not -come to San Jacinto some time to see us, the school, and the people of -Saboba village? Many of the people are sick, and some have died. We are -so poor that we have not enough good food for the sick, and sometimes I -am afraid that we are all going to die. Will you please tell what is -good about our ranches, and come soon to see us? - - Your friend, - - RAMON CAVAVI. - -_Mrs. Jackson_: - -MY DEAR FRIEND,—I wish to write you a letter about the American people -that want to drive us away from our own village of Saboba. I don't know -what they can be about. I don't know why they do so. My teacher told me -she was very sorry about the town, and then my teacher said, I think -they will find a good place for you if you have to go; but I do hope -they will not drive you away. Then it will be very good for all the -people of Saboba. It is a very good town for the people. They have all -the work done on their gardens, and they are very sorry about the work -that is done. My work is very nicely done also. The people are making -one big fence to keep the cows and the horses off their garden. - - Your true friend, - - ANTONIO LEON. - -These Saboba Indians are greatly dispirited and disheartened at the -prospect of being driven out of their homes, and feel that the -Government ought to protect them. The captain of the village, a very -sensible and clear-headed man, said, "If the Government says we must go, -we must; but we would rather die right here than move." The right of -these Indians to the tract they have so long occupied and cultivated is -beyond question. That this right could be successfully maintained in the -courts is the opinion of the law firm of Brunson & Wells, whose -admirable paper covering all cases of this kind is given herewith. (See -exhibit.) - -We found three miles from this village on Government land a narrow cañon -called Indian Cañon, in which half a dozen Indian families were living. -The cañon is but five or six miles long and very narrow; but it has a -small, never-failing brook in it, and some good bottom land, on which -the Indians had excellent wheat crops growing. The sides of it are -moderately well wooded. It was surprising that so desirable a nook had -been overlooked or omitted by the surveyors of the San Jacinto Ranch. We -wrote to the Department immediately, recommending its being set aside -for Indians' use. In another beautiful cañon, also with a never-failing -stream running through it, we found living the old chief, Victoriano, -nearly one hundred years old. The spot was an oasis of green, oak and -willow trees, a wheat field, and apricot orchard and vineyard, the -latter planted by Victoriano's father. This place has been given by -Victoriano to his grandson, who we were told is taking steps to secure -it to himself under the Indian Homestead Act. - -EXHIBIT C. - -THE CAHUILLA RESERVATION. - -The Cahuilla Valley is about forty miles from Saboba, high up among the -peaks and spurs of the San Jacinto Mountains; a wild, barren, -inaccessible spot. The Cahuilla village, situated here, was one of the -most interesting that we visited, and the Indians seemed a clear-headed, -more individual and independent people than any other we saw. This is -partly due to their native qualities, the tribe having been originally -one of the most warlike and powerful in the country, as is indicated by -their name, which signifies "master." The isolation of this village has -also tended to keep these Indians self-respecting and independent. There -is no white settlement within ten miles, there being comparatively -little to tempt white men into these mountain-fastnesses. The population -of the village numbers from one hundred and fifty to two hundred. The -houses are of adobe, thatched with reeds; three of the houses have -shingled roofs, and one has the luxury of a floor. These Indians make -the greater part of their living by stock-raising. They also send out a -sheep-shearing band each year. They have sixteen fields, large and -small, under cultivation, and said they would have had many more except -for the lack of ploughs, there being but one plough for the whole -village. They raise wheat, barley, corn, squashes, and watermelons. -Sometimes the frost kills the corn, and occasionally the grasshoppers -descend on the valley, but aside from these accidents their crops do -well. All through the village were to be seen their curious outdoor -granaries—huge baskets made of twisted and woven twigs and set up on -poles. The women were neatly dressed, the children especially so, and -the faces of all, men, women, and children, had an animation and look of -intellectual keenness very uncommon among the Southern California -Indians. On the outskirts of the village is a never-failing hot spring. -In this water the Indians, old and young, are said to be continually -bathing. It was the Indians' impression that the lines of their -reservation ran directly through the centre of this hot spring. They had -been told so by some white men, but they know nothing certainly. The -lines had never been shown to them. On subsequent examination at the -surveyor-general's office in San Francisco we discovered that this -spring and the village itself are entirely outside the reservation -lines; also that another Indian settlement called Duasno, a few miles -distant, and intended to have been included in the reservation, is -outside the lines. The Cahuilla Reservation stands recorded as -containing twenty-six sections of land; so far as we could judge of the -region, it seemed to us a generous estimate to say that there might be -possibly five hundred acres of cultivatable land in it. In good years -there would be considerable pasturage on the sides of the mountains; but -far the greater part of the tract is absolutely worthless, being bare -and stony mountains. The Cahuillas, however, are satisfied with it. They -love the country, and would not exchange it for fertile valleys below. -They said that they would be perfectly contented if the Government would -only mark their land off for them, and set up boundaries so that they -could know where they might keep their own stock and keep the white -men's stock out. All they asked for in addition to this was some -harnesses, wagons, and agricultural implements, especially ploughs. Of -these last the captain reiterated, and was not satisfied till he saw the -figures written down, that ten was the smallest number that would be -sufficient for the village. - -A few rods from the hot spring there stood a good adobe house, shut up, -unoccupied. The history of this house is worth telling, as an -illustration of the sort of troubles to which Indians in these remote -regions, unprotected by the Government, and unable to protect -themselves, are exposed. Some eight years ago the Cahuillas rented a -tract of their land as pasture to two Mexicans named Machado. These -Machados, by permission of the Indians, built this adobe house, and -lived in it when looking after their stock. At the expiration of the -lease the house was to be the property of the Indians. When the Machados -left they said to the Cahuilla captain, "Here is your house." The next -year another man named Thomas rented a pasture tract from the Indians -and also rented this house, paying for the use of it for two years six -bulls, and putting into it a man named Cushman, who was his overseer. At -the end of the two years Thomas said to the Cahuillas, "Here is your -house; I now take my cattle away." But the man Cushman refused to move -out of the house; said it was on railroad land which he had bought of -the railroad company. In spite of the Indians' remonstrances he lived on -there for three or four years. Finally he died. After his death his old -employer, Thomas, who had once rented this very house from the Indians, -came forward, claimed it as his own, and has now sold it to a man named -Parks. Through all this time the Indians committed no violence on the -trespassers. They journeyed to Los Angeles to find out from the railroad -company whether Cushman owned the land as he said, and were told that he -did not. They laid the matter before their agent, but he was unable to -do anything about it. It would seem of the greatest importance in the -case of this reservation, and of all others similarly placed, that the -odd section claimed or owned by the railroad companies should be secured -and added to the permanent reservation. Much further trouble will in -this way be saved. - -An incident which had occurred on the boundaries of the Cahuilla -Reservation a few weeks before our arrival there is of importance as an -illustration of the need of some legal protection for the Indians in -Southern California. A Cahuilla Indian named Juan Diego had built for -himself a house and cultivated a small patch of ground on a high -mountain ledge a few miles north of the village. Here he lived alone -with his wife and baby. He had been for some years what the Indians call -a "locoed" Indian, being at times crazy; never dangerous, but yet -certainly insane for longer or shorter periods. His condition was known -to the agent, who told us that he had feared he would be obliged to shut -Juan up if he did not get better. It was also well known throughout the -neighboring country, as we found on repeated inquiry. Everybody knew -that Juan Diego was "locoed." (This expression comes from the effect a -weed of that name has upon horses, making them wild and unmanageable.) -Juan Diego had been off to find work at sheep-shearing. He came home at -night riding a strange horse. His wife exclaimed, "Why, whose horse is -that?" Juan looked at the horse, and replied confusedly, "Where is my -horse, then?" The woman, much frightened, said, "You must take that -horse right back; they will say you stole it." Juan replied that he -would as soon as he had rested; threw himself down and fell asleep. From -this sleep he was awakened by the barking of the dogs, and ran out of -the house to see what it meant. The woman followed, and was the only -witness of what then occurred. A white man, named Temple, the owner of -the horse which Juan had ridden home, rode up, and on seeing Juan poured -out a volley of oaths, levelled his gun and shot him dead. After Juan -had fallen on the ground Temple rode closer and fired three more shots -in the body, one in the forehead, one in the cheek, and one in the -wrist, the woman looking on. He then took his horse, which was standing -tied in front of the house, and rode away. The woman, with her baby on -her back, ran to the Cahuilla village and told what had happened. This -was in the night. At dawn the Indians went over to the place, brought -the murdered man's body to the village, and buried it. The excitement -was intense. The teacher, in giving us an account of the affair, said -that for a few days she feared she would be obliged to close her school -and leave the village. The murderer went to the nearest justice of the -peace and gave himself up, saying that he had in self-defence shot an -Indian. He swore that the Indian ran towards him with a knife. A jury of -twelve men was summoned, who visited the spot, listened to Temple's -story, pronounced him guiltless, and the judge so decided. The woman's -testimony was not taken. It would have been worthless if it had been, so -far as influencing that jury's minds was concerned. Her statement was -positive that Juan had no knife, nor weapon of any kind; sprang up from -his sleep and ran out hastily to see what had happened, and was shot -almost as soon as he had crossed the threshold of the door. The district -attorney in San Diego, on being informed by us of the facts in the case, -reluctantly admitted that there would be no use whatever in bringing a -white man to trial for murder of an Indian under such circumstances, -with only Indian testimony to convict him. This was corroborated, and -the general animus of public feeling vividly illustrated to us by a -conversation we had later with one of the jurors in the case, a fine, -open-hearted, manly young fellow, far superior in education and social -standing to the average Southern California ranchman. He not only -justified Temple's killing the Indian, but said he would have done the -same thing himself. "I don't care whether the Indian had a knife or -not," he said; "that didn't cut any figure at all the way I looked at -it. Any man that'd take a horse of mine and ride him up that mountain -trail, I'd shoot him whenever I found him. Stockmen have just got to -protect themselves in this country." The fact that Juan had left his own -horse, a well-known one, in the corral from which he had taken Temple's; -that he had ridden the straight trail to his own door, and left the -horse tied in front of it, thus making it certain that he would be -tracked and caught, weighed nothing in this young man's mind. The utmost -concession that he would make was finally to say, "Well, I'll agree that -Temple was to blame for firin' into him after he was dead. That was -mean, I'll allow." - -The account of our visit to the Cahuilla Reservation would be incomplete -without a brief description of the school there. It numbers from forty -to fifty scholars, and is taught by a widow who, with her little -daughter ten years of age, lives in one small room built on at the end -of the school-house. Part of the room is curtained off into a recess -holding bed, washstand, and