| Show THE WOUNDED KNEE MASSACRE washington feb il 11 the indian conference closed today and the indians will start home friday the tea fea ture of talk was the story of the fight at wounded knee turning hawk said at a given time when the men had delivered up their guns they were separated from their families and taken to a certain spot A crazy man a y young ng man of very bad influence filz fired his gun killing an officer the other indians began drawing knives although they were exhorted from all sides to desist and the firing bring benan began immediately on the part of the soldiers all the men who were in the bunch were killed right there and the who escaped that crat fire got into a ravine andas and as they went along the ravine for a long along distance they were pursued on all sides by the soldiers and shot down the women had no arms to fight with they were standing off at a different place and when the firing bring began those of the men who escaped the first volley went in one direction up the ravine and the women went in a dit different direct direction lon through an open field but met the same fate as the men UNDER A FLAG OF OF TRUCE american horse said that when the firing began the people who were standing immediately around the young man who fired the first shot were vere killed and then the soldierly sol soldiers dierl turned their guns on OB the women who were in the lodges standing there under a flag of truce of course as soon as they were fired upon they fled there was a woman with an infant in her arms killed as she almost touched the flag of truce right bight near the flag another was shot down her child not knowing that its mother was dead was still nursing and that was a very sad sight eight women as they were fleeing with babies on their backs were killed together and women heavy with child were also killed after most of the indians had bad been killed the cry was made that all those not killed or wounded should come forth and they would be safe little boys who were not wounded came out of places of refuge and as soon as they came in sight a number of soldiers surrounded aud and butchered them commissioner morgan said to the interpreter 1 wish you would say my to him that these aie very serious charges to make against the army I 1 do not want any statements that are not absolutely true and I 1 want anyone here that feels the statements are too strong to correct them thein 11 american horse replied of course it would have been all right if only the men were killed but the fact of the killing of women and more especially young boys and girls who are to make the future strength of the indian people we feel very seriously commissioner does american horse know these things of his own personal knowledge or has he been told them american horse I 1 was not there at the time or before the burial of the bodies but I 1 did go there with some indian police and many people from the agency and we went through the battlefield and saw where the bodies were from the track of blood rev mr mccook a sioux half blood pastor of the episcopal church at pine ridge bidge among other things said much has been said about the che good spirit with which the members of the seventh cavalry went to that action it has been said that a desire to avenge custers austera Cu stera death was entirely absent from their minds in coming towards chicago in company with general miles I 1 talked with one of his own scouts who was almost killed be cause he was compelled to fly with the indians being fired u upon urn by men whom he tried to save and help he told me that after he recovered from his fight and succeeded in getting amongst the soldiers after they all got in from killing indians an officer of high rank he did not know who came to him and said now we have avenged custers Ou death f and the sioux said to him yes but you had every chance to fight for your lives that day 1 these poor indian people have that opportunity to protect and nd fight for themselves if this is 18 an indication of the spirit of a number of men in that company I 1 axi am sure the seventh cavalry did not go there with the kindest of motives simply to bring these poor people back 6 after several others had spoken the commissioner declared the conference at an end washington feb 12 the secretary of war today made public the report of the investigation of the battle of wounded knee particularly with reference to colonel For conduct on that occasion the record of the court of inquiry is endorsed by major general miles under date of chicago january he says in part colonel forsythe Por sythe had received repeated warnings as to the desperate and deceitful character of big foots band of indians and repeated orders as to the exercise of constant vigilance to guard against surprise or disaster under all circumstances these warnings and orders were unheeded and disregarded by colonel forsythe he had been warned that this particular band contained many of the most desperate and deceitful characters in the sioux nation and the religious excitement made then them peculiarly dangerous under these theme circumstances it is apparent that the indifference of the officer in command of the troops at wounded knee is incomprehensible and inexcusable not a single company was so disposed as to deliver its fire upon the warriors without endangering the lives jives of some of their comrades it is difficult to conceive how bow a worse disposition of troops could be made the testimony goes to show that most of the troops were forced to withhold their fire leaving the brunt of the affair to fall upon two companies until such warriors as had bad not been killed broke through or overpowered the small force directly about them and reached the camp occupied bythe by the women and children the battery of four hotchkiss guns had until then been useless the friction primers having been removed by order of the captain commanding the battery bat lery lest the gunners might in their excitement discharge the pieces and destroy their own comrades these guns were now opened upon the indian camp even at that time