The Ebensburg Alleghanian. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1865-1871, 1867-03-07
JcrregP ordence of The Allegtcnian.J 7
letter from Kansas.
LEAvENwoRTH CRY, KANSAS,
III 90 TnnZ

LEAvENwoRTH CITY, KANSAS,
FED. 20, 1867.
When I left the Mountain Village, I
promised, should your "eehemeral con
cern" be resuscitated, to post you and the
readers of Tie 44Heghan1an in regard to
events transpiring in and around the Jay
hawker State
The most important topic now agitatiGg
the press and the people, outside of recon
struction matters, is The Indian question.
The East, fear, has imbibed some very
romantic notions of the Indian. It ap-
pears to have grown enthusiastic In praise
of the "noble red man." and looks with
horror upon the aggrievanoes heaped by
the white man upon the race of which he
is representative. That the Indian was
once possessed of some very good quail
ties, will hardly be- doubted; but the In
dian of one hundred years ago is not the
Indian of to-day. They have been thrown
into contact with the worst class of whites,
and have learned all their vices, without
at the same sine acquiring any of their
good qualities. They lave had great in
justice done them, 1t is true, and have
been numerically swindled by agenss IN
the distribution of annuities and presents,
but no rose-water policy can convert
savage into a civilized being or prevent
the wholesale massacres by them of peace
full citizens, so prevalent on our borders
for some time past. The "Indian War"
on the plains has been going on since
1864, and during that time 1000 persons
have been sent to their long homes, un-
numbered houses have been burned aud
families broken up, and several hundred
thousand dollars worth Of merchandise
has been destroyed by the red men. A
residence in the West soon dispels any
romantic ideas learned from Cooper,
l. -ongfellow, and others, respecting the
Indian. The sight of lazy, half-starved
Camanche, Arrapahoe or Apache: as We
see him on the plains, is well calculated
to suddenly change admiration into pity
and disgust. The coming summer prom
-5es to be more sanguinary than ever, un-
/ less these savages arc. made to teel the
force Of the military crm of the United
States. A large force of troops have been
and are being sent TO this department,
and when spring opens, it is the inten-
tion of General Hancock to bring the
| Indians to a distinct understanding OF
| what is required, namely, a surrender Of
| their tribal organization and their assent
| to removal to the Indian Territory, under
/ one supreme head.
The Pacific Railroad, east division, is
progressing admirably, TIE bed of the
road being graded to Fort Ellsworth, 210
miles west of this place, and to the point
where the Great American Desert COM
mences 1t is estimated that the road
will be completed to Denver in Januarys
| 1869, 700 miles west of here. This,
when the bridge across the Missouri at
| this place (the charter and grant for
which have been obtainedl is completed,
! will make a continuous chain of railroad
| from New York to Den ver, distance Of
some $500 miles, and with out one change
OF cars.
Leavenworth has improved and is i'm
proving rapidly. She now counts pop
ulaticn of about 28, 900 souls. Over 400
buildings were erected in 1866, and it Is
asserted by those who ought to know that
at least 700 or 500 will oe put up this
summer A large amount Of business,
both Wholesale and retail, wiz be transac-
ted the coming season. The large migra-
ton that will take place toward the interior
part Of the State presents superior induce
ments to locating permanently in some OF
the interior towns.
| The weather is and for two weeks past
has been splendid, and the groups of mar
BILE players on the streets, the universal
longing for ice water, and the warbling Of
bluebirds, are forcible reminders that sum-
mer is here. "KAw."