The New York Herald Newspaper, September 22, 1875, Page 6

6 NEW YORK HERALD, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 1875.-QUADRUPLE INDIAN FRAUDS More About the Criminal Practices at Fort Berthold. WHACKING UP. Why the Agent Is Opposed to the “Wicked Squaw Men.” PRIVATE STEALING. How They Master the Currency Prob- lem at the Agency. PASTEBOARD MONEY. Blank Vouchers, Cottonwood Hay, False Meas- urements and Iniquity in General. THE DEPARTMENT CONVICTED, Fort Berrnorp, Dakota, Sept. 14, 1875, * At first the Indians listened to Mr. Sperry’s speeches with peculiar gravity, They had heard the white man’s promises before, but when they learned that they, were to be under Christian management, that their children were to read and write like the children of the pale- faces, they thought of Father De Smet and wondered if this man was really not their friend and protector, They sodn discovered, however, that he was no better than tho other agent whom he denounced. They said that if Tappan defrauded the government at Washing- ton he gave them more to eat than Sperry, and in a few months they put little faith in anything he said. I find. that the white men who worked for him are even more bitter than the Indians, especially his friends and Jelatives whom he brought from the East, THE “SQUAW MEN’.’ Mr. Sperry has much to say in his letters East about She men who live with squaws. If he makes blank vouchers and they are discovered he says it 1s because 3quaw men are allowed om the agency. In fact, he at- sributes allof his troubles to these men whom he has Wainly tries to drive away. One man, whose name I ky keeps a squaw,and was told that he could stay as ng as he pleased, but he had signed a blank voucher and Sperry was afraid of him. { ‘The truth is that the squaw men are attached to the ¥ Peency, and, as arule, they are peaceable and bonest, more so than the average agent or trader. of them are of French extraction and they care ttle for sects or preachers. They are neither better nor se than ordinary frontier men who chop wood, cut y and team for a living. Some of tho hunters are and shiftless, but their ideas of common honesty mre so far in advance of the agent’s that a comparison would be crucl. When these squaw men expostulate with Sperry for his “‘irregularities” he threatens to drive them from the reservation. Iam not favoring amalgamation, but I do say that the white men who have Indian wives here are misrepresented by Mr. Bperry and his friends. He says that they do not respect the marriage cere- mony; that they live with the women for a few years ond then take others. This istrue in many instances and in others it is not. Whenthe boat lunded at Stand- Jng Rock a beautiful girl came on board and was greeted by officers’ wives and their daughters with a kiss. They Invited her to accompany them on the trip down the river. ‘For Heaven's sake tell me who is that gracefal Breature?” asked a passenger of the captain. “The daughter ofa Minneapolis merchant,” said he—‘‘a half breea, just from school in St Louis.” The answer was } surprise, for no one thought her the daughter of a full | Dlooded Sioux woman. According to Brother Sperry’s Breed she is the child of sin, and her father totally unfit fo testify against a white woman’s husband who steals, Bhe squaw men on this reservation are kind to the In- Bians. They give them good advice and stand by them; J fact they are about the only frionds they can trust. Mhey sce the ‘‘model”’ representative of a Christian So- Wiety and a great government making away with their blankets and food on the one hand, and on the other Bhey see the squaw men, who profess no creed, rebuking this representative for his wickedness. Who can blamo Bhem for wanting their friends to stay? I am sure that (heir presence aione has prevented much fraud. INDUSTRIAL NOTES. The most satisfactory feature of Mr. Sperry’s ad- ministration is his farming, or rather the farming which Bhe Indians do; yet their crops were fumous before he fame. Under Tappan, the old agent, they raised corn fend potatoes in abundance, Last winter they cut about 1,000 cords of wood and pput up large quantities of hay, Outside of their agency | work they mined 150 tons of coal from the miserable hin strata along the river. Last year 2,000 bushels of corn and 3,500 bushels of potatoes were raised, besides | Barge quantities of squashes, beans and pumpkins, The Jatter are their chief articles of food. 1t should be un- derstood that this is the greatest grasshopper county in ‘the West. I have seen clouds o! them flying up toward Alaska that actually hid the sun. These Indians are Ahe most civilized and friendly disposed of any on the |, wiver, and the Rees are far superior to the Bioux in battle The one great complaint @hich they make against Sperry, in addition to the charges of selling their . goods, is that fhe hires them to work and pays them in goods which already belong to them. There is a feeling of much in- ignation about it, Ithink that he does them great gervice in getting them to follow apy kind of industrial pursuits, The reason why the Berthold Indians have so ggood a name is because they work. They can fight Tike tigers, swing a scythe, plough corn, or build a house. I saw a promising young buck painting one of ‘the new agency buildings, and he did it well; but I doubt ifhe could equal Sperry in preparing a blank ‘voucher, THE OBJECTIONABLE FRATURE 4n Mr. Sperry’s agricultural management is the high prices that he charges the Indians for their own pro- wisions. For instance, he asks twenty-five cents a pound for sugar which costs ten cents; twenty-fi ents for pork which costs nine anda half cents; thirty- three and a third cents for coffee which costs twenty- one cents, $1 a pound for tea which costs forty- six cents; and for flour $5 a hundred, which costs only $3, all of which is an outrage of the most fipfamous character. Really the Indian who works Dard all day only gots thirty-six cents’ worth of sugar for adollar, And yet the Ring howls about the blood- ahirsty savage, Permit such extortions in New York, ‘and the city would bo swept by a mob in twenty-four hours. In the army all government merchandise is sold to ‘tho soldiers at cost, transportation not included. But it does not belong to the soldiers in the first place, vwhile the Indians buy little that the government has mot already given to them. It is bad enough to sell the sAndians their own property at actual cost; but such a weform would be death to the trader, and, were he, @ partner of the agent, a domestic pauic would be sure ito follow. Mr. Sperry sells fourfpounds of Black Wolf's sugar to Mais wife for a dollar, that friend Raymond may not be \forced to reduce his prices. Now, it is solemnly claimed My Sperry and Raymond that they are not interested in yeach other's sales; but