New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-11-13
GENERAL MILES'S BOOK.
A MILITARY HISTORY OF THE UNITED
STATES SINCE THE CIVIL WAR.

Personal RECOLLECTlONS ANl CDo,GIInH Ne
TIONS OF GENERAL NELSON A. MlL Li
Embracing a Brief Review Of the Civil War Var
Or from New England to the Golden Sat Gase o ana
the story OF his Indian Campaigns win Com,
nnents on the Exploration. DeseopmeFnr n,T dre
Progress Of Our Greet MestefP p,c,nres by
Frederic Remington and Qther Ei mnmnanV'
lists. Octave. PIP $50 me werner
This volume OF near six hundred pages Is VaIu-
~. contribution 10 the current history OF the
limited States In his first chapter General Mies
gives a pleasant sketch Of the NeW-Ensiahu "
our fathers showing how every Circumstance ~
bined with others TO the breeding ana eouc".o"
a race OF men that should be adap'eo 10 .no ~
velonr1ent of the vast country IN WHICH o''fN
sation of Providence had planted them' o'e o.
not but be Impressed with the thousht NO" NJ
we "a neople are Indebted 10 those noble men anu
women Of New England and Virginia Inc c'"p,e
,s very brief but It contains much looo 4oi '''oe'
ard Il brings before the reader the CROWNS no
Of the man whose "reminiscences are ei"oo "
the work The second and third chap'eis e"o
brief history of the Civil War and OF the par
rn,c, ce,eraI Miles then rising young oihcer'
acted in the great tragedy, all OF which ~ Hh'oi
estine and Instructive. especially 10 the se'''
that has risen up since the war
Chapter fourth gives suggestive sketches OF 'ne
Louisiana Purchase, the explorations OF Lewis anu
Clark. OF General Pike. OF Fremont and OF tne
gradual settlement Of the West Then We haFe
tho Alaska Purchase extending the territory OF inc
yrni,ed States from the semi-tropca! climate OF
w-Orleans and Louisiana to the Arctlc regions
which now give Klondike Win lhe gnu '''''
and its myriad victims. All this vast area comes
within the experience Of General Niles az military
man In the spring Of 1862 he was assigned 10 'he
command Of the 5;h United States Infantry with
boadouarters at Fort Hays, Kan. This transfer
,rvolved a tourney from the Cerolinas, where ne
had been on duty. through Virginia southern
Pennsylvania over the Alleghanes, tnrough Univ.
Indiana across the Mississippi and the state OF
% IN
70 Rim. and over the Missouri River into kansas
His descrpton Of his journey and OF the service
upon which he entered Is quite romantic Inc
construction Of the Union Paciho ana hahsas
Pacific railroads was then In progress ana acroes
the pra,r;es there a constant stream OF emf
grants making their way TO places where spfahe
up as II by magic the towns and cities wnich no"
.n,,yen a solitude that In our earlier Biographies
was labelled the Great American Desert General
Miles remained in the same military oepartiiehI
from 1869 to 1890 and was an interested witness Oh
the wonderful transformation and development OF
that vast region which took place IN inc quarter
of century Immediately following the War OF the
Rebellion.
As his duty was 70 regulate the affairs OF the IND
ian tribes to fight those who were hostile TO the
white settlers and to see that treaties were carried
out In good faith with the peaceful tribes ne
naturally studied the questions as TO who was the
primeval man Of the Western Continent. and who
the mound builders In regard to the Reo
indians he concludes that they are comparatively
a modern race the cave-dwellers the cliff jewellers
and the mound-builders having preceded them by
some centuries Where the mound builder came
from, when he came. how long he stayed. ere
problems Which General Miles sets aside as un-
solved Leaving the field OF conjecture and
theorizing General Miles gives his readers MARIA
tive OF actual life and adventure in his military ex-
perence and In his observations OF the influence or
the white race upon the Indians since the dis
coyery Of America He sees reason In the present
characteristics Of the Redmen TO believe the &C.
counts OF early navigators and explorers In which
the native Americans figured as kind simple
hospitable people But the treachery ard cruelty
practised upon the natives by the whites provoked
retaliation and developed the savage instincts,
hence the Of torture and massacre that arc
recorded In frontier annals The story is neces-
sarily one-sided since the Indians had no share in
writing It. The record OF Spanish conquest is a
bloody narrative. and II IL no wonder that the
natives soon became adopts In the art OF torture
and red revenge. There is also history Of deal
,ngs OF the whites with the Indians SO far as our
own country Is concerned that is far from being
cred, TO the Nation ard the people The fraudulent
dealings OF those who have acted agents OF the
Government among the Indian tribes is graphi-
cally portrayed In General Miess book. He found
in some cases that the uprising Of the Indians and
the ravages by them upon the settlements Of the
whites were In revenge for frauds practised upon
beef furnished to the Indians by dishonest con-
tractors he found to consist OF the carcasses OF
WORKOUT oxen, the flesh upon the bones being
totally unfit for food. In place of -four the wards
OF tho Nation received the shorts and husks OF the
grain stuff unfit for bread. while the difference IN
price went into the pockets OF contractors and
agents When by such practices the Indians were
brought 10 the point Of starvation, the result was
forays upon the white settlements for food and
vengeance Then soldiers had 10 be pushed to the
frontiers 10 uue the Indian rebellion and slaughter
of both races followed swell the pages of history
The distinguished author had sufficient length
OF time and wide opportunity for observation and
study OF both sides OF the subject. and he has
given his readers the data from which to form
their own conclusions. AS he marshals the evil
dence II is clear that while the Indians have been
sinners they have also been grievousy snned
against The address of Black Hawk and the con-
versation between Governor Ramsey and the Chief
Red Iron are striking examples in this volume OF
Indian argument and OF the Indian way OF stating
facts The Sand Creek massacre by white men
under the command of Colonel Chiv!ngton is given
as q typical example OF the barbarity of white
men. The worst OF Indian outrages was outdone
Women were shot down. babes were killed and
ecalped men were tortured and mutilated In a
manner that as was said officially at the time
would put to shame the savages OF interior AZ
rica." The war that ensued cost S59VO.Vp ana re-
CURED for half year the services OF 5000 troops
that were needed at tho time 1855. by the Union
In the struggle with secession. 1t sign OF
Improvement that nothing so bad as Chivington's
Infamous exploit happened afterward. But 1t is In
the midst OF conditions thus Indicated that this
narrative Of adventure Is unfolded. The story OF
forced marches through snow and Ice. the scaling
OF mountains the facing OF terrific billiards., the
gathering In OF conquered tribes to be distributed
anew to the agencies, the peaceful negotiations
with tribes weary Of war, reads ike romance
General Miles devotes considerable space to the
dispute over the battle In which Custer was killed
His conclusions as a military critic are emphau-
cay in favor Of that brave. and up TO his last hour
usually fortunate. general For his own part Gen.
eral Miles evidently takes most pride In his CAM
paign against the Apaches He gave the hello
graph at that time the best and most successful
trial /, had had. and his plan OF keeping the
trbesmen In constant movement and O: keeping them