Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-02-10
THE WHITE SETTLERS.
A Good Deal of the Sympathy for
Them is Wasted.
MONEY IN THE CAMPAIGN
They Were Employed Teamsters and La
borer- in the Quartermastcr's Department
Rapid Transit and Issue of supplies-A
Sioux Boycott-Some Practical Suggestions.
staff Correspondence of The Evening Star.

I
vicinity of the considerably contracted but
still great Sioux reservation In many quarters
there exists belief that the settler has been
! ruined by the late disturbances. but that idea
has no foundation. As a mater of fact the set
tiers and Indians have come out ahead, the
only sufferers financially being the United States
government and the states of Nebraska and
South Dakota. For two successive seasons the
crops in the region round about the reservation
had either failed entirely or were SO poor as to
be valueless. Many families found it impossi-
bic to longer subsist on hope, and were prepar-
ing to leave the country when the Sioux
warriors commenced to disturb matters some
what. This condition of affairs hurried quite a
number of people eastward. but the majority
Of the men foresaw a season of prosperity for
those who remained near the seat of war.
These latter were not deceived. and they are
now reveling in the possession Of more ready
money than any of them ever had before.
TIE RUSH FOR EMPLOYMENT.
The qJlartermaster department hardly had to
intimate that teams and transfers were needed
before Capt. Ruhlen's Office at Rushville was
besiegcd by men hungry for employment
Since the campaign opened more than 5000 coo
pounds of supplies were hauled from Rushville
TO Pine Ridge, and 8, 100000 pounds more went
City. Each wagon load consisted of from 5000
to SEQ pounds and the result, so far as the
teamster was concerned. was 20 cents per hun
tired the contractor netting cents for his
trouble. The trip from Nashville to Pine
Ridge and return was made in two days by
most of the teams and some of the more
eager seekers after wealth made two full
trips In three days. Fifty other teams
four horse-were engaged to follow the troops
in the field and the daily compensation for
u.
government teams-a couple of hundred-and
the men who loaded and unloaded the wagons
and drove the mules were all civilians The
army needed every fighting man it could get
These civilian Transfers were paid s35 month
and rations. From $50 to $50 a month, with
rations, paid the packers, and they. too. were
numerous. ! very modest estimate of the money
disbursed by the quartermaster department and
spent by the troops for such Injuries as could
be supplied by ran,hers would be over rather
than under $780, 900. Nashville has had great
boom. Hotels have been crowded and livery
stables overworked and there has been more
money in active circulation during the past
month than Nashville ever saw before. II the
Pine Ridge Indians will only make a little
more noise in the spring time Nashville lots
will move up 80 per cent.
RAPID WORK OF THE QUARTERMAsrER.
Comparatively few people have any idea of
the immense business which has to be done by
the quartermaster department during an Indian
campaign. From the supply depots all over
the country clothing and horse equipments
were gathered; Rock Island arsenal sent ammu
milton, and everything necessary was secured in
a hurry. There was no red tape to tangie up
the proceedings. Just after the Wounded Knee
fight there WAS enormous demand and greater
supply. One evening five carloads of subsist-
ence supplies arrived at Rushville; by 10 o clock
the next morning every pound of the stuff was
on its way to Pine Ridge. Capt. Ruhlen and
his little force were worked to the verge of
exhaustion Every wagon had to be twice
weighed, the unloading and loading had to be
personally suPeriHtended, and every driver had
to have duplicate bill of his load When
evening came all these bills were consoh
dated into one general and official bill of
lading. which was forwarded to Capt. Chas: F.
Humphrey at Pine Ridge. Capt. Ruhlen had
but two clerks with him, the principal one
being Mr.. Off,ey Of Washington. To do the
amount of work that was turned out at Rush
vile there would be thirty or forty clerks en-
ployed in the department at the national cap
ital. The little crowd commenced operations
at about am. and toiled SO long there was
anything to do. freqently until after midnight.
But If Capt. Ruhlen had busy time at Rush.
vile what words will express the situation at
Pine Ridge, where Capt. Humphrey was sta
toned? Capt Humphrey was division quarter
master and under the working of the army
system everything sent to him became his
property; he was held to accountability for
everything in his department and by him were
all the supplies distributed to the various COM
mands in the field. No matter what hour any
body sought Capt. Humphrey he was always to
be found and was invariably wide awake. He
had but two clerks.
THE CLAIMS OF THE PATRIOTS.
The country is full. to the bung, of people
whose patriotism is of the purest quality. But
a little while ago and every able-bodied man
in South Dakots. land northern Nebraska was
bowling for protection. Not that kind of pro-
lection which manufactured democratic major
tiles last fall, but the sort which is afforded by
the United States army and the National Guard.
The wall of the helpless was heard and troops
at once took the field and stood between the
men who had sold the Indians rifles and am
Inunition and the men who bought the gunsa d
their Accomplishments. Now the walters are
sitting up nights figuring out how much the
government ought to pay them for having
camped upon the sacred soil in their immediate
vicinity. When the soldiers arrived at the lit
tie frontier settlements of Adaton and Oelrichs
there great rejoicing on the part Of the
scared inhabitants. The scare is over now and
the bills are coming in. One of these bills
amounted to SS7. just Tor the use of small
patch of ground on which two companies of
infantry we're camped for three weeks. The
real estate of 1.-The whole country, put up for
sale by action, would hardly have realized that
amount on the first day OF January last.
ADJUTANr FIsLEY's NENAGERIE.
Such experiences are not uncommon in times
of peace. Adjutant Walter l.. Finley Of the
ninth cavalry has not forgotten the day when
he was one of the attractions in a travelling
show. 1t happened in 1883, when that inter-
esting body of troops known as the Leaven-
worth battalion was doing practice march
from Leay enworth to Topeka. Evening was
coming on and the quartermaster was search
ing for good ground in the suburbs of a little
town, when 4 simple-looking specimen of the
raw Farmers Alliance variety was encountered
want a campin' place. eli? You come right
long inter my medder. Glad t see you. Useto
be one of We m'self twenty-five yers ago.
Whatn charge! Nothin; not q cent. Come
right in"
such a welcome had not been given the bat
talon for years. IL was genuine surprise
Camp was made and in u little while everybody
was comfortable. Ordinarily whenever the
battalion rested for the night there was large
crowd of the people who resided roundabout to
be found engaged in making curious scrutiny
of men and methods. On this particular even
ing the number of visitors was extremely small
and when the proprietor of the ''medder" hap
pened along Lieut.. Finley remarked: Il don't
see many OF the townpeople around camp to-
night. We usually have q crowd about this
time. They're generally glad to come"
The granger sly he'd somewhat as he realized
the smallness OF the attendance and then ex-
planned matters by SAYING: Il recken there's q
good many that nd like to come in, but they
amt al got the two-bits."
He had trapped the battalion and was dis
playing his mena2erie a. the uniform rate Of
Is cents head for admission to the '.medder.'
WHY KEARSEY HAS NO SUMMER CAMP.
People who reside in the town Of Kesrney,