The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-05-07
FAMOUS OLD CHIEF MAKES AN
ELOQUENT APPEAL TO TILE
SENATE. 49,
WHITE MEN ENcRoAcHING,
HE PROTESTS AGAINST HIS TRIBE
HAVING TO TAKE LANDS IN
SEVERAIfTY.sr
swlNDLED BY CONTRACTORS
Beef Palmed Of on the Poor
Red.

Special to the GloDe.
WASHINGTON, May Cred Cloud,
the one-time powerful and famous
chief of the Sioux nation, presented a
pathetic and pitiful spectacle before
senate committee on Indian affairs.
Red Cloud came to Washington, ac-
companied by American Horse, his
principal lieutenant, for the purpose of
calling the attention of congress to
certain grievances. Rev. DIR. East
man, a well-educated half-breed In
dian, came along as Interpreter, and
did his work very WE'LL He is fine
looking, intelligent man, and is popular
with the Sioux tribes. Senator Petit
grew, chairman of the committee on
Indian affairs, Intercepted the old
chief, and stenographer took COM
plete report Of the conversation as in
terpeted by DIR. Eastman. Red Cloud
said:
II am nearly seventy years old, am
very feeble, and almost blind. You
see wear black goggles to shield my
fading eyes from the light which hurts
them. Although I am old and feeble
l have come all this distance to plead
for justice for my people. In 1851 1
made a treaty at Fort Laramie and
gave the white men a right to build a
railroad across my country. I never
gave up any right to property beyond
the use of ground for the railroad. l
have always lived in and around the
Black Hills of Dakota. My people
still live there, but the treaties which
have been made with them have been
violated by the white men. 1 made a
treaty with the great soldier who was
president for eight years, and he~as-
sured me that my reservation should
never be interfered with. q Now white
men want to divide the reservation into
eighty-acre lots for my people to starve
on. The lands are bad lands. and we
cannot raise crops there. In August
the hot winds dry up everything, even
the little streams. We want our lands
as they are so that we may make a.
living by raising horses and cattle, be-
cause the land is all good grazing land.
We do not want money from the gov
eminent in place of rations. because we
can live on what the government sends
us to eat, but nearly all of the beef
cattle the government sends us are thin
and nearly starved to death. We don't
want government clothing. We pre-
fer money and will buy our own cloth
ing. The suits of clothes are made of
poor cloth and they fall to pieces Be-
sides the tall men in our tribe get short
suits and the small men get long suits
and the distribution is never satisfac-
tory. We would rather have money
than government blankets, because
they are all rotten. They are made OF
cows hair, dipped in ink, and in rain
OF moisture the ink runs off them. Be-
sides they fall to ipiecesar When we
are compelled to take such goods and
blankets we are charged big prices for
them, and then we trade them away
for other clothing and have to give
money in addition in order to get de-
cent things. .a6
1--WE want our lands left as they are
We want decent food to eat We are
entitled to get clothing or money in it's
place. We want a law preventing
half-breeds from acquiring tribal
rights on our reservation. White men
come here to marry our young squaws
and then claim tribal rights of proper
ty and cheat us out of our best grazing
land. If we should kill them for COM
ing among us unbidden, the army
would punish US for protecting our
selves. Therefore, [ come to ask that
the government will treat my people
right and protect us from the bad
white men,"
Senator Pettigrew shook hands with
the old man and assured. him that, in
the pending Indian appropriation bill,
he would make provisions to protect
the Indians along the lines requested
by the old war chief