Daily Yellowstone journal. [volume] (Miles City, Mont.) 1882-1893, 1890-11-27
NO TROUBLE YET.
The Day of the Expected Out.
break at Pine Rioge Agency
is Safely Passed.
Ire Indians Generally Under
stand II is Useless to Fight
the u. S. Government.
A sauaw Mans Opinion

RUsHvILLE, Nov. 22.-To.day, or at
the farthest Tomorrow, is the time
set for the bloody engagement between
the soldiers and Indians at Pine
Ridge, but advices up TO noon to-day
report all serehe on the battle field.
Your correspondent interviewed a cour.
ier named Bsptis,e, squaw man liv
ing on the Sioux reservation, and hsv.
ing an Indian wif. aud many child
ren. He Is called Big Bat by the
Indians and has lived among ,em Tor
- years ana j. intelligent, wealthy
and Of wide influence among them.
He stated in Substance that no ou.-
break or depreciation OF any nature
would occur. "rhe Indions have hpen
dancing" said Biz Bat, "hus that does
not signify that they want TO murd= r
the white sellers or night. sold ers 7"
Being asked If .he Iudiaus would
peacefully stop their dance aud sur
render their aims, he said they un-
doubtedly would If II was demanded
of them. ~ don't think they care
much about giving up the dance" said
he, but they would kick some on
giving up their guns. They would
not fight for their guns though
"Are many of them armed? ~ "Yes,
about two-thirds of tie males, but
they do not want to fight. attended
the council of dances night before last
when they discussed all their matters
and the leaders speeches to the young
bucks were all to the effect that while
they could easily wipe ont the troop,
now on hand, IL they did 50 there
would be ten soldiers there the next
day TO where there was one the day
before and II would be only question
of a few days until the lsst Indian
would die. Beside, they said, where
would we go to? We are surrounded
on all rides by soldiers aud settlers.
We have no provisions for clmplign
and would surely s,arve and our
squaws aud plpooses would perish
before our eyes. The whole council
united iu advising aud agreeing to
submit peaceiully TO whatever the
government demanded. Big Bat
urged the necessity Of taking away
from the Indians all their arms and
ammunition-not because he thought
an uprising probable at any time. but
to make them less rowing aud shif,less
and feel more dependent upon manual
labor or civilized pursuits. General
Brooke asked r. o. Pugh, issue clerk
of the supply department, what ratiou-
the Indians were getting. "They are
getting this," replied Pugh: Ten
pounds Of bacon, three pounds Of
beans, $50 pounds Of beef, one pound
of baking powder, four pounds of cof-
fee. fifty pounds Of -four, two pounds
of salt, two pounds Of soap, seven
pounds of sugar." "This is the quan-
tity allowed 20 100 Indians today for
two weeks" added Pugh. TOO little,
too little. entirely too little" exclaimed
the general with much emphasis.
"Who of us don't know that people
cannot live on that, don't care
whether they are Indians. or what
they are? People can't be satisfied II
they don't have enough IN eat, and
the government should be finding Il
out pretty soon." "For one thing
said Agent Roger, "they don't get all
the beef that Is coming to them. Beef
weighing 100 pounds when 1t gets
here to US. shrinks to 700 before II gets
to the indians, and the Indians are the
losers" "But II Is not beef alone that
is short, resumed the general, It Is
about everything else except soap, and
there seems plenty Of that"