Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1879-11-01
AN Army view.
new York Poat.

New YORK Post
General George Crook is know
to be a good Indian fighter. If tn
bloodthirsty characteristics whic
we are often told would attend tn
management of the Indians by fh
army are anything more than
bogy conjured up by interested per
sons in order to prevent any chang
in the present system, we may b,
sure that General Crooks militar,
skill and energy in the field woull
serve as an Illustration OF the ruth
less way in which the Indians
would be shot to death if they wer
transferred to the control of thu
War Department. Yet Genera
Crook, in recent letter to Mr.. lib
bles, discusses the question of In
dian management in a calm, hu
name and statemanlike manner, as
may be seen from the following
+ passage from the letter:
"But supposing that the appro-
priatiOns do admit of feeding the
Indians well, and that the agents is a
thoroughly honest and capable man.
there is now to be encountered q
new and greater danger. The In
dians have absolutely no status for
claiming protection under our laws.
Let me cite the case of the Red
Cloud and Spotted TAIL bands OF
Sioux now living on reservations
Lying along the northern boundary
of this department. / am personally
acquainted with the chiefs and head
men of these two powerful bands,
which aggregate somewhere from
$4,000 to $4,000 souls. | believe
they are earnestly desirous OF re-
naming at peace, and they will re-
main at peace until aggressions
gOad them to war. You know to
what an extent these two bands
have been preyed upon by organ
lied companies of horse thieves !;
during the past winter and spring
alone they have been robbed of over
1000 ponies. Their agents, DIR.
Irwin and DIR. N. Il. McGillicuddy,
have been exceptionally jealous and
capable, but they have been utterly
pOwerless to check the evil COM
planned of. Under the Posse Com
itatus' act, the military arm of the
government is paralyzed. The
Sioux can't understand anything
about legislation in military affairs
they don't want to understand it.
All they know is that bands of
white thieves boldly seize their
ponies and drive them off, finding
a ready sale for them among ranch
men and cattle herders.
For all this there is no redress
whatever. AS / understand the
law we cannot even seize Indian
property when found in the hands
of the well-known thieves. The
Indian owner has the privilege of
suing for recovery in the State
courts, but this would prove to be
in most cases very shadowy con-
ISOLATION.
''1t seems to me to be an odd fea-
ture of our judicial system that the
only people in this country who
have no rights under the law, are
the original owners of the soil. An
German, Chinaman, Turk
or Tartar will be protected in life
and property, but the Indian COM
mands respect for his rights only so
long as he inspires terror for his
rifle.
"We have conscientious, able men
in the civilization of the
but the system or want |
Of system under which they are
is grave obstacle to sue
cess.
Between the advocates of the |
theory that an Indian is incapable |
lf good and the supporters of the an
.ipodal idea that he will never do |
wrong, the red man is in danger of
of starving to death in
he centre of a country which is /
ieeding the world with its exuber- |
mt harvests, or of being killed for
5rying to defend rights which the
negro and MOngolian are allowed to
Enjoy.
"The true, the only policy to pur-
iue with the Indian is to treat him
ust as one should a whiteman if
he makes war upon our frontier set
lement, punish him; but after he
las been reduced to submission pro-
ect him in life and property. Keep
White thieves from plundering him;
ct him see that peace means pro-
,ress; that he has a market for
very pound of beef, every hide and
very sack of grain, and my word
or it he will make rapid advances.
will impel him to imi-
ate US, to send children to school,
o adopt clothing, perhaps our Ian
.uage, and to devote his attention
o raising cattle and horses and
to qualify himself for
itizenship."
That is, assuming that the money
ppropriated by Congress for the
indians is sufficient for the purpose,
nd that there is neither dishonesty
or incapacity on the part of the
gents in their treatment of the In
ians, General Crook shows that
here is no adequate power to pro-
ect the Indians from assault and
INJURIES which are intolerable, and |
which, if Systematically pursued
nd unredressed, as is generally the
ase, would drive any class of men
lto revolt and open war. There is
lore reason to believe that the
ieneral has assumed too much in
lvor of the present system than that
e has overated the improvements
yhich ought to be and could be I
lade in our public relations with
ne Indians.