New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-11-23
and add beyond calculation to the comfort oil"
happiness of the race.
TIE sroUx AND THEIR SUPERsTITIoNS

TIE SIOUX AND THEIh cCT hho1AAAON'
10 an Indian war is not presently to DC
SOUGHT ALI the signs will be belied. The In
d;on Il a great procrastinator. and he will take
-. o,,rn time for an offensive movement,
..,.oo;,,Iv as he knows that the Government is
80. nIoIv TO strike the first blow. But the
.;.ro,;on which has gradually been focusing
AZ the pine Ridge Agency has an appearance
- ;nmediate menace. and if the Government
,,.oro 70 undertake to suppress the ghost dances
=. conflict would almost certainly be preclpi-
.,,.od Some of the dispatches say that
Couor.l rrooke. who is in command OF the
troops at Pine Ridge, confempiates such ihofe
ment. II is not easy at this distance 10 reach
n fair conclusion as to the wisdom OF unat pro-
ceodinp but it would seem to be mistake
The Government should certainly with ceierity
,onosntrate a force at Pine Ridge sufficiently
loo 70 wbip the Indians if they engage In
host;lites hut with that force available, for
hoor,rco and not severe action seems to us the
proper policy.
NOW laboring has been developing for TWO or
,hroe wears. It is the result OF many widely
different influences. Among all the Northwest
orn tribes there is and always Las been large
hodv of hostile, ugly Indians, whose malignant
nurnoses have been but partially concealed
They have watched the progress of civilization
among their people with profound jealousy
They have kept away from the agencies, and
have closed their ears to all reports OF the white
mans numerical strength and unbOunded re-
sources Some are ignorant, implacable savages
Others are men of force and ability, sincerely
nroud of their traditions and ways, and deeply
mortified at their dependent condition. Inc
motive for warille enterprises is never wanting
to this GLASS of men. Another and much larger
class finds in hostile movements what II con-
sders the best way of extortng money ana
rations from the Government. Among the
Sioux tribe this element is particularly strong
and it has long list of experiences TO cite III
support of its contention.
In one of this weeks dispatches from Man.
dan. North Dakota, occurred an interview with
a friendly Arickaree which threw bright light
upon this sagacious theory. Our people" said
the Indian are friendly. We do not believe
in the Messiah But we should be glad TO see
the Sioux go on the warpath because then the
Government would give us all more ponies
more blankets and more rations " The lrrecon-
cilable Sioux Chiefs and many who are osten-
sbly friendly, continually point to the results
of practical benefit to the tribe which have pro-
ceeded from their battles with the whites.
Seev ' they say to their young men, "see
what we have done for you. Look at those
buildings yonder full of blankets, calico, flour
and sugar. See the cattle in the corral there
waiting for your knives. See our ponies and
tbn a Father
pays for our friendship. Look at the tmld
ponca. Look at the Omaha with his head
down. Look at the dirty Crow. They work
for their living They are towards, and crawl
when the white man speaks So he puts
plough in their hands and they follow it a
spade and they dig. They are women. But
the Sioux holds up his head and frowns when
the Great Father does not treat him we'll" This
is fair type of the arguments which the older
Sioux have been addressing TO their young men
since the battle on the Little Big Horn, and it
has the great merit of being backed by sound
facts.
When these conditions are considered, ana
with them the intense superstition OF the In
dian mind, it is easy to account for the scenes
that are being enacted at Wolf Creek and on
the WOunded-knee. An acquaintance WIN
Christian doctrine has served in many cases
only to give the Indians wider fields for super
stitious dreams. Their medicine men have
found in the doctrine of personal and omni-
present God and of Saviour mysterously born
and embodied in human form great opportllni-
tie. fer all kinds of fetch worship. Supersti-
ton enters into their lives so thoroughly that
its manifestation in religious dances has al
ways been regarded as involving the danger OF
an outbreak, and although the winter season
is at hand, time when among the affected
tribes every family is almost entirely dependent
on the Government for food and shelter. it il
by no means impossible that their fanaticisn
may lead them into the commission of acts
which will bring on long and fearful war
The hope is that temporizng policies will tide
over each crisis as it arises, and that before
warm weather comes the craze will have dice
| away,