Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1870-05-11

lonely soul which supports her while
she entreats justice.
FATHER BEEsOM AND LAROOQUA.
When 1 first came tn Washington.
there was little white-haired, dried
up old white man, called Father Bee
som-I think Ihave the name correct
ly-who had great mission, the re-
generation of all the Indian tribes, the
complete redressing of their wrongs,
even to the extent of giving them back
the whole settled part of the United
States-for Father Beesom in the
heights of his enthusiasm declared
that not one white man had a just
title TO a foot of land in the new world.
IT was all the property of the Indian.
who had been robbed of it, and, if
Justice were done them, they ought to
have it all back. Whoever Father
Beesom might have been, whether an
interesting old lunatic, or an itinerant
beggar, at any rate, he carried about
with him an Indian girl, whose name
was LaroOqua, and she belonged to
the PenObscots, in Speaker Blaine's
district. When Father Beesom gave
a lecture on the white mans atrocity
to the Indians, in some church or 9TH
er. Larooqua diversified the enter
taiDment by singing. She had a
ouaint fine voice and her songs were
very popular. L heard her sing once
in Philadelphia
"Oh why should the white man wrong Inc
Who never did harm to him?"
And, ALSO
.rWfld roved the Indian girl,
Bright Alferatta,
Where rolled the waters of
The blue Juniata."
The old missionary, with the tears
rolling down his cheeks, told of the
red mans suffering, and the Indian
girl, singing of the happy past, of Lo-
gan and Pontiac, and King Philip
and Tea Kettle, made strong COM
bination. But it came out that Mad
anne Larooqua, as soon as the enter
tainment was done at the church,
went straight to the stews and re-
mained there until the next mission
ary entertainment.
/ I have often thought that this typi-
I fed the prevailing Eastern sentiment
and real condition of the Indian; a
maudIin old humanitarian deceived
by a thoroughly depraved type of hu-
man nature. There is no reason to
expect that the Indian ever had more
redeeming qualities than the Gipsy,
ard while the latter has been elevated
! into opera and romance by Verdi, and
Scott. and George Barrow, the form er
has been put to gospel use, SO that
! the same elergymen who read in a
nIacid wav how David and Gideon
completely annihilated the Amala-
kites. Hirrites and Jebsites are will
ling to call the wrath of the Lord down
upon General Sheridan if he shoots
two Pigeons, while twenty fresh sealps
dangle about their knees.
A STORY OF A CHRISTIAN SON.
Among the Indian fighters whom
we have amongst us is Colonel David
Wilson, of Dubuque, Iowa, who COM
4 manded a regiment for two years In
nursuit of various bands of Sioux on
the Upper Missouri, from Hankton e
Fort Burlington and Pembina. Will
son is a LAWYER, born in Ohio, and long
resident in California, but at present
a practicing lawyer in Dubuque. He
is a heavy-set, powerful man, of great
courage, will and endurance, and du
ring our war he raised regiment fol
frontier service, and fought some de
cisive battles with large bands ofSiouX
He told me an affecting story, few
days ago, which has not probably beer
published in any of your Western pa
} pers.
While he was organizing his regi'
ment a young man of good family
education. and address, yet in the frs
DAYS of bright manhood, who was &
. teller in a bank, came to him with {
letter of introduction. Colonel VIII
son opened the letter, and found thai
the Young man wished to be appoint
ed Sergeant Major.
He looked up at the fine, sanguint
countenanee of the youth, and said
"You can have that place, as it i:
not vet filled; but do not think thai
it will suit you. 1t is non-cOmmis
stoned office, and will give you little
more chance than private soldier
You seem to be fitted for better work
than this"
The young man replied:
az know what the office is, Colonel
but 1 want to see some service. l car
come back and go into business again
, but / want to go with you on thi:
: campaign"
"Very welI,n said the Colonel, 'but
YOU must put your affairs in shape al
once, because L may be ordered tC
march at any time"
The regiment finally got fairly tC
work and moved on to Dakota, where
after q good deal of hard marching
and dull prairie-dog life, they finally
] struck some Indian trails. The ser
{ geant Major, though fresh from an
, office desk, recommended himself tC
his superiors, by his good temper, pa
thence and pluck, and he was finally
made Adjutant, to the qualification o.
+ all. He had a contempt for the lndi'
, an character, and no belief in Indian
courage. Their howls, war paint
spears, scalp-taking, tattOOing and
ambushes seemed to him the coward
ly subtarfuges of race without grit
{ and no man in the regiment was more
unostentatiously anxious to come W
., with the savages. At length the scouts
indicated that they were hard upon
. the band of Sioux, and Colonel VIII
: son. anxious that the Nebraska regi'
f ment. with which he was scO-operating
should not get into action before him
was busy getting his men in line, anC
hurrying them forward. The Indi'
ans Law on some broken ground, anC
made their chief reliance upon
, mound. which stood solitary in the
midst of a deep gully. They struck
the Indians at the edge of dark, in
J the light of quiet afternoon, and at
. ter a furious onset, the troops OF th'
, two States completely routed the
heather, although at a severe loss
They Withdrew from the field when
, the route had been complete, and Il
was remarked that the Adjutant die
not come in. After a time, one of th'
/ officers, with a grave face, walked in
, to the COlonel's circle, and said in
whisper:
, "Here is the Adjutant, Colonel, ant
! | fear he is badly wounded
They brought him in, laid him dowI
upon the robes, and stripped him. Th'
doctors examined him, spoke-asldt
TO the Colonel-pronOuncing his hour
of remaining life to be few. lt SEEM
T that at the beginning of the action
! ! the Adiutant was mounted and gallop
I ed forward to take his place ON TN
! ! left line. when he beheld on the pral
! ries some scattered buffalo robes, whicl
l he supposed had been abandoned b.
? tbe indians in their flight. As h
spurred his horse over the pile OF robes
it suddenly arose and revealed aDou
twenty Indians. who first shot hi
! horse. and then, as the Adjutant wa
thrown among them, they thrust thel