New-York tribune., 1880-04-04
yss s :sseass e the fund. being ,. exhausted .s


Q.Wsnfd the shortage amount to as much as three
mouths IN sach year, A;;-YeS sir ,,o, =. ., .r.
A-usually BY these Indians being absent; 1t has run
from three five months When the buffalo here
brought in Would partly bridge over % the defcepcy
Q-ls there any longer. any reliance TO be placed on
there is.
Q-How long since the Indians could have supported
themselves or supplied themselves with food by hunting
the oualoa AThree years For the last three years,
fSnS INTO O. account tue wear and tear OF their lodges
come back worse than they went out They have ved
end that Is about ALL
NINE MONTHS FOOD MADE TO LAST YEAR.
Agent Miles added that he had been obliged to
distribute the food allowance for nine months over
tho entire year. in order to avoid being entirely
without food one-fouFth of the time.
The present chief clerk of tue Indian Bureau. Mr..
i. J. Brooks. in testimonr given last February on
this same point, said
lean tel YOU general fact, gentlemen. which can
not be ceDied; Those Indians on short rations
bcen every for seveayears past until the
present.
visited the Agency last Summer, and saw that the
Indians were not furnished with sufficient food, lie
ordered an increase IN their rations. and ms since
caused deficiency estimate to be sent to Congress.
BY Agent McS's own. testimony. therefore, as
well as by that Of Chief Clerk Brooks Colonel
Mzner. and the Indians themselves IT appears that
the treaty reduirements In regard 70 food supplies
for the Chevennes were nOt fulfilled, and yet in
November, 1878. after there had been severe and
indignant er icsms Of the Indian Bureau for starv-
ing" these Indians. and when Commissioner Hayt
was defending himself, AMI trying to make the
country believe that the Cheyenues had 10 good
reason for leaving the Indian Territory this same
agent, Miles. forgetting apparently what ne had
he had written to Colonel Mizner wrote 10 Com
missioner Hayt as follows:
the facts state thai in the aggregate these Northern
Cheyenues received fully all t1a their treaty entiicd
them to.
The last statement was made in self-defence and
in defence of the Indian Office. thc others under
different and favorable circumstances for It's
Il is. hardly necessary after this testimony TO
in an h at pOt fn1 t0 b fSs n4hp
Cheyennes to start for their old homes. AT the
same time it is interesting to note that the lntercr
affairs
Bus she Northern Cheyennes had other causes
than hunger TO be dissatisfied with their new homes
in the Indian Territory. They were born and
reared in OF the most heathfu countries on this
continent. where maiarai diseases especially. are
unknown, and they were settled i'll section where
ample doses of quinine needed to cOunteract the
poison which even acclimated persons breathe in
with the air. Among those Who arc not acc.Imated
the malaria produces sickness OF much more
malignant type
The season OF 1878 was remarkably sickly one
part OF the treaty agreement with the Northern
Cheyennes was that they shou ii be furnished with
ample medical attendance and needed mot ine,
and this is how they were supplied:
now MEDICINE WAS SUPPLIED.
firsfyOn the 18th of May the Agency physician
submitted his estimates, among other things calling
for so ounces of the fluid extract of cinchona, with
aromatics, in S-ounce bottles 267 ounces sulphate
of ouina, in 1-ounce bottles or compressed in TIM
and 6i ounces of cinchona FE making IN all
ALI ounces of antl-malarial medicine. In suO-
initting this estimate, DIR; Hodge, after saving
base his estimates for the next fiscal wear on the
specific qualities consumed daring the then present
in my opinion such estimate would fall far short
OF the actual requirements, in case Of this
: Agency. During the present fiscal year /; have
not been ior the kindness of the post surgeon at
Fort Reno. who kindly loaned me q limited guam
tity of such medicines as were mperatively neces-
sary, it would have been quite impossible for me to
have successfully treated many. cases. E. :"
Second-As it turned out Dr. Hodges estimates for
medicines fell far short OF the necessities of the
service. but the Indian Office instead of contract
estimates 10 Dr. Hood, Of the Pension Bureau, to be
+" revisedn Of course officer here IN Washington
,would know much better than a physician on the
Z mound how much medicine was needed Dr. HOODS
: Hrevised estimate was as follows: Cinchona, fluid
extract Of with aromatics, in Sounce bottles, 81
Of. in LOUNGE bottles or compressed In tin, IS
ounces in all 234 ounces of anti-malarla medl-
cnes, instead OF All ounces asked for.
Third-Bds for medicines were opened in New
York June is. The medical supplies ought to have
been at the Agency July l.
after the bids were Optned.
como operative August26. ten weeks after the bids
SirtsWin the mean.ime the Department was
fly Informed OF the urgent need of these
medicines at the Agency, as is shown by
OF %y Ases1
at hand ssfhd corresponding increase OF sickness
from thai source is noted. lack of sufficient RENE,
dies rs e only obstacle to successful treatment
OF this disease by the agency physician"
2 % SHAMEFUL NEGLECT OF THE INDIAN OFFICE.
No attention whatever seems to have been paid to
MIR. 4les's report by the Iudian Office. August 8
Age3t Miles teegraphed to the Department for
1907 ounces of qunine. There is no record
that this dispatch was answered. On August |
8 b, wrote "Tbe sanitary report herewith |
transmitted shows over ioo cases OF sickness sue
cessfqliy treated, but the number treated shows
only portion of those applying for treatment: |
Fully As many if not more cases have been turned
bsn Sy Sl so that the Agency
dispeSsary presents only beggary array Of empty
to purchase in New-York small supply |
Of qlinine and forward IL to several agencies |
There record that he did so, or that any OF IL
gust IA. the Indian Office directed Superintendent
Ncholson to buy ten ounces of qninne and send it |
70 the Cheyenne Agency, and on the 21st Of August
1t arrived, showing that the Agency might have |
been supplied at any time in one week
quinine Agent Miles informed the Indian Office
" that this supply would last only one week" An-
gust 16 Agent Miles wrote TO the indian Oce call
ing attention to the fact that he had received no
response to his letters and telegram appealing for
medicine. and added:
with over 5000 Indians TO care for supply med
feine furnished this Agency is onebaf great in
ouan fty various in character that fur
nished Fort Reno by the Medical Department OF the
Army. with only twentieth OF the number OF persons
TO care for Many deaths have alresdy occurred from
lack OF proper remedies and so completely exhausted
supy medicine that the agency physician has been
obliged to close his dIspeDsary Not grain OF any
an ni-naafiai medicine has been on hand the present
sesrter beraty Of the post has been tried the
utipost whole stock OF the borrowed and