Our Indian Wards

Chapter I. The Reception Of The

F.ARI.T EXPLORERS BY THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. — The conduct of the former toward the latter. — Grants by European POWERS TO THEIR SUBJECTS. — THE LANDING OF THE PlI.GRIMS. — The destruction of the Pequods, etc 1-15

Chapter II

The intercourse and dealings of William Penn with the Indians. — The impression made upon them. — Penn's description of the Indians as he found them 16-32

Chapter III

Events immediately preceding and following the treaty of Paris, in 1763. — Cessions by France and Spain of their rights to territory east of the Mississippi. — Conspiracy of Pontiac. — Troops raised in Pennsylvania and Virginia. — Bounty for Indian scalps. — Whites occupy the Ohio valley. — Enter Kentucky and the Northwest Territory. — Rupture between Great Britain and her colonies. — Beginning of the Revolutionary War, etc 33-51

Chapter IV

Events following the treaty of peace. — The effect upon the Indians. — The frontier posts remain in the hands of the British.— Complications RESULTING THEREFROM. — MILITARY EXPEDITIONS AGAINST THE IN- DIANS. — Interview at Niagara between United States commissioners AND DEPUTATIONS FROM THE INDIAN NATIONS, ETC 52-72

Chapter V

St. Clair's defeat communicated to Congress. — Another campaign projected. Gen. Wayne assigned to command it. — The Indians defeated. Treaty of Greenville. — A boundary or division line adopted. — More territory demanded from the Indians. — Subsequent treaties and their effect. — Rupture between Tecumseh and Gen. Harrison. — Battle of Tippecanoe. — Tecumseh joins the British, and is killed at the BATTLE OF THE THAMES, ETC 73-91 (Hi) CONTENTS.

Chapter VI

Early treaties with the Cherokees, Choctaws, Chickasaws, and Creeks. — Message of President Monroe, and views of John C. Calhoun, Secretary of War, recommending the removal of the Indian nations residing east of the Mississippi river to the west side. — Views of James Barbour, Secretary of War, on the same subject. — Message of President Jackson recommending this removal. — Act op Congress pro- VIDING FOR THE SAME PASSED Mat 28, 1830 92-110

Chapter VII

Dedication of the country west of the Mississippi river for a permanent home for the indians residing east of it. — guarantees that this new home should never be embraced within the limits of any organized state or territory. — the tribes that emigrated. their "lost money." — The annexation of Texas and other acquisitions. — The effect upon the indians. — demands that the country should be opened to the settlement of the white people. — organization of the terri- TORY of Kansas. — Its effect on the emigrated tribes — Treaties of 1854. — -Intrusion of the whites. — Military officers at Fort Leavenworth sympathize with the " squatters." — The reservations of the Cherokees, Chickasaws, Choctaws, etc 111-133

Chapter VIII

The removal of Indian tribes. — The story of one removal substantially THE STORY OF ALL. — The REMOVAL OF THE SANTEE SlOUX AND WlXNEBAGO Indians. — The destruction of the buffalo and small game. — Its effect on the Indians of the plains 134-150

Chapter IX

The Indians on the Pacific slope, Texas, New Mexico, and the territory embraced in Utah, Nevada, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Arizona, and part of Dakota. — The incursions of whites previous to any arrangement with the Indians. — Complications, wars, and treaties. — Destruction of Lieutenant Grattan's command. — Harney's campaign. — Operations of Lieutenant Dunn and Major Dowling. — Black Kettle's visit to Denver. — Chivington's attack on his village. — Destruction of Colonel Fetterman' s command. — Campaign of General Hancock. — Burning of the Cheyenne village, etc 151-172 CONTENTS. V

Chapter X

Military operations against the Indians in New Mexico and Arizona in 1862, 1863, 1864, and 1869. — Deliberate attempt to exterminate them. — Massacre of Apaches in 1871 at Camp Grant, etc 175-193

