The New York Herald Newspaper, September 22, 1875, Page 7

THE GRAND COUNCIL, Gathering of the Indians and Their Feeling Toward the Whites. ~~ ELOQUENCE OF THE NOBLE RED MAN. Plain Talk Between Northern Chiefs and the Commissioners. SPOTTED TAIL’S PRICE FOR THE BLACK HILLS. ‘Carimg for the Widows and Or- phans of His Nation. JTS SPEEDY EXTINCYION PREDICTED. Rep Caovp Invran AGency, Neb., Sept, 12, 1875. ‘The gathering of red men on the White River for the ‘Grand Council will be a more imposing and important spectacle than will probably ever be presented hereafter by the remnants of the early American race, In the ‘Tanguage of their own chiefs, the Sioux Navon has not Jong to exist. It will soon become extinct. It is now stronger than ever since tho Great Father took it absolutely under his guardianship and more capable for a brief period of perpetrating serious mischief upon ‘the whites; but this power is ephemeral and would consume itself, leaving a whole people to perish if they continued to remain in a hostile attitude. But the savago is not far seeing, and the present ‘ccasion is one on which accidental circumstances might rouse in him the unreasoning and uncontrolla- blo frenzy of murder and set the region west of tho Missour and east of tho Rocky Mountains ablaze with the terrors of a barbarous war. The Sioux chiefs, with ‘the exception of a few of the wiser and older of them, carry themselves with a good deal of arrogance and Ainsolence. They have undoubtedly a feeling of sullen dissatisfaction, not conducive to a continuation of a solid peace. Sooner or later there must bea sound drubbing administered to the Sioux, unless, through the present negotiation, they imbibe a salutary ddea of the overwhelming power of tho whites. This can bo given them through firm and authoritative conduct on the part of the Com- missioners if they so choose, If they assume such a Dearing toward the chiefs to be assembled in council they can shorten the duration of the powwow by many ays and will be able to secure a treaty Just to both the overnment and Indians. The latter are nearly as ‘weak as children in mental development, although they possess a shrewdness and a cunning which are some- times very surprising. They are extremely slow in reaching conclusions, and unless tho course which is Jef them is plainly indicated to them they will con- gume several wecks and, perhaps months in long- @rawn ont discussion. The Commissioners are em- powered and directed in their formal instructions to act for the best interests of the Sioux as well as of the government, and can, therefore, use any means to shape even the demands of the chiefs to conform with their views. This policy is the most sensible means of Feaching a settlement of the troublesome question of ‘the Black Hills as speedily as possible. If adopted, and the Commissioners inform the Indians at once of what the government will do in their favor in return for the relinquishment of their hunting grounds, the Pouncil ought to complete the busmess within ten days from the opening. ‘THE INDIAN RING'S PIE, There are, however, influences at work adverse to the success of this council, A very brilliant op- portunity is presented for the pliant fingers of the Indian ringto drdw from the public pockets a large Foll of greenbacks, It is one of those rare chances when there is no great risk of detection. The financial stupidity of the Indian has before made him an easy victim for oficial robbers. But it is not Improbable that continued lessons in the futility of Brusting the white man’s alleged good will where there Isatemptation to embezzlo may have, at this late pe- riod, educated the Indian to a degree of intelligence suf- ficient to make him more guarded and watchful. Re- gent expressions of Red Cloud, Spotted Tail and Red Dog are significant. They do not expect ever to get all Bho money that they bargain for in exchange for the Black Hills. They arenot so simple. Half of it, they say, will go into the pockets of white men. AUGMENTING THE PRICE: It would be unjustifiable to make insinuations founded on mere presumption, Therefore I shali make merely certain true statements, which may be con- sidered as significant when looked upon in the light of the past history of the “Indian Ring.” The de- sirability, to the government, of the purchase of tho Black Hills, was apparent over a year ago, It will be @istinctly remembered that, according to correspondence from the Sioux country, the Indians were at that time ‘well disposed to cede that portion of their reservation by treaty. Now there will evidently be much haggling and dispute. At that time they thought little of the Ke-Sapa. Some of the Indians belonging at the remote agencies on tho Missouri depreciate the Black Hills, fm conversation with white men, not having been imbued, as have those on the White River, with large ideas of their wealth. Striped Cloud, a Northern Sioux, possessing much influence, told me on Baturday that he did not think