tho agent’s scale of prices is proof to the contrary. Then, in buying of the Indians, jhe pays them post trader prices. When the red ma trades his potatoes for sugar there is double prot for the buyer. And when SporrPis not that fortunate in- S@iyidual Mr, Raymond is. i ANEW WAY OF BUYING HERP HIDES. This spring the Indians had occasion to sell a lot of tbeof hides, Sperry, Raymond & Co, decided that they were worth $2 a pleca, Really they were worth from $3 to $6 each, Two hundred and thirty ‘of the hides were delivered at the store, and | well. transaction was most villanous, for the checks which the Indians received read as follows:— Brererestvereonrorvierccererecnrrorner } FORT BERTHOLD, 3 3 3 3 t GOOD FOR 25 CTS. ; 3 $ 3 J. W. BAYMON: ORO OE COLE LOLOLE DEDEDE RE DELEEL PELE DPDDPLE DEDEDE DOLL I send one herewith, and you can see that the words “good for twenty-five cents” are printed in bold black type. Now when acortain gentleman found the In- dians with these tickets just after they had come from the store his indignation knew no bounds, and regard- less of losing his place he walked over to the establish- ment and demanded an explanation. “Our $2 tickets were all gone,” was the reply, “and we had to give the Indians the twenty-five cent ones, We expect, how- ever, to redeem them with $2 worth of goods,” he added. ‘But how are you to tel! them from those you have regularly issued?” was the unanswerable shot, and there was no reply. The man got together what Indians he could find and marched them down to the store, and there he made the trader give each Indian $2 worth of goods on the spot, Now, lask Smith, Delano & Co. what have they to say to that? These simple hearted Indians, who live in houses and work in their felds, cannot forget these things, and they are not to blame if they fail to see that the Gospel of Christ as taught by the Oberlin graduates any better than the religion which they find in the forests and among the silent mountains, The gentleman who made the trader refund is one of Mr. Sperry’s squaw men. If modern Christianity cannot compete with heathen practices it had better go back to locusts and wild honey. The memory of Deacon Beales’ daughter is the one blessed thing which inclines the Indian to- ward the white man’s faith at this agency. ANEW WAY TO MEASURE MAY, The region around the mouth of the Little Missouri River, twenty-five miles above Berthold, is noted for its fertility and beauty. It 1s a favorite place for herders and ay contractors, The grasses grow luxuriantly, and the quality is good. A certain man took a contract for putting up 150 tons of hay there for the agency. Dave Sperry, brother of the agent, and at one time the boss farmer, was sent up to measure this hay, that the contractor might present his voucher and get his pay. He measured it, found it all right, and reported accord- ingly. Now, there were four feet of cottonwood logs in the centre of that stack, and they were measured as hay and paid for. I am positively informed that young Sperry got $50 for winking at the fraud, for he knew all about it, and that is why they “whacked up” with him. In fact, an entry was made on a certain book showing that his share was this amount. When the Rev. E. P. Smith investigates some of these charges other interesting particulars will probably be developed in regard to this hay transaction. As the Indians were not forced to eat hay that winter they did not suffer for want of it, but the poor cattle did that were wintered there. “In the cold, bitter weather, while our Christian agent was sitting by his fire preparing ‘his annual report for friend Smith, those cattle starved. The hay fell short forty tons. When the weather was coldest, andthe mercury froze in the thermometer, four feet of solid cottonwood logs came in view, and the poor staggering brutes were started forthe agency. Fierce winds swept over the plains, ice formed around their wasted bodies, and twenty of them had to be killed because they were too weak to travel. Perhaps at that very hour Mr. Sperry was saying his prayers, and asking God to remember the wrongs of the Indians. ‘The cottonwood logs were paid for out of the Indian Fund, the people of our glorious country furnished the money, anda man named David Sperry received $50 for permitting the fraud. WHITEWASHING TAUGHT IN ONE LESSON. The agent was on one of his frequent trips East when be heard that the Heraxp had its eye on this reformatory institution. Being an adoring admirer and imitator of the Rev. E. P. Smith, he demanded an myestigation at once, Not by the Heraup, not by a United States marshal, nor by any one likely to get at the facts, but by an inspector of the Indian Depart ment, selected to do all kinds of agency whitewashing with efficacy and despatch. So he buttonholed In- spector Watkins and brought him to Dakota forthwith, It must have occurred to Brother Sperry that this fierce desire to have his iniquity laid bare to the guze of forty millions of people would paralyze his enemies and gladden the hearts of his friends, What eise could have prompted him? Does any sane man stand on the edge of a blazing volcano and call on it to vomit forth? Sperry is tke last man to invite destruction, He and Inspector Watkins understood each other as well as if they bad run agencies all their lives. They came to Bismarck together. But they did notsing hymns as Mr. Sperry did on his first trip to the West, Of course Inspector Watkins must call on General Custer, who is opposed to robbing Indians and ordering out the military for protection. General Custer has a special detective, who has landed several thi¢ves in the Penitentiary, where they belong. This detective is ac- quainted with some of the Berthold “irregularities,” and when Inspector Watkins came around begging for information he quietly wld him where to get it’ Did he go? No. ‘The next place he visited was a man in whose house I recently @ound some government grain. As he was said to know something about the steamboat that landed fifty or seventy-five tons of Indian GOODS FOR THE RING TO STEAL last fall, Mr. Inspector got out his whitewash brash and began operations. He made unusual display, as some visitors from Bismarck were present. After gotting a statement to the effect that the man knew nothing about it; that his team did not pass loaded along @ deserted road on a certain night; that the Hegap correspondent had not found the spot where the boat landed, the in- spector intimated that the agent had been wickedly slandered by his enemies. Now, that man had already made a statement in a Bismarck paper; then he gave this one, and a few days afterward he made an affidavit to anotary public, No two of them agree. So Brother Watkins’ time and labor were thrown away, It was at this place that Sperry said the Hrrarp was coming ont with damaging