CHAPTER XL

A Board of Peace Commissioners created by Congress. — Treaties made with the Kiowa, Comanche, Cheyenne, and Arapahoe, Sioux, and other Indians. — Five hundred thousand dollars appropriated to carry their provisions into effect. — This duty confided to General Sherman. — Transfer of General Sheridan to the Department of the Missouri. — He condemns what the Peace Commission had done. — Holds THAT THE INDIANS SHOULD HAVE BEEN PUNISHED. — GENERAL SHERMAN CO- INCIDES in this opinion. — Action of the commission at Chicago. — ■ Campaign against " the hostile Indians south of the Arkansas," etc 194-216

Chapter XII

General Sheridan's operations. — Movements of General Custer. — His surprise and destruction of Black Kettle's village, called by the military "the Battle of the Washita." — His return to General Sheridan's headquarters at Camp Supply. — Incidents and events of THE MARCH OF THE COMMAND.FROM THENCE, VIA THE BATTLE-GROUND, TO FoRT Cobb 217-242

Chapter XIII

Correspondence and official reports of Gen. Sheridan and Gen. Hazen, touching the status of the Cheyennes and Arapahoes. — An examination of the contents of these. — The operations of Gen. Harney and Gen. Hazen, acting as Indian agents under the supervision of Gen. Sherman 243-271

Chapter XIV

Military operations in Montana in 1869 and 1870. — The destruction of the Piegan Indian camp by Col. Baker. — Military correspondence and reports touching the campaign 272-293 VI CONTENTS.

Chapter XV

The Sioux war of 1876. — How brought about. — Sitting Bull and his followers turned over to the army February 1, 1876. — Sitting Bull's views.— Seizure of the arms and ponies of the Indians at Red Cloud, Standing Rock, and Cheyenne river agencies. — Military correspondence AND COMMENTS THEREON 294-321

Chapter XVI

Operations against the Northern Cheyennes. — Their surrender. — The SURRENDER OF CRAZY HORSE. — The CHIEF IS STABBED AT CAMP ROBINSON. Transfer of the Cheyennes to the Indian Territory. — Dull Knife's BAND ESCAPES NORTH. — ITS FATE. — A SAD STORY 322-341

Chapter XVII

The Sioux Commission of 1876. — Correspondence of Generals McKenzie, Crook, and Sheridan, in relation to the Indians and the operations of the Commission. — The removal of the Comanche and Kiowa Indians from Fort Sill to the Wichita agency. — Illustrations of the FRANKNESS AND CANDOR OF HIGH MILITARY OFFICERS 342-372

Chapter XVIII

The transfer question in the 45th Congress. — A joint select committee APPOINTED TO INQUIRE INTO THE SUBJECT. Its ACTION. — TESTIMONY OF Gen. Sherman and others. — Remarkable testimony of Gen. Meigs. — The cost of supporting the army compared with the cost of supporting the Indians, etc., etc 373-394

Chapter XIX

The Ute Indians of Colorado. — The treaty of 1868, and the agreement of 1873 with them. — An examination of the manner in which each party has performed its obligations. — The origin of the present complications, etc 395-410 INTRODUCTORY. In the preparation and publication of this work the author has been moved by a sincere desire to render service in the amelioration of the condition of our Indian population, now numbering about two hundred and seventy-live thousand souls. The condition of this population, and the relations existing between the Indians and the white people dwelling on the border, is not satisfactory. This fact no intelligent man will deny. There is diversity of opinion as to the causes which produce the discontent and disorder that prevail, as well as the wars that result therefrom.

These border wars began at a very early period, aud may be traced through our whole history, and the record is a sickening detail of outrage, robbery, and murder. The careful student of history should have no difficulty in discovering the origin of our Indian complications, as well as the causes that have stimulated conflicts between the white and red man, and which have formed such sad chapters in our annals. It can not be denied, that from the period when the first infant settlements were made upon the Atlantic sea-board by European colonists, until the present time, there have been constant, persistent, and unceasing efforts on the part of the white man to drive the Indian from his hunting ground and his home. "When the encroachments of the former became unbearable, they were forcibly resisted by the latter.

