The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1921-03-12
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'i|VDiAN FIGHTERS
MEET. IA||i1;D|||N| N NJ
GENERALS N. A. MILES, KING AND
OTHERS At ANNUAL. FEAST
~. OF PLAINS WARRIORS.
REVIEW THE OLD CAMPAIGNS

By EDWARD B. CLARK.

a. - u - -
s - BY EDWARD b. CT Al <. NO. 4
z. Washington. The Inauguration
drew to Washington many men who
had q secondary purpose in, coming
here, and this secondary purpose was
not Office. seeking. There has just been
held here: the annual dinner Of the Or
der Of Indian Wars. and it certainly
was 4 fine lot OF old warriors OF the
plains who sat. about the board and
lived over the days when they were on
the trail of the Klowas, COMMANDERS.
Arapahoes, Apaches, Sioux and Nez
perce.
Among those who met at this dinner
were. Gen. Nelson A. Miles, Gen.
Charles King, Gen. William T. Hall,
Gen. Arson Mills, Gen. Charles Fred
eric Humphrey and Gen. Wilds +.
Richardson, and a lot Of other officers
younger in years, but none Of whom
by any means could be- considered a
youth. .r.
General King Of Milwaukee, who is
known all over the country as novel
list and who began his .'fiction founded
on fact" writing when he was Captain
King, told the story Of the Sioux CAM
paign OF 1S75-7G. To-day, in the over
shadowing deeds Of the great war, the
deeds and nardships Of the men who
fought on the plains are apt to be for
gotten. 1t can be said, however, with
perfect truth that no American soldier
Of the war which has just ended went
through worse experiences than those
Of their elder comrades who, in brOil-
ing summer and freezing winter, hun
cry and half-clad, hung on the trail OF
the elusive red warriors. :
Sympathy for the INDIAN!
Before going any, further, let it be"
said that all through the stories that
were told at the Indian Wars dinner
ran the notes of sympathy for the In
dams whom these men had fought. 1t
can be said that in this latter day
these soldiers Of the Indian wars who
had been true to their duty, distastefut
as it was, still feel resentment that it
was necessary for them to engage In
killing warfare with the Indians OF the
West. ~-s.- .. ~. -.-
General King told Of a command OF
troops which, although 1T, had suffered
ut the hands Of the gCheyennes, had
such sympathy and admiration for the
foclnen that the soldiers begged the In
dams to surrender and not to continue
the battle which meant virtually their
determination. -'"-'1:~' >
= The stories of these days; on the Big
Horn the Belle Touches and the Rose
bud, and on the plains Of western Kan
sas. of Colorado and the Panhandle OF
Texas, to say nothing Of the mountains
Of Arizona, may sound like ancient his
tory, but they were as vivid In recital
as il they were the affairs of yester-
day. Tales OF t0llsome marches, with
the troops subsisting upon horsemeat,
with no bread or coffee or tobacco to
sustain them or to cheer them, were
the same stories that were told In the
East constantly from thirty to ffty
years ago, and yet brought no proper
appreciation Of the suffering and the
high .endeavor of the men who were
carrying out the mandate Of their gov
eminent.
General Miles, the greatest of the
Indian fighters who still is living, told
of his pursuit Of Sitting Bull, and told
also of his successful attempt to make
bands of raiding Sioux surrender and
give over the attacks on the settle
ments. Miles fought the Indians aud
won their respect, butt he knew also
how to talk to them when possible, and
to bring their feet into the peace path.
Their Confidence in Miles.
One story he told Of an interview
with the orator, Little Chief, Of tribe
which he was trying to induce to re-
turn to the reservation SO that warrior
lives might not be lost in what must be
an unequal battle. Little Chief said to
the general, in a picturesque Indian
way which cannot be reproduced here,
that once he had been in Washington
to interview the Great Father and that
the Great Father had: promised that
the white man should not 60 into the
Black Hills country, for that was set
0S1uc 1Or CIc Ieu In1uA AVASNS'. "t'''
lied to the,,,' said the chief, but you
have never lied to me anu l believe
that If we 60 back. to the reservation
the fears of my men that there they
are to be killed will be found false
Little. Chief led his men back to the
reservation.
It should be said IN this connection
that presidents Of the United States
making promises to the Indians intend
ed that they should be kept, but that
adventurous and gold-seeking white
men insisted on penetrating the Indian
reservations and precipitating trouble.
When whites were killed 1t became nec-
essary. from the War departments
viewpoint, to send forth an army, and
/. promises which were made in good
faith were broken. .r-..ss- p,
: Representative Charles Russell Da-
Wis of st. Peter. MIMI. was present at
the dinner. He was taken by his grand
parents into Minnesota in the early
sos, and was reared in the heart OF
Siouxland. He was a witness OF the
uprising Of 1862 which led to the kill
ipss at New Ulm and other places.
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