The New Orleans daily Democrat., 1878-11-14
THE AMERICAN ARMY.
swurAH. REPORT or GEN. SHERMAN
AS TO HTB CONDITION
ANH WORK.

ulftlcusey Of Treating with the Indian
ProbEems-LeeaI obstacles Prevent 1hs
Adoption of o. General Ruse-Preseht
distribution ef the Different DTancnes
of tire Service.
WASHINGTON, Nov. 13.--Gen. sherman man II. Il.
HIS annual report, submitted 10 necluGs,y Pee .isr
McCrary, refers to the reports oa tne ulllt4l-
ent commanders of military. departments
among them thai of Lieut.. den. pnelr't1r,, ! ~,
this report he ir .vites close study. Hls CON-
rnand enbraceel eight Of the ten regiments ot
cavalry and eighteen OF the twenIy.nve ~. atgao
ments Of infa' airy which compose me me enCihe
army and al though he states this force 10 pc
entire)V mad eauate to perform the duties re-
ouired vet it is impossible further to REIN
force him without stripping the seaboard and
abandOniD & other territories suDIected 10 .he
same dan gers which he gfaphically uesclipee
In his oy sD-
The trssops now subject to his command
compose two thirds OF the efficient force OF
the wi .ole army, and his territorial command
exten Dis from the British line on the north to
the mouth OF the Rio Grande on the south; an
average Of 1900 miles long, and from the MIS-
sIssipni westward TO and including ae the
Rocky Mountain chain, an average a,i,2ee, OF n2oo
what this vast region has undergone III the
past ten years-a more radical and violent
change than any like space on earth suf1ace
during any previous fifty years. FROM = pelhg
tha nastnre field Of millions Of bufalOeS,
elks, etc, and afrording abundant food for the
Indians. it has passed into farming country
traYersed by many railroads. Ihe game lS
nearly all gone. The Indian has been forced
On small reservations and every OK and steer
has an owner who will fight for his property
Nearly all the Indian treaties are made on
the theory that the change would occur more
slowly and that the goyerrnmehhe r h Woua ds navG d
that he would procure half or q quarter OF
the necessary meat by hunting. Again It was
q favorte theory, that the Indian would see
for himself o. reason why no Shouid GulllVale
The ground like the white men, but his pro-
prefsss in this respect Is scarcely perceptlble,
save in the remnants OF tribes like the Santes,
paynees, Cherokees, etc, while the Sioux,
Chevennes Arapahoes, Kiowas, etc, seem to
nrefer death to the common toll of the farmer.
Beyond doubt it was hunger which drove t1ie
Bannocks and Cheyennes to war this summer,
and similar escapndes will occur each year
unless those Indians Do kept WIN more lo1u' ,i
ing white race will cease I'LL every acre o.
this continent Is susceptible OF cultiVhtion' u
is not to be expected that these pasture fields
can be usedby the two races vi Wtlono eyer t,at
apart for the Indians are large enough and
should suffice them to raise all the meat ana
grain necessary for their Subsistence, but
meantime they must have food, else they will
steal and fight
To convert these Indians into O. pastoral
race is the first step in the upward progress
OF civilization. That Of agriculture must be
the next stage, though slower OF realization ,tn
but In this direction Is the sole hope OF res
cuing any part of these "nomad' Indians
from utter annihiatiOn. This end cannot be
reached by means of the present peace agents
because persuasion Is wasted on an Indian
There must not only be show Of force but
actual force and subsection used. Force will
be necessary to compel the nomad to Guilt
vate his own ground. In this particular there
is o wide distinction, Gens Sherman says
~ LII, I'm tal lIy n
the buffalo or plains Indians, while other
tribes further west in Arizona, Oregon and
Washington Territory maintain themselves
as farmers, herders, fishermen and laborers
according to its nature and large discretion
to supply food must be lodged with tho Prosl
dent or somewhere, else starvation will each
year cause wars such rs occurred this season
with tie Shoshone and Southern Cheyennes
The army cannot foresee Or prevent these
wars All It can do is after the Indians break
out, plumber and steal and kill harmless farm
ors, to pursue and capture them In detail
after infinite toll, then conduct them back tt
their reservation and turn them loose to re-
turn to the same game nl ibitnm: Congress
can alone provide remedy, and II prevention
bo wiser than cure, money and discretion
must be lodged somewhere in time to preyen
starvation.
The reports of Generals Mcdowell, HOwarf
and Wilcox describe the condition of affairs II
the States and Territories bordering on ths
Pacific ocean. There the Indians have during
the past thirty years been collected by tribes
and families on small reservations well apart
so that Indian wars on a large scale requiring
concert of action are not probable; yet th
Nez Perces war Of 1877 and the Shoshone wa
of this summer show, however, that thes'
small bauds Of Indians did large amount o
damage and caused great CONSERVATION
As O. general rule the Pacific cohst Indiana
did not originally depend for food SO muci
on rame us Oh fish, and hero the inrOadS o
civilization, marked by the establishment 0
fisheries on the largest scale on the lowe
Columbia, are fast cutting off the supply Q
fish. Unless suitable regulations are adopted
salmon will become extinct and tho Indians
will bo driven to stealing and consequen
war with the settlers. The settlers OF Oregon
and Washington Territory seem apprehensv
of war ON the part Of the Umatilas ant
the river Indians the Spokanes and do no
control of them or any right to lnterpose ex
cept after hostities are actually. begun
Every precauton has been and will be takel
to insure peace. but the whites should no
trespass on the Umatila reservation or pro
woke the Indians on the upper Columbia
already made restless by their short suppl
of salmon.
BY mutual forbearance alone can peace b.
maintained in that quarter.
In Arizona there is danger lurking iron
similar causes. The Pimas and Maricopa
have, since 1876 been peaceful cultlvators Q
the valley Of the Celia; That valley is irri
gated by large bitches leading from the Gel
river, but recently settlers have gone abov
them and turned the whole of the water of tn
Celia on their own fields. Here, too, the arm
is powerless, and If war and collision result
on the army falls the danger and labor. H
therefore, repeats that the Indian problem i
not single problem, but as many almost q
there are tribes. Measures which woGlt
be wise in one instance would be folly in an
other, and whatever department. of the gov
ernment is charged with it must be armed Ro
only with force but large discretion and au
tE1urity to furnish food in emergencies.
In the Military Division OF the Atlantic
Gen. Hancock commanding, there are fou
regiments Of artillery and three of infantry
aggregatlng 305 officers and 1888 men. On
reg iment of infantry will probably have t.
go to the frontier in the spring. 1t would b
well IL there could be held at points like At
larA9, -leavenworth, st. Paul and Omaha, II
rotation, a full regiment OF infantry or cav
airy for instruction, but hitherto this has beel
iaabIn