This was the only mode left to the Indian by which to redress his wrongs, since he had no standing in the civil tribunals of the INTRODUCTORY. colonies, aud even to this day we have practically denied him the benefit of our courts. Unless we expect from the savage more forbearance than from the civilized man under like circumstances, there should be no surprise that he has resisted the aggressions made upon him. That he was willing, under proper treatment, to have lived in amity with the white man, there is abundant evidence. In 1607, the first permanent settlement in our country was commenced at Jamestown, Virginia, by a colony of English men. A few years thereafter, in a conversation between Captain John Smith, one of the original councilmen in the colony, and Powhatan, the principal chief of the Indians residing in southern Virginia, the latter said: "I am an old man, and must soon die, and the succession must descend in order to my brothers, and then to my two sisters and their daughters.

I wish their experience was equal to mine, and that your love to us might not be less than ours to you. Why should you take by force from us that which you can obtain by love? Why should you, destroy us, who have provided you with food ? What can yon gain by war? We can hide our provisions, and fly into the woods, and then you must, consequently, almost famish by reason of wronging your friends. You see us unarmed and willing to supply your wants, if you will come in a friendly manner, and not with swords and guns, as to invade an enemy. I am not so simple as not to know that it is better to eat good meat, be well, and sleep quietly with my women and children, to laugh and be merry with the English, and, being their friend, to have copper hatchets and whatever else I want, than to fly from all, to lie cold in the woods, feed upon acorns, roots, and such trash, and to be so hunted that I can not rest, eat, or sleep, and so, in this miserable manner, to end my miser able life; and, Captain Smith, this might soon be your fate too, INTRODUCTORY.

IX through your rashness and unadvisedness. I therefore exhort you to peaceable counsels." lt will, in a few years, be three centuries since the chief Powhatan had the talk with Captain Smith, from which this extract is taken. If the views expressed by the chief had governed the intercourse between the races from that period until the present time, much of the suffering, torture, and premature death that accompanied the colonizing and settlement of our country would have been spared, the civilization of the Indian assured, aud the white and red man have dwelt together in harmony and peace. It was no fault of the na tives that relations of peace and good will were not success fulby cultivated. On this occasion, and in behalf of his race, Powhatan solved the Indian problem; and William Penn justified this solution when he assumed direction of affairs in his prov ince, and established such relations with the Indians that peace and friendship prevailed for more than two-thirds of a century, during which time the Friends held power.

Iu the second chapter of this work, the conduct of this great aud good man, in his intercourse with, and his opinion of the na tive race, will be found, and to the same the reader is re spectfully referred. In view of the pacific disposition of the natives, as attested by Powhatan, and the fact that the followers of William Penn lived so many years with the Indians without a single serious disturbance in his province, coupled with the pledge in the ordinance of 1787 that " the utmost good faith shall be observed toward the Indians; their lands and property shall never be taken from them without their consent ; and in their property, rights, and liberty they shall never be in vaded or disturbed, unless in just and lawful wars authorized by Congress," there is iu the ever recurring and never ending INTRODUCTORY.

X conflicts between the white man and the Indian, cause for the deepest humiliation. From the organization of the government until the year 1871, the extinction of Indian title to lands was acquired by treaty, and by the same process the new home set apart from time to time for the residence of the tribe Avas assured to it, with the covenant in the treaty that such new home should be the permanent home of the tribe forever. Such covenauts, though solemnly entered into by the government, were not regarded. Whenever the progress of settlement brought the white man's residence near the Indian's home, another treaty was demanded. If the tribe was unwilling to surrender this " permanent home," and no other means were found adequate to bring the Indians into negotiation, in due time, through complications of some sort, there was what was termed an " Indian outbreak," rapidly followed by a conflict, terminat ing in another removal.

The effect of these removals, so often repeated, has at all times worked injury to the Indians, and proved fatal to their advancement. Under the operation some tribes have yielded in despair. Others that survived did not recover from or overcome the fatal results for generations. Communities of our own race could not undergo like trials without serious loss in numbers as well as vitality ; and, if repeated, as in the case of the Indians, who have so often been removed, they would relapse into a very low grade of civilization. When the facts are considered, there should be no surprise that our Indian wards have not advanced more rapidly. Superadded to the affliction growing out of these frequent removals, other and numerous difficulties have been placed in the path of the Indians. Even the most beneficent measures of the government looking to his advancement have, in many cases, been counteracted by the agencies employed to execute INTRODUCTORY.

