New-York tribune., 1867-05-25

day his rancho is never WITHOUT sInSet s t'u th
suTprise il impossible The general behet Ol the
rancbeuen is that when the Indians 90 come, thcy
viii nos modest " Old Wicked. At the American
Rano two miles cast Of GodiIeys, hyc men, ono WO-
r,sn aud a child were residing and they fought the
Indians until they had killed H. Out they were maly
OyerpOwoTcd, the five men $cd!pod, ana t.e woman
carried OF 20 suffer worse than thousand deaths
from Indian violence and torture. At the Wisconsin
Rancho the next on tho line east two men deicndcI
it successfully until night, killing hall score oi
their savage aSsalIaD!s; but thor ammunition
was nearly exhausted and they escaped TO the tlVer
under cover of darkness and passed down safely on
the ice Here three ranches arc formed IN the ycnn-
ity of the Platte Valley. as the only places where
Indian assaults were made bloody victories or dis-
a,trOus defeats III the Winter Of 1870. FROM the
Wisconsin Rancho east. clear down below Fort kear
ncY. there was not lylng man or human lclt CA-
Cepting the few who MADE miraculous escapes ,Dy
flight The stage did not run through Tor SIX weeks
bnt the tide of emigration set IN as usual Ill Ihc
Spring and new TanChe-IDen and station men oCCu-
pied the line. rebuilt their sod novels ana StaDles'
gave the CHASTITY mutilated dead decent 6epnlchres
and from that time until now they have hVed III
comparative safety. ,
Just now the signs of an early and fearful out
break on this line unmistakabie unless Ten nan
cock can disod2c the hostile tribes from the Repub
lican River. That they occupy the country from
the Republican north TO the Platte Valley If evident
TO all. They can soc every tram and every mltaIy
movement in the valley without exposing themselves
even to discovery. The unbrOken range OF DluTS
which skirt the valley Oh the south. command COM
pete view of the entire Platte region; Their spies
occupy the bluffs constantly and they have good
feld-glasSes which they purchase from the traders,
they can distinguish every movement for ~ miles. IL
seems impossible for Eastern readers that they can
so readily ascertain every movement, but when IL Is
considered that train he seen distinct on the
plain 10 miles distant with the naked eye II needs no
argument to hold that the Indians with good glasses
know every military movement as soon as 1t Is com
mcuced. During all Of last week they were signaling
from the Southern Bluffs SCUthward toward the he-
publican They signal easily for ~ miles WIN y
tiphtrd arrow which they shoot into the air, and
they can give an, communication IRON DUN 10 piui
in that way. During the day they signal by various
methods. Sometimes they do so with pocket look
ing glass. They get the, focus OF the sun, sun,
make the reflection visible for five miles. and thus
direct the movements OI various parties 10 suSh
points they may wish. have thllS mlhltrlI uc-
Scrlhrd the position and action OF the Indians 10
show how utterly fruitlesS must be Indian cant
paignS. Suppose Gen. Hancock should move north
toward the Republican They can Keep twenty
miles in advance OF lin, and learn hls Whereabouts
every hour III the tWcnty-our Ii thty ma ms com,
mand divided aud part OF 1t Vulnerable, thCy VIII
aSsail and Overwhclm il. If not, they VIII retreat
toward the Platte and perhaps by the time he gets
to the Platte they will be iii his rear on the Reubc
lican again. and no one but themselves cogZant oi
'G movement Mg1f"fDr }Tom north Of the Plate They
know to-day within fifty of the number oi troops
at Fort Sedc"ick lJuleSburgl' and those troop,
the spies on The bluffs signaling their numbers anu
direction, eyeri hour i'll the day and night clear To
the Republican if necessary. and should zen fOtter
lin command at ScapcCkl move SOuth To the Rcpub-
lican the foe would retreat before him, he keep
ing ont of sight, and when necessary they would
Platte route and be hid again before h. cOuld re-
tuln his command. have given the facts relative
to our Indian campaign. and l leave 1t to Your IN
telligcnt readers to determine now lhch he miHiHN
are likely 10 do this season toward reeStablislllng
peace on orr great thorOughtareS.
