The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1897-06-03


Failure aud Every body But RedHeid
Proctor seems to, Have Known It-Dsn
Lamont the Wise Guy That
Knocked EN- sky High.
The Indian company OF regular army
soldiers consisting of Apsches. under the
command of Capt. Scott, at Fort Sin,
the experiment of adding an indian con-
tlngent to the regular army comes to an
end
This was a favorite project of Secre-
tary-now senateT-Proctor, and the
order for the enlistments was issued
In March, 1891. The purpose of the plan
was manifold. On its public side, the
idea was to utilize the warlike spirit
which the Indian is popularity supposed
to inherit from many generations of
fighting ancestry. and thereby supply to
the army a native element such as the
French have added to theirs in Africa
and the British in Asia, and at the same
time to give the whole American Indian
race sense of nationality, of loyalty to
rhe United States government, through
the assimilation of the flower of it's
younger generation with one branch of
the public service. On the personal side
there was a hope that the constant dis
cipline, the methodical habits of life and
work. the outwardly decorous and re-
spectful behavior, and the rules of clean
Illness and wholesome diet imposed in the
army would have a good effect upon the
young Indian and help to wean him
away from the barbarism in which he
had grown up.
The army as rule did not take kindly
to the secretary's project and, but for the
fact that Ii was the secretary's. ii
would have Jared hard in the earlier
reports from the field. Under the cir
cumstances, nearly everybody felt under
compulsion to help IT along with word
and work The scheme was to mass the
Indians in small companies. and scat
ter these through the army, assigning
one to each infantry regiment except six
and to each cavalry regiment except two,
this arrangement ruling out the negro
regiments among others. The Indian
companies were to be differed at first
entirely by whites, with the understand
ing that. as fast as any OF the privates
acquired sufficient training. they could
be made non-commissioned officers
this promise of promotion and extra pay
serving as a stimulus to obedience and
painstaking.
The handful of clever and ambitious
Junior officers who were put in charge of
the Indian companies generally tried
hard to make the best of their men, and,
as they saw changes in the right direc-
ton here and there were ssnguine of
the final result And such changes did
occur. The Indian is not initiative. like
the negro. and usually takes unkindly to
new things. But commonly he admires
the soldier; and this chance TO be him.
self soldier, wear bright blue uni
form with brass trimmings, and carry
sword or gun or both all the time, won
his fancy. Moreover, few of the older
white campalgners shared the enthusi-
asm of the juniors. inferring from their
experience with Indian scouts that In
dian soldiers would make an equally
good or better record. But the difference
between the scout and the soldier soon
showed Itself. The scout was enlisted
for six months. the soldier for five years
The scout, In time of peace, had little to
dc, and could lie about in a cosy camp
In familiar country, with his women
and children round him, as long az ne re-
ported periodically to his commanding
officer; whereas the soldier must live in
barracks separated from his family must
hold himself ready for the daily exer-
cises of the post, and was liable at any
time to pull up stakes and be trans
ported to some distant point, among new
people and unaccustomed scenes. The
FAMILY feature, by the way, was seri-
Gus consideration for everybody con-
cerned. His patriarchal style of living
when at home caused the Indian to be
unhappy when separated from his wives
and children; but the government could
not afford to transport two or three
women. a half dozen children, and the
| ever-faithful mongrel dogs for each SOL
dier Whenever rhe company moved. and
even IL that had been possible. 1t would
have been out of the question to keep
this domestic outfit from hanging about.
and practically living in the post or
camp, where their presence would have
spread general Generalization
II is possible. nay. probable, that under
somewhat different conditions the expert
ment of an Indian soliiery might have
been continued longer and worked ou.
better results by process of, shifting and
elimination and the operation of the law
OF the survival of the fittest. But the
povers that be at Washington despaired
OF II early in its course. Secretary Proc
tor, an eastern man with ideas. had
! hardiyset IL going when he made way for
Secretary Elkins. who had passed a good
deal OF time in the Indian country as a
mining ana land spsculator and whose
opinion of Indians was the conventional
one cherished by the white frnntiersman.
Mr.. Elkins was the next year succeeded
by Secretary Lamont. who took the busi-
ness mans view of making every dol
lar count. He reasoned that for the
same money which was spent upon all
these Indians, who We're at best doubt
full reliance, the government could be
training an equal number of whites OF
negroes. OF whose qualities Il was al
ready assured by experience. or II SC
many men were not needed for the nu-
cleus OF an army. the companies then
filed by Indians could be skeletonized
again and the money saved. His theory
OF clvilizing the Indians was thst a con-
scientious army officer acting as an agent
In charge of a reservation could accom-
plsh more by encouraging them in the
arts OF peal than by drilling them In