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PREFACE.
PREFACE.
I have been requested to write a preface to this sad story of "A Century of Dishonor." I cannot refuse the request of one whose woman's heart has pleaded so eloquently for the poor Red men. The materials for her book have been taken from official documents. The sad revelation of broken faith, of violated treaties, and of inhuman deeds of violence will bring a flush of shame to the cheeks of those who love their country. They will wonder how our rulers have dared to so trifle with justice, and pr
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INTRODUCTION.
INTRODUCTION.
The present number of Indians in the United States does not exceed three hundred thousand, but is possibly as large now as when the Europeans began the settlement of the North American continent. Different tribes then existing have dwindled, and some have become extinct; but there is reason to believe that the vast territory now occupied by the United States, if not then a howling wilderness, was largely an unpeopled solitude. The roaming wild men who met the new discoverers were, however, numer
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AUTHOR'S NOTE.
AUTHOR'S NOTE.
All the quotations in this book, where the name of the authority is not cited, are from Official Reports of the War Department or the Department of the Interior. The book gives, as its title indicates, only a sketch, and not a history. To write in full the history of any one of these Indian communities, of its forced migrations, wars, and miseries, would fill a volume by itself. The history of the missionary labors of the different churches among the Indians would make another volume. It is the
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CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTORY.
CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTORY.
The question of the honorableness of the United States' dealings with the Indians turns largely on a much disputed and little understood point. What was the nature of the Indians' right to the country in which they were living when the continent of North America was discovered? Between the theory of some sentimentalists that the Indians were the real owners of the soil, and the theory of some politicians that they had no right of ownership whatever in it, there are innumerable grades and confusi
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CHAPTER II. THE DELAWARES.
CHAPTER II. THE DELAWARES.
When Hendrik Hudson anchored his ship, the Half Moon , off New York Island in 1609, the Delawares stood in great numbers on the shore to receive him, exclaiming, in their innocence, "Behold! the gods have come to visit us!" More than a hundred years later, the traditions of this event were still current in the tribe. The aged Moravian missionary, Heckewelder, writing in 1818, says: "I at one time, in April, 1787, was astonished when I heard one of their orators, a great chief of the Delawares, P
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CHAPTER III. THE CHEYENNES.
CHAPTER III. THE CHEYENNES.
Our first treaty with the Cheyennes was made in 1825, at the mouth of the Teton River. It was merely a treaty of amity and friendship, and acknowledgment on the part of the Cheyennes of the "supremacy" of the United States. Two years before this, President Monroe reported the "Chayenes" to be "a tribe of three thousand two hundred and fifty souls, dwelling and hunting on a river of the same name, a western tributary of the Missouri, a little above the Great Bend." Ten years later, Catlin, the fa
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CHAPTER IV. THE NEZ PERCÉS.
CHAPTER IV. THE NEZ PERCÉS.
Bounded on the north, south, and east by snow-topped mountains, and on the west by shining waters; holding in its rocky passes the sources of six great rivers; bearing on its slopes and plains measureless forests of pine and cedar and spruce; its meadows gardens of summer bloom and fruit, and treasure-houses of fertility,—lies Oregon: wide, healthful, beautiful, abundant, and inviting, no wonder it was coveted and fought for. When Lewis and Clarke visited it, eighty years ago, they found living
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CHAPTER V. THE SIOUX.
CHAPTER V. THE SIOUX.
The word Sioux is a contraction from the old French word "Nadouessioux," or "Enemies," the name given by the French traders to this most powerful and warlike of all the North-western tribes. They called themselves "Dakota," or "many in one," because so many bands under different names were joined together. At the time of Captain Carver's travels among the North American Indians there were twelve known bands of these "Nadouwessies." They entertained the captain most hospitably for seven months du
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CHAPTER VI. THE PONCAS.
CHAPTER VI. THE PONCAS.
In 1803 Captain Lewis and Lieutenant Clarke, of the First United States Infantry, were commissioned by Congress to explore the river Missouri from its mouth to its source, to "seek the best water communication from thence to the Pacific Ocean," and to enter into conference with all the Indian tribes on their route, with a view to the establishment of commerce with them. They report the "Poncars" as "the remnant of a nation once respectable in point of numbers; they formerly resided on a branch o
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CHAPTER VII. THE WINNEBAGOES.
CHAPTER VII. THE WINNEBAGOES.
The Winnebagoes belonged to the Dakota family, but, so far as can be known, were naturally a peace-loving people, and had no sympathy with the more warlike tribes of their race. The Algonquins gave them the name of Winnebagoes, or "people of the salt-water;" and as the Algonquin word for salt-water and stinking-water was the same, the French called them "Les Puants," or "Stinkards." The Sioux gave them a more melodious and pleasing name, "O-ton-kah," which signified "The large, strong people." B
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CHAPTER VIII. THE CHEROKEES.
CHAPTER VIII. THE CHEROKEES.
