St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-10-16
SORROW OF The SIOUX
Dusky Leaders Of a Great
Nation Confer With Sec
retary Villas.
Cunning Old Sitting Bull
Says He Is a Loyal
Citizen.
John Grass Explains the In
dians' Objections to the
New Bill.
Representative Oates Springs
a Motion for Adjournment
Of Congress.
Snecial To the Clone

WASHINGTON, Oct. 15.-Ihe sioux IN
dian chiefs began their conference with
the secretary of the interior this morn
ing in room in the in the interior de-
partment building. Seated with the
secretary were the members of the COM
mission, and there were number of
spectators, mainly ladies, in the room.
The conference was opened with prayer
in Sioux language by Rev. Mr.. Cleye-
land. a member of the commission, and
when he repeated the Lords prayer
some of the Indians repeated it with
him. Secretary Villas then asked the
Indians to state freely their objections
to tue proposed law providing for sale
of portion of the great Sioux reserva-
ton in Southern Dakota. Sitting Bull,
as soon as the secretary finished speak
ing, stepped forward. He said that he
did not propose to make speech; he
simply wished to say that he belonged
to the government of the United States,
and when he addressed the secretary
and members of the commission as
my friends he did so because he was
one of the people. The Indians, he
said. wished to speak IN regard to this
law-men to men-and he hoped that
everything would be done IN quiet
manner. The old war chief then turned
to his seat while
CHORUS OF APPROVING 'UGHS''
went up from the other Indians. John
Grass, the leading speaker among the
Indians. then took the floor. At first
he spoke slowly and stopped frequently
to consult with the Indians seated near
him. He apologized to the secretary
for taking the time for consultation by
saying that he was an ignorant man,
and could not use notes. de therefore
made use of the Indians as note books.
He spoke for about an hour and covered
the entire ground of opposition main
tanned by the Indians. He said that he
had never opposed the bill as a whole,
but only as to some of it's parts. In
speaking of the treaties of 1858 and 1876,
he asked why the obligations OF these
treaties had never been executed by the
government. Under the former treaty
the money due them had never been
paid. the schools promised had not been
established until ten years ago. Point
ing to a map which he had taken from
his pocket, he asserted the western
boundary line up their reservation
should be long way west OF its present
location. He wanted to know who had
moved this line and who had gotten the
land that rightly belonged to them.
His objection to the present law was
that the portion of the reservation the
government proposes to take by rights
contains great deal more than lI,OOO,-
900 acres. He said
HE HAD CHANGED HIS MIND
about the price they ought to receive,
and was now of the opinion that instead
of 50 cents per acre, they ought to have
S1.25-iust what the government sells
its lands for. Since he had been here,
also while passing through the great
cities on his way, he had learned that
the white people did not want their res
eryatiOn thrown open to settlement.
He asked that all the land in the reser-
vation be claSSed as grazing land. and
not as farming land, thus enabling
those entitled to 100 acres to get 32O.
He maintained that it was wrong to
give heads of families double the
amount given to women and children,
and said that the old men would soon
die. and. therefore, would not need so
much land as the young men who had
their own way to make. He counseled
that the disposition of the reservation
should be delayed for the present at
least. Speeches were made by sixteen
chiefs. who repeated the points raised
by Grass. Bic Name, of Lower Brule
agency, announced himself as in favor
of the law, and expressed confidence in
the good intentions of the government.
He was the only speaker who favored
the law. White Ghost and Drifting
Goose, of Crow Creek agency, claimed
that the members of the commission
had endeavored to secure the compli-
ance of the Indians by harsh words.
They declared that the commissioners
HAD SEIZED THE INDIANS
and had dragged them forward to the
table to sign the paper. Commissioner
Cleveland said to a reporter who sat
near him that the language used by
these Indians was hyperbolic, and that
of course force in way was used or at
tempted to be used. Maj. Anderson,
the agent. corrObOrated this statement.
When the Indians had concluded speak
ing Secretary Villas told them that all
they had said would be laid before the
president. They would be informed of
his decision on Wednesday morning at
10 o'clock at the same place. He hoped
they would come prepared to either APP
prove or disapprove this decision. The
conference then adjourned.