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
r "a Spotted Tatl's Braves.

r Spotted Tails Braves,
+ 3 lei CLOUD AGENCY.
nf. James Irwin, agentfosth the RedsClond
Indians, arrived Saturday night from his
agency and will remain several DAYS in
Yankton. This il 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'o Of placing himselfi in direct
communication with government head
quarters upon various matters of interest to
his Indians, chief among which is probably
their T. .movals from the Missouri river. A
week or so ago DR.. Irwin told
the Indian chiefs at Red Cloud
agency that they must decide
en- q place for hetfuture location of their
tepees, so that he could report their cor.
~clusions to JJhe authorities at Washington
If they wanted TO &c to Tongue river they
must sayssc.Sor if they preferred White
Clay river they must manifest it by the same
oral sign Red Cloud got his men to-
gether and gavc,,ts.each q small stick which
was. his ballot. Those who favored White
Clay river were, tn. give their sticks to the
head chief, and 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 tn 1t the government will permit
this change to be made, az it would involve
over one hundred miles Of wagon transpor-
tation. DIR. Irwin says that the only depar.
lures OF Indians from his agency was that
Of a squad OF less than a hundred Mime
c%onjoux northern Indians), under the lead,
ership of Touch-thc-C Clouds, which Joined
his people on the march from the old to the
new agency. lie 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 &C
into Cheyenne agency, where they now are
DR.. Irwin does not anticipate trouble among
his Indians if they are permitted to NOV,
in the spring.
SPOTTED TAILS INDIANS.
1,,,eoo~Aa~& of. tho Nhioarn 1nfpr
Ocean. writing from Spotted Tail agenc,
under date of the I'd inst, says:
Spotted Tail and his chief men held 6
council to-day at the agency, and unani
mously decided that they would locate or
the south fork of White river, about 70 tc
100 miles from the nearest point Of the Mis-
souri,, and 100 miles west of this agency
!, They wish 10 start in the spring, when the
E grazing is good. They say there is toe
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
condition. The president has promised
that they should return In the spring, and
now they have fixed upon a country they
like. we'll watered and numbered. and with
plenty Of good grass.
Lieutenant Lee, ninth infantry, agent OF
Spotted Tails bands, has great control over
the Sioux and manages them well. He has
distributed to them lately annuity goods tc
the value of 100000. and issues their bee
on the hoof, as they desire it. An hones'
Indian agent has been, until recently, ar
anamoly, but one can be seen here JUS
now, as we'll as at other pieces on the Mis-
souri, river, where the greatest misnapge
ment formerly prevailed.