The Cherokees were the Eastern Mountaineers of America. Their country lay along the Tennessee River, and in the highlands of Georgia, Carolina, and Alabama—the loveliest region east of the Mississippi River. Beautiful and grand, with lofty mountains and rich valleys fragrant with flowers, and forests of magnolia and pine filled with the singing of birds and the melody of streams, rich in fruits and nuts and wild grains, it was a country worth loving, worth fighting, worth dying for, as thousands
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CHAPTER IX. MASSACRES OF INDIANS BY WHITES.
CHAPTER IX. MASSACRES OF INDIANS BY WHITES.
I.— The Conestoga Massacre. When the English first entered Pennsylvania messengers from the Conestoga Indians met them, bidding them welcome, and bringing gifts of corn and venison and skins. The whole tribe entered into a treaty of friendship with William Penn, which was to last "as long as the sun should shine or the waters run into the rivers." The records of Pennsylvania history in the beginning of the eighteenth century contain frequent mention of the tribe. In 1705 the governor sent the se
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CHAPTER X. CONCLUSION.
CHAPTER X. CONCLUSION.
There are within the limits of the United States between two hundred and fifty and three hundred thousand Indians, exclusive of those in Alaska. The names of the different tribes and bands, as entered in the statistical tables of the Indian Office Reports, number nearly three hundred. One of the most careful estimates which have been made of their numbers and localities gives them as follows: "In Minnesota and States east of the Mississippi, about 32,500; in Nebraska, Kansas, and the Indian Terr
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I. THE SAND CREEK MASSACRE.
I. THE SAND CREEK MASSACRE.
The following letters were printed in the New York Tribune in the winter of 1879. They are of interest, not only as giving a minute account of one of the most atrocious massacres ever perpetrated, but also as showing the sense of justice which is to be found in the frontiersman's mind to-day. That men, exasperated by atrocities and outrages, should have avenged themselves with hot haste and cruelty, was, perhaps, only human; but that men should be found, fifteen years later, apologizing for, nay
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II. THE PONCA CASE.
II. THE PONCA CASE.
Extract from Treaty with the Poncas, giving them Dakota Lands. " Art. II. —In consideration of the cession or release of that portion of the reservation above described by the Ponca tribe of Indians to the Government of the United States, the Government of the United States, by way of rewarding them for their constant fidelity to the Government thereof, and with a view of returning to the said tribe of Ponca Indians their old burying-grounds and cornfields, hereby cede and relinquish to the trib
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III. TESTIMONIES TO INDIAN CHARACTER.
III. TESTIMONIES TO INDIAN CHARACTER.
"Early in 1800 the Governor of the North-west Territory, in his message to the assembly, invited their attention to the condition of the Indians. He observed that, irrespective of the principles of religion and justice, it was the interest and should be the policy of the United States to be at peace with them; but that could not continue to be the case if the treaties existing between them and the Government were broken with impunity by the inhabitants of the Territory. He referred to the well-k
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IV. OUTRAGES COMMITTED ON INDIANS BY WHITES.
IV. OUTRAGES COMMITTED ON INDIANS BY WHITES.
In Captain Bonneville's narrative of five years spent in the Rocky Mountains are many instances of cruel outrages committed by whites upon Indians. "One morning one of his trappers, discovering that his traps had been carried off in the night, took a horrid oath that he would kill the first Indian he should meet, innocent or guilty. As he was returning with his comrades to camp, he beheld two unfortunate Root Diggers seated on the bank, fishing; advancing upon them, he levelled his rifle, shot o
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V. EXTRACTS FROM THE REPORT OF THE COMMISSION SENT TO TREAT WITHTHE SIOUX CHIEF, SITTING BULL, IN CANADA.
V. EXTRACTS FROM THE REPORT OF THE COMMISSION SENT TO TREAT WITHTHE SIOUX CHIEF, SITTING BULL, IN CANADA.
The commission consisted of Brigadier-general Terry, Hon. A. G. Lawrence, and Colonel Corbin, secretary. After one month's journey, via Omaha, Nebraska, Helena, Montana, and Fort Benton, these gentlemen were met on the Canadian boundary by a Canadian officer with a mounted escort, who conducted them to Fort Walsh, when they were met by Sitting Bull and the other chiefs. General Terry recapitulated to them the advantages of being at peace with the United States, the kindly treatment that all surr
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VI. ACCOUNT OF SOME OF THE OLD GRIEVANCES OFTHE SIOUX.
VI. ACCOUNT OF SOME OF THE OLD GRIEVANCES OFTHE SIOUX.
INTERVIEW BETWEEN RED IRON, CHIEF OF THE SISSETON SIOUX, AND GOVERNOR RAMSEY, IN DECEMBER, 1852. Claims had been set up by the Indian traders for $400,000 of the money promised to the Sioux by the treaties of 1851 and 1852. The Indians declared that they did not owe so much. Governor Ramsey endeavored to compel Red Iron to sign a receipt for it; he refused. He said his tribe had never had the goods. He asked the governor to appoint arbitrators—two white men and one Indian; it was refused. He the
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VII. LETTER FROM SARAH WINNEMUCCA, AN EDUCATED PAH-UTE WOMAN.