bureau. The rest of the room is a -sitting-room, kitchen, store-room, and barely holds the cooking-stove, -table, and chairs. Here alone, with her little daughter, in a village of -near two hundred Indians, ten miles from any white man's home, this -brave woman has lived more than a year, doing a work of which the hours -spent in the school-room are the smallest part. The Indians come to her -with every perplexity and trouble; call on her for nursing when they are -ill, for food when they are destitute. If she would allow it her little -room could always be crowded with women, and men also, eager to watch -and learn. The Cahuillas have good brains, are keen, quick, and -persevering. The progress that these children have made in the -comparatively short time since their school was opened was far beyond -that ordinarily made by white children in the same length of time. -Children who two years ago did not know a letter, read intelligently in -the second and third readers, spelled promptly and with remarkable -accuracy, and wrote clear and legible hands, their copy-books being -absolutely free from blots or erasures; some of the older pupils went -creditably through a mental arithmetic examination, in which the -questions were by no means easy to follow. They sang songs in fair tune -and time, and with great spirit, evidently enjoying this part of the -exercises more than all the rest. We had carried to them a parcel of -illustrated story-books, very kindly contributed by some of the leading -publishers in New York and Boston, and the expression of the rows of -bright dark eyes as the teacher held up book after book was long to be -remembered. The strain on the nervous system of teachers in such -positions as this can hardly be estimated by ordinary standards. The -absolute isolation, the ceaseless demand, the lack, not only of the -comforts, but of many of the necessities of life, all mount up into a -burden which it would seem no woman could long endure. Last winter there -was a snow-storm in the Cahuilla Valley lasting two days and nights. A -fierce wind drove the dry snow in at every crevice of the poorly built -adobe house, like sand in a sand-storm. The first day of the storm the -school had to be closed early in the day, as the snow fell so fast on -books and slates nothing could be done. The last night of the storm the -teacher and her little girl spent the entire night in shovelling snow -out of the room. They would pile it in a blanket, open the door, empty -the blanket, and then resume shovelling. They worked hard all night to -keep pace with the storm. When the snowing stopped the school-room was -drifted full, and for many days after was wet and damp. It would seem as -if the school term in such places as this ought not to be over eight -months in the year. The salaries, however, should not be reduced, for -they are barely living salaries now, every necessary of life being -procured at a great disadvantage in these wild regions. One of these -teachers told us she had been obliged to give an Indian $1 to ride to -the nearest store and bring her one dollar's worth of sugar. It was the -opinion of the Cahuilla teacher (a teacher of experience at the East -before her marriage) that the Indians would accomplish more in eight -months than in the nine. The strain upon them also is too great—of the -unwonted confinement and continuous brain work. Should this change be -made the vacation should be so arranged as to be taken at the -sheep-shearing season, at which times all the schools are much broken up -by the absence of the elder boys. - -EXHIBIT D. - -THE WARNER'S RANCH INDIANS. - -The tract known as Warner's Ranch lies in the northern part of San Diego -County, about forty miles from the Cahuilla Valley. It contains two -grants, the San José del Valle and the Valle de San José; the first -containing between 26,000 and 27,000 acres, confirmed to J. J. Warner, -patented January 16th, 1880; the second, containing between 17,000 and -18,000 acres, confirmed to one Portilla, patented January 10th, 1880. -The whole property is now in the possession of Governor Downey, of Los -Angeles. There are said to be several conflicting claims yet unsettled. -The ranch is now used as a sheep and stock ranch, and is of great value. -It is a beautiful region, well watered and wooded. There are within its -boundaries five Indian villages, of San Luisenos and Diegmons—Aqua -Caliente, Puerta de la Cruz, Puerta de San José, San José, and Mataguay. -The last four are very small, but Aqua Caliente has long been the most -flourishing and influential village in the country. It was formerly set -apart as a reservation, but the executive order was cancelled January -17th, 1880, immediately after the patenting of the San José del Valle -Ranch, within the boundaries of which it was then claimed that the -village lay, although to the best information we could get the first -three surveys of that ranch did not take the village in. The aged -captain of the Aqua Caliente Indians still preserves a paper giving a -memorandum of the setting off of this reservation of about 1,120 acres -for this people. It was by executive order, 1875. He also treasures -several other equally worthless papers—a certificate from a San Diego -judge that the Indians are entitled to their lands; a memorandum of a -promise from General Kearney, who assured them that in consideration of -their friendliness and assistance to him they should retain their homes -without molestation, "although the whole State should fill with white -men." It is not to be wondered at that these Aqua Caliente Indians find -it difficult to-day to put any faith in white men's promises. - -It will be seen from the above brief statement of the situation that -they have an exceedingly strong claim on the Government for protection -in their right to their lands. Since the restoration of their village -and fields "to the public domain," the patenting of the ranches and -their sale to Governor Downey, the Indians have been in constant anxiety -and terror. Governor Downey has been considerate and humane in his -course toward them, and toward all the Indians on his estate. And his -superintendent also is friendly in his treatment of them, permitting -them all the liberty he can consistently with his duty to the ranch. He -finds their labor invaluable at sheep-shearing time, and is able -throughout the year to give them occasional employment. But the Indians -know very well that according to the usual course of things in San Diego -County they are liable any day to be ejected by process of law; and it -is astonishing that under the circumstances they have so persevered in -their industries of one sort and another. They have a good number of -fields under cultivation. They also make saddle mats and hats out of -fibrous plants; the women make baskets and lace. It is said to be the -most industrious village in the county; the old captain dealing severely -with any Indian found idle. They have also a small revenue from the hot -springs, from which the village takes its name. These bubble up in a -succession of curious stone basins in the heart of the village. They are -much resorted to in summer by rheumatic and other patients, who rent the -Indians' little adobe houses and pay them a small tax for the use of the -waters. The Indians themselves at these times move into bush huts in a -valley or cañon some two miles above the village, where their chief -cultivated fields lie. They were very earnest to know from us if we -would advise their planting more of this ground. They said they would -have planted it all except that they were afraid of being driven away. -This upper valley and these planting fields were said to be on -Government land; but on examination of the surveyor's plats in the Los -Angeles land office, we could find no field notes to indicate their -location. These Indians have in use another valley called Lost Valley, -some fifteen miles from their village high up in the mountains, and -reached only by one very steep trail. Here they keep their stock, being -no longer able to pasture it below. They were touchingly anxious to have -us write down the numbers of cattle, horses, sheep, each man had, and -report to Washington, that the President might see how they were all -trying to work. There are probably from one hundred and twenty-five to -one hundred and fifty head of cattle owned in the village, about fifty -horses, and one hundred sheep. - -There is here a Government school, taught by a young German lady of -excellent education and much enthusiasm in her work. At great cost and -risk she has carried her piano up into these wilds, and finds it an -invaluable assistance in training and influencing her pupils. It was a -scene not to be forgotten, when after their exercises in reading, -arithmetic, &c., in all of which they showed a really wonderful -proficiency, the children crowded into the teacher's little room and -sang their songs to the piano accompaniment, played by her with spirit -and feeling. "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty," was the -song they seemed to like best; all unaware how little applicable to -their own situation were its strains of exultant joy and freedom. In -this one tiny room adjoining the school-room this young lady lives, -sleeps, prepares her own food, frequently having a "cooking class" of -Indian women, whom she is teaching to make soups, bread, &c., and to do -fine washing. It is impossible to put too much appreciative sympathy on -these women teachers in Indian schools in Southern California. Their -situation and their work are unique in isolation and difficulty. - -The other Indian villages on Warner's Ranch do not demand separate -description, consisting of not more than half a dozen houses each, and -numbering only from fifteen to thirty Indians. Each village, however, -has its own captain, and its cultivated fields, orchards, &c., to which -the Indians are profoundly attached, and from which it would be very -hard to induce them to move, spite of their poverty, and the difficulty -of making a living, as they are now placed. - -During our stay at Warner's Ranch, the captain of the San José village -had an experience which will illustrate the helplessness of these Indian -farmers in Southern California. He had on a piece of Government land, a -short distance from his village, a fenced wheat-field of some fifty -acres; it was his chief dependence for his year's support. Going away -one day, he left his aged father in charge at home; the old man wandered -away, and during his absence one of the roving sheep-herders, of whom -the country is full, broke down the fence, turned in his flock, and when -Domingo came home at night the whole field was eaten close to the -ground. Hearing of our being at the superintendent's house, Domingo came -over to ask if we could help him in the matter. The quiet, -matter-of-course way in which he told the story was more impressive than -any loudness of complaint would have been. He said very simply, "What -can I do for food this winter?" Mr. Kinney rode over to the village, saw -the field, and after some trouble found the herder, who, much -frightened, said he did it by his master's orders. This master, an -Italian, lived some twenty miles away; the nearest justice of the peace, -sixteen miles. On seeing the justice we found that nothing could be done -in the way of securing damages from the sheep-owner until two white men, -residents of the county, should inspect the premises and estimate the -damages. Domingo rode sixteen miles in the night in a fierce storm of -sleet and rain, with letters from us to white men on the ranch, asking -them to do this. He was back again at daylight with a note from one of -them, saying that he could not induce a man to go with him. Finally, the -justice, at our request, hired two men at days' wages to go and inspect -the Indian's field. They estimated the damages at about one-tenth of the -real amount, and thus we were obliged to leave the matter. We afterwards -received a letter from the Italian stating that he had settled with -Domingo, but not mentioning the sum paid. It was plain that except for -our taking hold of the affair the Indian would never have recovered a -cent. This is by no means an exceptional instance. - -EXHIBIT E. - -THE SAN YSIDRO INDIANS. - -In the San Ysidro Cañon, about eight miles from Warner's Ranch, has been -living from time immemorial a band of San Luiseno Indians, numbering -from fifty to seventy-five, and called by the name of their cañon. We -first saw the captain of these Indians in Los Angeles, in the office of -the United States Court Commissioner, Mr. H. T. Lee, of whose kindness -and humane sympathy in dealing with all Indian matters which come under -his notice it is not out of place here to make grateful mention. This -Captain Pablo, with two of his head men, had walked a three days' -journey to Los Angeles to see if he could get any help in the matter of -lands which had been wrested from his people. His story was a pitiful -one. Some six years ago a white man named Chatham Helm had come in at -the head of their cañon, three miles above the site of their village, -taken up a homestead claim there, cutting off the greater part of their -water supply, and taking some of their cultivated fields, and leaving -them restricted room for their stock. Since that time they