there was any gold in fhe Black Hills. This gives the lic to Spotted Tail’s statement that the existence of the maza si there has Deen known to the nation for a great many Years. Tho rath is that the exalted opinion of the Black Hills has een held by the Sioux only during the past year. It | has owed its origin to the great ado made by the govern- ment about the value of the country, the failure of the military to prevent a rush of adventurers to the gold | Beld and tho sending of a scientific expedition this gummer to study its resources, The heads of the Andian Ring see in the future the inevitable result of buying thoir hunting ground from the Bioux. It will be their removal to the Indian Werritory and management by officers of the army, un- der a system which will not admit of the perpetration wf fraud quite 60 easily as heretofore. The strongest ‘‘pecret influences of the Interior Deyartment were at first employed to prevent the sale of the Black Hills (by the Indiahs; but it early dawned upon Mr. Delano Bhat the occupation of the country by the whites, an rresistible influx of whom had already begun, was o Aoregone prophecy. THE POLICY OF THE “RING” fevas specdily metamorphosed. The restoration of tho Andian Bureau to the War Department might not occur uring this administration; the price of the Black ills would probably touch the palms of the wervants of the “Ring,” which, it is pretty well known by this time, have a pecu- liar itching propensity. The government know | then sufficient from the results of Custer’s expe- Aition of the value of the Black Hills to have offered the ‘ndians a price for them; the peculiar method of the “Indian Ring” was different, Mr. Jenney, an inexpe- ienced young man, fresh from school, was sent out as aghief of a scientific corps, with an escort of troops, to @horoughly oxplore the Black Hills. Beforo this step was taken afew hundred thousands could have pur- shased them. Now tho compensation which the Indians | expect for relinquishment of almost their last foothold of territory is among the millions. It is needless to point out that the expedition devised by the Interior Department has enhanced tho price of the Hills and has piled up the difficulties which mow, confront ‘the Commissioners in the way of offecting ‘a treaty. ‘THE INDIANS ADVISED, To further this object—for such it seems to be— actual advice has been given to the Indians by one of their agents not to sell their country unless they secure ‘an immense price. He has told them—and doubtless ‘with a great deal of truth—that they will be egregious fools if they surrender so beautiful a region, almost all that they possess of country, and without ‘a local Aabitation’’ pass out of existence, as they surely must, finally becoming extinct and remembered only in name, If white men would always give to red men advice so sound as this there might be less shamo in the record INEW YORK HEKALD, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER zz, 1810 QUADRUPLE SHEEr. But the motive in the present instance may not be so | transparently pure as could be hoped by humanitarians. The retention of Ke-sapa by the Sioux means a con- tinuation indefinitely of the fraudulent system of con- tracts and issues carried on at present at the agencies, and the skilful augmenting of the sum to be given to the Indian land ewners means a richer harvest for goy- ernment pilferets, ‘THE COMMISSION. ‘The Commissioners intrusted with the negotiations with the Indians are, I believe, disposed to be liberal toward them, while at the same time they will trust more to their own sense of right and justice as repre- senting both sides in the treaty, instead of to the slow moving intelligence with which they have to deal Much useless “talk-a-heap” cam be avoided, They will aim to compass that end by confining the discussion to the making of propositions to the chiefs and eligiting from them their assent or dissent, The members of the commission are United States Senator William B, Allison, of Dubuque, Iowa; Brigadier General A. H. Terry, United States Army, commander of the Military Department of Dakota; General A. G. Law- rence, of Rhode Island; Rey. 8, D, Hinman, missionary at the Santee Indian Agency, Nebraska; A. Comingo, of Independence, Mo. ; W. H. Ashby, of Beatrice, Neb. ; G. P. Beauvais, of St. Louis, Mo. and John S, Collins, of Fort Laramio, Wyoming. Mr. Collins is Secretary of the commission. General Terry has not yet arrived here, but will probably appear on Wednesday, as he hag been heard from on his way. The Commissioners were accompanied from Omaha, after their return from the agencies on the Missouri River, by Captain Nicker- son and Lieutenant J. G, Burke, aides-de-camp on the staff of the commander of the Department of tho Platte, From Fort Laramie they were escorted to this agency by Major Vroom’s cay- alry, who are now encamped at Camp Rob- insom, It was anticipated that they would be stationed as a guard near the place of council. Red