New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-11-22

tn,e but the Indians have been accustomed TO GOV
doubtful II thew win attempt any violence this tne
There is question but that great excitement pre-
vafs among Indians engaged In thls ceremony, ana
there is no telling what may happen
DISPATCHES FROM GENERAL MILES.
HE ASKS THAT MORE TROOPS BE PUT IN READ1-
NESS AT oNcE-cRITIcIsING HIS CONDUCT.
l.r rELkGaApH TO THE rkrcUxEi
Washington, Nov. 21-There was no'hihs III inc
dispatches received this forenoon from Genersl Niles
which altered in any sense the views held at the war
Department. The first dispatch which indicated tnat
the threatened trouble spreading read as follows
"Reliable information has boon received that the
Yanktons and Cros yentres, on upper Missouri also
those near old Fort Belknap have unanimously adopt
cd the Messiah craze the latter quite ugly; that s-
ting Bull has sent cmissares to these tribes ana % the
lodges Sioux north Of the British line ex
citing them to get and ammunition ana JOIN the
other warriors Black Hills in the spring. Every
effort Is being to alay and restrain the turbulent
the violent act Of any small part OF the des
perae ones may cause general uprising. The latest
reports from the Northern Cheyehes is that they have
abandoned the dcluson There should be delay, how
ever putting other troops than thoss in these two
departments proper equipment for the field"
The other dispatch TO the effect that the Indians
at Pine Ridge are greatly excited and that large
joining them and taking part in the ghost dances.
which still continue These dispatches were laid
before the President and his Cabinet by Secretary
Proctor.
Despite the tone Of these dispatches General Scho-
field and Acting AdjutantrGcneral McKeever adhered
to the opinion that there would be no outbreak, at
least before next spring. Other officers who share
the same opinion call attention to the hearsay evidence
upon which General Miles bases his dispatch 1t is
undoniable that the Department Is dsinclined to com
ply with General Mess request that additional troops
to those in the Departments Of Dakota and the Platte
be sent the Indian country The request comes in
the form of advice that the troops be equipped for
the field With the means Of transportation and equip
ment at the command Of the Quartermasters' and
subsistence Departments there need be delay and
unless further advices arc received from General
Miles the forces already directly under his control
not likely to be strengthened.
There are those who regard the action OF General
Miles as selfish declaring that he IS utilizing the cir
cumstances to bencat hfs Presidential aspirations.
Weight is given these views by the fact that promi-
aent officers here express them. 1t seems that a
Presidential "boOm' for General Miles started at
banquet in San Francisco several months ago, much
as one was launched for Cleveland at more recent
banquet, and this may perhaps have excited some
Jealousy among less fortunate officers of the Army, one
Of whom to day discOursed to THE STAR reporter as
follows:
ally asks that the command Of the entire Army be
turned TO him. He wants TO create scare and
pose as the saviour Of the country In fact he Is
almost N the attitude Of political Messiah, such as
the Indians themselves looking for. / have no
doubt the world that Is honest in his candidacy
He has shrewdly enlisted the favor Of nearly every
newspaper man In California and has by his agree
able and the expenditure of his means managed
to make himself popular in certain way in the West
TIa ic anffb mar I'm hs
he is pulling his wires shrewdly.'
The dispatch OF to-day. however, was the fist ono
received at the headquarters OF the Army from
General Miles, which contained anything suggesting
that general outbreak imminent, that the
troops stationed in the Departments OF Dakota and
the Platte would be sufficient 10 meet any probable
emergency. At the Indian Bureau the troubles at,
believed TO be greatly exaggerated. The Acting Com
missioner, Mr.. Belt, does not believe that the
Indians harbor any hostile designs against the settlers
and bases his belief the expectation OF the Indians
that their Messiah is abont to appear and restore to
them their former power and lost possessions and
destroy the whites. Mr.. Belt said:
"All that they are counseled TO do is to remain
quiet. Under the influence Of the Messiah powder will
no longer have the power to carry bullet when di
reced against the Indians. a great going t.
sweep the country, according to these pred tons
buryng the whites and carrying the Indians along and
preserving them from harm. 30 you sec the essential
feature this deuson rather dscourayes the Indians
from indulgng in any outbreak. There Is necessity
for them TO take any action or this kind, the
Messiah is to do everything. 1t is true that the
Messiah has not appeared 1T tie time announced
Disappointment may make them Troublesome 1t l.
probable that when the Indians discover that thest
stories not they may become troublesome
Tney VIII probably turn upon the medicine men who
made these predictions, ana then there will be-
difficulty among the Indians which may spread beyond
the confines oil the tribe
Ar. Belt, however, thought that the precaution al
ready adopted in sending military u the
tons wOGIl be ample 10 prevent serious 0utDreaK
indian Agei. T:1eIt who left Washing tonight fol-
Rosebud Agency, of tse opinion that IL few
Indian ringleadeis arrested and locked up the
element wol:lt abae and disappear. lie does
no, attribute the present trouble entirely to the re-
ligiols craze although lie thinks that OF the
Indians have been deuded into belief in the Messiah
lie SAYS this story about tho coming Messiah was
started mainly among the non progressive Indians, WHO
are led by such men Sitting Bull and Red Cloud
The Sc men been deposed chiefs because tney
part OF the Sioux Reservation and any other move
ment which was In 'rhe line Of progress. The re.
gious craze he says. originated BY them IN order
10 regain their control over the people There Is
another feature which Mr.. Wright thinks contributes
10 the present condition OF affairs and that Is the bad
crops OF the last year. The Indians he says. have
not raised much grain and they hungry. This
makes them feel ugly and desperate. He thinks il
thc lenders are gotten out of the way. possibly the
Indians may quleted down and all disturbances pre-