Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1862-11-11


A correspondent of the Chicago Journal has
the following on the cause of tho Indian war
in the Northwest:
"Ino Southern rebellion has lust about as
much to do With the Indian war az the mud nj
the State Fair grounds at Chicago, last fall,
had to DO with the price of putty In Boston -
"What," you ask, "then Is the cause?" will
answer In as few words as possible: dishoneety--
the moss barefaoed and unmitigated dishonesty.
on the part OF the Indian Agents in the traps.
action oil their business affairs. This, knoW.
is sweeping charge, but will prove it to the
most doubling Thomas in Chris.endom. lyon
may be aware that the Sioux Indians. as we'll
as the other Northwestern tribes, have a treaty
with the Government by which the "Great
Father" Samuel agrees to pay them, on tho
nrst OF June OF each year, certain sums OF
money, called "annuities" and further, the
ureh fatner samuel agrees to pay these an
nuities in silver and gold The Great Father.
Uncle Samuel, has always sent some of bis
white children with the spondulicks promptly
to the usual places of payment 10 keen hjs
faith with his red children. Indeed he did
SO this year, The Indian Agents received their
gold and silver during the f.st week in June,
while there was not the least prospect of an
outbreak. But just then "legal tenders" went
down and gold went up, and the delectable
Agents, with an eye TO tho main chance. con
oeiVed the happy thought Of ceiling the "yeIlow
boys" and red skins both at the same time.
The gold was battered off for "green backs,n
with which they sought to make the payments
But the dodge didn't work with the aborigines.
They knew the difference between white and
yellow, and big and little, and between light
and heavy; but as between demand" and "le.
gal tender" "sAfety fund" and "wild cat"
they were as ignorant as female tropicanians
are of the arts Of fashionable dress-making.
They had some ideas of the uses OF metale,
but TO them all paper was alike, and only fit
for gun wads, OF course they refused to be
paid in anything else than that which was prop
erly their due.
The Agents argued with them, explained to
them, and finally threatened them, but twas
OF no use, Johnny Indians optics were closed,
and he could not discern the locality
The Indians hunting season was coming
on, the praries would soon be teemed with
bison and buffalo; the woods would soon
be filled with bear, deer and dog, and
the streams with animals of finer fin; but of
what use were all these to him7 He had not
the means with which to trap the one, or the
arms or ammunition with which to kill the
other. He could buy nothing Of the traders with
out money, and he could get no money from
tne Agents. Starvation stared him In the face,
and, as q last resort, he seized upon the Indi,
ans only mode of redress, revenge. The first
few minor thetts and robberies were gobbled up
by the guilty Agents, and made excuses to still
further defer the payments. Exaggerated re-
ports Of the outrage were forwarded to the au-
thorities, and protection sought from Govern
ment. Startling stories of "rebel emissaries
being at work" were herslded all over the
North; but not one word was uttered about the
attempt to palm off "green backs" and the
final result was terrible Indian war, In which
over one hundred settlers upon the frontiers
were killed, property to the amount of at least
Eve millions of dollars destroyed, and the State
set back at least Eve years in its prosperity;
and the war has only put on expense on the
General Government of over three millions Of
dollars, besides drawing away from active ser
vice in more important fields at least ten regi'
ments Of unparoled troops.