placing in peril troops G C and D seventh cavalry which were obliged to retreat for some distance owing to the fire from these runs guns and from the small arms of other portions of the command A large number of the warriors W WITHOUT FIREARMS when the outbreak occurred it is shown by the evidence that forty eight 9 guns uns had been taken from the tepees and a personal search march of twenty or more warriors resul n finding them unarmed this fact taken in connection with the extremely injudicious disposition of the troops and the large number of casualties among them con strains the belief that some of the casualties were suffered at the hands of our own men the fatal disposition of the troops was such at the outset to counteract in a great measure the immense disparity of strength and would have been inexcusable in the face of an armed and desperate foe even had no especial warning and order been received from higher authority tho rity I 1 can only partially account for the singular apathy and neglect of colonel forsythe apon upon the theory of his iu in to and contempt for repeated wm ana urgent warnings and orders received by him from the division commander or by his incompetence and entire inexperience in the responsibility of exercising command where judgment and discretion are required I 1 also forward herewith the report of captain baldwin fifth infantry concerning the finding of bodies of women and children three miles from A the scene of the engagement on w wounded knee creek this report indicates the nature of some of the results of that unfortunate affair results which are viewed with the strongest disapproval by the under signed signed NELSON A MILES major general commanding general Scho schofield fied the case cam to the secretary of war with the endorsement that the interests of the service do not demand a longer continuance ti nuance of colonel For suspension in his judgment misjudgment THE CONDUCT OF THE REGIMENT was wae well worthy of the commendation bestowed upon it by him in the first telegram after the engagement in returning the papers to the major general commanding the secretary reviews the testimony an to the surrender and comments on the desperate and sullen character of the band he says it was manifestly an imperative lecessi necessity ty to prevent nt tb the e escape of t these h ese des during the process of disarming the troops appeared to have been well disposed to prevent an outbreak which was not an I 1 could hardly have been anticipated in dealing with the indians indiana the secretary says nothing illustrates the madness of the outbreak more forcibly than the fact that their first fire was so directed that every shot that did not bit the soldiers must have gone through their own village there is little doubt that the first killing of women and children was by this first fire of the indians indiana themselves they then made a rush to break through and around the flanks of troop K coin commanded banded by the gallant captain wallace and reached their tepees where many of them had left their arms with the squaws squads and continued firing from among their own women find and chi children larell and when they started from their camp their women und children were mingled with thena them the women and children were never away from the immediate company of the men after the latter broke from the circle many of them men and women got on their ponies and it is impossible to distinguish a buck front from a squaw at a little distance when mounted the men fired from among the women and children in their retreat cautions were repeatedly given by both the commissioned and non commis stoned officers not to shoot the f or children and the men were cautioned individually tha tsuch and such indians indiana were squaws squads the firing by the troops was entirely directed ou on the men in the circle ind and in a direction opposite pa site from the tepees until the indians d no a after their break mingled with their women and children thus exposing them to the fire of the troops and as a consequence some were unavoidably killed and wounded a fact universally ver sally regretted by the officers and men of the seventh cavalry this unfortunate phase of the affair grew out of circumstances circumstanced for which the indians themselves were ENTIRELY responsible major whiteside emphatically declares that at least fifty shots were fired by the indians before the troops returned the fire several special instances Instance i of humanity in the saving of women and children were noted no doubt the position of the troops made it necessary for some of them to withhold their fire for a time in order not to endanger the lives of their comrades but both major kent and captain baldwin concur in finding that the evidence falls fails to establish that a single man of colonel For command was killed or wounded by hits his fellows this fact and indeed the conduct of both officers and men through the whole affair demonstrates an exceedingly unsatisfactory state of discipline in the seventh cavalry their be ber hallor was characterized by skill coolness discretion and forbearance and reflects the highest possible credit upon the regiment which sustained the low loss of one officer and twenty five enlisted men killed and three of bivers fivers and thirty two enlisted men wounded the situation at wounded knee was a very unusual and a very difficult one far more difficult than involved in an ordinary battle where the only question is of gaining a victory without effort to save the it lies ves of the enemy it is easy to make plans when we look backward but in the light of actual conditions as they hey appeared to the commanding officer there does not seem to be anything in the arrangement of the troops requiring adverse criticism on the part of the department I 1 therefore approve of the endorsement of the major general commanding that the interests of the military service do not demand any further proceeding in the case by direction of the president colonel forsythe foray the will resume command of his regiment signed PROCTOR secretary of war |