XI them ; agents have frequently proved faithless, and soldiers sent to protect the tribes have not only been cruel and vindic tive, but often have introduced demoralization and carried disease among them. In fact (though it may seem paradoxical), it is yet true, that the white man's conduct and example, in stead of aiding, has been the chief obstacle in the way of the civilization of the Indian. In 1826, the then secretary of war said this Indian question was a most solemn one, and that it addressed itself " to the Americau people, whose answer was full of responsibility. . . . Shall we go on quietly in a course which, judging from the past, threatens their extinction, while their past sufferings and future prospects so pathetically appeal to our compassion?" Twenty years later, the attorney-general of the United States said " there is nothiug in the whole compass of our laws so hard to bring within any precise definition, or logical or scientific arrangement, as the relation in which the Indian stands toward the United States."

And the report of the peace commission, of the date of January 7, 1868, said : " Nobody pays any attention to Indian matters. This is a deplorable fact. Members of Congress understand the negro question, aud talk learnedly on finance and political economy, but when the progress of settlement reaches the Indian's home, the only question considered is ' how best to get his lands.' "When they are obtained, the Indian is lost sight of. "While our missionary societies and benevolent associations have annually collected thousands of dollars from the charitable to send to Asia and Africa, for the purposes of civilization, scarcely a dollar is expended or a thought bestowed on the civilization of the Indians at our very doors." Is it not time that a change should take place ? Is it not time that the government and people of the United States should resolve that justice and fair dealing shall be substituted INTRODUCTORY. for that coldness, sordid selfishness, and cruelty which the native race has endured in all the years of the past ?

The In dian is not ouly entitled to justice at our hands, but we should extend to the race our earnest sympathy and aid. Our wards should have our best efforts for the amelioration of their con dition. There are among them many men of worth, with natural gifts equal to those possessed by our own race ; and, with a fair and equal chance in the battle of life, there should be no doubt as to the willingness of the Indian to accept our civilization, or of his capability to become a useful member of society. Let the red man have what he never has had, appropriate protection and support, and fair opportunity. Let him be emancipated from every evil and adverse influence, aud lifted up and pressed forward in the new life. Let us deal with him as we would be dealt by. In short, let us ad mit that he is a Man, and treat him as such, not spasmod ically, but persistently, constantly, and in every relation of life.

To begin, let him have a fixed and settled home. This is imperative. Let him be distressed no more with the fear and apprehension that this home will be taken from him. Many of the reservations on which the Indians now reside are not suitable as to location or the quality of the land embraced within them. They have been selected in exigencies arising at the time, and without any regard to their adaptability to the uses intended. However afflicting it may be, there is an absolute necessity that some of these reservations be recast. This is demanded by the true interests of both races. Some tribes have tracts so barren, that, no matter how desirous they may be to engage in cultivation, they must be debarred the privilege ; others are so located as to expose them at all times to trespass, from the whites, aud, thus disturbed, they must fail in their efforts.

There are in the Western States INTRODUCTORY. XIII and Territories nearly an hundred different reservations, in all aggregating about 180,000,000 acres of land. The report of the Indian office, for 1878, estimates that, of this land, about 18,000,000 of acres are tillable. It is believed this estimate of tillable land is too large. There is, however, too much territory in a number of the reservations, and it is clear that there are too many of them. In recasting and reducing the number, by consolidation or otherwise, the greatest care should be taken, since the change and re-location of those whose true interests require it, should be final. In discussing this phase of the Indian question, in the North American Review, in 1873, Francis A. Walker, a former commissioner of Indian affairs, said : " It is manifest, therefore, that the next five or ten years must witness a general recasting of the scheme of Indian reservations.

This is not to be accomplished by confiscating the Indian title, but by exchange, by concession, by con solidation. Let Congress provide the necessary authority, under proper limitations for the executive departments, and the adjustment desired can be reached easily and amicably." Six years have passed since this suggestion was made, but Congress has taken no step looking to the consummation of the work. It should be done at once, and with the utmost care. No tribe should have assigned to it, for a permanent home, a reservation that does not contain sufficient tillable land. On this point there should be absolute certainty, and the title to the tract assigned should be as perfect and good as that by which the government conveys its quarter sections to actual settlers. This done, and a great point will be gained.

