History of Dakota Territory, volume I, Part 168

Author: Kingsbury, George Washington, 1837-; Smith, George Martin, 1847-1920
Publication date: 1915
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : S.J. Clarke Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1198

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Spirit. Ile believes in the immortality of soul He las and 1

He loves his country. lle will gladly de fer te tri

we must admit that he has a right to share n all the cn ts t

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capable of civilization. Amid all the obstacles, the wrongs, and evils of our Indian policy, there are no missions that show richer rewards. Thousands of this poor race, who were once as poor and degraded as the wild Sioux, are today civilized men. living by the cultiva- tion of the soil, and sharing with us in those blessings which give to men home, country and freedom. There is no reason why these men may not also be led out of darkness into light.

If the men of past generations had reasoned as this generation reasons none of us would rejoice in the blessings of Christian civilization. A great crisis has arisen in Indian affairs. The wrongs of the Indians are admitted by all. Thousands of the best men in the land feel keenly the nation's shame. They look to Congress for redress. Unless immediate and appropriate legislation is made for the protection and government of the Indians, they must perish. Our country must forever bear the disgrace and suffer the retribution of its wrong- doing. Our children's children will tell the sad story in hushed tones, and wonder how their fathers dared so to trample on justice and trifle with God.

We herewith submit the agreement made with the Sioux, and the letter of Gen. H. H. Sibley.

Very respectfully, GEO. W. MANNYPENNY, Chairman. H. B. WHIPPLE. H. C. BULIS. NEWTON EDMUNDS.

J. W. DANIELS. A. G. BOONE. A. S. GAYLORD. SAMUEL D. HINMAN, Official Interpreter.

Attest : Charles M. Hendley, Secretary.

To the Hon. J. Q. Smith, Commissioner of Indian Affairs.

With the completion of this agreement the peace policy was quite well estab- lished, and among the people who had kept advised of the progress and disposi- tion of the Indians it was felt that the Indian problem had been solved, and time only was needed to permit it to work its successful way to fruition. There was no longer apprehension of Indian wars, notwithstanding the terrible catastrophe that had overwhelmed the gallant Custer and his heroic command. Peace had brooded in the councils of the Sioux in Dakota, and elsewhere the Indians were adapting themselves to the new order of things in a most satisfactory manner. Experience brought to the management of the benighted race under the new system many plans that tended to accelerate their civilization, and among them in great part the ardor for the old life with its wars and hardships was fast fading out and giving place to a spirit of rivalry or emulation as to who should make the most rapid advancement in the scale of civilization and accumulate the most material wealth. It will not be claimed that the race has at any time exhibited a fondness for intellectual pursuits or a desire for literary education ; but has apparently, and perhaps naturally, paused in its pursuit of literary knowledge to make as much material gain as possible; in the acquisition of which he is found, however, to be lacking in the aggressive, determined and inventive qualities that distinguish his white competitors. The racial characteristic, though not discour- agingly indolent, is inclined to seek ease and comfort with a moiety of exertion.

The story told by the Sioux commission representing the Government and the white race, together with General Sibley's letter, is a fearful indictment of the civilized millions of civilization for flagrant dishonesty and perfidy continued through a century of time, and as a result of this the Government is shown as the party responsible for our Indian wars during all that period and for the thousands of lives sacrificed and the train of lesser evils attendant tipon the wars.

This is not a recital of wrongs set forth by the Indians, but by eminent, thoughtful and trustworthy men of our own race. In some respects it would seem that the review of the commission is inclined to exaggerate the offenses of the whites. The Government has never failed to make liberal provision for the welfare of the Indians; but the rapidly increasing population of the country made frequent necessity for new treaties that removed the Indians from the frontier of white settlement as it constantly advanced. These treaties have uni- formly kept the enlightenment of the Indians, as well as his material welfare, for which ample provision was made, always in view ; but those to whom the Govern-

GENERAL UL STER

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ment entrusted the execution of the provisions of the treaties, and who neglected their sworn duties or who endeavored to enrich themselves from the generous provision made by the Government for these confiding and untutored peoples. should be held responsible for the flagrant perfidy which attaches to the admin- istration of our Indian affairs through this long period of time. The official history of the Government's intercourse with its Indian wards exhibits constant solicitude for their welfare, and in the frauds and spoliation that has been prac ticed by dishonest publie servants the Government has been an injured and defrauded and deceived party as well as the Indian.

