The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1876-03-20
THE BLACK HILLS ILLUSION.
PREPOSTEROU FOLLY THAT MUST
END ~ SORE DISASTER.
No Protection for hites beyond Laramie
Emigrnnts Robbed bv Lying Adv enturers-
On the Koud to starvation and Death.

military division Of the Missouri returned YES
terday afternoon from an expedition TO the Rcd
| Cloud agency. west u Fort Laramie. situated in
| the northern part Of the Territory of Wyoming
and what Il known a. the Sioux Indian rescrva-
| ton. or the Black Hills country. lie left Chica-
20 on the lat inst, and arrived at the Red Cloud
agency on the 9th. reaching Chicago again yes
terday afternoon at o'clock In the course Of
conversation with representatve Of the Iinos
Gen. Merritt alluded to a variety Of topics IN
connection with the Black Hills. and much Of
the Information which he detailed will be found
| TO be Of significant public interest.
| Reporter-What was the purport OF your re-
cent westward trip. GencriS
| Gen. Merrtt-It was in the iture Of an Of
ncal inquiry as d special Indian agent reporting
to headquarters in Chicago and acting under
recent resolution of Congress directing special
| inquiry into the deficiency alleged In the sppro-
priaton for the subsistence Of the Sioux Indians
at the Red Cloud agency for the current fiscal
year.
Reporter-when does the fiscal year expre2
| Gen. Merritt-The first Of next July and an
additional APPROPRIATION OF $4,000 was request
ed Of the Government to run them up until that
time. Upon this request the resolution OF Con-
gress authorizing the snecial Investigation pre-
| vailed as II was alleged that the deficiency COM
! plnined OF was the result Of uisaprropration.
Reporter What did you find as the result OF
your research2
| Gen. Merrtt-That must decline to tell you,
for cannot furnish inform ttton to newspa-
| per, which would have the practical effect of
forest ling my ohcial.teport to the superiors Of
| my department
Reporter-well, but give me an outline OF the
result, General.
Gen Merrtt-Oh. well, all that I am free to
| say Is that found the redskins la pretty good
| humor; condition attributable to tue excep-
| Give AN Indian meat, and he's all right no
meat, and It's all wrong. As for the other SUP,
plies he doesn't care so much about them. and
| II was In these latter directions that the need
| was most papabls. Redskins don't care much
| about -four, for instance. You can give them
| all the -four you choose. but the likelihood Is
| that II Will be traded away. A Sioux will trade
| time. You see they don't know how to manipu-
| late the Hour. and hence their contempt for IL.
| But they Will have meat. and as they nave been
| pretty VOL supplied with that, found them In
| tOlerablY good humOr.
Repnrter-what sort OF weather was prevail
ing during your tripf
Gen. Mcrrht-Golne out had splendid wea-
Their. but coming back It was very bad wet aud
stormy. with snow on the ground. Some nights,
too. were Intensely cold. l camped out one
night In the Indian reserve when the thermome-
ter marked % degrees below zero.
Reporter-Tell me something about the Black
Hills country. Anything fresh from there
Gen. Merritt suppose YOU mean 10 reference
to venture an opinion on that subject. Now
mind you. don't say there Is no gold there
opened 40 already for mining purposes. But IL
is a fact that The area Ia which gold Is found at
| pitoSAt - 90 Gu tNht II N'Niuh HuIlpFA
one hall OF the people who are there already
The gold yields at the best will not pay more
than wages and wherever there seems to be \
promising location 1t Is already covered with
experienced aud practical gold miners. with
could not possibly compete even II they had "A
chance. Away up north. now, It Is asserted
that the region Is more largely auriferous. but
how are they going to get tncre-noTth OF Fort
Fstterman, with Wild bands OF Sioux on every
side? Gen. Crook is after them now with large
force. and think will give them thrashing.
but such AN IDEA as going gold mining up
there with swarms Of hosule Indians to meet
them Is the most preposterous folly I'll I any lot
OF too credulous people ever took into their
beads. Crazy Horse, too, has gathered band
Of young aud moody redskins from Red Cloud .
band. and gone up north to join the insurgents
Had they not tue conviction that large force
tents would attack miners even In tue already
cleared mining area.
