The Canton advocate. [volume] (Canton, D.T. [S.D.]) 1877-1897, 1881-03-24

A SERIOUS MISTAKE.
That Ia What Gen. Nelson A. Miles
Calls the Conduct OF the Govern
ment Towards the POncaa


That Ia What Gen Nelson A. Miles
Calls the Conduct OF the Govern.
ment Towards the POncas
General Nelson A. Miles, who was
seen by a reporter of the New York
Tribune recently at the Brevoort house,
W asked about the condition of the
Ponca and other Indians. He said
II was appointed as one of the com
missioners to investigate the condition
of the Poncas. I found part of them
living very comfortably in the Indian
Territory on their grant of $53, 1000
about the same as those Indians receiv-
ing aid from the government. Those
who had remained in Dakota, or had
gone back to it, I found, were earning
their own living by cutting wood, farm
ing and working in various ways. They
were receiving no support from the
government, only little aid from be.
nevolent people in the vicinity"
"Were those on the Indian reserva-
ton anxious to return to Dakota %
"They did not so express themselves.
They had been repeatedly told that
they could not return, and they seem
ed to have the idea that their title was
null and void, and was not respected
by the government"
did they seem to feel embittered
against the government? ?" "a portion
of them appeared to be- From my in
vestigation it seemed to me that the en-
tire treatment Of the Poncas was a Sc
rious mistake, resulting from misman-
agement, incompetency, or selfish mo-
tives. They were wronged. The re-
moval of any portion Of our peaceable
population to a distant part of the coun-
try and holding them there, is entirely
foreign to our ideas of justice and our
system of government, and are simply
lnexcusable. I do not know of any
good or substantial reason for their re-
moval, nor have ever heard of any"
"Will the government policy toward
the Poncas affect the other tribesY' II
think it will be very injurious, especial
ly with the friendly tribes, as it has
created the idea in their minds that the
governme ent disregards its treaty obi
cations, and that it is disposed to move
the tribes on to the Indian reservation.
The northern Indians look upon the
reservation as a sort Of Botany Bay or
Siberia, and think that the government
will pick up tribe whenever it can put
them there and let them die off,"
"Why die Off" Because the Indian
Territory has a great deal of malaria
at times, and if man lives there long
enough he is sure to be attacked. I
have had command of men and horses
in that section for good many years
and know something about it,"
eff that is the case, why does the
government continue to put Indians or
the reservations"
II can see no good reason for it. Let
the government protect them where
they are. They are much more at
tached to the country where they are
born than we are. In my judgment it
would be better to give them a small
allotment of land where they live than
to move them into one territory, be-
cause Of this peculiarly in their ma
ture, and because there is no justice in
removing them any more than there
would be in putting the. negroes and
Chinese into one state and keeping
them there. There is no longer any
frontier east of the Rocky mountains.
Settlements have sprung up beyond
the Indian reservation, and are sur
rounding them on every side; so that
the Indians must become part of our
po dulation, the law-abiding to be pro-
tected by the same authority, ard the
evil-disposed to be governed by the
same laws that govern white people. l
think that as soon as the people under
stand the Indian question, popular
opinion will be so strong that the put
ting of portion of our population un-
der the control of one irresponsible,
inexperienced man, and surrounding
them with q Chinese wall, as it were,
so that they cannot communicate with
the outside world, will be an impossi-
bility. Then the Indians will be treat
ed justly. When they are they will
give the government very little trouble" "
" How does the army look upon the
Indian question:
Under the present system the army
is very much embarrassed from the
fact that it is required to stand aloot
and have nothing whatever to do with
the management Of the Indians until
they break out, although the officers
are undoubtedly better informed about
the matter than any other officials OF
the country They know the character
of the Indians their way, mode of
reasoning, and by long years of service
on the plains they become acquainted
with the different men of the tribes,
and know who can be trusted and who
are treacherous. Yet when an out
break occurs, or an Indian agent has
something to accomplish, the army is
called upon to do the disagreeable
work, to endure all the hardships of a
campaign, to engage in the most dan
gerous enterprises, and then has to
bear all the odium of any transaction
that may not be founded on law or
prompted by good judgment. If the
government would but try the expert
ment of letting the war department
manage the Indians, think much
good would result. Let it turn over
some of the widest. most warlike and
most troublesome Indians to the care
of the army, and see whether or not
an improvement would not be made.
A good illustration of what might be
done is seen in the great success of
Capt. Platt. After the war of 1874 we
picked out seventy five of the greatest
robbers, murderers and cut-throats,
and he took them down to Florida.
They were the worst men in the Chey-
enne, Kiowa and Comanche tribes.
The change in those Indians nave been
marvellous and out of that, partly,
have grown the Indian institutions at
Hampton, Va. and Carlisle, Penn,
which might have been very success
full. This proves that when in charge
of army officers the Indians have made
more progress than they have under
other control at any time during the
history of the country. Let the peace.
able tribes remain where they are, and
be under the control Of the civil
authorities in the states where they
live. Treat them fairly, the same as
white men, and l have not the least
Doubt that there ywO,,ld he little nr No