Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-01-18

the national pauper, the dirtiest, lousiest,
most worthless of human kind, apparently
only valuable as an excuse for a standing
army and as the prey of official agents and
unofficial traders. The few who have proved
of some use to themselves If not to this world
or the next, are not enough to save the whole
from damnation,
The Frontier Opinion.
The verdict of the military Indian fighter
is that the only good Indian is the dead
Indian. The ranchman agrees with him
heartily. The humanitarians who look for
the soul of the redskin with view of saving
it are even more in the dark than the mill
tary. The latter has theory, bloodthlrsty
or harsh as it is General Miles would
either kill them or put them under military
supervision within clearly defined limits;
and from all L can gather from about 2, 600
pages of close print through which 1 have
waded to find some valuable and practical
proposition, humane or otherwise, for the
future treatment of the redskin, it appears
to me that his theory is about the only ten
able one.
There was conference of eminent, pious,
humanitarians in session for several days
last October at Lake Mohonk Hotel, Ulster
county, n. Y. 1t was fine advertisement
for the place. 1t discussed the Indian ali
the time. The emlnen, ladies and gentle
men had Indian for breakfast, for luncheon,
for dinner, and for tea, and apparently
dreamed of buried tomahawks and grand
temples devoted to Indian education and
worship at night If so, it was only in their
dreams, as all of the reports in regard to the
education of the Indian and the hope of a
useful future for him were meager and un-
satisfactory.
Expenditures and Results.
1t was quoted with great qualification that
from $40, 900 in 1876 the Government appro-
priation for Indian education had swelled
TO very close to s., 1000, 900 for 1891. Hun
dreds of schools had been established, hun
dreds of teachers and philanthropists sup
ported out OF the millions expended, but
there was but beggarly account of Indians
who had been educated to be of any real use
except to pray with and save the souls of
these people who cannot get beyond the
breech clout age, and who are in moment
swerved from the true orthodoxy of the hu-
manirarians to the murderous frenzy taught
by the new Messiah who is to sweep the
whites from the face of the earth.
Even the humanitarianS admit this among
themselves, and yet they go on wasting their
time on the Indian. and are constantly at
the doors of Congress begging for Gods sake
and humanity's sake for more money with
which to educate a creature who cannot be
educated and to convert to Christianity those
who cannot be converted. Look at this ad-
mission OF Senator Dawes, made at the Lake
Mohonk conference:
Dawes Estimate of the Reds.
The Indian of to-day is not the Indian who
was in this country when the present policy
was inaugurated. There is no Indian outside
of Alaska such as were the Indians of 10 or 10
years ago. The Indian as an Indian has al
ready disappeared in this country He has
partaken of change He begins himself to be
uneasy He is discontented; he is determined
he will no longer stay IN the places and ways of
the Indian Of ten years ago. He has caught
the idea of selling his land. He has caught it
of the white man. 1t has been found that the
portion of their reservation is to propose TO pay
part, if not all, of the purchase money by dis
trlbution per capita among the Indians.
Six hundred thousand dollars was appro-
pTiated last winter to fulfill the promise to the
C9ur d'Alene Indians; that. if they would cede
portion of their land, this money would be
distributed per capita among them. 1t might
as well have been thrown into the Pacific
Ocean for any permanent good 1t would
bring the Indian. And the treaty In
dfans have caught this same idea. The comfort
of an hour or of day, or so long as SIS IN
vested in whisky will last has come to be so
fascinating that the treaty Indians are afte.
their funds. coming in by delegations and press
ing upon Congress to take their treaty funds
out of the Treasury and distribute them per
capita, instead of keeping the funds 25 or 80
years and paying only the interest on them
The Delawares, with their CHIEF at their head
came up to Congress, begging to have the S90-
600, which is all they have left of their funds
distributed per capita. The Osages who have
In their wealth deprecated and gone back year
after year for 20 years, think the wisesf way is
to take the S7,O0O.O00 or more belonging to them
@ho Tra an.l hau foo IL
as long as it will last.
Rushing to His Own Destruction.
Twenty-Five years ago the Indians could not
understand the idea of allotment. Now they
are crazy to have allotmen;. because along with
it comes the provisio that they may sell to the
Government the balance of their land. 1t be-
comes the friend of the Indian to look out for
him in this regard. He is about to waste his
patrimon and his heritage. if you will let him.
The IndiauH in the Indian Territory have be-
come landlords and the white men from the
neighboring States come in there and manage
their farms while they rest or do worse.
saw poor miserable fellow down at Tale
quah, and a man told me that three years be-
fore he was as earnest and enterprising man
as was among them, now poor, idle, shiftless,
worthless fellow. what is the matter with
him?" asked. He had become a landlord, they
said He had gone into Kansas and got a white
man to come down and take his farm for a
third OF what he could raise on it. and take two
thirds for himself; and now he need not work.
There are many such, and their number is in
creasing every day.
The Indians outside the Territory have ac-
quired this passion for giving up their land for
money in hand. The allotment law, which had
its origin in the idea that work on the soil was
the one thing of all others necessary to civiize
the Indian, is in danger of beng itself under
mined by this attempt to lease the land which
the allotment compeis them to occupy for %
years.
A Waste of Human Feeling.
And vet when the meeting of next year
was under discussion and DR.. Lyman Alb
bott remarked that it might be somewhat
bold to assume that the conference was to be
invited to Lake Mohonk each year, Mr..
Smiley. the Chairman, answered solemnly:
"God willing, this conference is going to
hold on until every Indian gets his rights"
What terrible waste OF piety and human
feeling or people who are admitted to be
absolutely incapable of caring for them
selves and who accept the attention and
millions lavished upon them, but utterly
refuse to accept the God or the customs of
the good men and women who attempt to
thrust these things down their throats with
silver spoonsi
1 search in vain in the records for some
thing palliative of the harsh judgment that
seems to fix itself upontthe mind of everv-
one who goes into this question. taking the
official and humanitarian records as the
basis for information.
Miles Has the Right View.
The only people who appear to hope for
something from the Indians are the Indians
themselves, who are being fed, and the pro-
fessional humanitarians, who are supported
in their work either from the United States
Treasury or from the funds of religious soci-
eties bent upon adding to the membership
of their various denominations. The game
does not seem to be worth the powder, or,