The Bozeman courier. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1919-1954, 1925-11-13
(By MRS. M. 3. ~PLAssMANN)

w YHEN the pioneers of Montana
Nv came here to mine, and fin
W ally made it their home, 1t
never occurred to them that others
might claim the land they chose to
occupy, and they we're consequently
indignant that the Indians opposed
their coming. Did not all of this ter
ritOry belong to the United States,
having been purchased with good
money from it's lawful owners on the
other side Of the Atlantic? What
just claim did the Indians have to it?
They led a nOmadic life and made no
effort to improve the country, or to
take from it the treasure it con-
tanned.
Had an English sailor planted a
flagstaff somewhere on the shores
of Japan in the days when that en-
pire was closed to foreigners, and
claimed the land for his sovereign;
had the British ruler then sold ia
pan to the United States, we should
have been quite as much entitled to
it, as we were to the land of the
Northwest Indian tribes.
/ remember hearing, when a child,
the argument advanced, that the
policy of making treaties with the
! Indians, or in any way recognizing
them as owners of the land where
they dwelt, was a mistake "They
make no use of the land; they do
not cultivate it, but simply Ov-
er it and take the wild animals" it
was said, although several tribes
east and west DID live in villages,
and raise vegetables and corn. Had
they not done so, our pilgrim Fa-
theirs would have starved that first
| terrible winter. 1t is a matter of
history that the Indians provided
them with corn; taught them how to
cook it, and how it could be made
more palatable by the addition Of
maple syrup.
The Wrong Impression.
: The pioneers considered the In
Z dian filthy, indolent, treacherOus,
!, cruel, and some even went so far as
/ to say he was destitute of courage.
2 At n rate, all were agreed that an
Indian chad no rights a white man
was bound to respect" Our govern
ment acted on the same hypothesis,
but was more polite. 1t made trea-
/ ties with the Indians to gain time.
When the lands granted by these
= treaties were craved by the whites,
the treaties became imperative, and
were regarded as mere scraps Of
waste paper.
A common expression current in
lMOntana's infancy among white men
was the often quoted, There is no
good Indian but a dead One,' and the
pioneers acted on that principle, fire.
~quently in self defense.
Entomology teaches us that the
races of mankind are in possession
of similar traits, but differ mainly
in the stage of development reached
the most civilized still retaining
many Of the primitive traits.
The Indians Opinion Of Whites
It is interesting then to learn what
the Indians thought Of US, and this
recent writer's have made it possible
to know. The Indians opinion nigh.
be condensed and given in my owl
language, but it would fail to make
the impression that is to be derived
from reading an accurate report o.
what was said. For such a report,
am indebted to a recent work of al
Indian, DR.. Charles A. Eastman, anC
entitled, Indian Heroes" Most o
the orators quoted by him are of thu
Sioux Nation, as is DR.. Eastman, anC
they fought either in Montana, or OF
its borders.
Red Cloud DenOunces Whites
In 1852 the Northwest tribes be
gan to see they were doomed to ex
tinctiOn unless they united agains
d the white invaders. Red Cloud, on
u of the leading chiefs of the Sioux
was emphatically opposed to max
y ing any further terms with the white
for this reason:
Friends" he said in a council me
to consider the question, cit has beef
our misfortune to welcome the whit
man. We have been deceived. H
brought with him some shinin.
Se things that pleased our eyes; h
ly brought weapons more effective tina.
8. our own; above all, he brought tn
Id spirit water that makes one forge
for a time old age, weakness an