disclosures, giving pictures of Raymond, Leighton, the pirate steamboat that put off the goods, and the spot where they were landed, near the Counted Woods. (He might have added that a map was to be published—a map of the agency before it was burned—together with statements by witnesses who claimed to have’seen Mr. Sperry set it on fire that he might cover his defalcations and give the post trader afresh order for goods.] . For once in his life, Mr. Sperry came near the truth. the map for publication. Is it any wonder that Ray- mond, Sperry & Co. want to quit the business? ‘The inspector had a far bette chance than I to inves- tigate, but instead of getting at the truth and sending for a marshal and handeuifs, he writes to prominent men that Sperry is all right, and that, with the excep- tion of a few mistakes, he has managed the agency About this time A.C. Leighton, whom I have mentioned in connection with the Belknap and Fort Peck frauds, eame down on the steamer Koy West, As the boat drew near the landing Mr. Sperry and the in- Leighton rushed out to meet them, SOME MATTERS THAT NEED EXPLANATION, When Sperry came to the agency he was poor. Now he has money to lend, or did have quite recently. To facilitate business he issues checks Itke those of Ray- mond’s, only they are more elaborately printed and bear the signature “L, B. Sperry,” as shown on the one Isend you: Qreeenn ere ceeeerHNET IP OPOOTE TOT OETECE rtt be) 3 be Bd = 5 A ig] SUPPLY CHECK. 4 $3] goop ror 26 CENTS |23 Re IN SUPPLIES. a 3 L. B, SPERRY, | 23 : s Indian Agent | % 3 The Indian who woxks all day in the field receives $1 25 worth of this pasteboard currency, which is redeemed with his own supplics, But this is not all. When inquisitive strangers are not around Raymond's checks are also received and Indian goods given in re- turn, which i additional evidence of the partnership of Sperry and Raymond. All kinds of httic’ schemes aro devised to help the post trader and swindie the Indian, Perhaps Inspector Watkins and his friend Smith can tell the public the basis on which the settlements are made when Sperry turns over these checks to Raymond & vo, t winter Sperry id _cattlo belonging to the | Rees and Manduns, and gave them dollar checks on Raymond for their hides. The checks were ®edeomed jehecks given in return, Theso checks, like our nabional Peiioneda are, of pawet, only of @ beavlox quali. ‘Mae 4. by Raymond with moods mold at 109 per cout above Isend you the photographs for future reference, and | Spector appeared arm and arm on the bank, and Brother « cost. Some idea of Fort Peck prices may be formed when I say that Raymond and Bonnafant, at Stevenson, sell 100 per cent cheaper than Mr. Belknap’s friend Leighton did before the Henaup forced him to sell out. Mr. E. Bruyea chopped 200 cords of wood up the river, which he offered tothe agency, Sperry and his | | clerk, Judge Courtenay, were to buy it Sperry finally gobbled it himself at $1 75 a cord and agreed to pay for it in the fall, Meanwhile the water cut away the bank and some of it tumbled into the river and was | lost. The next spring Sperry only wanted to pay tor | what was left, saying that he took it to accommodate Mr. Bruyea, The fact is he bought it as a speculation | and sold what remained to the steamboats for $3 50 a cord, Every man I have seen agrees that Sperry tried to cheat the man out of his wood after he had bar- | Sained for it at reduced rates in presence of witnesses. | ‘This is the way he treats white men who can read and | write, The Indian woodchoppers fare worse, He pays them in pasteboard—half in agency checks and half in Ray- mond’s checks, And this wood, for which the govern- ment pays fifty per cent, he sells to the steamboats at a large advance and puts the proceeds in his pocket, It is charged that he even sold some of the wood left by ‘Tappan, his predecessor, to the steamboats. He paid Bruyea $1 74 cord. Ican produce one of his own men who paid him $6 a cord for wood, and yet he has the audacity to say that he makes nothing, MORE OF MIS IRREGULARITIES, He is very particular to keep squaw men away from the agency and to see that none of them cut wood or | hay on the reservation, but he dips into private specu- | lations without scruple. Last spring he sold reser tion potatoes to Raymond and the steamboat His | parf@er got no less than 300 bushels, When the In- | dians want any of these potatoes Raymond’s estab- | lishment is ready to sell them for the tickets which Sperry gives them for their work. The potatoes sold to steamboats were raised from government seed, and the Indians who cultivated them were paid in govern- ment rations, When Dave Sperry was boss farmer he planted three-quarters of an acre as a personal specu- lation, and he sold between 500 and 600 bushels, Really he did not raise more than 150 bushels. I have taken some pains to investigate this matter, ‘and I flnd that a better crop on more ground yielded only 280 bushels, of potatoes. SPERRY’S HOTEL. All of the beef, most of the flour and all of the pork and veal used in the agent’s public eating house for nearly two years have been taken from the Indian supplies, And the potatoes, vegetables, milk, &c., have been furnished by the agency farm. This mess | brings Sperry at least $4,000 a year, and neither In- dians nor the government get a dollar of the receipts. As stated in my last letter, cach employé pays $25 a month for board. Sperry lives well, and he deserves credit for setting so good atable, It is said that the mess cost him only $9 70 for the first winter, Sperry sold an agency cow to one of the “squaw men” for $75. A month later the animal appeared on the rolls as having been issued to the man’s wife, who is asquaw, This covered the sale, and the agent made | 75 by the operation. FACTS FOR THE INTERIOR DEPARTMENT, Sperry says that he has nothing to do with Raymond ina financial way. Mr. Bouchamp says that vhe agent asked him to buy all of his goods of the trader, on the ground that he was a good friend of his and that he sold as cheap as any one. I know a man who can testify to haying seen hundreds of Raymond’s tickets redcemed at the agency warehouse, Philip Reifsnider is the post blacksmith at Fort Ste- venson, He bears a good reputation. In April, 1874, he came from Waupon, Wis., todo the blacksmithing for the agency. Mr. Sperry had previously been in Wisconsin, and agreed to give him $1,300ayear. Atthe end of the first quarter he told him that he must reduce his wages to $900, but that he would try in the future to give him $1,200 instead of $1,300, as he promised in | Wisconsin. The situation was accepted with reluctance, He had come a long distance with his family, and he was at the mercy of the agent. Sperry said that he would reduce-some of the other employés and advance him and the engineer, The blacksmith says