The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1878-11-14
GEN.W.T. SHERMAN'S REPORT
THE CAUSE OF OUR INDIAN WARS, AND
now TO PREVENT THEN.

now TO PREVENT THEN.
Danger of HostiIiues In the Pncinc states
and rerritories-The Total strength Of the
Army Placed vt 2i,1O1 Enlisted Men.
WASHINGTON, Nov. 13.-Gen. Sherman, in
his annual report. invites close study to the re-
port Of Lieut-Gon. Sheridan. He snys that
Gen. Sheridan's command embraces eight Of
the ten regiments Of cavalry and eighteen OF the
twenty-five regiments Of infantry. which COM
pose the entire army. and although he states
this forco to be entirely inadequate to perform
the duties required yet 1t is impossible further
to reinforce him without stripping the sen
board or abandoning other territories subjected
to the same dangers which no so graphically
describes in his own. The troops now subject
to his command compose two-th irds the effective
force OF the whole army. and his territorial
command extends from the British line on tho
north to tho mouth Of the Rio Grando on tho
south. an average OF 800 miles long and from
the Mississippi westward to and including tho
ROCKY Mountain chain, nm average Of 200
miles broad Gen. Sherman adds
This vast region has In the past ten years undergone
gsSci fn11se From being the pasture ned Of millions
d,ans II has PASSED into farming country ravcrsed hy
Indians have been forced on small reservaons Wenry
al the Indian treaties made the theory that this
ment would have to furnish part q the food for the In
necessary by hunung Again i was sSvore theory
va, ,hc Indian would see g, him reason why nc
srrs ~ M, .s,psea !, ,eSrccy perephe ye IN the
| &C. while the sioux cheyenncs Arapahocs, kcwas
Srm. ee H. so sTSs dS" to the G Of se
Bannocks aud Chcycnncs 70 war this summer aud stint
be kept quiet with more food II seems idle to expect
that s9N the enerpTsns white race viii cease u
S ps.I" ssa cas bot be us to he he @ mat G
everlasting conflict The reservations already set arar
ior the Indians are large enough, aud should suffice them
si.,ence but meantime they must have food else they
To convert these Indians into pastoral race is the
e eu s'b 10 bs SeTSTd N
ton But In this direction Is the sole hone Of rccung
This be Ty means Of the peace
% d,caqH percussion Is waste on an Indian Tier,
subsection used Force will he to compel the
ilneton among the tribes and each tribe be deA
food mus, be Ssed Win the rseS or mo ,S
else starvation will each year cause wars such a. nc
cheyenne. The army cannot ,2Is.ee or prevent hc.e
steal and Nil hsrmc s. families il to pursue and csrtur;
them IN eai amer INFINITE toll then conduct them back
The same game ad ihiiam Congress can alone provide
| vent starvation.
The reports OF Gems. Mcdowell. Howard. and
| Wilcox describe tho condition OF affairs in the
| States and Territories bordering on the Pacific
Ocean. These Indians are collected by tribes
| ana tnmllleS on small reservations well apart
30 that Indian wars on large scale requiring
concert OF action nre not probable. Yet the Ne1
Perccs war OF 1877. and the Shoshone war Of
| this summer. show that these small bands 81
| Indians did n large amount OF damage and
| caused great CONSERVATION. The Pacific Coast
| Indians depend much on fsh for subsistence
| and the establishment OF fisheries on tn lower
| Columbia Is fast cutting on the supply. Unless
suitable regulations are adopted tile salmon will
become extinct and the Indians driven to stealing
and consequent war with the settlers. Refer
ence is made to tho danger Of hostilities be-
| tween the Indians and settlers IN Oregon and
| Washington Territories. and also In Arizona
| owing to trcspasscs by the whites. The army
| Is powerlese to act in either case. having no
control or right to Interfere except after HOSTILE
| ties are nctually begun. The General repeats
that the Indian problem is not a single prob
tribes. Measures which would be- wise in ono
instance would be- folly In another. and what
ever department OF tho Government is charged
| with Il must be armed. not only with force but
| large discretion and authority TO furnish food
| In the military division Of tho Atlantic. Gen
| Hancock commanding, there are four rcgi-
| ments Of artillery and three Of infantry. aggre
| eating 395 officers and 3.lSS men. One regi-
| ment Of infantry will probably have TO go TO the
frontier in the spring. Itwould bo well II there
| could be held at points like Atlanta Leaven-
worth st. Paul andlOmaha. In rotation full
| regiment OF infantry or cavalry for instruction,
sherman doubts the wisdom Of selecting ami
preparing n advance as recommendsd ey
Fortress Monroe is kept TO a high standard. aud
| Is inst becoming Post Graduate" course for
| officers.
Gen. sherman concurs in the recommenda-
| ton OF Gen. Schofeld that the September APP
| pointments OF West Point be discontinued. and
| suggests that the new cadets be examined by
| the Academic Board early In June. and that no
| cndetH be examined or admitted after the first
| OF July. Ho questions. however, the wisdom
| Of the recommendation that the standard for
| the admission Of cadets be raised He thinks
| that nm erroneous impression IL common that
| the academy will graduate more officers than
| are needed for the army. for experience has
| shown that vacancies annually occur In the
| army to nj least the number Of sixty. which Is
| moro than the average graduating clnss
Tho report shows that there are 500 enlisted
| men ia the ten regiments OF cavalry in tho
| army. 1880 men in the five regiments of nrtil-
| lery. and IL POS in the twenty-five regiments Of
! infantry. making total OF 2l goa. Besides these
| there are In the engineer battalion 1879: perma-
| nent and recruiting parties music boys and re-
| cruits In deDOts |. l2l enlisted men detached
| on general service. 372; ordnance department.
| 344 West Point detachments, 100 prison
| guard. IL hospital stewards iss: ordnance
| sergeants. ll4 commissary sergeants. 14S. and
| Indian scouts. $40; n total OF 3097. making the
| whole number OF enlisted men in the army
| 24.76l. The report concludes as follows:
| beg 20 state that from personal inspections and
| from official reports | am the army well
and economically supplied. Its discipline and
ton good could he expected from its scattered
imposed on IL that Il has met promptly and checruly
every call OF duty and Of hardship; At has accomplished
an amount Of work which other nation in the world
would have attempted with less than 6Ouo1 or 1000