The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-02-25
THE SLAUGHTER OF THE PIEGANs.

ana nOuoCAo dhu bObhSSO pOWOhOo1
will soon follow.
THE SLAUGHTER OF THE PIEGANS.
From the NJ Y. Times
When Custer, last year, moved against
Black Kettle and the Cheyennes, destroying
the camp of that thieving band with great
slaughter, we defended and applauded the
affair, because the offense had been greater
even than the penalty When Carr and his
cavalry made his famous raid soon after, kill
ing, capturing, and scattering hostile savages,
we praised it, because the gang attacked we're
q plundering, murderous lot who deserved
all the chastisement that could well be in
ficted But the slaughter of the Piegans in
Montana is more serious and q more shock
ing affair than the sacking of Black Kettles
camp on the Washita. We do not deny that
the band which Colonel Baker annihilated
had been guilty of crimes, but the whole
sale massacre of men, women, and children
seems to have been a different affair from
the surprise of Custer, and really an afro
cious one.
Mr.. Vincent Collyers letter of the 22d to
Mr.. Brunot is dated from the Board Of Indian
Commissioners, Department of the Interior,
and hence acquires semi-official and even
Governmental sanction and that letter repre-
sents the attack on the Piegan village in
Montana to have been simply sickening
slaughter. No other terms will properly
qualify it; no redeeming merit attaches to it.
A month ago, in the dead of winter, great
force of well-armed, well-mounted troops sur
rounded and surprised an Indian village,
which was at once and perforce within their
power. Did this force of our troops call for
a surrender? Did they give any quarter
Mr. Vincent Collyer tells us that they did not,
and that, on the contrary, though the savages
numbered far less than our troops, the latter
haoaO and continual butnharu unti1 ono hmm
dred and seventy three persons were killed.
What that 'butchery" was may be known
from the fact that, according to General
Sherman's report, our only loss was one man
'injured in falling from his horse" But of
the Indians 173 paid the forfeit of their lives
| And this is not all. Mr.. Collyer tells us that
| of these 173 only fifteen were soldiers, or
men between II and 81 years old, while at
any rate only twenty-five were between the
outside fighting ages of II and 60. Besides
these, there were eight men killed over 60.
Take these altogether, and we have con-
ceivable resisting strength of just thirty
| three.
What of the other 40? OF these ninety
were women, more than half over forty years
of age; and the other fifty were children-all
killed in Zone fell swoop." ''Many of the
children" says Mr.. Collyer, 'were in their
| parents arms" and all were under twelve
/
| people, of whom 40 were women and
children, anything but a sickening slaughter
We do not desire to wander into mere SEN
timentality in this matter, but here are the
horrible official facts. They are derived from
Lieutenant w. b. Pease, an officer of the
army, and agent of the Blackfeet, of whom,
according to our remembrance, the Piegant
are sub-tribe, and they are indorsed or at
tested by General Sully, well-known Indiar
fighter and negotiator in our army. Are moi
the facts sufficiently shocking to demand ar
inquiry by Congress-? We admit that, dur
ing the past year, the Piegans have com
mitted many outrages, and have rendered
themselves liable to be punished; but so lont
ago as the 23d of December, General Parker
the Indian Commissioner, declared that iii
Montana the danger of serious outbreak, i
is believed, is past. The question is whethe
q wholesale slaughter of women and children
was needed for the vindication of our arms
and whether capture, as in the cases of Custe
and Carr, would not have accomplished a
needful purposes