The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1875-09-08
THE RED CLOUD AGENCY.
Fifth Letter on Indian Frauds by
William Welsh.
SOME STRONG FACTS FOR DELANo
How the Government Agents Con-
duct Their Business.

that has marked all of his letters touching the frauds
existing in that branch Of the government servlce:
PHILADELPHIA, Sept 4, 1875
Professor o. c. MARsH:-
MY DEAR sR-In giving the promised sketch OF the
history of the Red Cloud agency about which there is
n romantic interest that should be turned prac
teal account, glance at the Indians who are
now congregated 1t, the junction
OF Wyoming Dakota and Nebraska, will
aid in intelligent understanding Of
| the difficulty of procuring agents with
sufficient head and heart and pluck for such reserva
ton. These Indians the Ogallaa Sioux, with the
northern bands of Cheyennes and Arapahoes. The
fourteen tribes of Sioux Indians, Dakotas, they
| term themselves well known for ierceness when
| on the war path. still better quality has, however
been lately developed in the Santee Sioux OF Nebraska
/ and the Yankon and Yanktonais Sioux, of Dakota
who being favorably circumstanced, have made rapid
| progress in civilization and in Christianity. The Chey
ennes and Arapahoes not being well known, will give
authentic information in regard TO them by
! the following quotations from report made to the
President January T. 1868, by duly authorized commits
soners comprising Lieutenant General w. T. Sherman
and Brevct Major Generals Harvey, Terry and Anger
with four eminent civilians This official report says:
"Before 1861 the Cheyennes and Arapahoes had been
! driven from the mountain regions down upon the
OF the Arkansas, and becoming sullen and
discontinued because OF TINS OF
The third article OF the treaty Of 1851 contained the
| following language THE United States bind
themselves to protect the aforesaid Indian nations
against the commission Of all depredations by the peo
pie of the United States after the ratification of this
treaty The Indians, however ignorant, did not be-
lieve that the obligations Of this treaty had been
piled with If the lands of the white taken
civilization justes him in resisting the invaders Civ
ilization does than this it brands him as cow
ard and slave if he submits TO the wrong. Here civil
zaton made its contract and guaranteed the rights of
the weaker party II did stand by the guarantee.
The treaty was broken but by the savage If the
savage resists civilization, with the ten command
ments in hand and the sword in the other, de-
mands his immediate determination" Then follows
an account of the treacherous OF many of
these Indians, concluding with this paragraph THE
particulars of this massacre are too well known TO be
repeated here with all its heartrendng scenes 1t is
enough to say that scarcely has its parallel in the
RECORDS INDIAN BARBARITY.
Fleeing women, holding up their hands and praying
for mercy We're brutay shot down; infants were
killed and scalped in derision, men were tortured
and mutilated in a that would put to shame
the savage ingenuity of interior Africa No
one will be astonished that war ensued which
cost the government $50 co., 900, and carried
connagration and death TO the border settle
ments" "on the 1st day of November, 1865
this commission convened the hostile tribes Med
LODGE the larger body of the hostile Cheyennes
remained at distance of forty miles These latter In
dams evidently suspicious of the motives which
had prompted US to visit them. Since the preceding
| April they had committed many depredations. They
had been increasingly the path, engaged in in
discriminate murder and plumber. They knew that
troops had but recently been hunting them the
| plains killing them wherever they could find them
~ cata bic cudda,
change of policy For two weeks they kept them
selves at distance, sending in small par
ties to discover if possible true inten-
tons Before the arrival of the Cheyennes
concluded treaties with the Kiowas Comanches and
Apaches and after their arrival concluded Joint
treaty with the Cheyennes and Arapahoes all Of which
we herewith submit and earnestly recommend for ratin-
| cation"
After the foregoing description OF the Indians who
were be collected at the Red Cloud reservation it
can readily be understood that there would be much
difficulty in procuring suitable agent on salary OF
81 500 year to where life would be hazarded
every comfort abandoned, surrounded by demorazing
influences, with few If any, congenal associates, the
Of living far greater than in large cities and
with the necessity Of exercising hospitality to visitors
and to sick Indians Before suitable agent could be
| found the Hon. Columbus Deano proposed that the
nomination for this agency should remain with the
government General Logan, then member of the
House of Representatives had asked for the privilege
| of nominating
THE CLOUD AGENT,
and there at that time special political for
| complying with his request This desire of the gov
eminent was of course, complied with, as the Church
! Missionary Society had reluctantly agreed to
supervise the Red Cloud Agency and nominate an
agent before the Indians were prepared for schools
and missions 1t is hardly to be conceived
that SO astute and experienced politician
as the Hon. Columbus Delano could have
supposed that 81 500 year. to be hardly earned
all the patronage expected for eminent services rem
dered by General Logan The Missionary Society dis
missed all thought OF this reservation until Mr. Deano
again asked that it should resume the care OF It, the
experiment having been unsatisfactory to him and
scandalous to the department The agent was removed
by Mr. Deano, but not until evl practices had been IN
troduced that easily eradicated. Feeling the
weight OF responsibility to be great the Church mis-
sonary associations surrendered the Sisseton agency
near Lac Travers so release Dr. j. W.
Daniels, its agent, that he might be transferred to
the Red Cloud Agency He had large and successful
experience with the Sioux and had entitled himself to
the affection aud to the full confidence of Bishop Whip
pie and OF the Indians The visited before he
went TO the Red Cloud Agency and satisfied that
he went there with the purest motives and with the
Grmest determination to do his duty The following ex
from letters written to me by Dr. Daniels show
the character of the Indians under his control-"ln
regard to Red Cloud he is just such trend Of
the whites Little Crow was, who, you will
remember, the leader in the Minnesota
massacre. The worst Indians camp with Red
Cloud MS Tlcnus lNOhe WHO nave OecI on inc
warpath the last summer lie would not allow the
agency u be moved To White River after he had told
the government that he wanted other place and
wished TO move there at once"
INDIANS KEEP PEACE
After Red Clouds second visit to Washington,
Philadelphia and New York DIR. Daniels said hat enc
earnestly desires 10 have his new agency built
the schools started His talk for peace
among his people" OF the Cheyennes the Doctor
writes tone OF them until last lall the worst
Indian IN the country. lie up tine track OF the
Union Pacific Railroad two years ago, ran the train
|
and scaped the conductor. Kind treatment To his
brother when IN trouble last spring. with presents, won
the friendship Of both Of them. Ellis brother spent u
month at the agency at that time, and when lac came
IN last la ths notorious man came with hun, and
they have stopped here since. They Chey-
ennes, many oil whom with the Arapahocs have been
here all winter, more than ever came North before
that there Is great change for the better
among these Indians since came here Several OF the
worst o. them have become friends in word, and two