The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1879-10-21


of cavalry now at Rawns Station. making force of
nineteen companies. aggregating at least nine hun
in the direction of the Uncomphagre Agency. as he
had notined me, but turned back on receiving your
! was my intention to have supplied him from the
south, by his own request so that there need nave
been no fears on the part OF the Interior
regarding his supplies. My telegram related TO the
pass between Rawlins and White River Agency we
now understand this affair in all its bearings ana
will not give you any further trouble except 10 sena
information AS 1t arrives.
| NO CONFIDENCE IN oURAy.
regret that Merritt was not permitted 10 go on
the slightest belier that Ouray can ue-
liver the murderers and fear valuable time VIII DC
lost Alter your patch of the 18th inst directed
! General Crook to send White River Agency sup
plies in abundance before the deep SHOWS come on
| and will assume the risk of keeping Merritt with
mis- present force 40 that point await further de-
veopments. / understand that country pretty wen.
and my last summers Trip gave inc a. very cry ias
knowledge of the country IN the vicinity OF INC LOS
| Pinos Agency and south OF that place.
| A STATEMENT FROM SECRETARY scHURz.
| Secretary Schurz has to-day been asked by many
| persons whether he thought that the despatch Of
| General sheridan to General Sherman. in which the
former speaks of General Merritt command as being
"ted up" and "sold out" was intended to reflect
the Interior Department In response to this ques
ton and number of cognate inquiries addressed to
him in extended interview to-day, the Secretary
made the following interesting statements. with
which given tho letters therein referred to:-
do not see how General Sheridan's telegram can
reflect upon this department. nor do think that
his despatch intended for publications. but since
it has been published and the disposition of the
troops has been made known, the rest OF the Dtory
may properly accompany it, When General Merritt
was still supposed to have to tight his way through
TO White River Agency instructed General Charles
Alams-not peace commissioner" but spe-
cal agent OF this department tempo
rary service chosen on account of his ability
and intimate acquaintance with the Ute chiefs)-
to proceed to Los Pinos Agency to strengthen Chief
Ouray i'll his friendly attitude III case the refusal OF
the to stop the troops produced excite
mcnt among the Los Pinos Utes and then to en-
daavor bring about the surrender of the hosies.
failing in that to draw the peaccably disposed
to assure all the Indians within his reach that
the troops were bound to force their way to White
River and to destroy all resistance ana the longer
tho resistance lasted the worse 1T would be Tor the
Indians.
CHANGE IN THE SITUATION.
On the 1ith received information that the Utes
had disappeared from White River; that General
Merritt had proceeded TO the agency without resist
ance and had lost sight OF the hosties then in
structed General Adams to ascertain the where
abouts the White River hostiles, to summon them
TO surrender or use every possible endeavor to
duce the peaceabe Utes to give them up and to put
himself in communication with General Merritt and
give him all the information he had together with his
opinion OF the condition of things These dispatches
communicated by mo to General sherman
before they sent of. General sherman COM
municated them to General Sheridan, and General
Merritt advised to give credence to what Gen.
eral Adams might tell him. as he had the confidence
of this department. These also undoubtedly
the dispatches referred to in General Sheridan's
! kilograms General Sherman evidently did not
| think that by these instructions. which were in
tended not arrest but to facilitate and aid Gen.
eral Merritts movements in securing to him infor-
| nation which, judging from his own reports he
could not otherwise obtain calculated to "tie
| up and "sell out" the troops under command of
| General Merritt. II he had thought so he would
undoubtedly have said to me before sending them
| off to General Sheridan. General Sheridan might
have said before communicating them to General
| Merritt
LETTER OF GENERAL SHERMAN.
When General sherman. four days afterward. had
received the despatch from General Sheridan pub
| hn "A
following letter, which is additional evidence that
he down to that time had not understood my In
structons to the special agent NJ this department. to
stop any movement:-
HrADauAnyWgss AHHY or TIE V uc, p
Hon. CARL ScHuRz, Secretary of tho Interiors
DEAR s'n have sro from General h Hss
that iIs punish .as hostile 18th
a"G the from agency s the
s sass Adams
IN hrs urs, s s an Do
al White River at the Los rinos Agency, some one
meni has charge Of the Ute Indians and the military is
this tribe Indians leg You whether
prefer tina. this military force shall be al The Los
Agency or at White hSs'
received the letter the evening of the 17ts
and the same evening visited General Sherman at
his house for the purpose OF ascertaining what it
meant. General sherman explained to me the difi-
! culties General Merritts command would have to
| encounter in crossing the high mountain range he
| tween White River and Los Pinos. without any
wagon road the possibility OF being showed in. &C..
and also tina. another force could be in
"a short tin,e at Aamosa to accomplish all that was
necessary without finding such difficulties In its
| way. This expression OF his views was, OF course
| satisfactory to mo.
SECRETARY SEIZURE TO GENERAL SHERMAN.
! left General Sherman with the understanding
that l. in this sense, would officially his let
ter on the following morning. which did. and here
DEPARTMENT INTERIOR
WASHINGTON. Oct IL. 1879
General esspatch which he expressed his
msns Of General MERITS troops across the noun
Tain ridge Sswssn the Waite River and the
ncaed me IL iull at interview subseauen, 70 the
Ssss HS Of sSs
will probably reach the Lo; Pines Agency day or TO-
possible present the White River utes
CHIEF oarsy, 70 Crins surrsnaer may have
s whether
can be accomplished without the assistance Of 9
q With the yG %os ssS Il ns At
ent underase the hazardous march tho
divide but White River and that another
condition of things at Los ncs and ,he Southern Ute
oral Adams the instructions by you
's a s sy With n Ms
but a T these sssr nS SF OF
situation of things Very truly your pbsasn' servant
General W. L. SHERMAN. United States Army
From this it will appear that there has been
disaccord between General sherman and myself;
that there were no instructions from me to stop
General Merritt's command; that the necessary in
formation to DO procured by my agent will probably
be on hand before the force assembling ut Aamosa
will be ready action. and that General Sheridan
remark about the "tying up and selling OUT OF
General Nerritts command. while It gave express
sion to his feelings concerning the difficulties sur
rounding those troops cannot be held to refer to
any action on the part of this department.
AN ESCAPED EMPLoYE.
L. l.. Mansfield tclegraphed to the Commissioners
of Indian Affairs from Rawlins yesterday that he was
in the employ of the late Indian Agent Meeker from
August 1875 that he escaped the fate of the rest OF
the employees by being sent with despatch to Cap.
tain Dodge the 26th ult., aud that lie awaits at
Rawlins any instructions which the Commissioners
may desire to give. No reply has yet bcen made to