Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1868-12-04
COLUMBUS. November 25.


Another Indian war is in full blast,
and concurrent with it the officers of the
United States army are agitating the
public mind with view to seize the In,
dian Bureau and by an act of Congress
transfer this branch of the service to the |
tender mercies of the army. 70 9sii
At a meeting of the Indian Peace
Commission, held at Chicago on the 7th of
October last, all the members present, i |
believe, except Senator Henderson, war
was declared by the military part of the
Commission against some of the In
dians of the Plains, and resolutions
adopted in favor of placing the Indian
bureau under the War Department, and
the abrogation of portions of the treaties
made last fall, at Medicine Lodge Greek,
by the Peace Commissions with certain
Indian tribes. I, sd 81 .e-sl..s,s. ,5
This action of the military part of
the Peace Commission was deceptive
and false, in that it protessed to take
the initiative in war measures with. the
Indians, whereas, l havs reason to be-
lieve that General Sherman had some
time previously issued orders for the
prosecution of war with the Cheyennes,
Kiowas, Arrapahoes, &C., and before the
1st of October. General Sheridan had,
in pursuance of such orders, perfected
his plan of a campaign, and had five
columns of troops prepared to move,.
covering the territory between the Smo-
ky Hill and Republican Forks toward the
north, and the Cimaron and Canadian
rivers on the south. By this action of
the military portion of the Peace Com
mission, General Sherman, who is a
member of it, has thus used his col
leagues to adopt as an original propo-
sition that which he had on his own
responsibility inaugurated some time
previous Such deception on the part
of General Sherman and his military
colleagues on the Peace Commission is
unworthy of men wearing the United
States uniform, and yet not uncommon
in the military department inits conduct
toward the Indians.
Following this action at Chicago, and
as an indorser of it, comes the annual
report of Lieutenant General Sherman
to the Adjutant General of the Army,
detailing military operations in his de-
partment for the past year, in which a
strong Indictment is drawn up against
the Cheyenne Indians and their confed
crates, wherein they are charged with
willful violations of their treaty obliga
tions, the brutal murder of many whites,
all without cause or provocation. Cen
eral Sherman recites in the EXTREMIST
detail all the Indian outrages, and AYERS
that not particle of fprovocation existed
at any time for them. With the troops
in the field and those soon expected lat
the date of his report, November ~
Gen. Sherman expects Gen. Sheridan
during this winter, "to punish the
= hostile Indians in his department so that
they will not again resort to war;" He
says that already many "desu.tory and
somewhat unsuccessful" expeditions
have been made; but he believes that
! before spring General Sheridan will be
f, able to find them all, "and destroy all
. that offer resistance" This report Of
, General Sherman is hurridly published
I, in the leading newspapers of the day, in
advance of the meeting Of Congress, to
whom it is supposed to be addressed,
with the evident purpose of creating a
public sentiment its favor. 1t indorses
what the military part of the Peace
Commission said at Chicago, viz: AS a
remedy for all existing evils, the Indian
Bureau must beturned over to the army,
l Now, with your permission, Messrs.
Editors, Idesire to say few words on
this question. You will remember that
early in January, 1867, a movement was
made by the army to accomplish this
same object. The same thing had been
attempted at divers other. times in the
past, but. upon full discussion had al
ways failed. 1 said at that time, in an
article which you obliged me by pub
fishing, that the adoption of the scheme
would do no good; that it would not
stop Indian wars; it would not prevent
the robbery of the Indians; it would
not benefit the whites on the frontier, or
in any manner mitigate the condition OF
the Indians. 1 now say it would be
equivalent to putting the knifs to the
throat of every Indian tribe.
During the years 1865 and 1866, we
had been engaged in an Indian war
first with the CheYennes and their con
federates, and then with portion of the
Sioux. This little war with the Chey
ennes alone cost the Government some
thirty millions of dollars, to say nothing
of the expenditure against the Sioux
and carried consternat ton and death tc
the border settlements. Eight Thousand
troops were employed, and it is moi
claimed that more than twenty indians
were killed, the life of each savage cost
ing about one and half millions of mon
ey, while hundreds of our soldiers lost
their lives, many border settlers were
butchered. and vast amount of pri
vate property was destroyed. The peo
pie were kept in comparative Ignorance
of what was going on, until in Decem
Der, 1867, the massacre of Colonel Fet
terman's party near Fort Philip Kear
ney, aroused the country. General
Sherman, accepting all the stories Of
interested parties in relation to the
origin of these wars, and by which the
entire blame was cast upon the Indians
in December, 1866, proclaimed that a
vindictive war must be waged against
the Sioux, even to the determination Of
men. women and children. This afro.
cious sentiment met with much favor in
army circles; and Congress was called
upon to turn the Indian Bureau over to
the army, as the first step in the pro,
gramme.
A bill looking to this end passed the
House, but was defeated in the Senate
and in its stead Congress passed the
bill organizing the Indian Peace Com
mission, and named the Commissioners
viz: Generals Sherman, Harney, Terry
and Augur. of the United States Army,