St. Paul daily globe., 1885-03-18
The Croar Troubles.

To the Editor of the Globe:
BILLINGS, March 12.-Indian Agent H. J..
Armstrong of the Grow agency has written a
letter to the honorable commissioner of In
dian affairs, complaining bitterly of the ac-
ton of the committee of the Billings board
of trade in the matter of the Blake & Will
son lease, one paragraph of which letter is as
follows:
''They told the Indians that one member
Of the committee had just come from the
Great Father; that he spoke by authority and
therefore would tell them no lies. They pro-
ceeded to incite the Indians against the
authority OF the agent; told them they must
not sign any paper at the agency or even
talk to the agent about business - etc. Now
Agent Armstrong knew that the above was a
lie when he wrote it. The Billings
committee had no talk with the In
dians except ask them questions
about the lease and that in the presence of
Mr.. Henry Ward, Indian inspector, Mr..
Barstow, the clerk at the agency, interpreter
and part of the time Agent Armstrong him
self-aud they all know that there was moth
ing of the kind said to the Indians.
During all the talk the Billings committee
had with the Indians the doors were open
and any one could come and go as they
pleased, and one of the Indians whose testi-
mony was most damaging to the agency was
the captain OF the agency Indian police and
one of the best Indians in the tribe.
Agent Armstrong in his letter accuses the
Indians of wholesale perjury, etc. Now the
truth is that Agent Armstrong sent out his
police (Or pretended to do SOY and got all
that were in reach of the agency, and it is
hardly possible that they would all
commit perjury in his presence and
in that of his interpreter, and any one
who has ever been about an Indian agency
knows how strong the ''grub'' influence is,
and that was all in the agents favor. The
agency party were permitted to cross-examine
witnesses, but no amount of cross-examina-
ton could shake the testimony and no un-
preiudiced man could fail to believe tt at the
Indians told the truth as they understood it.
1t is true that before the committee left the
agency they did sign a statement drawn up
by Mr.. Barstow, the agency clerk,) exoner-
ating Agent Armstrong and his mployes
from intentional wrong in the matter of OBJ
tanning the lease, preferring that the odium
should rest on the Indian bureau.
The committee were induced to do this
through sympathy for Mr.. Barstow, the agency
clerk, VINO mas always had the reputation
of being most estimable gentle
man, and who, as well as Agent
Armstrong, was placed in a very
awkward position Mr.. Barstow verbally adj
hitting that II all the Crow tribe were present
their testimony would probably not diff
fer materially from that of those examined
and that, in his opinion, the sentiment of
the tribe at the time of the visit of the com
mttee was in opposition to the lease. Mr..
Barstow also stated to the committee that he
would not have advised the Indians to sign the
lease If he could have seen any other way to
prevent actual starvation. Perhaps the com
mittee were wrong in siguing any such state
meut generating the agent and others, as
''whitewashiug' the agency was no part of
their business. Besides, the Indian bureau
had dispatched two gentlemen to that place
for that special purpose, and, with all the
experience that bureau has had in ''white-
washing" during the past few years, they
were competent 10 do the job without outside
assistance. Agent Armstrong; letter is a
tissue of falsehOods from beginning to end,
and fully confirms what Special Agent Smith
said OF him more than two years ago-that
she is q greater liar than Annanias.'
sX.n