, 1890-12-11
MISTREATED INDIANS.
Preferred Being Killed to
Being Starved.
CONFERENCE WITH BIG CHIEFS
Object to tho Census Returns
A Catholic Priests Mission
Among Them.

PINE RIDGE AGENCY, s. D.. Dec. a.
As perilous a mission as man of God has
undertaken for many a day IN the inter
est of avorting great bloodshed, was
completed yesterday, when good Father
Jute, the Catholic priest whom General
Brooke requested to go out and talk
with the rampantly hostile Indians, re-
turned to the agency. lie was the only
white man who might even think of ever
making the trip and living to got back.
The reverend father was accompanied
by Jsck Red Cloud, who went by reason
OF being widely respected son of the
famous chief. Ten miles from the hos
tile camp they were halted by pickett
and conducted to camp under cover OF
Winohesters. A conference followed, at
which were present Two Strike, Turning
Noar, Short Bull, High Hawk, Crow
Dog, Kicking bear. Eagle Pipe, Big
Turkey and High Pipe. Father Juto
opened tho council by asking the chiefs
to state their grievances. The replies
wore substantially as follows:
I'VE object TO the recent census re-
turns made by Lee. His enumeration
would not give food sufficient for us to
live on. Lee put down many less in
each tepee than the tepee contained. We
shall starve. We will have one big eat
before tho starving time comes. After
that we shall fight our last fight, and
the white man shall see more blood,
more dead than ever before. Then we
will go to the last hunting ground happy.
III the white man did not mean to cheat
us out of food the Great Father never
h.x
need of soldiers II the Great Father in
tended To bo fair with us. The Great
Father has done another wrong. He
put a new boundary line between Rose
Bud and Pine Ridge agency that makes
many of us leave our homes and give
them to others. The Great Father
broke the old treaty when he did this.
We can no longer believe the Great
Father. He says to us:
Children, you shall never be moved
again unless you want to move and
then ne goes right ahead and moves us.
We are done with promises, and now
make promise that we will fight and
the Great Father will find that We must
| not break our promise.
1--WE will now be very plain with you,
Christian Father, and tell you another
thing, something of which you may
have already thought; IL is this:
1--WE are not coming In now, and will
not lay down our rifles because we are
afraid OF the consequences. We have
now we will be punished. The Great
Father Will send many OF us to his bi 4
iron house to stay many months, and
we would die"
Father Jute begged them to bo peace
ful and explained that the soldiers were
not to harm the Indians but to protect
the agency; that rations wonld be in
creased If they came: General Brooke
/ would telegraph to Washington and get
permission for them to stay on the
agency as they desired.
| so far as depredations were concern ed
the father told them they had better
stop committing them, and they would
be more easily forgiven.
| Finally he urged the chiefs all TO come
back with him. To this somo of tho
older ones, who we're heavily in the ma
jority, said no. But the old men finally
agreed they would come In TO Father
| Jute's house, four miles northwest of
the agency, this morning, and there
meet General Brooke and tell him in
person just what they told Father Jute.
This brought on a rene ewal of bitter OPP
position from the majority. Finally the
| young chiefs cooled of, and Two Strike,
addressing Father Jute, said:
Hold your hands up to the Great
Spirit and tell us as though you were
about to start on journey to tue last
hunting grounds of the red men.
whether what you say to us Is from
General Brooke, and II 1t be true, and
that We will not be harmed If we come
in simply to talk to General Brooke
Father Jute says he complied with
the request All the chiefs then ex-
tended their hands toward heaven, and
with great solemnity, promised they
/ would come.