that Sperry is utterly devoid of principle. He charged strangers fifty cents a meal at his mess house, and gave his man half of the mouey, although the supplies were taken from the government warehouse, Last summer he boarded eighteen persons in his mess, Sperry had many confidential talks with the blacksmith. Once he came to him in great anger. He said that many com- plaints had been made against his management, but thereafter, if the employés did not attend to their busi- ness and let his alone, he would discharge them. If | they countenanced or even listened to criticisms on-his conduct, in any particular, he would get new men, until he had those who were willing to work in harmony with him, This was in June, 1874. MR. SPERRY CONVICTS SMITH AND DELANO, It is charged by Welch and Marsh that the Washing- | ton officials are in league with the thieving agents; that they refuse to punish those whom they know to be wrong. I am ready to prove that they do work with the agents, The witness is a man of high standing and un- impeachable veracity, according to the Rev. E. P, Smith and the American Missionary Society. His name is L. * B. Sperry, formerly of Oberiin. Mr. Sperry told Reifsnider during this stormy inter- view that he had recently been in Washington; that while there letters were shown him from partics here at Berthold complaining of his “irregularities,” and he referred to one in particular. But he was informed by the oflicers that he could keep the agency while General Grant was President. He was assured that he would be upheld in all of his plans and that he should go on . do as he thought best. This is no hearsay evidence. It is the trath and can be proved in any court of law that the Rev, KE. P, Smith may select, The blacksmith isa man of integrity and character—so much so that Mr. Sperry went to Waa- pon, Wis., and agreed to give him an extra salary if he would come to the agency, MORE FALSE VOUCHERS, One of the first things that distinguished Mr. Sperry’s administration was this:—He engaged Raymond's teamster to haul goo’s for the agency—from Ray- mond’s store in Bismarck, of course. He agreed to | pay a certain price per hundred, and never consider a | load less than 2,000 pounds. On one occasion the man | brought up only two barrels of sugar. Instead of mak- ing up the deficiency fron® his mess money, out of which he was defrauding the government, he prepared & false voucher and represented the sugar as weighing 2,000 pounds, The teamster was paid accordingly. One year ago last July a certain man, who can be pro- duced when wanted, was hired to work at $2 a day—he to take bis pay for two-thirds of the sam in | government goods and the remaining third in Ray- | mond’s checks. Sperry made him sign blank vouchers | twice, so a8 to get money to pay Raymond, he said, The employé was afterward asked to more blank vouchers on two separate occasions, but he refused, and | wanted to,know why he should be forced to crimmate himself by putting his name tovfaisé documents, - THE REPLY was that the other employés did the same. he did not belive it, The official said he it, and then and there he owed othe that had boen signod & he had promised to 1 Ho said would prove blank vouchers Mr, Sperry’s employés, whom 1. The man saw the carpen- ter’s signature, the team: ature, Charles Ma- Yury’s signature, Joe Hood's and Paul Morris’—all on blank vouchers to be filled out and forwarded to Wash- ington to get money for the redempton of Raymond’g pasteboard checks. | Sperry sent provisions to Joe Hood, who signed the blank vouchers, aud was the contractor for building the | agency corral at the mouth of the Little Missouri River, | There would have been nothing wrong about this if the | said provisions bad not been taken from the Indian | supplies and sold, Sim Bundy, Paul Morris, John Smith, Brayea and Joe Williamson, herders, were also upplied from the agency stores and charged with the | prov and amounts deducted from their bills, | er which they were required to sigh the blank vouchers, Bundy was herding by contract at $200 a month | ing the winter, The provisions, including pork, | ur, potatoes and b hou: The tea, cof Raymond's, ns, came from the Indian ware. | sugar, &c, were bought at THR AGENT SPRAKS, erry called on John Ni the contract for doin Last August § that he (Sperry) he herding. He had conditions of the « to herd 450 head of | cattle for three Sperry wanted him to tako charge of the herd, board seven men, turn for | the horses and pity the men $60 a month . 04 | figured it wp and said, “Do you take me fora fool? I would be $400 short.” Sperry mused a moment and J pied nim vo study the matigr ovgr, ol and said | the agency | name. The it by using Nagel ract were mouths, ea | Canal Company, and de that it wanted no study; ho knew just what it would cost. Then the great reformer said, “Go up and stay with the herd and I will furnish provisions and forage.” Sull he refused to go at that price. Sim Bundy was then engaged on the work for $75 a month, and Sperry furnished the provisions, the men and the forage. The forage and the provisions were stolen from the Indian supplies, Two Indian assistant herders, Seven Dogs and Butterfy, were paid in government provisions and the white assistants in cash—$50 a month cach, Bundy continued in charge ofthe herd at $75 a month until January, when the contract, which was extended, was turned over to him, at $300 a month. At that time there were only 150 head of cattle, and the herd was reduced at the rate of eleven head every fifteen days by the butcher, In that month of August, when Mr, Sperry wanted Nagel to take the contract at $700 for three months, there were more than 400 head of cattle in the herd, As 4 manipulator of blank vouchers and indiarubber contracts Mr. Sperry has no equal outside of the Indian Department, THE SORT OF MEN WHO ADMINISTER INDIAN AFFAIRS—A MODEL BOSS PALMER. Sranping Rock AaENcy, Dak., Sept. 12, 1875. The Ring apologists are bitter in their denunciation of the Heraup for its recent exposures of the corrup- tions at this agency, The agent has carried a dark countenance for the list two months, but his boss farmer, John Dillon, has kept bis sorrows drowned with illicit whiskey. If a man ever disgraced a posi- tion, this man has done it. He is drunk at least three- fourths of the time and the example that he sets for the | “poor red man’ has long disgusted the more intelligent of the tribes. He has repeatedly brought liquor on to the reservation against the rules of the department and against the laws of the country. His last exploit was to carry it to Two Bears’ camp, where he danced all night with the squaws in Indian — fash. ion, Some white men who were present at the beginning of the revel —_becamo frightened and left. Dillon’s orgies are not confined to any particular locality. Sometimes