had been -growing poorer and poorer, but had managed to live by cultivating lands -below the village near the mouth of the cañon, where there was another -small stream. But now a new squatter had appeared below them, and filed -on all the remaining lands, including the site of the village itself. -The man Helm, above them, had patented his lands, built a good house, -and was keeping considerable stock. The Indians could have no water -except what he permitted to come down the cañon. Three years ago one of -their number had been shot dead by Helm, who was set free on the usual -plea of self-defence. Since then the Indians had been in continual -terror. The new squatter had threatened them with the same fate if they -came near his enclosures. Between these two squatters the Indian village -was completely hemmed in and cut off, and starvation stared them in the -face. In fact, in the course of the last winter one little girl had -actually died for want of food. Their countenances corroborated the -tale. They were gaunt with hunger and full of despair. It would exceed -the limits of this paper to give a full report of the interview with -these Indians. It will not soon be forgotten by any one taking part in -it,—the solemn tones in which the Indians replied to the interpreter's -questions, the intent and imploring gaze with which they studied all our -faces and listened to all the words unintelligible to them in which we -spoke with one another. - -It was finally decided to forward to the Interior Department the -affidavits of these Indians, setting forth the manner in which they had -been robbed of their lands, and requesting that Cloos's entry be held -for cancellation, and that Helm's patent be reopened. It was found, on -looking the matter up in Washington, that several years ago this cañon -had been withdrawn from market with a view to having it set off as a -reservation for the Indians living in it, but the matter had slipped -everybody's mind. On visiting the San Ysidro Cañon ourselves a few weeks -later, we found that Cloos, taking time by the forelock, had sold out -his homestead claim, his house, and what he was pleased to call his -"improvements," for $600 to a poor old widow, Mrs. Pamela Hagar by name. -We found Mrs. Hagar, with her son, on the ground, preparing to go into -the bee business. She appeared very little surprised at hearing that the -claim she had bought was a questionable one, remarking: "Well, I -mistrusted something was wrong; Cloos seemed in such a hurry to get his -money." This woman appeared nearly as helpless as the Indians -themselves. The deed she had taken from Cloos was not acknowledged; she -had not got it recorded; her name was misspelled in it; and the -enumeration of the sections, &c., in it did not agree with the list in -the land office certificate. She begged us to ask the Government to -refund to her the sum she had paid to Cloos, and signed by her mark a -paper saying she would accept it. It is a small sum, and as the poor old -woman made the transaction in good faith, knowing nothing about the -Indians' presence on the place, it would seem not unreasonable that she -should be paid. The next morning Cloos himself appeared on the scene, -very angry and resentful. He said he had "a perfect right to file on -that land;" that "Indians were not citizens" and "had no right to public -lands," and that "the stockmen of San Diego County were not going to -stand the Indians' killing their stock much longer;" that "the -Government ought to put the Indians all together somewhere and take care -of them," and that "there'd be a big fight with Indians in San Diego -County before long, we might rest assured of that;" and much more of the -same sort, which would not be worth repeating, except that it is a good -illustration of the animus of the greater portion of Southern California -ranchmen towards Indians. A few days after this we were gladdened by the -news from Washington that Cloos's filing was held for cancellation, and -that the Attorney-General had ordered proceedings to be begun in San -Francisco for the vacating of Chatham Helm's patent. A few instances of -such promptitude as this would change the whole status of the South -California Indians, giving courage to them, and, what is still more -important, making it clear to the perception of white men that the -Indians' rights are no longer to be disregarded as they have been. - -EXHIBIT F. - -THE LOS COYOTES. - -Five miles up from the head of the San Ysidro Cañon, to be reached only -by a steep and narrow trail, lies a small valley on the desert side of -the mountains. It is little more than a pocket on a ledge. From its rim -one looks down directly into the desert. Few white men have ever -penetrated to it, and the Indians occupying it have been hitherto safe, -by reason of the poverty and inaccessibility of their home. No agent has -ever visited them; they have supported themselves by keeping stock and -cultivating their few acres of land. There are not more than eighty -acres all told in the valley. About three weeks before our arrival at -Warner's Ranch a man named Jim Fane, a comrade of Helm, who had usurped -the San Ysidro Cañon, having, no doubt, learned through Helm of the -existence of the Los Coyotes Valley, appeared in the village and offered -the Indians $200 for their place. They refused to sell, upon which he -told them that he had filed on the land, should stay in any event, and -proceeded to cut down trees and build a corral. It seems a marvellous -forbearance on the part of a community numbering twenty-six able-bodied -men and twenty-one women not to take any forcible measures to repel such -an intruder as this. But the South California Indians have learned by -long experience that in any contest with white men they are sure to be -found in the wrong. Not an Indian laid violent hands on Fane. He seems -to have gone about as safely in the heart of this Indian village, which -he was avowedly making ready to steal, as if he had been in an empty -wilderness. Mr. Kinney found him there, hard at work, his belt full of -cartridges and pistols. He was a rough fellow, at first disposed to be -defiant and blustering, but on being informed of the Department's action -in the case of Cloos's filing, he took a milder tone, and signed a paper -saying that he would take $75 for his "improvements." Later in the day, -after consulting with his friend Helm, he withdrew the paper and -announced his determination to stay in the valley. On inquiry at the -land office at Los Angeles we found that his filing had been returned to -him for correction of errors. We were therefore in time to secure the -stopping of all further proceedings on his part through the land office. -Nothing, however, but authorized and authoritative action on the part of -the agent representing the Interior Department will stop his proceedings -on the ground. Just before leaving California we received an urgent -letter from the Los Coyotes' captain, saying that Fane was still -there—still cutting down their trees and building corrals. - -The Indians of this band are robust, active, and finely made, more -nearly in the native health and strength of the race than any other band -in the country. The large proportion of children also bore testimony to -their healthful condition, there being thirty-five children to -twenty-one women and twenty-six men. The captain had the lists of his -people kept by three lines of notches on a stick, a new notch being made -for each birth and crossed out for each death. They could count only up -to five. Everything beyond that was "many." Their houses were good, -built of hewn pine timber with thatched roofs made from some tough -fibrous plant, probably the yucca. Each house had a thatched bower in -front of it and stood in a fenced enclosure. These Indians raise beans, -pumpkins, wheat, barley, and corn. They have twenty-five head of cattle -and more horses. They say they have lived in this valley always, and -never desire to leave it. The only things they asked for were a harness, -chain, coulter, and five ploughs. They have now one plough. - -This village is one of the best illustrations of our remarks on the need -of itinerary labor among the Mission Indians. Here is a village of -eighty-four souls living in a mountain fastness which they so love they -would rather die than leave it, but where the ordinary agencies and -influences of civilization will never reach, no matter how thickly -settled the regions below may come. A fervent religious and practical -teacher spending a few weeks each year among these Indians might sow -seed that would never cease growing during the intervals of his absence. - -EXHIBIT G. - -THE SANTA YSABEL RANCH. - -The Santa Ysabel Ranch is adjoining to Warner's Ranch. It is a -well-wooded, well-watered, beautiful country, much broken by steep and -stony mountains. The original grant of this ranch was confirmed March -17th, 1858, to one José Ortego and the heirs of Edward Stokes. The -patent was issued May 14th, 1872. It is now owned by a Captain Wilcox, -who has thus far not only left undisturbed the Indian village within the -boundaries of his estate, but has endeavored to protect the Indians by -allowing to the ranch lessee a rebate of $200 yearly on the rent on -account of the Indians' occupancy. There is in the original grant of -this ranch the following clause: "The grantees will leave free and -undisturbed the agricultural lands which the Indians of San Diego are -actually occupying." - -We found on arriving at the Santa Ysabel village that an intelligent -young Indian living there had recently been elected as general over the -Dieguino Indians in the neighborhood. He showed to us his papers and -begged us to wait till he could have all his captains gathered to meet -us. Eight villages he reported as being under his control,—Santa Ysabel, -Mesa Grande, Mesa Chilquita, San José, Mataguay, La Puerta, Laguna, and -Anaha. He was full of interest and inquiry and enthusiasm about his -people. "I want know American way," he said in his broken English. "I -want make all my people like American people. How I find out American -laws? When white men lose cow, lose pig, they come here with pistol and -say we must find or give up man that stole. How we know? Is that -American law? We all alone out here. We got nobody show us. Heap things -I want ask about. I make all my people work. We can't work like American -people; we ain't got work with; we ain't got wagon, harness; three old -broked ploughs for all these people. What we want, some man right here -to go to. While you here white man very good; when you go away trouble -same as before." - -There are one hundred and seventy-one Indians in this village. They are -very poor. Many of their houses are of tule or brush, their clothes were -scanty and ragged, some of the older men wearing but a single garment. -That they had not been idle their big wheat-field proved; between three -and four hundred acres fenced and the wheat well up. "How do you divide -the crops?" we asked. "Every man knows his own piece," was the reply. -They sell all of this wheat that they can spare to a storekeeper some -three miles away. Having no wagon they draw the wheat there on a sort of -sledge or wood triangle, about four feet long, with slats across it. A -rope is tied to the apex of this, then fastened to the horn of a saddle -on a horse ridden by a man, who steers the sledge as best he may. The -Indians brought this sledge to show us, to prove how sorely they needed -wagons. They also made the women bring out all the children and arrange -them in rows, to show that they had enough for a school, repeating over -and over that they had many more, but they were all out digging wild -roots and vegetables. "If there was not great many them, my people die -hungry," said the general; "them most what we got eat." It is a sore -grievance to these Santa Ysabel Indians that the Aqua Caliente Indians, -only twenty miles away, have received from the Government a school, -ploughs, wagons, &c., while nothing whatever has been done for them. -"Them Aqua Caliente Indians got everything," said the general; "got hot -springs too; make money on them hot springs; my people got no chance -make money." - -On the second day of our stay in this region we saw four of the young -general's captains, those of Puerta San Felipe, San José, Anaha, and -Laguna. In Puerta San Felipe are sixty-four people. This village is on a -confirmed grant, the "Valle de San Felipe," confirmed to Felipe -Castillo. The ranch is now leased to a Frenchman, who is taking away the -water from the Indian village, and tells the captain that the whole -village belongs to him, and that if anybody so much as hunts a rabbit on -the place he will put him in prison. These people are in great -destitution and trouble, being deprived of most of their previous means -of support. The Anaha captain reported fifty-three people in his -village. White men had come in and fenced up land on both sides of him. -"When he plants his wheat and grain the white men run their hogs into -the fields;" and "when the white men find anything dead they come to him -to make him tell everything about it, and he has not got anything to -tell." The San José captain had a similar story. The Laguna captain was -a tall, swarthy, well-to-do-looking Indian, so unlike all the rest that -we wondered what