Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1873-07-03
In .ians Here and There.

There is section Of English written
joU lalism that we OF ssthc States" know
very little about we mean the Cana
dian press. And here, let us pause,
and say how absurd IVES the irritation
which we Americans used to exhibit
when our country was described 4'y
Engishmcn, colonial and metropolitan,
us ''the States and not as we We're
wont to emphasize, the eNpIetive, the
United States!" The truth Is the Eng
fish was, philosopl.icaHy and politically,
the correct phrase, We We're the
Estates" united technically, and with
our corporate title the United States; ;
but there was No use O. examining our
unitedness down the thsoats OF. every
body We were talking to. We grant
that now, under the comprising pro-
cesses of the last twelve years, we have
been ssulited' with a vengeancen All
this, however, is aside from the matter
we originally had ia view-our igno-
arnce of the colonial British press.
They sc who are familiar with the sub
ject know it to beYvery able, conducted
by men Of scholarship and character,
and exercising a large influence. Our
attention has been drawn to it III con-
nection with the recent Indian distur
Dances in the Modoc region on this
side of the line which separates us from
Her Majesty's dominion The sub
ject of Indian policy is one which the
colonial press can discuss with indie
pendence, and a freedom OF all con-
sclousness of wrong Over tile vast
territory, from the latitude Of Ottawa
to the limit of the Esquimaux, are
scattered nomadic tribes as savage as
ours. They cling quite as tenacioasly
to their hunting grounds as ours do.
The pressure of advancing civilization
may not be as sharp and. severe as that
on this side, but still there is pressure,
and civilization does advance. The
missionary is there, too. The trapper
and trader are not wanting. And yet,
in British America, who ever hears of
enormous frauds Oh. the Indian, with
and without the countenance OF Gov
ernment? Who talks about fanciful,
sentimental Peace Commissions, gossip
p;ng, and preaching, and ventilatins
their ostentatis us philanthropy? Who
i ears OF Indian Lloodshed? We cannot,
as a consequence Of all this, recall :.
siagle instance in British Anl,lfca, Of
an Indian outbreak or outrage. How
different cur experience has been, it is
not necessary to say. The three words,
''Ches ennes," '.Modocs" and win
nebagos" are frightGllly suggestive
violence, butchcry and aboninab..
fraud Realizing fully this contrast,
it is the most natural thing in the
worls'', and we have no right to find
fault with it, that the British colonial
press should speak out, il view of what
has recently occurred, boldly and com
placently. We find the following strik
ing passage in the Quebec Nocs aa.||
Front er -4dcocate Of few weeks ago
and we reproduce it with the greater
,ntentment.in that it contains kindly
reference to that region of our once
happy land, that attracts few kind
words nearer home:
The American object seems to be to
eNterminate the Indians = to get rid of
them once for all. 1t is pretended that
THERE'S no alternative We deny it.
These men, savage though they be, are
not wild animals, They can lie
brought to terms They can be made
TO limit. Nay, they can be converted
into quiet citizens. See how well
Brigham Young has succeeded with
the neighboring tribes. See what the
South, the malignel South, did for her
Indians. See how she treated the
Greeks, even after the massacre of Fort
Minis. See what old Gen Jackson did
for the Cherokees and Clio taws in $50
when he transplanted them west of
Arkans s, where they still live peaceab
ly See what the English have done
fol- the sayages of British America
Look at the pretty, happy village o.
Lorette, near Quebec, Where fingers the
remnant Of the gentle Huron race
Look at Caughnawaga, over against
Montreal, where the fierce Iroluois
have been subdued into good Christians
Look at Mapitoul Island, where dwell
the descendants of tile Algonquins. See
how the Hudson, Bay Company, and
lattellyr the Manitoba Government,
have managed and controlled the
various tribes of red men in that coun
try Shall the Sioux, the Blackfeet
the Modocs, the Apac!ies, and other
Western tribes, fare worse than their
brothers, because they have to do with
a people which boasts OF its superior en-
lfghtenment and humanity?
We know the cry has gore forth:
''The Indian IS doomed" til heart
less cry, and as silly as it is' cruel The
Indian is doomed only If they per
serve in their barbarous resolve to hunt
him over mountain and over plain, un
til he disappears for ever.
1t is hard to read these words of
eloquent truth without burning blush.
Bait Gaze te