The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1876-11-14
GEN. TERRY ON THE INDIAN WAR;
The Past Campaign and its Eject on the
Indians.


The Bismarck correspondent of the
New York World has interviewed Gen.
eral Terry, calling out his opinions of
the Indian campaign.
spondent-What is your opinion
of the result of the campaign; has it
been wholly successful or otherwise?
al question, and can only be answered
in general terms. From a military
point of view, so far as any decided
victories or successes are concerned, it
may be considered failure. The rea-
sons for this failure can be fully un-
derstood only by those who took part
in the campaign, and who saw the
great and exceptional disadvantages un-
der which it was made; but unfortunate
lythese reasons however good they might
be to military men, cannot be satisfac-
torily explained to the public at large,
Ignorant as they are Of the special fea-
lures of the country through which we
marched, and of the peculiarities of
Indian warfare. Regarding it from
non-military and more comprehensive
point of view, / think the campaign
has been success. While in its mill
tary results it may have been a failure,
as admitted, the moral effects of the
campaign have been good. The indians
have seen that the government is de-
termined to enforce their submission to
its authority, and that it will send any
number Of men into the field required
to do it. Although keeping as far as
possible out of our way, they were con-
tinually harassed and driven from one
place to another by the movements of
the troops around them. They were
thus kept in constant state of alarm,
always moving, wearing out their pom
les, and without an opportunity of hunt
ing to lay in their winter supplies.
Their submission would therefore soon
come down to simple question of ex-
istence with them. In proof of this it
is stated by the people Of Fort Peck and
several agencies that the Indians COM
ing in are demoralized and disheartened
by the campaign; the men are sullen
and say very little, but the women are
more communicative, saying that they
have not had sound nights sleep in
weeks on account of their constant fear
of surprise; that several times they had
to abandon much of their property in
their haste to get away on the reported
approach of the soldiers, as was the case
in one instance where they deserted a
whole village of forty lodges, although
the soldiers didn't pass within ten miles
of it; that they are themselves in want
and suffering, being without food or
shelter. All this goes to show that the
Indians have received the worst of the
campaign, and what is better still, that
they have realized that fact.
Correspondent-Do you think the In
dians will be likely to renew hostilities
in the spring?
General T.-That depends upon 50
many contingent circumstances that
can't really say. One thing, however
is certain-their power is completely
broken, if not forever, at least for a
time. Even if they should recuperate
and go out again in the spring, which
l think extremely doubtful, we would
then be SO much better prepared for
active measures against them than we
were this summer that 1 think l can
safely say the campaign would be short
and decisive.
Cor.-Don't you think their destruc-
tion of Custer's command, and the check
they gave General Crook on the Rose
bud-which they would naturally re-
gard as victory-would inspire them
with confidence enough in themselves to
face the soldiers again in the spring?
General T.-They were no doubt
elated and strengthened for time by
the events you name, but that effect
soon passed away in their after expert
ence. As to their having courage
enough to face the soldiers, their con-
duct in the past does not give us much
hope that they will. 1t is certain that
they have wholesome fear Of the SOL
diers, as is shown by the fact that they
would not attack-would not even face
comparatively small parties of them
when they had the opportunity, and by
the additional fact that, by thsir own
admissions, they abandoned their prop
erty when the soldiers were only
thought to be near. I do not believe,
therefore, that they will be as likely to