The mind of the Indian will, for the first time, be at rest on a question that has disturbed his ancestor as well as himself. To each head of a family there should, within the reservation, be assigned a homestead. The number of INTRODUCTORY. acres in it should be sufficiently large, but not excessive. He should be taught that he is the proprietor, with the right to exercise jurisdiction over his farm, and be secured in the en joyment of all he produces upon it. The title to the land should remain in the tribe, since the Indians are generally not prepared for fee-simple titles. In years to come, these may be granted. "When the tribe is permanently located on the reservation, and the integrity of the same is placed beyond question, and when those disposed to intrude upon the possessions of the red mau understand, that if done, it is at their peril, and that certain and swift punishment will follow, the work of the agent may be successfully prosecuted.

This should be con fided to none but men of the highest character for integrity, of good executive ability, and industrious habits. Such men will not have, among their subordinates, any who are un worthy. At times, indeed too often, the Indians have suffered much for want of agents with proper qualifications. While firm in the discharge of their duties, both the agent and his employes, when engaged in the instruction and direction of the Indian in his work and labor, will do well to offer to the savage the reason why this thing be done and the other omitted. He is the pupil ; they the instructors. In this most important matter a military agent will always fail. His education, training, and discipline are not in the right direction to qualify him to discharge the duties of an Indian agent. From the highest to the lowest in rank, it is the duty of the subordinate to obey orders.

The reason why a particular command is given is not explained. To the soldier this is not necessary or proper ; but the instruction of the savage is quite a different thing, and the Indian agent who, on all proper occasions, devotes a few minutes in unfolding to the mind of the Indiau why he should do as instructed, will find INTRODUCTORY. XV it time well speut. Firmness aud kindness should go hand in hand. This will not interfere with reformatory discipline. In all cases where Indians can be utilized about the labor of the agency it should be done, and no white employes, except such as can not be dispensed with, should be in the service. The young men of the tribe will gladly take hold of and dis charge the duties assigned them, and they will be trustworthy and faithful. Competent men, to act as Indian agents, are to be found in many tribes, and it would be well to give some of these positions as such.

The Indian women must cease to do the outdoor work, and confine themselves to domestic duties and the cares of the bouse and the family. The labor in the garden and the field must be done by the men and boys. To the nomad, this change will be a great innovation ; but the step being taken by one, others will follow, and, with proper prompting and encouragement, accessions will continually be made to the ranks of labor. The methods that succeed in one case may, for the time, seem to fail in another. The reason will be found in the surrounding circumstances. Every phase of the problem must be studied by the agent in charge, and, if faith ful, diligent, and patient, he will soon surmount all difficul ties. That the Indians who are well advanced in years will desire to adhere to their savage customs may be expected.

Many of these will yield, and, when the change comes, such will embrace the pursuits of civilized life with earnestness,. and succeed admirably. As the habit of roaming must cease, and all Indians have their fixed homes, the young of both sexes will always be within reach, and then an inviting and interesting field will be open, not only for the work of the agent, but for the Christian missionary. "With reference to missionary work among the Indians, it may be stated that the various religious denominations in the United States, dur- INTRODUCTORY. XVI ing the year 1877, contributed for educational and other pur poses, among all the tribes except the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, and Seminole Indians, the sum of $70,114, as follows: For education, $33,950; for all other purposes, $36,164.

The statistics in the annual report of the Indian office, for the year 1877, are authority for this statement. From the same report, it is shown that many tribes have not a single missionary among them. Those thus situate num ber, in the aggregate, from 60,000 to 70,000 souls ! This is a sad story. The annual contributions made for missionary purposes, by the membership of the various religious denomi nations in the United States, amount to millions of dollars. The mere statement of this fact, in connection with the other fact — that, of the vast sum contributed, the mission boards of the various denominations set off barely $70,000 per year for school and mission work among our native heathen — is well calculated to produce profound surprise. That such cold in difference should exist in the Christian world toward these hapless people, is a source of deep regret.

