Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1870-06-29
NEW SERIES--V0L. 10, NO. 40.

!
tor from Nevada Mr. STEWART in
his denunciations alike of the Indian
tribes and of the policy pursued to-
ward them, though do not mean to
say that his donunciations were alto
gether uncalod for.
was struck especially by lis reit-
Grated and impatient demands that
tho Indians should be confined upon
small reservations and made TO work
for their own support. The Senator
should reflect that what be calls for
is no affair Of a day. Even with the
most advarccd tribes, such as The
Chcrokees, any progress has boen 'he
work of years Of patient endeaVor'-
1t is only then that you find them ca
pable of reaching or maintaining any
substantial civilization. Yet, what
is all that time in the life Of people,
or in comparison with the advantage
Gained in reclaiming whole tribes
| from tho savage state2 Docs not
such n result, achieved within fifty
wears. prove that there is better
way of dealing with the Indian race,
both for them and ourselves, than by
the sword alwaysl
When the Senator Mr. STEWART
insisted that the tribes of the plains
should be set to work on reservations
and made to earn their living, did he
reflect on what he was saying? Hero
is a race of people who from time i'm
memorial have lived mainly by the
chase over the great plains or by the
spoil of war made by one tnbc upon
another. Can you all at once shut
them up in the small reservations of
the Senator and make them tillers
OF the soil, pursuit which so many
of those fierce warriors abhor What
will you do with them if you find
they do not know how to work, and
are not very willing to learn? j
doubt If much can be done with the
present generation of men Of most of
these wild tribes in the converting
them into farmers and working people.
| do expect something from the young.
er goneration-lrom the Indian boys
Let the trial be made with them, aud
if fully made, it cannot wholly fail.
These views are no mere specula
tions of history, In two notable in
stances in our country the peaceful,
Christian mode OF dealing with the
Indians has been tried, and in both
cases with the most signal success.
One them was in Pennsylvania, un.
dor the auspices of William Penn
Tho features of that great experiment
and its complete triumph | need not
recount. One result was that Of all
the colonies Pennsylvania was least
molested by Indian troubles in the
course of her history.
The other example / find upon the
shores of the Pacific; find IL in my
own State of California. There, uu-
der the rule of Spain, and subsequent
ly of Mexico, the laws Of Christian
- otss,is...ss-'a. -.-------f-f-ii-i si-- rs--
ernment Of tae Indian tribes, The
missions of the church had tho con
troll of the Indians OF California, and
with success that, considering the
newness aud remoleness Of the coun-
try, and the other circumstances Of
difficulty, is wonderful Go think Of
There are few things more striking
in the history Of these children Of the
forest and the plains. About the
twonty-ono missions Of California
considerable population of Indians
grew up within the influences Of Chris
tianity and civilization. Each mission
had its own community Of Indians,
industrious, orderly, solfsupporting,
not destitute Of capacity for improve.
mont, with fair proportion Of farm
laborors, herdsmen, aud mechanics -
In the works of irrigation, the romans
Of which still exist around so many
OF the old mission buildings, the
Chrstianizol Indians particularly
excelled. They showed u remarkable
native talent for tho engineering re-
quired by those works. With little
or no instruction Of any kind, they
were able to find grades, to lay ont
bitches, and TO manage irrigation as
Won uh AhN must hNltHAlhN NiEihNNlos
! have seen tho walls Of one mission
church in California, inside and out,
covered with paintings by Christian.
lied Indian. They were rude in dc.
sign, it is true but they were just in
proportion, not without perspective,
aud striking in their general effect,
At the mission churches were kept
aud in some cases still are preserved,
the ancient registers of those Indian
communitios-th registers of births,
of baptisms, Of marriages, and Of
Deaths.
give you few leading features
only. | aid not expect this debate,
and was not prepared for il. The
whole subject is full Of interest, but l
can barely touch on it here and there
What was the general result Of the
system pursued toward the Indians OF
CALIFORNIA by the nItssiVu, Though
in an evil hour the Mexican Govern.
ment, several years before our con.
quest OF California, struck fatal
blow at tho system by socnlnrzing
the mission establishments, yet the
good effects produced the Indian pop.
ulation conld not be botted out all at
once. II is true, also, that since the
cession of California, her people, to
their credit DO it said, with very few
exceptions, have not been chargeablc
with cruelty or even harshnoss to the
Indians. The consequence has been
that there is no frontier State east or
west of the Mississippi whose history
is so little stained with Indian troubles
as Is that Of the State OF California.
True. there were several Indian eSpe-
dltions during the first ten or twelve
years after her admission TO the
Union but in respect of blood shed
they were very harmless aiiairs.--
They were hurllul chiefly TO tho lnan
ces of the State; and this was their
real object for they were mainly CON
tractors wars. do not now think
of more than two or throo serious
conflicts between the Indians and tho
nnnulo nf Cnlifornin dutinm our listO-