The Portland daily press., 1891-05-29
INDIAN TROUBLES IN AMERICA.
The Situation Just after :the War
the Rebellion
When Injustice was Done to the Red
Man.
Row Indians Saved United stntos
Troops from Massacre.

II. c. Merriam formerly Of Maine. Col
Merriam has had long experience In IndlaT
affairs and his views are Of great value. ThG
paper Is reprinted from the Colorado Sun.
Commencing with the Minnesota massacre
In 1862 and ending with the Custer massacre
in 1876, period Of fourteen years, was the
red letter period Of Indian warfare on thii
continent. The cost In dollars and cent
alone was enormous. 1t exceeded 100000,
600. more than one-third Of the aggregate
cost Of all Indian wars since the foundation
| OF the government
Prior to that period Indian wars had beer
Sostiiities % sxtendSS fsom eS MeSco OSs on n1 IN
south all the way along the ninety mint
meridian through Texas, the Indian Terr
tory, Kansas, Nehraska and Dakota to Man
/ t0ba, besides the Apache war which cOyere,
the whole Of Arizona and New Mexico.
IL was the last grand rally OF the combined
tribes OF the plains TO beat back the relent
less tide OF civilization, which had pushed
them gradually from the Ohio. across the
/ prairies OF Indiana and IlllnOis-Over the
Mississippi and the lower Missouri, until
they saw the mighty regions Of their fathers
| narrowing towards the snowy mountains,
and the mighty herds OF buffalo provided by
the Great Spirit and transmitted TO them
through many generations, being restricted
In their pasture range, and slaughtered by
the hunters OF hostile race. These herds
| supplied the red man In the greatest abun-
dance and at all seasons. both food and
clothing, as well as icoyer for his lodge,
| against the winters cold and the summers
heat.
Prior to this period the Indian had made
but little opposition to the settlement Of the
prairies, and had suffered our exploring and
prospecting expeditions, and even our great
trans-contlnental emIgrant trains to pass and
repass In comparative peace. Our mining
camps in the mountains, including the in
clpient Denver, were reached by the mail
coach and prairie schooner across the great
plains, meeting with only occasional acts Of
hostility.
In the midst OF this period, at the close OF
the civil war, l began my service on the
plains. / had my first Indian skirmish with
the notorious Satanta on the Arkansas river.
near the eastern line Of Colorado. At that
time the Union Pacific railroad was strug-
Cling westward across the plains OF Kansas,
under the protection of the army. This line,
and all Of the older lines Of travel used by
trail would be sprinkled with the blood OF
surveying party, another day an emigrant
train, another day q stage coach of travellers
or detachment Of soldiers.
Relying on the buffalo for his supplies and
trusting to his pony for rapid transportation.
and to his life for defense, the red warrior
OF the plains was everywhere. he was o
mounted athlete, unequaled In h0rseman-
ship and physical endurance. unsurpassed In
courage and skill as riteman. Yet he
could not withstand the skill, the discipline
and the persistency Of the American lsofdler,
aided by the dauntless young frontiersmen.
who served as guides and scouts. The Indian
yielded, and was finally glad to accept
quarters In the reservation system.
One by one the tribes were settled within
limits established by treaty or defined by ex-
ecutlve orders Of the president. and named
Indian reservations.
This reservation system was q mere time
serving experiment, intended to secure tenn
porary peace and safety to the white settler
and TO afford the Indian q place Of refuge
which he could call his own, for a time, at
least. while the buffalo were extermlnsted,
L with settlers. To the Indian the system was
| a delusion and snare. He thought he was
receiving permanent home and absolute
aHUersbin o1 tRa~ Jsnd.. To ~enpmaEate. ny
own observation. There were three bands
/ OF Nez Perces In Idano. They had been dis
| tinguished for steadfast friendship to white
men since the expedition OF Lewis and
Clark, In 1903. They welcomed Christian
missionaries and teachers among their DeO-
pie, and had made considerable advance
ment In the customs Of civilization. In 1857.
when the SpOkanes and Csur d'Alenes at
tackled and defeated the command OF Colonel
Steptoe near the site OF the present city Of
Spokane Falls, and savagely pursued his
broken companies toward Snake river, these
NeZ Perces turned out en- masse and rescued
| the soldiers from massacre. For this they
| were accorded full credit In the official re-
Il
| for more than half century that not drop
/ of white mans blood had ever stained their
| hands. In 1868, they ceded to the United
| States by formal treaty the magnificent
| Walla Walla valley, accepting three small
| separate reservations for the three branches
i of the tribe. One was known as the Lapwai,
L another as the Kamia, and the third Included
| the Imnaha, and Wallowa valleys, In West
ern Oregon. The last named was occupied
by Joseph's band.
