New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-01-03


NUMEROUS AND VIOLENT.
Washington, Jan. 2 Special There is great
uneasiness at the War Department over the In
dian situation. II is believed there that Generai
Miles was thoroughly correct in his pubic
declarations concerning the widespread char"c'ef
of the Indian conspiracy. Such bad weather
having set in. it is feared that many lives Will
he lost during the winter the
weather were favorable, with the force that
General Miles has on hand, the outbreak cou'o
soon be subdued The northern Sioux INDIANS
are used TO the cold They have been long max
ing their preparations and have food supplies con-
cealed In places known only to themselves "eh-
eral Miles, it is believed. will make SNORT "oIh
of the Indians that are out.
Whether this outbreak will lead to any change
in the policy Of the Government concerning the
management of the Indians Is uncer~in' lhose
who think that the Indians have bcen drlNeh
out by bad treatment should listen to the
testimony of those who have hVeu III
the neighborhood Of these savaSes. Boston man.
an engineer formerly employed by the faciuc
railroads. who spent fifteen or twenty years IN 'he
West. said to me the other evening " used TO
bc an Eastern philanthropist in everything which
concerned the Indian question. | thought Una.
the Indians had some redeeming qualities ana
Of civilization and religious teaching; but l tell
YOU there is hyena nature in every Indllh'
Educate him as YOU will this education adas
merely TO his cunning without sottenlng IN one
degree the innate cruelty and wldness oil MS us
position Some of the worst desperadoes IN 'he
Z West among the Indians are those who have oeeh
graduated from Eastern schools. "
Continuing, he said Il became a convert 10
the hyena theory at the time OF the no'eu MIN
n.sot. rnassacrcs In the western part of that
State there was woman of beautiful character
who had devoted herself for thirty years TO The
| conduct of mission school. She had nurSed the
Indians Of the tribe where she was stationed Win
I the care Of mother. Nearly nan
Of the tribe had become religious con
verts under her teaching. She was tTea'cl "i'n
the greatest respect and tenderness. she was
called their mother Her husband had ranch
near the school When the outbreak came and
I the Indians went OH the warpath, this devoted
missionary thought that her husbands life might
he in danger in spite of her close relations 10 the
tribe and 50 she advised him TO set out for a
neighboring military post. She accompanied him
; on his tourney They were about halfway 10 the
most when they saw Indians in the distance.
She told her husband 70 take the horse out Of the
wagon. mount aud go on as by that means ne
could escape. She in 90 danger AS the IN
dams of the tribe then ont had been brought uo
I by her from their childhood The husband, with
confidence in her declaration, went on. lie re-
turned soon afterwari with a company Of troops
and found that these Indian warriors had come
up and taken the woman who had devoted her
life to teaching and caring for them, set fire I"
the wagon and burned her in it.
3 Army officers who have been through In
dian campaigns tell tales of horror that
capnot be repeated in print. The women
captured by these savages are never
spared the most cruel Of dshonors. The men
,prisoners are tortured with an atrocity hard 10
Imagine Some of the prisoners captured by the
Indians in the last outbreak killed by hav-
ling fires built upon their stomachs after they were
dashed 10 the ground with their feet and arms eX-
} tended When an outbreak comes the educated
}and the urcducated. with the So-callcd religious
converts 90 out together and all are equally
lcruel and trcacherous The testimony OF army
officers, without exception, confirms this view 81
the Indian character. II is true that the Indlins
have been badly treated by the agents. but II IS
I equally true thai some OF the most VICIOUS onl-
breaks have come on the reservations where thc}
have been the best treated. The better they are
fed and the kinder tLer management the more
savage are they in the violence Of their outbreaks
An Indian can remain quiet for limited pcroi
their pride and occupation Killing with
them is cardinal virtue. There IS
no Indian who is considered real
man who has not killed some The SiouN
Indians have dance called The feather dance
In this warrior advances and after wh!rns
about wildly as If pursued by enemy falls
J PROSTATE upon his face. Then warrior dances
Y from the circle and threatens with bow and ar
row or pistol imaginary enemies about the fallen
warrior. After he has disposed Of these I'M
agilary foes he steps forward aud assists the
fallen warrior n arise. ~ the etiquette Of the
tribe no warrior perform This part Of the ccTe-
rnony unless ne has killed one. As the
dance is one Of the high functions Of the tribe
the position Of the leaders is determined by the
number Of murders they have committed. Tn
doubtedly the system OF treating them as wards
10 he fed and cared for, haf-cducated and trained
I in the arts Of civilization for the purpose Of using
these benefits against the Government, has given
the Indians preteNts for every form Of awleS ness.
The War Department should have control OF tlcm
They would then be in the hands Of men who
OCCUPY responsible places and who would hive
every interest to treat them Justly. Army officers
unlike Indian agents, would be free from political
y influences. The system Of accountability for
money in the Army is a good one. As the Army
always has 70 he called on in case Of trouble and
il alone can put end 30 the trouble perhap.
il would be as we'll for the Army TO have charge
Of the Indians from the first There is no one
that the Indian respects so much an Army Off
GER and that respect is the only one he knows
II is based on fear. The Army officers are not
anxious 70 have charge Of the Indians, but it is
believed in military circles that If they did have
them in hand there would be fewer outbreaks
and less lives lost on both sides
The wretched thing about the service, SO far as
the Indians is concerned is this There is no
beroism recognized by the public in hghtine' In
dians An officer who loses his life on the plains
lighting these savages is barely mentioned IN the
newspapers There is no more attention gwen -
his death than If he had died in a railway acc-
Amt Rlit II is this fact thai al6S 70 one eSt