OCR Text |
Show OCR INDIAN POLICY. It wou'd seem that a race which has been civilized and also in some tolerable degree Christianized for about one thousand years at this date, ought tf be able to dual in a half decent and semi-civilued. Christianized and seosi : b!e way, wiili a poor, half naked, wholly ntarved and ignorant set of sav-agew, sav-agew, with whom, in tho providence of (iod, it has been brought into contact. We are sorry to say that the expectation expec-tation is a delusion. The good people of the United States aro the most conceited arid boastful set of people (always excepting the English, Eng-lish, and on St. Patrick's day the lri.sh, and on all days in the year tho French, the Spaui&h perhaps, tho negroes of Dahouiy, and a few other nationalities.) in the world. What we do not know is not worth knowing, and what wo cannot deal with is not worth doaiiug with a', all. Wc aro prepared to extend ex-tend "our institutions," univernal suffrage, suf-frage, freo schools, Credit Mobilier, 'representative government and"rings'" an elective judiciary and congressional back pay, over tho wholo benighted world. We are aniazod at tho fact that Eogland, franco, Italy, Spain, the Chinese Empire, and the Fejeo Lslands do not immediately adopt the Constitution of tho United States, the New York City Ring, Tammany Hall, the Democratic and Republican parties, and land grants to all the railroads. We havo certainly started on the road of national existence with tho experience fall tho world behind us. It would soem we might have profited. Docs it ever occur to us that wo arc in : somo things not yet emerged from bar- I bar ism, and that in certain things wo ' aro immersed in a darkness and stupidity stu-pidity which all civilized nations groped out from several centuries ogo. liere is this Indian question. A pack of wretched outlaws hold at bay a United States army lor weeks I They shoot an able and much beloved offioer of high rank and many services, and send a horror through tho land. The newspapers shriek for their "extermination." Nothing but their extermination (your American newspaper man likoB a long word) will satisfy tho newspapers. news-papers. But tho Wodoos have, like other peoplo, an objection to being exterminated, ex-terminated, need we bo surprised ? and according to presout appearanocs have taken to exterminating our soldiers. sol-diers. Whether you terminate or exterminate ex-terminate the Modoo, it would seem to be necessary first to catch him. And your Modoo is not to bo oaught at present. Meanwhile we have discussions about the " peaco policy" and the "war policy, " and wise dispatches from wise generals, and reports from tho President and tho members of the oab-inct oab-inct casting a blaze of light on Indians in general and the lava beds in particular, par-ticular, and special correspondents and illustrated papers making " items " by the ream. It is a subject which may well make a cool-tempered man disgusted. The whole business is shameful, the most miserable, disgraceful, and wretched business possible. Every Indian war is a reproach to us among nations, a thing to make an American blush for his name. An Indian liko most men has a chronio objection to being robbed and killed. And we have been robbing and killing Indians for two hundred odd years. It began early and has been kept up zealously. Money collected col-lected in tho parish churches in England Eng-land for Indian missions was voted by tho Puritan Council of Massachusetts to buy powder in tho Pequod war! It was cheaper to shoot an Indian than to convert him. But tho whirligig of timo brings round its revenges. It is said that to get an Indian shot now costs government govern-ment one hundred thousand dollars on an average, two hundred thousand for a "brave;" and fifty thousand for a papoose! To got "(Jupuiu Juuk" well disposed of, will coat us a million in money, to say nothing of the lives. A general officer has given it as hia opinion, that in point of economy, it would be a great saving for tbo country coun-try to board all the living Indians ab the Fifth Avchho hotel. Here is a race of people whose whole experience in their relation with us has been one of fraud, perjury, mur der and wrong, and after two hundred years of experience we are as imbecile before the question, as wo were wrong and unjust at the beginning. Wc have robbed them, wo have jobbed them to thieving Indian agents, we have smoked peaco pipes with them, have shot them, have written dime novels about (hem, have poisoned them with dollar whisky, have made treaties with them, havo sent them missionaries, (also tho small-pox,) have done all imaginable things with them except to find out that they are men, and like to bavo opinions, and form conclusions like other men. Let us look at tho great feature of our Indian policy, which always remains re-mains the same, whether the polioy bo peace or war, and which is tho barbarous barbar-ous imbeoility underlying . all our Indian dealings! Is the United States government supreme in its own torritory? Almost any schoolboy would answer "Yoe." And yet the United States government itself confesses it is not. It has steadily gone on the principle that it is not. Captain Jack is a foreign potentate, making war on tho United States-General States-General Canby and Dr. Thomas were ambassadors of the United States, treating with him on certain matters of high import, as between two independent independ-ent powers. Tho Lava beds were tho western Geneva, and tho Indian band stood as distinotly a foreign power as England in the Alabama business. What can we expect from such a bit of imbecile barbarism? One thousand years ago, in Europe it was tho barrier in the way of her civilization that law followed race, and not land; that tho Romanized Gaul was governed by Roman Ro-man law; the Salic Frank, his conqueror, conquer-or, by Salie law; tbo Burgundian by Burgundian law; that there were as many laws as race?. To pave the way for European civilization, and tho building of a Christian commonwealth, Charlemagne, tl o groat law-makor and oivilizer, aboli.