Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1892-10-20
HOW 10 rs ROBBED.
Senator Pettlgrew Tells Of some
Very Conspicuous stcals-
Trickery in Bids.
Money Belonging to Gen. Sully's
Scouts was Appropriated
BY Others.

In an interview. with Senator
Pettigrew, the Minneapolis Journal
quotes him as saying as follows:
ssSully came up from Missouri river
in 1854" said Mr.. P~ettigrew, ITO
suppress the Sioux at the Yankton
Indian reservation. He found the
Yanktons, members OF the Sioux
tribe, friendly to the whites. They
had been owners OF most Of Dakota
east OF the Missouri river, and in 1851
had ceded it to the government.
Sully employed 81 Yanktons to
assist in protecting the settlers, and
with their own ponies and equipments
they secured the country between the
Missouri river and the Big Sioux,
keeping back the hostile bands. The
scouts served nine months, inter-
cepted several hostile Indian bands
along the river and killed seven
Indians, protecting the settlers so
thoroughly that not a white man vas
killed. Sully promised a COM
~pensation Of $500 for each scout.
Several years after, In 1870, the
war department paid each about SIS,
the only reason for not paying the
whole claim being the fact that there
were no more funds devotable to the
purpose. The scouts now want the
balance, or s225 each.
Later a bill passed congress,
granting $4,000 to reimburse the
Yankton Indians for indemnity for
damages suffered during the var and
to cover Incorporated monies.
belonging to them. 1t was apparent
this was intended for the whole tribe,
and not for the scouts. The Indians
swear they had a claim as a tribe for
damages for the occupation Of their
territory by Sully's army. Neither
the tribe nor the scouts Eve received
a penny of this money.
"The vouchers in the treasury
department show that the $4,000
was sent to A. j. Faulk and he
returns the vouchers OF Bramble &
Miner for the full amount Of these
vouchers, which disclose the fact that
Bramble & Miner furnished the
Indians as a tribe with $4,000 worth
of corn and flour. The corn was put
in at four cents per pound. which Is
1854 per bushel, and flour at sl4 per
barrel. And the Indians make
affidavit that they never received 1t.
In the face of these facts A. ]. Faulk,
who now lives at Yankton, Is out In
a newspaper interview claiming that
these scouts have been paid.
An investigation was ordered and
vas made by a special agent. His
report shows that the Yahkton agent
at that time was utterly dishonest
and that he and Faux were guilty Of
the misappropriation of funds to an
extent amounting to absolute robbery.
These facts are given in detail,
based on the sworn testimony Of
many, and are a part Of the records
of congress. They show a disposition
of Indian cattle and other property
and a misappropriation OF cash which
Injured to the benefit OF the agent
himself. l propose to see to it that
, 800 -,,,,t 80 NO i'll In full
"But this is not the only cas- where
the Indians have been robbed. Dur
ing all the years of territorial
history when the agencies were filled
with political deadbeats from the
East, and army officers inspected
their supplies, the Indians have been
swindled outrageoisly. Last year
the government advertised for 20
horses to be issued to the Flandreau
Indians. They were to be lrOken to
harness. The lowest bid vas $50
each. An army officer went to
Flandreau to inspect them and to
accept the horses. The contractor
delivered wild horses, unbroken, and
worth to a civilized man not owe $40
per head, and nothing to the Indians.
The horses were vicious and wild, but
were accepted by the Inspector.
This year 5000 cows with calves by
their sides were wanted for the Sioux
Indians, in compliance with the
treaty opening the reservation. At
several reservations the contractors
undertook todeliver and have accepted
farrow cows with orphan calves not
their own, and so young they would
not have lived. The inspectors of
the agencies refused to accept the
cows, rejecting many hundred, but
at every agency where an army officer
inpected, everything offered was
taken. Some, if not all, of the cows
offered at Pine Ridge were wild
cattle from the range and the Indians
could not get within half a mile of
them.
Al CFOW creek, SdnUee, flanQreau
and Cheyenne, where j. B. Peterson,
of this city. was inspector, yhe cattle
were rejected, many of them being so
old that they were useless, and the
calves with them were not their own.
Many of the calves starved to death
before they could be removed from
the agencies.
'"lhere has been robbery also on
-four. A contractor will bid on
Pillsbury's best brand and will send
a sample of this flour to the New
York inspector. The price is very
low compared with the New York
price ofthis grade of -four. Another
contractor bids on another brand.
The difference between the actual