Bozeman avant courier. [volume] (Bozeman, Mont.) 1872-1882, 1875-10-22
BLACK HILLS.
Return Of Charity COLLINS
ffpm the Red Cloud
Eixxle.
The Causes Leading t. thu
Failure-What Might
Have Been.

y Fsilure-What Might
=. Have Been.
70 l6ioax City Journal, Oct. 7sh.l
=. ChsrleF Collins, of this city. return,
. Saturday night from Red Cloud Agenc
a. where he has been ip attendance upon II
!. GrsDd Coancil. which has proven such
:, ,lgrand failure
[oi He left she A&eacy Thursday ,eyepin,
!, Iafssr the treaty proposed By tha sammi'
= IslQners had been submitted, and VIA II
, tbearer of dispatches which impcllcd hn
,f|to make time. He rode to Sidney. . dil
!. lance of 40 miles. in seventeen houl
n and half. From thence he proceeded
aha, reaching there Friday nigh
= and finished his journey leisurrly, arriv
!. ing here as stated.
: After the:treaty was submitted the In
, ld,ans asked three days to consider it, a
, they would do in any event, but it was
!. .Iforeg0pe conclusion, as announced b.
= Telegraph at the time. that the labor o
, the commission had been lost Our dis
\ patches gave the story of the last hours o
the commission at Red Cloud. their de
lpartqre, ETC., and it is NOT necessary t
lspeak further OF 1t here.
Mr., Collins says the commission blum
Idered from the start. He attributes theil
mistakes to their utter lack If knowledg,
Iof Indian character and Indian methods
and says the membership are now fully
aware Of their errors. 7 heir first mistake
he says, was in not going directly Ia
Shadlon Greek. and thus keeping faltl,
With the Indians. The trouble over the
selection Of . council ground came Of
jea,ousies among the Indians, which wsre
promoted rather than allayed by the inde-
eisiop of the commissioners.
The chief cause of failure, however, l.
to be found in the manner in which the
commissioners approached the Indians
upon the subject of the purchase. The
Indians we're told how much the Ora,
Father desired to do for them, of what
immense value the Black Hills are to the
whites, and all thst and the Indians were
forthwith prepared to make extravagsn'
demands, Moreover the commissioners
did not approach the Indians through
such avenues, chief of which 10 to b.
named the ''sQuaw men," in which tht
noble reds" are found most trsctable.
Mr.. Collins idea is simply this, and j.
seems to be we'll supported::by the expert
~nce of the past, that the commissioners
should have presented their treaty forth
with anl. asked the Indians to sign, s,a'.
ing what they would give, and not stop.
ping to indulge in the foolishpess Of
asking what the Indians would take.
The commissioners, undertaking to deal
in high honor with the Indians directly
and solely. occupied weeks in listening to
the extravagsnt demands of the Indians.
and then roIosed to give $6,0o0.O0O IN
stead of the 47o. .0oc, 900, etc., the Indians
hsd demanded. The way could not have
t'een more surely paved for failure. !;
1r. collins feels confident that men
knowing how TO have gone at the matter
rightly could have made treaty easily
and that the Black Hills could have been
purchased At price not above half tbc
offered, viz: s., 100 900.
However, the business is at an end, u
far ~ the treaty is concerned, for the
present The commissioners, who hav.
ost no time in getting out of that conn
ry. will attempt nothing further thsn to
make their report for presentation 70 Con-
yress.
In the meantime trouble Is likelv to en-.
'uc, and old border men arc spprehensivel;
It general Indian wAT, John PhillipeI
IF Chug Water, representing the people
# Wyoming. Colombo and Nebraska, ie
now III Omaha to petition Gen. Crook for
to rs,se volunteer troops in az.
icipation Of Indian hosti'i,ies. Indeed,
be murderous and thieving work of the
reds has already com
and il behooves ali border settlers
% prepare for the worst. What compli-I
cations may arise affecting cur Indian
policy, 1t 10 now TOO early TO foresee; bu,
we should not be surprised it q change of
policy, were inaugurated by the lid of
he military arm of the Government.
Mr.. (:olli1s does rot abandon hope of
! treaty that will open the Rlack Hills
country to the whlteA He thinks q new
commission, properly ORGANISED. would
have little trouble In the sprlng to ne.
yotiate satisfactorily with the Indians, at
IN expense 70 the Government conpars
lively nominal, and much belog the figure
The present commissioners were willicg tol
agree to. IN point Of fact, the purchase|
Of the Black Hills v not. according 10 Mr..
Collins idea. to cost the Government any
thing, for he reckons that the expense of
feeding and clothing them is TO b in.
CURED wh1ther they surrender the Black
Hllls OF not.
The admirers Of shs Hot Springs Of Ar.
kansas claim that these springs are dest
tined TO supPlant all other medicinal re
sosts Tor inva]ids. and in corroborstion Of
their claim they cite the fact that John
Morrissey 10 about % estsblish . gambhng-l
house there superior 70 any thing Of thel
kind now existing In th,s country. This
lhoWs that John bao faith In the fnture1