Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1892-03-05
WILL FIGHT INDIAN CLAIMS
Demands for Damage Done by the
Ghost Dancers.
Information From Washington Says the
Government VIII Probably Object
to Making Good the Losses
of the ~rIendli

CHAMBERLAIN, s.. D., Feb. 24-Infor-
nation from Washington says it has
bility that the government will fight
all of the claims for losses sustained by
the friendly" Indians during the
trouble at Pine Ridge agency last win
ter. 1t is said that the government is
in "a position to show that the Indians
committed no depredations outside
their own reservation "a fact well
known to e%veryone), and this being on
their own property no one has cause
for action. 1t is also said hat 1t is
fairly certain hat when these claims
are filed they will be investigated, and
that the government will make a Spir-
tied fight against ali of them
This news will cause considerable
excitement on the Sioux reservation,
and especially among the Indians on
the Rosebud and Pine Ridge reserva-
tions. The Indians at the latter
agency are more deeply interested
than any of the others, for the reason
SiiuS NV ~ ilASAEsa uiIluBS was tOuC
on their reservation.
The facts concerning the losses for
which the Indians claim damages from
the government are very interesting.
The Indian trouble of n year ago was
precipitated by Il band Of Brule or
Rosebud agency Indians breaking
away from their reservation and GO
ing to the Pine Ridge reservation,
where they joined the turbulent In
dams belonging there. The valley of
Wounded Knee creek is n of the most
delightful valleys On the Pine Ridge
reservation, and MANY of the Indians
live along this small stream. At the
first prospect of trouble all the Indi-
ans belonging at Pine Ridge were or
dered to remove to the agency and re-
main there until the trouble was over.
All Indians except those who were
ghost dancing and bent on trouble,
obeyed the order and went to the
agency without delay, leaving every
thing behind them Live stock, hay,
wood and all their household goods
were, of course, left behind at the
mercy of anyone who wished to modest
or pilfer them. The ghost dancers
while on their way to the bad lands,
where they expected TO make a final
stands and fight the troops, passed down
Wounded Knee creek, which runs north
into White river, and being terribly
wrought up by the ghost dance and the
belief in the early arrival of their mes
siah to free them from the whites, be-
gan raidiug the tenantless homes of
the friendly Indians, who were, as
stated, at the agency. The hostiles
went at it in wholesale fashion and in
a few days wiped out the result of
many years labor on the part of the
friendly Indians. Houses were ran.
sacked, doors broken off their hinges,
windows smashed in, stoves broken,
tables, chairs and stools scattered
about and destroyed, hay burned or
carried off, stock driven away for the
use of the hostiles, and in fact every
thing utterly demoralized. Troops
were chen at the agency, thirty or
forty miles distant, and although re-
ports were almost hourly received
stating what the hostiles were doing,
no effort was made by the military to
stop them
About the close of the Indian trouble
congress passed n bill appropriating
500, 600 with which to reimburse tho
friendly Indians for their losses, and
Special Agent Cooper vas instructed
to receive the claims of the Indians.
The task assigned Mr.. Cooper was by
no means a simple one, and full par
ticulars regarding his progress in Sc
curing the claims was published in
The TRIBUNE two or three months ago.
The claims put in by the Indians COW
cred everything from a pewter tea
spoon to a standard bred stallion, and
many Of them claimed that they lost
from eight to fifteen Saratoga trunks
each, with contents valued at many
thousands of dollars. Another thing
that complicates matters is the fact
chat all Indiaus-the so-called friend
lies and hostiles alike have put in
claims, saying that the trouble of last
winter should be overlooked by the
government, as all the Indians are
friendly now. Even should the gov
eminent decide to allow the claims
there promises TO be considerable dis
appointment and hard feeling on the
part of the Indians. If none of
the claims are allowed the Indians
and their friends will raise the
cry that the government refuses to
pay what is lawfully due them, and it
would be hard to tell just where the
would end. IL, on the other
hand, the department decides that the
Indians are entitled to the money a
Wholesale pairing" of claims would
necessarily take place to cut the total
down to within the 800, 600 appropri-
ated for the purpose. The total
amount of the claims put in by the In
dams reaches over $500, 900 and so ii
will be seen that an average of more
than a two-third cut must be made on
each claim. The Indians would stoutly
to this, as they really believe
they are entitled to every cent claimed
by them. The matter is IN n compli-
Gated condition and must be handled
carefully to prevent trouble.