Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1879-01-02
'x'he tndiass Question.
LIEUT.. GEN. SHERIDAN'S RESPONSE TO SECE


LIEUT.. GbE. SHERIDAN : kESFuNSE TU ShJEb-
TARY SCHURZ.
Lieut.. Gen. Sheridan has made n supplement-
aIy leEoTt with reference 10 Indian affairs, and
in response to the request OF secretary SchurZ
that specifications be furnished in support OF
tie statements made b. Gen. Sheridan in his
annual report. in which he attributed the
Indian troubles TO insufficient appropriations
ard 'wretched miSmanagement." Gen. Sheri-
dan says his object was TO show that the indian
wars came from two causes, but that while the
first war could not be avoided b. the govern
ment. the second was clearly within its control.
ard resulted from bad management OF Indian
affairs. lie made 10 charges against the Secre
iary Of the Interior, FOR against any one. He
simply called attention tO the causes that pro
GucCd discomfort and outbreaks, Which migat
have been averted by better Organizations, a
moic complete system and more integrity IN
the agents employed. Tie question OF Justice
and right TO the Indian lie says. is plSt and
cannot tie recalled. We have occupied his coun-
try. taken away from him his lOrdiy domain, de-
StIoEed his herds OF game penned him up or
reservations and reduced him to poverty. For
humanity's sake, then, let us give him enough
10 eat and Integrity in the agents over him.
1Ee lieutenant general refers To the tone and
substance OF the letters Of the Secretary OF the
Interior calling upon him for specifications
as unWarranted by the language of his
report and inconSderate. He inclO5eS the
various reports On Indian affairs from his
subordinate officers Siace l-.4, on whose
information his own report was based.
The present Indian commissioner he says. is
doubtless honest. He has diSchargeda number
OF agents for mafeasance in office Commits
si0ner Smith. who preceded him, was an honest
man also. so far as he knew, and likewise his
predecessors, and so on back They ali did as
well as they knew how, but be fears that with
all their precautions the system and manner of
accountability are too loose for the government
OF people who cannot read or write, and are 50
peculiar ana primitive in their habits aS the In-
dams, Surely. he adds. the officers who guard
the agencies, and are held responsible for the
protection OF the lives and property or the set
tiers should have a right to report to their ST.
peTiorS the causes OF the troubles without the
danger of being lectured into silence by the
Hon. secretary Of the interior. After referring
at length to matters connected with the re-
moyal OF the Spotted Tail and Red Cloud a~ea-
cies, ard the Interests at work Tor gain one way
ana ahOtl!ef III that connection, at the expense
or the government and the Indians. besides
plGcipitating conflicts, such as those by Sittinr
buii ard Crazy Horse, he says: 'ii'he Indian.
AIMED as he Is, and In his own country. is Su-
relt0r 10 us at any point where We are liable TO
meet him: and as he takes no prisoners, 1t re-
quireo bold man to attack him with an infe-
flor force, IN view of the disasters which have
happened topoor Custer, Fetternan and others"
The report Of Lieut.. Lee, which, with others
accompanies the supplementary report, is dated
November eS last, and gives an explanation OF
how affairs were conducted at spotted Tai.
agency previous to the time a military officer
was detailed as agent: says that E. Howard was
there in charge as agent; that ne had inStilled
into the minds Of tie Indians almost every pos
S1Dle prejudice against the military, but thai
when Tie change was made it was done so sud
denly that the good effect was speedily appa-
rent. Lieut.. Foot, who preceded Lee as acting
agent, found, when he relieved civil agent How
ard, the supplies reduced to starvation mini
mum, and alter getting supplies from the mill
tary TO feed the starving Indians his first official
act was to take a census, and he then found
Howard had been issuing on paper to 9,l70
Indians, when the number was actually 4.I75.
Lee took charge of Spotted Tail agency March
3, 1871. By treaty annuitieS for the Indians
should have reached them the lSt OF August OF
each year, but they did not arrive till mtdwin-
pr mol nd lie haS
been generally tie case. Lieut.. Lee then gives
history of tie McCann frauds. which had been
reported as early as 1915, and says notwith-
standing these frauds McCann received the con-
tracts for very large portion OF the tranSporta-
ton for 1877. Lee then relates mnutely the
McCann and Davis frauds, shows the method OF
inspection, states the deficiency that occurred
or account OF them says he reported the facts
to the Indian bureau. and that finally he re-
cei!ed telegram from the acting commissioner,
which says:-'We trust McCann no longer
Lee then shows how the method OF doing
business in the Indian bureau left the
agent in the dark as to the quantity OF supplies
turned over to contractors for delivery at
agency. I'd that he could only get at this In
formation by communication with the military
at Omaha. He says good bad and indifferent
beef cattle had been received at the agency by
Howard, and that when the military took
charge the average weight suddenly dropped
from 1,c50 pounds to 500 per head gross. He
then says the greatest difficulty an agent has
to contend with is the system of doing business
The agent is at the mercy OF the contractors
and, owing to tie irregularitN of supplying the
agency, Is often compelled to receive supplies
that are not up to the requirements of the con-
tract. lie then proceeds to show that in oppo-
SltlOn to his recommendation the beef contrac-
tor, to save taking care OF the herds. had Sue
ceeded in obtaining supplemental contract at
Washington TO deliver all the beef by the mid
ole OF December, 1877, on the Missouri river,
and the agent was to slaughter and freeze it.
Lee protested he had no facilities for preserving
the beef; that If the winter happened to be an
open one it would be a total loss, and finally
was authorized to hold the herd during the Win
ter. He then proceeds to review the system of
management, and shows, While the head OF the
bureau may do his best. the corruptionS that
have occurred will unqueStionably occur again.
and can only be remedied by more business
like system.
ARMsTRoNG's MURDERs.-Hunter's Erscutioa