he goes up to Bis- marek and engages a parlor for a season of wild de- bauchery. On several occasions he destroyed hundreds of dollars’ worth of property in saloons and other pub- lic places, to the profound admiration of his friends. His favorite amusement is to seat himisolf on a kind of throne in the centre of the room and receive adoration from his followers as though be were a real king, worth millions, instead of being a drunken assistant to a reli- gious Indian agent. He began his frontier career with empty pockets and little or no education, But with plenty of assurance and shrewdness of a doubtful character he took contracts and soon became a power in the land, When a poor man wants to make money in the West. orarich man wants to become a millionaire, he fixes his hungry eye on an Indian agency, and never takes it off until the Rey. Commissioner Smith or some other friend of thored man sends him an appointment, This was the case with John Dillon, Having made money in contracting he found no trouble in getting a position as boss farmer. The salary is insignificant, but the opportunities are unlimited. The modern boss farmer is the agents right hand man, He does the heavy work in the piratical department, and if by chance there is an investigation without whitewash- ing, the boss farmer takes all the blame,‘while the agent who winked when he stole, and chuckled when the spoils were divided, comes out with spotless robes andan alabaster reputation, There are a few excep- tions. At Berthold (the model of all model agencies), the agent and post trader get away with all the baggage, leaving the clerk (who does the legitimate work) and the Indians to shift for themselves. Brother Dillon allows nothing of this kind, He isan expert, and what he did not learn under Palmer, the former agent, he evolves by intuition. He knows all about the business, from landing a steamboat at the wrong place, to feeding tho Indians on quarter rations, Wherever he travels money is plenty; champagne and whiskey flow like water—generally into his throat and all the other throats that hurrah for Dillon. WHY THE INDIANS WERE DELAYED, The recent despatches which were cooked up by the Indian Department had much to say about the move- ments of the Indians toward the Black Hills Council. It was repeatedly announced that thoso at Standing Rock were on the way to meet the Commissioners at Red Cloud. The truth is that they were under the leadership and charge of Dillon, and Dillon was drunk, When the trip was proposed some of the chiefs refused to go. They knew their man toc well. Still, about 200 Indians began the journey, but they were ten days in going eighty miles. sf Black Eye, one of Two Bears’ chiefs, returned in dis- gust, He said that Dillon was so drunk that it was useless to proceed, and Kill Eagle was furious that his braves should be forced to travel with such a man, This is one of the reasons why the heathen are so-back- ward in embracing the gospel taught by those highly civilized and virtuous missionaries—Smith, Delano & Co, The savage who is to be converted cannot keep his appointment with the brethren, because their boss mis- sionary is drunk Dillon is a fair specimen of the men who impeach such witnesses as Professor Marsh and Mr. Welsh. Not only Dillon, but the agent himself cheats the Indians by the most contemptible means, He recently sold some of their beef to the steamer Silver Lake, and received his price and put it in his pocket. Having made no entry of the transaction at the time, he will probably do so on reading this article in the Herarp. It is needless to say that the owners of the Silver Lake steamboat are Wilder, the Minnesota contractor and friend of Commissioner Smith; John H. Charles, the Sioux City contractor, and the great and good ©. D. Woolworth, another contractor of the Ring This steamboat not only bought Indian supplies on that trip, but she put off 4,000 bushels of Indian grain, be- longing to Fort Peck, at Fort Lincoln, for the military, and sold Fort Berthold flour at Bismarck, as reported at the time in the Henarp. ‘The “good men” whom Commissioner Smith has sent to evangelize the Indians are the worst lot of scoundrels that ever cursed a country, When they steal the in- spectors call it an irregularity; when they starve the Indians they say that the red man has been taught to lie by former agents, and is not to be believed; and when their steamboats land acargo of goods in the woods for the Ring to steal they sag it is done to help the boat over a sand bar. FATHER O'REILLY’S ADVICE, New York, Sept. 21, 1875, To tuk Eprtor or Te Heranp: It seems that the Rev. Edward J, O'Reilly, of St. Mary’s church, this city, on the strength of an invita- tion to preach a sermon in St. Peter’s church on Monday, took occasion to instruct Catholics as to what daily newspapers they ought to read, or rather what newspapers they ought not to read. Does the reverend gentleman imagine that the Catholics of this city are so ignorant that they must constantly be told from the pulpit what they must and must not do in. matters which they have a right to exercise their own judgment about as freoly as the priests themselves? it be ail very well this Jecturing Catholics in Catholic coun- tres, where vile journals try to one another in lying about the Church and her faithful clergy; but it will not do with American Catholics, and I think I know as much about them as Father O'Reilly. I claim to be a ood Catholic. I was educated In a Catholic college and thoroughly ine stracted in my religion, and I think I know my duty, and lam certain that nine-tenths of the Catholics in this city resent any interference on the partof the clergy with their likes and dislikes for any partic newspaper. The Catholic laity in such matters bi an opinion of their own which no priest can change, If some clergymen (well intentioned, doubtless), who every once ma while break out inio instructions as to where a Catholic shall send his child to school, what pers he shajl read and how he shall vote (vide the, lato Rew Jersey election campaign), would only bring them- gelyes to the conviction. that American Catholics are fully as intelligent as the rest of their fellow citizens who are not Catholics, and that they have jnst as clear ‘fan idea of what is good to read and what is not to be read in a daily newspaper, and should act accordingly, the world would be not one whit the worse off, or we cause of religion less respected. If there is danger to the goul for a Vatholic to read an article in a newspaper that may not have proviously received the indorsemont of the clergy, or which is not approved by them once it is made public, I think he who is thus ene din soul must be a very poor Catholic indeed, And, way, if Father O'Reilly believes that no Catho! read the Hrnars, how does it happen