Year: 1875

[From the Boston Traveller, Oct q.


'The Relation of Government to the Indians "
is tho topic OF the which delivered by
Wendell Phillips at Kennedy Hall last evening He
said there had been attempt to bring them within
the grdle of the law but only cruelty, and
oppression had marked the contact of Christian cyi
zaton with modern barbarsm. The contrast was
broad and marked Men too apt TO regard tho In
dans the lowest creatures in the human scale, and
call them savages and barbarians But If Columbus
had not discovered America; If Pzarro and Cortez had
not penetrated into the interior of Mexico and Perm in


their thirst for god there would have been here race
capable OF developing civilization side by side with
Europe. This had left the remains Of an archec
turc magnificent and unexplanablc as that OF Egypt


There were traces Of attanments in astronomy of com
FORT refinement learning and institutions oil learning,
and no be given why they should not have
gone on in the development of civilization broad
active aud respectable our own. But the Spanlards
with the single object OF cleaning the wealth OF the
country our fathers had one object in yiew and that
was land and the third object Tor which men sought


this country urs He would say for the fur trading
companies that they had treated the Indians better


than any other class body OF men had treated them
Their policy was comprehended in three lnaxims =
First keep peace with the Indians; second keep
among the Indians and third, keep intoxicating quo1
from the Indians He proposed to speak OF the 400 600


Indians 800 900 within the grth of the United States
and the remainder north OF the great lakes under the
dominion of Queen Victoria With these people the
policy OF the United States had been from the outset
that Of ostracism The Indian has neither been u de-
pendent foreigner, protected citizen, and there is
no legal phrase that describe him. First placed
under the control of the army he denied the priv


ege OF the law and General Grant had been the first
of any prominence In this country who had ad-
vised that the Indians be taken from the control of the
army and placed under the protection OF the law But
there had been only one unchangng idea with regard
to them since the Puritans landed The whole history
OF tho country had been marked by Indian massacres
and revolts and since 1889 81 600 900 900 had been
expended in the attempts TO subjugate them; but in
spite OF all this blood and treasure the country
TO the solution OF the problem than 1t ut


first Mr. Phillips then referred to several instances OF
unjustihablc which had been waged against the
Indians the massacre by Colonel Tappan's command
which brought in which the United States
expended ST. 900 and sacrificed the lives of $50 SOL
diers; the Cheyenne butchery by General Custer and
his cavalry when there found in the Indian camp
1900 head OF cattle the strongest possible argument
against tho theory that those people were in state or
against the government But nobody would listen
patiently to the Indian There no body of
In the country, from Congress down to audience


like that he addressed that would hear tho true state
ment OF the case He said that the whole story
summed up in the testimony OF General Harney, who
had been the service the frontier from the age OF
mover had known Indian tribo to break its word
the Uued States to keep IT. The Indian wanted tools
and materials to make himself man. Their mean
vices from the whites and their virtues their
II American civilization were botted out to-day
there would not be left appeal 10 posterity
There would not be act tha. the country had done
but would be carried by tho recording angel
accusation against it