there could have been in his life to produce such a -difference. He said nobody troubled him. He had good land, plenty of -water, raised grain and vegetables, everything he wanted except -watermelons. His village contained eleven persons; was to be reached -only by a steep trail, the last four miles. We expressed our pleasure at -finding one Indian captain and village that were in no trouble and -wanted for nothing. He smiled mysteriously, as we afterward recalled, -and reiterated that nobody troubled him. The mystery was explained -later, when we discovered accidentally in San Diego that this Laguna -village had not escaped, as we supposed, the inroads of white men, and -that the only reason that the Laguna Indians were not in trouble was -that they had peaceably surrendered half their lands to a white man, who -was living amicably among them under a sort of contract or lease. - -EXHIBIT H. - -MESA GRANDE. - -Mesa Grande lies high up above the Santa Ysabel village and fifteen -miles west of it. The tract adjoins the Santa Ysabel Ranch, and is, as -its name indicates, a large table-land. There was set off here in 1876 a -large reservation, intended to include the Mesa Grande Indian village, -and also a smaller one of Mesa Chilquita; but, as usual, the villages -were outside of the lines, and the lands reserved were chiefly -worthless. One of the settlers in the neighborhood told us he would not -take the whole reservation as a gift and pay the taxes on it. The -situation of the Indians here is exceedingly unfortunate and growing -more and more so daily. The good Mesa Grande lands, which they once -owned and occupied, and which should have been secured to them, have -been fast taken up by whites, the Indians driven off, and, as the young -general said, "all bunched up till they haven't got any room." Both the -Mesa Chilquita and Mesa Grande plateaus are now well under cultivation -by whites, who have good houses and large tracts fenced in. - -They have built a good school-house, which we chanced to pass at the -hour of recess, and noting Indian faces among the children, stopped to -inquire about them. There were, out of twenty-seven scholars, fifteen -Indians or half-breeds, some of them the children of Indians who had -taken up homesteads. We asked the teacher what was the relative -brightness of the Indian and white children. Supposing that we shared -the usual prejudice against Indians, the teacher answered in a -judiciously deprecating tone, "Well, really there isn't so much -difference between them as you would suppose." "In favor of which race?" -we asked. Thus suddenly enlightened as to our animus in the matter, the -teacher changed his tone, and said he found the Indian children full as -bright as the whites; in fact, the brightest scholar he had was a -half-breed girl. - -On the census list taken of Indians in 1880 Mesa Grande and Mesa -Chilquita are reported as having, the first one hundred and three -Indians, the second twenty-three. There are probably not so many now, -the Mesa Chilquita tract being almost wholly in possession of the -whites. The Mesa Grande village has a beautiful site on a small stream, -in a sort of hill basin, surrounded by higher hills. The houses are -chiefly adobe, and there is on one of the slopes a neat little adobe -chapel, with a shingled roof nearly done, of which the Indians were very -proud. There were many fields of grain and a few fruit orchards. The -women gathered around our carriage in eager groups, insisting on shaking -hands, and holding up their little children to shake hands also. They -have but once seen an agent of the Government, and any evidence of real -interest in them and their welfare touches them deeply. - -The condition of the Indians in this district is too full of -complications and troubles to be written out here in detail. A verbatim -copy of a few of our notes taken on the spot will give a good picture of -the situation. - -Chrysanto, an Indian, put off his farm two months ago by white man named -Jim Angel, with certificate of homestead from Los Angeles land office. -Antonio Douro, another, put off in same way from his farm near -school-house. He had built good wooden house; the white man took that -and half his land. He was ploughing when the white man came and said, -"Get out! I have bought this land." They have been to the agent. They -have been ten times, till they are tired to go. Another American named -Hardy ran an Indian off his farm, built a house on it; then he sold it -to Johnson, and Johnson took a little more land; and Johnson sold it to -Stone, and he took still more. They used to be well fixed, had plenty of -stock and hundreds of horses. Now they are all penned up, and have had -to pay such fines they have got poor. Whites take their horses and -cattle and corral them and make them pay 25 cents, 50 cents to get them -out. "Is that American law?" they asked; "and if it is law for Indians' -horses, is it not same for white men's horses?" But one Indian shut up -some of the white men's horses that came on his land, and the constable -came and took them all away and made the Indian pay money. The Americans -so thick now they want all the Indians away; so, to make them go, they -keep accusing them of stealing. - -This is a small tithe of what we were told. It was pitiful to see the -hope die out of the Indians' faces as they laid grievance after -grievance before us, and we were obliged to tell them we could do -nothing, except to "tell the Government." On our way back to Santa -Ysabel we were waylaid by several Indians, some of them very aged, each -with the same story of having been driven off or being in imminent -danger of being driven off his lands. - -On the following day we had a long interview with one of the white -settlers of Mesa Grande, and learned some particulars as to a -combination into which the Mesa Grande whites had entered to protect -themselves against cattle and horse thieves. The young Indian general -was present at this interview. His boots were toeless; he wore an old -gingham shirt and ragged waistcoat, but his bearing was full of dignity. -According to the white man's story, this combination was not a vigilance -committee at all. It was called "The Protective League of Mesa Grande," -and had no special reference to Indians in any way. According to the -Indian general's story it was a vigilance committee, and all the Indians -knew very well that their lives were in danger from it. The white man -protested against this, and reiterated his former statements. To our -inquiry why, if the league were for the mutual protection of all -cattle-owners in the region, the captains of the Indian villages were -not invited to join it, he replied that he himself would have been in -favor of that, but that to the average white settler in the region such -a suggestion would be like a red rag to a bull; that he himself, -however, was a warm friend to the Indians. "How long you been friend to -Indians?" asked the boy-general, with quiet sarcasm. We afterwards -learned by inquiry of one of the most influential citizens of a -neighboring town, that this protective league was in fact nothing more -or less than a vigilance committee, and that it meant short shrift to -Indians; but being betrayed by one of its members it had come to an -untimely end, to the great relief of all law-abiding people in the -vicinity. He also added that the greater part of the cattle and horse -stealing in the region was done by Mexicans and whites, not by Indians. - -Whether it is possible for the Government to put these Mesa Grande -Indians into a position to protect themselves, and have anything like a -fair chance to make their living in their present situation, is a -question; but that it ought to be done, if possible, is beyond question. -It is grievous to think that this fine tract of land so long owned and -occupied by these Indians, and in good faith intended by the Government -to be set aside for their use, has thus passed into other hands. Even if -the reservation tract, some three hundred acres, has been by fraudulent -representations restored to the public domain, and now occupied by a man -named Clelland, who has taken steps to patent it, the tract by proper -investigation and action could probably be reclaimed for the Indians' -use. - -EXHIBIT I. - -CAPITAN GRANDE. - -Capitan Grande is the name of the cañon through which the San Diego -River comes down from the Cuyamaca Mountains, where it takes its rise. -The cañon is thirty-five miles from the city of San Diego; is fifteen -miles long, and has narrow bottom lands along the river, in some places -widening out into good meadows. It is in parts beautifully wooded and -full of luxuriant growths of shrubs and vines and flowering plants. In -1853 a band of Dieguino Indians were, by the order of Lieutenant -Magruder, moved from San Diego to this cañon (see Paper No. 1, appended -hereto). These Indians have continued ever since to live there, although -latterly they have been so much pressed upon by white settlers that -their numbers have been reduced. A large reservation, showing on the -record nineteen full sections, was set off here, in 1876, for these -Indians. It is nearly all on the bare sides of the mountain walls of the -cañon. As usual, the village site was not taken in by the lines. -Therefore white settlers have come in and the Indians been driven away. -We were informed that a petition was in circulation for the restoration -to the public domain of a part of this reservation. We could not succeed -in finding a copy of this petition; but it goes without saying that any -such petition means the taking away from the Indians the few remaining -bits of good land in their possession. There are now only about sixty -Indians left in this cañon. Sixteen years ago there were from one -hundred and fifty to two hundred—a flourishing community with large -herds of cattle and horses and good cultivated fields. It is not too -late for the Government to reclaim the greater part of this cañon for -its rightful owners' use. The appended affidavits, which we forwarded to -Washington, will show the grounds on which we earnestly recommended such -a course. - - PAPER NO. 1. - -Copy of Colonel Magruder's order locating the Indians in Capitan Grande. - - Mission San Diego, February 1st, 1853. - -Permission is hereby given to Patricio and Leandro, alcalde and captain, -to cultivate and live at the place called Capitan Grande, about four -leagues to the south and east of Santa Ysabel, as it is with extreme -difficulty that these Indians can gain a subsistence on the lands near -the mission in consequence of the want of sufficient water for -irrigation. It is understood that this spot, called, as above, Capitan -Grande, is a part of the public domain. All persons are hereby warned -against disturbing or interfering with the said Indians, or their -people, in the occupation or cultivation of said lands. Any complaints -in reference to said cultivation or to the right of occupancy must be -laid before the commanding officer of this post, in the absence of the -Indian agent for this part of the country. - - (Signed by Colonel Magruder.) - - PAPER NO. 2. - -Copy of affidavit of the captain of Capitan Grande Indians and one of -his head men. - - State of California, County of San Diego: - -In the application of Daniel C. Isham, James Meade, Mary A. Taylor, and -Charles Hensley. - -Ignacio Curo and Marcellino, being duly sworn by me through an -interpreter, and the words being interpreted to each and every one of -them, each for himself deposes and says: - -I am an Indian belonging to that portion of the Dieguino Indians under -the captainship of Ignacio Curo, and residing in the rancheria of -Capitan Grande, being also a part and portion of the Indian people known -as Mission Indians; our said rancheria was located at Capitan Grande, -where we all now reside in A. D. 1853, by an order issued by Colonel -Magruder, of the United States Army, located at the post of San Diego on -February 1st of said year, 1853. That since that time we and our -families have resided on and possessed said lands. That said lands are -included in township 14 south, range 2 east, of San Bernardino meridian -in San Diego County, State of California. - -That affiants are informed and believe that Daniel C. Isham, James -Meade, Mary A. Taylor, and Charles Hensley have each of them filed in -the land office of Los Angeles their application for pre-emption or -homestead of lands included in the lands heretofore possessed by -affiants, and now occupied by the rancheria of affiants as a home for -themselves and families. That said affiants and their tribe have -constantly occupied and partly cultivated the land so claimed by said -Isham, Meade, Taylor, and Hensley since the year 1853. That they nor -their tribe have ever signed any writing yielding possession or -abandoning their rights to said lands; but that said parties heretofore -mentioned are attempting by deceit, fraud, and violence to obtain said -lands from affiants and the Government of the United States. Affiants -therefore pray that the land officers of the United States Government -will protect them in their right, and stay all proceedings on the part -of said claimants until the matter is thoroughly investigated and the -rights of the respective parties adjudicated. - - IGNACIO CURO, his + mark. - MARCELLINO, his + mark. - -Witness: M. A. LUCE. - - - PAPER NO. 3. - - -Copy of affidavit of Anthony D. Ubach, in regard to Capitan Grande -Indians, and in the matter of the application of Daniel Isham, James -Meade, Mary A. Taylor, and Charles Hensley. - -Anthony D. Ubach, being first duly sworn, on oath deposes and says: I am -now, and have been continuously for the last seventeen years, Catholic -pastor at San Diego, and have frequently made official visitations to -the various Indian villages or rancherias in said county; that I have -frequently during said time visited the Capitan Grande Rancheria, on the -San Diego River, in said county of San Diego; that when I first visited -said rancheria, some seventeen years ago, the Indians belonging to the -rancheria cultivated the valley below the falls on the San Diego River -and herded and kept their stock as far up as said falls; that I know the -place now occupied and claimed by the above-named applicants, and each -of them, and also the place occupied and claimed by Dr. D. W. Strong; -that from the time I first visited said rancheria until the lands were -occupied by the aforesaid white men said lands were occupied, -cultivated, and used by the Indians of Capitan Grande Rancheria as a -part of their rancheria; that upon one occasion I acted as interpreter -for Capitan Ignacio Curo in a negotiation between said Capitan Ignacio -and D. W. Strong, and that said Strong at that time rented from said -Ignacio a portion of the rancheria lands for bee pasture; I also know -that Capt. A. P. Knowles and A. S. Grant also rented the lands from the -Indians of the rancheria when they first located there. - - ANTHONY D. UBACH. - -San Diego, State of California. - - PAPER NO. 4. - -Copy of the deposition of J. S. Manasse in the matter of the Capitan -Grande Indians and the application of Daniel Isham, James Meade, Mary A. -Taylor, and Charles Hensley. - - State of California, San Diego County: - -J. S. Manasse, being first duly sworn, on oath deposes and says: I am -now, and have been continuously since the year 1853, a resident of said -county of San Diego; that I have known these certain premises on the San -Diego River, said county, known as the Capitan Grande Rancheria, since -the year 1856; that at that time and for many years thereafter the -Indians belonging to said Capitan Grande Rancheria occupied and -cultivated their fields as far up as the falls on the San Diego River; -that the premises now occupied by the above-named applicants were so -occupied and cultivated by the Indians belonging to said rancheria -during the time aforesaid; I know that about one year ago Capt. A. P. -Knowles paid rent to Ignacio Curo for a portion of the land now claimed -by the above-named applicant, Charles Hensley; also that when I first -knew of the rancheria and for many years thereafter the Indians of that -rancheria owned and kept there a considerable number of cattle, horses, -and sheep. - - J. S. MANASSE. - -The lands above referred to as claimed by Dr. D. W. Strong were patented -by him September 15th, 1882. They include all the lands formerly -cultivated by the Indians and used for stock pasturage at the head of -the cañon. When, at the expiration of his first year's lease of the -tract for bee pasturage, the Indians asked if he wished to renew the -lease he informed them that he should stay and file on the land. His -lines are as follows: N. E. 1/4 of N. E. 1/4, S. 1/2 of N. E. 1/4, and -N. W. 1/4 of S. E. 1/4, Sec. 2, T. 14 S., R. 2 E., S. B. M., Home. No. -969. - -Charles Hensley's homestead entry is as follows: No. 986, March 29th, -1882. S. 1/2 of N. W. 1/4 and W. 1/2 of S. W. 1/4, Sec. 22, T. 14 S., R. -2 E., S. B. M. This is on the original site of the Indian village, and -Hensley is living in Capitan Ignacio Curo's house, for which, after -being informed that he had to leave it at any rate and might as well get -a little money for it, Ignacio took a small sum of money. - -James Meade's entry, which included Mary Taylor's interest, is as -follows: No. 987, March 29th, 1882. N. 1/2 of N. W. 1/4 and N. 1/2 of N. -E. 1/4, Sec. 22, T. 14 S., R. 2 E., S. B. M. Captain Knowles's lines we -did not ascertain. He claims and in one way or another occupies several -tracts in the cañon. - -EXHIBIT J. - -THE SEQUAN INDIANS. - -The Sequan Indians are a small band of Dieguino Indians living in a rift -of the hills on one side of the Sweetwater Cañon, about twenty miles -from San Diego. There are less than fifty of them all told. They are -badly off, having for the last ten years been more and more encroached -on by white settlers, until now they can keep no cattle, and have little -cultivable land left. There is a small reservation of one section set -off for them, but the lines were never pointed out to them, and they -said to us they did not know whether it were true that they had a -reservation or not. They had heard also that there was an agent for the -Indians, but they did not know whether that were true or not. As nearly -as we could determine, this village is within the reservation lines; and -if it is, some of the fields which have been recently taken away from -the Indians by the whites must be also. They had the usual bundle of -tattered "papers" to show, some of which were so old they were hardly -legible. One of them was a certificate from a justice of the peace in -San Diego, setting forth that this justice, by virtue of power in him -vested by the California State law, did— - -"permit hereby all these Indians to occupy peaceably and without -disturbance all the certain land and premises heretofore occupied and -held by these Indians aforesaid, including all their right and title to -all other necessary privileges thereto belonging, mainly the water -necessary for the irrigation of their lands." - -These Indians are much dispirited and demoralized, and wretchedly poor. -Probably the best thing for them would be, in case the Capitan Grande -Cañon is cleared of whites and assured to the Indians, to remove there -and join the Capitan Grande band. - -EXHIBIT K. - -THE CONEJOS. - -The Conejos are of the Dieguino tribe. Their village is said to be -partly on the Capitan Grande Reservation. One man familiar with the -region told us that the reservation line ran through the centre of the -Conejos village. The village is reached only by a nine-miles horseback -trail, and we did not visit it. The captain came to San Diego to see us, -and we also learned many particulars of the village from an intelligent -ranchwoman who has spent eleven summers in its vicinity. There are -thirty-two men, twenty-six women, and twenty-two children in the band. -They have good fields of wheat, and raise corn, squashes, and beans; yet -there is not a plough in the village. The captain is very strenuous in -his efforts to make all his Indians work. When strange Indians come to -the village to visit, they also are set to work. No one is allowed to -remain longer than three days without lending a hand at the village -labor. They are a strong and robust band. They say they have always -lived in their present place. The captain asked for ploughs, harnesses, -and "all things to work with," also for some clothes for his very old -men and women. He also begged to be "told all the things he ought to -know;" said no agent had ever visited them, and "no one ever told them -anything." - -In many of their perplexities they are in the habit of consulting Mrs. -Gregory, and she often mounts her horse and rides nine miles to be -present at one of their councils. Not long ago one of their number, a -very young Indian, having stabbed a white man living near Julian, was -arrested, put in jail, and in imminent danger of being lynched by the -Julian mob. They were finally persuaded, however, to give him up to his -tribe to be tried and punished by them. Mrs. Gregory was sent for to be -present at the trial. The facts in the case were, that the Irishman had -attempted to take the young Indian's wife by force. The husband -interfering, the Irishman, who was drunk, fired at him, upon which the -Indian drew his knife and stabbed the Irishman. Mrs. Gregory found the -young Indian tied up in the snow, a circle of Indians sitting around -him. Recounting the facts, the captain said to Mrs. Gregory, "Now, what -do you think I ought to do?" "Would you think he deserved punishment if -it were an Indian he had stabbed under the same circumstances?" asked -Mrs. Gregory. "Certainly not," was the reply, "we should say he did just -right." "I think so too," said Mrs. Gregory; "the Irishman deserved to -be killed." But the captain said the white people would be angry with -him if no punishment were inflicted on the young man; so they whipped -him and banished him from the rancheria for one year. Mrs. Gregory said -that during the eleven years that they had kept their cattle ranch in -the neighborhood of this village, but one cow had ever been stolen by -the Indians; and in that instance the Indians themselves assisted in -tracking the thief, and punished him severely. - -EXHIBIT L. - -PALA AND ITS NEIGHBORHOOD. - -In the days of the prosperity of the San Luis Rey Mission, Pala was one -of its chief appanages. It lies an easy day's journey from San Luis Rey, -in the valley of the San Luis Rey River. It has also a little stream of -its own, the Pala Creek. It is a beautiful spot, surrounded by high -hills, with wooded spars, and green bits of meadow here and there. The -ruins of the old mission buildings are still standing, and services are -held several times a year in the dilapidated chapel. It has always been -a favorite spot with the San Luis Rey Indians, some five or six hundred -of whom are living in the region. The chief settlements are Pala, Pauma, -Apeche, La Jolla, and Rincon. At Pala, La Jolla, and Rincon are -reservations. Of the Pala Reservation some tracts have been restored to -the public domain, to be patented to whites. The remainder of this -reservation, so far as we could learn its location, contains very little -good land, the greater part of it being in the wash of the creek. The -Rincon Reservation is better, being at the head of the valley, directly -on the river, walled in to the south by high mountains. It is, as its -name signifies, in a corner. Here is a village of nearly two hundred -Indians; their fields are fenced, well irrigated, and under good -cultivation in grains and vegetables. They have stock—cattle, horses, -and sheep. As we drove into the village, an Indian boy was on hand with -his hoe to instantly repair the break in the embankment of the ditches -across which we were obliged to drive. These Indians have been reported -to us as being antagonistic and troublesome, having refused to have a -Government school established there. Upon inquiry of them we found that -the latter fact was true. They said they wanted a title to their lands, -and till they had that they did not wish to accept anything from the -Government; that the agent had promised it to them again and again, but -that they had now lost faith in ever getting it. The captain said: "The -commissioners come one day and tell us we own the lands and fields; the -next day comes somebody and measures, and then we are out of our houses -and fields, and have to live like dogs." On the outskirts of this -village is living a half-breed, Andrew Scott, who claims some of the -Indians' fields and cuts off part of their water supply. He is reported -as selling whiskey to them, and in this and other ways doing them great -harm. It is not improbable that he would be found to be within the -reservation lines. - -Between the Rincon and Pala lies the Pauma village. It is on the Pauma -Ranch, the purchase of which for Indian occupancy we have recommended to -the Government. This ranch is now rented, and the Indians are much -interfered with by the lessee, who is naturally reluctant to lose the -profit off a single acre of the land. There is in the original grant of -the Pauma Ranch the following clause: "They shall have free the arable -lands now occupied by the Indians who are established thereon, as also -the lands they may need for their small quantity of live stock." - -The La Jolla region we were unable to visit. The Indian village is said -to be outside the reservation lines. There is a claim against this -tract, and the La Jolla captain told us that the parties representing it -had said to him that they were coming in with sheep next year, and would -drive all the Indians out. Upon inquiry at the surveyor-general's office -in San Francisco in regard to the La Jolla tract, we learned that there -is a record on file in the archives of that department purporting to -show that there was a grant made in favor of the Indians of San Luis -Rey, Pablo, and José Apis, for a tract of land named La Jolla, in the -immediate vicinity of the Valle de San José, dated November 7th, 1845, -signed by Pio Pico; deposited in the archives January 31st, 1878. From -Mr. Chauncey M. Hayes, a resident of San Luis Rey, the agent of the -Pauma Ranch, we received the following letter on the subject of La -Jolla: - -"La Jolla was granted November 7th, 1845, by the Mexican Government to -José and Pablo Apis Indians, Expediente No. 242, and is recorded in the -surveyor-general's office, in book No. 4, p. 17. It was not presented to -the land commissioner in 1858, and remained without any action being -taken. Col. Cave J. Couts, now