The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1853-04-07

an oak in the neighborhood. The vote deciding
upon this course was unanimous, but there il
at least one who strongly doubts the policy Oh
Justice of the proceeding. Time will show
There are still two chiefs remaining, and &
tribe that can muster $50 fighting men, in the
immediate neighbOrhood of a small scattered
population of exposed and defenceless whites
What course they, together with their allies
the Tigres and Nimskews will pursue, remains
to be SEEM
remark upon the above
/. That no whites appear to have been killed
in this "dfTdy" where Is or 20 Indians were
killed. full proof that it was a massacre o
helpless and defenceless beings, perhaps mostly
women and children.
2 That the :" old ohief trds al Frsnohtown
openly threatening rengeance" This is so con
trary to Indian habits that set it down as an
entire untruth. An Indian land an old man
at that does not 60 into a town to "thredten
rsngeGnee.' If he wants vengeance he goes
privately and takes it.
3. The unauimity of the vote for hanging
the old man is with me- no sign of its justice
and as for his courage in dying, that is natural
to the Indian character, and especially in these
California Indians, who are reduced to despair
their country and all support taken away from
them no resting place where they can be
sale-death on one hand from starvation, and
on the other by killing and hanging.
| now come to the remedy that is proposed
for these wrongs, and which is supported by
the approval Of the military commander, the
Governor and Lieutenant Governor of the
State, as the following letters show
VALLEJO, CALIFORNIA, Feb, 1853.
To his Eraelieney the President of the u s. .
ave desire to recommend to your careful
and favorable consideration the plans proposed
to be adopted by the superintendent of Indian
affairs Lieut. Beale, for the government of the
Indians of this State.
"The Indian policy for this State should be
carefully devised and rigidly enforced. The
character Of Lieut.. Beale is well known His
knowledge Of the customs and habits Of the In
dams of this State has been acquired by a res
idence among and around them, and, together
with his experience in border life, eminently
qualify him to submit some feasible plan Of fu-
ture operations TO the Administration, where
by the lives and property of our people may be
secured, and the condition of the Indians i'm
proved, at greatly reduced tax on the Gener-
al and on our State Government.
"These, TO great degree, we believe, will
be attained in the adoption of the plans pro-
posed by him.
"And in this connection we beg to deprecate
the removal of Lieut. Beale from his present
position, but hope that it may be the pleasure
of the Administration to continue him here, to
the system projected; for on the sue
cessful development of this policy, we think,
depends much Of the prosperity of the people
on the borders of our State
JOHN BIGLER, Governor
SAMUEL PURDY, It. Governor"
The Indians of this country do not hold labor
n disgrace, as those do who live on the Allan
tic side of the continent They labor freely,
and in the time Of the missions did nearly all
the labor of the country, cultivating and build.
ing and memory and tradition presents it as
the happiest period of their lives know thew
would rejoice to get back into such condi-
ton and they hope to find it in the military
if established AT place where
have collected five or six hundred, between the
Mariposas and San Joaquin, and where make
frequent visits and temporary abode, they are
now working about twenty ploughs, and about
me thousand acres will be cultivated this year.
The ploughing is well DONE and other Indians
IRE begging the same privilege. The plan of
military reservations which have proposed to
he Government is eagerly embraced by the
Indians, reminding them AZ it does, of their
peaceful and happy times at the missions and
IS entirely approved by the United States COM
handing officer in the country, as the follow
ng letter from General Hitchcock will show
Copy Of a letter from General Hitchcock 10 COL
Cooper, dated San Francisco, Nou. 30, 1852.
81 deem it necessary, for such use as the
Hon Secretary of War may think proper, to
express an opinion carefully formed, in favor
of tho plan proposed recently by Mr.. Beale,
the superintendent of Indian affairs in this d.
vision, for abusing and placing on a perma-
nent basis our relations with the Indians of this
country. Mr.. Bealc has fully explained to me
his views on this subject, as communicated
few weeks since, by letter to the chief of his
department at Washington city and it appears
to me that the choice of the Government lies
necessarily between accepting that plan and
giving the Indians over to rapid determination
or expulsion from the State The objection to
the plan is tho apparently new policy of as
Stunning direct control over the Indian lands.
and providing for the Indians, giving them the
alternative OF accepting such arrangements as
the Government may make, or Of being treat
ed Tor maltreated) at the pleasure of the white
settlers.
"ln answer to this, it should be considered
that these Indians have never been recognised
by the Spanish or Mexican Government as
having independent rights in the country and
therefore rs far as they are concerned the pro-
posed policy would introduce no decided change
but ON the contrary, in respect to dominion.
would be such as they have been accustomed
TO- In regard to the settlers, it is not to bo
denied that there is serious difficulty but the
real question is whether they shall, in an un-
regulated manner, determine our intercourse
with the Indians inducing expensive wars
with other evils, or whether the Government
snail establish some limits and rules for this
intercourse
ny the plan proposed a small portion of
lana IL TO be set apart within which there is to
De military post, and some provision made
Tor the subsistence Of the Indians to DO suppl.
ca as lar as possible from their own labor
Within this reserve the Indians are to be pro-
tected, but not beyond it. This reserve would
naturally be selected near the mountains, leav-
ing the latter for the range of the Indians, ex-
tending interior without limit.
The system might be commenced with one
or two posts at first where most needed, as on
the headwaters Of the San Joaquin at the base
of the Sierra Nevada, and at some point on the
upper waters of the Sacramento; and the sys-
TEN could be extended rs the requirements OF
the country and experience might indicate the
necessity ior it,
"The present course tends to exasperate a
large body Of Indians, q remnant Of which in a
very few years will be driven beyond the Ser
ra Nevada, carrying with them lcaven of
bitterness among extensive tribes with which
we have as yet had no intercourse. They would
carry with them, also, some knowledge of fire
arms, and an instructed spirit of war hitherto
unknown on this coast and the result could
not fail to be tho most savage and desperate
warfare for an indefinite period, making pa.
cifc transit over the continent next to impossi.
BILE Tor great many years.
at is mistake in my judgment, to suppose
that the Indians on this coast, except perhaps
few digger bands" differ materially from