New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-07-24
NEW PUBLICATIONS.

The Military Service Institution of the United
States - an organization composed exclusively OF
)licers OF the Regular Army. It's object is In
various ways to promote the efficiency of the Army
As nucleus of educated military force. to secure
the competent discu of military topics and
generally to advance military scence. Chiei among
the agencies employed for these purposes is the pub
lication of Il quarterly JoarnGi. which is devoted
exclusively to the serious discussion OF military
questions, questions closely related To military
interests as to become subjects of immediate con-
to the Army.
Once each year the Institution appoints q subject
for discussion and awards gold Medal of the value
OF 1900 20 the writer of the best essay upon it, The
subject given out for 1850 was Cur Indian Cues
ton" and General John Gibbon was the prize
winner
His essay and two Others on the same suhect-one
of them by Lieutenant G. L. S. Wood and the ether
by Captain +. Butler-have now been issued to-
eethcr i'll a number of The Jo0rRaI devoted cXciu-
s,cly to theiI publication. This number may
therefore be regarded in a authoritative
expression OF Army views upon the Indian question.
and in that character it possesses little interest
Without question the essays would have greater
worth in tins way if there were something like
argument between the aysts; but a matter of
fact they not agreed either their convictions
of what should lie or in their statements of what is,
as shall see presently.
General Gibbons essay is the hrcfeSt and in
the character of the Indian at the time OF the white
mans first appearance on this continent. He de-
cares that the Indian learned that trcachery W hch
is commonly regarded part OF his nature from his
white brother, and that the characters drawn by
Cooper. often spoken of at the present day as
purely fictitious, are by no means ideal" little
further on he writes:
This conflict between the Red Man and the white,
when it commenced was not one between pure bar
barsm and pure civilization, for the first encounter
OF civilization was with barbaric cIVliIation cal
culated to put our civilization of that day to the
blush.
by the :" Six Nations without Oprn-cycd wonder
AT the marvellous organization winch was even then
threatening to overrun this continent with Il con-
the white one which now holds sway here. ono is
pmazcd to read of people deemed savage who, at
that day. had regular parliamentary meetings
looking to the enactment OF laws for the govern
ment of the Whole nation. This Congress, com
posed of representatives from each tribe duly desig
mated, assembled at stated periods, in grand
council to consider the state of the nation and pro
where " Long House " with door-Scepcrs and all
the paraphernalia of civilized Congress existed for
its deliberations. Besides this National Congress
each separate tribe had its Legislature and cgisla
tive hall where all questions especially relating to
that particular tribe were discussed and decided.
On the next page General Gibbon expresses the
opinion that but for the appearance of the white
man, it is more than probable that this powerful
organization of the Six Nations would, in the near
future, have extended its sway over the whole of
the territory now within the limits of our country"
From this point General Gibbon traces the history
of the relations between whites and Indians for The
purpose of showing how inevitably the advance of
civilization has wrought destruction to the Indian,
and his conclusion which he puts in italics that
" the Red Man is bound to disappear from this
tnent. PhilanthropSts" he adds, and visionary
spectators may theorize as they please about pro-
tccting the Indian from the entertainments of the
white man and preserving him a race 1t can.
not be DONE Later he writes:
Now make complaint that he is being driven
from this continent That is inevitable lie must
so, and we might as well complain of the steam
engine for running over bull independent enough
10 venture on the railroad track.
We do not understand that General GibbOn either
favors or expects the determination OF the Indians
IN the bloody sense in which many frontiersmcn use
that word, that he convinced of The hopeless
ness of wise efforts i'll behalf of the Red Men. He
merely regards il certain that separate race the
Indian must disappear and he earnestly wishes that
rs large part possible Of the inevitable process
may be accom- plished by education and peaceful
absorption, as little possible by warlike methods
lie carefully considers two branches of our duty
toward our wards and presents his plan for the
proper management of each of them. To the ques-
ton, What shall make of the Indian he an-
swers confidently: A herdsnan first farmer after
ward After declaring for the education of the
young Indians, as the most hopeful thing that we
can do toward cvzing the race he turns his at
tention to the welfare of the older Indians, and
pleads for a systematic attempt to make indcpen-
dent hcrdsmen of them. They are that already. he
says, so far natural qualifications and certain
points of acquired skill are concerned Their man
agemcnt of their ponies is precisely that which
would be necessary with cattle and their tastes fit
them far better he thinks. for stock growing than
for husbandry. IL is his conviction that they
would readily adopt pastoral in lieu of savage
life, if herds of brect ing cattle given them
that In this way they would acquire fixed abodes
property interests and peaceful habits that they
would thus stock with domestic cattle the plains on
which vast herds Of buffalo have lived for ages :
that they would have abundance of animal food
and hence would be free from the temptation to
lead wandering lives and finally, that when civ
ilizaton should press them, they would be fixed i'll
abode, secured i'll their right and abundantly pro-
vided for.
This is the briefcst possible statement of General
Gibbons policy. 1t is necessarily inadequate but
it may suggest what il is that he would have the
Government attempt. Meantime, humanity re-
quires that we shall provide for the feeding aud
clothing OF the Indian while the ans of self-sup-
port withheld, aud enlightened sclf-interest
makes like demand. Referring to the familiar
fact that the Indian starves in spite of adequate ap
preparations of money for his support General
Gibbon attributes the evil to the want of Il proper
system of responsible administrations He saws on
this point:
The location and surroundings Of our Indian
irlbcS are nearly identical with those of our
frontier garrsOns that the most natural suggestions
Is that they should be supplied under essentially
the system.
Our troops. no matter how remote or how isolated
their station, are always supplied in satisfactory
manner with good wholesome food, and il is ONLY
when unexpected moves take place or new posts
- "A aupI lfy arisa nd -