Daily press and Dakotaian. [volume] (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1875-1880, 1878-02-11
INDIAN MATTERS.
Items from the Camps OF Red Clouds aud
Spotted Tails Braves. -
RED CLOUD AGENCY.

''c'hs 'rohh thc camps OF Red Clouds aud
r Spotted Tails Braves. -
r RED CLOUD AGENCY. /
nx. James Irwin, agentafor the Red Cloud
Indians, arrived Saturday night from his
agency and will remain several DAYS in
1ankton. Thisis his first visit to our city
and he admits that he finds here a great
deal more in the way of artificial improve
ments than he expected to see. He is here
for the purpose of placing himselfin direct
communication with government head
quarters upon various matters of interest to
his Indians, chief among which is probably
their .moval from the Missouri river. A
week or so ago DR.. Irwin told
the Indian chiefs at Red Cloud
agency that they must decide
en- a place for b rpfuture location of their
tepees, so that he could report their cor.
clusions to he authorities at Washington I.
If they wanted TO go to Tongue river they
must say sc,Sor if they preferred White
Clay river they must manifest it by the same
oral sign Red Cloud got his men to-
gether and gavct,ts.each a small stick which
was his ballot. Those who favored Whit,
Clay river were, To- give their sticks to the
head chief, ana NOSE who wanted to locate
on Tongue river were to pile their sticks on
the, ground. The result of this operation
was that Red Cloud got all the sticks, and
White Clay was the unanimous choice.
much to the chagrin of their leader, who
favored the otherfplace. White Clay creek
is the south fork fof White river, and the
paradise picked out by the Indians, is a short
distance north of the line between
Dakota and Nebraska and about seventy
miles from old Red Cloud agency. 1t is not
probable til 1t the government will permit
this change to be made, az it would involve
over one hundred miles of wagon transport
tation. DR.. Irwin says that the only depar-
lures o; Indians from his agency was that
Of a squad Of less than a hundred Mime
%conjoux northern Indians), under the lead
ership Of Touch-thc-Clouds which joined
his people on the march from the old to the
new agency. He sent word to Cheyenne
agency Of their departure for the north and
a military force from that post intercepted
and captured them, took their arms and
ponies from them and compelled them TO go
into Cheyenne agency, where they now are.
DR.. Irwin does not anticipate trouble among
his Indians if they are permitted to move
in the spring.
SPOTTED TAILS INDIANS.
A correspondent of the Chicago Inter.
Ocean. writing from Spotted Tail agency
under date of the I'd inst, says:
Spotted Tail and his chief men held a
council to-day at the agency, and unaui.
mously decided that they would locate ON
the south fork of White river, about 70 to
100 miles from the nearest point Of the Mis-
souri,, and 100 miles west of this agency.
grazing is good. They say there is too
much rain and mud here, and that the grass
does not cure in the fall like that of the
country further west therefore their ponies
and cattle die or cannot be kept in good
condition. The president has promised
that they should return in the spring, and
now they have fixed upon a country they
like. well watered and numbered. and with
plenty Of good grass.
Lieutenant Lee, ninth infantry, agent of
Tails bands, has great control over
the Sioux and manage them we'll. He has
distributed to them lately annuity goods to
the value Of 100000, and Issues their beef
the hoof, as they desire it. An honest
Indian agent has been, until recently, an
anamoly, but one can be seen here Just
now, as we'll as at other places on the Mis-
souri, river, where the greatest mismaDge-
ment formerly prevailed.