The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1868-11-28

The Indian warfare which has been carried
on for some months past has extended over
so wide an area of territory and its mdiv ldual
events have been so unimpo-tant that Gen
Sheridan's report OF the deta Is OF his cam
paign would not be interesting. But his
recommendations in relation to the treatment
of the Indians are important and interesting.
Gen. Sheridan says:
am exceedingly glad that tie Peace Com
mission resolved at their late meeting that
Indian tribes should not be dealt with as indie
pendent nations They are wards OF the gov
ernment. and should be made to respect the
laws and the lives and the property of cti-
| Zens. The Indian history of this country FOR
| the last three hundred years shows that OF all
| the great nations OF indians only the rem
nants have been saved. The same fate awaits
| those now hostile, and the best way Tor the
| government is to now make them poor by the
| destruction OF their stock and then settle
| them on the lands allotted to them. The mo
| tive of the Peace Commission was humane
| but there was an err )r OF judgment in max
] ing peace with these Indians last TALL. They
| should have been punished and made TO give
| up the plunder captured, and which they now
hold, and after properly submitting to the
| military and disgorging their plunder they
| could have been turned over to the civil
| agents. This error has given many more vic
| tins to savage ier0city.
The present system of dealing with the In
dians, | think, Is an error. TeeIe are Toe
many fi3gers in the pic, too many ends to be
subserved and too much money to be made
and it is the interest OF the nation and OF hui
manity to put an end to this inhuman farce.
The Peace Commission and the Indian De
partment and the military and the indians
make ''balky team" The public treasury
is depleted aid innocent people murdered in
i the quadrangular manaSem mt in which the
| public treasury and the unarmed settlers are
the greatest sufferers. There sboad be on y
one head in government OF indians; now
they look to the Peace Commission, then to
the Indian Department both of VIII ch are
expensive institutions, without any system OF
adequate machinery TO make good their
promises, Then the Indian falls back on the
military, which is the ouly reIiahle resort in
case he becomes plnchtd from hunger.
| especttully recommend, in view OF what
| have seen since came In command OF this
de- epartment. and from long experience with
Indians heretofore, that the Indian De
partment be transferred to the War ne
| partment, and that the L'eutenaut
General as the common superior, hav,
sole and entire charge OF the Indians
that each department commanier and the
| officers under bin have the sole and entire
charge of the I2dians in his department
There will then be no 'balky te m no addi-
tional expense in saiaries-a just acoounta-
biity in the disbursement Of the Indian ap
propriations. The machinery necessary tC
support the army can without additional ex
peLse, supply the lndlaus
Our success so far in the number OF In-
dams lied is fully as great as could be ex
pected, and arrangements are now being
made for active operations against their wi
lases and stock. AS soon as the failure o
the grass and the cod weather forces th,
scattered bands to come together to winte
in the mider latitudes south OF the Arkansas
a movement oil troops will then take plac,
from Bascon, Lyon, Dodge and Arbuckle
which hope will be successful in gaining
permanent peace.