The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1875-09-08

had YOU known his good qualities and the temptations
To which agents beyond the pale of CIVILIZATION nave
been exposed with the real or SEEMING ssnsson "
the Interior Department The fearful SIN OF tamler-
ing with agents, either directly or through iaVoIlte
contractors, cannot be properly considered Dy any
commission that Secretary Deano may raise anu ny
no other commission unless II is assisted ny colhpe
tent prosecuting Attorney who has lull au'hory e
employ detectives take dispositions and crossqueston
witnesses Even that fraudulent voucher, signed
during the absence of an agent, still remaining without
any effort at reclamation although the same contractor
has been paid millions of dollars since, Is enough TO
condemn the heads Of the Interior Department and Of
the Indian Office and TO throw upon them the RESPONSE
bty of all the wrong-dong
THAT STILL ABouNDs
II may well be asked why under such circumstances
the missionary organization Of the Episcopal Church
continues to nominate Indian agents. | can only
answer for myself have no means Of comforting
with my colleagues. FIRST am confident that there
will be change for the better and that the reign OF the
Indian Ring is drawing TO close. Second, the Ring,
backed by the Interior Department does not interfere
materially with agencies which the Church is
conducting her missionary operations This extends to
all the Sioux agencies except that for Red Cloud,
missions have Just been established ON the Spotted Tail
reservation. Third the Church may well apprchend
something worse, If change is now made, for
military agents were in some cases excessively
convvia; in others, very proane and on
ton the Church took charge Of agent in other
respects unexceptonabe so lustfu as to
employees in the same vice. Notwithstanding all these
disadvantages missions have prospered and accom-
plished good than could reasonably have been
pcced There has been great change for the better ON
the Spotted Tail reservation, and the improvement oil
Red Clouds Ogalalas Is very marked As Tor the Chey
ennes and Arapahocs whose erccst passions had been
by rcacherous murders Of several other chiefs
and omany OF the development OF the better
traits OF their character has been truly astonishing.
Two years since Populations Of both the Northern and
of the Southern Cheyennes and Arapahoes visited
Philadelphia The latter were under the care of the
Society of Friends, and the interview between Pow
der Face, their prominent chief and the venerable
Thomas Wistar, of this city very touching. They
kissed and embraced, showing that they believed in
common brotherhood. The Northern bands were un-
der my care, and | endeavored to show them the
merclul disposition of the great masses of our people,
They powerfully influenced by reception at the
Academy of Music, where 5000 well dressed children
Of the laboring classes sung for them, where
the orphans of Girard College gave them in
strumenta music, where the inmates of the
Institution for the Blind read without eyes and
worked sewing machine sklfully and where all the
inmates of the Pennsylvania Institution for the Deaf
and Dumb present to show the scope and infu-
of the sign language The languages of the Ara
pahoes and Cheyennes dissimar and very meagre,
therefore they signs freely II was astonishing
revelation to all of that the sign language of the deaf
mute and of these Indians almost identical, en-
abng them to confer freely upon every subject with
which these wild who had never before civi-
zation familiar The good work is progressing;
let us therefore be hopeful Yours, sincerely.
WILLIAM WELSH.