Daily press and Dakotaian. [volume] (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1875-1880, 1878-05-16

alive and in good health. and said that he
and oil the principal men of his tribe up
there seemed very we'll contented ard very
we'll satisfied with the treatment they were
receiving.
who's got charge Of them =" said the re-
porter.
"Lieut. ]. M. Lee, of the 9th cavalry. I
don't think these Indians could be In any
better hands. He understands them knows
how to treat them is just, considerate and
kind, and they appreciate such things, you,
know. He told me, however, that he had
just begun to realize the difficulties which
agents had to contend with, and that he
could very we'll understand why there was
90 much fault found with agents when they
received orders from Washington which it
was impossible for them to execute"
"What does the government seem to
think of Spotted Tail and his crowds"
"Spo,ted Tail is regarded now by the gov
ernment as the head man in all the Sioux
nation. so far a. friendly actions are con-
cerned. He is regarded as friend of the
whites to all intents and purposes, and is
exerting very good influence over his
young men. 1t is on this account that the
Indians at this agency have been allowed
to retain their arms and ponies instead Of
having to give up them as at the other
agencies. If Spotted Tail isn't spoi't by
the attention paid him. all these little mat
ters will result in bringing about very
good condition of things, much better than
has been accomplished heretofore"
"What do they say up there as to Mr..
Sitting Bull?"
I'm the opinion OF the officers of the
agency and also of many of the principal
Indians with whom l have conversed, il
Sitting Bull finds it to his interest to have
. row with the United States this season.
he will probably have it. If peace suits
him better, then he will have peace; but
the whole matter of what Sitting Bull will
do or will not do is decidedly Uncertain"
"Isn't there some t,lk about removing
the agency?"
There is At present the Indians are
located on the old Ponca track on the Mis-
souri,. Somehow they don't seem to like
the Missouri. They want to get back to
the South fork Of the White river, aud Mr..
Secretary Schurz has promised them they
shall go. They will probably be moved
sometime next month"
"How do the military like the idea of
taking charge Of Indian affairs?"
"'Ihe invariable remark of all the gentle
men | saw up there Was We don't want
oAyS ShlbS AolC !" w VIII We UutC kOt |
enough of it, When asked the reason for |
this, they said it was calculated to demor.
alize the army, to draw it into politics. to
do more harm than good; that nothing
could be done that would iniure the army
more than this giving them control Of the
Indian business. And then, generally, no
end of trouble comes from the conflict of
opinion in the east rs to how the Indians
ought to be managed"
"Wbat becomes of the ponies taken from
he other 1ndianss'
"They are sold I saw when was at
Yankton some 24O ponies sold that had
oeen taken from the Cheyennes They are
sold at public auction, and, of course, the
oss of their ponies tends to keep the In
lians on their reservations instead of going
of on the war-path. OF course the Indians
lon't like it They act just like 80 many
children deprived of their toys
See sny of your old friends up there?"
"Oh. yes. l asked one Of them how he
liked the agent. He said he liked him very
much, that he was q heap good man,
:reated them we'll, and told them no lies.
They seemed to be very glad to see me,
came down to see me off. and bid me
goodbye with hearty wish that would
come and see them again, which promised
70 do if l could. Old Charles E. Guern,
he Interpreter, found had died last win
er. His death was quite loss to the ma.
lion, as he was No. man IN every re.
spect."
Don't you think if all the agencies were
in charge of men like Lieut.. Lee, they
would be better under the control of the
,rmY:'
Certainly. Lee is whole-souled gentle
nan. and if all the agents were like the one
It the Spotted Tail agency, guess very
little fault could be found with the system,
f any. But I'll stop now. have told you
III YOU want to know"