that he reads it himself, to be able to talk so freely about its articles A ROMAN CATHOLIC. THE ANTHRACITE “COAL TRADE. ‘The Anthracite Board of Control met yesterday at 3 Department of the Delaware and Hudson ded that prices for the balance the § ar should suffer no reduction. © coal for Oetober have been udy cents per ton, It was alvo decided Ubat thi and Hudson Canal Company and the Delaware, La wanna and Western Railroad Company should suspend of this ye eg aud st ne Nowel, covlied | ahivments vo tidewater fur two Wasks irom Og\aber 1 ald | | tinue its flight sout SHEET. THE SUN'S ECLIPSE. Another Field Day at Hand for the Astronomers. THE WORLD IN LUNA’S SHADOW. When and Where the Grand Phe- nomenon May Be Seen. THE OCCURRENCE EXPLAINED. The nature of eclipses and their causes have been al- ready so fully treated of in the Heravo that it will be unnecessary to speak in detail of them now, in alluding to the coming solar eclipse of the 29th inst, To under- stand this beautiful phenomenon it will be sufficient to remember a few elementary truths of astronomy. The sun, which seems never to become weary, is in reality fixed in the void of heaven, The earth, distant pore than 90,000,000 of miles from the great luminary, moves round and round him without ceasing, making an entire circuit every year and never deviating from the path through which at first she strode in the realms of space. This track was known and mapped in China and Hindos- tan while Rome’s empire was yet young— before Cwsar, Alexander or Homer lived. The moon, almost 400 times nearer to us than the sun, swings round the earth every twenty-nine days in a path which lies nearly in the same plane, on the same level, with the track of the earth itself. Long centuries of observation and study have made astronomers ac- quainted with every mile of this circular route, and those subtle calculators can foretell with unerring cer- tainty what positions the earth and sun will hold in space at any future period, however remote. True it is that the revolutions of the celestial orbs are subject to variations, that the earth snifts from its path and the moon from her’s; but these mutations, however com- plex, take place according to established and well known laws, of which due account is taken in astronomical predictions, ‘Thus it comes that scientists can predict in the pres- ent instance an annular eclipse of the sun for Septem- ber 20; that they can tell the instants of its beginning and ending as well as the regions of the earth where the phenomenon will be visible, and, finally, that they are able to make known the epochs of all eclipses and the circumstances under which they will occur for cen- turies yet to come, WHAT IS A SOLAR ECLIPSE? It will be remembered that the moon in making her monthly circuit about the carth passes Sometimes directly between us and the sun, shutting out his light from us and leaving portions of the earth in darkness, ‘This is called an eclipse of the sun. . Sometimes she steals by, hiding a portion only of the sun’s face. This is called a partial solar eclipse. At other times in the full blaze of noon she stroils softly over a portion of his rim, gradually concealing more and more of the bright disc; the air becomes damp and chilly, and the light grows faint and dim ag the grand luminary is steadily shorn of his beams. The flery portion of his disc dwindles into a slender crescent, and all at once mortals lose sight of his rays. The moon stands ai- rectly between the earth and the sun, and Luna casts her black shadow directly on us. Day is suddenly turned into night, the stars peep from their hiding places, a strange and unnatural gloom permeates the at- mosphere, imparting a pale violet hue to the sky and tinging objects with ghost-like shades of yellow. Men’s faces assume a@ weird appearance, and the very animals manifest signs of distress and fright at the grim aspect of nature, The sun seems to have been completely blotted out from the heavens, A luminous aurora encircling the moon is the only token of his presence beyond. This wouderful occurrence, which in older times was ro- garded with awe and anxiety, ts calied a total solar eclipse, and is more important than the partial eclipse for purposes of calculation and study, The pale aurora apparent about the moon is in reality the sun’s atmos- phere penetrated at intervals by tongues of tlame from the molten mass which project outward from twent; to eighty thousand miles beyond the suriace thereof. it is in studying the appearance and constituents of these colossal protuberances and of the sun’s flaring atinos- phere that men of science chiefly ‘occupy themselves during a total eclipse of the sun. Butapart from a knowledge of the nature and extent of the sun’s at- mosphere, there are numerous ADVANTAGES TO BE DERIVED from careful scrutiny of the exact relative position of the sun and moon during the eclipse. These it is needless to recapitulate here, more especially as the coming eclipse will not be a total one, but merely what is known as an annular or ring eclipse. It is so called because at its occurrence the moon does not cover the whole of the sun’s face, and leaves a thin strip of his srith visible all the way round. The fact that the moon 18 sometimes Jarge enough to obscure the entire sun, while at other times the sun’s rim 1s visible around thé moon, 18 due to the proximity of the moon in the former caso and its increased distance in the latter. The nearer the moon is to the carth the larger it appears to us and the greater the atoount of sunlight {t cuts off When it is at an increased distance the reverse takes place. More- over, the sun 18 3,000,000 of miles further from us in suminer than in winter. His apparent fize is conse- quently less in summer, and his disc is more effectually obscured at the stage of least magnitude. During the coming eclipse the obscured portion of the sun’s ace will exceed nineteen-twentieths of the entire disc, so that the ring which will encircle the myvon_ will be only the twentieth part of the whole circle, ToYal darkness does uot accompany the annu- lar eclipse, although the diminution of solar light and heat are quite observable A remarkable feature of this, as well as of all solar eclipses, is that it will not be visible at all places where it will be day on the earth’s surface, When the moon is eclipsed ‘the occur- rence is visible af the same instant everywhere tho moon*is shining. Not so with solar eclipses, The reason is that the sunbeams are cut off only from that spot on the earth's suriace on which the moon’s shadow falls, Owing to the vast dimensions of the sun and the comparative smnallness of the moon tho said shadow covers only a small portion of the earth’s surface. In I Cangda the moon might seem to obscure a slice of the southern rim of the sun, whereas to an observer in Florida she would appear to eclipse a part of his north. ern edge. As the moon advances in her orbit the ring is thickened at one side, while it slowly diminishes to a thread at the other, Eastward the moon still pushes, and, as a curtain is drawn away, unfolds the sun in tull glory once again. The ring 18 most symmetrical when the observer is in a line with the centres of both bodies, in which case the eclipse is said to be central, At places north of such an observer the moon would appear lower on the disc, and vice versa. THE COMING ECLIPSE will be central and annular to ull persons situated on the following line, viz :—Commencing near Oswego, N. Y., inlativude 4314 deg, north, longitude 77 deg. west; thence sweeping with a velocity of thirty miles a minute (the rate of the moon's motion) in an cast-south- east direction across Saratoga, N. Y., through Arlington and Putney, Vi; ’ Londonderry, N. H., and entering the Atlantic Ocean in latitude 42 deg. 53 min,, longitude 70 deg. 63 min.