New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1867-07-10
THE INDIAN WAR.
MILITARY, MIsTAKEs-How THE OVERLAND MAIL
ROUTE is MANAGED.

Fast siuce the nterruption of travel by the Indians
west of the North Platte and Judging from the tele
graphic reports it may be month before there can
he anything like regular mails again from the ter
minus of the Pacific Railroads IL military matters |
shall he directed as bunglingly henceforh rs hereto
fore then may the people East and West at once |
abandon all hope OF maintaining the overland route
this season. If Gen. Sherman, with nearly lOOOo
troops in the departments of Augur and Hancock, |
and fully 1900 of them mounted could not III 90 days
after reaching the Smoky Hill and Platte, protect
any so miles of either of these routes how long must
II require under the military direction. to pro-
feet 500 miles from Platte City 70 Denver 400 miles
from terminus of the Union PACING to Denver, some
300 miles of line of railroad from Platte
CITY west 10 the mountains, now being located and
constructed and COO miles from Denver to this city
Until all these lines under military protection the
overland mail cannot be run, and the people OF the
East can Judge as well as can from the facts stated
how soon our present military system VIII accomplish
this work. ...
commanders to protect the overland route, other
than that they don't know or won't discharge their
duty Gen. sherman has wasted July s%J and iS
disgraceful submission to the systematic deception
of the hostile Indian leaders. In the mean time he
must have known that nearly every day lives OF sou
tiers and emigrans were wantonly sacrificed to In
dian savagery, and stock and property stolen OF
destroyed, until they now amount to mllllons IN
value. doubt not that he was harrassed by specu-
lators contractors, and thieves as he justly com,
plains and that they most nxios Tor general
| Indian war; but had he covered his gltteiing stars
| intelligent stage-dTivers and ranchmen on inc
! lnes-the men who have most to t3ar from war,
! and who Of oil Others want peaee-he might nave
learned in few hours not only the actual situatl0n
hut also the true way meet the peculiar foe that
never confronts him. and yet Is ever ATTACKING nun
| When Gen. Sherman declared tbat the people c2ud
have an Indian war or not, as they chose not less
than 30 people had been butchered within his Depart
ment since the opening of SPRING and in not single
instance had the victims sought to provoke war UNI
less travelling the great thoroughfare to the West,
supposed 10 be under his protection, was an act OF
hostility against the Red Man. have been on the
plains since the 9th OF May, and deem ~ as que 70
truth to say that to the Obstinacy or imbeciity OF
military management we are indebted for the erin
soned record the overland route presents this year
| The Government did everything That could nave
been asked in furnishing men, but until TINS day
| there has been practical use made OF the thou-
sands of troops nearly large on the plains as
Sherman required to march against a powerful and
| well commanded foe from Chattanooga 10 Atlanla.
/ do not know who is to blame Tor tne wasteIni eA
pendure of money the character OF troops sent TO
| contend with Indians. believe that not more than
fourth of the force west OF the Missouri Is cav
airy while fully one half of il should be mounted 10
| NE elective And il should be mounted in the West
First of all the troops should be taken from the ar
West rs the people Of the Territories understand inc
Indian character cherish the intensest hatred toward
! them and will ight them until they can't rest 70
! use fav6rie Western saying. On Tue oiner hand
the regulars prefer any other sort OF warfare 10 ln
| dian warfare. They both despise and fear the say,
! ages and fight them only when ,hey cannot
! avoid it, They have deserted until many regi-
ments are reduced 80 per cent ana III some Instances
trains, Certain il Is. that the marks of white men
have been detected in number OF the raids made upon
| the ranches and stations Our American horses, on
which the cayarymen are mounted, are utterly unhi
for Indian campaigns. They heavy, sluggish, and
! cannot march a week without grain, while the In
dian pony and bronchO viii travel all the summer on
! praiIie gfass and outstrip even a wc-fcd American
| charger One thousand men from Colorado Ne
bras ka, or Montana mounted on snch horses ~ Icy
would select would be worth double their number OF
regular troops mounted as IN our regular cavalry 1t
to impossible that these facts which are 30
! patent TO every Western man. have not been pressed
! upon the military authorities and II so, upon whom
! does this costly, bloody blunder restf
Since have been on the overland line. probably not
less than 800 horses have been stolen by the INDIANS
| from Wells, Fargo * Co, who run the line
! and carry the Pacific mails. understand that for
this mail service the Company are paid some sOoOo
! and the Government engages 10 protect the route.
! After the contract was made. special act or Con,
eTess procured prohibiting the transmission OF
transient newspapers. books, or pamphlets, except
| upon payment OF letter postage a single copy OF
TIM TRIBUNE cannot he mailed 10 any point west 81
Denver without the payment OF LETTER posage ana mo
same rates The express rate for such articles ~ II
\ per pound, about the same as letter postage Con-
uess has thus practically given up 10 Wells, Fargo
Co MONOPOLY of the mails, exclusive of letters, ut
enormous rates. tho responsibility of company OF
| common carriers gives them positive preference
| over the Post Office Department.
Hitherto every horse taken by the Indians. and all
property destroyed this line, has been paid for by
Congress, IN accordance with the terms OF the
| contract. As / have DO knowledge OF the facts,
| l do not question the honesty of the claims thus
made and paid, but Of the claims To be made for
| the losses of stock this Spring. while |
! tTaversng the route i feel constrained to say "a
| word. As we had Tumors of Indians and Indian
dcpredations from the 6rst station at the western
| terminus of the railroad 20 Denver 800 miles and
| also from Baportc 10 Green River on the mountains
distance of $50 miles made II point 20 look into
every station, and learn the achlal condition of
affairs and the measures taken To protect the lives OF
the station keepers and the stock. Not onehalf of
the Swing stations tstables where the teams
| ehanqedl Fad SO much MS a single gun of any kind
a.Iu -fnITt nf hem TAX iTrS
whatever To defend the stock. AT the ranches owned
by individuals there were always rifles IN readiness
often tunnels TO outer Notifications and invariably
some sort Of defensive lines. Old Wicked"
OF whom wrote in a former letter with three
men to aid him, repulsed regular attack upon
his rancho made by 80 savages, and saved his
goods and stock two years ago. while every stage
station cleared and most of the horses stolen.
Nne-tenths of the raids made upon the Platte sta
well-armcd men, always on the alert TO prevent
surprise and there less than that number at
a station Had the precautOn been taken by Wells,
Fargo a. Co, the ordinary diligence and care that
the Law requires of every individual more than hall
the horses stolen On the Platte would have been pro-
tected and saved. The Indians are proyerbal
towards and will never fight at disadvantage,
however ultimate success may be assured, and they
have rarely raded the stations in numbers 80 large
that several well armed men, protected by stables
or ranches, could not have expelled them We read
daily Of their capture OF trains and the murder of
tram men, but they never attack excepting where
when they can be surprised, ana the stock stampeded
Such thing as a square, stand-up fight for train
has not oecrred in all the Indian depredations this
year. -. ~,
But west Of Denver where probably 800 horses
have been captured from the stage line within the
last month the caeessness of the company has been
so marked that cannot resist the conviction that IL
was deliberately planned 10 have them captured. |
Let me give you simple statement Of facts as they
came under my own personal observation. A com
papyusng thousands of horses must necessarily al
wayshaye large number nearly or quite worn out. |
found none such between Platte City and Denver |
and none from Denver west until l reached the |
country infected by the Indians, and there found