Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-03-11
A SHARP CORRESPONDENTS.
A Revelation I'm Regard to Grants In.
reference I'm the Local Affairs of


reference I'm the Local Affairs OF
Texas.
From the Chicago Tribune, March Z.
Gen. Sherman, in testifying before
the House Military Committee on the
release of the Indian Chiefs Satanic
and Big Tree, said that if they should
now scalp Gov. Davis, he (Shermanl
would shed few tears. The b;eligerent
Ex-Governor turned at once from fight
ing Texas to fighting Sherman. He
wrote the latter an able letter. 1t sets
forth that he committed the sentence of
the two chiefs from hanging to life
imprisonment not so much because
Grant, Attorney General Akerman,
and others asked him to do so, as be-
cause the trial was an unfair one; and
because as the tribe knew this, the exc
cutiOn would have no moral effect upon
them. The two murderers were after
wards released. Gov. Davis shows that
Grant ordered the release without first
consulting him, and that he at first
refused to allow it. Indian
Commissioner Smith appealed to
him not to discredit the President
by making him break his writtenprom-
Use TO the tribe, and said that such a
course would precipitate a general In
dian war. To escape such n calamity,
Davis finally yielded, on condition that
the Government should at once increase
the troops and posts in Texas, should
stop the raiding, should compel the
surrender of the captives and plumber
held by the Indians, should force them
on the reservations, and should rearrest |
Satanic and Big Tree, If their tribe, |
the Kiowas, misbehaved. All this was
promised. None of it has been done. |
The Indians have been worse than |
ever. Davis asks why Sherman did not |
himself hang the chiefs when they were /
wholly IN his power, and closes by init I
mating that not his, but his correspond |
ent's, scalp should be the first one /
taken. Sherman replies that he Will |
never again Voluntarily risk his life on
the Texas frontier, as he did when he
went there before; that if Satanic and /
Big Tree "are TO have scalps, yours
(Davis') is the first that should be
taken;" and that he knows nothing of
the promises made to Davis. The lat
ter's short answer is good enough to
deserve partial quotation. He says:
81 can appreciate your indignation
that those scamps should have had the
to imperil even your life.
But they are not alone in rascality.
Every other male Indian of their tribe,
over Is yeals of age, has, probably, at
some time or other, since Texas was an
1exed to the United States, been guilty
f murder and robbery on the Texas
frontier, and is therefore equally enti-
led to hanging.
Satanic and Big Tree and their
oarty are specially condemnable only
because their exploit happened TO scare
he General-in- Chief of the United
states Army. On the other hand the
may have cause to thank
hose Indians for thus bringing home
o the General-in- Chief a realizing
ense of the dangers and outrages they
ave SO long suffered. An experience
f more than twenty-six years in Texas :
more than half of which has been
assed on that frontier-has convinced
ne of the necessity for Just such an oc- I
urrence. The elevated officials from
Washington, who sometimes did the
rontier the honor of hasty inspection, !
oOk such good care of themselves that :
hey met no Indians, and accordingly
rent home convinced, or pretending to 7
e so, that our complaints were but :
the old cry of wolf"
II must close this correspondence c
n alusion to your promise not again i
D risk your life on our frontier. Dis
laiming the purpose to say a sharp '
hing, l assure you, General, that
here are thousands of poor fellows on :
ur frontier who are risking, and have !,
Or years risked, their lives and proper 4
? without hope of receiving your large i
per annum, or any other fl
eward or honor for such risk, and L
ley make no talk about IT." ii
Judged by this correspondence alone,
ne Ex-Governor has the best of the
ght. The revelation of his resistance
} the Presidents command that Texas .
lould release two of the conviets in :
er penitentiary suggests apostolic ex- =
lanation of Grants refusal to uphold h
lavis against the people of Texas as he t,
i'd, and does, Kellogg against the peo- u
lie of Louisiana.