— Viz., bear Salisbury at the northeast boundary of Mass- achuseus. The the imaginary shadow will con- east through the Atlantic, sweepin, across the tracks of all the European steamers. It wil encounter the western coast of Africa in latitude 17 deg, north, longitude 16 deg. west, near Cape Verd, whence it will fly with increasing swiftness, reaching Africw’s eastern shore in the forticth degree of east longitude, and In the fifteenth of south latitude, and will touch the Isle of Madagascar by sunset, 6 dog. further east, when it will take its departure from t! rth, having made the entire passage in 3h. 25%sr, The reader may deem it strange tbat, whereas the eclipse will begin at sunrise in the United States, its termination will find the sun setting @m the Madagascar shores three hours and a half subsequently. This apparent dixcrepancy is due to the fact that while-the sun is rising at some places he is set« ting at others and biazing in flerce noon over some of Ube intermediate countnes, If the reader stretch a thread tight on a Mercator map from the point at Oswego to the said portion of Madagavcar the ectipse will appear central to all places covered by the tread, Yo persons within sixty miles of this lino the eclipse will be annular, the sun appearing aga thin flery ring encircling the moon, At plecea turther than sixty milos trom the central line the sun will appear asa croscent of varying &Z0, according to the spectator’s lo- cation, In New York city and its vicinity tue cres- cent will be pointed toward the northern eige of the sun, and tho moon will pass trom the upper or western to the Jower or eastern partofthe rim. The eclipse will be central then in a large portion of New York State, parts of Massachusctts, Vermont and Now Hampshire, and about the towns of Cape Elizabeth and Scarborough m Maine, It will present the annulu: shape (mong other places) in Troy, Albany and Utic: ‘. ¥.; Bennington, Vt; Concord, Matchester, Do sinouth, Nashua and Keene,,in New Hamps! joals and Biddeford, Me. ;'and in Boston, Concord, m, Gloucestor, Cambridge, Lowell, Lawrence, ficld, in Massachusetts, Seven astronomical observa- tories are located on this track. The phenomenon of the ring will last from two and a balf to three and a half minutes, according to the observer's position, At no portion the .United States will the com. mencoment of the scone bo visible—the sun will rise par- tially eclipyed, in Newfoundland and some quarters of Lalrador, however, the beginning may be seen. Tho closing scone will be : only Lo that section of the United States lying east of the ninety-second degree of Jongitude- a line passing nearly through 8t Paul, Minn. , Joflerson City, Yo, aud Slrevyevort May ‘the ster, Pittstield, Northatnpton, Lynu’ and Green: | } Maine, &e., 1,000,000,000 feet, employing 40,000 peo; following are the epochs of the oecurrence calculated im the mean solar time of Bostou:— MS. Sun rises colipsed. 5 66 0A Me Formation of the 6.20 2A. M. Apparent conjunction, 6 21 28 A. M. Nearest approach of centres .. 6 21 317A. M. Rupture of the ring... 6 22 62A. M. End of the eclipse... tans 7 30 434 M. Magnitude of the eclipse at sunri; sesveeee 0.608 Magnitude of the eclipse at nearest approach...., 0.951 ~ Before the end of the present century there will be only seven more eclipses of the sun visible in the United Stat and but one of be m (July, 1878) will ced the centre of the moon's shadow passing thro ul THE AERIAL LADDER CALAMITY, CHIEF BATES ON THE WITNESS STAND—THS OPERATION OF THE LADDER EXHIBITED TO vin JURY. Coroner Croker continued the inquest into the aerial Indder calamity yesterday at the Coroners’ office. The usual number of interested or curious persons were im attendance. Only two witnesses were examined— ‘Thomas C. Lee, one of the firemen who was on the lad- der, and Chief Engineer Eli Bates, During the exam- nation of the latter several jurymen expressed a desire to see one of the three remaining ladders put in opera- tion. Accordingly Mr. Bates directed a foreman, who was present, to go and order a ladder to be brought around to Mulberry street at two o'clock, | The order was complied with, and at the hour designated the aerial death trap was wheeled into Mulberry street, between Prince and Houston, Of courso its appearance in that densely populated sectiom brought thousands of people to see its operation; but alk interest was at once lost in the show when it became generally known that no ambulances had accompanied: the ladder truck from its quarters, the crowd very properly inferring from this circumstance that the fire- men would not be required to “ go aloft,” The jury went out to see the ladder worked, and, everything having been made ready, it was slowly raised to an elevation of forty-five dogroes, then to about sixty and finally to seventy, in which position is was allowed to stand several minutes. Special Officer Healey, of the Coroners’ office, endeavored to persuade a couple of jurymen to ascend, explaining to them that they would thus be better enabled to render an intelli- gent verdict in the case, but his persuasive powers were unavailing. ~ ‘To-day the case will be continued, and it is under- stood that in the course of the afternoon Mrs, Uda and Mr. White will be placed on the witness stand, THE TESTIMONY. : Thomas C. Lee, a fireman attached to Hook and Lad- der Company No. 9, testilied:—I was detailed on the morning of the 14th inst. to participate in an experi- ment with the aerial ladder at the juuction of East Broadway and Canal street; I ascisted in raising the ladder, ahd was about two sections up when it broke; I received my orders to mount trom Chiet Nash; there were, I think, eight or nine men on the ladder when it broke; Inever received any orders as to how many men Were allowed at one time upon any of the sections of