Robert M. Wright, Esq., of Dodge City, Kansas, located in that State
when a boy, in the early ’50’s. There are few men living at the present
time who have had a more varied and interesting career.
In Mr. Wright’s recent book, “Dodge City The Cowboy Capital”, I was
struck with its frankness. The book presents a true picture of life
among buffalo-hunters, scouts, gamblers, stockmen and others. I wrote to
this aged frontiersman and asked him to give me an absolute, frank
opinion as to the cause of the Indian wars, and his views upon our
Indian policy. In return he sent me a lengthy communication which
illuminates events on the Plains between the years 1855 and 1890.
Mr. Wright is one of the few living men who observed Indians from the
pioneer point of view. Mr. Wright’s observations, which he kindly
furnished me, are the more important in that they are offered by one who
has not held Indians in very high esteem. Mr. Wright saw some of his
warmest friends shot down during Indian raids. His narrative, if
anything, should be rather prejudiced against the Indians. Yet it is not
so, as will be observed by perusal of the following pages.
Before presenting quotations from his manuscript I shall sum up briefly
his general observations. Looking back upon a career of upwards of sixty
years throughout the West (chiefly in Kansas and Nebraska,) Mr. Wright
concludes that the Plains Indian was vastly better off when able to
roam, unhampered by anyone, throughout the country, than at the present
time. He speaks of the great and interesting Kiowa village located some
distance from Dodge City about 1868. Living in central and southern
Kansas, he came in contact, not so much with the Sioux, but with the
Pawnees, who occupied the flat country, and the Horse Indians, which
included the Kiowa, Comanche, Cheyenne, Arapaho and Prairie Apache. As
to the wars among themselves, he thinks that the number of killed, or
damage inflicted upon villages has been exaggerated. Usually, there were
few casualties in these actions. Some writers might not agree with him,
but this is his opinion. Occasionally, one band would surprise a village
and take many captives and scalps. He was impressed in the early days
with the good health of these Indians, their hardiness, and that they
were seldom visited by epidemics. Smallpox broke out along the Missouri
River, and to the east and north, but seldom in southern Kansas and
northern Texas. He declares that there was no tuberculosis or trachoma
when he first went among these people. The general standard of character
and virtue was much higher.
“As has been said, the Indian was by nature a warrior and hunter, and
was trained as such from earliest childhood. It is taken for granted, by
the great mass of civilized peoples, that the uncivilized redskin had no
idea of education. This is an error. For years, I was among the wild
Indians of half a century ago, and I know from personal observation that
they had as thorough a system of education for their children, in their
line, as that boasted by the civilized white race. From the time the
Indian child was able to walk, his or her education began. The first
lesson usually consisted in being strapped upon the back of a docile
pony and taking a little practice in riding. In the second step in
education he was made to become familiar with the bow and arrow, which
were the Indians’ favorite weapons, half a century ago. At the age of
five, perhaps, the father took the boy out upon the hills adjoining the
camp and admonished him to be observant of what he saw. Every ravine and
hill, a buffalo skeleton, a rock or tree, a footprint in the sand or
grass, the displacement of a stick or stone—all these things and many
more a child must study and learn to notice. He must learn to readily
detect the different marks on bows, arrows, and moccasins,
distinguishing as to which tribe they belonged, as every tribe had a
peculiar mark of its own for its manufactured articles. When the father
and child came back to the tipi, after a day of observation, the child
was required to give a description of what he had seen during the long
tramp, the father or teacher questioning him. The child must give an
intelligent and comprehensive account of his observations, or be taken
over the same ground again and again until he could do so and had
acquired a thorough knowledge of the territory covered. As soon as the
child had familiarized himself minutely with one section of the country,
he was taken to another and yet another, until, finally he was
intimately acquainted with all the territory adjacent to the camp. These
same methods were employed in familiarizing the young Indian with more
extended ranges of country until, at last, he thoroughly understood his
surroundings for hundreds of miles.
