The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1878-07-20
pLnNpfRING THE INDIANS.

When The Bannock war broke out few
weeks ago in Idaho, and the reason given for
| Il was that the Indians were driven to hostill-
up a howl that the Indians were starving on
account of the refusal of democratic congress
to make adequate appropriations to meet the
treaty stipulations for their support The
charge is dsproved by the fact that the appro-
priatlons made by the last congress were the
same as had been made by congress fora dozen
OF years preceding,
Secretary Schurz however, few weeks
ago, sent Commissioner Hayt from Washing
ton to the Indian country to take private look
into the operations of the Indian ring that had
grown to such enormous proportions under
Grants republican rule and with the plumber
ngs of which none of the feeble efforts of
llayesism at civil service reform have yet been
able to interfere. Mr.. lIayt at last accounts,
had not got beyond Dakota territory, but in
ovcrhauling one or two agencies there he has
already got facts enough to account for half a
dozen of Indian wars. One of the special pets
of Delano and Smith, Grants heads of the In
terror department, was a Dr. Livingston, In
charge Of the Crow Creek, Brulc and Chey-
eynne agencies. Mr.. Hayt reached Dr. Liv.
ingstons Office without warning, and his safe
was captured before he had time to remove
the evidence of his guilt The revelations of
his office are perfectly astounding. They show
t1,o oh ,f u Of ri oil
over the west and that stealing right and left
has been the universal rule while feeding and
civilizing the indians has been almost wholly
lost sight Of As sample, Hayt reports:
Livingston and his pards own two cattle
ranches, with stock ratiOns, &c, regularly sup
piled from the Crow creek and Cheyenne
agencies They were both seized by the Gov
eminent, They conducted Il hotel supplied
regularly with beet, milk and potatoes from
the agency, and forced employees to board
there They used the agency blacksmith shop
and materials for private gains. All their pri.
vate stock were fed at the Government cribs.
Livingston sold agency wood to the steamboats,
and hay to the Black Hills wagon train. Crow
creek is the stopping place on the Fort Pierre
route to Deadwood. Indian annuties and IA
tons were stolen and sold Two steamboat
loads of Indian goods for the Lower Brule
agency We're unloaded at Crow creek under
the protest of the steamboat Captain, whe in.
sisted that they belonged to the Brulcs Tie
Indians put up large quantities of hay and
wood, and were paid in their own ratons and
The Ring would charge the Gov
for this hay and wood, get paid for
them and then sell the same to steamboats,
military posts and bushwhackers, and then get
paid a second time. The crops raised on the
agency were sold and the proceeds not ac-
counted for. The trader would sell the In
dian his own potatoes. The traders ware.
house was inside of the stockadc and ten feet
from a Government warehouse.
The former was stocked from the latter of
course, all the stolen property was reported is
sued to the Indians. Whole bands a dozen
lines year had their ratlons cut off for al |
eyed offences, and the rations not accounted |
or. There were rations and annuities drawn |
or 300 more Indians than there were on the |
agency,
The "parsimonious democratic congress"
he republican papers talk of voted $4,000
o furnish the Indians food and supplies at
hese agencies year ago, and at least $780,
100 of this money was stolen by Livingston
md his pards, while the poor, Black Hills min
RS are being scalped because the government
all to furnished the supplies this money was
Toted to purchase. Is there any wonder we
iave Indian wars under the republican sys-
en- of managing the Indian department?