The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1858-08-25
Protection for tho In dians.


Protection for the Indians. et
At meeting convened at Burlington on the
18th, August 1868, to consider the present con-
dition of the Indians within our Territories, and
their claims to the sympathy and protection Of
our government and people. John Beesoh late
Of Oregon Territory gentleman whose sels.de-
nying labors and humane zeal in his work COM
mand the warmest admiration, presented the
results Of his experience in Oregon, showing the
injustice and cruelty to which the Indians are
subjected and laid before the meeting sundry
suggestions and plans for the correction Of
State of things destructive to the Indian tribes
and so discreditable to us as people Az the
result Of the deliberations of the meeting, the
undersigned were apl ointed q Committee to
prepare an Address to the people Of Vermont,
expressive of their own views and the sentiments
Of the meeting. -DF
The Indian is man. lie has therefore the
right CT man ; the right to his life and his
iberty-the means of living and freedom in the
pursuit Of happiness. No mans rights are more
sacred than his, and no violation Of human
rights can be more criminal and inexcusable
than the violation OF his ri hts. As q man, he
is our brother and his appeal to our sympathy
and protection against oppressive and wrong.
claims from us as hearty response, as equal
manhood can in any case claim or give. And
yet forgetful of these claims which grow out OF
the common origin and brotherhood Of the race,
many of our people have come to regard the In
dams as q race necessarily 30 deservedly doomed;
as obstacles in the way of civilization, to be de-
molished, rather than az subjects to be moulded
! with the life Of civilization ms hopeless savagss
vermine of the woods, to Be exterminsted I'm
der the sway Of such ideas it has happened, that
the American aborigenes have dwindled in some
two hundred years, to tenth Of the number
which first welcomed the coming Of the white
man. To say that such is the necessary sflbet
Of civilization, is to misjudge the Indian, and b
libel civilization itself Facts are not wanting
to prove that the Indian in his rudest estate
poscses the essential virtues Of humanity He
is brave, chaste, hospitable, true to his word.
sensible to kindness. and exhibits love Of los
tice. That he has high intellectual capabilities
is more generally admitted That he l. not IT.
reclaimable from his wildness but may be ed
ucated into the arts Of civilized life and httsd
to the social state, Is proved not only in tie sx
perience Of individuals but by the history Of
entire tribes. - :.
The history of the settlement Of Pennsyivania
and the dealings Of the Hudson's Bay Company
have proved, that psace with the Indians ca y
secured at no greater price than Just and mir
treatment. Surely, such people deserve ct
our hands something better than plumber and
determination.
The Indians of our Western borders, especial
| ly of Oregon, are the victims Of enormous
wrongs Their lands have been sncroachsd up
on by unlawful settlement, or have been sur
rendered under treaties, and the stipulated COM
pensaton withheld for years, thus cutting OF
their means Of subsistence they have bsen de-
frauded by government agents, and poisoned by
whiskey dealers wars with them have been
gotten up and prosecuted upon speculation,
originating claims upon the government amour
ting to many miilions-wars 90 unprovoksd and
cruel that Gen. Wool, the military commander
| Of the District, denounced them as . scandal to
our government and people The males Of whole
tribes have been trecherously waylayed and
slaughtered their encampments have been
broken up, provisions destroyed, and they driv-
en- away among the SHOWS Of the mountsins to
starve, or else, turning back in desperation &c
fight and to die. At this time large army ID
concentrating in Oregon, to punish the Indians
a. it is called, for the defeat Of a band Of ouI
troops, who had advanced without authority and
against warning into the Indian possessions
! Let US be just towards the Indians, as TO al
men, recognizing their rights. Let Us dsa
, | kindly and humanely towards them, q, well fol
our own sakes as theirs.
To effect juster and more humane treatment
of the Indian, public attention needs more t
be called to his conditions and wrongs, and thu
active sentiments of justice and Christian
charity DO brought to bear upon the conduct o
the " estern borderer, and upon the action o
| our Government AS special means 10 I'M
. end, our attention has been favorably called I,
an organization lately formed in the City 0
New York, entitled the { American Indian All
Association" who: purposes and modes Of &c
! ton are set forth in their circulars, and ex
! planned by Mr.. Beeson their general agent.
To the same end, we recommend the CALM
Of public meeting. discussions, the circulation
. | of the annual rept rts Of the Commissioner 0
!. the Indian department, and other kindred pub
IL 10 .ha-o $50
petitions and memorials to Congress and tn
President We also think it quite betting th
It Office and duties of the Minister Of the Gospel
that this neighbor who lies wounded by III
4 road $ de, having fal en- among thieves, shoul'
not be forgotten in the pulpit ministrations, An,
would recommend, that the wrongs Of the In
!, dian, and the Generalization OF our own Peopl
( as connected Herewith. should be pressed upo
n | the ronsciences of the Sabbath congregation
: that we may all come to obtain the blessing pre-
" nounced upon the Merciful and the Peace Ms
o ker
e We are unable at present to recommend an
!. thing more precise and specific than the absxs
a satisfied nevertheless that IL popular syHpatA
!, can be male by such means to raise to its PROF
err christian level it will find for itself char
,, mel, along whose borders shall bloom and ripe
d the fruits of perez and love
>. wM. wEsFN, }c..,..
DASL RuBKaTs. !
We, whose names are hereunto snbsc ibeC
having examined the foregoing address oordis
i ly approve the same. ..--. $500
n public meeting in in behalf Of the Indian
d was convened at the Congregational Church.
Niddlebury on the 28d inst After remarks
different gentlemen the Address Of citizens
burlington in reference to the treatment of Il
d indians was read by Rev. Mr.. Hyde, and re
1t olution heartily approving the same was move
a by Ex-Gov. Slsde aud seconded by Rev. NJ
y Hall, and unanimously adopted by the meetin
y Public Meetings have been held and simill
D. resolves passed in Rutland. Castleton, Ludlov
Woodstock, St Adams and Montpelier. II
General Agent Of the |. A. A. rejoices in Il
IS belief that the great heart of Vermont pulsat
70 more free and strong at the very thought
"a gathering in the outcasts, and that = chord
:. sympathy more true and prominent than tn
IL which links Old England with Young Amerc
II. will soon stretch from the Green Mountains
the Ea to beyond the Rocky Mountains Of 4
West and every ndred and tongue shall Ii
III and love as brethren and children Of the saI
r great Father Of all J.B
lis Rev W. A. Miller, Noble Lovely.
Il Rev d, B. MeKenzy, James N. Shade
Bw Smith Ryland Fletcher.
~ L q. Rigelow,