Democratic Sentinel, Volume 13, Number 26, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 July 1889 — The Noble Red Man in Real Life. [ARTICLE]

The Noble Red Man in Real Life.

Chamberlain (Dak.) letter in the Omaha Bee: The Sioux Indians, as looked at from the Eastern view, are a race that is greatly abused by the Government, but from the view taken by the Western people, who have had a chance to study their ways and habits, the only good Indian is the dead one. At the Lower Brule agency there are about 1,200 Indians supported in idleness by the Government, costing annually $150,000. The great reservation contains 24,000,000 acres of fine farming and grazing lands, and an area nearly as large as the State of New York, and five times as great as Massachusetts, inhabited by about 23,000 Indians, or about as many people as live in two tenement blocks in New York City. These lands are not used at all by the Indians, as the Government furnishes them with provisions, clothing, farm machinery (which they never use), cattle, horses, and harness, and in fact almost everything. In the way of clothing the Government furnishes fine woolen blankets which cost about $4.50 apiece. As soon as the noble red man gets his blanket he crosses the river to Chamberlain and sells it for from 75 cents to sl. The same is also the fact with clothing, the most of the farmers dressing in waukapomna, which, is the Sioux for Government goods. Maj. Anderson, the agent at Crow Creek, is of the opinion that the Indians will never become civilized as long as the Government supports them. He is decidedly in favor of the Indians taking their land in severalty, and for the Government to furnish each family with a complete farm outfit, then tell them that they must support themselves, and he thinks that when they see that the Government means business the Indian question will be settled.

The Indian buck scorns 'work and thinks that only the squaws are. made to work. A pretty good illustration of this is told by one of the agency officials. I give it as it was told to me. “Last winter, as I w v as on my way to Brule Bottom, I ran across a team of ponies trying to pull a large lumber •wagon up the hill, but it was too heavy for them, and the buck that was driving ordered his two squaws out to help the pdnies, but still they could not make it. I asked him wliy he did not get out, and all the answer I got was a grunt. Finally, taking pity on the squaws, who were almost frozen, I added my muscle to that of the squaws and ponies, and we finally got the ‘noble red man’ and his wagon to the top of. the hill.” k Another pretty good story is told by a contractor, who had the contract to build SBO,OOO worth of houses for the Indians. The houses were all built, but the Indians did move into them. Instead, they moved their tepees or ! tents next to the houses, and during the winter they tore down and burned (tip all the houses. This shows how

much the Indians appreciate what the Government does for them. They know that the Government will support them, and as long as it does they will be a shiftless, lazy, and uncivilized race.