Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1878-07-29
INDIAN HARDSHIPS.

ONDAY MORNING, JUL
INDIAN HARDSHIPS.
Ho,c the Tarious Tribes are Imposed On Ly
asa the AGENTS. aissi
Washington (July 24) special to Chicago
Times. gssl6f..
The Encouragement of the Indian bureau
for the past few years never appeared in such
striking light as in the recently published
reports of the Indian agents throughout the
west. It is one peculiarly of this branch of
the service that no difference appears to be
made between the treatment accorded
friendly and unfriendiy Indians. Take for
instance the Utes and Poncas. ID They are
both pretty well civilized, especially the lat.
ter. The Utes have been conspicuous as
friends of the white man for years, and are
more in the nature of hereditary allies than
any other tribe. Travellers have invariably.
found them quick to respond to any and all
demaI DIS for friendly assistance made by
whites. In, return for this
they are shamefuIIy maltreated
the case being so pronounced that even the
agents have not the audacity to cover it up.
Last year a treaty was made with the Utes
whereby they were to have their homes in
northern New Mexico to settle and take up
quarters on the Rio Nayajoe, a spot selected
for themselves. The treaty was duly signed
and then they were deliberately marched to
the Rio Los Plnos in Colorado where they
expressly said they did not want to go. F.
FL. Weaver, agent at that point, after giving
some unimportant details about the number
of this tribe, goes on with the following
statement: 4sffsa @sS3.4,1r,s
can unusual number of Indians have been
off their reservation the past year, and have
| remained away for some time. : There are
several reasons for this. The annuities and
supplies furnished these Indians amount at a
| liberal estimates to not over one-half
| which is required for their support. None
| of their annuity goods, and but part of their
supplies, have reached the agency during
the year. The goods purchased in August
of last year have been lying in the railroad
depot, 175 miles away, since November last,a
period of over nine months. Flour pur-
chased on the LIST of June is still at Rawlins.
No clothing, blankets, tents, implements, or
utensils of any kind have been issued al
this agency for nearly two years, and no
| -four except once, fifteen pounds to family
since last May. In addition to the usual
4 proportion of subsiatinence which
the Indians provide for S. them.
selves, they have had this great deficiency tc
make up, in whole or in part, some other
way'' The agent then follows with humor
Gus remarks that but very little advancement
has been made during the year in the mattel
of getting the Indians to follow the pursuits
and adopt the customs of civilized life. L
seems that the department peremptorily pro
hibited the sale of arms upon the reserva
ton, bat the Utes, suffering, no doubt, from
the pangs of hunger, through the crimina
neglect of the bureau, were civilized enough
to jump the fence, and, after buying
arms outside, provide for their ne
cessities by hunting. This is only
one illustration of the way they attemp
to ciyilize Indians on an empty stomach
The same agent states that most of the In
dams who are taken sick die. and this is ex
planned by the next remark that no physi
clan has been furnished them. There is al
equally revolving picture in the statement O
the Poncas, who are pronounced friends O.
the white man. When it was determined tt
transfer them from their reservation in Da
kota to the Quapaw agency in Indian Terri
tory, quite number of sayages, feeling tina
great wrong had been done them
announced that they preferred to remain
and die on their native heath in de
tense of their homes than to live there ant
die by disease in an unhealthy miasmati
country, which they CLAIMED had been Sc
lected for them. A number of councils wer
held, at which the head men and soldiers o
the tribe were present. D.. A.. Howard
agent, says.
J CAT one of these councils the Indian
} maintained that the government had n
right to move them from their reservation
and demanded as an inducement and equiv
alent for them to move that before starttn
= should show them the sum of $40, 200
which they had been told had been approprl
ated by the government for their remova
: Finally they started out in the heat of tn
Z last days of May, and were on the marc
; till June 10 over the most terrible roads
3 Great sickness prevailed, and nine died Q
81 the march, one of them, Prairie FloWe
r daughter Of Standing Bear, a chief of til
I tribe The agent, after detailing the hars
ships, says: cit is impossible to make the
: removala successsb by furnishing them wit
: agricultural implements, paying them f
: the property they left behind in ID
= kota, and investing them with a clear title
l the Quapaw lands. It is learned thu
: none of these matters have been attended t.
! and if the Indians are sick and destitute an
: not progressive, they cannot forget tn
: wrong to which they have been made VII
Tins. The above troubles are but the GU
growth of these uni just proceedings. Fu
: reports contain countless instances of IL
justice, and the more friendly the lndia1
4 the worse they seem to be imposed upon.
!. GURRILLLA MosBY on GRANT.