New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1876-07-12
THEINDlAN WAR.

Delegate McGinnis, Of Montana Terri
tory. who from his long residence in the
vicinity of the great Sioux reservaSion' anu
his careful study of the Indian question IN
that part of the West, probably under
stands the subject better than any other
member of Congress. and as well as any
one in Washington, has given the following
| information in an interview:
| The cause of this war, or rather OF Gnese
| expeGitiOns-tor this war with these lnolans
has been going on for fifteen or more
years-may be summed up in the worGs'
| .sSitting Bull and the outlaw Sioux: we
have never had peace. or even treaty rela.
tions, with these bands. After the Spirlt
Lake massacre in Iowa, and the great
| Sioux massacre in Minnesota, all the more
turbulent spirits banded together. After
General Sibleys expedition in 1868, they
| crossed the Missouri, and endeavored
| to concentrate for another invasion OF
Minnesota. But the next year Suliy fol'
| lowed them across the Missouri, ana a1ter
several running fights, they retreated across
| the Bad Lands into the Big Horn country:
Sully followed them to the Yellowstone and
established Fort Buford. Upon this post
and on the steamboats, and immigrants to
Montana they kept up unceasing war, often
| keeping the garrison at BufOrd In state OF
| siege for weeks OF time, and numbering
| eyery straggler who went outside the post.
An attempt was made to treat with them IN
1866, but after accepting the presents ana q
| securing some ammunition, Sitting Bun
broke up the council, and the conmlss10ners
ESCAPED to the fort across the river. When
Red Cloud and Spotted Tail made peace at
Laramie, Sitting Bull stubbornly refused to
come in All that year he made war on
the steamboats, and commerce OF the MIS-
souri,, massacring several small bOat-lOads
OF returning miners, and capturing large
quantities Of gold dust, which he traded for
arms with the Northern half-breeds. In
1867 he threatened the Gallatin Valley in
we're raised to meet him. In 1868 he at
tscked the settlement Of Muscleshell, and
suffered defeat, losing thirty y-six warriors.
The settlers, having notice of his coming,
ambuecaded him in q ravine outside the
town. Although the attack was made by
the Sioux on the village. this battle was
denounced as massacre by portion OF
the Eastern press. After this he lost pres
tige. During 1869 and 1870 he devoted
himself principally to the slaughter of the
Crows, the Mandsns, the Rees, the Sho-
shonee, and all other tribes friendly to the
whites, varying it by an occasional attack
on the Missouri river forts.
In 1870 General Hancock, then command
ing that department, thought of organizing
an expedition to bring Sitting Bull to terms;
but as there was prospect OF the extension
of the Northern Pacific railroad, which
would simplify operations, he recommended
another attempt to buy peace with him
until that road should be pushed into the
Big Horn country. On this recommends.
tor backed by the assurances CT the peace
commissioners and the Interior Department.
Congress voted $500, 900 to make peace and
support him. This was the famous Seton
Sioux appropriation, Sitting Bull himself
claiming to be Seton, though his fol
lowers are outlaws and hard customers
from all the bands of the Sioux ma
ton. Considerable criticism has been made
on the expenditure OF this appropriation. 1t
resulted in bringing to the Fort Peck
agency q portion of his followers, but he
refused to treat himself. Next year General
Custer went out with the Northern Pacific
surveying party, and twice defeated Sitting
Bull, or at least repu.sed his attacks. One
of his bands invaded tie Gallatin valley in
1872, and carried off 500 head OF horses
after numbering q number of farmers. In
1873 he made nigh. attack on Colonel
Baker, but was repused and pursued. In
1874 he drove the Crows from their reserva
tion and agency ana made war on ali pc ace
able Indians. The Peace Com mission find
ing him intractable, now began to demand
that the army should take the offensive
and subdue him, and this request has
been frequently repeated by the Peace
Commission and the Interior Depart.
ment until the War Department las acted
on it. Last year some of his followers went
down to meet the commission in conference
with the Red Cloud Sioux, and came near
precipitatng a massacre of the commission.
Sitting Bull himself refused to 20 in, and
spent the summer in attacks on the Crow
agency and on the Montana settlers. He
captured a government wagon train on the
Carroll road, murdered Q number of re-
tured the stock of the Carroll Stage Com.
pany. Such have been his exploits up to
the bloody history of the present year. He
defies the government, and hopes that he
can get the Sioux nation to join him. If
they will only do this, he promises to drive
the whites back into the sea, out of which
they came. He utterly disbelievee the re-
ports of Red Cloud and others who have
visited the East as to the numbers OF the
dazzled by bad medicine (magic).
Ordinarily he has not more than 900 or
300 lodges, but there is no doubt that his
numbers are now swelled by recruits from
all the agencies. The Northern Cheyennes
are with him and large portion of the
Ogallalahe, and probably he has had 1000 or
more we'll armed and well mounted war
riors in those late fights. There we're times
last winter when he could not have gath
cred 800 men, but the young bucks have
slyly slipped away from the agencies where
they wintered and where the old people
and women and children are being fed by
the government, and they will remain with
him during the summer.
INIT {bo
Black Hills trOuble-none whatever. 1t
was waged defensively on our part for
many years before the Hills were entered
by anybody. The Black Hills troubles
may be used as a pretext to induce treaty
Sioux to join in the war. Of course
Sitting Bull is anxious to confederate all
the Sioux tribes and bands in q general
war. He has been trying to do this for
years, and has made repeated advances to
reason why the peace commissioners urge
that he must be subdued, leet he should
demoralize all the treaty Indians and bring
on general war. Of course the general
government has no alternative except to
bring him to terms. Any other course
would be cowardly and wicked surrender
of our frontier settlers and our friendly In
dian allies and subjects to barbarous and
determined enemy of the country.
A letter in the New York Rerald, dated
on The battlefield, July G., gives the follow
ing thrilling details of the rescue Of Reno
and his gallant band:
l write from the scene of Clusters mag
nificent but terribly fatal charge, from
plateau on which, but q few hours since,
saw at q glance lis heroic soldiers Of the
Seventh United States Cavalry lying where
they fell at the hands of savage toe. cold
and dead. Near the top of a little knoll in
the centre of this plateau lay Custer HIM
self; and it touched my heart to SEQ that