New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1907-01-02
CAUSES OF The INDIAN WAR

Interesting Evidence Bearing on
the Graft Existing In those
Early Days.
Destitution Existed Amongst In
dians; Thievery Among Agents.
DR.. A. w. Daniels, the veteran ST.
Peter physician, has contributed an
important addition to Minnesota his
tory.
In paper, prepared for the Histori-
cal Society, he tells of the causes that
led up to the Sioux outbreak of 1862,
and he also deals with the important
figures in that famous struggle in a
manner that is unquestionably new to
many Of those living at this time. His
letter is as follows:
On considering the causes that led
to the outbreak of 1862, the writer is
convinced that the treaties of Men
dota and Traverse des Sioux in 1851
were the most prominent. The In
dians were in possession of an empire
that the whites urgently demanded,
and in possessing ourselves of it we
took from them their means of sub
sistence, giving them no adequate re-
turn. The territory acquired consisted
OF IS, 900, 900 acres of the most fertile
lands of the Mississippi and Minnesota
valleys. Governor Ramsey, in his re-
port, thus speaks of the territory ac-
CURED:
THE tract of territory relinquished
by them was larger than the state of
New York, fertile and beautiful beyond
description, far the best part of Mime
sofa. It is SO far diversified in natur-
al advantages that it's productive
powers may be considered almost in
exhaustible. Probably no tract on
the face of the globe is equally well
watered. A large part is rich, arabic
land, and other portions of unsurpass-
ed fertility, eminently adapted to the
production of incalculable quantities
OF the cereal grains.
The boundless plains present mex
haustible fields of pasturage, and the
river bottoms are richer than the
banks of the Nile In the bowels of
the earth there is every indication of
extensive mineral felds''
For this immense territory the gov
eminent agreed to pay nominally
S3,O75, 900, which would be between
? @ht and six cents an acre.. But as
$500, 900 was to be held in trust, and
Aly the interest at 5 per cent to be
d to the Indians, and this only for
nm OF fifty years, at which time the
'ipal was to revert to the govern
.. it viii be easily reckoned that
az Indians would receive, all told,
only about st cents an acre. And TAX
ing into account the great value of the
relinquished lands, and the price the
government would undoubtedly OBJ
lain for them, it will be readily con-
seded that Governor Ramsey was not
100 sanguine when he stated, in his
report to the Interior Department,
hat the 'actual cost to the govern
anenb of this magnificent purchase is
only the SUM paid in hand, 1915, 900. !"
By these treaties the Commission
allowed 100000 in payment of the
excessive claims of the traders, $780,
Goo of which went to Hugh Tyler in
payment of a fictitious claim for So
curing the ratification of the treaty by
the senate. The Indians protested
against the payment OF such exorbitant
claims, declaring they did not owe so
nuch. Red Iron proposed leaving it
TO three disinterested whites and what
they determined to be justly owing to
the traders they would willingly pay.
His proposition was rejected, and for
refusing to comply with the demands
OF the Commission, he was put in
irons and confined for days.
Thus by intimidation and by prom
ises that the amount they should re-
eeive would abundantly provide for
their future wants, the treaty, after the
delay OF month, was finally consum-
mated.
AS years passed and they came to
more fully realize the real value of
the country they had parted with, their
sense of the injustice done them was
ever becoming more intense, and at
every council, up to the outbreak, their
unvarying cry was, that the treaties
had been forced on them; that their
money had been unjustly paid to the
traders and that they had been robbed
of their country.
1t was expected that the monthly is
sue of provisions would be sufficient
to monthly supply their want, but the