“But there were many other subjects in that course. For instance, the
young Indian was expected to learn signalling, similar to that of our
signal corps. Indians well versed in signalling could communicate
accurately with each other though many miles apart. This knowledge was
augmented by detailed instruction and drill in matters of war, the
trail, and the chase. Some of the old-time scouts, who were with us, had
been captured in childhood and raised and educated by the Indians. These
were as proficient in Indian tactics as the Indians themselves, and were
very valuable to have along with a command in Indian campaigns as scouts
and guides. They could follow up a trail, tell the number of ponies,
give the number of Indians in the party being trailed, and, in fact, by
their Indian lore, could know the movements of such a party about as
well as those comprising it knew them. The Indian was as fond of his
boys as any white father could be, and took pride in their training.”
Of the buffalo, he claims, as have all writers, that the very existence
of the Plains Indians was threatened when that noble animal was
exterminated. A great enmity sprang up between the Indians and the white
hunters.
“With this hatred and enmity, the Indian blended a certain fear of the
white hunters, and to the credit of the redskin’s courage it can be said
that the hunters were the only class on earth that he did fear, while
with his fear was mixed also a sort of desperation. The Indian hunted
altogether on horseback, with bow and arrow or lance, which they planted
in the side of the animal by riding up alongside of him. The Indians
claimed they killed only for meat or robes, and, as soon as they had
sufficient, they stopped and went home; whereas, the white hunters never
knew when they had enough, and were continually harassing the buffaloes
from every side, never giving the herds a chance to recover, but keeping
up a continual pop-pop from their big guns. Only under the most
favorable circumstances would the Indians attack the hunters. They were
afraid of the latter’s big guns, cool bravery, and, last but not least,
of their unerring, deadly aim. The passing of the buffalo herds, because
of the white men, was one of the prime causes of Indian hostility.
“But the feeling over the buffalo was only one of the causes of the
Plains wars. To understand other causes, one should consider the Indian
as he was found by the first white men, and compare him with what he was
after his association with the Whites for a term of years. It can
clearly be seen, by such a comparison, that a great change took place,
in that time, in the Indian’s attitude and sentiments toward the Whites,
and this change could not have been due to anything but the influence of
association. The redskin acquired knowledge, also confidence in himself.
Then followed hostile feelings awakened by the mismanagement and
needless cruelty of the Whites. The Indian seemed to learn and adopt
every vice of the Whites but not one of their virtues.
“When I first crossed the Plains in 1859, we met several bands of
Indians. In fact we struck about the first and much the biggest number
at the great bend of the Arkansas River, a little east of where the town
of Great Bend now stands and from there on we met them up to
seventy-five miles west of old Fort Lyon in eastern Colorado. There was
no military fort there then, nor any west of Fort Riley to Fort Garland
in the mountains, and there was no need of any, for the Indians were
supposed to be friendly, which indeed they were. This part of the
country was the chief resort of the Kiowas, Comanches, Cheyennes,
Arapahoes, and Prairie Apaches. Here, on the Arkansas River, near the
present site of Great Bend, is where they all congregated. Up to 1864,
all the Indians mentioned were considered peaceable and were so to a
great extent. When they caught parties of Whites south of the Arkansas
River (which was sacred ground to them, where no trespassers were
allowed) there was trouble. Only traders were allowed in that region,
and they had to be well known and familiar with the Indians to be safe.
If an unknown trader ventured down there, he was stripped of his goods,
whipped severely, often killed, and his wagons burned. But along the
great Santa Fe Trail small parties of Whites, and even single
individuals, went through without being molested, though I have seen
these peaceable Indians, at such times, treated with the utmost contempt
and actual abuse by the white travelers.
“The propensity to beg or steal seemed born in the original Plains
Indian. They made away with any portable article at hand from seemingly
sheer love of theft. And beg! they would beg one blind! They wanted
everything in sight, yet in early days, they made no disturbance if they
were given nothing. It actually seemed as if an Indian could not help
begging or stealing, but, instead of accepting this as a fact and
treating it accordingly with wise leniency, the Whites made use of
needless cruelty. When an Indian picked up something and hid it under
his blanket to carry away, he was black-snaked, or kicked out of camp. I
once saw an Indian climb up on the hind wheel of a big freight wagon and
lift up the wagon sheet. As he was peeping in, with his back bent and
body exposed much as if he were bent over a barrel, a bull-whacker, with
a big ox-whip, stood off ten feet and let him have it on the naked skin.
