Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1890-11-29

provisions as long as they needed them.
But these promises have not been
kept.
"When we were out there the Sioux
were suffering from the effects of bad
summer. Why sir, we went up the
river when the thermometer registered
10 degrees. The crops planted by the
Indians were in fine condition. Ten
DAYS later we returned, and found all
ruined The gram was withered; every
thing growing blasted by the continued
dryness and heat. Now, was it reason
able for the department. to enforce the
plan of gradually reducing rations when
such calamity had fallen upon poor
Lo? That would have been done, how
ever, had we not presented the case at
Washington and secured an appropTia-
ton for the tail end of the winter
"Bad as the summer of 1889 was, this
summer was much worse. The Indians
crops We're destroyed, and they had
nothing to live upon except what the
government might give them. Why,
the white settlers had TO appeal for as
sistance from the east. The Sioux were
in Just as bad a condition, or worse.
They were starving, sir, that's all, and
that's what caused this talk of war.
The Sioux are starving.
"They received rations, but not
enough. A miserable pittance of what
they should have had. And even after
the bad summer another cut was made
in the rations. Give the Sioux plenty to
eat and there will be no further trouble.
] believe that the trouble has been
greatly eXaggeraten any way, and i'll
this belief am corroborated by some
things | heard to-day But / want
TO say right now that of the 5000 Sioux
Indians in the various tribes 1900
signed our treaty and have yet to see
the name of one of these concerned i'll
the present difficulties. Those who
caused the uprising, if it deserves the
name, are bad Indians who would not
treat with us.
The governor further stated that the
government also made grave mistake
by discharging good indian agents to
make places for men Of different poll
tics, but who were evidently unfit for
their positions. This was especially
true at Pine Ridge, where Agent Gala
CHER had been removed, and his sue
cessor (Royer) couldn't control the In
dians.
Next to Sitting Bull, among the
h'iONlA. i0 &Ilt-l ANdlts NltNN llNIECs LliC
great soldier, who deserves to share
with Gall all the credit of the campaign
of which the annihilation of Clusters
troops was mere incident TO the In
dians. is dead. having been killed in
1879 while trying to escape from arrest
for having planned the assassination Of
Gen. Miles, Gall still lives, and is in
full possession Of his dreaded faculties
At Standing Rock agency is squaw
who claims to be the Virgin Mary, and
who has been unusually active III fur
theTing the doctrines of the Messiah.
She was arrested the other day and
brought before the agent, and when
asked her name drew herself up to her
full stature Of nearly six feet and gave
it, adding with arm uphfted, in a
tone of great earnestnesS:
." / am the mother of Christ, who is
now on this earth making preparations
for rebuilding it. :" This woman, who
bears the unfortunate name, for re-
ligious purposes, of Scarlet Woman, is
of spare build, about % years Of age,
and a very meek-looking individual.
Until the Messiah craze struck Sitting
Bulls camp, where she belongs, she
was the quiet and dutiful wife OF Blows
Himself, fourth rate chief
The four great reservations of Stand
ing Rock, Cheyenne River, Pine Ridge
and Rosebud, says The New York Yer
aid, aggregate / 900, 600 acres more than
Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode
Island combined; the ceded territory of
1889 is of about equal area.
The larger white settlements within
thirty or forty miles of the disaHected
districts are Rapid City, the banking
and business center of the Black Hills
region, and lying northwest Of Pine
Ridge reservation; Pierre, a still larger
city, lying between Rosebud and Chey
enne River reservations, and Mandan
and Bismarck, the capital of North Da-
kntn dine north of Standing Rock