This treaty was the most important of all the scores of treaties between these parties from the foundation of the Government. This was not because of the valuable character of the country ceded, though that was apparently the potent factor that made the treaty a necessity on the part of the Government at that time. Communities of citizens of the United States, conceded by conservative estimates to number in the aggregate as high as seven thousand, had become established in the hills, and while it would not have been impossible to have removed these peu- ple, and would have been attended with great loss in material wealth to the miner -. it is altogether probable that nine-tenths of them would have withdrawn peaceably had they been apprised of any serious complications endangering the integrity of the Government which demanded such a sacrifice. Such a spirit was manifested in August, 1875, in response to the proclamation of General Crook, issued at Camp Crook, in the hills, July 29. 1875. The general conduct of the trespassers, and their proceedings following settlement in the various mining districts, exhib- ited a law-abiding spirit ; their first steps being to provide against lawlessness and to establish orderly local governments.

But the wise and humane purpose accomplished, which was of national benefit. was the final and definite abandonment of the makeshift policy of supporting the Indian in idleness and in savagery, in order to keep him peaceable, and in its place the substitution of the enlightened Christian plan, and just system, of com- pulsory industry and education.

Instead of the useless millions which the Indians had hoped to obtain, they received much less in money than had previously been given in installments in important treaties, and what they did receive, though generous and ample, was an allowance of food and clothing, live stock, for farm use largely, agricultural implements, tools and machinery necessary in preparing lumber and buildings. and schools, with a competent number of instructors to teach them the rudiments of farming, carpentering, building, and other employments of civilized people : and schools with trained teachers to educate the rising generations after the methods and in the language of the American common schools.

It needs no other proof of the wisdom, value and importance of this treaty, which was made at less cost than any former agreements of like magnitude, than to point to the barbarous condition and semi-hostile attitude of eight tenths of the Sioux at that period, and compare it with their condition today The brief w.r

which culminated in the terrible atrocity called the "Custer Massacre" proceed this amicable and humane agreement by a few months. It was the closing strug gle between the Government and its Indian subjects, and though it- melanchol finish was the unprecedented slaughter of nearly three hundred of the country's bravest defenders with their famous leader, it strangely, and as though . appointed by an overruling Providence, signalized the last organized stand of the red man and barbarian against the authority and the race that had un illy . ever brought about a peaceful and permanent adjustment of the century MUdan question ; and it will be remembered, though possessing no more thana significance, that all this occurred just few years later than the minimal tion of Independence. It was a jubilee year for the American lich disenthralled and lifted out from heathenisi, mendieanes atol salhers installed in a new and useful life, which has been fruitin to therocmenny con forts, peace, health, homes, the consolations of religion at In

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instances fortunes. And to this happy restilt the citizens of Dakota contributed zealously, wisely and with unfaltering confidence to the end. As to the material results affecting the Indians a trusted authority states that their wealth now exceeds the average fortune of the whites engaged in similar avocations.

In the agreement of 1876, by which the Black Hills country came into the peaceable possession of the United States, the commission mentions that their first meeting with the Indians was held at Red Cloud Agency on the 7th of September with the chiefs and head men of the Oglala Sioux and Northern Cheyennes and Arrapahoes, who represented 4.901 Indians who were then present at the agency. Inasmuch as the Sioux were recognized as the controlling Indian force in Dakota, and were known to be in a state of hostility toward all other nations and tribes, except the Chippewas of Red River, who were remote kinsmen, it may be well to explain the presence at Red Cloud Agency of the Northern Cheyenne and Arrapahoe Indians, who were not Sioux. It came about in the manner set forth in the following paragraph :

