New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1877-09-28
WHAT THE SAVAGES WANT.
tRY TELEGRAPH TO THE rRIBUNg.l

WHAT 1HE SANAGES WAN
lBr TELEGRAPH TO THE rRIBUSg.l
WASHINGTON, Sept. 27.-The Indian pOw-wOw
which was held at the White House to-day was on
more magnificent scale than has been the custom
of late years. The twenty-three Sioux Chiefs, ar
rayed in the feather and fummery OF their tribes
and rank, assembled in the East Room Of the White
House, paid their customary salutations to the
Great Father, and freed their minds. 1t was tue
first council at which President Hayes has presided,
and before it is ended he is likely to be more than
ever impressed with the gravity and difficulty or
the Indian problem. Perhaps the features which
distinguish the council to-day from those which have
preceded it within the past few years were the num-
Der of wild Indians. who had never seen civilization
before, and the number of warriors who are fresh
from the war-path. There were present Chiefs who
were in the Custer fight, and these were as earnest
and eloquent as the rest in pretending in their rude
Indian way to be anxious for the benefits of cylZa-
tom Aside from these two characteristics and from
the fact that the present visitation will probably cost
the Government $4,000, the council was lkenearly
all those which have occurred here for the last quar-
ter of a century.
The medium of communication between the In
dams and the Government does not improve with
tune. There were four interpreters, two Of whom
were frontier white men, who seemed to have
much better command OF the Indian language than
they did Of the English. At all events, the Indians
appeared to have less difficulty in understanding
them than did the whites. There was Young half
breed interpreter who spoke English with tluency
and comparative excellence but the two elder white
interpreters are so jealous Of him that he kept
in the background until he really forced to in
terfere to prevent a complete perversion OF the
sense. The Arrapahoe Indian, Friday, even spokeas
good English the two professional white interpre-
ters The best interpreters that have appeared here
for years have been cergymen, like the Rev. DR..
Thurman stationed on the frontier. in charge Of
Indians, who, il they do not speak the English Ian
guage with native luency, certainly convey tho
ideas Of the Indians to the Government in an intel
liqible FORM Such was by no means the case in
many instances to-day. BIT it is easy enough to UNI
and what the present Sioux Chiefs do not want,
and in part TO comprehend what they do.
They do not wish to leave their present reserya-
lions, either for the Upper Missouri River country
or for the Indian Territory. The craft OF Indian
diplomacy has seldom been better illustrated than
in the speeches to-day, in which several Chiefs spoke
of the suggested removal to the Missouri River
REGION as a distant mmor which they have heard.
They wished to hear 10 more Of such a runor, and
the great Red Cloud precluded all arguments from
the President tomorrow by saying do not wish
YOU to mention that name Missouri River to me.
The Missouri River is tho road TO whiskey and
RUM None of them to-day were disposed TO be re-
moved to the Missouri and Red Cloud, and the one
or two others who expressed any willingness to re-
move from their present location desired to go to
the junction of the Big Horn and the Platte rivers,
where the country is more fertile.
The Indians were not less agreed upon the bene-
fits OF civilization, although there was considerable
variety in opinion rs to what civilization Is. Wagons
and schools fertile lands and agricultural impe-
ments, they all desired TREY wanted to be pointed
TO 1.-THE good wide road in which they could walk
the long way" and where, Red Cloud put it, they
could leave their children in the belief that their
great grandchildren would know as much as tho
whites; but the wild children Of the plains had de-
sires as crude as the Chief who. few years ago at
one of the councils here told the Great Father that lie
wanted house with stairs in it, and he thought that
if he could have house with stairs in it, he could
be civilized. Big Road Chief who has never
seen civilization before, and who is just fresh
from the north and the Custer battlefield, said he
WAS not n man to bargain with any body, but that
he wanted TO be civilized, and would be satisfied If
the Great Father would give him 5000 boxes of
money to start to get civilized with. The Chief
evidently thought that the Electoral Commission
had placed Tilden with his barrel of money in the
White House. Another Chief had no less mercenary
had come to see the Great Father to learn how the
white people had got rich, and he wanted to get
rich.
These chiefs came here at the suggestion of General
Crook and others in authority the plains to ask
that the treaty provisions of 1868 and 1869 be en-
forced, That treaty gave the Indians the right to
select good agricultural lands, and pledged that the
Government would aid them in selecting them
This has not yet been done. The treaty has not been
fulfilled Meanwhile the. whites are crowding III upon
the Indian reservations, and General Crook fears
an outbreak unless the present Chiefs can be satisfied
The speeches of all the Chiefs show that General
Crook is held in very high esteem by the Indians
for they spoke of him both as a great tighter and as
their great friend. 1t will be the purpose Of the Adj
minlsration to convince these Indians that for four
years. at least their treaty rights will be respected
WASHINGTON, Sept. 27.-The reception of the In
dians to-day took on a curious character. William
Welsh at the request OF the Indians, made general
statement of their complaints and their wants.
| First of their disadvantages mentioned was that
there were too many changes of Indian Commission
era to-day they had one Tomorrow another; they
Thought one ought to stay till he knew the business.
| Nv a strange coincidence, Mr. Hayt, the new
Commissioner arrived to-day, and attended the
| meeting, being seated while Mr.. Welsh was making
! this point, directly behind Mr.. Smith, who to-day
was acting as Commissioner. At the council to-mor-
| row MIR. Hayt will have assumed the duties of that
position, and thus give the Indians a new surprise.
THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE COUNCIL.
(GENERAL PRESS DIsPATcHl
WASHINGTON, Sept. 27.-The Indians arrived
at the White House few minutes before noon. They
were In full costume with plentiful application OF pant
| and ornamen,ation Of feathers. The President and
arv nil the Cabinet soon after appeared. The Indians
were severay presented TO the President by nae the
.l.,u hoinn conducted By Lieutenant Clark Spoiled