Show Tho Administrations Policy WASHINGTON Jan 7Tbe following correspondence cor-respondence made public today explains fully the position of the administration on tho Indian question WASHINGTON Oct 311890 Secretary of War SmI forward for your information a letter addressed to me by the Secretary of the Interior under date of Oct 30 accompanied accom-panied with letters from the Commissioner of Indian affairs and of certain Indian agents all relating to the apprehended trouble with the Sioux Indians This delusion delu-sion as to the coming of an Indian Messiah I Mes-siah and the return of dead Indian warriors i war-riors for a crusade against the whites seems to have taken strong hold not only upon the Sioux but upon some other tribes even a widely separated as Indian territory terri-tory You will at once cause a personal investigation in-vestigation to be made by either division or department commander into the actual condition of things among the Sioux and direct him to make an early report of his observations and any recommendation he may have to submit In the meantime you will see that all necessary precautions are taken to have the troops in that vicinity prepared to cooperate co-operate in the execution of any orders that may be adopted Very respectfully I BENJAMIN HARRISON WASHINGTON Nov 13 lSO Secretary War SmI transmit herewith communications communica-tions dated November 7th 10th and 13th from the secretary of the interior accompanied accom-panied by copies of letters from tae commissioner com-missioner of Indian affairs and from agents of the Indian bureau at Pine Ridge and Cheyenne River agencies l relating to the disturbed conditions of the Indians at these stations and Jrelating to incidents in wmcn tne autnonty ana power ot toe agents and Indian police have been violently defied and set at aught The situation seems to me to be serious The authority serous authorty and discipline of the agents must be maintained main-tained and adequate and early steps taken to prevent any outbreak that may put in peril the lives and homes of settlers in the adjacent states You will therefore assume the direction and responsibility for such i steps as may be necessary to these ends You will see that the troops whose services I will be in requisition in caso of an outbreak out-break are in readiness to take and remain in the field that in any movement to be supported by a body of troops that the number be sufficiently large to be impressive impres-sive and in case of resistance quickly and thoroughly efficient I have directed tho secretary of the interior to advise his agents to use their influence to separate the well disposed from the illdisposed Indians and while using their best endeavors to preserve pre-serve discipline to avoid an outbreak until the war department has made the necessary neces-sary preparations Signed BENJAMIN HARRISON WASHINGTON Dec 1 To the Commissioner of Indian Affairs SIR You will convey to the several agents among the Sioux the following order which is hereby made During the present Indian troubles you are instructed that while you shall continue all business and carry into effect the educational educa-tional and other purposesof purposes your agency you will as to all operations intended to outbreak by force suppress any cooperate with and obey the orders of the military officers commanding in the reservation in your charge Signed JOHN W NODLE Secretary General Schofield sent tho following telegram tele-gram to Miles under yesterdays date You are hereby authorized under existing exist-ing orders by the President to assign Cap tain Ewers Fifth infantry Captain Lee Ninth infantry Captain Earnest Eighth infantry and Captain Pierce First infantry in-fantry to the charge of the Indians of the several Sioux and Cheyenne agencies to exercise over them such military supervision super-vision and control as in your judgment is necessary without interfering unnecessarily unneces-sarily with tho administration of the agents of the Indian bureau under the regulations reg-ulations and instructions received by them from the interior department |