Cloud, however, approached the Commissioners on the subject of their safety while among the Indians, and said that he did not wish that any soldiers should be at the council; he should feel in such a case that his good faith was doubted. He would arm his own young men ‘and would place them as a guard where they could pro- tect the Commissioners, Mr. Allison, as chairman of the commission, in response, said that the Indians should comprehend that the Commissioners came from the Great Father authorized and instructed to care for the good of the Indian as much as for that of the whito man, and that they had it just as much at heart, INDIAN EGOTISAL One of Red Dog’s speeches to the commission is so characteristic of Indian eloquence that if it were writ- ten in full it would bea literary curiosity, It was de- livered before my arrival here; and I have only been able to obtain a few sentences. Red Dog is unquestion- ably the John Cochrane of the Dakotas. He began his oration by alluding to his power as a chief; said it was he who had made tho treaty of 1868 with Tonkasila (the Great Father), and he who had placed the Sioux ou the Missouri River and on the Platte. If it were not beneath his dignity as the greatest man of his nation, he would go down to Sintigaliska (Spotted Tail) and tell him to come up here with his people to conncil, and he would come. He dare not disobey. But, because he was such avery great man, other chiefs had become jealous of him and had tried to keep him down, He had made Spotted Tail chief and had made Red Cloud chief, and if he commanded them to-morrow to give up their leader- ship, they would do it, After he had settled his nation in this country he had sent for General Smith and had taken him up to Washington with him, Now he had sent out and had brought in all ot his people from tho other agencies, because he wanted to be kind to his poor relations, He himself owned the Black Hills, ex- clusively, and all the country north of the Platte, and could sell it if he wished, but he was willing that others should have something to say about it, In conclusion, Red Dog said:— “There was a man walking upon the shores of the Missouri, and the nations trembled. That man _ was Red Dog. There was a man who was walking by the Platte, and the earth shook. He was Red Dog. And there isa man who treads the banks of the White oe: and the tribes listen and obey, and he is Red ” When Red Dog was first met by Commissioner Ash- by he was assured of the great pleasure the occasion afforded. “Ido not wonder,” he replied, ‘that you should be glad to seo so wise a man as I,” Red Dog, in reality, has not the full rank of a chief, but is a big medicine man. He holds the position of a much-talking politician, and has as little power. He is one of the three chiefs who led the Fort Phil Kearney massacre. Mr. 8. D, Hinman, in private conversations with the Indians, is instructed by the Secretary of the In- terior to interpret into English for the commission; in the more important councils, however, the Indians will be represented by an interpreter selected by them. TRIBES AND BANDS, # One of the most puzzling features of the present condition of the Sioux nation is its division into tribes, bands and families. The names given to all these are significant but so numerous, and the inter-relations of the different communities are so intricate as to be- wilder the inquiring mind, The explanation of somo ofthe names which they bear involves the history of part of the lifetime of the nation in the far distant past. Red Cloud (or, as it is in the Da- kotah, Mocpea-lutah) gives meagre outline -of the tribe of which he is a great chief. Man-Aftaid-of-his-Horses has, however, a much higher hereditary rank than he and may be considered a prince of the nation. The story is ina very few words. In the old, old time two brothers who were chiefs, holding joint authority in-the same tribe, quarrelled on the banks of the Missouri River. One threw dirt at the other, who called him tauntingly “Dirt Thrower” and told him to take his followers and depart. “Dirt Thrower’? or Ogallala has been the name of each mem- ber of the tribe ever since. Formerly there were bands known as the Sioux of the Leaf, the Sioux of the Broad Leaf and the Sioux who Shoot in the Pine Tops. ‘They have, however, blended with larger communities, and the names now are obsolete, The Santee are tho Leaf Indians; the Mlnnecoujoux Sioux aro those of the Rippling Water; the Brulé, of tho Burnt Thigh; the Powboxas, of the Cut Head; the Sans Arcs have no bows; tho Ohenopas, of the Two Kettles; the Kiocsi, cut off (from their tribe). There are minor bands, whose names have all some ref- erence to the initial facts of their history. The Aricka- rees, as is well known—now a tribe by themselves, although Just on the verge of extinction—wero an off. shoot from the original Pawnees, when that once pow- ertul vation met its severe reverses, A PRELIMINARY COUNCIL, Major Burke, agent at Standing