South Branch intelligencer. [volume] (Romney, Va. [W. Va.]) 1830-1896, 1875-06-04

" enoener, anu os the Black Hills coun-
try Is at present in the line Of specula.
tive emigration, and there are about two
hundred white people in the country TO
one Indian, perhaps it would be better
Tor the Indians to reflect gravely upon
the suggestion. They will reflect of
course. But there is one great preju.
dice to be conquered among the Indians
before they can either be sSeely bought
out or ruthlessly turned out of their
homes. They believe that the agents
OF the government are great rascals, that
they have been cheating them from the
beginning Of all treaties, and there is no
security against them. That there is a
good foundation of reason under this
complaint is admitted by leading admin
istration journals, though, Of course, In.
dian frauds are not peculiar to any ad.
ministration. The Newark On. il Ad.
certiser, for example, suggests an analo-
gy by which we may discern what is al.
most too plain to be worth reasoning a.
bout The agents OF the government.
it says, who have been perpetrating the
enormous whiskey frauds in the West
were ostensibly under close surveillance
by the internal revenue department, but
when it was notified. by an outside n
gent, of their thefts, it was as unable to
arrest them as it had been slow to dis
cover their frauds. It is hardly neces.
sary to show u .tortiori how much more
opportunity is afforded to those notori.
ously dishonest men, the average Indian
agents, hundreds of miles away on the
plains. out of reach of the telegraph and
comparatively free from detection, to a.
buse their trusts at the expense of the
ignorant Indians. Promises made in
Washington are passed to their hands
for performance, and the suspicion is
that they do not keep faith to the utter
most farthing.
The New York Times recounts at
length the wrongs and outrages which
have been inflicted upon the Indians
the slaughters and massacres-the yio-
lation Of treaties and Of reservation
guarantees" the debauching of women
and murder of children, the breaking OF
bargains. the stealing Of money which
the government has sent to them, the
invariable cheating of them whenever
they offer to trade, and pertinently adds
There was a very large class of per-
sons who believed, and who still believe.
that the sufferings which fell upon the
South between 1861 and 1865 were q sort
of special punishment for the cruelries
which they had inflicted on the negro.
They saw the hand of an avenging
Providence at work. 1t would be inter.
esting to know whether the persons who
held this view imagine that Providence
only 'avenges' cruelty and injustice when
they are committed by the Southern PEG.
pie. and that Providence will never pre-.
sumo to interfere against ourselves
There can be no doubt that the Indians
have been the objects of quite as much
ill-ti'etment as ever the negroes were,
and If sMcli sins are inevitably followed
by retrib,Nion-as many events in the
history of 5re world seem to prove--why
should we escape more than others?-
The advocates OF the special interposi-
ton doctrine would do we'll to think
over the point"
The comparison of the Times rests, of
course, on false premises, for no such
cruelty was ever practiced towards the
negroes in the South as upon the Indi-
ans. But letting that pass, we may say
that it will not do to dismiss this sub.
ject now by the stereotyped puerility of
calling the Indian 10" and recommen-
ding his immediate suppression. That
many of the Western tribes are treacher-
Gus, thievish and degraded is conceiva.
bic of barbarians, even if we did not
know they had been i'm contact with de-
PRAYED whites. Whatever their charac-
ter they are entitled to honest treat
ment. If they are to be allowed certain
privileges and reservations their rights
should be respected with as much sa-
credness as those of any other people.
The sentimental element of the Indian
question has nothing to do with the
matter, but ifitis possible TO reform the
agency system and to give the Indians
the benefits guaranteed to them by sol.
emn agreement it ought to be DONE
Then let n true civilization grow up
round about them and they themselves
will become civilized and peaceful
Baltimore Sun, Nay %.