The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1890-12-04

dispossessed of their homes. Hawley spoke
briefly, saying he had no objection to the
remarks of the senator from Indiana, ex-
cept that they were, perhaps, a little exag-
gerated.
Dawes, chairman Of the committee on In
dian affairs, very much doubted il short
ness Of food was the origin of the trouble,
or that a supply of food would be cure for
it. The difficulty with the Indian service
all along had been the constant change of
policy. Heretofore for years, it had been
impressed upon congress that the best way
to treat an Indian was to starve him into
self support Root, hog, or die,'' had been
the phrase put over the door of those who
administered the affairs of the Indians and
the policy had been to cut down
year by year the rations required by treaties
and 70 give notice to the Indians that next
year they were only to have %. much. the
difference to be supplied by the labor Of
their own hands. He thought it we'll to
hold out every inducement to Indians to
turn from dependence on government ra-
tions and supply to their own support, and
that it was we'll to resort to all devices with
in the limits of justice and reason to in
0uOO tA4OAA w OO Ats an W Uu0 ouKR66GlOu
in the public press, that the government
had failed to keep promises made to the
Indians by the Sioux commission, ETC., he
said the commission had made all sorts of
stipulations with the Indians. One of
them was written out In plain language
and had been enacted into law BY congress.
and that stipulation the commission had
taken out to the Indians and asked them to
I~HlS A>Sl -
complaint because Of the -fulfllment of
other agreements and the commission told
them it had no authority as to those,
it's influence with the government
in the case. When the Indian
came to Washington with
the commission full discussion was had
and the agreement embodied in bill which
was submitted to congress by the president
The bill thus framed to the complete salts
faction of the Indians, passed the senate,
but where it WAS now he did not know.
He knew, however, that the skirts of the
executive and OF the senate wore clean of
any attempt to depart one iota from the
assurances given to the Indians by the
He Dawes saw the Indian
troubles with full apprehension of the dan-
ger and of the necessity of some present re-
lief to bring around compOsure among the
Indians and extricate them from the lead
Va bVo0 VoAA 44xOA0u6 hb 0ltGIUK DUH ana
Red Cloud, who were the bane and curse of
The tribes.
Voorhees, repelled the ''fesble attempt at
q sneer' on the part of Dawes and said the
latter knew the situation just AZ we'll as he
did, for Gen. Miles had told the public the
Indians had been made hostile and prefer
red to die fighting than to die of starvation.
These red men could enter the field with
]. GOO fighting men we'll armed, and with the
advantage of knowledge of the country
could tight COCO of the best American
troops on terms of equality. He asked the |
senator from Massachusetts to state wheth-
er these Indians had enough TO eat; wheth-
81 Miles was right or wrong, and whether.
The Indians were being starved into bellig-
erency.
Dawes said the great difficulty in dealing
with these 1000 Indians who are rebellious
is that they have nothing to eat. They are
away from their tepees. They belong to
work in their lives.
Pierce, of North Dakota, said he had
sometimes wondered that the white people |
in that region did not themselves 20 on the |
warpath because they were hungry. The |
Indians seemed to get noble az we'll as |
hem. He (Pierce) lived within a few
miles of the great Sioux reservation. He |
had been there for the last two months and |
his was the first time he had heard e as
serted that the Indians were ON tha var- /
path because they were hungry. He aav !
he Indians every day in the town .vhare |
le lived and they were sleeker and batter
the senator from IN.
Llama. [Laughter.l He had NO doubt but |
hat in some of the agencies there are Indians
Who complain of insufficient food. But he
Questioned very much whether Gen. Miles
made the statement attributed to him in the
newspaper. The trouble with the Indlans
. they are fed and clothed and alloved to
i've ON the bounty of the eovernment. and
he devil dnds mischief still for idle hands /
Voorhees, said he-would take the state
nent OF Gen. Miles far sooner than Chat Of /
senator who lived near the ressrvstion
nd Who. with his people, want to oet the
noian lands - so0n a. possible. ono vas
!ena6ie omcer. the other was the for. 7
vang aroand the pen whore the aeese we're
'aitlnG to got some Of them.
squaws Prsparing for War.
Pms Rmds AGzscY, DEC. a-The hostiles
70 still making svsry s6ort 70 strengthen
heir position in the Rad Lands, They
ave THAR squsvs at work digging rifle pits