The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1875-03-20
BLACK HILLS.

Every ie;; days the announcement Is mace
from Siouy CITY or Yankton that -four more"
members have returned OF the party OF some
% that went from Siox City to the Black Hills
last fall to prospect for gold, and in each case
the returned adventures give GLOWING ac
counts of The richness of the new gold fields
1t would be carrying incredulity too far tt
saw that all these reports are baseless, ant
that there is no good reason to believe tina
there is gold in the Black Hills. These re
turned adventures bring with them too mucl
ocular demonstration of the truth of theil
variations in the shape of visible chunck'
and dust; but doubtless, as Sioux City ano
Yankton SPECTATORS are deeply interested in
getting up IL big emigration to the Black
Hills in spring, they exaggera,c the reports
as much as possible.
Right or wrong, however, there is no douD'
of their success in exciting the emigration
The fever, so far from merely beginning 10
spread, already numbers Its victims by hun
drcds, and the hotels of Sioux City and lank'
ton are iull of adventures anxiously awaiting
the opening of spring to take up their line OF
march to this northern Eldorada.
About this time, however, comes an lntl'
nation from Washington that the President
Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary OF
War, alter consultation on Tuesday, decid'
ed that all expeditions ia spring twill be pre-.
vented from entering the Black Hill country
If the entire army Ibe necessary for that pur'
pose and that the Sherman-Augur treaty OF
1860 with the Sioux shall be preserved inyio
late"
On the other hand, we observe that sundry
| legal gentlemen at Sioux City have put forth
manifesto in which they deny that the so.
called "Shcrman,Augur' treaty with the
Sioux Indians was ever ratified by the Senate
or is Of any binding force. The authorities
at Washington, as well as the newspapers, in
maintaining the existence Of such treaty,
they say are laboring under delusion. Says
this manifesto;
During the past four years a member OF
congress-, who for years previous to his late
election, held the position Of chef justice OF
one OF our territories, with commendable zeal
devoted his eminent abilities to the eX-
animation of the Sherman. Sioux treaty, and
his researches brought to light the fact that
the treaty referred 10, before being sealed.
specifically stated and required the Sioux
reservation TO be surveyed that mounds be
erected at suitable distances, and the bounda.
ries otherwise clearly defined. Now 1t Is a
well known fact that the reservation Of which
the Black Hills are part has never been
surveyed, and in such utter ignorance are the
proper authorities on this subject that only
two years ago Spotted Tails agency was re
moved from a point on the Missouri river, to
u point supposed to be 40 miles in OAK ota,
but which has since been proved to be 90
miles inside the boundaries of The state of
Nebraska. The ex jndge, and present men,
Der of congress, heretofore referred to, desir.
Gus of obtaining all the legal light possible on
the subject, submitted the text of the said
treaty, together with his views, to present
U. 8. senator, who was formerly one of the ST.
preme court of a western state, and this latter
eminent authority also gave 1t as his opinion
that there was no valid treaty with the Sioux
nation, from which it is clearly apparent that
the government, in attempting to either stop
emigrants or confiscate their property for
going into the Black Hills, rs well as the pro-
perry of those already there, will be infring.
ing upon the private rights of its citizens,
could prove they had suffered by reason of
such government interference.
From all which 1t appears probable that
in the management of this treaty business
with the Sioux the same slovenly careless
ness has obtained that has so largely charac-
tcrized the whole Indian business, and that,
ment will have another very unpleasant Cap
tain Jack sort of job on its hands next sum-