the ladder; I was below the section which broke at the time of the accident. Eli Bates, Chief of the Fire Department, was the next witness. He testitied as follows:—On tho 6th of July last I was authorized to place two aerial ladders im the service by the Board of Fire Commissioners; I located one of the ladders in Canal street, in Nash’s battalion; I directed him to make details from his commund from time to time, and instruct his men in the handling and raising of the ladder, and when he consider them competent to report to me; the ladder was taken to thee gunction of Canal street and East Broadway on the morning of the lith by Chief Nash and about nine men; Chief Nash directed the men to put the ladder together, and whem he had it raised to an angle of about sixty degrees he ascended the ladder about forty fect; he then looked down and called to his men to aise the ladder highers this was done until it reached an angle of about seventy= five degrees; he then said that would do and agaim mounted, followed by Mans and Hughes; others fol- lowed afterward; I cast my eye up the ladder and saw that some of the men had gone above the fifth sections Timmediately called out that would do; 1 then saw that three or four men on the lower part had come to standstill; I again told them that would do, and to come down; I gave those orders because I considered some of the men had gone beyond where they had any right to; with the number of men that were on the ladder I'consider that no man should have gone up more than sixty feet, or the fifth or sixth sec tions, as the strain would be too much; E had ‘frequently told Chief Nash that it was’ not sate for mare than one man to go to the top of the ladder; I observed that section three of the ladder, about five feet from section two, bulged out on the right side; 1 observed this after I had given the order to come down; the break followed almost immediately after; I don’t’ know of eny dircet reuson that caused the ladder to break, except that the $train of the three men on the top sections of the ladder was too much; L think that the ladder was brought out at the request of Mr. White, who wanted to exhibit it to some of hig friends; I Consider the ladders quite safe when prope used, otherwise I should order farther practice wit them discontinued; 1 am in no way interested im the ladder except as a fireman; after witnessing experi- ments with this kind of !addor some two years ago im City Hali square 1 recommended their adaption by the department; I was not asked by any one to recommend the ladder,’ nor did I receive anything for having lone 80. THE INSURANCE CONVENTION. The Convention of Insurance Commissioners and Superintendents was again in session yesterday at No, 156 Broadway, Mr. Chapman, of New York, presiding, and Mr, Pillsbury, of New Hampshire, secretary. The Executive Committee reported that represent, atives from Maine, Indiana and ‘Tennesseo had arrived. The following committees were announced :— Rhodes, Nye, Pillsbury, Welch. On Asseis and Investments—Messrs, Nye, Rhodes, On Rate of Mortality, Rate of Interest and Rein- surance Liability-—Messrs. Smith, Pillsbury, Forster, On Legislation—Messrs, Smith, Finch. On Miscellaneous Questions—Messrs, Rhodes, Smith, Howell, Row, Forster. lation, read the proposed insurance law, having ex- plained before doing so that he was not committed to be a full and free discussion of it, The draft of the ‘was referred to the Committee on Legislation. address the Convention should give in their names to the Executive Committee personally, and state the sub- resolution, proposed by Commissioner Row, was on the table to be taken up at a future session :-— practice of life and fire insu in astog money on the stock of other life and fire i The following resolution, also proposed by Commis: sioner Row, was laid ou the table and will again come Resolved, That the enactment of stringent building laws for the protection of our cities and larger towns is a matter ance departinents to urge upon the legislatures of their rospective States the necessity tor immediate action iu this It was announced that Mr. Shepard Holmes, of New York, will address the Convention to-day. The Executive Committee held a secret session at the Fiith Avenue Hotel last evening, The steamship Dakota, hence for Queenstown and Liverpool yesterday, took out 24,500 letters and forty- The Columbus, for Havana, carried 2,262 letters and two bags of newspapers, on schedule time, and the mail matter brought by them is delivered all over the city at the first delivery—eight The receipts for stamps sold at the’ Post Office last week amounted to $57,800, night business bas increased fourfold. A MURDEROUS BOATMAN, Cunningham's liquor store, at tho corner of Forty- eighth street and First avenue, Among them were and Timothy Mulcahy, of No. $32 First avenue, quarrel #ose between them, and the former stabbed the veyed to Bellevue Hospital, and an examination showed that one of his intestines had been severed. There are and 1s held to await the result of tho injuries he caused, AMERICAN LUMBER, On Blanks for Annual Statements—Messrs, Row- Welch, Finch, Howell, Finch, Howell. Pow, Rhodes, Nye, Mr. Smith, Chatrman of the old Committce on Legis- the act jn all its sections, but desired that there ag | bi ‘The. Chairman suggested that gentlemen intending to ject upon which they wished to 5; The follow! Resolved, As the sense of this Convention, that the ance come panies ag collateral, is erroneous and should be abandoned. up for discussion:— ‘of frst importance, and that it is the duty of the heads of insar direction, The Convention adjourned to mect to-day at noom POST OFFICE PARAGRAPHS. six bags of newspapers. The fast mail trains are reaching this city regularly A. M. each day. Since the opening of the new Post Office the general On Monday night a number of boatmen gathered im William J. Lynch, of No. East Forty-eighth stre latter in the abdomen, @ wounded man was con but slight hopes of his recovery. Lynch was arrested Mr. W. T. Price, of Wisconsin, at the Chicago Lame | bor Dealers’ Convention, gave the following statistios im regard to the ameunt of Mmber annually manufactured in the country and the number of people employed:— Michigan, 400,000,000 fect, employing 96,000 people; Wisconsin, 900,000,000 feet, employ Minnesota, 500,000,000 fect, emy yivanla, 700,000,000 feet, employing 28,000 peopl Maryland, 150,009,000 fvet, employing 6,000. peop! pl giving a Lotal of 3,650,000,b00 feet, employing 226,000 people, The workinen consumed ahnunily 226,000 bar- rels of pork, worth $4,620,000; 452 barrels of flour, worth $2,712,000, and vegetables to the value $1,000,000, making a total yalue of food consumed 8, 2s There was also paid out annually in wages ‘The value of stumpage was estimated at rT ae $84,700,000, with an aunual ide