That Indian dropped as if he were shot, with a gash where the lash
struck as if a sharp knife had cut him. There were many other Indians in
camp, and they all jumped up and halloed and laughed uproariously at the
discomfited one, who crept humbly out of camp. Many indignities like
this were given the Indians without their retaliating, even though there
were often many more Indians than Whites in the party, which
conclusively proves the superior peacefulness of the redskin. This was
as late as 1863. But soon there came a change.
[Illustration:
OGLALA WOMAN
Pine Ridge, 1909. Photographed by W. K. Moorehead.
]
“The Indian wars of the Plains were more the result of a combination of
causes, added to those already mentioned. First, our Government
commenced a wishy-washy, desultory course with the Indians, instead of
taking a bold, firm stand with them, and bringing out enough soldiers to
overawe and make them respect the Government by showing them how strong
it was, thus making them understand what to expect if they did not
behave themselves. The Government policy was so weak at the beginning,
that the Indians actually laughed at it and said: ‘The Government is
afraid of us; it dare not punish us’; and this was their real belief. I
heard some Kiowas braggingly say, ‘Why, we can whip the United States,
for it has been fighting Texas for years and cannot whip her. We go and
sweep down upon her settlements, kill, burn, and destroy, drive off
stock, take women and children prisoners, and make the settlers glad to
hide.’ This was at the time of the Civil War, and the Kiowas thought the
Government was fighting only Texas.
“Now then, as I have said, the Government began with the Indians in a
very feeble way and sent a few troops after them, which, of course, the
Indians bested and forced to retreat. Then a large force was sent which
also was beaten, and, after repeated little fights and skirmishes, large
armies were sent out. Usually, however, the Indians got the best of the
troops and were thus emboldened and given new confidence in themselves
and their strength.
“I have been a stockman all my life, and whenever my cattle became
‘breachy’, if the break they made in my fence was poorly mended, it was
broken through again and again. Each time we repaired the fence a little
better than before, but each time, also, the cattle acquired fresh skill
and force in breaking down the fence. At last, it was impossible to fix
the fence in a way that my herds could not break through. If I had made
the fence good and strong when first repairing it, the trouble would
have been settled at once, and the cattle would never have broken it
down the second time. A comparison between my haphazard fence and
breachy cattle, and the Government’s Indian policy of years ago is the
most fitting I can make.”
Wright believes that the military authorities at Washington were rather
responsible for continuation of an unwise policy toward the Indians, and
is somewhat critical as to the plans of campaign. It was a great mistake
to send infantry against Indians, but this was repeatedly done. In the
Fetterman massacre, the troops were infantry. The cavalry horses of the
’60’s and ’70’s were grain-fed, and extra large. Cavalry commands were
accompanied by a wagon-train in which grain and hay were hauled. Hence,
prior to Custer’s later campaigns, the American cavalry made little
progress as against Indians. The latter went very light, carrying a
little dried buffalo meat, guns and ammunition. Each Indian warrior
always possessed an extra horse—his war pony—which was never ridden
except in battle. He rode his ordinary pony, and led the other. In this
way the Indian soldiers had an advantage over the white cavalry. Mr.
Wright says that the Indians feared winter attacks on their camps. They
seldom made war during cold weather. The warriors endeavored to lead the
troops away from their permanent villages.
“General Sully found this out, in 1868, when he supposed he was marching
upon an Indian village from which the families had been removed and
hidden in another direction, while the warriors led Sully on a
wild-goose chase into the Wichita Mountains. It is a wonder his whole
command was not annihilated, and if he had followed the Indians a little
further, not a soldier would have escaped, the trap was so well set. But
Sully realized the danger just in time, turned around, got out of the
mountains almost by a miracle, returning to Fort Dodge for
reinforcements, with the Indians harassing him all the way back. This
ambush and defeat was a source of great mortification to General Sully.
