New-York tribune., 1878-11-23
THE INDIAN AS HE Is.


DoCsD ,,
80, , sr,rP CORRESPONDENT OF THE TRlBUNf.l
Cu,c,co Nov 1.-The Indian question, aS IL 10
called. Is every year pressing upon oongless nlo
rrgently for some sort OF solutOh-Soile ",'i''''
settlement Ii does not enter INTO geheI"l Poii'',
- have NOT vet taken il up and made u the
football of public discussion; Dut every Seai !.
grows more and more subject OF CohgreSSion"'
LEGISLATION and unless disposed OF upon some lei"-
nent basis will shortly become what IS known
&c q Z" live political ISSUE" TO be used
%9, demagopues for partisan purposes aud
sot,lod some time perhaps under the impulse OF
i,dice and passion instead of receiving the III
teicept and candid treatment which its Importance
demands and which ii is now possible to give 10 H.
Pverv session of Congress brings forward new COM
plonts and new demands on the part of the Indians
civilized and uncivilized and new plans for paclfy-
ing the warlike, quieting the troublesome and adj
iusting the relations of the civilized tribes on the
reservations with each other their white nelghoors
and tho Government. In one way and another the
whole business Is such snarl of contradictions
and anomalies, and the system-it such lack
of order. arrangement and conference can be
called system-is such a complication OF
laws and treaties and such mixture OF policies
that an intelligent unravelling OF it must be pretty
nearly the labor of a lifetime.
lido not pretend to understand thoroughly the
ms and outs of the Indian question. weeks run
through the Indian Territory, with one daY at the
camp of the NeZ Perc6s and home OF the Modocs'
and one at Chahta Tamaha the capital OF the Choc-
taw Nation gave me barely a glimpse at the TWO
extremes of what may be called Indian clvlzatlon'
the Nez Perces being the latest from the wld saw
aqe life of the Plains-the real wild 1ndians-and
the Choctaws representing the ext me limit OF lh-
telligence and culture which has been attained by
fifty wears of announcement and cultivation, edu-
cation and training. Among the Nez Perces were
those who only a few months ago were taking
scalps and indulging in the most savage DarDarl-
ties; among the ChOctaws were college graduates
and the sessions of their councils which attended,
were opened with prayer. Certainly wide con-
trast.
If undertake to describe a few things that
seemed to me to be of interest, and venture upon
an occasional word of comment or expression OF
opinion shall endeavOr to do it with reasonable
modestv for observed among the people of the Ter
ritory red white and half breeds, jealousy OF be-
ing made the subject of outside remarks which l
shall endeavOr not TO Offend paragraph
in one of the newspapers published IN the
territory which fell into my hands on the trip, was
TO the effect that il would be just as reasonable 10
expect an Engshman landing in tins country and
spending day in Rhode Island to understand our
institutions and Government, as that newspaper
eorrespondent should be able to write intelligently
obout Indian affairs from railroad trip through the
Territory The desire to be considered worth care
full study instead of being observed superhclally
and treated 6ippanty, is quite natural, and pre-
sumo the newspaper editor, though white man |
himself and only an Indian by adoption spoke the
sentiments of the genuine red man on TINS SUBJECT
And although do not consider 1t essential to afar
understanding of the political, social and humane
aspects of the Indian question TO be the hus-
Of Iu1i father %
breed family still have much respect for this
natural prejudice that shall try TO avoid giving II
offence. What saw with my own eyes suppose
may safely tell If express any opinions snail en-
dcavor to base them only upon my own obserya- |
tions or admitted facts. do not pretend as have
said, to have had any more than cursoTy glimpse |
of the two extremes of Indian civilization, and OF
very small portion of the vast extent of territory
which the Government has set apart for these
people to hold, without occupying
THE CAMP OF THE NEz PERCEs.
From st. Louis westward through Kansas and into |
Colorado we found long railroad trains heavily laden
with passengers, nearly all of whom were emf
grants with their families seeking lands and homes,
some singy and some in colonies bound for points
where their lands had already been staked out for
the coming settlement. Everywhere were activity
and hustle, and all the hurry and wAirl and con-
fusion of fresh enterprises and busy life the from
tier These signs Of the westward flowing stream
of femigratiOn and of accompanying prosperity and
thrift abounded in Kansas At the edge of the In
dian Territory they came to a stand still; beyond
that line there was hardly anything but the dead
level of stagnaton magnificent territory, rich
beyond description in all the gifts of nature, with
genial climate and soil of wondrous fertility
teemlng with the promise of fruitfulness and
fairly bursting with the possibilities of It's future.
We struck into the Indian Territory at Baxters
SpIinQ the present terminus of the LeavenwoTtb, |
Lawrence and Gulf Railroad. Here our party, |
eight in number, took carriages for an excursion to
the camp Of the Nez Perc@s and the Modoc reserva
ton, some fourteen miles from the road, in the
northeastern corner of the Territory. In this Sec
ton are the reservations occupied by the Quapaws,
Modocs Miamis Ottawas, Shawnees, WyandOttes,
Senecas and Peorias; and, recently, the Nez
Perc6s, brought from Oregon, have been as
signed grounds here for their occupancy. The
fourteen miles drive took us over long
stretch of prairie, the monotOny of which
was varied by occasional groves of trees
that dotted the broad expanse like wooded islets
on waveless sea and just before reaching the
camp we forded Lost River, and threaded by mar
row and ill-kept road the forest that skirts the
stream. Prairie fowl, that seemed to fear nothing
but being trampled on or run over, skurried along
from under our wheels, mocking our unarmed con-
diton quail trusted themselves with exasperating
confidence almost within touch of the whip, and the
cool depths of Lost River and its tributaries pro-
yOked suggestions of the rods and lines we
neglected to bring with MS. 1t was the mellowest
of October days, with cloudless sky and an atmos
phere that was exhilaratiOn itself. Just the drive
through this lovely country with all the accessories
of the balmy October weather and the
wide stretches of view which the far horizon
seemed lifting nm to LET us into would have been of