, 1877-10-27


Government to feed and take cnle of
them and their ponies until spring. Ii
such news was not OF yearly occurrence
we could chronicle the fact with feelings
Of joy in place ot disgust; but the same
role OF paricy, the same quantity Of pres
en,s, and the same hungry, wOrn.out In
dnus, have thrown themselves into the
ever open arms of their infatuated, dot
ing Great Father every fall, but to
again startlc the world with their helisi
! deeds in the spring. This lnditn queS-
ton Shonld he more carefully studied by
our officials. Let Us judge the future
| BY the past, and Judging BY the past,
what, let us ask, Is there to give even
the iaintcst ray ot hope that these
| devils will be governed by any treaty.
Have they ever shown a disposition to
acquire the boon of civilization, only 50
tar as it would aid them in invcnting
new torturrs, or in making their warfare
more destructive! Where are some OF
! the benefits OF the missionaries work
among them Tract agents, broken
down missionaries and the like, taught
them OF One who was cruriiied-the
most shameful death. Indians brought
crucitXlon down to our day, and I'M
palcd women and children Gpon picket
fences, ard nailed innocent babes, torn
from THEN dying mothers breasts, to the
| sides of the houSus, during those bloody
! days not long ago, in Minnesota. How
much did we learn hy that attempt Mt
civilization OfcDurse the Whole c"un.
try dill not suffer; but let us for mo-
mont think of the terrible agony, the IN.
avaiIing prayers for mercy, the hcllish
whuups and the deaths 10y torture 0i
those few short weeks. III the lall came
trcaty-in the spring massacre and
50 the Indian policy has rolled in the
same old rut year inter year Occasion
! ally the nation would hcc0mc aroused
when Startled by some deed OF double
burbarity, such as the entire slaughter OF
the defenders Of some fort, the burning
ot n town, or the mutihting of Custer.
Then, for II moment only, the national
pulse would thrill with pain when some
precious peace polcy-inyented by some
parties who know nothing of Indian
chhructer--would s)On hull it down to
its regular. steady beat. How long, oh
bow Onk before we, MS people become
wise How many more Cnnhys, Gus.
turs. and brave men must we lny upon
this blood-dripping altar, ere we learn
and are wise. From the rolling, grassy
hills of the plains who.e soil has been
enriched with bIood--Irom far stretch
ing prairie, where nature dccOratcs the
graves Of the slain; from the rough,
cruggy sides OF the Roclteys, echoed and |
re echoed back from the Cascades cav
crns, comes the blood curdling yell of
the Indian, in the search for gore, the |
cracking of the scething, destroying |
flames, the shout of triumph com
mingled with the mothers uravaiing
prayer for her child. These voices call
upon us, coming, rs it were, from every
nook, hill and glen in our land and
yet, us a nation, wo heed them not. We
clasp the butchers of our fathers and
brOthcrS, the tiends who tortured our
sisters, wives and mothers, the demons
who mutilatcd our frlcnds-we clasp
them to our bosoms and say, abide with
us, here you are safe. And now, again,
after all the bitter experience of the past,
Sherman says he is in favor of sparing
the life ot Chief Joseph, "for he fought
like Chriamn.' He has done nothing
worthy of death nothing but the bones
of some hundred men, women and child.
rem are left bleaching on the pruiries in
Oregon and Idaho to mark his footsteps.
Nothing. u few scores of mutillated
bodies, few dozens of families destroyed
and trail Of blood for hundreds of
miles For Gods sake, if he fought
like Christian, is it not time to give
up this costly experiment, and keep civi
lization, with all the blessings of chris
tianity as Tar out of their reach AS posi-
IIn'