-hcd this barbarous folly, tni mcde a law for the land. Henceforth race was to bo nothing. Over every aero of tho empire, the same justice and right wero to bo meted out to every man in the empire. The kcyholo of civilization waB struck. Law goes with lho land, and law is supreme su-preme ovor every man in tho land. Strangely enough American Indian policy has revived tho barbarism which Chnrlcniango destroyed. Wo have made, in our cauc, tho law to go with the raeo, and not with tho land. The government iB nn alion in part of its own territory. The writs of trie oourts do not run among Indians. Wo havs recognized tho existence of hostilo or friendly powers on our own soil. Wo have had peaco commissioners, ambassadors, ambas-sadors, and ministers plenopotcntinry dealing with peoplo living amour us in our own country. We have officially announced that the United States is not supreme over its own people, nor jib laws authoritative in its own territories territor-ies I We believe no civilized country on tho globe has put itself in our position. posi-tion. Can wo wonder at certain consc-queoces? consc-queoces? In the first place wc have made it the in ere-tof an Lodian to sUy an Indian. As loDg as ho remains an Indian, aod roams over what he calls his"couniry," hunting, robbing and sealp-ne, wc rccDgnizo him and his lew seore wn tobes as "a nation." Wc t-ecd "cominiss onV to him. Wo make treai es w th him. Wo bring him to athmifton, aod linnizo hiuj about -'w iork Red Cloud. Spotted Tail, bpecUed Nose, or Tin Kettle, or whatevor may bo hs princely name. Wo nold paiavrs with him.and smoke peace-pipes aod speechify it him, and generally contrive to impress ui on bis savage du.ness that ho is a great per- sonage very "big Injun," indeed; and that it is his interest to remain "big Injun" all his days. Should he settle down on two or three hundred acres of land, and give up the I bunting and scalping business, take to raiding corn and potatoes, and wearing clean t-hiitf, to washing his face, and , making himself semi-decent, ho would loue all his importance. No "Peace Commissioner" would vi.-it him. No twad'iic about hh "Great Father in Washington" would !iy uioro bo talked to him. No stilted nonnense about "the tomahawk and (he pipe of 1 peace, the war-path and the setting sun," would ever more greet his ears from'."tbe general uommnoding." He would be simply a law-abiding farmer, raising his own corn cakes, and eating his own bacon, and would be a subject of prolound indifference to "Great Fathors" and commissioners, Indian agents, colonels and trcatiop. We think wo may challenge the world to show such a specimen of imbecile im-becile idiocy as the Uuited States has exhibited in dealing with these few bands of half-starved, naked gipsies, on our border. VVo havo given them the very rifles they shoot our soldiers with, tho very knives with which they scalp the Bottler's wife and babies. We havo ourselves Been boautifully manufactured manu-factured tomahawks and guns presented present-ed to them by tho "Great Father" at somo peace palaver, which were afterward after-ward sold for whiskey by tho magnanimous magnan-imous sons of the f orest after all a bettor use than that which was bug-gested bug-gested by tho wise government in giving them, namely; the going on tomahawking, shooting, and scalping to tho end of the chapter. We trust wo shall be excused some natural expression of indignation and contempt lor a policy which has made it the interest of overy Indian to continue con-tinue a scalping, stealing, drunken wretch till ho dies. We trust wc shall be excused also the expression of contempt for a surprise at any act of murder or treachery, which is only tho result of a polioy as old as tho country. Across tho lino Canada has had its IndianB. It has never had an Indian war, nor an Indian peace twaddle, nor an Indian performance liko our last j Captain Jack. Tho secret is a Bimple one, England has accepted the civilization of ten cen turies and makes the law follow the land, Sho does not recognize an independent in-dependent nation of gipsies, ohiokeo thievoB, or Indians, in tho region where the Queen's writs run. Law is BUpremo, The Bame law rules white, black, and red. The man that breaks the law is tried by tho law, and punished according to the law. It is the interest of the Indian to become, in Canada, &s soon as be can, a doccnt citizen. It scorns almost hopolesslto expeot that wisdom will ever find a Beat at Washington, in anything which does not relate to bribery, or back salaries, or the nomination of tho next President. Presi-dent. If it did not, this might at least bo expected, that heneeforih peace commissioners and " generala commanding com-manding " might both be employed on more important business than dealing with a few scoro dirty, half-starved thioves; whothor Bmoking peace pipes with them or shooting them ; that the law of the land might extend over the land, and if an Indian wero caught stealing ho should bo punished as a thief, if oaught as a murderer punished pun-ished as a murderer ; that ho might I bo given to understand that his lndianism, his peace pipes, tomahawB and his treaties, his " tion" and his "setting Bun" were henceforth things to ho found only in Coopcr'a novels; and that the tax collector, col-lector, the -justice of the peace, the constable, and tho Bbcriff are on his traok precisely as if he were white and never saw a solp lock in his life; that his business is to get on one hundred and sixty acres of land as soon as possible, pos-sible, and get some oorn and potatoes growing, becauso his "Great Father" at Washington has mado up his mind to stop being a Great Father, and ad-i ad-i vises him to stop being an Indian as soon as bo can. In plain language let us abolish the barbarous absurdity, buried in Europe a thousand years ago, of two laws in ono land. Lot the Indian outlaw hi just liko any other outlaw, the Indian just liko any other man. When the law reaohes him let him feel it as the rest of us do. -Makoithis interest to stop being an Indian. Never send him another, commissioner, nor another peace pipe. Tell him "Here is the land. A scotion of it is yours. Settle on it. Plant, and sow, and reap, and vote, Uko other men. Do this or get out of tho way. Either come under tho law, or take a wolf's fate outside the law: but wo have closed tho business bus-iness of sending embassies to fifty half starved thieves and murderers, and treating thorn as a nation. There is only ono nation in this territory, and 1 it is too largo to go into such very oon-: oon-: temptible business.-" Church Journal. |