The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1878-10-17
From the Philadelphia Times.
Ninety Bad Indians.
AND THE HAVOC THEY ARE GREAT
ING,


WASHINGTON, October s.
Mr.. Hayt, Commissioner of Indian
Affairs, in course of a conversation
upon the recent Indian outbreak, gives
some new information as to the purpose
of the warlike band of Cheyennes which
has been creating snch havoc in Kan
sas and along the Pacific Railroad.
The band, it appears, consists of three
hundred persons, of whom only ninety
are warriors, the rest being women
and children. The reports that they
had only half rations at the agency in
Indian Territory and were dissatisfied
on that account are not true. Their
dissatisfaction arises from an entirely
different cause. They belong to the
Northern Cheyennes, and, against
their will, n year ago were sent to the
Indian Territory. The remainder of
their tribe was left in the North while
an affiliated band was located at the
ShoshOne Agency in the Wild River
country, Wyoming. The band was To-
Gated in the Indian Territory has
never liked the territory, and has con-
stantly desired to return and have fin
ally undertaken to do so. Commits
sioner Hayt is of the opinion that their
ultimate purpose is to reach the Shos-
hone reservation, in Wyoming, and to
join their allied band there. Their
present direction, however, is toward
Red Cloud, in Dakota, and they may
remain there, if prevented by troops
from entering Wyoming. The as
founding skill and discipline of these
80 warriors is shown by the fact that
they, with 2l0 women and children,
have already made march of nearly
800 miles and have constantly kept in
advance of troops that were pressing
them from every quarter.
THE COST TO THE GOVERNMENT.
Senator Plumb, of Kan sas, who is
here, and who is a member of the
army commission, says that in a tinan-
cial point of view alone this raid OF
ninety warriors will cost the govern
ment much more than it would have
cost to have maintained full cavalry
regiment in that country. At present
nearly all the available troops are To-
Gated on the Rio Grande border. The
movements of small detachments now
for long distances will, in the items OF
transportation and rations, be q very
expensive matter for the government
Senator Plumb speaks very highly OF
the settlers who have been killed as
men of worth, courage and enterprise,
and fears that the alarm occasiOned by
this outbreak will be felt, to the in
jury of the border for twelve months.
Senator Plumb says that the theory
that a white man can take care of two
Indians is false one. He thinks it is
no disgrace to the white race to say
that, if fighting is to be done ON horse
back, one Indian would take care of
two white men. The Indian has been
trained to fight in the saddle. Oul
troops have not yet become sufficiently
skilled to shoot from the saddle, and
the only successful Indian fighting is
done by dismounting and taking delib-
crate aim. In some of the reports il
has been stated that the Indians are
better armed than our own troops. The
Indian Office authorities say that it il
impossible for any Indians to obtain
arms at any of the sutlerships in con
troll of the Indian Bureau, but that there
are practically no restrictions upon tn,
sales of arms by military suffers, who
! sell Indians all the arms they want.