Rock, Dakota, brings here 2,000 Indians of the Upper and Lower Yanck- | tonais and Uncpapas or Blackfeet tribes of Sioux. Tho principal chiefs accompanying him are @wo Bear, Iron Horn, Bull’s Ghost, Mad Bear, Running Antelope, Grass and Slave. He says that before starting they felt. very favorably in regard to the proposed salo of the Black Hills. Major Burke met with serious difficulties when he took charge of his agency, owing to the administration of the previous incumbent, but has his people apparently under better control than other Indian delegates that I have seen. Major Bingham, of the Cheyenne River Agency, is accompanied by 3,000 chiefs, head warriors and braves, The principal personages among them are Lone Horn of the North, Swan and Duck, of the Minne- coujoux; Man Dan and+Rattling Rid, of the Ohenopas, and Burnt Fdoe and Crow Feather, of the Sans Arcs. On Friday quite an imposing council occurred in the open air inside the stockade which encloses the offices of the agency and tho storehouse, The Commission- ers wero seated in the shade of a wall, side by side, and your correspondent, perched upon a rough board laid upon some barrels, immediately behind thom. Soveral ladies now here formed a bright group of figures on one side, Major Bourke, at the head of his charges, marched them in and presented them to the Commissioners with an air of mili- tary discipline. Tho Minneeoujoux, Oben- opas and Sans Arcs followed, lod by Mr. Bingham. The chiefs numbered about ferty, resenting those who had not come and whom they had left in camp on Bordeaux Creek. They all sat them- selves upon the ground, forming a quadrant, and, with great deliberation and dignity, began smoking their pipes. Grass was presented to the Cammissigners and shook hands. He wore a fur turban, the hair dyed yellow, a feather streaming behind, red leggings and a blue mantle, ‘THE PLACE OF THR COUNCT, Commrastoner—We are glad to seo you, oF shels intercougse dusing the last two hundred ypars, | Bod Hage, a Chgyeane wilh » ideons gonptannucg, | in the quadrant had their faces variously embellished, Many were striped, others were laid out in blocks of different colors, like the townships on a county map; while still others had painted claws and feathers on ther checks. All of them were armed with tomahawks and rifle, their belts full of cartridges, and supporting pistols and sheath knives, tobacco pouch and whetstone. @ne or two of the chiefs shielded themselves from the sun by carrying parti-colored um- brellas over their heads, A chief, who adorned bis chin with dark green paint, wore proudly a cavalry ‘that, with letters and figures on its front indicating the regiment and company to Which the original wearer had belonged, ‘The Commissionen—Have you anything to say? Loyz Horn oy rug Norru (who wore around his head a brilliant bandanna handkerchief)—Good. In my camp there are seven different bands. They are not all here, 1 come now only to see my friends and to shake hands with all of thein—the Cheyennes, Arapahoes and Ogallalas, I want to go to visit them, and I expect to get presents from them all, I am afterwards going back to Spotted Tail Agency to draw rations and to stay two or three days, Crow Feather (who is distinguished by a red diagonal stripe across his face) followed Lone Horn in an earnest speech. He is rather an unpleasant looking Indian. He said that word had been sent around to all the In- dians to go to one place to meet there for the Great Council. That place was Shadron Creek, He did not think that any Indians would go to another place, The Comaussioner—We propose to setect the place for the council, and we wish the Indians to come to that place. Crow Featrner—The Indians have all decided to meet at Shadron Creek, and have sent for one another to tome there. (From all the Indians, ‘‘Ugh!”) When the Sioux went to the Great Father they did not stop halfway and then send for him to come to them, They went clear to his place, and you Commissioners ought do the same toward us, Crow Feather observed a smile on the faces of some of the Commissioners at the shrewdness of his last re- mark, and closed his discourse abruptly by saying, “I did not come here for fun, but todo my duty.” He then strode off and seated himself with dignity. Senator Allison, after a brief consultation among the Commissioners, then said to the interpreter, Louis Ri rds “Pell them that we have come a long way to their country. We are their friends, (Ugh!) It is incon- venient for us to go as far as Shadron Creek to hold the council, We will go ont as far as will be convenient from this point. Wo propose to have the council on Little White Clay Creck, near Crow Buttes, That place will be just as convenient for them as Shadron Creek, and more so for us who have come a great distance. We are their friends, sent by the Great Father and sent for their good, which wo desire. Shadron Creek is too far away ; we cannot go there,” Drag Stone, an old chief with a gray beard, rose