The Washington union., 1858-02-13


the Mississippi has diminished their strength ls hos .he
reverse true When they separate tripes' nsms
surrounded by active, inteliigcn. PoI""' .,a %
themselves by the small amount oil terii'oiy ,'y nao
tied TO agricultural pursuits when they ved IN towns
and villages where they could always be ouhd when ney
were dependent their crops, the destuouoh ol Wnic
must always bring them minedateiy 70 supm'eoioh
as , cav matter 10 control them, compared with the
nai,ia, In which they exist On wide extent VI
terrtrry brought into conguity with each other, no
longer surrounded by white population driven to the
chase for subsistence, returning every year more ana
more their rowing and original habits these people
have only been made stronger but they have been
made disposed to hostility than they were In theh
former position
Again. by the acquisition Of territory, and the exten
sion OF settlements into territory long since acquired
we have been brought into contact with those tribes
which, heretofore unacquainted with the white men, must
go through the process the same series oil conc's
and subugaton which had rendered the eastern Indians
before their removal harmless ia their contgty to the
whites. Not only this, but our population mas poured
the mountains and commenced extending rom the
Pacific 'front.' our people have pressed the INDIANS
back from the fertile valleys they inhabited and from the
soft climate where they reared in proximity to the
coast and have driven them into the mountains into
country arid that large portion OF 1t only be cul
vated by irrigation They have thus again reduced them
10 the chase subsistence and those Indians may well
look the valleys and like the aes in tho Highlands,
claim the right 10 redeem from the plain and the valley
long sheep shall stand portion of their
heritage. These forays have been pcrpetated and they
brought into existence During that period of transi
ton when the Indians may be gathered from these vast
hunting grounds reservations which they will and
cultivate it will be necessary to preserve military force
sufficiently large to rule them by cocrcion and this is the
opinion Of every intelligent sub whose opinions
find recorded in the volume which contains the report of
the Secretary of the Interior.
These things facts which, should think, the
Senate might reach the conclusion that the recommends
tons Of the President and the Secretary OF War have not
been made without due consideration These vol
have been but recently printed and laid ON the
tables of senator's trusted that they progressed
in the examination OF them many Of those objections and
doubts which expressed two or three days would
vanish believe that the Increase which Is proposed by
the committee to be the least which the present cxgen
cies Of the country will permit II the Senate had ind
Gated purpose TO adopt the recommendation of the Sec
retary OF War; the committee ready at any time to
withdraw their bill and allow the Senate to pass the
other but the vote it made apparent that that
impossible il was within the view Of the Sen
ate getting but eight votes and Of them hostile
and therefore, the committee feel that it is their duty to
urge the adoption of the bill which they have reported
absolutely necessary to the performance of these
duties unless some substitute can be provided.
! know that the senator from Texas, mfr. HousroN,
whose familiarity with the Indian character l do
doubt has proposed to us remedy which every mans
heart would respond TO much desirable If it
atainable. Ho proposes Indian policy which is to
substitute Kindness justice and generosity and
might suppose that the government had pursued differ
ent policy but his remarks put 1t out of the question
that he meant the had pursued any other
policy than this except through the regular army Now
sir believe that the argument Of the senator from Texas
is somewhat answered by the argument of the senator
from Georgia, Mr.. IOoMBs The senator from Georgia
says that the regular army is entirely harmless against
Indians that ii the senator from Texas thinks they
dangerous must refer him to his friend from Gcor-
ga, who him that the army is quite harmless in
relation to the Indians
This being out Of the way he appeals to the high
tives and the generous character Of the Indians
the necessity military force In the first place Indian
agents do not to entertain that idea. In the next
place. the officers Of the army are frontier men, and they
know Of the Indians than anybody else and much
the senator himself has Of Indian tribes, should
say he had not many weeks of Indian service
every field officer of the army the frontier has
years do not think therefore, his opinion is to be put
in opposition to that Of the suba,cns of Indian affairs
and that Of military officers whose acquaintance with the
Indian exceeds that of any other class OF population
have confidence in the high principles that
cribed to the Indians They have certain sort Of moral
itya certain sort of religion if you may call it
and in that there things good. Perhaps
body of men is wholly bad Take them class they
deceptive, blood thirsty, treachcrous,
cownrdly Of men / believe to be found on
the face Of the globe. If frontier inhabitants have
sometimes committed aggressons them, where is the
frontier settlement that does record the most cold
booded and cowardy murders of women and children |?
Where Is the frontier settlement that does not bring with
its tradition torture at the stake Of prisoner when he
stood powcress, at the hands Of hostile savage band
Are these the high principles to which the senator APP
peal Are these the noble qualities that to make
the Indian exception and lift him at once out of bar
barsm by holding to him something like example Of
those qualities which he may perhaps possess when the
millennium shall In the time, / rely as
everybody else connected with the Indians every
tier inabtant whose wife and children exposed to be
tomahawked by these Indians, relies on force of some
kind the only for giving that protection which
the government owes to its people
Thus, then, proceed to inquire what the character
of the force should be- and in this connexion the reg,
lar troops of the army have been pronounced neect
i've. 1t Is said they Ineffective and do not kill the
Indians but that the volunteers become excited and do
kill them The senator from Texas says that If regular
troops endcavored pursue the Indians, they might be-
come excited and possibly do the thing. am not
be put in the attitude of depreciatng the volunteer
force of the country shall engage in recrimnation
against the volunteers My relation to the volunteers
and the regular troops is the At time other
in the of my life they have both been my conpan
ions My remembrance of both brings to mind many
associations the dearest to in my life have seen
oil that ought the American soldier in the ranks
of both regulars and volunteers Why should this war
exist between these forces Shoulder TO shoulder they
stand upon the battlefield together they bleed even
exchanging from kind Of force to the other,
when il Is necessary There when the flag of their
country required them to do their utmost in the presence
of hostile foe, these ealorscs and deprccations of
by the other did arise They left the debate
places remote from the battle field where they fought for
a common cause, inspired by common sacrifices for a
common country.
But the senator from Texas says surely with entire
sincerity that he has not heard of any pursuit of Indians
by regular troops that all that has been done has
by volunteers. Well sir, in the volume which has been
laid upon his desk the report of the Secretary of War;