Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1873-02-21
THE PRBsIDB.vTs I.vDIS.v
POLICF.

| came one of unsorupulous gain. When, as
| in the case of the Cherokees of Georgia,
they had become Christianized and civiliz-
| ed, we drove them from their well-tilled
| farms to secure them ourselves. When the
Government bound itself to pay the vari-
Gus tribes a certain annual appropriation
of money in lieu of the land of which they
were dispossessed, the white traders near
them managed to get almost the entire a
mount into their own hands in exchange
| for whiskey. Another set OF our own peo-
| Pile were wont to encroach on their rights
almost at will, for the purpose of goading
them to acts of aggression and bringing on
some petty war, with its fat jobs for con-
tractors and rich pickings all round. This
"policy," which has so long kept up the
barbarism of the Indian, with barbarism
about as bad in many of our frontier settle
| ments, and has cost us thousands OF lives
| and millions on millions of money, has
been dear one both for the Indian and
ourselves; but it paid well into the pockets
of those more Immediately concerned in Its
working, however much it cost them for
the lives of wives and children.
President Grant early resolved on a new
| policy,-tha of an honest endeavor to bring
them under the influence of Christian civil
lization, employing the military arm of the
nation TO restrain and protect them, and
inviting the several religious organizations
of the country to cooperate with the Gov
ernment by training them, each in its own
way, in the arts of peace. The right of the
Indians to hold vast territories in the in
| ,r har rhor 10 IapinH
reservations have been assigned the vari-
Gus tribes within which they are required
to keep and the whole have been divided
into so many agencies, number of which
have been apportioned to the several CO.
operating religious bodies.
AS was to be expected, not few have
decried the whole thing. Many secular
newspaper has sneered at it, and held up
every outbreak as proof that nothing will
do for the Indian but to shoot him down I;
while the white settlers and contractors
have not yet ceased their old game, with
the hope of making the Presidents policy
appear to be a failure, and of thus getting
back their old perquisites in the Indian.
But the President has held on to his policy
with his characteristic tenacity; and one
benefit of reelection is the continuance
of the experiment for four years longer,
sufficient length of time, it is believed, to
ensure its success.
Last month the Board of Indian Com
missioners, to whom the whole matter is
entrusted, met, in accordance with its own
invitation, between thirty or forty repre-
sentatives of the cooper ating religious bod
les, several gentlemen connected with In
dian affairs, Gems. Howard, Hazen, and
other officers of the army, aud delegate
from each of the civilized tribes in the In
dian Territory. Reports were received
from the different agencies which showed
that the policy was working well. Maj.
Smith, who represented the American
Missionary Association, which has four
agencies, principally Ojibaways, under its
care, said that the tribes were peaceable,
disposed to work and 10 send their chill
dren to school that, at White Earth reser-
walton, the Indians were making excellent
progress, and had built this year l09 log
houses, sawed one and half million feet
of lumber and made other improvements
that there was no question as 10 the practi-
cabilty of civilizing the Ojibaways. DR.
Nicholson, who represented the Friends
reported that in the Central Superintend-
ency there were $4,000 Indians, two-thirds
: of whom were nomadc; that there were
among them fourteen schools well attend
: ed, and that the children learned rapidly
that the men were wont to attend Sabbath
meetings, and showed an increasing inter
est in religious matters, and were gradual
ly introducing Christian marriage; tina
they were making great progress in the in
dustrial arts, and were increasing in mum
bers; in short, that their prosperity for thu
, last four years had been ten fold what i
!. was before. Mr.. Janney represented th'
Hickste Friends, who have charge of sew
b, en- tribes distributed to six agencies. HI
said that the Santee Sioux, the principa
tribe involved in the Minnesota massacre
: had been entirely brought out of heathen
ism that the Winnebagoes had all becom
white men in dress and habits, and wer
valuable aids to the farmers in their vicin
> ity; that only the Pawnees were unsettled
Mr.. Welch, who represented the Protest
. ant Episcopalians, in whose charge ther
were seven agencies comprising 10000 t.
: 25, 900 Indians, chiefly Sioux or Dakotas
; said that they had established eight mis-
n sionary centres; built eleven churches a
;. a cost of about S55 900 had doubled thei
work during the last year. and have nov
:. six white and three native clergymen, te
"a ministerng women, about twelve cate
e chsts, native organists and choristers tha
- there was an average attendance of 300 o
divine service; regular attendance {
> 500 children in the schools and that, Q
II Santee, 300 out of population of 965 wer
s church communicates. Bishop Whipplt
a recently elected bishop to the Indians, be
n ing present, testified to the astonishmer
with which he had beheld the progress
J. the work. DR.. Treat said that the Amer
.. can Board had seven churches, 500 con
h municants, six ordained native Indian
If and four licensed native preachers, an
a had succeeded in making good citizens
Indians who were absolute pagans te
N years ago. DR. Ferris, of the Reforme
Y. church, said that he had never known tn
,s law of kindness TO fail with the Apache
n. and Gen. Howard testified to the good wi
O. shown by these Indians to him. d
d Backus, of the Baptist Home Missio
4. Board reported that among the Creeks an
Cherokees there were not less than sixt
l. schools.
10 Gems. Howard and Hszen affirmed th
20 the testimony of all army officers of ran
W was on the side of the Presidents polio
is The chairman of the Board also testife
v. that, in his travels of over 10000 miles
v. the Indian country, he had never met wit
,e an officer of rank in the army who, unde
h. standing the policy of the President, d
n not sympathize with it in its high aims.