General Custer then took the field with big reinforcements, and
surprised the Indian camp on the Wichita River; but, after the attack,
Custer, too, was forced to beat a hasty retreat to Camp Supply, as he
found himself greatly outnumbered nearly ten to one. He inflicted on the
Indians a severe punishment, taking nearly two hundred women and
children prisoners, which greatly disheartened the Indians for a while.
But this success was in the dead of winter, and might have resulted
differently had it happened in the summer season, with the Indian
fighting according to his views of proper war tactics. (_See picture,
page 302._)
“It was a big mistake of the National Government to appoint civilians
and representatives of different religious denominations as Government
Agents. We should have appointed army officers instead, at a post where
there was also an agency. This was merely a necessity of the times and
conditions, clearly visible to anybody in the least acquainted with the
needs of the situation. Soldiers were always stationed at an agency, the
commander of that post was always subject to the orders of the Agent, a
civilian often wholly unqualified to direct military movements or
frontier exploits, and the ideas of commander and Agent were nearly
always in conflict. The officer bitterly resented being subject to the
Agent’s orders and certainly the former, familiar as he was with the
border and Indian, knew better than the Agent could know, coming as he
did, as a rule, direct from civilized centers. While treating them
kindly and fairly, an army officer would have governed the Indian with a
firm hand, and with none of the little less than criminal weakness
displayed by many of the Agents. Moreover, most of the Agents were not
good men, and not only robbed the Indian but starved him. I personally
knew of graft practised by several Agents by which the Indian suffered
greatly. Let me cite one of many instances of weakness that fell under
my own observation. Mr. Darlington, Agent of the Cheyenne and Arapaho,
was a good old Quaker, but weak and unsophisticated to a marked degree.
I was sutler for the soldiers at this agency, and these Indians had
stolen a lot of horses and mules from me. One issue day, the Indians
rode in, and I saw several of my horses and mules, bearing my brand,
among their stock. Now, the Indians who had possession of my horses
belonged to Stone Calf’s band. Stone Calf was one of the head chiefs of
the Cheyennes, a man of more than ordinary intelligence, and a pretty
truthful Indian. I went to Mr. Darlington, told my story, and asked him
to recover my stock for me. He promised to do so, sent for Stone Calf,
and said to him: ‘This young man is truthful and honest, and he says you
have a lot of his stock (describing the brand). Now, Stone Calf, you are
a good, honest, truthful Indian, and I have always found you square;
give this young man back his stock.’ Stone Calf drew himself up with
superb dignity and fairly breathed disdain at the Agent’s suggestion. ‘I
have no doubt that this stock did belong to the young man,’ he replied,
‘but it belongs to me now. I took it when I was at war, and I never give
back anything I take when I am at war.’ That settled the matter and I
never recovered my stock. An army officer in the Agent’s place would
have said: ‘This stock belongs to Wright; give it up to him at once!’
and he would have been obeyed and nothing more would have come of it.
“Again, had military instead of civilian Agents been appointed, the
wholesale robbery of the Indians already mentioned, and system of graft
in general that went on would have been largely avoided, the Indian
benefited, and trouble averted. Remote as he always was from
surveillance, with large quantities of Government supplies entrusted to
his care for the use of the Indians, the temptation to dishonest
practices for private gain was great to every Agent. Mr. Darlington,
already mentioned as Agent of the Cheyennes, was as honest an old man as
ever lived and, being so, seemed to think everyone else honest too, but
his employees stole from the Indians right and left, and robbed them
right along, under his very eye, and he was not aware of what was going
on. The graft of the agencies was notoriously well-known on the
frontier, and many an Agent became actually rich from the spoils of his
office. The Indians realized the state of affairs and resented it, and
added it as another brand to the fire of their hostility against the
Whites. The big old chief Red Cloud once said: ‘I don’t see why the
Government changes our Agents. When one Agent gets rich at his trade of
looking after us and has about all he wants, he may stop his stealing
and leave us the property which belongs to us, if he keeps his place.
