New-York tribune., 1867-06-11
TIE INDIAN WAR.

: ~, westward with reasonable safety depends
.,,t,rely upon the enemy, rather thah upon HcnuS'
with nearly 10000 troops in the departments ol uohS,
1Ioncock and Augur there are not any ten lhles u
,ba two GREAT thorOughfares from the Missouri hNo
~ this place that twenty Indians could not elc""
outp aoy day. Hancock has made one can'I's
inst te Redskins, and with what result yonr reau
crs well know II is now officially announced Una. ~,
,xpedtion is at an end and Gen. Sherman has Joiv"
,Iarcoclk to 30 down with and have peace-talA
with the same Indian who talked peace WIN niiu
a., Fort Zarah. and Immediately proved ther pacino
S,te,tions bv fresh atrocities. In the heil''ino'
Dghile the troops are punched IN ioits IIo In It
JJiU route is the scene of afreSh Ialu or IL
daily and the coach passes solely Deeauso 'o ~ I
s% f,r have allowed il TO do So Since nave Oech
detained here three statiOn-keepeIs on IhaI iTt H
have been murdered by the 1hNili's' so,ilu, ,,n,s
1oJcs cut TO pieces and burned, aud seNtli stations
lave been robbed of stock, ana IahcheS nave pVEu
DESTROYED. There are enough ldle TROOPS III u tnc
department to station 30 ON every mlle Oh Ile
III imt they seem to he used for every OtheI puI
pose than that for which they should 1e ehlP'V%lou %
On the Platte TOste hvo distinct Iaius nav 'd
made since have been on IT, one station ny d
Inf two days ago a stOck-keepcr was hIIieu anu %
sca,ped within mile of Fort Sedgwlck. WeSt ido Ii0
lndans have cleared the stage route Ui S'1GH or I'll H %
Iniles-stcang part of II and cOhpehlnE 'nc nltI @
drawal of the balance and two men nave Deeh e
scalped. The stage company have decnhea 10 ,I ioI
ward passengers west from this point since me lh
Snst when Mr. Hooper and others started ana got as
far as COOpers Creek, where they sim remain Juug9
Carter picked party OF FRONTIER men anu 5 S,ai,cS
Yesterday, determined to light their way tAIou2h
aud organize force of the lndlahs 10 escort tuo
stage All these things have occurred IN depart
1nent where there are 5000 troops, WIN nearly tle
same number in Hancock S Department, Immediately
south Instead of protecting the thoI0ugh2Ies tict
are planning grand campaigns north ana Souih ~
the lines of travel leaving them 10 pe Iaiuc'i'
,y,yaped and crimsoned with the blood OF the einl-
Grant and traveller, whenever the Indians take
e' here to t salt Lake, traversing all the passes
of the mountains where the best ,ampliSCiid50cSS dcS
in the world are 10 be found, has less tilali % oVV
soldiers on 1.-two companies or infantry AT IOlo @
Braier inst where the Indians are friendly, dl one
company of cavalry, reduced by deseraons ana ue-
1noralized generally Instead OF posting tIooS Ud Vd
navel Gen. AuguT doubtless acting ulder sPc'lnc
ordcrs) is busy preparing 1or eoupalgh s lI,o ; uo
upper country" Just where nobody thhS OF pOlns'
and where there is nothing to protect but the troops
in the forts. Last year the Reno ana I'M. he'IleA
route was pronounced open iot @ GIlIIS,I, It Nth f
Hundreds of graves along ITS enure lIIEu WIN
the Phil Kearney massacre rs the central hsuIe W
test how the promise was kept with the emiGfan.s
This year it is accepted as hostile ana lmlsSa"it
and 1000 troops are about 10 march along 1t,
strengthen its posts and play the farce OF plolccis
route that is stranger to the tead OF lc i Nnio
man while the great thOrOuGhiaro Is practlcaly
abandoned by the military excepting as troops ae
Iuddled i'm hutS here and there % mock the SOOlcI
do not hope TO accomplish ANYTHING hX staring
the facts. Ont here no one expects sensple 'ctlVh
ON the part OF the military, and they nave 70 DOW 10
perpetual imbecilIty and wrong Gen. sherman rs Is
presumed to have more common sense thah usuaiily
falls to the lot of commanders but ShOuld II DE
NECESSARY to saw to him that his first duty to emil
grafton TO the West and the country is To determine
upon some route routes TO the far West ana give
adequate complete protection! Colorado, Montana
Idaho aud Nebraska are inviting helds iOr thousas
upon thousands of the enteTprslng and industrious
people of the East, and the right way 10 make the
West selfpTOtectns is to maintain safe routes 20"