But there Gust he peace at any price on the palns
yexcd question which the Government Is laborng to
solve Throughout the West the ready answer Is oil
every tongue. Recall Gen. Conner, give ChcyIhg0n
a command, and let them assa The Indians every,
where they can he found The preference expressed
for ConnOT and CheNngtOn has ITS existence IN the
fact that they fought Indians Indians fight white
uru-1ftacl, n,l they meet and don incumbcr them
! selves with prisoners " Old Wicked assured me
| that 500 Colorado volunteers under an acceptable
\ commander would not leave 4 hostile Cheyenne or
Sioux between the Platte and the smoky Hill IN two
months time. "Whcre would they be -
asked him. In hell" was the characteristic re,
vcnturcd to ask Yes. when they rc dead, was the
significant answer. And yet he cOnics'es that the
/ difficulties do not rest wholly with the Indians
! "They have been greatly wrougcd he said; robbed
| by agents killed without cause by thieves and set
tiers but the white man or the Indian must now be
| driven ont, and we can best spare the In
dian" Whatever may be. the views OF the
Government. the policy, of the Western set
viii be the peace of death. The Government
will not, cannot, assume to eAtcIlnhatc the
Indian 1t cannot make war upon SqnaWS ana
papOOses but such war viii come, ana VIII be ei-
fcctual. The Government may protest; II may even
exercise its power to shield the Indian and the fame
! of the nation from warfare but ~ tle mean
time every center of Indian hOStilitcs Will have It's
sandy Crcel and every section will haveits Chewing
ton. A single massacre now, III any ot me INNING
regions would result III the destruction of every III
dian within range of the miners. Ihcy would or
I ganiZe independent rangers. select thelr own
leaders. arm and provision themselves ana
their trophies would be only Indian skeletons bleach
| Ing on their path. Thus is Montana moving now
| since the murder of BozcmOn, and 50 VIII Colorado
act whenever the prOyOcatiOn comes. The military
will come after the rangers and Keep up the rcSemb-
lance of civilized warfare, but the Indian VIII wade
through the blood of his race to entire submission
and peace or he will finally tend his history rs he
falls before the pursuit OF the outraged ana merccss
| settler. "
! | speak of what will be- and not what should be-
1t will be p fearful chapter when read from the open
! ing to the close: but the white man will know only
of the necessity for relentless warfare against the
| red man. while his wrongs to the savage will be
without a faithful historian. That the Indian would
he peaceable. and would MAINTAIN faith as rule, II
! he was not cheated and often murdered by the
whites, cannot doubt; but what power Is equal 10
make restraint Of the whites! We find that these
lands have gold, timber, want great thorough
fares through them. The whites pass on without
treaties, with their rifles III their hands, ana they
make might right. The Indian is indoent, thliftleSs
and naturally thief. lie steals horse a COW, and
they paid for by war upon his tribe by the set
tiers miners. lie takes the WaT-path, spares
neither innocent or guilty and the Government is
Obliged 10 recognize an Indian war Campaigns
cnsue, usually without important military results,
and end in treaties made 10 be mutually violated by
those both sides-by Agents on the part of the
Government among equally debauched Indians Mr..
Hooper Delegate from Utah. who has been with
me most of the trip thus far, assured me
that the Harvey war was the result of the
stealing Of COW from a tram OF Mormon
emigrants. The owner complained to the officer at
the nearest post. and detail made TO recaptuTe
the COW but the Indian chief could not restore her
because she had been killed and eaten. lie could not
surrender the guilty parties because he did not know
them but he proposed To pay for the cow i'll horses
The officer planted gun 10 command the camp, and
required the restoration of the already butchercd and
eaten COW in ID minutes. OF course il could not De
done and he opened on the camp, killing the chief
and many Others. The Indians rallied and killed
and scalped the officer and every man of his com
mand. The Haney campaign followed; and thus
COW worth about $l7 80 cont us S0OOO or more, and
many hundreds of lives. The Colorado war. which