The San Francisco call., 1897-07-11
INDIANS AS REGULARS.

With the disbanding of the last Indian Com
pany at Fort Sill ends the experiment of max
ing regular soldiers of the Indians. They will,
OF course, in the future as in the past be en-
ployed as guides and scouts, being hired as
occasion requires.
The War and Indian department. is and many
civilians, as Well as army officers, had long
recommended the employment of Indians in
the military service, the plan being finally
carried out under Mr.. Proctor's administra-
tion OF the War Department In 1891 orders
were issued authorizing the enlistment OF one
company of Indians for each OF the twenty
six regiments of white cavalry andinfantry
then serving west of the Mississippi River.
But little difficulty was experienced in enlist
Ing the requisite numbers. The soldierly bear
Ing OF the Indians, their efficiency and disci-
pline, have been commended by the Secretary
of War, generals of the army and officers OIL
duty with Indian companies.
In his report for 1891 the Secretary of War
says: incidentally it was hoped that the
habits of obedience. cleanliness and punctual-
ity, as well as steady labor in the performance
OF both military and industrial work incul-
Gated by service n the army, would have a
good effect On those who might enl1>t, and
also furnish an object-les son of some value and
exert healthy influence upon others of their
tribe. The results have been satisfactory. 1t
is not only an important step toward their
civilization and self-control, but is the
cheapes and best insurance against further
Indian troubles"
The Indians lack of knowledge of English
was found to be great drawback and inter
fered with his employ ment on many duties,
especially guard. Side by de with white
companies the Indians drilled equally well,
and often better, the attention paid and the
precision OF movement being especially no.
tlceable. They never murmured, and aside
from tendency to indulge in drink rarely
gave any trouble in the matter of discipline.
From the time when General Crook fl rst be-
gan 10 employ hired Indian scouts in his
campaigns against hostiles the value of In
dians has never been doubted, and they have
uniformly proved loyal. In many cases the
safety of command mas actually depended
upon the good faith OF the Indian scouts.
When we add to this the Indians well-known
ability TO endure hunger. thirst and fatigue IL
Is evident that in our red-skinned natives we
have the making of the finest body of irregu-
lar soldiers in the world, and in future cam
paigns, as in the past, they are certain to be
employed. 1t may well be asked then, What
has caused the failure and abandonment of a
scheme OF enlistment which at first appeared
SO promising? The army has lost q
most valuable auxiliary aud the Indian what
ever of civillzing inf huence gained from his
new surroundings and condition. The evil
dent mistake was made of attempting TO place
the Indian a soldier in all respects, food,
discipline drill, uniform, etc, strictly on the
same footing his white comrade in arms. If
the mere act of taking the enlistment oath
could advance the Indian some three or four
centuries in the scale of civilization the best
results might have been expected, but as it
was by attempt ng to put him at once on an
equal footing the experiment was foredoomed
to failure.
As irregular or auxiliary troops the red men
should naturally form part of our army. To
attain the best results the Indians should be
un der the troll Of the War Department
This is not absolutely necessary, though it
would vastly Simplify the problem of their
management Enlist from each tribe a certain
percentage of the men, form them into COM
panes as mounted or dsmounled troops as
necessary. They would then be formed into
villages, located near their tribe and allowed
to have their families with them. The officer
detailed 10 command such company must
be specially selected for his practical knowl-
edge OF the Indians and be also interested in
the development OF the rare. tie would be at
once military chief and civil governor
The enlisted Indians would. under his direc-
ton, be in nstructed in English, the cultivation
OF the soil, care of crops, raising of domestic
animals, etc. The military duty proper would
be small in amount, and adapted strictly to
preserve and develop the natural soldierly in
stfncts of the Indian. Proximity to the tribe
would not only make him contented, but the
whole would form an object lesson of the
greatest value. On discharge the Indian
would become an i'm portant factor In advanc-
ing tribal improvement.
Under the system as tried, where a company
was stationed far away from Its tribe lin one
case as far east as Atlanta), it was no wonder
that the Indian took his discharge as quickly
as possible gnd returned home at the first op-
portunity. Under the village or communal
system the Indian is as good or better soldier
always available in case of need, and the CIV
illZing feature could be developed to the
fullest extent Such Il system has the ap-
proval of officers who from years of service
among the Indians are far better qualified TO
judge of what is best for the Indian and the
Government than any number of philanthro
pists and visionaries who see the Indian only
trom car-window or gain their knowledge of
him solely from books.