Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1879-10-16

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good riddanct?n @6f 80
IL seemed impossible to talk wi;i
man with such eccentric notions
Depressing the Indians.
The story of tho wrongs inflicted
) upon our Indian wards" forms on,
OF the saddsst pages in our nationa
history. IL is an almost nnbroker
tale of violated pledges, inhumar
cruelty, oppression, robbery, and
murder. That the Red man is by
no means an aagel of light is con.
coded but what shall be said of a
civilized people that, taking advan.
tage of his heiplassness, systematic,
ally trample upon his admitted
rights and shamelessly disregard
their most solemn obligation towards
him?
A forcible illustration of this de-
spicable treatment of the Indians,
is afforded in the case of the Ponoas
as told by Mr.. Tibbles of the Omaha
Herald, at recent meeting in b s.
ton The Poncas are not wild In
d ans ! they aro well advanced 10
civilization and tnree years ago
were living on the reservation in
Southern Dakota, which Lad oe-
longed to them time out of mind aud
had been confirmed to them BY
three separate treaties with the
United States Government. They
were peaceabie, law abiding peopls
and had never been at war with the
United States They had churches
schools, good houses, and cultivated
farms. Bat the "lndian Ring" cast
greedy eye upon their possessi ons
and resolved that Poucas must GO
They obtained an order from Wash.
ington appointing Commission TO
visit the tribe, and persuade them to
exchange their reservation for anoth
er in tho Indian Territory. The
Poncas resolutely declined The pro-
posal. They said heland was theirs;
the Government had ceded it to
them by treaties, and they had never
violated the treaties
All this. however, was nothing 10
the men who had determined to rob
them of their homes. By persu sion
aud threats the Commissioners suo
ceeded in inducing the ten chiefs OF
the tribe to 60 down TO the Indian
II sxsK s. yySH aat tbya6b aua as
solutely refused to take their tribe
there. Therenpon the commission
ers refused to furnish them pass
ports or interpr eters TO enable them
to return to their homes, unless
they would sign paper agreeing
to the tran sfer of the tribe. With
noble Fl ielity, in striking contrast
with the dastardly spirit of their
white oppressors, the chiefs replied
that it would be better for ten men
to die then the Who'll tribe to suffer,
and said they would stay where
they were, rather than, by signing
the paper, compel their wives and
children to come down TO that pes
tilential region.
The Commissioners finding the
chiefs immovable, fulfilled their
threat. and lett the brave Indians TO
find their way home, a distance oil
twelve hundred miles, as best they
couli. After terrible stuff ;ring. they
finally reached their reservation on
/ IT, ~ "A L..
falsely informed that the chiefs had
signed the agreement, and were Just
on the point of marching to their
new home.
| Foiled 10 the attempt to secure
their object by deceit, the Com mis-
sioners next called on the Govern.
nent for troops to enforce their
fraudulent scheme The soldiers
wer5 supplied and by their help the
4 tribe was at length transported TO
the new reservati m, and the Ring
at once took possession of the aban,
doHed property. They sold all tho
horses, cattle, wheat, household fur
niture, and farming utensils, and
patthe money in their own pockets.
The deported tribe, when the,
reached The Indian Territory, numb
cred lis; in three years neariv 300 oil
them have died.
! Last winter one OF the .Cniefs,
Standing Boar, having lost nearly
all of his family, escaped from the
reservation with the determination
to return 10 his old home. lie
reached the Omaha Reservation
with his party numbering about thir
ty persons, when he was arrested ny
order from Washington, and ordered
back to the Indian Territory. Mr..
Tibbies, learning the circumstance,
sued out write of hdbsds corpus 10
the United States Court and after
q full bearing Of the case tho Judge
directed the absolate discharge from
military custody of the entire party.
1t is now proposed TO institute a
suit in the Federal courts for the
recovery of the PoDca Reservation
and it is believed that il carried TO
the Supreme Cour t, they will be suc-
cessful. The case is clearly one that
cries aloud for justice, and it is sin
cerely to be hoped that the effort
now making to raiss the l. ,cssssry
funds to prosecute the suit will not
be an even greater triumph of jus
tice if the miscreanta who planned
and perfected this shameful robbery
of an inoffsasive people, could be
discovered and brooeht 10 condign
punish Examiner and Ctr0ni
Gle.
} THE Boston Merchants Associa.
finn will seek before the next Ieoisla