The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1875-07-29

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A1fairs--rhs SECRETARY of the Interior
Arrsignsd.
The New York friBtne publishes the
following letter from Prof. Marsh. Of
Yale College, to President Grant
Sir: In two interviews had With
you on Ipdia8 afhsirs,y, .sFh5s iInpressed
with your earnest desire to do justice to
the Indians, and with y6nr btcad and
philGnthrepic views on, the WHOLE In
dian question. Phis must be- my ex-
cuse, as a private citizen, for coming to
YOn to lay before you 3 statement .ef
wrongs committed on the Sioux I'M
dians, mainly under my own observa-
ton, during a recent visit to. their coun-
try. My vi, it to this region Eas wholly
in this interest OF science, with no in
tention .or wish to Investigate Indianl
affairs. Tie frauds 1 observeH were
brought to my knowledge by Red
Cioud, who= refused to allow my; psrty
to enter their lands until i bad prom
ised to submit his complaints to You in
person. Since my interview with you
I have been informed by the cOfnnis-
siohar ol Indian affairs of. thsg aPpoint=
unebt of. a eoIfn15 ski61l to' ih4estiG ats aIie
affairs at Red Cloud agency, and was
invited to lay a statement of the facts.
before them. This I am quite ready to
do whenever the commission REQUEST
I must decline, however, TO give nv
statement to the interior department
alone, for the following reasons 1 I
have no eonfdehca whatever IN Ifite
secretarys Of the fintefior or eofntnis-
sOiner of Indian affairs, When EkaeN
publicly announce their wish and de-
termination to correct the present
abuses in Indian management, because
1 have reason to know they have long
been aware Of these abuses and have
made nGBtnceIe effort to4feEbrm them.
q In all nay intercourse Est hese .tWaz
officials their object has been to find
out, not so much what the frauds &C
tually we're, as the extent of my infor-
nation concerning them, so as to pre-
rent, by all means in their -RoRet. ar
publtcfty eTexpO4utfa Of 'fhe{n! i 81 The
zldepae now IN MY pesssssipn a al &ctss
uufaVOrably on both Secretary De1hao
and Commissioner Smith. For these
reasons i have thought it best to lay
before you, to whom, in accordance
with NV promise to Red Cloud, made
my first communication of the accom-
Panying statethesftl Sri ldstail, inSS bdI9-
hCnC6 Ikdb EuEt6NAlG1C6 DIeS6AL&E MAll
meet with the consideration its import
ance demands. In the statement which
accompanies this letter I have given the
results Of my investigation into the
affairs of the Red Cloud agency, the
largest and most important in the west.
These results clearly indicate gEoss mis-
N apag genfent3 especially I'M the following
particulars l. The agent, J. J.
Saville, is wholly untitled for his posi-
ton, and guilty of gross frauds upon
the Indians ;giItlfh his charge; ~ The
n8nf5ef of Indians at ftiiIs agency has
been systematically overstated for pur-
poses which can "Only result in fraud.
3. The last issue of annuity goods
which L witnessed was a suspicious
transaction, and part at least frapdns.
lent. T. The" beef cattle given the Ins>
dians have been inferior, and, owing to
syste matte .fraadsf practical by the
agent q t The, beef2BontrR6saEa 5. The
pork issued to Indians during my visit
was not suitable for human fare 6.
dence of fraud in this article was con-
elusive. 7. The sugar and coffee issued
were not geod, although better than
other supplies. 8. The tobacco OBJ
served was rotten aud of little or no use.
9. In consequence of fraud and mis-
management the Indians suffered gTaailF IL
during the past winter foE.want Of fpOSl;s
and ;elothing. 10. The : CONTRACT for
freight from Cheyenne to- Red GIo41tI
agency, was fraudulent, as the true dis
tance is one hundred and fifty miles,
while contractors were paid for 212.
IwouId especially call your attention
to the evidence of fraud in beef cattle,
as presented in the accompanying state
ment. This subject investigated with
great care; as beef iszthe principal ar
ticle of food OF. the Sioux Indians, and
the frauds l observed have caused great
pecuniary loss to the government. The
statement I have prepared is supported
IN all its essential parts by the testimony
of officers Of,th army who were with me.
in my expeditions, or at the Red Cloud
agency. Among these officers are sew
eral personality known to yQu and. all
are gentlemen Of high character. Should
any part of my statement be seriously
questioned 1 trust you will allow these
gentlemen ito be heard. If the com
manding officers of all posts near Indian
agencies or other equally Trustworthy
and disinterested observers there could
likewise testify, think it would be
found that have but family Indicated
the corrnpton qeEYadiAg Indian affairs.
1 have purposely confined myself in
this statement to a single agency aud
mainly to the time of my visit, without
reference to rntIch other testimony winch
has come to me incidentally in the.prpsa
ecution of my inquiries, showing frauds
of equal magnitude at other pOiRts.
This corruption. which is Il constant
souReeofA AdiscoRGeRt and hostility among
the Indians thehselvss, in my jddg
ment, Is a natural result ef-,the present
loose and irresponsible system of fur
nishing the Indians with gODds and sup
plies-a system that tends directly to.
invite fraud. I do not believe that any
thing but q RADICAL change in this re-
spect will prevent continued demoTaliza-
ton of the Indian service Hione.
have the will and the power to destroy
that combination Of bad men, knpth IS;
the Indian Ring, who IRE debasihg tf4s'
service and thwarting the efforts of all
who endeavor to bring to full consum-
nation Sppr noble pohGy Of neaee.
Very feePectfully 7yotlt Is ese9si!snt Es ser
want, o. %: MARSH.
= The letter Is accompanied bFa long
and interestsnP statement, corroborating
points specified. in the communication
TO the:president S<%:
"A: eHEYENNE $ABL UGTDR Is
isslfe Roma aneeaoE HSrslsF sEkasssss.
One OF the main tributaries of the
Little Arkansas riveF-Isf call Running
Turkey creek, at the 1noqt Of which is
Jim, GeaFy's- rancho, an ed and some
what notorious stepping place in the
EdaHsSwhen government provisions were
haHled from Fort Harker to the Indian
territory by means of bull and mule
teams. Among the early settlers was a
faniEyfrOkn Chic named Fal eon6b which
consisted .of }Robhrt Walcbder, Ms: wife
Sarah and an only daughter, Bessie, at
this tirne abOEs fseVen4eeni y 5eaES old.
The young girl vas engaged to a young
farmer and had, Aothing <hsppened
would have been married last Friday
ezenine..-=lT The time for the marriage
arrived, so did the bridegroom and in
vited guests, but, strange, no bride
/ appeared. Her parents Eupposing she
/ was in her feofns went to the door 10
warn her that the time for the perform
anee of FheeeTemesiS had aErfSed VIXEN
] they found the room aen1ptys.-. It was
early evening and not yet dHsh, so they