The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-05-22

A book Of interest and Of value a. an
Observers chronicle Of a vanished time
Is Mr.. JAsaEs McIAAueHIIS's Ny FTiead
iAs Insiaa (HoOghton Miffiin Company.
The author as Government agent and
inspector has had long experience Of
the iudan. He was agent az Devils
Lake and Standing Rock in the SiOun
country in troublOus days. He ended
the ghost dance and arrested Sitting
lRlll. For thirty-eiEht years he tells
ls. Il have been saying How TO the
Indian man rather more frequently than
have been permitted 10 salute the white
man according 20 his forms He haa
seen a great deal Of the Indians. has beam
made aware Of great deal and has related
a great deal here.
He Describes vigorously the conditions
in the Indian country thirty.fve or forty
years ago. Practically the whole army.
he saya, was afsld In pursuit q the In
diana Gen. Sheridan was in command
on the frontier. His opinion Of the people
who were the occasion 81 his activities Al
that time was expressed IN the observation
There are no good Indians but dead In
diana Gen. sherman. who was AZ tho
head Of the army. thou ght that the Indians
should be suppressed by -merciless aud
vhldictive warfare still IL IA noticed
hers that Gen. Grant on becoming Presi-
dent had proclaimed a peace policy in
dealing with the Indians. and that there
had bsen treaties in 1855 which Il was
hoped might b. effective.
When Mr. Mclaughlin entered the Gov
eminent service in 1871 many Indians
were living at the agencies. The Indian
by that time had undergone some change.
lie had not changed altogether In tho
language Ol the West. be had been halter
broke. hut he had not yet been hitted.
That says Mr.. Mclaughlin. was 70
come later. when the bloody arbitament
% war had been appealed 70 and the
mighty tide q white men had engulfed
and submerged the red banSls that stood
in the way o. the setting sun and fortune
The operation Of the Law of the survival Of
the iittest has not been applied. according
TO the Indian canOns 81 fitness, and the
great men Of the red race. the last Of race
81 physical giants. have passed away In
the years that have interviewed since 1871.
The author accounts for himself briefly
and with pleasant humOr. He was born
in Ontario in lst2. His anoestry was
Irish and Scotch. a circumstance that he
has not allowed 20 interfere with his hap
piness. In 1888 he arrived in Minnesota
with two strong bare hands and entered
into an apprenticeship for a career among
the Indians by becoming acquainted with
many Of them and Of their mixed blpOds
at 81 Paul Mendoza. Wabasha, Faribault
and other places in that then frontier
State He had acquired what he calls
some slight knowledge Of the Sioux Ian
Slage when on July I. 1871. he set out from
ST. Paul in charge Of bull train 0f twenty
yoke % cattle and ten wagons bound for
Devils Lake. The meaning 81 this was
that Major W, II. Forbes. who had been
appointed 30 he an agent among the In
dians at Devils Lake. had selected him for
his lieutenant Major Forbes was noe in
good health at that time. and the work Of
setting up the agency devOlvsd largely
upon the younger man. Mr.. Mclaughlin
snoceehed Major Forbes ~ agent In is7s.
Devils lake. about 100 milss west Of
the Red River q the North. and IN what
h nov the State Of North Dakota. had
always been a great resort Of the Sioux.
Their Imms for IL was NIinnswuukon,
which moans spirit OF aOred watsg. Ths
numerous whiripools disturbing lts hraclr-
In depths were supposed 10 BE- due 70 the
agitations % ths spirit that dw6lt In the
lake. 10 b possible that the terrorB az
the place would have kept the glpsruti-
tious braves away from Il Il tire neigh
bOrhOod had not been q WONDERFUL buf-
falo country. It was only in isos that the
Red River Indians and halRbreeds had
become % numerous ~ 30 cause The great
herds Of buffalo b disappear.
For many yeara. Mr.. Mclaughlin tslls
,ia. the Red River halghrseds had mads
Devils Lain tho seems Of thsir summer
hunts. Tie halfhrseds wers thS dsscgnd-
anaa u the French voyagsurs who had
married 1Enong the Indiana They had
grown greatly IN nurnheFs and had estab-
ltshed themselves on the Red River Miesr
the founding Of the Hndson's Bay Com
pany headqanFterB AZ o. near what is
now the Cify % Winnipeg. Thgy were.