Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1876-10-14
A THREATENED DANGER.

a
How do the people in Bates, Vernon,
Barton, Jasper, Newton and all the
counties in southwestern Missouri, like
the prospect of having Sioux Indians for
neighbors? By the recently signed
treaty with Spotted Tail, Sitting Bull
& Co., the Indians are to send a dele
cation of young men to the Indian Ter
ritory, adjoining southwest Missouri,
and, if they like it, move in, bag and
baggage. There will be lively times on
our border when the Indian territory is
about equally divided between the
present $4,000 Creeks, Choctaws and
Cherokees, and the proposed immigra-
ton OF say $4,000 savage Sioux. Our
western savages, as every frontiersman
knows. have a code of morality. peculi-
arly their own, on the subject of prop
erty in horses and cattle. They think
it a meritOrious action to steal them from
those with whom they quarrel or against
whom they hold a grudge. Stock raising
will be a delightful business in our south
western counties. The Indian Territory
has, heretofore, with its semi-civilized in
habitants, been a bar to progress; but,
of late years a markad iaapro,omcut
has set in. The greater portion of the
Cherokees, Choctaws and Creeks are
beginning to live in a civilized manner.
They have farms and plenty of stock;
they live in comfortable houses-for In
dians-and a few live in almost a con-
dition of luxury. There are churches
and a very fair showing for schools
even newspapers are published in the
Indian language. In short, the expert
ment of civilizing Indians, in this one
instance, is about to prove a success.
But when the Sioux come. how then ?
1t will be a case of %, 900 Indians. Just
struggling out Of savagery overwhelmed
by $4,000 of the most bloodthirsty of all
savages. What progress has already
been made will be lost; the plow and
the book will be abandoned for. the gun
and scalping knife the war-whoop will
be heard off southwest Missouri.
The Indian Territory comprises about
fifty millions of acres, and is, by the
way, as good land as any on the CONT
nent. The Sioux are to have about half
of it. They will be taken there without
horses or guns. They will make preda-
tory. excursions upon the grounds OF
their neighbors-retaliation will follow
and thus this beautiful country, now
progressing so favorably, will be almost
at once turned into the seat of a war be-
tween savages, with. its accompanying
barbarities. . 49,.
Nor is this the only annoying part
of the arrangement? Without these
savages as neighbors, the white people
Of the neighboring states have been
subjected to incursions from bands of
horse thieves, centering in or near the
Territory. For years they have been
driving off horses, and we have been,
seemingly, powerless to protect our
selves. Again we say, how will it be
when these horse thieves have savages
for scape-goats. while they quietly ride
off, sell our horses and pocket the price.
The Indian question has been a vexed
n from the time of William Penn.
Some very wise men have held that the
maxim OF ''the greatest good to the
greatest number" j~ustities their extinc-
ton, and we are not sure but they are
about right. However, without taking
this extreme view of the case, there is
no necessity for bringing blood-thirsty
savages SO close to civilized communi-
ties of white people. It is even ques-
tionable whether the Sioux themselves
will be benefited. 1t is certain every
body else will be injured. Why then,
we should like to know, is not some
other locality selected. The Sioux them
selves are not partial to the country
proposed; in fact, they know nothing
about it. The Indians now occupying
it are exceedingly hostile to the plan.
They protest against the future immi-
grafton Of savages; and we do not see
why both-these Indians. who are try
ing, in good faith, to follow the plan of
u civilized life, and the white people OF
Missouri, Kansas, Texas and Arkansas.
should be subjected to a very great an
noyance and probable loss in property,
all to satisfy the Sioux, who have defed
the government, who now only half
submit, and that sullenly, and who are,
OF the three. really the parties least in
tersstsd.
The Advertiser intimates that the ne
groes have evacuated Boonyille. They
can't be toundeven at political meetings.