Daily globe., 1883-07-10
TOMASIN'S ARREST.
The True Story of the Transaction.

order of Secretary of the Interior Teller.
Major R. S. Gardner and Indian Agent
@. p. Luse were entrusted with the execu-
tion of the order. The charges against
him are immortality and melting the In
dians to rebellion, both of which seem to
have been well substantiated. Since
the arrest and removal a distorted
account has been printed, and the GLOBE
now gives the true story. 1t is in the ma
ture of an official report of the officers, at
least one of whom is of the same relig-
ious denomination as the expelled priest.
tits as follows:
We, as captain and sergeant of the
White Earth Indian police force, do here
by soleLlnly swear that on Wednesday,
June 9th, 1883, we were ordered to accom-
pany Col. R. s. Gardner and Maj. G. P.
Luse, .. S. Indian agent of the White
Earth Indian agency, Mimi, to Red Lake
and to take two other policemen along
with US, in order to arrest (one) Rev. Faith
or Ig. Tomasin, who was at Red Lake
agency, MINI. We prepared and started
up fer Red Lake, arriving there on Friday,
June 29th, 1888, between the hours of
and 10 O'Clock a. N. On our arrival at
the mission house of Rev. Father Ignatius
Tomasin, Col. Gardner got out of the
wagon and knocked at the reverend's door,
calling him by name, saying: Oh! Father,
l wish to see you, but no answer being
given, he ordered US to examine the house
and ascertain if ne was at home, or If he
was absent. Upon thorough examina-
ton we found that the house was locked
from the inside, the key being in the lock
from the inside, with curtains all put down.
We then called and knocked at the other
doors and windows and said as loud as we
could for him: Father Tomasin to get up
and open his door, as Col. Gardner from
Washington was there and wished to see
him, and as members OF the Catholic
church advised him to open his door, but
as before got not word in reply; where
upon Col. Gardner and Mai. Luse gave US
an order to put upaour tent and to watch
the house, and should the father come out
to arrest him and bring him up to the Red
Lake agency. At 3 o'clock we got orders
from Maj. Luse to wait until O'Clock D..
N. and to knock at his doors and windows
and to say to him that he must open his
door and let US in, and that at o'clock
precisely we were ordered to force our en-
trance, and we did, and no answer came
and we were satisfied that he was inside
the house for we overheard him. At Just
o'clock we both called aloud at him
and told him to open the door,
or that we would use force-still without
any answer, whereupon ordered Sergeant
j. I. Perrault to force the door, which he
| did and we entered and found that he was
in his bedroom. I again ordered the SER
geant to force that door and then we all
went in and found him in his bed reading
We asked him if he was sick. The third
time that he was asked If he was sick, he
answered: eyes, [ am sick and all of your
children will be sick, too," and then I sent
up a note to Maj. G. P. Luse, informing
him of the state of affairs and requesting
him to inform US what to do. The agent
came himself and sent the agency physi-
clan to examine him. He did so and pro-
nounced him perfectly well and sane. Mai.
Luse wished US to arrest him by and by,
but myself and the sergeant got permiss
ion from the agent to let him remain in
his own house at the mission lntil morn
ing of Saturday, June Both, 1888 l then
left Sergeant Perrault in and went up to
the agency. Hardly had 1 gone away, the
father got out of his bed and put on his
gown without any PANTS or shoes, but in
his stocking feet. Then he run out of the
back door of his house and thence to the
bell and began ringing very important
alarm as if in great distress. The ser
geant not interfering, he continued this
for over one hour. On the arrival of some
women and few of the young men and
of some old men, he went into the house
and opened the door and said to them to
look and see what four Gerry bad dOgS-not
men-from White Earth Indian agency
had done to his house without any cause
and claimed that this was very wrong, but
that this four men would cry inside of two
weeks, because through his interceding to
God, that the captains and sergeant's
children would certainly die, as God had
said that whoever did anything to priest
should suffer himself, and therefore that
we would lose our children.
Then he went and rung his
bell again and then went
into the church, then came out and rang
the bell again, and then started through
the woods. The sergeant followed him up
and called on him to stop, whereupon he
looked back and started to run. The ser
geant ran after him, the priest yelling that
this Sioux half-breed was trying to murder
him. He ran and hallowed in this way
half mile, when the sergeant overlook him
and told him that he was his prisoner. He
then began abusing the sergeant and my
self and all concerned in his arrest. After
a while 1 sent reinforcements to the ser.
geant in order to bring him, in one way or
another, back to the Mission house. When
informed by the sergeant, he said that he
would not go step, and then the sergeant
gave the order to his men to take hold of
him, which was executed Immediately.
They raised him up and tried to pull him
along, but could not. Thereupon the SER
geant ordered the men to carry him, which
he and six men did. The priest yelled all
the way back that this was Friday, was
being killed or crucified as was Christ, st.
Paul and st. John, the Baptist, and tried
to bite and kick the men. He spat upon
several of them, including the sergeant, in
his exertions to loosen himself. His
drawers were very badly torn in the legs.
He was carried into his house and let
alone, continuing his noise and his abuses
all the time. We then let him go, but he
tried to get out of the house and had to
have him held while I sent up for team
to transport him to agency buildings, he
still continuing his threats and abuses.
Upon the arrival of the team 1 had sent
for 7 0rdarad him to mn opd into tLo