Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-07-16
War Department has promulgated Whenever

| there was a council or any gathering together
I of Indians there you could find the lieutenant
and his interpreter. The Sioux commission
/ has brought to the agency great many of the
/ chiefs and headmen and In each instance the
| recruiting officer has done more than the most
eXactIng taskmaster could ask Three months
ago the lieutenant narrowly escaped Gripping
himself for life. having stepped on q long raii
which stood business end up. Disabled as he
thus was Lieut.. kinzie accompanied the
commission on n trip they took to Lower
Wounded knee and after every council pleaded
for recruits, but without avail. Never has he
ever given any evidence OF slackness in his
hopeless task nor has there been apparent anv
symptom of disgust. although most men would
have dropped the job long ago. The depart
ment might Just as well acknowledge now as at
any other time that it mistaken when it
thought 1t could make infantrymen out of
Ogalallas; that would be a much more manly
course than that of attempting to place the
blame on the shoulders of an officer who has
displayed such zeal and tact as has Lieut-
kinZle. 1t would have been possible to secure
perhaps score or SO of recruits had the re-
cruitiug officers hands been free. Men Of some
little prominence in the tribe would have en-
listed and have brought with them into the SER
vice several Of their friends, provided they were
rewarded fer THEN services with warrants as
non cCmn i0lsd officers This could
not be dote; the actboritiss would net
allow riouise - be mace and
there are consequently 10 recruits.
From the very beginning Of the enlistment
effort there has been oppositi OF the strongest
kind. Men ,bo are mors or less powerful IN
the tribe we're y possd &c the ig' ssicn Of their
sons and young braves, aud the iisincination
on the part Of ths yJnns men was continually
evident. One old chief said to me but day
two ago: 1T Is not reasonable that our young
men should enlist. What would YOU do il We
were trying to get your sons into our army TO
train them to night SO that they might some day
be used against yourselyes?' More powerful
than any of the many other anti-recruiting i'll
fuences has been that set in motion by the War
Department itself when it ordered the enlist
mcnt of a troop of cavalry from among tho
Bruies at Rosebud and gave the OgaIallas
nothing but an infantry company to enter. The
BruIes were hostile last winter. while most Of
the Ugalallas were friendly Is it strange that
the OSalallas should feel sighted? is it odd
that they hold loyalty to the government
cheap intangible nothing the possession of
which Is only an incumbrance at best. The
sioux VIII not walk; he Is Il born horseman.
Many OF these Indians have been in the service
as scouts at S25 per month and doing only
mounted duty; Is 1t any wonder that he rejects
with scorn any proposition to foot 1t for = i3
month?
1t matters not what officer is sent here to re-
heve Lieut. hinzie, he will never be able to
accomplish any thing. All the conditions are
adverse now and the presence of a new person
ality will not change them one iota; in fact the
situation cannot iali to be less bearabIe than it
has been Every one here has tried to help
Lieut.. hinzie i'll his work and every one is dis
Susted at the treatment to which he has been
subjected. Common sense would teach us ii We
Will but learn, that his successor cannot ex-
pect any such assistance and comfort s
gwen the retiring officer. To recruit COM
pany of Ogaiaila lnfan1rymen under the pres
ent regulations Is an impOssibiiity. Do not
blame most industrious oiiicer because he has
endeayored faithfully to accomplish some thing
beyond the power OF any one in the army.
SHE WAS A LINGUIsT.
Indians are true children of nature and be-
cause of the prevalence of this condition their
conduct is sometimes embarrassing to civilized
mankind. An infantry officer whom know
may live to be a bald-headed man, but he will
never lose so much OF his seif-possession at
any one time as he allowed to escape him one
morning last week. We were III camp on
Wounded Knee creek. not far from the battle
ground 1t was morn, rosy morn, and an
Indian trumpeter had just blown reveilie out
OF the big end OF a regulation bugle. Three of
Us had occupied the tent during the night and
two of us-Lieut. Williamson OF the sixth cav
airy and mysef-were up L had crawled
about halfway into the garment which
D-street dealer would call pants" when the
tent-Goor flaps were thrust aside and an Indian
entered. That was all right. Then followed
his squaw and little girl. That was all wrong
For at least five minutes previous to the I'M
been engaged in respectfully announcing
breakfast, but the nameless officer had insubor-
dinately refused to get up. Suddenly his appe-
tite struck HIM and he was about to rise when
the lady entered our boudoir. Now had the
gentleman in question slept in the ordinary
held costume he might have gotten up any
how, but he is more or less of a dude and
had on the previous evening Invested himself
of all his day clothing that he might enjoy the
luxury of nightshirt; therefore any attempt
at dressing Was out of the question SO long as
the lady remained in his immediate vicinity
What could he do, pinned down while the other
fellows were eating all the breakfast. Well he
could say things, and he did, and while he was
saying them he wondered why the squaw
laughed so. Then We Helped the situation a
little on the wrong side by providing our guests
with smoking material and they squatted and
pulled as though they never intended to leave
Meanwhile the victim was yelling for AN ill.,
terpreter, praying for relief and letting loose
objurgations Of the most sinful character. very
naturally supposing that the lady was ignorant
OF the English lang uage and slaEguage. imagine
his horror when the grinuing squaw finally
arose and said: You want to get up and don't
like to dress before me! l viii go out SO that
youmay not lose all your breakfast" Exit squaw
Protane tableauN. GEo ii. HARRIEs.