The Highland weekly news. [volume] (Hillsborough [Hillsboro], Highland County, Ohio) 1853-1886, 1867-07-04
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Letter from Colorado.
LA PORTE, COLORADO TERRITORY,
June 2, 1857.

June 2, 1857.
EDITOR HIGHLAND NEws-DearI
Sir: Thinking a communication
from the Rocky Mountains might not
be uninteresting to your readers, I take
the liberty Of addressing you this
letter.
1 arrived here from short visit to
Ohio, May %, and to my surprise and
disappointment found it had been rain
ing for three weeks, during all of which
time the face Of the sun had not been
seem This was all the more disap-
pointing to me, as every rainy day
East, I wished myself buck unuer the
shadow Of the mountains, where it
did not rain. It continued to rain
seven days after my return, until they
"Of little faith" began to doubt the
promise and the Covenant of the Bow
in the Heavens as a sign, and thought
we were going to have another rise
like unto that, which flooded that
pioneer ship builder and navigator,
Noah, Of scriptural memory. But it
did stop raining before forty days, and
commenced showing, and showed for
ty-eight hours, and this I'd day of June,
the mountains two miles awav are
white as December, though here in
the valley everything is green and
smiling as bright, sunshiny day in
June can make it. "The memory of
man runneth not back'' to the time
when anything similar has been seen
here. But hopes are entertained
that the long continued snow and rain
have killed the graSsboppers, and if
so the storm will have proved a great
benefit, as we calculate on a crop al
most with certainty, if not destroyed
by them.
Indian troubles are thickening on
the Plains, and there is considerable
diversity Of opinion as to what policy
should be pursued towards them
Some are in favor of treaties, this class
being principally military men, who
do not understand or appreciate the
situation. Others are for war until
the Indian sues for peace, while still
another party are for discriminating
them; massacre them, men, women
and children I" but that is only theo-
retical. Few of them would practise
lit. AS I was coming across the Plains,
one of the passengers, a very pleasant,
intelligent gentleman too, was of the
latter class. I argued the case with
him, as unchristian, impolitic and bar
barous, but all failed to convince him,
but finally said I TO him, chad you
command of an army, and should cap
ture every squaw and pappoose of all
the hostile tribes, would you give the
order for their massacre ?" and he was
compelled to say that he would not.
But something should be done, and
that right speedily, for there is not
fifty miles of safe territory from North
Platte City to Salt Lake, and even as
I have been writing this the operator
at his Office has received news of the
capture of an eastern bound coach,
with the U. S. Mail, the murder of the
driver and another man, at Fairview
Station, fifty miles west of Fort Sedg-
wick, on the south side of the South
Platte, and the capture of an OK, and
also a mule train near the same place,
but on the north side of the Platte. At
the same time came news of the burn
ing of Three Crossings Station, near
South Pass on the Fort Laramie road,
and simultaneously news of the at
lacking of train at North Platte on
the Overland Stage route, and the cap
ture of stock at Fort HalIer on same
route. Four simultaneous attacks on
points hundreds ofmiles apart, show
precOncerted plan of action, and wide.
spread hostility, such as has not been
seen before.
The policy of the Military appears
very unwise-to use mild expression
as all the troops are sent north and
northwest to drive the Indians out OfI
their own Territory into the settle
ments, which are left entirely unpro-
tected. In reply to a telegram from
Gov. Hunt, asking permission to raise
two volunteer regiments in the Ter
ritory, Gen. Sherman sends a dis
patch, which you will find in the copy
of the Denver News which I send you
herewith, that has given the Colorado
people very poor opinion of the COM
mon sense of that distinguished hero. |
He had better have gone to Palestine
and preserved his reputation, as he will
find more difficult task before him
now than his march "from Atlanta to |
the Sea-" and more will be expected of
him than any human being can ac-
complish. From the tone of his tele-
gram to Gov. Hunt, he evidently does
not understand the condition of af-
fairs here, and cannot, because he will
not. 1 had intended to vote for him
for our next President, but I have
changed my mind.
Yours truly, o. S. GLENN.
JOHN NJ. LANesToN, the eloquent colored |
lawyer, of Oberlin, formerly of Chillicothe,
is stumping Virginia for the Republican
ticket.