The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1867-08-23
creations Of the Imaginative novel

! readers.
On the other hand. and among thos
I who have felt the forrs Of his terribl
/ blows. the Indian isfegarded in directI
the reverse light. as{tbs incarnation o
all that is deviiish aud brutal. as a ver,
wolf, whose utter destruction ia a worI
Of humanity to our race and 10 the world
To his wantonness and innate bloodLhirst
mess have been attributed all his acts 0
violence upon tie pioneer aud his hostiii
y to all irespasses upon his manoria
bunting grounds.
Both these hypothesis are, in my judg
meni. mistaken. The real cause of thes,
troubles lies beyond and deeper thar
these = the savage usrure of the one
and the tresspasses Of the other having
nothing to do. as moving causes with
the case. They are merely incidents to
the strife. and should not be taken into
the account when seeking for the RENE
dy. The strife snd turbulence which Is
now going on in the western section OF
Kansas aud Nebraska is bat continue
ton of the war which was inaugurated
upon the early colonists upon the shores
of the Atlantic The massacre of Wyo
ming, 10 which touching aliusion was
made on this floor a few days since, was
but the beginning of series of butcher
les which have been continued uTon the
frontiers civIlizton as they have reced
ed to the West from hat day to this. and
which every year of the settlement OF
Kansas has witnessed upon our prairier
on less ex ensiye but none less brutal
scale. The massacre of Fort Phil Kear
ney in 1866 is but a repetition of many
such during and subsequent to the revo.
luunnary war.
Who will clam that the Indian hos
iilfues of those days were induced by
frauds upon the Indisns; by the pecul4-
tons or deceit of individuals, or by
wrongs of omission or commission on the
part of the Government ?
The conflict now, as then, is one be-
tween civihz4tion and bsrbaFism. From
that day to this the forces of each have
been constantly maFshalled. the one Tor
conquest the other for resistance, The
Ind az. stimulated by the instinct Of self
preservation, has resisted and struck ct
the advancing wave of emigration rudely
and awl: wardly, but with all the barbar
ic force at bis command, while the White
mae, as instincuvely possessed with the
desire for conquest and develcpme Of,
pressed forward by the constantly increas
ing density of population in the older
States, impressed wi b the consciousness
OF his destiny and the philosophy of the
sacred injunction to repienish and subdue
the earth, and armed by superior civ.li
cation. has as steadily moved forward in
his self imposed mission, until prosperous
States now embrace the great hunting
grounds of the aborigines, and beautiful
cities with all their wealth of commerce,
their elegant churches. aud school bouser
crown their ancient burial-places. Vino
wonders that in his barbaric simplicity
the Iudian has so persisten ly, though
impotenrly resisted this, to him. destruc-
i've march OF the white man The way
on Of the emigrsuI is TO HIM the precur
sOr of eventual but certain Punishment
from the home OF his people. The sound
of the church bell tells him Of the pres
euce of stronger ace, armed to his un-
tutored conception with magic power, be
fore which be Is as the dry grass of his
native plains, swept by tornado of fire:
the scream of the locomotive is the very
presence of the enginery by which his
race IS beng swept from the face of the
earth. No wonder that he holds on with
death grasp to the grounds where lie
and his fathers for many generations be-
fore him have followed the chase and
roamed at will.
On the other hand. who can say nay
to that advancing wave of civilz ,tion
which is year by year subduing the re-
giuns the far West and spreading all
over that vast domain the arts and rel
ences. wrestling it frcm the hands of an
unproduciug, revolving baFbarism. aud
esta hlIshing there the humaniz ng infu-
encss of better life =? How could we,
if we waCld, curb tie aggressive spirit OF
emigra. ion wsich was landed from the
Mal 4 aver, and which 10 two centuries
has well nigh peopled az entire continent.
-ubjee;ing TO the dominion of law, and
cui bng by the restraints of religion Ehat
which before was barbarous, wild Rnd
chaotic
Ga the one hand. the country was held
by a race rude and un.uscepible of cul,
ture, aad the purpose OF whose existence.
whatever that may have been. is substan-
TALLY fulfilled, aud whD are now passing
away. On the other, 5he pressing needs
of multiplying people demand room or
development. ClvillzAtion and Christian
ity demand that no barrier should be
thrown in the way OF the accomplIs hmsnt
of their mission of peace and humanity.
Herein lies the text of the controversy.
The IndiAD is fighting for existence and
the white man for the tul6ilment OF des-
uny whose bonds are as potent as the de
crees of fate. The duty of The hour Is
20 temper the conficE consistently with
the exalted maxims Of humanity by which
We profess TO be governed, to render not
unnecessarily painful the pathway to the
grave of an expiring race.
But above all things else that duty
is first TO those who are bound 70 US
by the lies OF cOnsanguInits, OF common
language, and a common religion. Oar
own race has claims upon Us which the
dictates Of humanity and the instincts o
self preservation ever adjure Us 70 regard
The people who have carried the flag 0
our nationality upon the Plains are on
brothers and friends. Many of then
have sacrificed all but life in battle for tn
R-pgblie. and have gone upon these viii
wastes TO build for themselves new homes