deceased, bought the interest of the -grantees, and a contract was afterwards made between Judge E. D. Sawyer, -of San Francisco, and himself to secure its approval by a special act of -Congress. About three years ago an act was passed approving the grant -for about 8,848 acres, reserving therefrom all lands then occupied. If -this included Indians, there would not be much of La Jolla left." - -It is evident that this is a claim which should be closely investigated. -The probabilities are that it would not bear such investigation. In Pala -some of the Indians had been ejected from their homes under -circumstances of great cruelty and injustice; affidavits setting forth -the facts in their case were forwarded by us to Washington (see Paper -No. 1, appended hereto). It is to be hoped that the Indians can be -reinstated in their homes. If the Pauma Ranch be purchased for Indian -occupancy, as we recommend, it will, with the present reservation tracts -of the Rincon, Pala, and La Jolla, make a sizable block of land, where -the Indians will be comparatively free from white intrusion, and where -they will have a good chance to support themselves by agriculture and -stock-raising. - - PAPER NO. 1, APPENDED TO EXHIBIT L. - -Affidavit of the claims of Arthur Golsh, Gaetano Golsh, and others, to a -certain piece of land in township of Pala. - -Patricio Soberano and Felipe Joqua, being duly sworn by me through an -interpreter, and the words hereof being interpreted to each and every -one of them, each for himself deposes and says: I am an Indian belonging -to that portion of the San Luisenos Indians under the captainship of -José Antonio Sal, and belonging in the rancheria of Pala. I have -occupied the land in question ever since my childhood, together with -Geromino Lugo and Luis Ardillo, our wives and families numbering in all -twenty-nine persons. I have resided on the land in question continuously -until December, 1882. About five years ago one Arthur Golsh rented of -Luis Ardillo a portion of said land for three months at a rental of $5 -per month. After this, said Golsh claimed the property of Ardillo and of -the three other Indians; ordered them to leave; used threats; on one -occasion aimed a pistol at Patricio Soberano. He then proceeded to file -on the land, and obtained a patent for the land, while these Indians -were still residing upon it. The said Indians had upon the said land -four houses, one of which is adobe, various enclosed fields, and a long -ditch for bringing irrigation water to the said lands. In spite of the -threats of Arthur Golsh and others, we continued to occupy the lands -until December, 1882, when we were informed by Agent S. S. Lawson that -if we did not leave voluntarily we would be put off by the sheriff. - -Said affiants therefore pray that said land be returned to the said -Indians by the United States Government. - -Signed by Patricio Soberano and Felipe Joqua in presence of the justice -of the peace, in Pala. - - EXHIBIT M. - -THE PACHANGA INDIANS. - -This little band of Indians is worthy of a special mention. They are San -Luisenos, and formerly lived in the Temecula Valley, where they had good -adobe houses and a large tract of land under cultivation. The ruins of -these houses are still standing there, also their walled graveyard full -of graves. There had been a settlement of Indians in this Temecula -Valley from time immemorial, and at the time of the secularization of -the missions many of the neophytes of San Luis Rey returned thither to -their old home. At the time of the outbreak of the Aqua Caliente -Indians, in 1851, these Temecula Indians refused to join in it and moved -their families and stock to Los Angeles for protection. Pablo, their -chief at that time, was a man of some education, could read and write, -and possessed large herds of cattle and horses. This Temecula Valley was -a part of the tract given to the San Luisenos and Dieguinos by the -treaty of January 3d, 1853, referred to in the body of this report. (See -page 460.) In 1873 a decree of ejectment against these Indians was -obtained in the San Francisco courts without the Indians' knowledge. The -San Diego Union of September 23d, 1875, says on the subject: - -"For forty years these Indians have been recognized as the most thrifty -and industrious Indians in all California. For more than twenty years -past these Indians have been yearly told by the United States -commissioners and agents, both special and general, as well as by their -legal counsel, that they could remain on these lands. Now, without any -previous knowledge by them of any proceedings in court, they are ordered -to leave their lands and homes. The order of ejectment has been served -on them by the sheriff of San Diego County. He is not only commanded to -remove these Indians, but to take of their property whatever may be -required to pay the costs incurred in the suit." - -Comment on the extracts would be superfluous. There is not often so much -of history condensed in the same number of newspaper paragraphs. A -portion of these Temecula Indians, wishing to remain as near their old -homes and the graves of their dead as possible, went over in the -Pachanga cañon, only three miles distant. It was a barren, dry spot; but -the Indians sunk a well, built new houses, and went to work again. In -the spring of 1882, when we first visited the place, there was a -considerable amount of land in wheat and barley, and a little fencing -had been done. In July, 1882, the tract was set off by Executive order -as a reservation for these Indians. In the following May we visited the -valley again. Our first thought on entering it was, Would that all -persons who still hold to the belief that Indians will not work could -see this valley. It would be hardly an extreme statement to say that the -valley was one continuous field of grain. At least four times the amount -of the previous year had been planted. Corrals had been built, fruit -orchards started; one man had even so far followed white men's example -as to fence in his orchard a piece of the road which passed his place. -The whole expression of the place had changed; so great a stimulus had -there been to the Indians in even the slight additional sense of -security given by the Executive order setting off their valley as a -reservation. And, strangely enough, as if Nature herself had conspired -at once to help and to avenge these Indians in the Temecula Valley from -which they had been driven out, the white men's grain crops were thin, -poor, hardly worth cutting; while the Indians' fields were waving high -and green—altogether the best wheat and barley we had seen in the -county. It is fortunate that this little nook of cultivable land was set -aside as a reservation. Had it not been it would have been "filed on" -before now by the whites in the region, who already look with envy and -chagrin on the crops the Indian exiles have wrested from land nobody -thought worth taking up. - -A Government school has been opened here within the past year, and the -scholars have made good progress. We found, however, much unpleasant -feeling among the Indians in regard to the teacher of this school, owing -to his having a few years before driven off four Indian families from -their lands at Pala, and patented the lands to himself. There were also -other rumors seriously affecting his moral character which led us to -make the suggestion in regard to the employment of female teachers in -these Indian schools. (See report recommendation.) As one of the Indians -forcibly said, to set such men as this over schools was like setting the -wolf to take care of the lambs. - -These Pachanga Indians had, before the setting aside of their tract as a -reservation, taken steps towards the securing of their cañon, and the -dividing it among themselves under the provisions of the Indian -Homestead Act. They were counselled to this and assisted in it by -Richard Eagan, of San Juan Capistrano, well known as a good friend of -the Indians. They have expressed themselves as deeply regretting that -they were persuaded to abandon this plan and have the tract set off as a -reservation. They were told that they could in this way get their -individual titles just as securely and without cost. Finding that they -have no individual titles, and cannot get them, they are greatly -disappointed. It would seem wise to allow them as soon as possible to -carry out their original intention. They are quite ready and fit for it. - - EXHIBIT N. - -THE DESERT INDIANS. - -The Indians known as the Desert Indians are chiefly of the Cahuilla -tribe, and are all under the control of an aged chief named Cabezon, who -is said to have more power and influence than any Indian now living in -California. These Indians' settlements are literally in the desert; some -of them being in that depressed basin, many feet below sea-level, which -all travellers over the Southern Pacific Railroad will recollect. There -is in this desert one reservation, called Aqua Caliente, of about 60,000 -acres. From the best information that we can get this is all barren -desert land, with only one spring in it. These Desert Indians are -wretchedly poor, and need help perhaps more than any others in Southern -California. We were unable to visit these Indians personally, but were -so fortunate as to induce Capt. J. G. Stanley, a former Indian agent for -the Mission Indians and a warm friend of theirs, to go out in our stead -and report to us on their condition. His report is herewith given:— - -_Mrs. H. H. Jackson_: - -MADAM,—In compliance with your request I proceeded to the Cabezon -Valley, and have endeavored, as far as was possible with the limited -time at my command, to ascertain the present condition and actual -necessities of these Indians that still inhabit that portion of the -Colorado Basin known as the Cabezon Valley, that being also the name of -the head chief, who, from the best information that can be obtained, is -not less than ninety and probably one hundred years old, and who still -has great influence with all the Indians in that region. I found it -impracticable to visit all the rancherias, and accordingly sent out -runners and called a council of all the Indians of all the villages, to -be held at a point on the railroad known as Walter's Station, that being -the most central point. The next day there were present in council about -one hundred Indians, including the captains of all the rancherias and -the old chief Cabezon. Having been special agent under the old -superintendent system, and well acquainted with the Indians, I was -received by them with the greatest cordiality. I read and interpreted -your letter to Cabezon, and also explained that you were not able to -visit them in person on account of ill health. The Indians, through -their spokesman or interpreter, then stated their cause of complaint. -First, that Mr. Lawson had never visited their villages nor taken any -interest in their welfare; that he had allowed his interpreter, Juan -Morengo, to take the advantage of them; that Juan Morengo had made a -contract for them with a man in San Bernardino to cut wood on land -claimed by the Indians for the railroad company, he taking the lion's -share on the profits, and agreeing to pay them every Saturday in money; -that Juan Morengo took some $200 belonging to the Indians and -appropriated it to his own use; that the contractor did not pay as -agreed, but wished the Indians to take poor flour and other articles at -a great price. There may be some exaggeration of the causes of -complaint, but it is evident that no one has looked after the rights of -these Indians. The Indians have stopped cutting the wood, and they say -the contractor tells them he will send others to cut wood if they will -not do it. If I understand rightly this is Government land, and no one -has a right to cut the timber. It is true, it is mesquite timber, and -they profess to cut only the dry trees, but the mesquite is invaluable -to the Indians. It not only makes their fires, but its fruit supplies -them with a large amount of subsistence. The mesquite bean is used green -and dry, and at the present time is their principal article of food. -Moreover, without the mesquite tree the valley would be an absolute -desert. The wood (the dead trees) could be made a source of employment -and profitable revenue to the Indians if cut with proper regulations, -but the present mode is destruction to the timber, and benefits but few -of the Indians. I have extended my remarks on this subject, as I think -it very important. If the wood is to be cut the Indians should be -supplied with wagons and harness that they may do all the work of -delivering the wood and get the profit of their labor. I would suggest -that it is very important that a tract of country be segregated and set -apart for these Indians. There is a vast amount of desert land in their -country, but there are spots in it that have been occupied by them for -hundreds of years where wheat, corn, melons, and other farm products can -be grown. There is very little running water, but water is so near the -surface that it can be easily developed. The Indians appear to know -nothing of any lands being set apart for them, but claim the whole -territory they have always occupied. I think that to avoid complications -something should be done for these Indians immediately to protect