The New York herald., 1870-06-09
Red ,loaa'. Plain Talk in wn.hins'on.

The oratory of Logan has evidently left
germ in the bosom of the red man which, at
this day, fructifes. The spirit Of Red Jacket
and the obstinacy of Billy Bowlegs are not
extinct. The last of the OgalIallas-as he
described himsef-chief of the Sioux tribe,
Red Cloud, united in his speech in Washing
ton on Tuesday, before the assembled dignita-
ries of the Indian Department, good deal Of
the logic and pathos Of Logan with the in
domtable pluck OF Red Jacket and Bow
legs. When pleading for the rights OF his
people Red Cloud asked ''Whose voice was
first heard in this land?" and be answers the
question-''It was that Of the red people, who
used the bow" With this intimation of inher-
tied right to the soil he proceeded to put into
a nutshell the grievances of his people. he
says, in substance, the Great Father may be
very kind, but his officials rob and maltreat the
Indian; they have left him nothing but an
island upon the vast extent OF country which
his father and his mother told him belonged to
him. They-these white marauders-steal
the goods sent by the government all along the
road, so that but handful reaches his starv
ing nation. We fancy that the red chief is not
mistaken in this statement; for 'Indian an
nuity goods" whether composed Of blankets,
bacon, -four, sugar or ammunition, are consid-
cred common property for the pferers who
infest the frontier, and are not very scrupu-
lousy handled after the goods pass beyond the
lines of railroad. 1t might be interesting to
know how many larders OF Indian agents. suit
lers and contractors are enriched by the mate
rial which should reach the lodges of our
wards, the red men.
But the Sioux warrior, the last of the Ogal-
lallas, comes plainly to the point as to what his
people want when he emphatically pronounces
against the maintenance of Fort Fetterman
aud the continuance of our garrison on the
lands. 81 want no roads" he says, 'through
my country. For the railroads you are pass
ing through there have not received so much
as brass ring for the land they occupy" He
will have no soldiers or railroads upon the
land, and the removal of both seems to be the
ultimatum Of speace or war in Red Clouds
region. Now, the meaning Of all this is SIM
ply what we have stated many times. The
Indians are defrauded by government agents
and others to such an extent that they are
worked up to a state of evaporation. Pro-
misses are freely made to them and are fagi-
tiously broken, 80 that it becomes question
often whether it is not we, rather than the
Indians, who are the aggressors. 1t may be
necessary at times of absolute warfare TO use
harsh measures with the savages; but it should
be considered whether the bad conduct of our
own agents has not provoked the difficulty in
nine cases out Of ten. We believe that the
cause can be traced to this origin.
The fact is that we want thorough reform
in the management of our Indian Department.
We must be honest with the savage if we
attempt to control him by peaceful means. We
must not be driven by the misconduct and
avarice Of our own employees to the hateful
necessity of cruelty and determination. The
Secretary of the Interior must have learned
something about the question from the plain,
bold words Of the chieftain Red Cloud. HI
must be convinced that palaver has very little
effect upon the Indian character. He must
have learned, too, that faithlessness on our par
in the matter of treaties, and gross swindling Of
the Indians by our agents and their tools-the
contractors-are at the bottom of all this
Indian trouble.