enabled, from the time of their removal, to overcome all attempts to make inroads upon them, and "bereave them of their lands;" and through the governments organized by them, have advanced gradually in civilized pursuits, and increased slightly in population. In 1866, treaties were made with some of them, by which, in addition to the right granted to locate and construct railroads through their reservations, a clause was inserted, which may be regarded as dangerous to their interests and their peace in the future. It is the clause providing for the sale, to each railroad corporation, of every alternate section of land, for six miles in width, along the line of the same. Following this, there have been indications, in Congress, of a disposition to open these reservations to the occupation and settlement of the white people. Already this agitation has been hurtful to the Indians. They have, in each tribe, many men of intelligence, who realize the danger. These understand that the organization of Kansas Territory, and the general disorder that immediately followed, and for years grew in volume, was the forerunner of measures that finally disinherited their brethren in that territory, and they are sufficiently intelligent observers of passing events to know that, in their case, in addition to the influences which prevailed in Kansas, there will be added the energy of powerful corporations having lines of railroad built or contemplated through their reservations, in aid of the scheme for opening their country to the occupation and settlement of the whites. These influences argue that civiliza-, tion can not consent that such a body of land as these tribes possess, shall remain, as much of it is, in a state of nature; that it should be in possession of a race that will subdue the land and bring it into cultivation. They ignore the fact that these lands came from the government, of its own motion, to the Indians for a permanent home, in consideration that they surrendered their homes east of the Mississippi, and that the Indians have, in the most solemn form, the guaranty of the government that the country they now own should be, to them and their posterity, a permanent home forever, and that it should always be, and remain, outside of the limits of any organized territory or state. It is true that the lands

owned by the Cherokees, Choctaws, Chickasaws, Creeks, and Seminoles is in excess of what is necessary for their use, and with their consent freely given, portions of it might be disposed of without injury to them. There is, too, a class of their own race to whom it would be a great boon to be located on these reservations. All the Indians east of the Rocky Mountains, and in and west of the mountains also, could be gradually transferred to this Indian territory, and there provided with good homes; and it is believed that the Indians owning it would assent, on fair terms, to an arrangement of this sort; but at this time Congress stands in the way of such a beneficent measure. The Sioux commission of 1876 inserted a clause, in their agreement with the Sioux, for the surrender of the Black Hills, looking to a gradual transfer of the Sioux to the Indian Territory, and sent down a delegation of the Sioux to inspect the country, with a view to that object. When the agreement came before Congress for its approval, that body made haste to strike out that part of it, and expressly directed the president to prohibit such removal. This action of Congress was, no doubt, quite gratifying to the agents of the corporations who have covetous eyes set upon the Indian reservations within the Indian Territory; and it was not displeasing to those opposed to the measure, who reside in Kansas, Missouri, and Arkansas. Some few object to the transfer of northern Indians to the Indian Territory, alleging that the change of climate is disastrous to them, and offer as evidence the sickness and deaths among the Pawnees, Poncas, and Joseph's band of Nez Perces, that followed their removal. There were causes, other than the change of climate, to produce the mortality among these Indians, to which reference is made; and, at the present time, it is presumed that their sanitary condition is much improved. It is not believed there is any thing substantial in this objection. The Cherokees, who were southern Indians, suffered more, in their removal to the Indian Territory, than any other tribe. Indeed, they lost about one-fourth of their number on the sad journey.

There is nothing that has yet appeared that is a valid reason why northern Indians should not be colonized there, and it does seem that the friends of Indian civilization ought to take

hold of this matter of the integrity of the Indian Territory, and its dedication to the Indian race, with all their energy. It is believed, as stated, that the civilized nations residing in and owning it, would be willing for the gradual colonization of their brethren within the territory, and, under proper arrangements, would engage to enter into the work, and aid in the civilization of such tribes as might be colonized there. It is a source of profound regret that the Indians in Kansasthe colonized tribes-were dispossessed as they were, and by reason thereof many of them nearly ruined and destroyed; yet this fact, while it reflects forcibly on the conduct of the white race, when dealing with the Indian, should not cause despondency or doubt as to his capability to accept civilization, and under proper care and training become a useful member of society. There are many living examples among our Indian population, not only that the Indian is susceptible of civilization, but that he is capable of taking respectable rank among the educated of our own race. Among the tribes in Kansas, when the pro and anti-slavery parties rushed in to possess the land, there were many then so far advanced as to qualify them for the proper discharge of the duties incumbent on civilized men in well-regulated communities. The treatment that such ones, as well as all the Indians, received from the maddened whites, who in their conduct disgraced civilization and violated every principle of humanity, is a dark stain upon our nation's honor. In fact, the precipitate legislation by which the country was thrown open to the occupation of the white race, in the face of the plighted faith of the government, was a crime, and the whole country has suffered the penalty. In the bitter discussions in Congress and among the people, in relation to the prohibition of the institution of slavery in that territory, which assumed a sectional character, the seed was sown which bore fruit and resulted in our civil war.

