The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-11-22

Gen. Sherman and the Indian Question.
FSonn Gte NJ Y. Tribune.
The fiery letter of our Montana cOrrespon-
dent upon the Indian question is a true pic
ture, net so much of the atrocities of the In
dians as Of the sentiment of the people of our
Territories in favor Of exterminating the red
race. "They must leave the Plains or die"
says our correspondent. ''They have but the
thief s title to any land whatever" 'There
are no friendly Indians on the Plains" "Send
General Sherman to the Holy Land"-and, in
substance-let loose the volunteers Of the bor-
ders, and let us make all Indians lawful game
till all are killed. Our correspondent is gen.
tleman of character and influence; and, though
his letter bears internal evidence that he has
ventured to narrate many things against the
Indians on second and third-hand hearsay tes
timOny, and with far more tendency to exagge-
ration than is consistent with impartialitv, yet
as a setting forth of the sentiment of the peo-
pie of Montana and our other border territories
in favor of determination, it is admirably
graphic and true. We publish it to show how
impossible 1t is to preserve peace with the In
dians so long as the whites are imbued with
the faith in determination and massacre of
which our correspondents letter is so faithful
an illustration.
There are two difficulties in the way Of the
determination policy, viz 1T is impossible,
and disgustingly unjust, as all our army
officers who have been called on to carry it
out soon learn. Impossible, as it would be,
by a fire of artillery to exterminate the mus
quitoes in swamp. Unjust, because investi-
CATION shows that at least half the Indian
difficulties arise from violation of our treaties,
or by starvation and suffering in consequence
of the advances Of the white race Westward.
The treatment of the Indian question by
General Sherman, as by all our regular army
officers has been characterized by that sense
of Justice and humanity which are the highest
ingredients in craftsmanship. Ever since Will
liam Penn reared a feeble colony into a popu-
lous province in the immediate presence of the
red race, without firing gun or losing life
by violence, humanity and justice have been
the best coin with which to buy peace with the
Indians, and they have been least current.
The war code which prevails among the whites
is, that for an offense committed by any one
Indian, all other Indians are liable to be shot;
and that if no offense at all has been commit
ted nevertheless, an Indian, like black
snake, deserves death on general principles
simply because he is an Indian. These senti-
ments may be read in any border newspaper
heard in any border cabin, and are frequently
repeated not only in their bar-rooms but in
their pulpits. In order to appreciate the
essential barbarism of this code, we have only
to reverse it and put it into the mouth of some
gigantic savage like Red Cloud. Our correspon-
dent attributes to him sentiment towards
white men no more horrible; and accepts it as
evidence of the inveterate fendishness of the
Indian race.
Most of the fighting of the Indians with each
other and with the whites arises from the fact
that, by depriving them of their hunting
grounds, constantly reducing them to
poverty and starvation. The wealthy tribes
those which have focks and herds-give us no
trouble. Their very property makes them
peaceful But starving tribes, like men suf-
fering from cold and hunger, must steal.
How, then, may Indians be induced to accu-
mulate property One mistake made in this
respect by our Government and missionaries
has been the effort to turn them from a nomad
savage life at one bound into full-fedged
civilized life as farmers and villagers, without
passing them through the intermediate
stages. The Indian can very readily be di-
verted from hunting wild cattle to herding
and pasturing tame cattle-from barbarous
to pastoral life. But he cannot be suddenly
hoisted into civilization, changed from a
vagrant of the wilds into a supporter Of
churches and schools, from a hunter and trap
per into ploughman and merchant. The
aim Of the Government should be, therefore,
to lead the Indian, by easy gradations, out
",
indolent, and free life of the shepherds
and herdsmen. For this they show ready
adaptedness and natural inclination. Through
out South America and Mexico the Indians
meet the whites on this intermediate plane,
and are their equals. From thence they gra-
dually pass into civilization. A notable illus
tratiOn of this we see in President Juarez OF
Mexico, whose father and grandfather were
herdsmen, and whose ancestors were savages.
This system of making treaties with the In
dians as independent nations should be gra-
dually abandoned, and instead thereof they
should all be placed under military govern
ment under the charge of the War Department.
They need-and as our settlements increase,
win need still more-the strong arm of mill
tary government to protect them against
neighboring tribes, against the vagabonds and
criminals of their own tribes, and against
spontaneous guerilla warfare from the whites
To this end, military posts permanently esta-
blished at points accessible to all our Indian
country, and in charge of Regular Army
officers, and an Indian Bureau, cores
| ponding in organization to our Freed
mems Bureau, would greatly contribute.
| Through these means the Indian races
might be assisted in their efforts to grow herds
of cattle, and horses, and swine, and focks OF
sheep and goats, and become valuable addi.
tion to our national industry. The ''magnif.
cent distances" of the great West leave them
still time and room to emerge by natural steps
from savagery to civilization before their lands
will be taken up for farms and towns. But to
accomplish this great and humane end the
whole Indian question needs to be acted upon
as one question-with unity of design and a
| permanent policy. In accordance, we believe,
| with the views of nearly all the officers of ouI
1 A L I,