The New Orleans Democrat. (New Orleans, La.) 1875-1876, 1876-07-24
THE INDIAN QUESTION,
wESngII. Phillips ARaAT0Ns ZEN
SBERMsN.
How the whites Have Tresses the IN
dlans-The Red NAN Will Cry AEnius
Us tor Vengeance.

us tor Vengeance.
BosroN. July II. 1876.
Sir--An American citizen, entitled
and bound to inquire whether the OIL
cers OF the Republic are men or some
thing below humanity, l respectfully
claim the right TO ask you. are the jour.
nails correct when they represent you
az advising the extermipation oil the In
dians2 This charge has been made
several times during the last three
years. If Il be false, beg you. Tor the
honor of the nation and of the service.
to deny IT, While you neglect to do so
the press uses your supposed example
to commend that infamous course and
TO create n public opinion which shall
approve and demand IL. =.
EwHAr THE INDIAN COMMISSIONERS REPORT.
If the charge be true l cannot but re.
member that you are better aca TAINTED
than most Americans with the real
relations OF our government to the Luz
diaps. You were. In 1867, the head OF
an Indian commission, and Its report.
signed by yourself and printed by the
Government. IL one OF the most terrific
pictures ever drawn Of the wrongs the
Indian has suffered from this nation.
This investigation aud your general OK
unjust has been our treatment of the
Indian for the last one hundred years.
You know that we have surfoundcj
him with every dcmoralizing influence.
stepped him In iniemperance. incit9t
him to licen iousness by the example
Of those set over him, aud ten ed him
10 every vice. You have yourse,f spread
| on the public re cords the evidence tina
the Government has robbed him OF his
land, cheated him OF his dues aud uni
formly broken faith with him, ii any Of
the t,ibes are to-day liars, thieves and
| butchers, they may righttully claim >
have only copied. at humble dis itce,
the example we have set them
HOW WE HAVE TREATED THE INDIAN.
! You are not ignorant that the India
has been outraged and plundered by
the front'ersmen without STINT or re-
dress, and butchered by our soldiers
upder the America flag with brutal
aud Diet estable ct ielty. the smiption
| Of which In plain terns the press would
| not admit to it's columns. You know
| no one better--that the worst brutality
which prur,ent malice ever falsely
charged the Indian with IL but We w
| imitation Of what the white mau has
often Inflicted on Indian mon. women
and children. You know that on the
|
civilized war, massacreing women and
| children with worse than savage bru' al
| ity. Your career has not shown you an
| irsts nee where the Indian has lifted his
hand against vs until provoked to IL 10y
| mis- ,onauet on our part, compared with
which any misconduct Of his Is but dust
| in the balance.
WHAT HARRISON SAID.
Your experience will fully indorse
what President Harrison, when Gov
ernor Of Indiana. said to his LeRisla-
ture in 1907, that the utmost efforts to
induce tho Indians TO take UP arms
many persons who have committed muir
der upon their people could he brought
! to punishment.
! HARNEv's TESTIMONY.
You will not in the slightest degree
doubt or deny the grave charge which
Major General Harvey, after fifty yeats
service on the plains, made to Con
gressional committee, that he had
never known an Indian tribe break its
wsrd to our Government, and he had
never known the Government to keep
| its faith with an Indian tribe" You are
too much of n soldier not to confess that
had you been placed In the Indians cir
cuinstances you would have been
ashamed not to have acted as he bes
| done.
Pores EVIDENCE.
You would accept, IS every hone L
man does, the statement Of Major Gen.
! Pops, in 1875, that the army officer ''can
not prevent wrongs which drive the Tn-
dian to war. On the contrary, at the
demand OF every agent whose unfair
dealing with the indians has brought on
difficulty, he Is Obliged to pursue and
force back to the same deplorable 81 ate
! and place Indians whom he knows I ,
have been wronged, and who have only
done substantially what he would have
done himself under like provocltion. /"
You must be keenly sensible what a re-
proach it Is to religion and culture that
our multiplying millions, with all the
in their hands, have lived for 200 years
close to this small and cal able race and
been able to give it only their vices
| that all Of good the Indian has Is his
own most Of his vices he can rightfully
charge to the white man.
HOW WE HAVE MANAGED THE INDIAN.
Except the negro no race will lit up
at the Judgment seat such accusing
will. We have subjected him to agents
who have syst smatically cheated him.
We have made causeless war on him.
merely as u pretext % steal his lands.
Trampling under foot the rules Of mod
ern warfare we have made war on his
women and children. We have cheated
him out Of one hunting ground by COM
polling him to accept another, and
robbed him OF this last by driving him
to frenzy, and then Furnishing resistance
by contiscation. Meanwhile neither
pulpit nor press nor political party
would listen to his complaint. Neither
in Congress ner in any city Of the Union
could his advocate obtain hearing
Statesmanship, good sense and justice,
even from the Chief Magistrate, were
unavailing when they pleaded for such
longtime victims Of popular hate and
pillage as our Indian tribes.
AN APPEAL TO SHERMAN.
Can it be possible, then, that with such
knowledge and such experience you, sir,
the head OF the army, and bound to
show at least outward respect to civiliZa-