Omaha daily bee., 1883-02-14
RED CLOUDS PONIES.
Why They Were Seized and Sold
by Command OF teneral
Crock.
And What Disposition Was
Made of the Precseds.
Kew the Hostile Chirfof tho Sioux
B0Samo n Coed Indian.

casionsl references to what Ia called
"Red Clouds claim" aud several easl.
ern papers, notably the Now York
T, ibune, have gone into Mysteries over
she mares nest, A reporter of The
BEE yesterday C lled upon Col, Stan.
ton, chief psymaster of the depart
ment of the Platte, who was chief of
Con. Crooks scouts in the campa'gl
of '76 and. edrew his attention to an
srticle In the Nav York Tribune,
which reads as { flows:
Red Cloud has no urned TO Wsshiug'o,
Co attend TO the business which brought
him there. TIL, nusiness IL brit fy ny fol.
low: X d CT nd has been since 1869 the
leader, by force both of positi n and in
tsllect, among TIE Sioux who desire to be-
come civilized. He and hts tribe sold enor-
nous tracts from : me to time to the gov.
eminent for o few cents an acre, to be pad
Ia aunuities, which were immediately tus
iutJ the market a. s. and upward. The Q
auuuities have never been paid. Ite tai
ure CO pay them and the c rs, quent star.
walton sn oug these Indians brought on
the Sioux war of 1876. Duric this Wal
who remained firm in their loyalty to the
z ,vernment. They absolutely refused to
take part with Sitting Bull, and
remained on their agencies, miserablv
poor, hut struggling to cultivate the
ground. To spite II this the governments
troops su rounded the agencies and Car.
ried oil about 4 900 ponies All the peace
able Sioux we're forcei to come m and
give up their horses. ~ am no Iudian
lover" wrote n white observer Ut this sur.
render, "but if l ever ~sympathized with
any community l did with thele hungry.
balf-starv.d Indians, who came MP, band
after band, some OF them actually crying,
to give no TO this great government q
ours their w private property, to which
the government had no more right than IL
hss to my w'tch or pocket book" l. IL
pst ment fyr this act of robbery which Rcd
Cloud now seeks The pay ment III uld
be prompt ard full. Tbs man, to whom
we really owe u great debt OF money, mas,
in spite uf ~ treatment tor fourteen years,
sept absolute faith with ia. TIE govern
mens cannot afford 10 steal from him, at
least.
500 you know about the causes Of
the trouble, colonel" asked tue re.
porter.
Colonel Stanton read over Tho arti-
clio very carefully tyics, laid the pa.
per down on his desk and sai3, 1T is
. tissue of faisshoods from beginning
to end, written either by some one
who knows nothing about the clrcum
stances, or by a writer who wiliully
mtsrepresents the facts in the ease. l
was with General Crook during the en-
tire campaign, aud was so Red Cloud
agency when the transaction referred
to took place. The facts bslefay stated
are ma follows.
"The Sioux wal of 1876 originated II
the request of the interior department
TO tho war department, asking It t.
pursue and return to their reserva
tions certain bands Of Indians which
had left their agencies and persistentl.
refused to como in. Chief anon
these were tbs bands of Sitting Bull
Crazy Horse, Dull Kuife, Standin
Elk, Roman Nose and others. Thes
Indians were roaming a. large in tn
country between the North Platte an
Yellowstone rivers, killing cattle, mur
dering settlers aud destroying prop
erty. Generals Terry and Crook wor
ordered by General Sheridan to carr.
out the instructions of the interior de
partment and that was the origin O
campaign in which Custer and mai.
) other soldiers lcat their lives"
"Wa, Red Cloud among the hos
/, tilss2"
mot ostensibly. He was oil hi
reservation but early In the campaigI
induti5s bic evidence wau received b
General Crook that Red Cloud
although making professionA Q
friendship, was furnishing oil hi
.yonug men and all the mster.- ib I
Of war that he possibly could to 81
ting Bull and tho hostile tribes I
/. carry on their war against the govern
!. ment. Not only that, but ais attitut
towards the settlers Of tho northeI
frontier was one Of sullen hostilit,
There was absolutely no security ft
life or property anywhere near Il
agencies. Officers, soldiers and cit
: sens were constantly being killedin N
9 braska and Wyoming, and proper
being driven of by these 'peacefr
. Indians. They were not %oultivating
foot OF ground at the agencies an
were well provided with foo
Enormous sums Of money were Q.
pended OF the Red Cloud agency al
n cattle and -four In abundance we
disbursed to the Indians. So Il
from being half starved they wast'
n enough to keep nearly @ regimen
During the time IN which 1t L. charge
10 that these Indians were suffering fro
hunger, I have seen quantities oil io'
!. dumped by the roadside In she
waste"
"What about the sale OF horse
Colonel 2" arked tho reporter.
'In October, 1876, upon the Setu'
m to Hea mnra sgency OF Gener
~ Crooks expedition frvm tho mort
Red Clouds and Rcd Leaf'a band
70 together With some other banda
Sioux, left the agency and started
90 on the war path. Understand, th
he many OF the Sioux who were real
be pesossble belonging to other bant
remsined. When this fact beoar
a. known TO GopeYal Crook, he %
General Mckenzie with @ large for
ten troops Of cavalry, II l RENE
, Der correctly, to pursue him o
d. bring bin back. He was overtsk
at Shsdron creek, and brought II
the Red Cloud agency, and there,
General Crooks order and because
their hostile attitude, the bands WI
W diaarmed and dismounted. You '
see the point when l tell you that Oh
na those bands which left the ager
,sr were thus treated as hos,iles.
h. other Indiana On the agency were .
molested. Il Ia the bsldest nonseI
TO talk about Red Clouds band be.
run peacoablo indiana. They we're hos