New-York tribune., 1869-06-03
THE INDIAN QUESTION.


SIR: In 1862 during the excitement attending the
Minnesota Indian massacre, a petition TO Congress-
asking for the removal of the Sioux Indians 10
Boston Common was numerously signed IN thls
State. IL was n rough rejOinder to an alleged excess
OF sympathy with the actors in the tragedy OF our
Western frontiers and yet grOtesque as the prayer OF
the petition seemed am not certain but 1t anticl-
pated the solution of the Indian question. For
Boston Common. read a county of Massachusetts, or
New-York. with ten-acre allotments to each Indian
family. and circumvaatOn Of religion, education.
and law: and the Government would be assured
against the failure, which inevitably attends the
removal of Indians into wilderness, beyond all
those restraints and influences, and into collision
with a worse than savage barbarism~-the unre-
strained outrages of lawleSs and degraded Whites.
Since the occupation of the Rocky Mountains by NM
ing communities in which vigilance committee is
the first efficient guarantee of law and order how
futile how criminal even, 70 push indian tribes
Westward Every degree of longitude weakeps the
arm of the National Government; lmpaiTs the
responsibility of Indian agents, increases tho eA-
penses of transportation. and eXcites 70 h0sttGs
between White and Red gangs of bandlttr d |
The writer published pamphlet In 1867 urRhing urRIig ' ~
abandonment of the obsolete aud faial P9lleJ "a
crOwdng the Sioux bands 10 the Western pilhS htIa az
mountains, there to encounter YoenE any NJ ie
body of white adventures, and proposing; .ii"o % %
ROyale in Lake Superior should se oovuIaud Id on Ho0
Indian reservation where 3OVU 9log99 9n 9no NrtI
West sbonld be planted in villages ana on slaIl az
lotneuts of land with access 70 te
fsbp OT
I,9 3 and tbe strictcSt surveillance by the
National Government. The area OF lsIe h9yale y
about nine townships, or @O'oOV acres liPie loi
noDnlaton of about JOOcO ~ stale oi Pulase, anu
I'm, which Indians entitled to naturalization might
have heeu allowed 10 migrate and be absorbed mime |
citizenship of the United States fIlVate utIeS 70
tbe lands would have been yielded TO such pubic |
,se on favorable terms by an issue OF GOyerDmehI
scrip calling at the pleasure oil he ho3eI loI elu
or Iarper bodies of lands mineral as well as ag1cuI-
tura This proposition, or some measure LOT rtlah-
ing the Indians within the protection and restraint
of the GOvernment-even by removing them East |
,yord-was earnestly recommended By Gen. Pope, |
then i'm command of the Military Department OF the |
Northwest. But these suggestions were not con |
sidered fayOTaby. The Sioux bands OF Mnnesoia |
were pushed to the Missouri River, where the WeI-
disposed have suffered gross neglect Whe te hoStle
chiefs and their followers have involved the Whme |
foner from Texas to Montana in annual Indian wars
The question seems almost hopeless Inc ARABS OF |
fh9n the Sioux or Dakota Indians, were only suhu-
gated by the most military OF European NATIONS aIeT
repeated campaigns, the organization Oh speCla |
corps of zOuayeS. and an immense expenditure our
Indian hOstlliteS have been WlSeIui anu LGleSs 5
and unfortunately, were preceded ana ATTENDED, Oy
atrocities the part OF our irresponsible Popuao4
of the Plains which fully equal the WORST IeCoIu VI
savage outrage. The ChivIngtOn expedition was |
hnta repetition of the nameleSs horrors OF the |
SiouX raid of 1862; il is doubtful whether Sherdans
,igoroUs campaign of 1868 is free from Just censure;
and at length the voice Of the country declares LOT
resolute effort to reform the abuses OF our lhdlan
administration and cleanse our garments as people
before eInbarking upon further military expeditions
AGAINST Indians The settlers OF Western territories
al
armed and organized, and the sooner the Ioeal gov
.ernments understand that they must exclusively
assume the duty and burden oil selIoeiehse e Ine
better for all their interests, well as for the honor
of the nation. In this police OF the territories OF
Course the Federal garrisOns Will cOOpeTate but III Is
NOT unreasonable to deyOve on the resident pOpula
ron the same degree of watchfulness and self
restraint which the founders of Ohio and Kentucky
cheerfully assumed When that Is well understood,
Indian hostilities will not be encouraged for
purposes of speculation and peculatlon Inc
General Government represented py % Ihe
Commission recently appointed, Will act wisely
if it shall Designate at an eaIy, day.