and came forward, After becoming satisfied on a question which had been disturbing his mind regarding rations he said that he would like the Commissioners to send for Spotted Tailand Red Cloud, and let them decide upon the place where they wanted the council to be held, Many of his young men were afraid to go to the Crow Buttes to talk, as they made bad luck in case of war, A LIVELY CONVERSATION. Mr. Hinman replied through the interpreter. The Commissioners had gone to the Missouri River, by direction of the President, to invite the Indians there to tho council They had told thom that the council should be held at or near the Red Cloud Agency. The Indians started to come, and now, before they have ar- rived here, they are trying to change the place of the council, The Commissioners had selected it and the President had approved of it. Their colleagues had joined them and were unwilling to make a change. The place of the council was fixed and could not be changed. The President had not told the Indians to fix the place of the council, but had told them. If these Indians would come to the council at all they must come to the place appointed and bring their famihes, and when they come here they will be fed, Tho Commissioners did not propose to go to the Crow Buttes, but near them, He did not think that all the soldiors present were afraid of the Crow Buttes, (Smiles among the In- dians). . Little Black Foot, perspiring visibly through the thick pigment on his face, was next to speak, A lively conversation ensued, in which Little Black Foot re- ceived “the lie direct” from his brother of the black cloth, Mr, Hinman. Littim BLack Foor—You went to the Missouri River and told us of the Council, and you said it would be at acreek between the Red Cloud and Spotted Tail agencies. Mr, Hixwan (to Richards)—Tell him that we never said any such thing. Lirriz Brack Foor (apparently somewhat con- fused)—The Sioux told us so (Ugh!) and stuck a stick in the ground to show us where to come. tinue to fight the whites, He has about 120 lodges in the winter, but more in the spring. Many of his fam- ihes move to the agencies to receive their subsistence during the cold months and return to his band as soon | as the snow is gone and the grass springs up to afford their ponies forage, He says that he will get a great many men from the Ogallala Sioux and the Arapahoes this fall and will make war along the Missouri River. This he will do when the leaves fall. Crazy Horse was less communicative to the Standing Bear. He would not talk about the proposed treaty, but said that whatever Black Twin did in council with the whites would be right and he should approve it, He now has only five lodges, but in the spring his camp numbers sixty, He is preparing to make a series of raids along the North Platte River this fall, expecting aid from the Southern Cheyennes, The Northern— known also as the wild—Indians, under these two chiefs, with the recruits which they can gain from the Cheyennes and Arapahoes, can in the summer com- mand 200 lodges. If they commit the depredations which they propose this winter, they are likely next summer, with a larger array of warriors, to seriously employ the attention of the troops stationed on the frontier, SPOTTED TAIL’S PRICE. Ahalf-broed, who came from the Fort Thompson Agency with White Ghost, has been entertained as a Guest by Spotted Tail, at bis lodge, for some days. Ho Says that Spotted Tail has given expression to some of his ideas about the sale of the Black Hills in private councils with his sub-chiefs. Spotted Tail has said that he cannot ask less than $6,000,000, and intimates that that would be an exceedingly small price for the coun- try. In his own phrase, it would, in his opinion, be “like taking three cents out of a dollar and puffing it in the wind.” Ho does not expect to get more than half of what the government will agree to pay to his people after the white man has once touched it, The agents will steal much of it, and one agent will initiate another who does not understand stealing into the mysteries of thatart. He said that | tho agents now sell rations to the half-brecds and squaw men, which ought to be issued to them, and ap- propriate the proceeds, Spotted Tail further said:—"I have been reared in this country, and the half-breeds aro ‘my kin, They have been deserted by their white fathers, wno came among and married their mothers. I feel for them. Thoy aro helpless, I would care for them—the widows and the orphans Their tears burn into my heart, and their hunger is a great distress to Suitigaliska, I want to give to the orphans half of the Black Hills, and the rest I will sell to the Great Father. It will be a home for them for a long time when I am gone, and, maybe, when the Sioux as @ race are ex- tinct.” Spotted Tail said that ho would like to recotve for each of the old people of the nation an annuity of $100; and for the young men $25—like the Pottawatamies, He wanted to get these annuities for