Daily press and Dakotaian. [volume] (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1875-1880, 1878-11-15
GEN SHERllAN'S REPORT.

nation OF the event mas Oeen sent 10 l1aiiAs
and other points. ~
GEM saERmAxs REPORT.
Tho Indian question Discussed by tho
Commander Of the Army.
Washington, Nov. 13.-Gep. Sherman
has submitted his annual report to Secre-
tary McCrary. Ia It he refers to the re.
ports Of the different commanders of
military departments, and invites particular
attention to that of Gen. Sheridan. His
command, says Gen. Sherman, embraces
eight Of the Ten regiments OF cavalry and
eighteen of the twenty-five regiments of
Infantry, which compose the entire armv,
and although he states this force 10 be en-
tirely inadequate to perform the duties
required. yet it Is impossible further to
reinforce him without stripping the sea.
board or abandoning other territories sub
jected to the sa,ne dangers which he SO.
graphically describes in his own. His
territorial command is 1900 miles long and
1900. miles broad. This vast region has in
the past ten years undergone. q radical
change. From being . pasture field Of mil
lions of buffalo, elk, ETC., affordlng abun-
dant food for the Indians, it has passed'
into a farming country, traversed by many
railroads. Game is nearly all gone, and
the Indian has been forced On to small res
ervations. Nearly all of the Indian treaties
were made on the theory. that this change
would occur more slowly, and that the
government would have to furnish partial
food for the Indians and that It would pro-
cure a half or q quarter of the necessary
meat BY hunting. Again it was the favor
lite theory that the Indian would see for
himself the reason why he should cultivate
ground like the white men, but his pro.
grcss in this respect Is scarcely per-
ceptible, save in remnants of tribes like the
Santees, Pawnees, Cherokees, etc., while the
Sioux, Cheyennes, Arapahoes, Kiowas, ETC.,
prefer idleness to the common toll to the
farmer beyond question, 1t wa; hunger
which drove the Bannocks and C%heyennes to
war this summer,and similar escapades will
occur each year unless the Indians are kept
quiet with more food. 1t seems idle to ex.
pect that the enterprisin, white race will
cease till every acre of this continent is sus-
ceptible of cultivation. 1t is not to be ex-
pected these pasture fields can be used by
the two races without everlasting conflict.
The reservations already set apart for the
Indians are large enough, and should suf-
fee them to raise all the meat and grain
necessary for their subsistence, but in the
meantime they most have food, else they
will steal and fight. To convert these In
dians into a pastoral race is the first step in
the upward progress in civilization. But in
this direction is the sole hope Of -rescuing
any part of the nomad Indians from utter
humiliation. This end cannot be
reached by means of the present
peace agent, becauseapersuasion. as wasted
on an Indian. There must not only be a
show Of force, but actual force and subjec-
ton used. Force will be necessary to com
pei the nomad to cultivate his own ground.
There is a wide distinction among the tribes,
and each tribe must be dealt with according
to its nature. Large discretion to supply
food must be lodged with the president or
somewhere else. Starvation will each year
cause wars, such as occurred this season with
the Shoshones and southern Cheyennes.
The army cannot foresee or prevent these
wars. All it can do after the Indians break
out to plumber or stealand murder harmless
families is to pursue and capture them in
detail, after infinite toll, and then conduct
them back to their reservations and turn
them loose to return to the same I'D libitun.
Congress can alone provide a remedy, and if
prevention be wiser than cure. money and
discretion must be lodged somewhere In
time to prevent starvation.
The reports of Gems. Mcdowell, Howard
and Wilcox describe the condition of affairs
in the states and territories bordering on the,
Pacific ocean.
The general reports that the Indian
problem Is not a single problem, but as
many almost as there are tribes. Measures
which would be wise in one instance would
be folly in another, and whatever depart
ment Of the government is charged with it
must be armed, not only with force, but
large discretion and authority to furnish
food in emergencies. One regiment will
probably haye to go to the frontier in the
spring from the division of the Atlantic, It
would be we'll. il there could be held at
points like Atlanta, Leavenworth. st. Paul
md Onaha, in rotation, a full regiment of
OF cavalry for instruction; but
this has been lmpracticable.
Gen. Sherman doubts the wisdom Of sci
Getting and preparing in advance, as recon-.
nended by Gen. Hancock, posts andcamps
q the south against the yellow fever.
The report concludes as follows:
In conclusion, l beg to state that from
Inspection and official reports, II
m sure the army Is we'll and@cconomically
upplied. Its discipline and Instruction
re good as coald be expected from its scat
red condition, and from the vast amount
I labor necessarily imposed upon 1t, that it
as met cheerfuliy every, call of duty and
ardship. 1t has accomplished an amount
work which, as Gen. Sheridan has well
10, no other nation, in the world would
ave attempted with less than 5000 or
1000 men,
AsEDUcER WANTED. 4
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Sioux Falls Paragraph,