RED CLOUD AND SPOTTED TAIL, ANCIENT HISTORY

The Pawnees, Utes, Shoshones, or Snakes, Arickarees, Gros Ventres, Mandans and Crows were the enemies of the Sioux. The Northern Cheyennes and Arrapa- hoes were the allies of the Sioux by association and intermarriage with them. In 1832 a severe battle took place on the Chug River, a few miles south of old Fort Laramie, between the Sioux and Cheyennes and Arrapahoes for possession of the territory. A treaty of peace was then made when it was agreed that the country north of the Platte River should belong to the Sioux, and that south of it to the Cheyennes and Arrapahoes. In 1841 a feud arose in the Sioux camp, and a considerable number of the tribe left, went south and ranged with the Cheyennes in the Republican River country. The seceders were given the name of the "Cut- off" bands, about forty lodges. In 1844 a social feud arose in the camp of the Cheyennes and Arrapahoes and 140 lodges of Cheyennes and sixty lodges of Arrapahoes went north and joined the Sioux. They constitute what has since been known as the Northern Cheyennes and Arrapahoes.

The chief man among the Sioux is Red Cloud, an Oglala. He is not an hereditary chief, but a successful soldier, who, followed at first by a few adventurous spirits, has now by success at arms a retinue of 100 lodges of Oglalas and 130 of Brules. Spotted Tail is. a Brule with a following of 200 lodges. Iron Shell and the Man Afraid Of His Horses are minor chiefs, the former of the Brules, and the latter of the Oglalas. [The principal chief of the Arrapahoes and Cheyennes is Medicine Man.] The Sioux, Arrapahoes and Cheyennes hunted in the Powder River country, or Big Horn country, and claimed the Black Hills, though they did not occupy any portion of it permanently. They had, however, long known that it was a gold-bearing country.

The division of the tribe of Brules, though not mentioned in this sketch, must have occurred during these hostilities, and the changes in tribal alignments that resulted therefrom.

The success of the commission was largely due to the tact and experience of ex-Governor Edmunds of Dakota. The reader of this history has already become somewhat acquainted with this American citizen, and has learned that as governor of Dakota he was among the first, if not the very first, of our prominent men to raise the standard of the peace policy in our treatment of the barbarous and sav- · age people who inhabited our western plains. As a member of this commission his counsel had more weight than any other individtial associate in deciding the methods to be employed to bring about the favorable result and the consequent permanent settlement of our Indian disturbances on the western frontier. This agreement with the Sioux was the turning point which led the Indians away from their old pursuits and dependence upon the chase to a career in which the indtis- tries and customs of civilization were the chief purpose, and thereafter, except · for a brief time, we hear no more of Indian wars except those then pending against

DEADWOOD IN ISTG

FREIGHTING TO THE BLACK HILLS IN EARLY DAYS BYCH

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the outlaw bands that had participated in the recent slaughter of Custer and his command, and who under the influence and wily generalship of Sitting Bull were not yet subdued.

The commission held seventeen councils with the party of the first part, repre senting 25,000 people of the tribes known as the Oglalas, Brules, Lower Bruk- Minneconjoux, Sans Ares, Blackfeet, Unepapas, Upper Yanktonmais, Lever Yanktonnais, Santees, and the Cheyennes and Arrapahoes inot Siuvi, 810 obtained their voluntary and formal relinquishment of the Black Hills and of al. the domain claimed by them in the United States except the lands umbracol i the Big Sioux Reservation allotted to them by this agreement or treaty, which was embraced within the following boundaries, to-wit :

Beginning on the boundary line of the State of Nebraska at its literse ti with tl 103d meridian of west longitude; thence north along sand mernhan the it . Ilters ct 1 Wilo the south branch of the Cheyenne River: thence along said south franch b it with the north branch of the Cheyenne or Belle Fourche River, thence up said Bell| une. River to the point where it intersects the 103d meridian of west longitude, thenos worth along said meridian to its intersection with the south branch of the Lampen Fall River ( Cedar Creek fork) ; thence down the said Cannon Ball to its mouth, then_e i Hwing down the Missouri River to the northern boundary line of the State of Ne Iu ha, I et west on said boundary line to the place of beginning.

This covered an area equal in extent to the State of Ilinois, and was believed to contain, in addition to large tracts of fertile lands, more valuable mineral deposits than any area of similar extent in any other portion of our country.