the Sioux until they should be extinct, which, he remarked, would not now be long, He did not believe in fignting any more. After they were gone the half-breeds, as their heirs, would enjoy the fund, Spotted Tail, in naming the above terms, evidently intends to ask $6,000,000 as a first payment to the Sioux, and subsequently the annuities mentioned, until his nation shall pass away. This price is many times as large as that which he would have demanded ono» year ago, Too much significance should not be ascribed, however, to preliminary expressions of the Indians. Not until the eouncil has actually opened can the senti- mont of the majority be surmised. When that will oc- cur no mortal can yet say; but it is probable that it will be before the close of this week. Red Cloud is very triendly and courteous, but refrains from giving an ink- ling of his position on the question of the treaty. A council of his tribe is being held to-night, of which I shall learn the incidents to-morrow. Spider, who is a brother of Red Cloud, absolutely refuses to indorse a sale of the Black Hills, PREPARATIONS FOR THE GREAT TALK-+-OPINIONS OF THE COMMISSION ON THE VALUE OF THE HILLS AND THE METHOD OF PAYMENT—A DE- MAND ON A HERALD CORRESPONDENT. Rep Croup Agency, Sept. 19, 1875, via Fort Laramig, Wy., Sept. 21, 1875. Blue Horse, of the Bad Faces, camo to-day to tell the Commission that Crazy Horse, was on his way to the council, but it is hardly believed, The Kiocies held a council alllast night, and there was much discord. Itis feared that the agreement of yesterday will fall through, I visited Red Cloud’s and Man-Afraid-of-His- Horses? vil- lage to-day. There has been a big teast, and a council painted a deep crimson, shook hands, The Indians | have traders sent to him, He says that ho’ shall con- | answer for all purposes, you took it trom us 1m the Fare and hid it; you flatter yourselves that you have so changed it’by changing our motto Liberty to the badge of slavery (Aution Sale) that we do not recognize it as it floats from your doors and windows, but we have not forgotten our flag you may keep it and use it at present on conditions that if we need it to lend to our brothers from the country as they Tramp Tramp Pramp through Our streets this winter they may have it on call, we do this for who knows you yet may be thé Tete de Armie Yours A A CARSEY, 58 rd ave N. Y. THE AMERICAN DRAMA, MR, FLORENCE COMPARES AMERICAN PLAYS WITH ENGLISH COMEDIES, To THe Eprror ov Tae New York Herarp:. Will you allow me to say a few words regarding the hearty good feeling manifested by the dramatic critics of several of our prominent dailies for the well being of the drama? I have been deeply moved by the earnest interest they have suddenly taken in it, and stirred to admiration by the sensitive indignation they havo ex- pressed toward aught that savors of vulgarity. It is true that “The Mighty Dollar”? is the first piece upon which they have agreed to agree in showering their elo- quent contempt, and that Iam consequent!y compelled to admire them at my own expense. But I am mag- nanimous, and can enjoy ajoke, even when it tells against myself, This, however, is scarcely to the purpose of. this communication, I simply wish to resent the slur of vulgarity which these few delicately nerved censors have cast upon the play. Ihave waited thus long be- cause I wished to discover the sentiment of the public on this subject. I have found it to be quite at variance with the decision of the gentlemen to whom I specially refer, This, however, is by no means astonishing. I know ofno rule of dramatic art which forbids a dram- atist satirizing vulgar people. His play is not essen- init, If we judge the majority of comedies by this newly set up vulgar standard but few of them will escape the whip. I venture to add that in at least one instance a censorious critic of this play put more vul- garity into his briet critique than ean be found by the most careful search in the whole four acts of Mr. Woolf's piece. Try “London Assurance” by this ‘vulgar? gauge. Every character in the piece, except Grace, is Vulgar, and she is a bit of silly sentimentality, 1t was objected to “The Mighty Dollar’? that Roland Vance makes love to his former affianced while married to an- other. He, however, struggles against his passion and triumphs over himself. Sir Harcourt Courtly, on the contrary, attempts to betray another man’s wife under a friend’s roof, and even goes to the extent of sending notices to the papers in the fear that his anticipated dis- graceful elopement with her may not be made known } soon enough otherwise, 1 ‘have never heard any of the censors, who are so savage upon “The Mighty Dollar,” grow excited over _ this bit of vulgarity, Dazzie 15 a vuigar swindler, Mark Meddle is a vulgar pettifogger. Charles Courtley is,a vulgar, lying dun-dodging blackguard, Cool is a vulgar a MAYDEN SURVEY. Giant aici CAUSES OF THE RECENT ATTACK ON GARDNED AND GANNET'S DIVISIONS—BAD FAITH OF THEN