, 1891-06-04
THE LATE INDIAN WAR.
What a Dakota Senator Says
of the Outbreak.
Young Bucks Urged to Fight
by the Old Ones.
Serious Charge Against an
Army Officer.
Pettigrew on the Sioux.

OMAHA, June 3.-Senator Pettigrew of
South Dakota is a member of the specia
committee of the senate appointed last
winter to visit Nebraska and the Dakotas
during the summer and investigate the
causes OF the recent Sioux outbreak, aud
suggest laws to prevent Indian outbreaks
in future.
The senator knows all about the Sioux,
having lived near them for almost a quar-
ter of a century, and watched closely the
movements which led up to the outbreak
last winter.
The Sioux started in to whip the sol
dlers. and they would have done it if they
had anything like a fair opportunity.
Yes. thC weather was bitter cold, but they
had plenty OF provisions aud were full of
tight. The surroundings were bad for
them. Tie SiOu are powerful in ply
sique and will fight anything. We have
seen since trouble has blown over, and 1t
will never come up again. that the settlers
we're needlessly disturbed. The Indians
did not intend to hurt the settlers, they
were after the soldiers, whom they detest.
The battle of the Little Big Horn in the
Black Hills OF my state nearly twenty
years ago, in which Gen. Custer was
slain, has been pointed out to the young
bucks as one of the greatest epochs in the
life OF this Indian nation.
The young men were told by the old
ones that their fathers had distinguished
themselves on the battlefield where Custer
was killed, and they, the young Indians,
would never amount TO anything till they
also had killed some soldiers.
The battle of the LATHE Big Horn was
a simple slaughter of soldiers and Sioux.
In the first campaign they thought it was
proper to kill soldiers, as they were hired
by the government to be killed, and that
they could not be punished for il. After
all, there is a great deal of deep cunning
in the Indian. He knows perfectly well
that If he can make a n outbreak, appear
to be at war, he is not likely to be arrested
and hung for his murder, and that to
make war YOU must involve the soldiers.
S IMPLY to kill settlers is not to make war.
This has been well demonstrated in the
trial of Plenty Horses at Sioux Falls, my
native city.
Plenty horses was educated at the
Carlisle, Pa, Indian school and almost as
soon as he returned to his people he threw
off his citizens clothing and donued a
blanket When the outbreak began he
took it into his head to become great
among his people. He wanted to kill his
man aud he must be a soldier, so he went
into the camp one day and got into a con
versation with Lieut.. Casey. The officer
had no idea that the Indian had murder
in his heart. When the conversation
ended Lieut.. Casey turned about and
started to walk away. Plenty Horses
took from under his blanket a revolver
he had concealed and shot the officer
through the back OF the head at a dis
lance of less than twenty feet. There was
no fighting, no excitement at the time
Was that war? 1t was murder. but Plenty
Horses defense was that the killing was
in war and the defense stood, and of
course he was acquitted.
No. said the senator in conclusion,
there will be no more Indian wars. Ii
wH, dc, n"r duty we will make il impos-
sible for the Indians to nave arms. %S:s%
out them they cannot kill"