The commissioners closed their negotiations with the Indians at the Santee Agency. Nebraska, about the last of October, 1876, and held their final meeting at Yankton, the capital of Dakota, on the 29th of that month, at which they adjourned to meet in Washington on the assembling of Congress in December, when their report was submitted to the secretary of the interior. The commission was employed sixty days in the work and traveled 3.500 miles.

The treaty was approved, and ratified by the Senate in the following february, and proclaimed by the President February 28, 1877

TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENT PROPOSED FOR HIHI HILIS

During the session of Congress, in February, 1877, a bill was intre lu ol !! the House by Representative Piper of California, providing for the erection et the Territory of the Black Hills out of portions of Dakota, Wyoming und Men tam, and referred to the Committee on Territories. The reasons ting d me tager of the bill were that courts may thus be established, capital attracted and te le ! legislation secured. The treaty coding the Black Hills had not been ritifelt this time, which would sufficiently account for the non-establishment of civil g v ernments and courts in that section ; but the Legislature of Dakota, they in had already provided for the organization of county governments thanh made the Black Hills and the country west of the Missouri River ito . earak judicial district. all to take effect and be in force as soon as the fut au et th treaty placed the country under the jurisdiction of the civil authority of Dak and this ratification of the treaty and the consequent extensionof the terri' authority occurred on the 17th of the same month.

The boundaries of the new territory were given as follows

Commencing at a point where the ad per bol tot Sind meridian of longitude west from the (it ) \ course along said 43d parallel to the Interest . w . from the City of Washington; thene intersection with the channel of ti R

thence following the center of sind western Twaindary line of Dakota Lcremes to the 40th parallel of north latitude meridian of longitude west froth tel meridian to the place of a milen chod

1 ......

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HISTORY OF DAKOTA TERRITORY

On July 24, 1877, a Government surveying party, escorted by troops, was attacked near the Red Water. The troops lost three killed. The Indians would probably have captured the surveying party and their camp but for the timely arrival of reinforcements. Lieutenant Rempley was in command of the escort.

The Government surveyors were sent out to establish the boundary between Dakota and Wyoming. According to this survey Deadwood was located twenty- two miles cast of the boundary line. The boundary crossed Sand Creek on the Bear Gulch trail. The survey placed the mining camps of Deadwood, Gap City, Central, Golden Gate, Lead City, Custer, Rapid, Sheridan, Golden, Hayward, Castleton, Hillyer and Crook City in Dakota. Wyoming was found to embrace the mining towns on Sand, Iron and Potato creeks, with considerable unexplored and unprospected property.

ORGANIZING BLACK HILLS COUNTIES

The Black Hills, subsequent to the treaty of cession, having become subject to the jurisdiction of territorial laws, it became necessary for the Legislative Assembly of the territory to enact laws defining the boundaries of their counties and providing for their organization. This was done at the session of 1877, and is referred to in the legislative proceedings of that year. The text of the county boundary law is given below.

There had been no land surveys made in the country west of the Missouri River as early as 1877, and it was therefore necessary in marking the boundaries of the new counties in the hills to select a parallel of latitude and have resort to permanent natural objects in defining the lines. Reference is also necessary to the laws of 1875, defining boundaries of counties west of the Missouri River in order to ascertain definitely the boundaries of the counties named below :

BLACK HILLS COUNTIES

An Act to define the boundaries of and name certain counties in the Territory of Dakota : Be it enacted by the Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Dakota :

Section 1. That the County of Custer shall be founded as follows: Commencing at the northwest corner of Forsythe County where the west fork of the Big Cheyenne River intersects the boundary line dividing the Territory of Dakota and the Territory of Wyoming : and running thence north along said boundary line to a point ten miles south of the point where the 44th parallel of north latitude intersects said boundary line; thence east in a direct line to the channel of the south fork of the Big Cheyenne and the northern boundary of the County of Forsythe to the place of beginning.

Sec. 2. That the County of Pennington shall be bounded and described as follows : Commencing at a point where the 44th parallel of north latitude intersects the boundary line dividing the Territory of Dakota and the Territory of Wyoming; thence running north along said boundary line ten miles; thence east in a direct line to the channel of the south fork of the Big Cheyenne River: thence southerly along said channel of the south fork to the point where the northern boundary line of Custer County intersects the said south fork of the Big Cheyenne; thence west along the northern boundary of Custer County to the boundary line dividing the Territory of Dakota and the Territory of Wyoming ; thence north along said boundary line ten miles to the place of beginning.

