The Dalles times-mountaineer. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1882-1904, 1895-08-03
THE BANNOcK TROUBLE.

SATURDAY........AUGUST, 3, 1895
THE BANNOCK TROUBLE. :.
The trouble with the Bannock In.
dians In that portion OF Wyoming
known as Jackson Hole, and the immi.
nent danger Of massacre In which the
settlers are placed, have attracted the
attention Of the entire country. Last
Saturday it was reported that the men,
women and children had been BUTCH
cred by the savages; but this has been
contradieted By later dispatches, and
it is hoped that the settlers may yet be
rescued from their perilouS position.
. The time has passed when any extern
sive Indian war can be inaugurated by
discontented aboriginees; but there are
q sufficient number of them yet to
create considerable trouble, and to
spread terror IN isolated communities,
Hike that at jackson. Hole, which Is.
!; over one hundred miles from railroad
Communication. =,
These Indians are the wards Of the
government, and it is proper that the
authorities should deal with them
Justly. From all information received
it is evident that in the enforcement
: of the statute against hunting in Wy.
oming the citizens of Jackson Hole
acted very arbitrarily and unjustly.
Warrants Of arrest were sworn out be-
fore a justice of the peace, and the
violators were arrested and placed un-
der a guard. While being taken to.
/. jail the Indians attempted to escape.
! and the first dispatches stated that
nearly all of them were killed. If
this is true, an investigation
should have been made and
a: careful examination had OF the
authority under which the magistrate
and the citizens acted The Indians
are entitled to full protection, the same
as white men, and, II It is true, as al
I legged, that the settlers are in the
habit Of Killing game at all seasons Of
the year, and only arrested the Ban
nocks because they were encroaching
on:their hunting grounds, punishment
should be meted out to all alike.
. It should have been expected
that savages would seek revenge
for such an act az this, and
inaugurate their usual methods Of war
fare. OF course they would send cour-
iers through all the neighboring tribes,
and it was to be expected that these
would congregate to wreak vengeance
on the settlers in the neighborhood
where the act was committed.
& The facts were known to the
governors Of Idaho and Wyoming, and
they telegraphed to Washington ap-
prising the war department of the true
state of affairs. But the circumlocu-
ton Office at the seat OF government
must have its time to act, and this has
caused unnecessary delay. Troops a
thousand miles distant were dispatched
to the scene Of the trouble, and the
first detachment cannot reach there
before tomorrow night. In the mean.
time, the settlers to the number OF
fifty or sixty are left at the mercy OF
300 or 400 infuriated savages. If they
are not all killed before the troops
reaches them it win be very fortunate,
and if they are 1t win be only one Of
many examples where human lives
have been sacrificed to the dilatoriness
of the authorities at Washington.
During the history Of the United
States for over a hundred years the
government has had ample opportu-
nifty to learn from experience the best
way to deal with the aboriginess, and
it seems to have proHted little by the
lessons taught. Now that the Indians
have decreased in numbers, and forts
have been established at isolated
points to protect settlers the same
dangers as formerly appear to threaten
the frontier. =
There is no denying the fact that for
long years past the cause OF Indian
wars could be directly traced to some
act Of injustice on the part Of the
whites, and the horrors suffered could
have been prevented by prompt action
on the part Of the authorities. This
was true of the Modoc war, the Nez
Perces outbreak, the Bannock trouble
In this state and Idaho a few years ago,
the affair in Dakota and the present
difficulty at Jackson Hole. We have
taken the lands from the Indians by the
medieval right of conquest, and we
should make amends as far as possible
BY treating them justly under the laws
that we have forced upon them. i