The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1876-06-23

The New Indian War.
There is now beginning In the Black Hills
country an Indian war which promises to
he long, bloody, enormo usly expensive, and
practically fruitless. Since the costly Mo-
doc war, this Is the largest we have had,
though by cheating and deceiving the red
men we usually succeed i'm stirring up
strife with them when summer comes.
The cost of these useless conflicts in the
last quarter OF n century has been hun
dreds OF millions OF dollars. yet we seem
to be no nearer the end than when we be-
gan. Certain II Is, that rarely in our history
have we sent out against the Indians so
numerous force as that which two gen.
eral officers OF the army are now leading
against the outraged and infuriated Sioux
TINS force consists OF about 1900 effective
men, divided into three columns, under
the command respectively of Brig. Gen.
TERRY, Brighten. CROOK, and Brevet
| Brighten. GIBBoN.
The Sioux and their allies are in strong
force. from 5000 TO 10000 men, and are
| posted i'll strong position, whence IL may
be and Is likely TO be n more difficult task
to dislodge them than II was to conou
the little band OF Modocs, who, intrenched
behind the Lava Beds, for weeks kept at
bay thousands Of our soldiers and rolled
up for us millions of debt. The Sioux will
fight desperately for their Black Hills
country, to which they are entitled In law
and equity; and as they are fairly sup
piled and well armed. we may anticipate
that our three generals, with their troops,
will get their I'LL Of war before they are
done with IL.
OF all the Indian tribes the Sioux are the
most indomitable ana the most warlike.
They have always given our trooI 8
trouble, and now that they are concen-
trated and inspired by a fierce desire for
revenge, and feel that they are fighting
for their rightiul country aud the hunt
| ing grounds OF which they justly claim
possession, they will stand out to the last
| and give no quarter. They know their
| ground intimately, and experience has
taught them the tactics of their oppo-
nenis. Gen. Crook has the reputation
of being the best Indian fighter In the
army, and our troops have long looked
on the killing of red skin with the same
nonchalance rs a street boy on the killing
OF wharf rat. 1t has not been a rare thing
in the history OF life ON the plains for men
TO 60 out hunting Indians as the Prince of
WALES did tigers in the jungles OF his
mothers East Indian Empire.
But # Gen. Crook is a willy fighter, and
| Gen. TERRY q skilful one, and Gen. GIBBON
soldier by trade, the red chieftains CRAZY
HORSE aud SITTING BULL are also adopts
| in tue arts OF savage wal fare. aud inspire
their young men with the ardor of conflict
They have the stimulus Of fierce hatred
| OF their white-skinned antagonists, and
| their greatest Joy would be TO wear their
scalp locks at their belts. Stirred up by IA
savage love of bloodshed, many Of the
stoutest warriors of the Cheyennes ana
Arapahoes have gone to enlist under the
banners of CRAZY HORSE and SITTING
BULL, and from the agencies of RED
CLOUD and SPOTTED TAIL the impatient
young warriors are stealing OF TO have a
hand in the coming fray. RED CLOUD and
SPOTTED TAIL pretend TO friendship with
the whites, but undoubtedly their sym-
pathies go out with their young men
fastening TO the conflict. They say tb ey
cannot prevent these desertions Perhaps
not; but neither do they wish TO prevent
them, for rs much rs the Sioux who are on
the war path, they look on the whites as
their natural foes, and trembe with rage
when they think of the injustice which
they have suffered at our hands.
The blacklist blot on our civilization il
the manner in which we have treated tho
Indians. While in Canada the abor1gines
are NJ peace with the whites, who have
dealt righteously with them, in our West
ern Territories there has been constant
war. The dams have become our impla-
cable foes, looking on us AZ cheats and de-
fraudcrs, as unhappily they have good rGa-
son to do, for more sourvy lot of fellows
than the Indian agents have been il would
be hard TO pick up anywhere. They have
p'undcred the Indians, dealt out to them
rotten junk aud shoddy blankets, overesti.
mated their numbers in order to swell
| acquisitions for Government supplies to be
sold for their individual benefit, and made
promises only to break them. Solemn
| treaties, Ike that which assured to them
uldisputed possession oil the Black Hills
country, have been wantonly violated
when the occasion served; ana yet we ask
these sayages To rest content and dwell al
peace with MS.
This Sioux war will cost thousands OF
lives. and absorb money as the earth alb.