Daily press and Dakotaian. [volume] (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1875-1880, 1877-07-27
The Daily Press and Dakotaian
THEIsDIAs OUTBREAK.

our yesterday dispatches brought intelli-
gersce Of the new peril which b=es The
communities Of western Dakots. The news
Of Indi An mas-acre ia the bills we're gener-
ally unexpected, though the indications Of
the past sss weeks sfsould have led the PEG
pie Of thu Hillz to carefully guard against
the entertainments Of zzvages. Depreda-
ton. have been frequent along the
eastern and northern Foothills, many mur-
ders have heen committed and mall bands 81
reving Indians have teen reported in
various localities 4 false sense i
security had made men careless
Of ,heir safety and the outbreak caught
them totally unprepared 70 avert tie terri
BILE consequences which have already en-
sued. There are in the Hills men enough and
arms enough 10 whip half the Sioux nation,
bat there il no organization and, ne suspect,
there is aiso a lick Of ammunition for pro-
tracted fighting In this emergency the
sheriff Of the principal county has called
upon the governor for arms and ammuni-
lion, but the governor has nothing Of the
sort at his disposal. The government does
not entrust TO the keeping Of the frontier these
important accessories to is safety and the
executive is powerleas 10 grant aid, except
10 give authority to the people to organize
for seIf-defence at public expense. He may
also, under the Law, organize civil forces in
other counties and proceed 10 the aid Of en-
dangered communities, and he may call on
the government for troops to protect lie and
property. In the present emergency it
would be useless to ask for many United
States soldiers. "A few might be spared, but
the military movements now going on tend
10 weaken rather than strengthen the Sioux
frontier. 1t would be a very mall matter
for the general government to deposit
with the governor of each territory a sufi-
cient number Of arms and a sufficient
quantity Of am~tnuniti,a to enable the set
tlers to take care Of themselves. There are
generally plenty Of men in the west well
qualified for the work Of soldiers in Indian
warfare. But it shas never been done and
now we are brought face to face with an
emergency which we are powerless TO pro
vide against. !.
The lazy and useless wards Of the nation
are devastating the homes Of hard working
settlers, INDUCING in Wholesale murder,
ccompanied by the most horrible atrocities.
When they have finished their carnival Of
blood the government will tenderly gather
them up, take them into winter quarters,
clothe and feed them and tell them not to dc
80 any more. In this issue
of the Press and Dakotaian
appears an advertisement calling for pro-
posals for the erection Of comfortable homes
for the very Indians who are now murder
ing and mntilating our friends on the weat.
ern border of the territory. But how is il
with the working men Of the east who strike
for bread instead of blood. The bullets and
bayonets Of a protecting nation force them
to desist and when the work is accomplished
they will be gathered up and thrown into
dismal prisons as the penalty for their
~ofienses. IT'S better to be a red handed
Indian than a horny handed mechanic.
But we digresa. The temptation to draw a
parallel could not be resisted.
The scene of the Indian outbreak in the
Hills is along the Redwater and Spear
fish creeks. They are located in the
the extreme northwest corner of Dakota and
are tributaries Of the Belle Forche. A
portion of the Redwater is the Wyoming
Large numbers of ranchmen have estab.
lished themselves along these streams, thu
only considerable settlement being Spear.
. fish City. Nine or ten n lies southeast from
Spearfish City is Deadwood, and the same
distance northeast from Deadwood lies Crool
City. Deadwood is the center and is prob
ably free from all danger Of attack. but III,
other two TOW ns named are weak in pcpula
ton and isolated from the main populatio,
OF the Hills. From information wl,icl
has been coming to us all SIM
mer long we are of the opinion
that the Indians concerned in this afiai
are from the Spotted Tail, Red Cloud
Lower Brule and Cheyenne agencies. Me-
thoroughly versed in Indian signs hav
predicted trouble in the Hills this Summer
They have watched the course Of str ,pel;n
bands of Indians and the direction fror
which they came, and it is pretty certai
That young warriors have gone for.
from all the agencies named.
ID Inc way to prevent outbreaks of this n,
tnrel to furnish ample militarJ protectio,
The plan Of educating the Indians up to tn,
high moralAtandard which will prevent the,
from committing depredations because sue
j acts are wickedis beautiful in theory. but
terribly destructive to the hapless settle,
who fall in their way when their hearts a,
Z bad. "a military force sufficient to kee
them upon their reservations is what is neeo
sed.s "a cordonEof soldiers and a dead In
beyond which they shall not pass and iiy
will be the only safeguard for the white
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