Show MASSACRE amm tho denver news is ct the belief that the murder of bi foots band was an un massacre of squads squaws and papooses oses it mentions the circumstances of tho battle in support of thie and says that from the official and other accounts of the affair it appears that big foot and his band with their squads squaws and papooses oses had retreated to bad lands they numbered warriors squads squaws and as many papooses oses the warriors wore well armed but had an insufficient of ponies they were encamped on the wounded knee or porcupine creek and before the conflict made no effort either to ambush the troops to escape or to attack them at any disadvantage by 8 in the morning the troops had placed their hotchkiss guns overlooking the indian camp not fifty yards away there were at least aioo mounted troops on the ground these were massed about the village colonel ordered all the indians to come forward away from the tents asis order they obeyed they formed in a half circle and wore counted they numbered about this was the situation of affairs when account was sent to the agency that account stated the general opinion is that the surrender of big foot is not in good faith the indians still retain their arms the party is however being watched and first false move will precipitate a fiew WHETHER the public is becoming inspired with confidence or not cannot be said but the dark cloud of existing stringency in money matters is assuming a silver lining we be giove however that the greatest cause of the stringency in abo money market was lack of confidence the next news was to the effect that the battle had occurred and tho world has never learned just what the false move was that precipitated the battle the report says that while the indians were completely surrounded and being searched for arms that all of a sudden they threw their hands to the ground and began firing rapidly at the troops not twenty feet away the further says that unless the indian has wholly changed his nature their behavior in this affair cannot be explained upon any reason able hypothesis indians never attack with their squads squaws and papooses oses in the vicinity they seek an ambush when they can they never assault a superior number of well armed troops in the open country particularly they have never before as a matter of strategy permitted themselves to be closely surrounded with nearly five times their number of pursuing troops on horseback whilo they were on foot that they might at a given signal comai ence an assault as hopeless as it must have been known to be fatal to themselves the believes there is something wrong in the matter it believes bol ieves furthermore that the present indian trouble is more a war of extermination than anything else the government may deem it cheaper to kill off the indians than to feed them but to ruthlessly murder a lot of innocent women und children cs appears to have been done at Wounded anoa is a blot on our count rys honor we do not even see that it was cunningly planned it appears to us more like a massacre than a battle and unless more extended information shall give better evidence of causa for an attack it will needs EO appear 10 the world and future generations |