their -interests. At present there are eight villages or rancherias, each with -its own captain, but all recognizing old Cabezon as head chief. I -ascertained from each captain the number belonging to his village, and I -found the aggregate to be 560 souls. These Indians are not what are -called Christianized Indians. They never belonged to the missions and -have never been received into any church. They believe in spirits and -witchcraft. While I was among them I was told by a white man that the -Indians intended to kill one of their number because he had bewitched a -man and made him sick. I asked the interpreter about it. He acknowledged -it to be true, but said they only intended to frighten him so that he -would let the man alone. I told him it would be wrong to kill the -Indian, and he said they would not do it. They are very anxious to have -schools established amongst them, and are willing to all live in one -village if a suitable place can be selected. I shall offer as my opinion -that immediate steps should be taken to set apart lands for these -Indians, that they be permitted to cut wood for sale only on the public -lands in Cabezon Valley, that no one be permitted to cut any green -timber in the valley, that two strong wagons and harness for twelve -horses be furnished (or loaned) to the Indians for the purpose of -hauling wood only, that lumber be furnished to make sheds for said -wagons and harness. The Indians have horses of their own. - - All of which is respectfully submitted. - - J. G. STANLEY. - - EXHIBIT O. - -THE SAN GORGONIO RESERVATION. - -This is the only reservation of any size or value in Southern -California. It lies in the San Gorgonio Pass, between the San Bernardino -and San Jacinto Mountains. The Southern Pacific Railroad passes -throughout it. It is a large tract, including a considerable proportion -of three townships. It is in an exposed situation, open to the desert -winds, and very hot in summer. A small white settlement, called Banning, -lies in this district. Most of the titles to these settlements are said -to have been acquired before the reservation was set off. We received -from the settlers in Banning the following letter: - -_To Mrs. Jackson and Mr. Kinney, Commissioners, &c._: - -At a public meeting of all the residents on the lands reserved for -Indian purposes, held at Banning, in San Gorgonio Pass, San Bernardino -County, California, it was resolved that a delegation from our -inhabitants be appointed to proceed to San Bernardino, and lay before -the commissioners a statement of the existing status of the lands -reserved for Indian purposes as affecting the citizens resident on those -townships known as 2 and 3 S., R. 1 E., and 2 S., R. 2 E., in San -Bernardino meridian. Believing that it is of the utmost importance that -you should become conversant with facts affecting the condition and -future well-being of the Indians whom it is designed to place upon these -lands, we respectfully request a hearing. Among those facts as affecting -the residents directly, and more remotely the Indians, are the -following: - -There is in San Gorgonio Township, of which these lands are a part, a -population of two hundred and fifty souls. In township 3 S., R. 1 E., is -the village of Banning, which is the business centre of the surrounding -country, and has an immediately surrounding population numbering fifty -souls. It has post and express offices, railroad depot, district school, -church organization, general merchandise store, the flume of the San -Gorgonio Fluming Company, two magistrates; and during the last year -there was sold or shipped from this place alone fully 20,000 bushels of -wheat and barley, over 200 tons of baled hay, a large amount of honey, -butter, eggs, poultry, live stock, &c., besides 200 cords of wood. -Although more than half of the area of this township is in the mountains -and uninhabited, from the remaining portion which is surveyed land, -there is at this time fully 1,200 acres in grain, and the value of the -improved property is over $50,000, exclusive of railroad property. -Vested interests have been acquired to all the water available for -irrigation under the code of laws existing in this State. Wells have -repeatedly been dug without success in this township. United States -patents to lands were granted in this township long anterior to the -Executive order reserving the lands for Indian purposes, and since then -the population has not increased. No Indian has, within the memory of -man, resided in this township. There are not over two entire sections of -land in the entire area left available for cultivation; and on these, -without abundance of water, no one could possibly succeed in earning a -livelihood. One of these sections was occupied and was abandoned, the -attempt to raise a cereal crop having failed. The extreme aridity of the -climate renders the successful growth of cereals problematical, even -when summer fallowing is pursued, and the amount of human casualty -possessed by the average Indian does not usually embrace the period of -two years. To intersperse Indians between white settlers who own the -railroad land or odd sections and the remaining portions of the -Government sections, where a "no fence" law exists, as here, would not -be conducive to the well-being of the Indians, and would result in a -depreciation of our property alike needless and disastrous. In township -2 S., R. 2 E., there are not over eighty acres available,—that in Weaver -Creek cañon, where the water was acquired and utilized before the -Executive order and the legal right well established. In township 2 S., -R. 1 E., settlements were made many years before the issue of the order -of reservation, especially on odd-numbered sections or railroad lands as -then supposed to be, and these bona-fide settlers have acquired claims -in equity to their improvements. On one ranch in this township,—that of -Messrs. Smith & Stewart, who have cultivated and improved the mesa or -bench lands,—there was produced several thousand sacks of grain; but -this involved such an outlay of capital and knowledge, beside experience -in grain-growing such as Indians do not possess. In this township, -embracing the three mentioned, there are upward of forty voters; and -these unanimously and respectfully ask you to grant us a hearing, when -we can reply to any interrogatories you may be pleased to make. If you -will kindly name the time when to you convenient, the undersigned will -at once wait upon you. - - W. K. DUNLAP, - BEN. W. SMITH, - S. Z. MILLARD, - WELWOOD MURRAY, - GEO. C. EGAN, - D. A. SCOTT, - G. SCOTT. - -There is upon this San Gorgonio Reservation a considerable amount of -tillable land. There are also on it several small but good water-rights. -One of these springs, with the adjacent land, is occupied by an Indian -village, called the Potrero, numbering about sixty souls,—an industrious -little community, with a good amount of land fenced and under -cultivation. These Indians are in great trouble on account of their -stock, the approaches to their stock-ranges having been by degrees all -fenced off by white settlers, leaving the Indians no place where they -can run their cattle without risk of being corralled and kept till fines -are paid for their release. All the other springs except this one are -held by white settlers, who with one exception, we were informed, have -all come on within the past five years. They claim, however, to have -bought the rights of former settlers. One of the largest blocks of this -reservation lies upon the San Bernardino Mountain, and is a fair -stock-range. It is now used for this purpose by a man named Hyler. The -next largest available block of land on the reservation is now under -tillage by the dry system by the firm of Smith & Stewart. There is also -a bee-ranch on the reservation, belonging to Herron & Wilson. One of the -springs and the land adjacent are held by a man named Jost. He is on -unsurveyed land, but claims that by private survey he has ascertained -that he is on an odd-numbered section, and has made application to the -railroad for the same. He requested us to submit to the Department his -estimate of the value of his improvements. It is appended to this -exhibit. It seems plain from the above facts, and from the letter of the -Banning gentleman, that a considerable number of Indians could be -advantageously placed on this reservation if the whites were removed. It -would be necessary to acquire whatever titles there may be to tracts -included in the reservation; also to develop the water by the -construction of reservoirs, &c., probably to purchase some small -water-rights. Estimating roughly, we would say by an expenditure of from -$30,000 to $40,000 this reservation could be rounded out and put into -readiness for Indians. It ought to be most emphatically stated and -distinctly understood that without some such preparation as this in the -matter of water-rights and channels the Indians cannot be put there. It -is hardly possible for one unfamiliar with the Southern California -country to fully understand how necessary this is. Without irrigation -the greater portion of the land is worthless, and all arrangements for -developing, economizing, and distributing water are costly. This is an -objection to the San Gorgonio Reservation. There are two others. The -Indians for the most part have an exceeding dislike to the region, and -will never go there voluntarily,—perhaps only by force. The alternative -of railroad sections with the sections of the reservations will surely -lead to troubles in the future between the white settlers and the -Indians. These are serious objections; but it is the only large block of -land the Government has left available for the purpose of Indian -occupancy. - - PAPER NO. 1, APPENDED TO EXHIBIT O. - -Claim of C. F. Jost and wife for improvements in San Gorgonio -Reservation, Banning, San Bernardino County. - -Settled on section 25, township 2 S., R. 1 E., S. B. M., San Bernardino -County, in May, 1875. Bought out other white settlers. Hold railroad -permission to settle on land; of date, November, 1875. - - IMPROVEMENTS. - - House $300.00 - - Barn 150.00 - - Milk-house 50.00 - - Meat-house 50.00 - - Granary 50.00 - - Potato-house and cellar 50.00 - - Chicken-house 20.00 - - Two board flumes 50.00 - - Two water-dams 20.00 - - Honey-house 10.00 - - Wire fencing 300.00 - - Other fencing 200.00 - - One hundred and seventy fruit trees - (mostly bearing this year) 400.00 - - Breaking up sod land and draining land 200.00 - - Amount paid to first white settler for - claim (no improvements) 250.00 - - -------- - - $2,100.00 - -On the 1st of June I will have $50 worth of seed-potatoes in the ground, -and labor, $100. It is necessary to plough the ground three times to -properly prepare it for potatoes. This crop in December of the same year -is worth $500 to $600 in the markets. Have about seventy stands of bees, -worth, say $300, which if I am moved will be a dead loss. - - EXHIBIT P. - -THE PAUMA RANCH. - -The Pauma Ranch lies on the San Luis Rey River, between the Rincon and -Pala Reservations. It contains three leagues of land, largely upland and -mesa, good for pasturage and dry farming. It can be irrigated by -bringing water from the San Luis Rey River. There is some timber on it; -also some bottom-lands along the river and along the Pauma Creek. The -ranch is the property of Bishop Mora, who made to us the following -proposition for its sale: - -For the sum of $31,000 in gold coin of the United States of North -America, I am disposed to sell to the Government of the United States, -for the benefit of the Mission Indians, the ranch called "Pauma Ranch, -in the County of San Diego," containing three leagues of land, more or -less, reserving to myself and to my assignees, 1st, two acres of land -whereon the present Indian chapel stands; 2d, 320 acres on one -half-section on the south side of the public road leading to Pala, -whereon the frame house stands formerly belonging to Joaquin Amat. -Terms, cash on delivery of deed of sale. This offer is made with the -proviso that the transaction is to be concluded on or before the 31st -day of October of the present year. - - FRANCIS MORA, - Bishop of Monterey and Los Angeles. - -Santa Ynez, Santa Barbara County, May 14th, 1883. - -Upon being informed by us that this condition of time of sale would make -it impossible for us to secure these lands for the Indians, the Bishop, -in the following note, waived that condition:— - - San Luis Obispo, May 21st, 1883. - -_Mrs. William S. Jackson_: - -DEAR MRS. JACKSON,—Your favor of the 17th instant has been received. I -feel heartily thankful for the interest you take in behalf of our -Indians, and do with pleasure waive the condition as regards to the -time, and will let the offer stand until the proposed bill has been -voted on by Congress; provided, however, that the purchase can be -brought to a close during spring or summer of the year 1884, and subject -to one year's lease, which will conclude December 31st, 1884, because I -must try, _pendente transactione_, to get enough to pay taxes. - -Hoping you will reach home in good health, - - Yours, affectionately, - - FRANCIS MORA, - Bishop of Monterey and Los Angeles. - -It should be distinctly understood that Bishop Mora in making this -offer, and generously allowing it to stand open for so