Year: 1879




Meeker and the other men at the agency,
and having shot a good many soldiers and
killed large number of cavalry horses.
have disappeared with the women and chill
dren who were at the agency. and very
numerous herd of cattle, and there is talk
of 'speace." They have danced, and now
they naturally want to avoid paying the
fiddler. 1t would not be surprising to read
as the next step in the performance that
the fighting Indians had sneaked back
into some reservation to get their ratlons
or to have their wounded taken care OF.
From Washington comes news that 1T IS
now thought by some of the Utes that
peace commissioner could settle everything
| amicably.


There is an old story of the ring times
in New York which comes to our minds as
we read all this. A burglar-a gentleman
with some political infuence-was inadver-
tently captured by a raw policeman just rs
he was preparing to break into house,
and with him was captured a bag
containing the jimmies and other instru-
ments of burglary. On trial he was
quilted on the ground that he had not
'ieloniously broken into" the house, where
upon he coolly demanded the return OF his
'kit," and, being refused, threatened to sue
the police for it as containing sthe tools OF
his trade" AS the Indians are just now
conducting their case we shall be lucky if
they do not get exemplary damages from
the government for being disturbed in their
''usual avocations."


The Ute Chief Ouray, very excellent
man. we do not doubt, has figured conspic-
uously throughout the difficulty as lover
OF peace. He is probably sincere, but it is
odd to find that the Utes, who do not read
the newspapers, have hit upon the favorite
political device Of putting an absolutely
virtuous and respectable man at the head
of lot of wicked partners" While the
wicked partners were slaughtering and rob-
bing Ouray was protesting that it was all a
mistake, and now he vigorously calls for
peace commission and an amicable adjust
ment. Let nobody hereafter say that these
Indians are s'simple minded savages."
We do not wish to find needless fault
with the Indian Bureau or the Interior De-
partment but there are incidents in this
affair which deserve its attention. Not that
these incidents are novel on the contrary,
they are such as have been reported after
every Indian outbreak. 1t is very old
story, for instance, to read that these Utes
were we'll armed with Winchester rifles
with arms of precision, that is to say
and that they were fully supplied
with fixed ammunition. 1t was the
same in the Custer fight and in
others; and in fact there is the best reason
to believe that if the Indian Bureau would
only prevent the Indians from thoroughly
arming themselves they would not fight at
all. They never have, Of late years, until
they were entirely ready tor campaign.
This is another proof that they are not fools.
1t is little startling to read that even while
the fighting was going on the Indians were
| able to buy 'sfxed ammunition" in quanti-
ties to suit at convenient points near the
scene of their military operations; but this
only shows again that these prudent Utes
take no needless risks.


| The noble red man figures officially in
public documents as ''the ward OF the
nation" Well, his guardian ought at
least to keep him out of reach of fire.
arms. 1t is but little to ask. We have
heard it said in Washington by the friends
of the Indians that these cannot get on
without guns and horses; but that is non
sense. The opposite is true; they cam
not get on with them. 1t is probably
crime to sell an Indian guns or ammu-
milton, but it ought to be crime for an
Indian to have these articles. That would
be a much more effective rule, and we
strongly recommend the Indian Bureau to
adopt and enforce it. What does an Indian
want with firearms? TO hunt? But he
has 10 longer any business to hunt; he
himself complains that the whites press
around him so closely that he can no longer
live by the chase. What does he want with
ponies? To migrate? But that is pre-
cisely what ought to rigidly be forbidden
him.


The true Indian policy is to fix the In
dian to the soil ; to use every means to dis
able him from roaming to narrow his
reservation until each family has only
small patch of land to till, which it must
till or starve, and to break up utterly the
tribal consistency and scatter the families
abroad in such manner that unity of tribal
action shall become impossible. We
doubt whether the Indian Bureau or
the Interior Department, with the
best intentions, will ever do this.
1t has been too long accustomed
to deal not with the individual
Indian, but with the tribe, and to deal with
that as nation. We have heard for too
many years of the purpose OF the Interior
Department to reform this abuse. That
somewhat famous secretary. Mr.. Columbus