The Kansas herald of freedom. [volume] (Wakarusa, Kan. Territory) 1854-1860, 1855-04-28
General 1pieiiigepee.
The New Indian War,

This seems to be an event now deter
mined upon by the present administra-
ton, and is most serious event for st.
Louis. She has great trade on the
Platte andthe upper Missouri, which are
to be the seat of these hostilities,- where
there neither is now, nor ever has been,
a speck of Indian war with the whites.
There have been depredations upon the
whites on these rivers, but no wars and
the event at Fort Laramie last August
has not altered the peaceful relations of
the tribes. The brothers and nephews
of Matoh-i-o-wa, killed by Lieut.. Grat-
tan's command, covered up his blood"
according to their customs, after he died
of his wounds, by killing United States
mail party in sight of the place where
the blood of their relative had been shed.
That done, all has been peace and quiet
ness since as for fifty years before. The
fur traders operate as usual, and with
unusual success last winter. Numerous
outfits are now being made in st. Louis
for the trade of the present year. Emf
grants go without molestation, and even
the q. S. mail is safe. We have heard
of none of those formidable attacks upon
Fort Laramie which threw our military
in that quarter into such awful alarm
last autumn, and made them call out so
heartily for more troops. We have not
heard of a dragon being attacked, or
chased, or even scared, outside of the
post. We have heard none of these
things, and we have heard just the con-
trary, to wit, that troops, travellers, trad
ers, United States mail, and every body
are just as unmolested as they ever were !;
and all going their way, and attending to
their business, as in state of profound
peace. We could multiply reports to
any amount to this effect, but content
ourselves, for the present, with single
one, because we find it in writing and in
print, and from an authentic source. and
especially applying to the United States
mail, both going and coming. and to
those Sioux who are the special object of
the military expedition. This is the
item
VERY LATE FROM UTAH TERRITORY.
"hsdependsncs, March 14.-The party
which went out with the Salt Lake mail
in January, returned yesterday. They
report that Capt. Steptoe, who was ap
pointed Governor of Utah, has neither
declined nor accepted that station yet.
Brigham Young was still Governor Ge
.facto.
They left the Salt Lake City on the
9th ult. Snow very deep on the noun
tains. and difficult travelling. They met
the party which went out in February,
at Scott's Bluffs getting on prosperously.
They met with no disturbance from the
Indians. Trey report that several tribes
are disaffected and threaten hostilities,
but as yet no depredations have been
committed. They passed through an
encampment of about $50 lodges OF
Sioux. without molestation.
"The mail party was conducted by MIR.
Jesse Jones. Col. Bridges came with
the mail from Fort Laramie. and also
Mr.. and Mrs Barrada, of st. Joseph" "
This is the latest news from the sup
posed seat of war, and is not only au-
thentic in itself, but conformable to the
universal report, and believed in by
those most interested in peace, or war.
among these Indians, namely, the fur
traders-who are now making their out
fits for the years trade, {as far as militia
ry orders will allow, under their licenses
from the United States, and according to
its laws: to the serious damage of some
of the traders, to the probable ruin of
Others. and to the loss of st. Louis of
one of its branches of .commerce-its
oldest branch, once its sole source of
prosperity, and still an important and
cherished branch. Besides these pecu-
MARY losses from the war, there are few
.other considerations to be taken into the
account by moral and thinking people:
first, the driving all our northwestern
Indians into the hands of the British
traders, from which it has been our pol
icy since the declaration of Indepen-
dence, in I776. to withdraw them; Sec
.ondly, the folly aud inhumanity of max
ing war upon peaceable Indians for
lame fugitive Mormon cow. and the sense
less and reckless conduct of a young
brevet second lieutenant from military
school, ignorant of everything which
command among the Indians required
him to know, and acting militarily where
civil remedy only was required, and
converting into criminal offense, to be
punished criminally, an act which was
only debt according to Indian laws, to
be satisfied by compensation, and only
depreciation under the strictest sense of
the United States Indian intercourse
laws, { of 1902 and 1884, to be satisfied
6y withholding the amount of the depre-
dation, to wit: five dollars from the first.
annuity due to the offending tribe. and
paying 1t over to the injured party, to be
done by the agent OF rather. ito state