"With reference to the protection of the person and property of each Indian, and to provide for the punishment of such members of the tribe as trespass upon his farm, as well as for the punishment of minor offenses committed by one Indian against another, within the reservation, a brief and simple code of regulations, with proper penalties, prepared by the department, aud adopted by the Indians in council, will be all sufficient ; and an Indian police, limited in number, will suffice to give efficiency and force to them ; and thus order will be preserved. Then, Congress should, in good faith, by appropriate legislation, fulfill the pledge made in the ordinance of 1787, and pass such laws, "founded in justice and humanity," as may be necessary to protect the Indian race "in their property, rights, and liberty."

Every senti- INTRODUCTORY. XVII ment of justice demands that this be done at once. The fact that nearly a century has passed since this ordinance was adopted, and that no adequate legislation has been provided, in pursuance of it, to guarantee to the Indian his rights, is a burning shame. Let there be no further delay. The present laws for the protection of the Indians from intrusion, trespass, and personal injury by lawless whites, are wholly inadequate. The attention of Congress has repeatedly been called to this fact. It is true that it is made the duty of the military arm, in certain cases, to remove intruders from the Indian lands, but this duty is seldom discharged. On the contrary, the troops have been frequently used to punish the Indians, be cause they did not quietly submit to wrong and oppression, and the invasion of their rights and territory.

Unlawful ex peditions into the Indian reservations have been made, under the protection and escort of our troops — such, for instance, as the invasion of the Black Hills, in 1874, guarded by troops, with Gattling guns, under command of Gen. Custer. He acted under the authority of his superiors, and with the knowledge of the interior department. This expedition was not to put down any insubordination among the Sioux, nor was it authorized by Congress. It was simply a gold-hunting invasion, and invited miners into the Hills. The next year, owing to the dissatisfaction of the Sioux, Gen. Crook was sent there to drive out the intruders, who, by the bad exam ple set them in 1874, had rushed in ; but his sympathies were with the invaders, and hi3 troops were finally turned upon the Indians ; and thus began the Sioux war of 1876.

To obtain from Congress appropriate legislation, and the passage of such laws as will effectually protect our Indian wards in all their personal and property rights, will be a difficult matter. If the people, however, who are the source of power, take hold of the subject with that earnestness which INTRODUCTORY. XVIII its importance demands, and make known to their servants what their wishes are, the result will be accomplished. To give force and vigor to the administration of Indian affairs, the bureau should be emancipated from the interior as well as the war department. The secretary of the interior is now burdened with the vast business and duties of five distinct bureaus, viz., pension, land, patent, education, and Indian. He can not give to the latter that patient attention, and be stow upon it the labor, its importance demands, and which is absolutely necessary.

Of themselves, the business and duties of the Indian bureau are sufficient to engross the entire time, attention, and labor of one possessed of the highest grade of executive ability. No other work should disturb his mind, or occupy his time. On this subject, the peace commission of 1867-8 said : " We believe the Indian question to be one of such mo mentous importance, as respects both the honor and the in terests of the nation, as to require for its solution an undi vided responsibility. The vast and complicated duties now devolved upon the secretary of the interior, leave him too little time to examine aud determine the multiplicity of questions necessarily connected with the government of a race. The same may be said of the secretary of war. As things now are, it is difficult to fix responsibility.

When errors are committed, the civil department blames the military; the military retort by the charge of inefficiency and corruption against the officers of the bureau. The commissioner of In dian affairs escapes responsibility by pointing to the secretary of the interior, while the secretary may well respond that, though in theory he may be responsible, practically he is gov erned by the head of the bureau. "We, therefore, recommend that Indian affairs be committed to an independent department." INTRODUCTORY. XIX The Sioux commission of 1876, in referring to the evils ex isting in the management of Indian affairs, said : " "We submit that the remedy for these evils is not to be found by again placing the care of the Indians in the war department. It had this duty for near three-quarters of a century, and during the whole period there is no page in the history of our Indian management upon which our recollection can linger with emotions of pleasure. . . .