But when one man grows fat at our expense, he is removed and a lean man
sent to take his place, and we must fill his belly till he is fat also,
and give way to another lean one!’”
Mr. Wright calls attention to the fact that the army officer was a
better judge of human nature than the civilian and he further had the
advantage of discipline. Surrounded as he was by numerous associates
aspiring to promotion, he dared not steal Government supplies lest he be
found out, and drummed out of the army. With a civilian it was very
different.
“History gives no more striking example in proof of feeble Governmental
policy with the Plains Indians in combination with the pitiful
incapacity of some of the civilian Agents, than the story of the last
Indian raid through western Kansas and Nebraska in 1878. It seems that
for no better reason than that they wished to have all the Cheyenne
Indians in one band, the Indian officials of the Government gave orders
for the removal of the Northern Cheyennes from their agency in Dakota,
to that of the Southern Cheyennes at Fort Reno, in what is now Oklahoma.
The Northern Cheyennes did not wish to move and protested vigorously,
but in vain. Being unused to the southern climate, it was not long after
their arrival at Fort Reno, before malaria appeared among them, numbers
became sick and many died. Terror-stricken at this almost unknown
experience, they became possessed with the idea that the water they had
to drink in the new country was poisoned, and that all would die if they
remained. Going to the Agent, they begged to be allowed to return to
their northern home, but were refused. Then provisions began to grow
scarce. The Cheyennes applied to the Agent for permission to go on a
buffalo hunt to gain food. Permission was granted, but the buffalo had
been practically exterminated in that locality, and, though they hunted
for days, not a buffalo could be found, and the poor savages were in
worse condition than before. They were forced to kill their few scrawny
ponies for meat to sustain life until they could return to the agency,
and there they killed their dogs and lived upon them for a while. Again
they begged to be permitted to return to the North, and again they were
refused. In pity for their distress, however, the Commander of the fort
gave orders that a small ration should be distributed among them, but it
is almost certain that a large portion of this was confiscated by
unscrupulous assistants, and that very little of it ever reached the
needy Indians. Their condition rendered them fairly desperate. They
resolved to return to Dakota at any cost. ‘We may as well die fighting,’
said Dull Knife, the Cheyenne chief and leader, ‘as to stay here and die
of starvation.’ They began stealing and concealing guns, ammunition, and
what provisions they could spare from their scanty stock. When ready to
start, they stole horses, and, with a few mounted warriors, their
foraging operations were rapidly extended until an abundance of mounts,
arms, and provisions were obtained. Women and children took part in the
exodus, and the march was very leisurely, but notwithstanding this fact,
the troops sent in pursuit were defeated in battle about sixty miles
from Reno, and afterwards proceeded in so careless a fashion, that the
Indians were not again overtaken till they reached Sand Creek, about
forty miles south of Dodge City. Here, however, the troops completely
surrounded the Indian camp and might have recaptured the fugitives with
ease, but the superior cunning and energy of the Indians were here again
strikingly apparent, for they managed to slip away in safety during the
night, the soldiers not discovering the escape until two days after it
occurred. The flight and leisurely pursuit was resumed, but the Indians
had killed very few Whites until they reached White Woman creek in
Western Kansas. Here they were again overtaken by the soldiers and an
engagement fought. If Colonel Lewis, who had joined the pursuing
detachment with reinforcements, had not been killed, it is probable the
Indians would have been defeated and recaptured, but the troops,
deprived of a leader in Lewis’s death, showed the white feather, and
once more allowed the Cheyennes to slip away in safety. From thence
onward, emboldened by success and filled with contempt for the Whites by
the indolence of the troops, the progress of the Indians was marked by
horrible bloodshed and devastation. Their course was practically
unchecked, and they reached the northern agency, at length, thus
attaining the object of their expedition.