WASHINGTON AUTHORITIES AND THE REVENGE OF THE UTES—HOW TO AVOID AN INDIAN Wan. inxs Iv Caup ov tHe La Prata Rrver, Paxrorr Crry, Sept. 6, 1875. Much excitement has probably been raised ere this by the recent outrage perpetrated upon, the two divisions of the United States Geological Survey by a band of renegade Utes, Pah-Ute, Navajo and Apache Indians near the Sierra la Sal, in Utah, Great indignation hag been felt and exhibited at the manner in which theso’ parties were attacked, plundered and driven out of the country, with only sufficient provisions to last them until they reached a point of safety, But could the whole truth and all its facts be known it would occasiom no surprise that such a thing had occurred. This state of affairs has been brought about by the dilatory actiom of the government in regard to the fulfilment of its con~ tracts with these Indians, or its failure, or that of its employés, to meet the requirements of its treaty with them. These Indian8 claim that they were promised by the treaty annuities amounting to $30,000 per an- bum, and that out of $60,000 previously owed them they have received but $25,000, For more than a year they have been trying in a peaceable manner to obtain their rights, but, not succeeding, and being unable to obtain any satisfaction, they have become dissatisfied and suspicious, It cannot be supposed that an unedu- cated savage will understand the delay of a prompt ful- filment of prom‘ses mado then, and when they sell their tially vulgar because the follies of the vulgar ure lashed | land to “Washington Americats” and receive nothing for it the blame is likely to fall upon the heads of inno- cent parties. Thus, when they meet a party of men on their reservation, and, upon inquiry, are told that they” are Washington men, these Indians reason:— “You are Washington Americats; therefore you ar€ the men who bought our land; now, pay us what you owe us.’? The two divisions of the survey in charge of Mri Gardner and Mr. Gannet, running across a band on these dissatisfied Indians, were commanded to settle the debt, and because they were unable to do so, fell a prey to the wrath of the band and escaped miraculously with barely their lives, Itis not the intention here ta uphold the conduct of these Indians or to shield them from the punishment they deserve, but justice, at least, is due them. In not recognizing their rights the gov- ernment withdraws its protection from all whites, even those whom it sends into the country, and irritates the pander. Lady Gay is an example of a vulgar woman, who delights in making her husband ridiculous before everybody, and ean sink to aid a scamp in deceiving his father, by drawing the susceptible old fool into a supposed Intrigue with her. And yet we do not bear in this caso of any abnormal sensitiveness to libelling society by presenting only vulgar people as its repre- sentatives. Tho screen scene, in “fhe School for Scandal,” is scandalously vulgar. Lady Teazlo and the whole scandal coterie aro vulgar people. Charles is a vulgar spendthritt, Joseph is a vulgar hypocrite. Sir Oliver Surface is-a vulgar, good-natured nabob. Yet, it was never objected that the piece was a libel on English society because it ridiculed the vulgar, “Money? deals almost exclusively with vulgar people, It may be said that if a dramatist will give us such pieces as these the vulgarity will be tolerated, But that is not the ques- tion, which is, on the contrary, whether a dramatist shall be stabbed to death by critical pens because he presumes to take upon himself the office of satirist, and to lash the patent follies of the vulgar. ¢ should, and I am happy to Ww. aay ORI I, for one, do say that tho NCE, not think public think with me. OPINIONS OF A NEGLECTED GENTUS, New York, Sept. 16, 1875. To tue Eprror or Tue Heraup:— Tread with extreme pleasure the graceful and ad- mirable letter in Monday’s Heratp in reference to the native drama, The purport of that letter appears to me to suggest to the dramatic critics of the daily press that they should deal more leniontly with the efforts of native dramatists, on the ground that high excellenco ought not to be expected in the present infantile condi- tion of the native drama, and because severe criticisms would tend to discourage aspiring dramatists from en- feeling of animosity which exists between the two races, To show how peaceful these Indians are dis posed to be toward all those who are not concerned in defrauding them, we may take as an illustration thé photographic party of the survey, in charge of Mr. W. H, Jackson, which has just returned to the La Plata, IN THE CAM? OF TILE HOSTILE INDIANS. Scarcely a week after the fight we approached the Sierra Abajo, from tho ruins in Arizona, and encamped fn those mountains for three days, A side trip wat made of two days north to the foot of the Sierra la Sal, and the very ground was passed on which the other parties had been attacked, Descending into the Montex zuma canyon we