The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1879-01-30

was being made to effect the removal
of Gen. o. o. Howard from the COM
mand Of this department. The whole
matter we belive to be fairly explained
in the following article, taken from
the Idahoan, published at Boise City:
We have been informed by several
different parties that numerous petit
tions are being received throughout
the country, with the request that they
be circulated for signatures. These
petitions are for the removal of Gen.
Howard from the Department of the
Columbia, and also for the transfer of
the Indian Department from the In
terror to the War department. The
last of these two propositions is one
in which our people are very much in
terested, and wepresumeevery man in
| this Territory would be glad to sign
such a petition lift was thought that by
such means transfer of the Indians
from one Department to the other
could be fastened. But this part of
the petition is only inserted to aid in
catching names for the other. These
petitions are being sent out by the
former Indian agent at Malheur res
ervation. This man Rhinehart was at
the reservation as agent when the In
dams left and joined the hostiles. He
left the agency and fed for safety when
the Indians disappeared, leaving all
the Government stores and property,
and during his absence some parties
evidently white men), went to the
Agency and robbed it of large amount
of valuables. The editor of this paper
and man by the name of Bowen,
then actinga as scouts for Gen. Howard,
were at the Agency soon after the rob-
bers left the place, and we found things
in horrible plight. Every house
had been broken open, and the books,
papers, goods, and everything lay
around promiscuously. The tracks
of the robbers were very fresh, and
bore unmistakable evidence of being
the tracks of white men. We will
not disguise the fact that we had
suspicion that the agenthad purposely
allowed the robbery to occur, as
very convenient method of settling
his accounts with the Government.
We do not know that the General
had any such suspicion, but when he
arrived at the Agency he took possess
ion of the property to prevent it being
destroyed. The Agent soon returned,
and during the Generals stay there
he ordered one of his officers to per-
form some duty and told him in the
presence Of the Agent that he (the
Agent, would 60 with him and rem
der him any assistance that he could.
This the Agent refused to do, and
made some impertinent speech, for
which the General ordered him under
arrest, the military having taken pos
session of the Agency and the whole
property before the return of the
Agent. Now this trick is played on
the citizens of Idaho as means Of get
ting even. We are aware that many
of our citizens criticise Gen. Howard
as an Indian fighter. With this we
have nothing to do in this article, al
though we were with him during the
whole campaign, and would just hint
critics that there is quite difference
between fighting Indians in the noun
tains and fighting them comfortably
in our sanctum or by our freside.
But the point we are making is this:
The man who 10 sending those petit
tons, is not acting in good faith with
the people to whom he is sending them
nor with Gen. Howard who he seeks
to have US injure. 1.-The has any COM
plant to make against Gen. Howard
let him come out like man and face
the General with the charges. A
snake, thief, or dog might work
in the dark, but an honorable gentle
man never stoops to such trickery.
Since the above was written, we
have been permitted to examine one
Of the above mentioned petitions,
which was received in this city, and
find the charges made against Gen.
Howard, and its statement of the gen.
eral conduct of last summers cam
paign, to be tissue Of malicious false.
hoods, sufficiently base to warrant
the conclusion that they originated in
the mind of one who will never uet