“It was the Indian’s nature to be cruel, and many of the conflicts
between him and the Whites of the Plains were caused by the Whites’
retaliatory measures for some atrocity born of Indian cruelty. On the
other hand, as has already been hinted, many Indian cruelties arose from
needless, petty cruelties and indignities, inflicted upon the latter by
the Whites and afterwards avenged. These relations of hostility existed
between the Indians and all classes of Whites on the Plains, excepting,
possibly, the cowboy. He and the Indian had little to do with each
other, therefore they had few encounters.
[Illustration:
BETTER CLASS OF FULL-BLOOD PLAINS INDIANS OF THIRTY YEARS AGO
]
“It is often asked—since the United States had so much trouble with her
western Indians, why has Canada had no trouble with hers? There are
several good reasons. First, Canada, from the start, had a better method
of dealing with the Indians. She was firm with them, and never deviated
in the least from this course. They were awed by the Canadian police,
and it is a well-known fact that this mounted police really protected
Canada’s frontier. Whiskey peddlers, as well as fugitive criminals, knew
this, and knew how firm and just these police were, and the Indians
entertained the same feeling toward them. Second, the Canadian
Government always strictly kept its word with the Indians and never
broke its agreements with them. It invited and warranted their
confidence. Moreover, the Indians claimed no land over in Canada, as
they did in the United States, and their best reason for keeping peace
with the former when at war with the latter, was that they might have a
refuge at hand, to which to fly in times of need. When they crossed the
Canadian line, they knew they were safe from hostile pursuit. It was a
healthy country, well watered by clear, cold streams; mountainous, where
Indians could easily hide when hard pressed. It had plenty of game to
sustain them, and beautiful, warm valleys, full of nutritious grasses
and plenty of wood, where they could winter comfortably and feel in
safety and at home. In summer it was an equally ideal place to live. It
was also a place where they found a ready market for stolen horses and
sold them to advantage. One may ask why they could not have selected
Texas for like purposes. Well, for just the opposite reasons from those
which led them to select Canada. Texas was much more unhealthy; they had
always been at war with Texas, and besides, it was a glorious country
upon which to forage. There they raided the frontier and not only got
all the stock they wanted, but many other things that were useful to
them.
“One should consider the natural propensities of the American Indian,
and be convinced that he was better off in his original state than at
the present time, with all the so-called advantages civilization has
brought him. This was especially true of the Plains Indian. By nature he
was a nomad, a warrior, a hunter, living in the open air. Under
conditions favoring this nature, he was a healthy, hardy, happy
individual, like any product of natural growth; under the absolute
reversal from this to conditions imposed upon him by civilization, he
became diseased, debilitated, and inferior; as might be expected from
any unnatural growth.”
THE PLAINS INDIANS OF TODAY
Desiring to present a contrast between the past and present, in all its
details, I wrote to numbers of missionaries among Indians, selecting
those who had served for a long time. One of the missionaries on a large
reservation where are located thousands of Sioux, answered me at length,
and I present some of his recommendations. He speaks Sioux fluently. I
have taken the liberty of changing a few expressions. His suggestions
are brief, but contain much sound common sense. His letter was written
in 1909, and some of the reforms he advocates have been inaugurated, but
they have not been made general. This worthy missionary presents an
accurate picture of conditions among the larger bands of Plains Indians
(with some exceptions) at the present time. These Indians were entirely
self-supporting forty years ago, and for their present deplorable
condition, we, rather than they, are responsible.
“What strikes one most of all is the great poverty of these people. The
majority suffer very much from hunger, because they do not know how to
make a living. But they could make a good living for themselves, we
believe, if they would but plant a couple of acres, say one acre corn,
one acre potatoes. However, most of them will never do so unless they
are held down to it. It is useless to treat with them as with white
adults. They are nothing but grown-up children, not knowing what they
want, and above all not knowing what is good for them. For this reason
we ought to have more farmers who would see to it that these things are
done.
“The Indian is a great traveller. Sometimes he does so for work, most
generally for pleasure. Of what use is it to go to the railroad and work
there for a few weeks, come back with little, find all his hay devoured
by other people’s stock, his own cattle and horses scattered over the
country, and several head missing?