few reservations limited in extent and readily ac-
cessibe, where the Indian bands as rapidly as pos
sible shall be concentrated, and where alone the
bounty of the nation shall be distributed. The indian
Territory, north Of Texas and south of Kansas, Is
ALREADY secured to the Cherokees Choektaws, Greeks
sand othcI Southern Indians; they constitute the
nucleus Of q civilized Indian community; by their
numbers and progress they are entitled to lead in
the experiment of bringing all the scattered frag
ments Of the race under single adminlstrauon :;
and venture to express the hope that all other reser-
vations between the Missouri River and the Rocky
Mountains will at no distant day be relnquished,
and the Indian population within these limits (which
does not exceed 10000 will be gathered upon SUIT
able divisions of this Indian Territory No time should
be lost in making the necessary aotments ana pro
viding transportation tnthei ana, itef @
interval all payments o1 alhuIIies it S ~
Of goods elsewhere should cease. Inc Indlan is
nor1adic; there is little local attacbment among
these rOycTs of the Plains: aud there would Do no
severity in the colonization OF 2QOO souls III Ter
rle temperate and healthy district as large as Penn
3ao,Ier,bin ne AD TDdfan Republic of the American
Ti,5i. The first great practical difficulty of an in
tegent and conscientious supervision of the Indians
is the number of small and remote reservations repre-
seuting as many treaties with insignificant bands.
There perhaps 1900 Chippewas: and map
published by the Indian Office, disclOses IA reserva-
TiOns i'm Northern Wisconsin and Minnesota. many of
them in very remote districts. The Commissioners
named by President Grant. and who give their
services gratutousy, cannot bo expected to attend
in person at all these agencies although If the whole
Chippewa population were gathered upon Isle
ROyale personal inspection might be possible. If
the Plains Indians scattered In small bodies at
numerous points over an area exceeding the Atlantic
States, were concentrated in the Cherokee country,
how readily and satisfactorily could a Government
Commission supervise tke selection Of subordinate
officers and the administration OF thor trusts The
first great necessity OF the subject Is concentrations
to disregard utterly tribal dlstlncuons TO require
the Indians however designated to live together in
peace first subjects and hereafter citizens; and
thus with economy and responsibility, TO secure an
honest administration of Indian affairs. These ad
vantages might be attained with one Chippewa res
seryatiOn on Lake SUPERIOR SOuX or Northern
reservation on the Missouri River; the southern
west of Arkansas with two reservations for the
Pacific coast. The expense of such an organization
wOuld be materially relieved by the sale Of the
smaller reservations, which incumber the Indian
service. and are simply nurseries of mischief and
corruption. Probably the most interesting expert
ment of Indian DachCatOn now IN progress, Is under
the direction Of Gen. W. >. Harney, on the Upper
Missouri. At three stations on the west bank OF the
river between lattudes 43J and 4Go, l4,OOO Of the
Sioux OF Dakota nation restrained from depreda
tons even more by the personal influence of the vet
eran officer than by the bounty of the Government.
Gen. HaTney. 20 years ago, conducted successful
campaign against these Indians, and the chiefs de-
scoe a h as as G man T %p po9 lOug1E Iuas Out
which hs was a member assigned a block Of terri
tory north of Nebraska, west OF the Missouri River
south of latitude 4G0 and east of longitude 140-an
area rs large as New-YOTk-whCh they styled the
Northern Reservation" and within which Gen.
Harney hopes TO limit the Sioux hunting eXpe-
grants and settlers, now range over five times the
above extent OF the Great Plains. SO far by liberal