The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1880-05-20
An indian Girl,s Appeat.

condition Of her people In The new home
to which they were banished, as Follows !:
| Some time in the. winter Of 1877 my
fsther received q letter from my uncle,
who "a now In the Indian Territory, cay.
iRg that the tribe had been ordered 10
leave the Reserve and 70 to the Indian,
Territory; that they mad refused, bat sho
Inspector told them he would take them 10
see the President. Accordingly ton Of the
chiefs started, as they supposed, for Wash
ington. Several weeks elapsed and we
heard nothing from them. NY mother
said to me once, "Whas if the white men
| have taken them and left them In aetrange
place, where they cannot find theis. way
nome" l laughed ct her, and told her IL
Was i!nposabie for the government 60 treat
the chiefs OF 3 natiod with whom it made
treaties in that dishonorable way; that
it might cheat them, and ali that. put it
would treat with respect ct least men
with whom it was intending 90 make q
treaty. Some time after this my uncle.
With the other chiefs, came to the Omaha
tribe on their way back. TO their own Re-
serve, ragged, weary, and foot.sore. They
had been left In the Indian Territory he.
causs they would not select q piece OF
| land there. Do you know what I felt as
I sat there and heard my uncle tell his
history, and saw the tears running down
my Liother cheeks, and knew how pow
erless we were 20 help, or even aYenRe?
felt as though II there were God 40
| must have created us for the sole purpose
Of tortufing US. think if, it had mot
been for the memory of the noble Chris.
tan woman with whom lived ae one
time, I ahould have become m utter dis
believer In God and humanity. Ny un.
Gle told Us how they were left In q strange
country, among q strange people, whoSA
| language they did not und dersfand, 20 ind
their way homo on foot without guide,
money, or interpreter. The people
through. whose lands they pagsed lands
which had once been their oUn-sat their
dogs on them.: They lived on raw corn
aI.d walked barefoot through the pn0w.
They were shelterless on the open prai-
rie in one of the noet terrible ntornB of
the year. think it. was the. next day
after the chiefs had arrived on the Omaha
Reserve that they met in my fathers
house. TO consult as fa the best means Of
caring Themselves from being sent to the
Indian Territory and there, asked us to
write the story OF their wrongs, which has
Hamilton wrote the following telegram:
80 ase RFe,idfnt Of The United 8gasea !.
Wan 1t " your authority that the men
you gent 70 take us down TO the Indian
Territory TO select 8 home left us there
without money or, interpreter, or how TO
lind onr way back as hest we could, be.
cause ye could not Z And did you tell
them 10 say to ua, IF you don't eelect O
home here, You shall Be driven from
your present homes at the point of the
bsyonetT Please answer, as we are in
trouble. We have been thirty ds3s in
falling back as far as the Omaha, tired,
hungry, sh3sleas, and fo0t-sore, and with
hearts and spirits broken and sad"
No notice was ever taken of 1t. It was
Pitiful to see how hard they tried to be-
iieye that it was not the governt1hiit that
had treated them in this way, and that the
Inspector had done it on His own respon-
sibiiity. They said to Z me- <.If the
white people and the government hear Of
this, tey viii not take our iaiitis from III.
The chiefs told ns at the council that
when they refused to take any lAnd lin
he Territory they were told that the apy-..
diers wGuld talIe them down ut the point
OF the bayonet. They then said that ra.
ther than be taken to the Territory they.
were wiliingt to live with the Omaha tribe.
on the Omaha Reserve. The Inspector.
told them that the Omaha tribe were to
be taken down too very. soon, and that
&c would be of no use for them to &c there.
The chief: then said that rather than go
they would break up the tribe and live
with the sionx, with whom they had
made peace sometime before. This was
also refused them. We were powerless
own Reserve only TO find the sold. ,Ts al-
ready there. We next heard tliss she
eoldiefs were taking them down. nv
father and started Tor Columbus, Ne
bfaska, so that we might catch them on
tho way and bid g6od by. to my uncle.
We arrived there before they did and sew
/ the soldiers itch their tents. The whole
camp Een6Sned ht Columbus for two or
thfeo days 2 s'.sii i2Fs-s ~ isfis 81
Are: the Poaeas reached the TERRITORY
yEe'recslved iDany ::atttssSB frora nv uncle.
OF CouTsg, 40 could not write for himself
and had to depend on the agent and
Others to write for him. These issters
are curious contrasts. The letters written
for him By the agent would contain ar
account OF the good psogreEs and eatisfac.
ton OF the tribe. In :snotheg, written for
min by some one else, there would be q list
of the dying and the dead, and solitary ref.
slgees Bhn had fed fran1 tbs deadly cli7
mats came to US, bringing tidings Of the
anguish and despair Of all.
In May last my, father and TWere sent
to the Territory by Afr. Tibbles, to find
ont the true condition OF the tribe Tho
hEst objects ne saw Ia tllae 9sE5 d.stance
were Eha many graves which Ws.werS told
had bean made there since July. Tllen
an ght itle ten5sl gfeaminE white or.
the pfaifie. There ,afeEeo sd saTcalv sny
roads or pathssS AilIfleokeaa ne though
tho tents had been pitched aosiiy for The
night, and9 that every; &; nscsaent e
might ezpectlto toeee ahern on tba move.
Tho only hnil6ings we saw 6ere six little
hnuaeR. infarirAafaad hara nh flhra asssanc,
the talh, which were scattered Iar apart.
in grolFs of fW0s and thFeeg, and ). tho
agency hnildings. When we cams up TO
my iifi5t5 . 5t6ntt, mp cousin R0sal;a sat III
tfis door ofons Of the sbantiss, docking 90
care worn ass th0ugh all hope had gone
out other life. What q lighs bgoke out
IN her faee when she bnN that &c was my
father ard III Ny at DIT, ga aick as she
vSss, rose out of her bed ON the Hoer 70
grsetts, looking Rloge like aake,eton than
q human being, ny uncle said 10 ma.
sDanghtar, all We hsve 10 offer you 10 q
seat ON the hoor. ! All our chairs ;wero
taken irosSrus.n I aaked my cousin how
The children s7eEe. She ansveTai. ssATy
ohiidren have all been aicI, but are bet
ter now think it is 80 atfarre that
not one Of them has been taken from mo,
Not a family in klia friha hf,t tav5n, ho Il tr,