Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1891-02-14
THE RECENT INDIAN WAR.

An Interesting Interview With a New
Haven Army Official Who Was at
Pine Ridge.
DR.. Robert J. Gibson of this city, who
returned recently from Pine Ridge agency,
where he was summoned from this city by
the war department five or six weeks ago,
and who returned few days ago, the In
dian war being over, will leave in few
weeks for Fort Sam Houston, near San
ly assigned upon closing his duties at Fort
Trumbull. Surgeon Gibson oficiated in
the cares of about seventy wounded men
on his arrival at Pine Ridge agency, about
half of whom were Indians, the rest Uncle
Sans men. The Indians in no case would
submit to amputation of limb, and
number of them died in consequence of
this obstinancy who, had they submitted
to the amputation operation, would -proba-
prefer death to amputation. Captain Glib
son says the stories widely published CEN
surfing and blaming the United States
troops for their part in the battle of
Wounded Knee are grossly incorrect; that
the Indians were the aggressors, first firing
upon the soldiers and behaving both
treacherously and cowardly. The soldiers
had to fire or be shot down. Miss Good
ale's published accounts of the Wounded
Knee affair bitterly censuring the United
States troops are being shown to be wide
of the mark and "away off" from the
facts, doing much injustice to the soldiers.
Says DR.. Gibson in an interview with
COURIER representative: "Reliable nom
commissioned officers of the Seventh cav
airy assured me that during the Wounded
Knee fight they frequently and repeatedly
withheld their fire because women and
children were in danger. They further
stated that they noticed the Indian bucks
in many instances firing from behind the
squaws, thus using the squaws as protec-
ton for themselves" -.
Father Craft, an enthusiastic missionary
of the Catholic church at Pine Ridge agen-
cy, was present at the battle on Wounded
Knee and saw the whole affair, being be-
tween the opposing forces. He has declared
in the most emphatic manner, both in pri-
vate conversation and through the medium
of the press, that the firing was begun by
the Indians themselves; that the troops
acted with the utmost forbearance, kind
ness and prudence, and that the killing
of the women and children could not be
avoided. This statement of the ca Sc
should convince all who are willing
| to be convinced that the Seventh
cavalry was in no way responsible for
| the commencement of the fight or for
| the killing and wounding of SO many COM
batants. Father Craft is descendant of
| the Mohawk tribe of Indians and he was
| for time chief of the Ogallala band of
Sioux Indians, and having Indian blood in
| his veins, it is not possible that he would
misrepresent the affair. Although dressed
| in his clerical robes, he was stabbed in the
| back by an Indian and suffered danger
GUS wound in the right lung. He was con-
valescent when we left Pine Ridge
Big Foot band of Indians was largely
/ made up of outlaws who were ready to 90
| to any extreme regardless of consequences.
| This band was captured by a battalion of
the Sixth cavalry December 81, but escaped
during the night and they were making
good time for the bad lands when they
were overhauled by battalion of the Sew
enth and obliged to surrender. They. were
marched seven miles or 50 to the Wounded
Knee Greek and carefully guarded until the
remainder of the Seventh cavalry arrived
| from Pine Ridge. They had agreed to
! give up their guns, but surrendered eight
and search of she tepees was ordered,
| The bucks, to the number of 1875, had been
| formed in semi-circle at some distance
from the tepees and were surrounded by
troops. About forty guns were found con-
cealed in the tepees, the squaws sitting up
| on them and attempting to conceal them in
other ways. It was evident that the great
er part of the arms, and all of the best
ones were on the persons of the bucks, as
the guns found were in many cases old
and practically useless A search of the
bucks having been ordered, the medicine
man, hideously painted IN green, took his
=