CHAPTER VIII.

THE REMOVAL OF INDIAN TRIBES. THE STORY OF ONE REMOVAL SUBSTANTIALLY THE STORY OF ALL. THE REMOVAL OF THE SANTEE SIOUX AND WINNEBAGO INDIANS. THE DESTRUCTION OF THE BUFFALO AND SMALL GAME.-ITS EFFECT ON THE INDIANS OF THE PLAINS.

THE policy of removing Indian tribes from seat to seat, as the white settlements pressed upon them, which was adopted at a very early day, has at all times resulted disastrously to the Indians. It has also been a fruitful source of corruption. It is believed that there are but few instances in which perfect good faith, in all respects, has governed in the removal of a tribe from an old to a new home. In numberless instances removals have been brought about, not because there was a necessity for them, but with a view to the plunder and profit that was expected to result from the operation. A volume could be filled with details of the most unhappy character; growing out of those removals, and in what preceded and followed them, in which the Indians were cruelly treated and the government defrauded.

A brief extract from a letter written in 1851, to an Indian agent, by a member of a firm that had grown wealthy in Indian trade, and contracts for transportation and Indian removals, will show not only the watchfulness of persons engaged in such transactions, but illustrate the mystery of correspondence in relation to operations among the Indians. The extract is as follows: "During this short session there has been much excitement, and but little effected in these Indian matters. Nothing done or moved in the Menominee matters; they are as before, and most likely will remain so for another year. In the meantime, if the president requires them to remove west, the contract for that object will be an object. Colonel Thompson will be at Washington for some time, and so will my brother. Write to them freely; you will find them right and true. If that could be carried out as we talked the matter over, it would result in a good profit. Write to my brother

about this. I have said to him what was proposed between you, Wright, and us. I am compelled to go in the morning to St. Louis, to provide funds for our transportation contract to New Mexico, and write in haste. Will be back ir twenty days. We must try and make this business tell well yet."

In 1863, the government removed the Santee Sioux and the Winnebago Indians from Minnesota to the Crow Creek agency, on the Missouri river, about one hundred and fifty miles above Yankton, in the Territory of Dakota. The guard that accompanied these Indians consisted of four commissioned officers, one hundred and thirty-five soldiers, and one laundress-in all, one hundred and forty persons. The number of Santee Sioux transported was thirteen hundred and eighteen. For the transportation and subsistence of these Indians and the guard, there was paid the sum of $36,322.10. The number of Winnebagoes transported was nineteen hundred and forty-five; for their transportation and subsistence there was paid the further sum of $56,042.60-making the whole amount paid the contractors, the sum of $95,864.70.

The Sioux were transported from Fort Snelling to Hannibal, Missouri, on two steamboats; one of the boats stopped there, and the Indians on it crossed over to St. Joseph, on the Missouri river, by rail. The other boat continued to the junction of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, and thence up the latter to St. Joseph; and here the Indians that crossed over by rail were put upon the boat, and from thence to Crow Creek all of them were on one boat. They were very much crowded from St. Joseph to Crow Creek. Sixteen died on the way, being without attention or medical supplies. All the Indians were excluded from the cabin of the boat, and confined to the lower and upper decks. It was in May, and to go among them on the lower deck was suffocating. They were fed on hard bread and mess pork, much of it not cooked, there being no opportunity to cook it, only at night, when the boat laid up. They had no sugar, coffee, or vegetables. Confinement on the boat, in such a mass, and want of proper food, created much sickness, such as diarrhea and fevers. For weeks after they arrived at Crow Creek, the Indians died at