Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1880-11-17
I" THE lNDIANS ABUSE"
A SENIOR Grafton ut +. 4 N. College, by +.
z. Bucher. OF Sunbury, Pa.

A SENIOR Grafton ut +. N. College, by +.
z. Bucher, OF Sunbury, Pa.
To change, to develop new forms and
is a tendency in man BY nature.
He desires, pursues, obtains and is sati-
ated. He desires something else and be-
gins new pursuit. The prevalence and
supremacy of this spirit was an essential
condition to the discovery Of America and
its subsequent settlement. Through its
power were found and rendered profitable
the wild and uninhabited isles Of the sea-
In the qualification Of his desires, in ac-
corlplishinG his pursuits, he sacrifices
honor and right, the laws Of nations he
disregards, the appeals to his sense of JUS
tice find no entrance to his dulled con-
science Stimulated by this power, no
difficulty seems too great for his natural
strength, nor is any barrier deemed .insur-
mountable. With concentration of his
energies he madly rushes on, guided only
by the hand of fate.
The result may be happy, even il it be,
the means employed are not always free
from blame or reprOach. Thus has it been
tiers of America. Prompted by this desire
they acted and, at first, did nobly and
Just. An inclination to rapid growth
soon seized them, and they forgetting that
all noble grOwths are slow, exertcd their
utmost efforts in extending their domains
and encroaching upon the rights of the
Indian. The wOodman's axe rang through
the forest, in the site of which soon
waved fields Ofgolden grain. Nor has its
advance been checked, but along those
shores, on which the timid deer was wont
to Craze. arc now the scene of the lovers
moonlight walk. In those happy regions,
W here now the hustle and confusion, the
restraints and stiffness of civilized life,
exert their rigid power, then reisned a
savage solitude. What once marked the
abode of a happy tribe is transplanted to
the West, and scarcely vestisc now re-
mains of the glory and power Of the abo:igg-
inal inhabitants of the East.
We behold this change and we regard it
. happy change. We recOllcct the means
and manner by which it was occasiOncd.
it causes us a feeling of shame. Our blood
chills at the memory Of past atrocities . at
which communities grown gray in cor
ruptiOn would blush" We recall with
hOrrcr the sufferings, the needless ills,
which were inflicted upon the former in
habitants, the r1ghtful possessors Of the
East. Nor have the abuses. the shameful
actions toward these people ceased.
Their sufferings and trials are cooily
viewed by the Christian world. The dis
appearance of this unfortunate race Is
witnessed without concern by our enliGht
cncd nation. They make 10 efforts IN
their behalf, but are ever eager to accept
the idea that it is their destiny. Those still
less skcptical as to this, do not hesitate to
refer to the same in compensation for the
viOlalation of mutual treaties and tho
usurption of their rig hts.
Their destiny! Dismiss this evl
thought. To suffer, to vanish from thu
land, may be their lot, but for us there il
no need of crime. There is no fate t.
justify the actions of nation in the
wrong any more than to justify robbers
and gamblers in plumber. We speak o.
accomplishing our destiny. So did the late
conqueror of Europe, aud destiny consign
ed him to lone rock in the sea, a prey t.
ambition, which destroyed no peace but
his own.
Destiny! Intoxicated with this idea i
matters not how VIC accomplish our fate
TO spread, to supplant others, this seems
to be our ambition. No matter what i'll
fluence we spread with us. Had We from
the landing Of Columbus then risen to :
noble conception of our destiny :; had W.
felt that it was our work to carry freedom
religion, science and nobler form o.
human nature over this continent had WI
remembered that to diffusc these blessing:
We must first cherish them in our Owl
borders, and whatever deeply and perma
nently cOrrupts will make our spreading
influence curse and not blessing. W.
should then have avoided the innocent
deaths, tho many depredations in which
our history is so fertile. On the othel
hand, renouncing and defying Gods mora
and eternal law We deny ourselves that
greatness which otherwise would be Oul
inheritance.
Our idea of our destiny rs related to tic
Indian has indeed wrought evil. Through
it's binding influence VIC disrcgarding al
obstacles pushed forward. On our part
the rightfully privileges Of the red man
were wantonly violated. Not a moment
of reflection was bestowed to consider il
the steps which we were taking were those
of right. AS consequence the Indian
who opposed and did not assimilate him,
self at cnce with our nature and life, with
our aims and desires, was trampled down
or compelled to reccdc. All his prayers
to our conscience, his appeals to our sense
of justice, his demands to our sense duty,
were condemned. Thus has been the rela-
ton between the "red man" and "palc
face from the first settlement Of AmerI,
ca until now.
What vestiges still remain receive moi
even pity from the larger mass of men
Even yet what they possess is coveted
What is given them is begrudscd. Their
reservations are ever infested by the avar-
icious and their claims arc used as a mean.
to satc the cupidity of the spcc.llatine
agent. If one of this unfortunate race i:
wrongcd lie must bear it calmly. If his
possessions arc usurped he must peaceably
give them up. If it is tho will of the gov.
| ernment he must release his claim to hi.
former possession and wander whittier il
may direct. Who can view this condition
and pass it idly by; in whom it does not
stir chord OF sympathy; he is wanting
that religious feeling, to him is wanting
that senne of honor and duty beco ming a
man, his better nature is totally lost and
he is a wreck of low ambition. Oh,
wretched, degraded one that will not move
at such an act, who will coldly look upol
| a ellow-being SO basely treated, in whom
is lacking that delicate chord Of human
affection, which responds to the appeals
| of suffering man.
This is severe, and it is more severe in
that the most advanced of present nation.
has been the aegressor. Were it of bar
barous or uncivilized people that thus W,
speak we nights we'll denominate it 4
fault, for in it that character is not already
developed of which our nation should b.
proud. For us it is more than fault
aye, much more, vice of the lowest type.
As a nation from our very origin on &C
count of treatment of the Indian and ou,