The Washington herald., 1918-07-05
HERO TALE OF INDIAN WARS
TOLD BY COURT OF CLAIMS
Last of Depreciation Cases Marked by Report
Redolent of Frontier Romance, Praising
Redman's Fighting Quality.

Gallant and fearless deeds OF hardy
pioneers, intrepid warriors and re-
morseless savages form the ground
work Of a true story, the final chap
ter of which has Just been completed
after more than a quarter Of a CEN
tury consumed in the writing.
interviewer with the history and up
building OF the great West, this tale
Of the conquering of hostile Indian
tribes far surpasses the widest ef-
forts Of fiction writer's
The action of the story Il supplied
by the campaigns of famous Indian
fighters and barbarous exploits OF
noted redskin chieftains.
Familiar Heroes.
The characters are the men
whose daring established them
as leaders in this strangest Pc
riod Of Americas development-Gen.
Harney, Gen. Crook, Gen. Miles and
Gen. Custer; picturesque frontiefsmen
such as Buffalo Bill. Col. Kit Carson,
Captain Jack" Hays. and their ik.
and the Indian warriors, Captain
Jack" the Modoc chief; Mangas Of
Colorado, Victorio and Geronimo,
Apache chieftains: Chief Joseph, the
Nez Perce, whose soldierly qualities
earned for him the name OF the great
est Indian general Of them all; the
willy Red Cloud, and the scheming
Sitting Bull of the Sioux.
The scenes are laid along the Over
land Trail, the Pony Express Route.
the Santa Fe Trail, the Cimarron
Crossing. where the Indians would
lie in wait for the richly-laden wagon
train winding across the prairie to
Santa Fe, Albuquerque. and the gold
mines of Arizona.
Last Claim Passed On.
The authors and collaborators are
which yesterday announced the
drawing of a judicial curtain on the
long series of Indian depredations
which marked the settlement of the
lands beyond the Mississippi. The
present session OF the court has wit
messed the passing of the last of the
claims growing out of the destruc-
tion of property during the Indian
wars.
With the passing of these claims.
says the court, has gone the Indian
depredations division Of the court
. pECSCutCu cA-
traordinary dificulties," and which
united "as many different and d.
verse and conflicting interests and
questions as were probably ever
brought together in an action at
law"
Every Indian war, from that with
Tecumseh in 1918 to that with Sit
ting Bull In 1ss0-s1. Is recorded In
the files of these cases. The court
says It Is of interest to note at this
time, when we are engaged in q
war with a power which has pro-
claimed itself as the true exponent
Of sivilization that the Court Of
Claims has judicially declared that
in the war with the Nez Perces
under Chief Joseph in 1877, these
'savages' showed themselves to be
brave men and skillful soldiers who,
with one exception, have observed
the rules Of civilized warfare"
U. 8. Lest q War.
"a fact. possibly unknown to
many not intimately familiar with
the early history of the United
States, which Is revealed in the
courts announcement, is that the
only war which history records this
nation as having lost was one of the
Indian wars. that fought in 1S66-67
with the great Sioux nation under
the leadership Of the willy and saga
cious Red Cloud over the "Bozeman
Trail" = AS a result of that war,
the United States abandoned that
trail through the Sioux country, dis
mantled its forts. and withdrew its
soldiers.
"The authors Of this official mar
rative pay the following tribute to
Chief Geronimo. which, 1t Is ad-
mitted. reads more like fiction
than the sober and considered re-
port of a distinguished tribunal:"
Tn our military history this In
dian army will be known as Geron-
imo and his hand II the narra-
tive Of this Indians exploits had
come down to us In tradition from
q former age. It is safe to say that
scientific criticism would condemn
It ~ q myth. as an instance OF the
love Of the exaggerated and super
stitious and impossible which dwells
in the unscientific mind. But the
costly record of Geronimo is one
which never can be questioned. His
campaign taxed the powers of two
great civilized governments; II in
volved . treaty which allowed the
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