Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1876-07-21
WendaII Phillips on the Indian.

SlR-AD aueTlCau cltiZeu, euei9icu noN
bound to inquire whether the officers OF tue
Republic are luen or something below human-
ity, respectfully Claim the right to ask you'
are the journals correct when ttey represent
you as advising the vxtermuatlou Of the ln.
dlaus? ras charge has been made several
times during the last three years. Ii 1t De
false, | beg YOU, for the honor OF the patton
and OF the SERVICE to deny it. While you
neglect TO do 80 the press uses your supposed
Example TO commend that Infamous course and
10 create pubic opinion which shall approve
and demaDiI.
If the charge be true cannot but remember
that you are better acquainted than most
Americans with the real relations OF our gov
erumeut TO the indians You were, 10 1867,
the bead OF az Iudau commission, and its re-
port sigued by yourself ADD prluted by the
2, vernmeut, is one OF The most terrific pictures
ever drawn of The wrongs the Indian has sui
fered from this ton. This Investigation and
YOUR general experience showed you how luel
and unjust has been our treatment of the To-
dian iol the last 100 years. You know that We
have surrounded him with every demoralzlng
influence, stepped him 10 intemperanoe. iuclted
hlu to RIGHTEOUSNESS by the example OF those
SET over him, aud tempted hin to every vice.
You have yourself spread on the public re
Cards the evldeice that the government has
robbed BIN OF his land, cheated him OF his dues
aud uniformly broken faith with him. Ii any
of tue tribes are to day liars, thieves and butch
crs, they mny rightiuy claim to have only
copied al tumble distance, the example we
have set them.
You are net ignorant that the l1dan has
beeu outraged and plurdored by the frontiers
nd h,,ta
by our soldiers, under the American fig, with
brutal aud datestabe cruelty--.he description
OF which 10 plain terms the press would DOT
| adult to its cojumus You kuow-no one bet
| t THAT The worst brutality which prurient NAL
Ice ever falsely charged tue Indian with is but
| weak Imitation of what the white man has
often Inflicted on ludlan men, women and chill
| drep. You know that on the plains We have
violated every rule of civIiz:d war, massacring
| women and children with worse than savage
| brutality Your career has not shown y, u an
! instance where the lDdlan has lifted his hand
against Us until provoked to it by misconduct
, On cur part, compared with which any mlscon
| duct Of his is but dust 10 the balance.
Y ur experience will fully indorse what Pres
ident Hnrlsou, when Governor OF Indiana, said
tn his Legislature in 1907, That the utmost
etfo,.s to luduc. the Iudlaus to take up arms
would be uoavalug it one only Of the many
p.rsons VINO have committed murder upon their
people could be brought to punishment. "
YJu vii. DOT in the slightest degree doubt or
dcuy The grave charge which Major General
| Harucy, after fifty years service on tie plains,
made to Congressional committee, that he
had never kuowu au Indian tribe 10 break it's
word to our government, and be had never
! kuowu the government to keep it's faith With
40 Indian tribe" Y are too much of sol
der to confess that uau you been placed IN the
! Indians circumstances you would have been
ashamed not o have acted as he has done.
| You would accept, as every honest man does.
the statemeut OF Ma or General Pope, in 1875,
; that the army officer 'cau0Ot prevent wrongs
which drive the Iudau to war. On the con
trary, at tho demand of cveryagent whose no.
! far dealing with the Indians has brought on a
difficulty, he is obliged to pursue and force back
TO the same deplorabe state and place Indians
whom he Knows to have been wronged. aud
who iave only done subs antIally what be would
have done himself under like provocaton. "
Y gu must be keepIy sensible what reproach
il is to religion and culture that our multiply
ing millions, with all the resources OF clvlllza-
ton and Chris ianity IN their hands, have lived
Tor two hundred years close to this small aud
capable race aud bie ALE to give 1t only their
vices-that all Of good the Indian has is bis
OVID; mi s: OF his vices he can rlghliuliy charge
| to the white man.
Except the Uegro 10 race will lift up at the
jud sment seat such accusing hands against this
uatiou as the IniaD will We have subjected
him to agents who have Systematically cheated
| him We have made causeless war on him,
merely as pretrxt 10 steal his lands. Tramp
ling under foot the rules Of modern warfare VIZ
have made war on his women aud children.
We have cheated him out Of one huoting
grou;d by compelling him to accept another,
aud r,obcd him Of this last by driving him to
freuzy, aud then publishing resistance by COZ
fscation. Meanwhile ueither pulpit nor press
nor political rty would lis IN to his com paiot.
Nciths r 10 Congress nor lu any city Of the
| Union could his advocate obtain a hearing.
Statesuaus hip, good sense and justice, even
from the Chlef Magistrate, were uuavailing
when hey pleaded for such long time victims of
popular haze and pilage as our Irdian tribes.
CaD it be possible, then. that with such
knowlcdge aud such experience you, sir, the
head of the army, aud bound to show at least
outward respect to civilization, have 90 counsel
! to give except eXterDnatlon-the extermina-
ton of these pundered victims OF greedy, un
:ctupuous and cruel peope2 Can you advise
rrofesstdly Christian people, STEPPED in guilt,
not TO reform, but 10 c0nsummate Its wicked
ness by :uch hideous barbarsm as only the
most iuhumau tyrants have ever attempted
The worst possible of io6deIs, do you affirm
that wise aud powerful patton is safe only
when it sinks below he level of savage lite to
clutch a coWards peace by sweeping every
man, woman and child Of this Insignificant race
10 blood from cur path? Wise men laugh at
such ,imid fay; brave men dcspse it. They
know that fair play is the best teacher and JUS
tice always sufficient shield
II, indeed this is the counsel you give
from your high place then, for the sake of
that Christianity which We profess and that
civilization we clsu, wish it understood that
one, a, least, of your fellow citizens believes
that you misrepreseut the army, whose best
officers have often proles ed against our helm
Gus injustice to these wards of the nation, ADD
that you disgrace the profession of Du Guesolin,
of Bayard end Sir Phillip Sidney disgrace the
post which Washington once filled and the