Daily press and Dakotaian. [volume] (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1875-1880, 1880-01-21

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no right at all to be there. Tho land was
sold by the Yanktons to the government In
1858. and the sale is part of the treaty rati.
fed in 1859. About that time some Of the
Indians now here had q camp At y place
known as the Dir. Lodges, which is u. the
crossing Of the James 20 miles south
of where Drifting Goose" was en-
camped. No land whatever was cult.
waited at any other place up to last
year. When l went out to give ID.
Goose" notice to come in, I took the chiefs
with me. These are familiar with every
place on the james. and they say that no
planting was ever done anywhere but at the
ford. Chief "Wizi"'- says he was born
there, and he pointed out TO me the spot of
ground his mother planted corn on. 1t is
twenty miles in a straight line south Of the
land now claimed.
This band of Indians has given me q
great deal of annoyance about their land.
For the last three or four years they have
lived over there in a precarious manner,
begging, hunting, m%arauding. When VIM
ter approaches, they scatter to the agencies
in Dakota and Minnesota and regularly
return 10 the same place on the James where
they establish a summer camp, as soon as
the grass is green. Thence the adv.ntu-
rous spirits sally forth to the settlements
aud remote agencies to beg and rob. Several
of the band are known to have been con-
cerned in atrocious murders in Minnesota
and the Red River country. Two of them
were apprehended a few years ago near Fl.
Pembina, for the murder Of a whole family
on the Red River, and were confined in the
guard house at Pembina, where they broke
out, and one Of them was killed by the
guard. There are very good reasons for
suspecting one Of this band of the murder
and robbery of I. c. Iahuston, who was
killed some time since near Fort Sully. He
has since fled to Sitting Bulls camp. They
have repeatedly interfered with the work
of surveying parties, and warned
away settlers from the country. Next
spring these will return in greater
numbers, and prepared to defend their
rights, and l regard it as greatly to the dis
advantage of these Indians to place them in
contact or competition with this increasing
population. If these Indian. are permit
ted 10 return they must be, as heretofore,
wholly beyond the reach of law or discip.
line, and their camp will be the rendezvous
of every Indian horse.thief robber and
murderer on the east side of the Missouri.
The band is now located here, and has
%annuities and subsistence since it
in. l have read the orders of the
department to them, and informed them that
these orders will be enforced, and that thev
must give up any hope Of ever going back
to the james to live. The majority of the
band seem to be content, and some of them
are now cutting logs for houses.
l am sir, very respectfully,
Your obedient servant,
WIN. E. DoUGHERTY,
Captain LIST Infantry, Acting Agent.
Later in February Drifting Goose" and
some of his band, revived their intention of
returning and gave notice to the agent Of
their determination to leave in a month.
This information was communicated to the
Indian Office and the following reply was
mate:
Office Indian Affairs Washington, March
-, '79.Capt. w. E. Doughertv. Acting
U. s. Indian agent Grow Creek, Agency
SIR: In answer to your letter of
the 10Th ult. in regard to the
determination expressed by Chief Drifting
Goose" to abandon the reservation aud re-
turn with his band TO the James river, you
are Informed that the course suggested by
you to disarm and dismount him. should he
persist 10 leaving,is approved. His appear
ance again upon the James river will cause
serious apprehensious aud difficulties among
the settlers, and stringent measures should
be adopted to keep him upon the reserya-
tiHn.
Very respectfully your obedient servant,
E A. HAYr,
Commissioner.
After this old Goose" gave up 10 despair
until the executive order of June 9th, no.
tlce OF which reached him from Sisseton
agency before the order reached the
agent, who was subsequently directed
to transfer the band to Sisseton. A roll was
then made of the band and it was found to
number 1OS souls. About forty of the peo-
pie refused to go back.
On their return to the James, when they
met Agent Crissey, their first demand was
that ali the white people should be expelled
and the reserved land given over to them,
although Commissioner Hayts instructions
forbid interference with any actual settlers,
and allowed the heads of the Indian fami.
lies only to take possession of such subdi-
visions as they could show that they had
actually improved.
The two weeks provisions supplied by
D%ougherty, before they left Grow
creek, soon became exhausted and the In
dams began depredstions. Major Crissey
then sent a messenger to Grow
Greek to ask Capt. Dougherty to join him
and to bring some supplies out with him.
Dougherty appeared there the second day
afterward with supplies for two weeks
more, but refused to issue in consequence
the conduct of the Indians. Some of
he settlers became alarmed and went
way to WatertowD, but the msjorlty re-
olved to remain. At the council! that
ollowed the most unreasonable and frivol-
us demands were made, and the instructions
# the department were laughed at and
couted by the noble red farmers. Major
Casey informed the Indians that they
would have 10 return to Crow Creek until