distant world of wealth. When the settlers once
rear their homes or tho miners open their cl3S the
Indian is doomed to peace or death lie wei Knows
that red tape and the ClrcumiOcutOn OF government
warfare do not obtain i'm the summary adjustment OF
difficulties between him and them. and he there
fore migrates or smokes the pipe of peace in Their
ranches. doubt not that 1000 people Will be pre-
vented from emgTating 70 the far West tins season
by the Indian troubles on the great th0rOughlarcS'
and this too, when there more than enough troops
already here to afford the ampiest pr0tecOn Is lhe
Government wise in tins policy! II 1t IS must con-
fcss that the whole West and all who VISIT IT, are
most fearfully deluded know that the popular l-
preston in the East and perhaps the prevalent con
YctOn in official circles Is that Indian wars are mere
speCuatOns. l am not prepared to deny inns as a
general proposition. l cannot resist the belief that
most if not ALL Indian troubles have their origin IN
fraud, contemplated frauds, alike upon the Indians
and the Government. Ihear it charged that Govern
ment contractors agents and officers nave much u
do with the creation of Indian wars and the sus
pension sion Of travel West have heard charged to
deliberate purpose of certain contractors, who Wsl
TO compel modified terms from the Government
These grave suspicious may or may nOt DC So i
haYO no means of aSceTtalnlng whether theY arc
wholly or partially true but do know that II tho
Government would throw its troops upon the routes
of travel and make them safe for the contractors,
there could be pretcXt whatever for attempting 10
create Indian troubles. IL would seem that the suTeS
policy for the Government to pursue would be TO
open the lines fight beat the Indians away from
them, and then say to contlactols: The way IS
open ;'peTfOrm your duty
But enough of grumbng; il will do no good |
am but repeating the earnest protests of the Western
people for years against the costly and terrible mis-
management of Indian affairs and as they have thus
far been dsregarded, need not cherish the hope
that now, when silly campaigns have been deliber-
atey planned and the troops disposed to caIly them
out. the observation of an humble tourist will be
needed. i will get away West as soon as soon as |
can. and have faint b0pe that tomorrow will
on the way to Fort Saunders, 20 take my
chance with the rest i'll passing the gauntlet OF the
savages.
There is much would like to say about Colorado.
but time and space compel me to be brief. / have
visited her gold and silver mines and seen the fear
ful waste Eastern speculation has scattered in fatal
proflsiOn among them. With countless wealth in
the mountains there is pabe decline and distress in
every mining region have SEEN Let me entreat Last
companies 10 learn at once the utter hopclessness
Of their enterprises as now organized and managed
Their mills are almost wholly worthless because
they are not adapted to the successful reduction Of
the obstinate combinations TO be found everywhere
in the Colorado ores. Many companies now on the
very verge of bankruptcy or actually III its en-
braces, have valuable mines, and they cling to the
hope that they yet make their e1teprS;eSs s sue
blessing TO both Eastern capitalists and to Col
orado If one vast fire should sweep the mills
of Clear Creek from existence. Her chaFred walls
would not impede progress. as do vast buildings,
with engines and mills now unemployed, and never
10 be cI1ployed as at present constituted Equally
foolish wastcful and disastrous must be every effort
OF amateurs TO reduce thc by experiments with
the various processes, flooding the market and
tempting the disappointed stOckholder to make
another effort 10 save his investment. Let every
Eastern Company wait until the problem is fully and
practically solved here among the mines, and then
they may hope TO get more returns. They could
prottably employ some capital in the mean time by
thoroughly testing their lodes, and bringing TO the
surface large quantities Of ore. When the time
comes for the successful reduction of these ores the
work of reducing them Will be as distinct from min
ing them as is milling from farming. Where there