The New York herald., 1876-07-11
A Pertinent .1ndi.n Question:"

Pertinent 'Indian Question:"
All accounts from the Sioux battle ground
on the Rosebud agree in the statement that
the Indians are as well armed the troops
they are fighting. They have not only the
best kind of guns, but they must have q
great abundance Of ammunition to supply
two or three thousand warriors for q three
days battle.
Now, considering that if these savages had
not been thus amply provided with guns,
revolvers, powder and lead they could
not have made stand against the
assaults Of Custer and Reno, and the
gallant officers and men who were massacred
on the Rosebud might have been alive to-
day. it becomes an interesting question
where and how were these two or three
thousand Sioux SO thoroughly armed and
equipped to fight and kill our troops?
If English spectators within the British
American territory had furnished the
savages these arms the whole country
would be ahame to-day with indigna-
ton at the outrage and inhumanity If
company of foreign merchants had
attempted to establish themselves in
the Indian Territory, with the purpose Of
selling arms to the Sioux, they would have
been driven out by the government and
would probably have been righteously shot
by the settlers But the Sioux did not get
their abundant arms and ammunition from
foreigners or from foreign territory. Where
then?
The plain and disagreeable truth is that
they got them from friends and often from
agents of the Indian bureau they got them
largely, if not entirely, at the Indian
agencies and from Indian trading posts,
licensed by the government, and often kept
or furnished by friends of persons high in
authority, and they paid for the arms and
ammunition, to some extent. with the sup
plies which they drew from the government
under General Grants ridiculous and pre-
tentious ''peace policy"
That is the plain truth, which ought to be
known and pondered at this time. The
agencies, the reservations, are, under this
peace policy, the military base of Sitting
Bull; and as our poor fellows fought bravely
we read the cool announcement that there
old men who are fed and housed at the res
ervations, while the young men are out on
the warpath. See what this wonderful
''peace policy" does. 1t enables the Sioux
chief to thoroughly arm and equip his
forces; it then let's him disturbances him
fof4 &c 4 nd hal,
people, who are lodged, fed and clothed at
the agencies; and thus doubly prepared for
active war, Sitting Bull, wondering at the
folly Of his enemies, marches out and mas
sacres a regiment of troops. Why shouldn't
he? He knows perfectly we'll that when he
gets tired of the fun, or when he gets out
of ammunition or food. he has only to
march back to the reservation and
under the famous ''peace policy" he
and his bands of murderers will be
welcomed by the agents, fed and clothed
and fattened up, to 60 out and massacre an
other regiment as soon as they have been able
to save enough ont Of their rations and cloth
ing to buy q new store of guns and ammuni-
ton of the licensed Indian traders. That is
what General Grants famous 'peace policy
means. That is how it works.
Suppose the Indians had been under the
charge of the army, does any one believe that
such an affair rs this on the Rosebud could
have happened? Or that army officers in
charge of agencies and reservations, and con-
trolling trading posts, would have permitted
these thousands of savages to deliberately
arm and equip themselves for a desper-
ate and bloody war? The House of Rep
resentatives, in obedience to the urgent
request of William Welsh, Generals Sher-
man and Sheridan, and all the men best in
formed on Indian affairs, whether civilian
or military, and against the opposition of q
few men such as S. S. Cox, Professor Seelye,
Secretary Chandler and General Howard,
has passed bill transferring the Indians
to the army. The Senate refuses to pass it.
Why? Because it fears to lose part of its
patronage in the nomination of Indian
agents. Can it longer refuse, in the face Of
such q bloody massacre, for which the
'peace policy" alone is responsible?