Repol,er-lhc troops do not impede the pas
sage Of the colonizers into tue Indian reservs-
ton any more. DO thew
beyond Laramie the people have no protection,
for II IL AN acknowledged reservation. and set
tiers and miners must GO al their own risk. The
derstood neutrality upon this point Red Cloud
ana Spotted Tau both seem to regard tue loss Of
consider II an additional encroachment. They
Law the blame Of their loss IN the matter. how
ever, upon the shoulders OF those who were
prominent in opposing the sale OF the land.
Reporter-Did YOU say the miners are making
but poor headway anynow, GenerAt
Gen. Merriti--Nes; under the most favorable
circumstances. tue whole thing Is u wretched
| showing lfuuNft ~ nlel. anu me peoi IL CO u
not get enough To live on. Besides they are not
used TO such country. Work they cannot, for
they are not experienced miners, and there - no
other work for them T. do. lhey 20 out there
as a forlurn hope. totally unuroVided with the
means 81 obthinlnr, for reasonable time. tho
necessarics Of life; and leaving the crowded
cities from the fear Of starvation, they find
themselves in strange, bleak. and inhosplta
persons, face to lace wi ia the certainty Il star
Walton. They're / majority OF the poor. deluded
people going there are broken down city people.
lheir dress, deiueanor. and habits prove II be-
you'd doubt. Recruit ed by these living adyen-
turcrs, greedy to skin them OF what little means
friends have contributed to sustain their delu-
syo hopes. they come from IhiitIeluhid. Is ~
ton, Chicago. and other cites IN parties OF 80
ana 90. and when they arrive al Laramie CIV or
Sioux city. sidney or any other % the depots
IN wbicn they are swindled and ileeced by these
hlrpies for "implemonts," OUTFIT and what
not, they find themselves ushered into new
country, into what Is. Tor the most OF them, "A
wholly i'm. ossiole life. and ut their wits ends TO
preserve themselves from starvation.
Rev, rter Not very pl' asant picture, Gen
erIf
lively wore phase than that. There me PEG.
pie In hundreds -tramps. seedy clerks. aud
Dortcrs ana so on-who, having no money ut al
tramp II through the snow, hVing upon the
wages OF their daily labor, from hand e. mouth,
destitule thhn II Is YET when they reach their
destination, their case ~ the more necessitous
from the fact Of there being no wo.A to do
even for food. II T. all very well for these far
AS Laramie CITY, ven say nut beyond that what
are they going to dor have seen these fellow j
myself trudging u through melting snow and
borne up through many prvltions simply by
the delusive hope that when they reach the
Black Hills they viii reach fortune. In my
opinion the present sprng will see many of
these un ortunates Frustrated by exposure and
disease. ana literally starved to death. what
can they dor Even putting tho most favorable
construction upon the case they q mot mine
for nlontns even If they are fortunate enough
to subsist. Tho snow II deep on the ground,
the streams all frozen hard. anu the ony
Running water at present Is upon lhe superficial
surface OF the Ice, ana II won't break Till June.
| told YOU how dteadfully cold II was out there
the warm, mild weather which we experience
here mas but very little effect out there.
Reporter-Did YOU meet any parties coming
back Generali
Gen. MeTtt-Yes, met az many parties COM
Ing back a. found were going. OF course, they
all said that they were going back again later
but there were very few who, when candidlS
interrog tied, didn't admit keen dsappoint-
ment.
Reporter-Then, in plain English, this Black
Hills business IL "A studendous humbugf
, Gen. Merritt-It is more than that 1t 10 al
J Infamous traflc.
virginia Politicians Church Membership.