The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1890-07-05
4 PECULIAR KIND OF WARFARE.
PecuiIaritie- aud Difficulties OF Making
War on tho Indians.


Making war on Indians Is unlike any
other war making Ia which armies en-
gage. Finding them. not fighting them.
is the difficult problem 10 solve. III the
reader will consider that the theatre On
operations ia any Indian campaign
whether in Wyoming. Dakota, the In
dian Territory and Texas. or Arizona
is about as large as the New England
States with New York added; that each
of these possible theatres of war Is an
uninhabited wilderness; that they are
without roads. aud often impenetrable
for hundreds of miles because OF arid
deserts or impossible mountain ranges;
that while all parts OF each Territory
are 10 the Indian as familiar as the
paths OF the home orchard are 10 the
farmer and his children. II Is and of me-
cessity must be an unknown land TO
the best-informed white man; that In
these trackless wilds the Indian has no
fixed habitation; that upon being dis
covered by his enemy the direction oil
the trail he takes is "A matter OF indiffer-
ence 20 him; that where night finds
him is his home. and that his subsist-
ence and clothing are always with him
If all these and collateral matters
depending on them are considered.
AN idea can bc formed OF how difficult
IL is 10 make successful war on the In
dian.
In war the Indian. though partially
civilized, reverts to his worst phase OF
sayagery. Much has been written rs
TO the false sentimentality which crops
up in the discussion of the Indian qucs-
ton by humanitarians aud lovers oi
fair play which il is not intended here
To repeat. But il may properly be OBJ
served that il is worse than nonsense
TO urge that the Indian regards the
white intruders as the descendants OF
those who. two centuries and more ago,
came to this country and by might de-
prived the Indians OF the lands and
hunting fields. and is through his chill
dren pursuing the red man toward
the setting sun" The Indians knowl.
edge of history scarcely extends beyond
one generation. His white enemy Is
served in war ms Is any other enemy.
aud for the same reasons. He has no
inherited animosities dating from the
| time of the Pilgrim Fathers. nor does
| he feel gratitude for kind usage shown
10 his ancestors or TO himself. The
annuities paid him are looked upon. as
tributes cxactcd by fear or some less
worthy principle, and kindness shown
| him are evidences To his mind that those
by whom they are shown are weak and
afraid OF him.
Fortunately for the whites. the In
| dams in their warfare are not in the
habit of attacking our so-called forts
on the frontier. else the horrors OF
past wars would equal in any year the
fearful pictures of the Indian mutiny
against the English. Our frontier
forts have often been ut the mercy ol
the Indians but this capture in any
instance could not have been made
without great loss of life, and IL il
characteristic of the race that they are
slow to attack when certain death
awaits any great numbers. They are
brave where supcrstitious beliefs make
the chances of safety greatly in their
favor. but will not take the risks that
satisfy the civilized warrior. - Gen
Wesley Merritt, u. 3. a.. ~ Harper
| M10H ziHp.