long a time, is -influenced by a warm desire for the welfare of the Indians. - - EXHIBIT Q. - -PROPOSITION FOR THE SALE OF THE SANTA YSABEL RANCH TO THE UNITED STATES -GOVERNMENT. - - Los Angeles, Cal., May 19th, 1883. - -_Mrs. Helen Hunt Jackson and Abbot Kinney, Esq., Special Commissioners -to the Mission Indians_: - -Should the U. S. Government wish to purchase the Santa Ysabel rancho, in -San Diego County, California, containing 4 leagues of land, or about -18,000 acres, we will sell said rancho for the sum of ninety-five -thousand dollars ($95,000), gold coin. - - Respectfully, - - HARTSHORNE & WILCOX, - By E. F. SPENCE, Agent. - - EXHIBIT R. - -AN ACT for the government and protection of Indians, passed by the -California State legislature April 22d, 1850. - -SECTION 1. Justices of the peace shall have jurisdiction in all cases of -complaints by, for, or against Indians in their respective townships in -this State. - -SEC. 2. Persons and proprietors of lands on which Indians are residing -shall permit such Indians peaceably to reside on such lands unmolested -in the pursuit of their usual avocations for the maintenance of -themselves and their families; provided the white person or proprietor -in possession of such lands may apply to a justice of the peace in the -township where the Indians reside to set off to such Indians a certain -amount of land, and on such application the justice shall set off a -sufficient amount of land for the necessary wants of such Indians, -including the site of their village or residence if they so prefer it, -and in no case shall such selection be made to the prejudice of such -Indians; nor shall they be forced to abandon their homes or villages -where they have resided for a number of years; and either party feeling -themselves aggrieved can appeal to the county court from the decision of -the justice, and then, when divided, a record shall be made of the lands -so set off in the court so dividing them; and the Indians shall be -permitted to remain thereon until otherwise provided for. - - * * * * * - -This act has never been repealed, nor, so far as we could learn, -complied with in a single instance. To-day it would be held as of no -value in the California courts. - - - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE - - -Punctuation has been normalized. - -Variations in spelling hyphenation and accentuation were maintained. - -Italicized words and phrases are presented by surrounding the text with -_underscores_. - - - - - HELEN JACKSON'S WRITINGS. - - A KEY TO "RAMONA." - - A CENTURY OF DISHONOR. - - A Sketch of the United States Government's Dealings - with some of the Indian Tribes. - - A New Edition. 12mo. pp. 514. Cloth. $1.50. - -Mrs. Jackson devoted a whole year of her life to writing and compiling -materials for "A Century of Dishonor," and while thus engaged she -mentally resolved to follow it with a story which should have for its -_motif_ the cause of the Indian. After completing her "Report on the -Condition and Needs of the Mission Indians of California" (see Appendix, -p. 458) she set herself down to this task, and "Ramona" is the result. -This was in New York in the winter of 1883-84, and while thus engaged -she wrote her publisher that she seemed to have the whole story at her -fingers' ends, and nothing but physical impossibility prevented her from -finishing it at a sitting. Alluding to it again on her death-bed, she -wrote: "I did not write 'Ramona;' it was written through me. My -life-blood went into it,—all I had thought, felt, and suffered for five -years on the Indian question." - -The report made by Mrs. Jackson and Mr. Kinney is grave, concise, and -deeply interesting. It is added to the Appendix of this new edition of -her book. In this California journey Mrs. Jackson found the materials -for "Ramona," the Indian novel, which was the last important work of her -life, and in which nearly all the incidents are taken from life. In the -report of the Mission Indians will be found the story of the Temecula -removal, and the tragedy of Alessandro's death, as they appear in -"Ramona."—_Boston Daily Advertiser._ - - * * * * * - -Mrs. Jackson's Letter of Gratitude to the President. - -The following letter from Mrs. Jackson to the President was written by -her four days before her death, Aug. 12, 1885:— - -_To_ GROVER CLEVELAND, _President of the United States_: - -Dear Sir,—From my death-bed I send you a message of heartfelt thanks for -what you have already done for the Indians. I ask you to read my -"Century of Dishonor." I am dying happier for the belief I have that it -is your hand that is destined to strike the first steady blow toward -lifting this burden of infamy from our country, and righting the wrongs -of the Indian race. - - With respect and gratitude, - - HELEN JACKSON. - -_Sold by all booksellers. Mailed, post-paid, on receipt of price, by the -publishers_, - - ROBERTS BROTHERS, BOSTON. - -RAMONA. A Story. 12mo. Cloth. Price, $1.50. (50th thousand.) - -_The Atlantic Monthly_ says of the author that she is "a Murillo in -literature," and that the story "is one of the most artistic creations -of American literature." Says a lady: "To me it is the most distinctive -piece of work we have had in this country since 'Uncle Tom's Cabin,' and -its exquisite finish of style is beyond that classic." "The book is -truly an American novel," says the _Boston Advertiser_. "Ramona is one -of the most charming creations of modern fiction," says CHARLES D. -WARNER. "The romance of the story is irresistibly fascinating," says -_The Independent_. "The best novel written by a woman since George Eliot -died, as it seems to me, is Mrs. Jackson's 'Ramona,'" says T. W. -HIGGINSON. - -ZEPH. A Posthumous Story. 12mo. Cloth. Price, $1.25. - -Those who think that all the outrage and wrong are on the side of the -man, and all the suffering and endurance on the side of the woman, -cannot do better than read this sad and moving sketch. It is written by -a woman; but never, I think, have I heard of more noble and -self-sacrificing conduct than that of the much-tried husband in this -story, or conduct more vile and degrading than that of the woman who -went by the name of his wife. Such stories show how much both sexes have -to forgive and forget. The author, who died before she could complete -this little tale of Colorado life, never wrote anything more beautiful -for its insight into human nature, and certainly never anything more -instinct with true pathos. A writer of high and real gifts as a novelist -was lost to the world by the untimely death of Mrs. Jackson.—_The -Academy, London._ - -BETWEEN WHILES. A Collection of Stories. 12mo. Cloth. Price, $1.25. - -Mrs. Helen Jackson's publishers have collected six of her best short -stories into this volume. Most of them appeared in magazines in the last -year or two of her life. "The Inn of the Golden Pear," the longest and -by far the strongest of them all, is, however, entirely new to the -public. - -Outside of her one great romance ("Ramona"), the author has never -appealed to the human heart with more simple and beautiful certainty -than in these delightful pictures.—_Bulletin, San Francisco._ - -Mrs. Helen Jackson's "Little Bel's Supplement," the touching story of a -young schoolmistress in Prince Edward's Island, is not likely to be -forgotten by any one who has read it. The high and splendid purpose that -directed the literary work of "H. H.," and which is apparent in nearly -everything that came from her pen, was supported by a peculiar power, -unerring artistic taste, and a pathos all her own. This charming tale -and one about the Adirondacks and a child's dream form part of the -contents of this posthumous volume, to which, on her death-bed, she gave -the beautiful title "Between Whiles." It is worthy to be placed -alongside of her most finished pieces.—_Commercial Advertiser, New -York._ - -MERCY PHILBRICK'S CHOICE. 16mo. Cloth. Price, $1.00. - -HETTY'S STRANGE HISTORY. 16mo. Cloth. Price, $1.00. - -These two stories were originally published anonymously, having been -written for the "No Name Series" of novels, in which they had a large -popularity. - -BITS OF TRAVEL. Square 18mo. Cloth, red edges. Price, $1.25. - -The volume has few of the characteristics of an ordinary book of travel. -It is entertaining and readable, from cover to cover; and when the -untravelled reader has finished it, he will find that he knows a great -deal more about life in Europe—having seen it through intelligent and -sympathetic eyes—than he ever got before from a dozen more pretentious -volumes.—_Hartford Courant._ - -BITS OF TRAVEL AT HOME. Square 18mo. Cloth, red edges. Price, $1.50. - -The descriptions of American scenery in this volume indicate the -imagination of a poet, the eye of an acute observer of Nature, the hand -of an artist, and the heart of a woman. - -H. H.'s choice of words is of itself a study of color. Her picturesque -diction rivals the skill of the painter, and presents the woods and -waters of the Great West with a splendor of illustration that can -scarcely be surpassed by the brightest glow of the canvas. Her -intuitions of character are no less keen than her perceptions of -Nature.—_N. Y. Tribune._ - -GLIMPSES OF THREE COASTS: California and Oregon; Scotland and England; -Norway, Denmark, and Germany. 12mo. Cloth. Price, $1.50. - -Helen Hunt Jackson has left another monumental memorial of her literary -life in the volume entitled "Glimpses of Three Coasts," which is just -published and includes some fourteen papers relating to life in -California and Oregon, in Scotland and England, and on the North Shore -of Europe in Germany, Denmark, and Norway. The sketches are marked by -that peculiar charm that characterizes Mrs. Jackson's interpretations of -Nature and life. She had the divining gift of the poet; she had the -power of philosophic reflection; and these, with her keen observation -and swift sympathies and ardent temperament, make her the ideal -interpreter of a country's life and resources.—_Traveller, Boston._ - -BITS OF TALK ABOUT HOME MATTERS. Square 18mo. Cloth, red edges. Price, -$1.00. - -"Bits of Talk" is a book that ought to have a place of honor in every -household; for it teaches, not only the true dignity of parentage, but -of childhood. As we read it, we laugh and cry with the author, and -acknowledge that, since the child is father of the man, in being the -champion of childhood, she is the champion of the whole coming race. -Great is the rod, but H. H. is not its prophet!—MRS. HARRIET PRESCOTT -SPOFFORD, _in Newburyport Herald_. - -POEMS: Complete, comprising "Verses by H. H." and "Sonnets and Lyrics." -Square 18mo. Red edges, price, $1.50; white cloth, gilt, $1.75. - -Shortly after the publication of "Verses" Ralph Waldo Emerson walked -into the office of the publishers and inquired for the "Poems of H. H." -While he was looking at it the attendant ventured to remark that H. H. -was called our greatest woman poet. "The 'woman' might well be omitted," -was the only reply of the Concord philosopher. He was then engaged in -compiling his poetical anthology (Parnassus), in the preface to which he -says: "The poems of a lady who contents herself with the initials H. H. -in her book, published in Boston (1874), have a rare merit of thought -and expression, and will reward the reader for the careful attention -which they require." - - JUVENILES. - -BITS OF TALK, in Verse and Prose. For Young Folks. Square 18mo. Cloth. -Price, $1.00. - -It is just such a book as children will enjoy, made up as it is of a -variety of attractive reading, short stories, fairy tales, parables, and -poems, with here and there a chapter of good advice, given in such a -taking way without a bit of goody talk, that the children will find it -pleasant to take, little as they like advice after the usual -fashion.—_Worcester Spy._ - -NELLY'S SILVER MINE. A Story of Colorado Life. With Illustrations. 16mo. -Cloth. Price, $1.50. - -"Nelly's Silver Mine" is one of those stories which, while having the -noble simplicity and freshness whereby the young are captivated, is full -of a thought and wisdom which command for it the attention of -all.—_Philadelphia Inquirer._ - -CAT STORIES. Containing "Letters from a Cat," "Mammy Tittleback and her -Family," and "The Hunter Cats of Connorloa," bound in one volume. Small -4to. Cloth. Price, $2.00; or, each volume separately, $1.25. - -The subject is attractive, for there is nothing children take a more -real interest in than cats; and the writer has had the good sense to -write neither above nor below her subject. The type is large, so that -those for whom the book is intended may read it themselves.... For -details we must refer all interested to the story itself, which seems to -us written with admirable verisimilitude.—_London Academy._ - -_Sold by all booksellers. Mailed, post-paid, on receipt of the price, by -the publishers_, - - ROBERTS BROTHERS, BOSTON. - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's A Century of Dishonor, by Helen Hunt Jackson - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A CENTURY OF DISHONOR *** - -***** This file should be named 50560-0.txt or 50560-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/0/5/6/50560/ - -Produced by readbueno, Jan-Fabian Humann and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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