The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-06-24
The Indian War.

From the World.
The wrath of savage American Indian is
such very terrible thing that the hardest
settlers in the far West hesitate to provoke it,
and are not ashamed to appease it in all
honorable and consistent ways. But there is
a power, overshadowing the will and the in
terests of all the inhabitants of the land,
which has accounted it better that whole
tribes of Indians should be irritated to blood
thirsty desperation rather than that the
pockets of Government agent should go
untitled. That desperation has been increasing
for months. 1t is generally aroused
among all the hostile and most of the hereto
fore friendly tribes in the Western Territories,
and although it was lately declared and pub
lished by prominent General that we could
"either have an Indian war or not as we
chose" it has since been privately stated by
an officer even more distinguished that an
Indian war has in fact progressed so far and
assumed such magnitude that nothing but
the force of arms can stop it. All the ac-
counts from the plains are to the same effect.
Aside from the exaggerated newspaper re-
ports which are almost daily received, we
have great deal of testimony similar to
that contained in the following despatch to
the President, signed by A. G. Hunt, Cover
nor of Colorado, and the Superintendent of
the United States Branch Mint, George w.
Lane:-
"We are menaced by hostile Indians, our lines
of communication cut of, the United States
mails captured, coaches and stations destroyed,
and the occupants murdered private trains
burned and the men murdered and scalped. The
arts of peace are suspended, and the people
suffering from feeling of insecurity which
paralyZes every branch of Industry and all
from foe the lives OF the whole of which are
and should be considered by the authorities,
as worthless compared with that of one Amert-
can citizen. This we have suffered, more or
less, for same time, and yet no adequate pro.
lection or relief has been afforded us. In the
name of God and humanity we make this APP
peal to you, and ask that the toO-long-con-
ciless devils shall cease, and that you will at
once direct that prompt and decisive measures
be taken for the protection of the country"
Colorado is only small section of that vast
area of ], 1926, 232 square miles west of the
Missouri-an area greater by 762, ,526 square
miles than the whole more densely populated
eastern country between the line of the Mis-
souri, and the Atlantic 0cean-which is thus
fercely afflicted A white population of more
than two millions of souls, distributed
throughout the territory in cities, settlements,
mining villages, and towns, are also threat
ened. The telegraph lines are being torn
down, ranches are attacked and burned, the
building parties of the Pacific Railroad are
forced to defend themselves as they advance,
and the overland stage route is so haunted by
"demons of dull red, " that passengers from
the Western coast are turning backward to
escape the strokes of tomahaWks and the
blades of scalping- knives.
Yet the Government, which was prevented
last February by Congress from acceding to
the request of General Grant to place the
whole matter of dealing with Indians in the
hands of the military, does not appear TO have
decided upon what policy to pursue at the
present critical junoture. The late pow-wow
of General Hancock with some of the Indian
chiefs resulted in nothing except promises in
behalf of few tribes. General Custer, who
set out to "chastise' certain other tribes who
were too willy and implacable to send spokes-
men to the council or make any promises
whatever, has--it is now Tumored in tele-
gram from Junction City, Kansas-"been
repulsed by Indians who came down in force
from the Platte Valley" If this military eX-
pedition has proved to be so inadequate, a
larger force and more vigorous measures will
doubtless be resorted to; for the appeals of
the Territorial officials and of those in charge
of enormous mining and other interests in
the region endangered cannot long be denied.
To quell thus, by arms the wild spirit of
vengeance with which it now appears that no
stable compromise is possible, Is a very diff
terent task from that which it has long been
! in the power of the Government to perform.