, 1891-02-28
THE INDIAN WAR.
What an Interior Department
Agent Thinks of 1t.
SquaWs and Children Murdered
at Wounded Knee.
Evil Influence Of the Army on
the Bed Man.
Small Loss of Property Outside
the Reservation.


was recently sent to Pine Ridge to inves-
tigate the late Indian war.
To the Honorable Commissioner Of In
| dian A6dns-SIR: | have the honor to
report in general upon nv observations
while at Pine Ridge aReuc and the con-
cluslon u which the facts as | saw them
led me. From all sides come conclusive
proof that during the administration Of
Gallagher the Pine Ridge Indians made
little advancement. He avoided coutro-
dams generally to have their " way.
There was no discipline. As White Bird,
a good Catholic Indian, told me Gala
CHER saw no difference in Indians. The
painted, non progressive, blanket buck
was treated with as much consideration as
the most enterprisiuE, earnest, and hope
full progressive lLdian. There being no
special inducement to improve many pro-
gressives slipped back into indifference,
The school children in the day schools
wear long hair. No hearty support was
gwen any of the schools and those in the
camps were positively neglected. Gala
CHER was a great, good-nstured, easy-go-
ing fellow who let things take their OWN
course. 10 the last year OF his admins
tration he grew more careless. knowing
his tenure OF Office would be briel.
When DR.. Roger assumed charge Of
the agency he found the system of gov
ernmcnt of the Indians lax and indlifer-
anoa DrnyuTlad ayarvmbara GOOD mn
loe force bad been organized, but it had
not been thoroughly disciplined. The
Indians, accustomed 10 having their own
way, looked at the new agent with sus-
picion. The ghost dances had been in
progress TOR weeks and no effective effort
was made to stop them. | think DR..
Roger meant to make a good <adminlstra-
ton. He was confronted with many diff
c%ulties, but DR.. Roger lacked nerve, ex.
perience. decision and good advice. He
failed. The troops were called out. The
Indians became frightened. They had
no thought of war. The first suggestion
of hostilities came from the whites. The
white people at the agency had no idea
troops were needed or expected until
word came that they were marching from
Nashville. The information spread like
wildfre among the Indians; and when the
whole United st ties army was set in mo
ton the Indians became very much
alarmed.
A few non progressive, ugly, lazy old
bucks, like Two Strike, High Hawk, Crow
Dog, White Horse and Kicking Bear. all
of Rosebud, Little Wound and Big Road
OF Pine Ridge, and Hump OF Cheyenne
River, aided by Sitting Bull at Standing
Rock and Red Cloud at Pine Ridge, both
OF whom were too willy to engage in active
hostilIties, had long been seeking to STIR
up strife. The movementof the army af'
forded them all an opportunity to fUnent
discord. They circulated the widest
JUNIORS. Hump told the people of the
central section that all the ghost dancers
were to be sent to Indian Territory. The
others were equally regardless of the
truth, and made their followers believe
that the soldiers we're sent to kill or i'm
prison all who danced,
THE WOUNDED KNEE TRAGEDY.
Finally came that awful tragedy at
Wounded Knee. 1t was an accident.
Perhaps no human hand or brain could
have prevented 1t. Its results were mel
ancholy in the extreme, though not with
out some good effect. In the briet en-
kdkGunChI At OuudCh NhGO IL
dams were slaughtered than were killed
in all the CIo1k-TerrY campaign of 1876.
Unfortunately for its place in history this
affair must go down in the record not
only as an accident, but as a massacre of
innocents. In Big Foot's band of 100
bucks and 230 women aud children, were
many friendly Indians, many who had
not even participated in the ghost dance
or believed in the messiah. They were
there by accident or force of circumstan-
ces. And then it must be remembered
too, that Big FOot's band had committed
no depredations and made no threat Of
hostilities. They were not thieves, out
laws or ~renegades. They had committed
no ofense whatever, except to escape
from Col. Sumner alter he had arrested
them. They feared they were to be taken
to the Missouri river and thence shipped
to Indian Territory. They were willing
to surrender to the Pine Ridge forces,
but not to those on the river; hence Big
Foot's statement to Capt. Whiteside:
I'VE would have surrendered before, but
could not find you And all the chiefs
wanted to parley about was the question
OF what would be done with them if they
surrendered. cannot escape the belief
that Big Foot band as a whole acted in
good faith.
There we're soldiers enough to have
pinioned the arms of every buck and dis
armed him or bound him baud and foot,
but ~ofcourse the firing OF a shot where
the tension was so great was enough to
precipitate a conflict. Crying Revenge
Custer" the slaughter vent on, and men,
women, and children went down to un.
necessary death. Bis Foot, sick on an
improvised pallet in front of his tent,
died with the rest. 1t was nine days
alter when the army found time to go out
and pick up a few SURVIVORS,, bury the
dead, and bring 10 the dead soldiers. Ii
was three hours after every Indian in
sight had been killed or wounded-no
quarter was ~gIven-that three or four
troopers OF Capt Godfrey troop of the
It'll deliberately chased a poor woman, an
0gallala, sister OF Red Hawk, q friendly,
married to one of Big Foot's band, into
the brush, and at close enough range to
scorch the squaw's hair and blacken the
faces of the children, atrociously murdered
her and her three little ones. On the
battle ground. and while it was in
progress. similar murders OF innocents and
non combatants may be excused. but this
instance proves the intensity with which
the common soldier hates the Indian,
and is u disgraceiul stain which the army
has not yet erased from its shield. though
the %murderers arc known to Gen. Miles