The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1876-07-14
INDIAN ARMS AND AMMUNITION
How and BY whom they are Supplied.

INDIAN ARMS AND AMMUNITION.N
How and by Whom They are Supplied.
The following from the Inter- Ocean
Of the 18th inst, covers the case ex-
actly:
Since Clusters tragic death theques-
ton has frequently been asked, How
and by whom are the Indians sup
piled with arms and ammunition?
And many welI-meaning but ill-in-
formed persons have instantly re-
piled that the government. g., the
Indian Department was responsible.
Nothing could be more out of har-
mony with, or a greater distortion of,
the facts. 1t need not be wondered at
that a large number of newspaper
readers hold this opinion, for there is
scarcely a penny-a-liner throughout
the country. or q dandy in the club
room, who has not oracularly spoken
his piece on this subject. Even the
more intelligent have anything butt
clear idea Of where the mischief lies.
Many who well know
THE POPULAR IGNORANCE
on this topic take advantage of it
and scatter broadcast their m~isrepre-
sensations. These, often careless,
sometimes malicious, injure the good
name and fame of the country abroad
and tend to weaken confidence In an
excellent home system. For let 1t be
remembered that Canada never had
a King Philip, or a Tecumseh, or a
Black Hawk, or a Red Cloud, or Sit
ting Bull to deal with, and never had
such violent opposition to its Indian
measures as has been exhibited in the
United States of late years. First,
then, this uprising of Sitting Bull
"the Bad" is but another eruption Of
an old disease which the government
has had to fight for nearly a century.
The Indiens of the Northwestern
frontier now on the war-path are well
armed and equipped, but no better,
everything considered, than they
were in 1866 when the Sioux perpe-
: trated the old Fort Phil Kearney
massacre. Then they had the most
approved arms of the day. Now they
have the same. That
THE GOVERNMENT Is NOT AT FAULT
will appear. At every Indiana gency
in the Northwest, especially at the
several agencies of the Sioux, there
are hordes who exc out their subsis-
tence in n way or another. A class
-oftbese may be named 'squaw-men,"
the popular title they receive ON the
frontier. They are white men who
married squaws, and who draw rations
for their wives and live because of
these annuities. They are at every
issue Of rations, trading and loung-
ing about the agency-anything that
they may escape hard work. A
second class are the renegade "half-
Breeds" who believe they have espc-
cial claims for support On the people
at large for services they have never
rendered. And still another are those.
who ply between the agencies and
frontier posts and towns and do the
work Of what are ermed"freighters."
In addition to these, but potincluded
with them, are the "Indian traders"
who have received special commiss-
ions from the government to carry on
the traffic with the Indians to the
exclusion of all other citizens. They
are to the Indian agency what a post
trader is to a garrison of troops. Now
as to how the
INDIANS ARE IS WELL ARMED.
An Indian who does not possess a
fine rifle and plenty of ammunition
Is classed as q sorry warrior indeed.
Even though he draw his rations reg
ularly for himself and family, he is
never satisfied unless he has a fine
weapon and the leetest pony. The
latter can easily be procured. He has
his herd Of ponies, and will at any
time give several of them-ns he has
been known to do often at Red Cloud
Agency-for q Henry or a Springfield
rifle. This is too tempting for the
reckless, grasping, covetous s'squaw-
men," and the result is that either
they or the hnlf-breeds or the
"ffeighters', have made q
REGULAR TRAFFICoF TAKING ARMS