The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1876-09-11

through this country without the consent OF
the Indians. The treaty was signed on the
part of tho Indians by SPOTTED TAIL, SRI
TING BULL, and many other noted chiefs,
and on the part of the United States by
Gen. SHERMAN, Gen. HARNEY, Gen. TERRY,
and others 1t was ratified by vote Of
two-thrds Of the United States Senate,
Feb. 10. 1850 and signed by President AN
DREW Johnson four days later. II was the
repeated violation Of this treaty which
caused the existing Sioux war, and yet the
the Commissioners appointed to negotiate
for peace offer the following ms their first
proposition:
"Thcy tine Sioux shall rclnquish OIL claims TO thit
part oft rvaon wing wet u TIC i0Sd meridian,
menccM I. e mterccuon Of q 1851 meridian with the
said m dian TO IL. ierse,1n WIN ~ south iorS %
tncy river hence down sad stream 10 Us mtcr.
Of Cacycnnc river 1851 mort ian thence ngrth
aloLg .aid tidtu To the south branch of cannon Ban
fivcr 1r cdr crocS thence down sai stream to tnc
vi souri, liver sand aso teiuqu-l an cam to all the
gated. '''' '''"' '''' "''''' '''''
This is simply demanding Of the Indians,
flushed with the victories they have OBJ
tanned over our soldiers, to surrender
rights II thousand times more valuable
than those that SITTING BULL and his war
riors have lately been fighting for.
The sixteenth article cf the treaty Of 1863.
which the Commissioners declare il here
by ahrogated,' reads us follows:
"AHriciY XVI. The United strtcs hereby agrees
and tiipuatcs ttai tht country north ~ the Nurth
mountsins hal be iem snd consrieicd to
be uncedcd indian territory. and also supu.
persons snal Be- permitted to sctt,e unon or occufy
iit ircs1s nrst 6sd md tniacit. to ps,s thion nc
ZANE and II Is further agree by lie United st ties
WIN al the bands ~ the Sioux nation, Tue military
posts now established IN the territory In tlis article
namsd ,h'l o. abandoned "a that nc road lsadlns to
Of Montana, snail he closed"
Thus we see that, the Sioux having gone
10 war because white men had trespassed
III the Black Hills, in violation of treaty
stipuntions, President GRANT aud his ad-
vlsers propose as peace measure that the
Indians shall relnquish all claim. not only
TO the possession OF the Black Hills
country, but likewise to vast territory
OF about sixteen hundred thousand square
miles I'm extent which our Government
has soiemnly guaranteed shall be held and
considered unceded Indian territory
There are other propositions among
those submitted by the Sioux Commission
ers that will be equally objectionable to
the Indians; among them, one that the
Sioux shall remove to the Indian Terri
tory. The same proposition was made by
GRANT To RED CLOUD and SPOTTED TAIL
when they were IN Washington, and i'll
dienautlv rejected by those chiefs. who
said: I'VE CW not leave our country: il
Is better that we should die in It," And
these chiefs have done more than all 9TH
ers in the sioux nation to restrain their
warriors from going on the war path
The scuseltss work Of this commission,
which. It must be understood, is acting
under instructions from the Government.
we fear Will add greatly 10 the strength Of
the hostile Indians, by creating further
discomfort among those who have been
| peaceably inclined. Ii is "A fair example Of
the wicked and bungling Indian policy Of
GRhNT, who has steadily disregarded
treaty obligations IN dealing with the red
men and encouraged the persistent rob
berry of them practised 10y the agents of
the Infamous Indian Ring.