* * * * *
“They should be supplied with seed in time; plenty but not many kinds,
with the distinct understanding that they must pay for it before the
next issue of money, or else it will be taken out of that. If they learn
how to grow potatoes, corn and pumpkins or turnips, they have enough to
start with. They ought to learn how to grind this corn and make
cornbread. If they raise corn, they could easily keep chickens, pigs,
milk cows, and have butter and eggs and cheese, just what the
consumptive needs. Of course it may be necessary before the crops are
matured to issue rations until the harvest time comes, _i. e._, for a
year or two. After that they ought to have enough provisions to last
them the year around. Indians ought to have facilities for buying pigs
and chickens at ordinary market prices. In fact, they ought to be able
to buy all their groceries at market prices.
* * * * *
“Another hindrance is the habit of visiting. Some go away for months at
a time on a visit. Horses, cattle, and all are left to themselves or the
wolves. When some one is sick, even if only a baby, work is quit,
relatives have to come from miles and miles, etc. Sometimes they will go
off to the Crows, Arapahoes, etc., and get a present of horses. Chances
are that the Crows will be back here next year getting another present.
“A third hindrance is—to my mind—the method of work adopted here. (My
intention is not to criticise but to offer a suggestion.) The Indians
have to leave their homes and work on the roads for $1.25 per day.
Consequently, they cannot look after their places nor take care of
anything else. In the long run it is a loss. One head of stock lost at
home, means one month’s wages gone. Why could the Indians not make their
money at home? Let them do the work that has been suggested, to
cultivate their fields, to plant, etc.; have the District farmers
control them and make payment for work done. Many of the thoughts above
are the sentiments of the better class of Indians, so you may be sure
there will be little opposition on their part to putting these, or
similar plans, into operation.
“A fourth hindrance is the fact that so many go away to Buffalo Bill
shows, etc., leaving wife, children and everything behind. When such an
Indian gets back, some one else is liable to have his wife and
cattle—not mentioning bad habits and shameful diseases he sometimes
brings back.
* * * * *
“But it is the old people that ought to arouse the sympathy of us all.
They lie around in the utmost filth and neglect, eating old scraps, or
swill; starving and freezing in spite of the fact that they draw
rations. If they get help from anyone, it is devoured by the neighbors,
and the poor old people have little benefit from it.
“The children’s lot is a hard one, too. If they live at home, they have
to go through the rain, mud, cold, etc., to get to the day school. In
many cases, the family must camp near the day-school. Then they have to
neglect their own home entirely.
“At present, the prevailing idea seems to be that the best way to do
with the Indian now is to throw him upon his own resources. If the plan
outlined above or something similar were carried out for a few years,
one could do so. To do so at present would mean, I think, a slaughter, a
massacre. Let a death come in his family and he may give away his last
hoof. He may barter away every thing for a jug of whiskey. * * * * He is
no match for the white man, especially when the latter is accompanied by
what the Sioux call “Holy Water,” and therefore it would be nothing but
murder to mix up the Indians with Whites too rapidly on this
reservation.
“The civilizing of the Indians is a slow process. When some change is
going to be made it ought to be announced long ahead, and then the red
man can prepare for it. Otherwise he is simply carried off his feet,
dazed, doesn’t know where to go, or what to do. It is all right to say,
let those who do not want to work starve, but what about the innocent
family, what about his ‘sponging’ on the others as they call it? One
Indian cannot refuse another anything (especially as they are all
relations) without being ostracized.
“I note what you say about tuberculosis, and must say that the opposite
ought to be true, but it is not, for many reasons, most of which are
mentioned above. Were it not for their careless and dirty habits, their
lack of food and proper care, they ought to be the strongest race on the
face of the earth. By proper treatment many cases could be cured. As it
is they all die. Two physicians cannot tend to everybody on so large a
reservation and with their limited means.
* * * * *
“These are a few things that I thought I should mention in order to
fully answer your questions. By doing so, I did not in the least mean to
criticise anyone in the Service, for I know that much has been tried and
done in the past. Still I believe with the other missionaries, that the
Indians can be saved if we try the methods suggested above or similar
ones.”