New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-01-10

| in calming them.
| Some Of the officers have the gift OF dong wha'
they like with their Indians. If there Is diSt'rp
ance in camp, an officer goes alone and restores
quiet.
| INDIAN sHRRWDNEsS AND PREJUDICE.
| II is. however no easy task to manage Indians.
Ignorant suspicious and full of mischief, they are
IN spte of Their ignorance shrewd enough 10 detect
in everything Won say to them sign OF g00d or pu
| WILL They are proud in their way. They are not
ashamed TO beg for piece of tobacco Dut they are
| Inundated if you refuse it. An Indian comes 10
your house and asks for piece OF bread, ana II you
| do not invite him 10 smoke your tobacco for TWO
hours he thinks you slight him. ii an
interpreter displeases them he cannot get
| ANYTHING from them, whereas II thcy Ike
| him and have confidence IN him they open then
| minds readily. They are snperstitons ana must
| have their medicine dance now and then lhey
| have great faith in their mediterranean pnt '"eS
| admit now that the white doctor has more command
over the evil spirit that shows itself in tho shape oil
measles humps and certain other diseases IL may
he said that the doctors help great deal III ceneh
| ing friendship between Indians and wlte men,
When the medicine drum fails 10 cure SICK lhulah
| he sends for the white doctor.
| OCCASIONAL OCTRAGEs.
| The Sioux who came into the DOMINION win
Sitting BnlI have been troublesome now and
|
Last wear they became a little more bosterous than
usu,l went into q store at Wood Mountain and tried
to force the trader TO give them their own prices ior
| their buffalo robes, The trader was newly mar
| red man and had young child The Indians
seized the child and threatened to Kill HIM IL Ills
| father did not come to terms Va course
| the father saved his child by granting
| them what they wanted What could he dot They
were about two hundred warriors and he was alone
with couple of mel. He soon got assistance from
the police and the officer commanding having re-
cruited few friendly Indians among Sitting Bulls
own people, told that chief that lie could have blood
if he liked. Sitting Bull declined
few days ago party OF Siouxis reported to have
killed a half-breed near Wood Mountain. st 'aling
the murdered mans horses and leaving his wife and
children on foot on the prairie. Those Sioux have
for the most part gone back to the States but they
come across the line now and them and are always
ready to commit depredatons.
The British Indians are generally quiet but some
times the young bucks indulge in little NOISE just
to show that they brave, and then they must he
handled with the greatest tact and frmness. About
four weeks ago there were some 500
Crees and Asslniboines near Fort Walsh.
The troops were camped at two miles
from the fort, and only twelve or fifteen
men were in the fort itself. Near by there is a
ranch aud garden, the owner of which often com
planned that the Indians were i'll the habit OF steal
ing his turnips carrots and potatoes. One day he
saw a Young Indian sitting on his fence and he or
| dered him away. The Indian laughed and never
| moved. The white man struck him in the face and
made the Indians nose bleed. The Young man ran
| TO his camp and all his friends and great many
Others assembled and armed themselves. They
! came to the fort in great excitement and COM
| plained of the outrage. The officer commanding
inquired into the case and caused the ranchman to
be arrested and fined him for assault and battery.
The culprIt paid his fine and went home. The In
| dams could not understand how man could escape
| Imprisonment by paying money. The thing was
explained to them. and they went away apparently
satisfied, bnt there among them some non
treaty Indians who thought this was fine oDpor-
tunity for row. and, when passing near the garden
| they Jumped in and began to tear every
| thing out of the ground. In no time
the garden was full Of Indians firing
| their rifles and making sad havoc with the poor
mans vegetables Their yells wero frightlul. Col.
onel Irvine, who las been in command of the force
| since November l. and Captain Cotton happened to
come out of the fort OH horseback. They uu-
armed, but they put spurs 10 their horses and gal
lantly rode into the midst Of the lnfurated band.
| Immediately rlCl on ali sides were cvccI AT them,
but when the Colonel with his habitual GOODNESS
spoke to the savages and ordered them to stop, they
gradually withdrew and abandoned the spot.
PROGRESS OF CIVILIZATION.
There is no doubt, if the Indian Department works
WE'LL that i'll few years the Indians of this part of
| America will have LETT boh,nd them
| great many of their wild notions
| and become more and more settled. 1t will be n
question Of patience and perseverance on the part
Of their directors In establishing Indian farms aud
Giving work the Government has taken the first
| STEP The Indians have been seen the past summer
watching with anxiety their little crops grow.
Some Of them not very patient, though; If they
| plant anything day they would like to see the
stems two feet high the next day. One Indian
planted last year some potatoes that the police had
| given him with instructions how TO use them. Two
DAYS after, seeing nothing come ont OF the ground
he dug all the roots out ate what he could. packed
away the remainder and went away on the plains
to hunt. III the fall he came back with few buf
falo robes, and he bought potatoes at ~ cents a
pound from another Indian who had let nature take
its course with his little crop.
some of them have cattle Of their own. There is a
Cree Indian near Lake Manitoba who was baptized
when a boy by Archbishop iach'. of st. BOuiiacc,
then only priest. The missionary told the boy
that he would give HIM COW if he came to sec him
at Fort Garry and would promise 70 take good care
of il. Twelve years after the Indian went to see
his friend the missionary, who had become bishop,
and reminded him of ms proElqe. The bishop was
not rich, but he was gOod ~ his word. He lave
The Indian the only COW ne hat, and id him 10 hr
good man. III 1879 that Indian had a little herd
of thlrty-threc head Of cattle all coming from that
COW.
great many Indians now anxious TO have
their children learn how TO read and write The
superintendent report for 1879 says:
AT interviews with the different bands ~ Indians. al
most all cxrIeshed "a wish to have schools erected on
Their 20 ctucat' the rh .rcn AMI should he
clad receive CX llct instructions on TINS matter before
retuin NJ the Northwest. An amount II annually
voice this pupcc, but to tins time but hInall
portion appears nave been expended. On raj re-