The New York herald., 1870-03-25
Tho Punishment Of the Picgans --Shcridnn
und the Indians.

We publish to-day very interesting and
graphic account Of the recent punishment Of
the Piegan savages. 1t is written by an officer
who accompanied the expedition, and whose
descriptive details will relieve the affair Of the
horrors which certain newspapers, for partisan
purposes have endeavored to surround 1t.
The truth is there seems to be great out
cry, even in Congress, about what is called the
Piegan massacre; but the outcry is mainly for
Sheridan cannot escape when SO good an op-
portunity offers for his enemies to fling dirt on
him. They charge him with inhumanity aad
cold-blooded murder, and compare him with
the infamous Hamiltons and Alvas Of other
times. The facts on which these terrible
charges are founded are simply these; A
force Of troops In General Sheridan's depart
ment In pursuance of plan arranged some
time previously to attack the Piegan marau-
ders during the winter time, when they would
be taken at disadvantage, fell upon village
of them and after severe fight killed large
number Of them, including squaws and chill
dren, and captured others. These are the
facts in a nutshell
The grounds on which barbarity and inhu-
manity are charged lie in the fact that this
attack was made in winter, and that women
and children were killed. The attack was
made in winter because in any other season
Of the year these rowing tribes are feetly
mounted and are enabled by their light
ness and rapidity to commit depreda-
tions almost with impunity, as they can
easily get away from our more cumbrous cav
airy. They depredate nearly all summer
in this way. Until within few years they
have been in the habit Of making treaties Of
peace with the whites at the beginning Of each
winter, in order to subsist in plenty during the
cold months, and lay up ammunition, blankets
and whiskey from the white man stores so as to
be ready when the grass grew to commence tho
spring campaigns again. When Sheridan first
carried out his idea of winter war upon them
it was an astonisher from which they never re-
covered. The first severe blow of the kind was
in 1868, when General Custer, with the Sew
enth cavalry, fell on lodge on the Wachita
and defeated the Indians With heavy loss, his
own command losing several brave and gallant
young spirits-among them, it will be remem-
bered, Major Elliott and Captain Louis McLane
Hamilton. Several squaws were also killed
in that affair, and we heard pretty much the
same talk then as now about barbarity. But
in regard to the squaws, they fight as deter
minedly as the braves, and often even more
resolutely. Besides, they are not to be distin-
guished easily from the men during fight.
They generally appear In blanket and stove-
pipe hat, and few Of the chiefs dress any bet
ter; so that it is not at all to be wondered at IL
our soldiers fail to discriminate on account Of
race or sex during the hurry and furry
Of battle. In firing by volley or
al viii 1t is Impossible to to discriminate, and
when the women are fighting as savagely rs the
men it il certainly not required to discrimi-
nate. We are quite sure that during the riots
of 1868 in this city, when some of the women
were desperately engaged in the very centre Of
the mob, hooting jeering and firing at tho
troops, the very essence Of gallantry or hui
manity would not have urged discrimination
on account of sex in the return volleys.
The Indian of the present is not the nobla
red man Of the Leather Stocking days. He ia
mean, besotted, sensual and cruel. The news
papers TEEN every day with stories Of horrible
outrages perpetrated on white settlers out
West, and especially on the women, by the very
tribes that those enemies of Sheridan now