Within a few years white men began to
l covet this land, and the government caused
L all Of the NeZ Perces to be consulted, with
view to opening the Wallowa valley to settle
i ment. It was proposed to assemble all OF
the bands on the other two reseryations-the
Lapwai and the Kamla. To this proposition
| the Lapwai and the Kamia bands generally
| acceded-that Is they assented to receive on
their hands Joseph,s people; JosePns Reo,
up, refused to sign or confirm this treaty.
Yet, as they were minority OF the whole
| tribe, IL was decided by commission In
Washington that the signatures of the ma;
jorlty were binding, and that Joseph's band
| Of n0n-treaty Nez Perces must give up their
| lands and their homes and move to the Lap
wal and Kamia reservations. General
Howard was accordingly instructed to re'
l move them.
AT a council Joseph stoutly maintained tt
| General Howard, that kamia and Lapwa
| NeZ Perces had no more right TO dispose o.
| the land of the people than two OF his neign
bors had to sell his horses to stranger y ye
| this plain and even pathetic argument, which
| no one could Justly question, could even oe
| submitted to the government, Tor It's decision
| had already been made and It's order given.
The attempt to lnforce that order cost US W, tae
| bloody war of 1871 in which 24l gallant ON
| GERS and soldiers lost their lives, besides
many citizens. The cost In money was $751;
900. -
Ia 1876 Chief Moses, whose people oc;u
pied the large and fertile peninsula iorlnee ans
OF the Cascade mountains was induced 70 ex
| change Ii for tract Of mountain country
north of the Columbia, and extendlnR te
British Columbia on the north and 70 tht
Cascade range on the west, together with
promise Of personal jurisdiction OF chieftain
Ship over the Colvilles and other smai
| tribes, All who know the vanity OF the In
| dian character can understand now large
/ | figure this promise OF extended enieitianshi M
| cut In this bargain. In giving effect to TIL
| arrangement or treaty, President Hayes b
executive order, declared this new. reseryl
r ton set aside "as apermanent nome IL
| Moses and his people"
A few white miners were welcomed B
Moses to prospect for and to work mines
g this tract. Three years later the miners ol
: tanned another executive order from fres 4,
A dent Arthur, cutting of and restoring 70 a, ~
public domain "about one.thlrd o. sntS nsior ~
manent home," given for q conssiIaS1sdo sia Sras don
his predecessor. And all OF this Was .Uil uoh
without even consulting Moses oL nss , cros
The first notice Of IL came tnI0uEht Etad a" War
! white men, who hastened assSamad In loo
% this instance, but we All ielI asasaa@hsr IN
7: | Moses In the face. Wen 4 iesea...asf,l a. ~
p strn0ole had TO convince this pomglaIia ui az
StaiIf,ent chief OF the utter folly Oh going
:. i,.r ,gStb the United States, course whic
70 conld bring nothing but ruin and death
nis 10x 0vf begged him to go to his young mel
.IrssSv assembled and armed for the fra
o and TO talk to them and save them from
y foolish step. How he drew himself up az
. seized both my arms In his strong hand
i and said; as only an Indian can say II ca
d | not open my mouth to my people agai
; They would ridicule me. Perhaps can no
them back In this way"-forcibly backil
l. me across the tent. He did hold them bae
He dragged 800 angry young warriors awi
from the scene Of dispute and danger a ~
sent them 200 miles to the south, while !
10 terposed a sufficient force to insure again
rs their return. .,,.,,
Such Is the outline OF our Indian Poiicy
N and the history Of its application dPI y,
~ want 10 hear something more IN eesah ~ ~ y
n great Sioux nation and the NorthssIn err S.v =,
ennes. Something Of the gnoss uano0 ~ "a, q.
IS | Of the Messlah craze which Cteasou ." '1i"'
n commotion during the past winter. -.
be The Sioux and Northern Oheyehnes ,rs rs
Is haan frisnds for many generations. IN
,e, ore n,actieally one people. Their comoln
ssibaps ,.9 constitnte by far the strongest OF
tflD6S COustisuso - Sl-oo lhafr GnaI. an