Democrat and sentinel. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1853-1866, 1862-12-17

YOU propose TO pardon and set free, have
murdered in cold blood nearly or quite
one thousand of our people; rayased our
/ frontier for distance OF more than one !
hundred and fifty miles, north and south; !
burned the houses of the settlers, and drl- !
ven from their houses more than ten thou |
sand of our people. They seized and !
carried into captivity nearly one hundred !
women and girls, and, in nearly every
! instance, treated them with the most
fendish brutality.
To show you, sir, the enormity OF these
outrages, we beg leave TO state few
! facts, which are we'll known to our peo-
pie, but delicacy forbids that we should
mention the names Of the parties to whom
we refer.
| In one instance some ten or twelve OF
these Indians visited the house of q wor-
! thy farmer, who, at the time, was en-
gagged with his SONS in stacking wheat.
They stealthily approached the place
| where the honest farmer was at work.
and, Selling their opportunity, shot the
| father and his two sons at the stack.
They then went to the house, killed two
little children in the presence of their
mother. who was quite i'll of consump-
tion, and then they took the sick mother
and beautiful little daughter, thirteen
years of age, into captivity. But this Is
not all, nor is it the most appalling tea-
ture of this awful tragedy. Its horror Is
yet TO be revealed.
After removing these unhappy prison
ers TO a lodge which was some miles away,
these lfends incarnate, placing a guard
over the BODY of the weary and exhausted
mother, took her little girl outside of the
lodge, removed all her clothes and fasten-
Cd her upon her back on the ground.
They then commenced their work of bru
tality upon the body of this young girl.
One by one they violated her person, un-
moved by her cries and unchecked by the
evident signs of her approaching dissolu
ton This work was continued until her
Heavenly Father relieved her from suf-
fcring. TheyIytha' dead agpon the ground.
This outrage was committed within a few
feet of sick and diving mother.
There is another instance Of 4 girl eigh-
teen wears of ace. We knew her well
before and at the time of her capture.
She was as refined and beautiful 4 girl IS
better friends; no one was more worthy of
them than she. She was taken captive
by these Indians: she was taken. her
arms were tied behind her. and she was
tied fast to the ground and ravished by
some eight or ten Of these convicts before
the cords were unloosed from her limbs.
This girl fortunately lived to testify
against the wretches who had thus violated
her Without being more specific we will
state that all or nearly all the women who
were captured We're violated in this way.
Again, there was 4 little boy brought
TO ST. Paul, (whoSe farther and mother
d had been murdered, } whose life was spared
rs Il witness of the horrid nature of this
massacre. His right eye was cut COM
pletely out it had fallen from its socket,
and perished on his check. His two little
sisters. AGED respectively. 6 and 1 wears
were also saved, but in an awful mutila.
ted condition Their tender arms laC
been mangled with the savagcs' knive:
and otherwise fearfully wounded, and lcf
on the ground for dead.
Mr. President. there was no iustifica
tion or pretcxt even for these brutalities
); We state what we know when we say the
Sioux agent, Major Galbraithe, has labor
= ed faithfully and efficiently for the welf;.r
-. of these Indians. The Government, a
% you know, has built house and opened
10 farm for every one of these Indians wht
would reside upon and cultivate it. Mis-
sionarics, as our worthy Bishop can testi
fy, have labored zealously among then
.. for their spiritual welfare. There ha
i a.,
. S2,OOO,O0O- Farming implements hav
-. been purchased, and farmers have bee
NO ! employed by the Government 10 improv
,st and cultivate their lands.
:. These Indians are called by some pris
- oners of war. There was no war abou
,st it. 1t was wholesale robbery, rape an
49, murder. These Indians were not at wa
with their murdered victims.
,st The people of Minnesota, Mr. Pres
~, dent, have stood firm by YOU, and b
&c your Administration. They have give
,s both you and it their cordial support
- They have not violated law They hav
~, borne these sufferings with a patienc
o- such as but few people ever cxhibite
~ under such extreme trial. These Indiar
,o- are now at their mercy; but our poop
tho have not risen up to slaughter them, b
,d cause they believed that their PresideI
- would deal with them justly.
YES We are told, Mr.. President, that
in committee from Pennsylvania, who's
families are living happily in their pleasal
, to homes in that State, have called upon yc
len and petitioned you to pardon these Ind
ar ans. We have high respect for the Il
;,,cr lioiouS sentiments of YnIr nefitinneIs IN