The Findlay Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Hancock County, Ohio) 1870-1881, 1878-12-06

diriOn Of 'isesr dockets is pres ,nred
anew III flie reI,It of fhe Ats1rUey )
GeGerel. and the remedy suggested i
-arnesfis urged for Congressional ac
fion. TIE creation OF additional cir
cuii judges. as proposed, would afford
a complete remedy, and would involve
al eXpei se-,.r t..e present rate Of sal.
aIies--of ..os more than $50, 900 year
The annual reports OF the Secretary
of the Interior and the Commissioner
Ct Indian Affairs present an elabc rate
account of th. prfss-t condition OF the
Indian tribes, and Of that branch OF
the public service which ministers TO
their interests. +. While the conduct OF
the Indians. generally, has been or
derly. .nd theirs relations with their
neighbors frteDdly and peaceful. two
local disturbaGees have occurred, which
were depiorable in their character, bat
remained. happily. confined to com
parstjveiy small number of Indians.
Tn. discoatent among the Bannocks,
which led first to some acts of violence
on the part OF soma members of the
tribe, and finally to the outbreak, ap
4 IL
sufficieney of food on the reservation
and this insufficiency TO have been
owing to tha inadequacy of the ap
preparations made by Congress, to the
wants Of the Indians, at a time when
the Indians were prevented from sup.
plying the deficiency by huE;ing
After an arduous pursuit by the troops
of the United States, and several en-
g4gements. the hostile Indians were
refused 10 subiection. and the larger
part of them surrendered themselves
as prisoners. In this connection,
desire to call attention TO the recon-
mendatiou made 10y the Secretary of
the Interior, that a sufficient fund be
placed at the disposal of the Execu-
tive. to be used With proper account
ability, at discretion, in sudden emer-
gencies of the Indian service.
The other ca>e of disturbance was
tn It of band of Northern Cheyennes
who suddenly left their reservation in
the Indian Territory and marched
rapidly through the States of Kansas
and Nsb- lskain the direction os their
old huntiDg grounds, committing mur-
dels and other crimes on their way.
From doeuuea's accompanying the
report of The Secretary OF the Interior,
it appears that this disorderiy band
was as fully supplied with the nrcas-
saries of life Gs the four thousand seven
hundred other inIians who remained
quietly on the reservation, and that
the disturbance WAS caused by m.n OF
a restless and mischievous dis2ositiol I
among the lnclans themselves Almost
the whole of this baud have surrender
ed to the military authorities, and it is
gratifying fact that, when some OF
them had taken refuge in tue camp of
the Red Cloud Sioux, with whom they
had been in friendly relatious, the
Sioux held them as prisoners and read
lily gave them up to the officers of the
United States, thus giving new proof
of the loyal spirit which. alarming ru-
mors to the contrary Notwithstanding,
they have uniformly shown ever since
the wishes they expressed at the coun-
Gil of September, 1877. had been COM
piled with.
Both the Secretary of the Interior
and the Secretary of War unite in the
recommendation that provision be made
by Congress for the organization OF a
corps of mounted Indian auxiliarias,' y
to be under the control of the army,
aud to be used for the purpose of keep
ing the Indisns on their reservations
and preventing or repressing disturb
ance on their part. earnestly concur
in this recommendation. 1t is believ-
ed that the Organization of such a body
of Indian cavalry, receiving a moder
ate pay from the Government, would
considerably weaken the restless ele-
ment among the Indians by withdraw
ing from it a number of young men and
giving them eongenial employment
under the Government, it being a
matter af experience hat Indians in
our service almost without exception
are faithful in the performance of the
4 duties assigned to them. Such an
Organization would materially aid the
army in the accomplishment of task
for which its numerical strength is
sometimes fonnd insufficient.
But, Willie the employment of force
for the prevention or repression OF
Indian troubles is of occasional neces-
sity, and wise preparation should be
made to that end, greater reliance must
be Ilaced on humane and civiliZiDg
agencies for the ultimate solution OF
what is called the Indian problem. 1t
may be very difficult, aud require
much patient effort, to curb the unruly
spirit of the savage Indian to the re-
straints of civilized life, but experience
shows that is is not impossible. Many
of the tribes which are now quite and
orderly and seifsupporting we're once
as savage as any that present roam
over the plains or mountains of the far
West, aud were then considered mac
cessible to civilizing influences. 1t
may be impossible to raise them fully
up 10 the level of the white population
of the Uni,ei States; but we should
not forget t fat they are the aborigines
of the country, and called the soil their
own on which our people have grown
rich, powerful, and happy. We owe
tito them as moral duty to help them
in attaining at least that degree of civ
ilization which they may be able to
reach. Itis not only our duty-it is
also our interest to do so. Indians
Who have become agriculturists or
herdsmen, and teei an interest in prop
erty, will fhenceforth cease to be a
warlike and disturbing element. 1t is
also a welI-authenticated fact that
Indians are apt to be peaceable and
quiet when their children are at school,
and am grasifi- d to know, from the
expressions of Indians themselves and
from many concurriDg reports, that
there is steadily increasing desire,
even among Indians belonging to CON-
paratively wild tribes, to have their
children educated. Invite attention
to the reports of the Secretary of the
Interior and The Commissioner of Ia
dian Affairs, touching the experiment
recently inaugusted, in taking fifty
Indian children, boys and girls, from
different tribes, to the Hampton Nor
NAL Agricultural Institute, in Virginia,
where they are TO re:eive an elem IL
sary English eduOItion aud training ia
agriculture and other useful work, to
be returned to their tribes, after the
completed cour5e, as Interpreters i'll
structcrs, and examples. IL is report
ed that the officer charged with the
selection of those children might have
had thousands of young Indians sent
with him habit been possible to make
provision forthein. l agres with the
Secretary of the Interior in saying that
''the result of this interesting expert
meut. if favorable, may be destined to
become an important factor in the ad-
vaucement of civiiiz alton among the
Indians"
The question, whether change 10
the control of the Indian service
should be made, was, at the last ses-
sion of Congress. referred to commit
tee for inquiry and report. Without
desiring to anticipate that report, 1
venture to express the hope that in the
decision of so important a question,
the views expressed above may not be
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