, 1877-02-03

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of sentmcntalism than Of wisdom. For
which mouse would tie the bell to the
cats tail What agent, unless protected
by n strong military force, would dare
to make such proposition to them
The merits of William Penn would not
save him from being burnt offering.
The hint of such measure would he in
stantly followed by the most terOcious
Indian war that ever disgraccd our his
tory. Nor is this ALL Disarm them
and they are placed at the mercy ofthose
desperate white men who disgrace every
community, and are particularly active
on the frontier. A wholesome fear of the
armed Indian restraints them. Disarm
the Indians, and avaricc, rapacity, cru.
city and lust would have carnival in
every Indian camp. They must have
power to defend themselves. Better dis
band the police Of ou! eastern cities In
deed, to disarm them would render them
helpless, and their helpcSsncss would
render them more ahject than they are
now. Savage reliance is more hopeful
than slayish dependence,
The American people have often been
reproachlully reminded OF the peOceable
r,1nI ,,.l,tgl h.t tl, "a l,i ln
inhabitants of British America and the
Indians. But the causes are too dissmi.
lar to afford just grounds for rcproNch,
immigration is not flowing into that
region as it is into the United States,
and consequently the demand tor land is
very limited. The whites are too few to
excite alarm The friendship OF the In
dian is sought from mercenary motives;
but once let white men seek homes in
that northern region, as they do in the
United States, and the irrepressihle con-
ilict between the two races would be the
inevitable result.
We know the Indian has been
wronged. We have no excuse to offer
for that long catalogue of crimes which
the white man has committed against
the indians. We believe they are exag
gerated in the popular mind, hut still
they are appalling. But the guilt is not
all one side. The whiteman is a sinner
and the Indian is not a saint. His
treachery and cruelty are proverbin.
William Penn found one tribe docile and
faithful, but at the time he made his IA
nous treaty, the Delawares were only
seeking protection against the terrible
Mohawks. His improvidence and filth
excite our contempt. His brutal scorn
of anything like dccency renders him n
dsagreeable companion even IN his most
amiable moods. The outrnges he perpe-
trates on female captives, not merely to
crafty his lust, but for revengeiul mo-
tives almost place him beyond the pale
of law. The greed with which he ac-
cepts presents, and which the wealth of
m empire would not satisfy, makes us
suspicious Of his most solemn avowals.
In one word he seems lower being than
the "rOughs" of our larger cities, and as
such must be as guilty as the whites.
Like Jesse Pomeroy, he delights in tor
turing his victims, and, like Jesse Pome-
roy, shows consciousness of crime.
But why discuss the question of moral
obliquity and depravity3 The difficulty
in the way of saving the apparently
doomed race from destruction is not the
greater or lesser degree Of criminality of
either party. These are in great meas
ure outside issues. They come from the
unavoidable antagonism of races which
have so little in common that they can
not amalgamate and seemingly will not
assimilate. Therefore the ever recurring
question, what shall we do with them
We have stated the case plainly, but do
not think we have spoken too strongly.
The interests of humanity seem imper-
lied. Our national honor seems in jeop.
ardy. We do not seem to have sufficient
intellectually to save a race. Our phase
of Christianity seems powerless to save,
and in helpless sorrow we ask, who can
show us how to civilize the Indians of
the plains
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