Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1876-09-13

despair, and demand the withdrawal
of the New York perjurer, putting
up an honest man, If they can find one
in the party, in his place. Unless
they do this the Democratic goose is
cooked. Inter- Ocean.
THE IMoloRloU8 FAILURE or
the INDIAN WAN.
However humiliating it may be to
the average American citizen, we
might as well be preparing ourselves
to admit that the campaign of 1876,
against Sitting Bull and his confed-
Grated bands Of Sioux Indians, has
been, and will be, total and morti-
flying failure.
In 1868, we entered into q solemn
treaty with these Indians, wherein
we set aside for their exclusive use
domain, called the Sioux Reservation,
fully laid down on our government
maps, and well understood in its
metes and bounds by the Indians.
In direct contravention Of this
treaty, the government permitted
Gen. Custer, two years ago, to 60 on
an exploring expedition through this
reservation, to hunt Indians and gold,
whose highly wrought descriptions of
the agricultural, mineral and other
resources of the Black Hills country,
situated on this reservation, sent
thousands of miners and tramps in
to the Indian country last year and
this, and that inevitably brought
abouta collision between the Indians,
who owned the soil and it's game and
precious metals, with the pioneers,
and this in turn seemed to make it |
necessary for the government to in
terfere to protect the explorers
hence the war of 1876, and its disas-
trous consequences to our side, up to |
the present date.
There has been presented, during
the campaign, but one opportunity to
seriously punish the Indians, and that
opportunity Custer threw away. It
seems that Terry, the senior officer,
and in command of all the troops ON
the frontier, had planned a campaign
which promised to result In either the |
capture or destruction of Sitting
Bulls entire command. Had Gus
ter, who has disarmed harsh criti-
cism by the tragic character of his
fate, lowered upon the rear Of Sitting
Bulls army, after he discovered its
whereabouts, with united instead
of divided command, thus prevent
ing its escape until Gibbon and Ter
ry had come up in an opposite direc-
tion, as he was directed to do by
Terry, the united column ought to j
have been equal to the task Of fight
ing Sitting Bull on something like
equal terms, and with q reasonable
assurance of destroying the Sioux
army, and thus ending the war at a
single blow.
1t is maxim in war to not do what
your enemy wants You to do, but
Custer, painting for glory, in violation
of the spirit, if not the letter, of his
orders, anxious to monopolize the
renown Of the campaign, utterly dis
regarding that fundamental maxim,
which is the very A B c Of his mill
tary alma mater, done the very thing
that Sitting Bull desired him to do,
rode into an ambuscade and was ex-
terminated with his entire command.
We called it, at the time. bloody
massacre, but if Custer had succeed
ed and had annihilated Sitting Buu
and his command, including his wo-
men and children, we should have
called it glorious exploit.
Since then, the campaign seems to
have been chapter of accidents, a|
comedy of errors. Sitting Bull has the
inside and shorter lines, and lives by
the chase, and has the best cavalry
men for that kind Of service the
world has seen since Napoleon fought
the Mamelukes at the base Of the
Pyramids.
Moreover, that Indian seems to dis
play subtle knowledge of the art of
war which precludes the absurd idea
that he was educated at West Point.
Upon the contrary, owing to the
poor compensation offered, and the
utter absence Of anything to inspire .
common soldier Of the -anks with .
prospect Of promotion, the rank and
file Of the American army il recruit
ed for the most part from the slums
and purlieus of the great cities, from
men who up TO the time Of their en-
listmcnt have perhaps never mounted
. more restive charger than shaving
horse, and, of course, they are conse-
quently the poorest cavalry, for this
particular service, in the world.
If Sitting Bull was accommodating
enough to wait until an infantry COL
umn could come up, and would then
deploy his lines after our fashion, we
have no doubt but he would get
licked.
But Sitting Bull is not that sort of
an Indian. His command is distinct
as the waves, or one % the sea, as he