VII. LETTER FROM SARAH WINNEMUCCA, AN EDUCATED PAH-UTE WOMAN.
Sir ,—I learn from the commanding officer at this post that you desire full information in regard to the Indians around this place, with a view, if possible, of bettering their condition by sending them on the Truckee River Reservation. All the Indians from here to Carson City belong to the Pah-Ute tribe. My father, whose name is Winnemucca, is the head chief of the whole tribe; but he is now getting too old, and has not energy enough to command, nor to impress on their minds the necessity of th
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VIII. LAWS OF THE DELAWARE NATION OF INDIANS.
VIII. LAWS OF THE DELAWARE NATION OF INDIANS.
[Adopted July 21st, A.D. 1866.] The chiefs and councillors of the Delaware tribe of Indians convened at their council-house, on the reservation of said tribe, adopted July 21st, 1866, the following laws, to be amended as they think proper: Article I. Section 1. A national jail shall be built on the public grounds, upon which the council-house is now situated. Sec. 2. Any person who shall steal any horse, mule, ass, or cattle of any kind, shall be punished as follows: For the first offence the pr
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IX. ACCOUNT OF THE CHEROKEE WHO INVENTED THECHEROKEE ALPHABET.
IX. ACCOUNT OF THE CHEROKEE WHO INVENTED THECHEROKEE ALPHABET.
"Sequoyah, a Cherokee Indian, instead of joining the rude sports of Indian boys while a child, took great delight in exercising his ingenuity by various mechanical labors. He also assisted in the management of his mother's property, consisting of a farm and cattle and horses. In his intercourse with the whites he became aware that they possessed an art by which a name impressed upon a hard substance might be understood at a glance by any one acquainted with the art. He requested an educated half
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X. PRICES PAID BY WHITE MEN FOR SCALPS.
X. PRICES PAID BY WHITE MEN FOR SCALPS.
"In the wars between France and England and their colonies, their Indian allies were entitled to a premium for every scalp of an enemy. In the war preceding 1703 the Government of Massachusetts gave twelve pounds for every Indian scalp. In 1722 it was augmented to one hundred pounds—a sum sufficient to purchase a considerable extent of American land. On the 25th of February, 1745, an act was passed by the American colonial legislature, entitled 'An Act for giving a reward for scalps.'"— Sketches
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XI. EXTRACT FROM TREATY WITH CHEYENNES, IN 1865.
XI. EXTRACT FROM TREATY WITH CHEYENNES, IN 1865.
Art. 6th of the treaty of Oct. 14th, 1865, between the United States and the chiefs and headmen representing the confederated tribes of the Arapahoe and Cheyenne Indians: "The United States being desirous to express its condemnation of, and as far as may be repudiate the gross and wanton outrages perpetrated against certain bands of Cheyenne and Arapahoe Indians by Colonel J. M. Chivington, in command of United States troops, on the 29th day of November, 1864, at Sand Creek, in Colorado Territor
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XII. WOOD-CUTTING BY INDIANS IN DAKOTA.
XII. WOOD-CUTTING BY INDIANS IN DAKOTA.
In his report for 1877 the Superintendent of Indian Affairs in Dakota says: "Orders have been received to stop cutting of wood by Indians, to pay them for what they have already cut, to take possession of it and sell it. This I am advised is under a recent decision which deprives Indians of any ownership in the wood until the land is taken by them in severalty. If agents do not enforce these orders, they lay themselves liable. If they do enforce them, the Indians are deprived of what little moti
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XIII. SEQUEL TO THE WALLA WALLA MASSACRE.
XIII. SEQUEL TO THE WALLA WALLA MASSACRE.
[This narrative was written by a well-known army officer, correspondent of the Army and Navy Journal , and appeared in that paper Nov. 1st, 1879.] The history of that affair (the Walla Walla Massacre) was never written, we believe; or, if it was, the absolute facts in the case were never given by any unprejudiced person, and it may be interesting to not a few to give them here. The story, as told by our Washington correspondent, "Ebbitt," who was a witness of the scenes narrated, is as follows:
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XIV. AN ACCOUNT
XIV. AN ACCOUNT
[From the Report of Francis A. Walker, United States Commissioner of Indian Affairs for the year 1872.] The Indians within the limits of the United States, exclusive of those in Alaska, number, approximately, 300,000. They may be divided, according to their geographical location or range, into five grand divisions, as follows: in Minnesota, and States east of the Mississippi River, about 32,500; in Nebraska, Kansas, and the Indian Territory, 70,650; in the Territories of Dakota, Montana, Wyoming
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XV.
XV.
Sir ,—In compliance with our instructions bearing dates November 28th, 1882, and January 12th, 1883, we have the honor to submit to you the following report on the subject of the Mission Indians in Southern California. The term "Mission Indians" dates back over one hundred years, to the time of the Franciscan missions in California. It then included all Indians who lived in the mission establishments, or were under the care of the Franciscan Fathers. Very naturally the term has continued to be a
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