Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-01-20
there were . number Of caches through the
country southwest Of here.
TIE pErrl.RRa rrNHAav


THE sErrLRRs UNEASY.
Quite number Of the white folks who iiv
in this region have parted with the feeling o
comfort that has been with them for the pas
day or two. Nothing will satisfy them BID
complete and immediate disArmament The,
shy that the military force 10 now strong enough
fully 1000 men) to compel obedience to any
terms and that the soldiers win fall far short o
an imperative duty they accept few broker
had to be shed. Settlers have real ideas on thi
subject and they insist that their lives and prop
erty shall not be endangered, because wha
they term "a sickly sentimentality" is nearer
the scat Of government than they are Theii
argument is curt sort Of an affair, but it has
good deal Of rough force in 1t: III you disarn
| the hostiles You may have TO kill few In 40
complaining the task; II you do not diSaru
them they win kill several Of u.s."
| READY TO BELL THEIR ARMS.
| But suppose there was thorough process Of
disarming put into operation and carried to q
temporarily successful conclusion, that would
not cripple the Indian TO any serious extent
He would simply catch couple of his ponies
ride one TO Rushville or Chadron or Gordon,
sell the other one and with the proceeds pur.
chase o rife which would perhaps be superior
| to tho one taken from him, and it, with all the
| ammunition Ire desired and could pay for,
would be sold to him by a man who but a
his voice for the army and the National Guard
| to protect him from the threatened assaults Of
bloodthirsty and splendidly armed Indians.
There are white men who would sell rifles and
nxed ammunition to Indians II they thereby
| incurred the penalty of death at the stake.
THE INDIAN Side OF IT.
The Indian side TO this question Of complete
disarmament does not lack solidity, but, very
naturally, 1t is not receiving much serious A.
tention in the minds of settlers in the west.
Those who know the country and have a pretty
clear idea Of its inhabitants ways are fully
aware and will freely admit that the Indian
| would be easy prey for every sharper If Il was
once known that not one member of q tribe had
gun. Unprincipled men. and there are such
even in Nebraska and South Dakota. would, un-
der those circumstance, simply steal every
thing Of value possessed by the indiana and
would even commit the petty larceny Of steal
ing the Indians themselves il they were worth
stealing
HOW IT WAS DONE.
But, after ALL whether the surrender be real
| or bogus, today can hardly fail to be memer-
able in the history of Indian affairs in the
northwest A heavy mist obscured the sun for
more than an hour after that luminary was
above the horizon. The air was extraordinarily
keen, due to the unwonted humidity. There
was frost in the tepees (for the ice king goes
where nothing else, unless it be an Indian,
would care to spend any length OF time) and as
natural sequence things began to move ut an
early hour in the hostile camp, and there
was only one way. to move. The Brule
outposts, who had shivered on the hills through
out the entire night had but one report to
| make and that was to the effect that troops had
closed all the avenues but one--the one which
led to the plateau west of the agency. Some of
| the older chiefs. notably oung-Man-Afraid-o of
| His-Horses. had to talk more than a little BE- :
thf. int, hat ~
mind which would conceive Of friendly NOV, =
| ment toward the peaceably inclined Ogallal: ,
who had remained at the agency throughol
the entire trouble. With those Ogallalas who
were in the hostile band there was no difficulty.
They went to work with a will-thatis they tr-
couraged their squaws to work-and wtie
ready to move before o'clock, but the Brule.
would not let them go ahead. They believed
| that as soon as the two tribes became sepa-
rated the soldiers would attack the Brule outfit
| and destroy it utterly. for they realized that
| they and they alone we're responsible for the
| outbreak and they had confidence in the
| promises of the military. In a little while the
| two bands were mixed up in such manner
| thas the Brules had all the protection tho ,
| thought necessary; the Ogallaias doing wha,
was required of them for the sake of peace. Oh
| course no attack on the Brules was meditated
! by TIE authorities here, but had there been
any such intention II was frustrated. Had q
shot been fired into that column every Ogallala
| ensued, and this would have brought about the
coalition which the Brilles have been endea or.
ing to secure for some time past.
| COMING IN.
The movement from camp to camp was mill.
| tary in every particular and there was not q
| visibly weak point anywhere. As soon rs the
column started a line of skirmishers were thrown
| out to the west; these were all well mounted
and equipped for fight. The main body of In.
| dams moved, at their regular travelling gate,
out Of the little valley in which they have prac.
ticaly been prisoners for the past two days
Their route was directly south, down the ives.
| side OF White Clay creek. As they approached
| the hill on which troops were picketed the hos
| tiles became more suspicious. Scouts went
| ahead to see how the soldiers were acting, and
while this investigation being made the
long train OF those who went out for wool but
came home shorn halted. 1t was a poor place
| from which to make any break for liberty One
| OF those new 2-l0-inch rifles was looking right
| at them with its single eye and an artilleryman
peered along its polished length at the mass OF
bronzed humanity that seemed az ready to move
| backward asfOrward. But what hope was there
| to the rear. Gen. Brooke with force twice al
| numerous as the Brule fighting men was
moving up from his last nights camp at the
mission and was now in full view. The train
| moved on. Over the ridge rode, walked and
| rolled its component parts and then they strung
been ordered to camp. Wagons were loaded
| down with half-grown children and old people
boys. who some day hope to be warriors. be-
strobe skinny ponies and kept the great un.
ridden aggregation of horse flesh from wander
ing of into the hills; squaws almost invariably
| burdened with babies, did everything that
| savored of toll; middle-aged Ogallalas logged
along as though they were glad something else
besides lighting was going on; Brule warriors
| moved suspiciously along the skirmish line
one hand on the Winchester that was at the
| saddle pommel, both eyes-eyes that glared
| hatred continuously-on the army which Wa
in camp just across the narrow creek. No one
who witnessed that scene can ever forget it.
THE CAMP AT NIGHT.
Within two hours the 4, 600 black-and-tan.
colored souls were pitching their tepees within
easy range Of Capt. Capron's battery, with the
seventh cavalry and the first infantry ready to
support that battery or to have the battery
support them ut any moment. All through the
| afternoon the recent arrivals arranged and set
up their camp. Food supplies. consisting Of
coffee sugar and bread, were sent them and
consumed very promptly. Through all this
the hghting element did not abate its watch
fuiness The scouts were assembled in line on
ridge to the southwest of their camp: line
so perfect that glasses had to be called into
requiition before any one could determine
whether it WAS composed Of United States
troops or Of hostile Indians. At shutdown the
Brules threw ont pickets Just as though there
were no soldiers in sight, and one OF the last
features OF their camp that was visible before
the sun went down somewhere in Idaho was
the silhouette Of a mounted Brule warrior
perched on the summit of one OF the hills