Sec. 3. That the County of Lawrence shall be bounded and described as follows: Commencing at a point on the boundary line dividing the Territory of Dakota and the Territory of Wyoming, at the northwest corner of Pennington County; thence east along the northern boundary of Pennington County to its intersection with the channel of the south fork of the Big Cheyenne; thence northerly along said south fork to its confluence with the Belle Fourche River : thence running northwesterly along said Belle Fourche and cast fork of the Big Cheyenne River to the point where the said East Fork, or Red Water. intersects the boundary line dividing the Territory of Dakota and the Territory of Wyom- ing : thence south along said boundary line to the place of beginning.

Sec. 4. That all that part of the County of Pennington as laid down and described in section 6, chapter 29, laws of 1874 and 1875, as is not included within the metes and bounds, as described in section 2 of this act, be made a separate county, and the same to be called Ziebach County.

Sec. 5. The boundaries of the counties of Custer and Lawrence are hereby modified and corrected in accordance with the provisions of this act.

Sec. 6. The governor is hereby authorized, and it is made his duty, when the country

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embraced within said counties herein described comes under the jurisdiction of this terri- tory, or as soon as practicable, and he can obtain the necessary information after the passage and approval of this act, and without the petition of voters otherwise required, to appoint for each of said counties three county commissioners, who shall constitute the board of county commissioners, one register of deeds, one sheriff, one treasurer, one judge of the Probate Court, one assessor; and said officers, so appointed, shall hold their offices respectively until their successors shall be elected and qualified according to law.

Sec. 7. Immediately after their appointment the said commissioners for each of said counties respectively shall meet at a place within their county, to be agreed upon. and elect one of their number chairman of the board, who shall immediately administer the oath of office to the other commissioners, and one of them shall then administer the like oath to him. The chairman shall then administer the oath of office to the judge of the Probate Court, and he is then authorized and required to administer the like oath to each of the other officers herein authorized to be appointed. Said oaths shall be in writing. and certified by the person or officer administering them, and must be filed in the office of the register of deeds for the county. Such officers must each thereafter, and as carly as practicable, give the bond as required by law, and shall immediately enter upon the dis- charge of their respective duties according to law.

Sec. S. Said board of county commissioners for cach county is hereby authorized to appoint all other officers authorized by law for said counties, except justices of the peace, and they shall qualify as required by law. The said boards shall also cause an election to be held in cach of their counties respectively, upon notice, to be posted in writing not less than twenty days before said election, in five public places in the county, for the election of four justices of the peace in each county, which election shall be held, and the returns thereof made, as provided by the clection law of the territory; except that the returns must be made to the register of deeds within six days, and the canvass thereof within ten days after said election; and the justices of the peace so elected may qualify as provided by law. immediately, or as soon as practicable after their election, and shall enter upon the duties of their office at once. Such justices shall hold their offices until their successors shall be elected at the general election in 1877, and shall qualify.

Sec. 9. Any two commissioners appointed as provided herein, shall constitute a quorum, and may perform all the acts required to all legal intents and purposes, the same as if the three were present and acting; and the register of deeds so appointed shall be ex-officio county clerk, and act as such; and the said board of county commissioners must make a journal, and preserve the official record of their proceedings from the first, accord- ing to law.

Sec. 10. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage and approval, and it amends and modifies all acts and parts of acts inconsistent with its pro- visions, so far only as it is necessary to carry this act into effect, but all other such acts, except those bounding and defining counties herein defined, are in force, except so far as this act governs and takes the place other law.

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History of Dakota Territory, volume I, Part 168

Author: Kingsbury, George Washington, 1837-; Smith, George Martin, 1847-1920 Publication date: 1915 Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : S.J. Clarke Publishing Company Number of Pages: 1198

Author: Kingsbury, George Washington, 1837-; Smith, George Martin, 1847-1920
Publication date: 1915
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : S.J. Clarke Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1198