Preble County Democrat. [volume] (Eaton, Ohio) 1857-1859, 1858-11-11
The Two Battles with Indians
i'm WASHINGTON Territory.

NThe-Washington Union in speaking
offhe Indian Battles in the Washing
tor Territory remarks that the policy of
government is such that while me
Of lis great departments is required by
law Do lavish large annual bounties of
money upon the Indian tribes, and to
distribute destructive firearms in libe-
raj instalments among them, another
department Is often called upon tozeu@
gage in mortal conflict, with the same
savages, and reduce by bullet and SWORD
the spirit of self confidence and insub-
ordination which these largesses of mo-
ney and presents of firearms inspire 7
The country has been harassed for
several months with continual accounts
of bloody engagements between our
brave little bands of troops scattered in
small sqads over the Rocky mountain
country, and the various Indian tribes
which roam, plumber. and murder over
that wild and extended region.
The news which we chronicle to- day y
is more cheering and gratifying than
any wc have had the fortune TO, publish ,
for a long time; for it is not o., talks
and new: stipends promised the lsayageTT
but of two decisive engagements of our
troops with the Indians. in " asEingte4
Territory, in which the red men were
soundly beaten and some of them fright
tened into earnest overtureS for tpeaee,fT
We publish the full particulars of
these handsome affairs of sour rtroops,H
and see in them more promise of safety
and peace to our enterDrising, settlerSa
on the Pacific border, than ifmilliens,gf
money and thousands of stands, of armsyT
had been stipulated to be- delivered
them in as many tedious talks and pro-
tracted pipe-smoking with their chiefsdT
The energetic system of measures
which has been set on foot against the g
Indians by the War Department in that
region of country, of which wehayelbuta
a partial development in these two OBJ
~gagements, cannot fail to result, 5undeF- ?
the able auspices of Gen. Harneyp who
has by this time arrived at the theatre
of operations, in, securing to- our ReoplesT
on the Pacific perfect immunity or all
time to ONE from Indian robberiesd2,
murders, and outrages. So. slif 81 .,syT
The value of Sharpe's> rife and ting, 81
MIME ball in Indian warfare has been
thoroughly demonstrated in the opera n
ton in Washington Col 'Wrightls
command is the first one That has en-
countered the Indians with these mod7Tr
ern weapons. Col Steptoe had the old
cavalry carbinc, which was never known
to kill an enemy OIL any. occasion, swhatt
ever damage their !receil was in the bah+ n
it of inficting on the unluckyt troops
who had to fire them.ICol Wright's com-, 7
mand used the Sharpe rife, and differ,
one account of the battle of the -Four
Lakes: I'VE have killed and wounded
more than forty seven of the enemy,
and not one of US hurt. l tell YOU the
Indians were aistonished when aonrffsi*
lows perched them off at four and FIVE
hundred yards he won't let a sim
gle man now approach them nearer han
half a mile" I4r Lt7-s
The War Department has unusual at
t%ention oflnte Improvement of fire arms
and especial pains have been taken to
supply our forces in Washington Terri
tory with the most effective of the varfli Z
Gus newly invented gums. This has been q
dcnc not less to give the highest efftien-
cy to our troops on that distant theatre
than to test by actual use and trial the
relative of the new arms We shall look "a
with much interest to this feature~o of the
accounts we shall frum time to time re-
ceive of our military operations on the
Pacific slope. So -EEf>y -Tra.