, 1876-08-26

races on the face of the earth. Whiskry
aud robbery made the border a pandr-
munum. Surely these are not instances
Of Indian lying and dishonesty Nahoth
will never find vinlication from Ahab.
Senator Window, if my memory serves
me, was member Of an Indian commits.
sion, OF which Senator DoOittlc WIS the
Chairman. They made an examination
of the causes of our late Indian wars.
They published report in 1865. 1t was
one of the saddcst books | have ever
read. From the Mississippi river to
Oregon, from Canada to the Rio Grande,
it is one long damning record of crime
and fraud. In 1868 another Indian COM
mission was sent out, composed of Gen.
Sherman, Gen, Terry, Gen. Augur, Gen.
larney, Gen. Sanhorn, Senator Hender.
son, and Major Tappen. They took ties.
timony again. 1t was too bad to pub,
lish. am told that when the Indian
chiefs met the commission at Medicine
Lodge Creek, they gave MS reason for
not making another treaty with us that
"three times men have come to us and
made treatles;' they said that "their
great father sent them" "They were
liars I'VE have not seen one thing
which they promised" After long dis
cussion the Indians said that " they be-
leved the men who wore our uniform
had straight tongues" They made an
other treaty. One thing which they in.
sisted upon was that they should have a
country which would not he invaded by
the whites. This pledge WAS made.
The country which contains the Black
Hills guaranteed to them. No possible
plea can he made against their title,
except the plea of the tootpad who
places his pistol to your breast and says
might makes right" The expedition
of Gen. Custer was made in clear viola.
tiOn of a nations faith. Gold was dis
covered At first we Were ashamed to
violate our own treaty. The noble men
who made that treaty for US honestly
tried to keep white men out of the
Indians country. Ii was impossible.
Our only honorable course was to make
such amends as we could by purchase.
The Government did send out COM
mission, but tue plea for economy was
made pretext to tie the hands Of the
commissioners 80 that they were power
less. The Indians wanted fair settle
ment. They were ready to make sale.
We offered them $4OO,O 900 for the Black
Hills country. AS all of the Indians
from the Ssntee Agency to White liver
were to 10 included in this treaty, the
amount offered vas only about one
fourth OF our annual expenditure for
these tribes. The treaty failed. The
evil has been done. The Black Hills
swarm with miners. We shall have
another Indian war, and spend some
millions OF dollars to swell the hundreds
of millions already spent in Indian wars.
Many OF our brave officers and soldiers
will lose their lives in war which brings
to them no glory; many home will BE-
destroyed and ianocent people murdered
by massacre. Perhaps, before the year
closes, it may dawn upon the minds Of
the American people that God is not
blind, and that people who SOW robbery
and violence will reap robbery and mur.
der. 1t may be too late, but believe
there are men in America who even now
can secure peace. It will cost us some
hundreds of thousands of dollars, hut it
will cost much more to carry on this
war.
/ have written plainly, because do
feel deeply. I have never met an officer
OF the United States Al my who did not
express the belief that the cause of all
our Indian wars was our violation of our
treaties, and have never found one who
could tell of an Instance where the In
dian was the first to violate tho treaty.
Our Indian system is a web of blum.
ders and cr:mes. We make treaties with
the Indians as with independent nations.
We then place them within the limits Of
our State or Territorial Governments,
aud leave them without law To protect
the innocent or punish the guilty. We