drove unconsciously into the very carnp of these identical Indians, numbering about 100 men, women and children, The first sight they ob- ‘tained of us on our approach brought them armed and mounted toward us, At first we were startled by thé sight of twenty savages galloping toward us, whooping, yelling and with drawn guns; but, not suspecting any harm, we rather enjoyed the sight’ Being asked from whence wo came we replied, ‘California,’ and were immediately taken into their camp and to the wick-e-up of Po-co-nar-a-guint, the captain of the band, where we were treated hospitably and well. Here were three men, hundreds of miles from any settlement, surrounded by a band of ronegade Indians in their own wilds, who had only a few days previously raised their hands against the representatives of the United States government, In the camp at this very time were secreted all the riching the stage with their productions. With your permission, I should like to state my conviction that the discouragement struggling native authors are likely to receive arises from a totally different sourco—con- sists, in fact, in the cold apathy and cruel noglect with which they are treated by the managers of theatres. There are dozens of young men possessing suflicient talent and brains to furnish theatres with good uative plays, but they are deterred from doing so for tho reason above stated, It is next to impossible for “a man with a manuscript” to gain was in session, To-day the commission divided on the main question of the value of the hills. The minority wish to pay the Indians annually for a stated time only the amount of the present yearly appropriations for the Sioux. The majority would be more generous. Allison; Hinman, Beavais and Terry are in the majority. The valley is WUITENED BY LODGES, Red Cloud on Thursday came to pay a visit to your Mr, Hinman—You are not to come where the Sioux stick a stick, but you are to come where we stick a stick. Lirtie Brack Foor—At the place which the Com- missioners have picked out it is as bare as this ground. There is no grass, Mr. Hixman—We have not yet picked out any place, Little Black Foot then said that there was a good place on Ash Creek, where he would like to encamp, and he was told to do so and come part of the way from there to meet the Commissioners in council, Burnt Face, second chief of the No Bows, said he was a good man, and then shook hands, Tho conclave then was broken up. Walking Shooter, a chief of the Unca- papas, shook hands. He wears a white label on his hat with his name printed in English thereon, His appear- } ance is emineatly respectable. DELAY OF THE CoUNCTL, The delay of the Council is altogether due to the im- pression, produced in some mysterious way among the Indians on the Missouri River and the Brules, that¥| they wero to mect on Shadron Creck. The Commission deny any responsibility for the error, but it seems to have arisen from their asking Spotted Tail where the Indians would like to hold the Council. Spotted Tail considered himself em- powered to select the place and sent word to the other tribes and bands, When he found that the Commis- sioners were going to choose a different locality he ob- Jected to going there, Major Howard returned from his agency on Saturday evening and roported that Spotted ‘Tail had consented to come to the place appointed. CAPTIVE AMONG TID INDIANS. A native of the Sandwich Islands came to this agency last winter from a northern band of Indians, carrying upon his lips a considerable story of his life and adven- tures. He had been living as a Sioux for six years under the chieftainship of Sitting Bull of the North, who is the terror of the ranchmen and herders north of the Platto River, Frank Gruard is the namo given him dy his mother, Louisa, who was a domestic in the honsehold of Franklin Gruard, an Englishman, and a missionary of the Protestant Episcopal Church, residing at Tehyta, Frank was born there, as-well as a brothor and a sister, He has the Mongol type of countenance, and dull, rather sleepy expression, The mother, Louisa, left her native land and came to California, bringing Frank with her, when he was still atan infantile age, From youth to manhood he experienced severe knocks with- out number. His last employment ina semi-civiliaed | sphere was that of letter carrier between Helena, in Montana, and the mouth of the Musselshell Creek. He | was chased here by Sitting Bull and his band, captured and robbed, and was doomed to death, in its most horrible form, when tho old | chief interceded for his life. He became as one of the band, but never reached the dig- nity of a warrior, Tho Indians named him “The Standing Bear,” but during four years they did not allow him to possess a horse or any arms. Inthat time he learned the Dakota tongue, Gruard was a young man, and shértly became enamored of a comoly Sioux maiden and was married. He departed from Sitting Bull’s camp last winter, and brought her with him to the White River country. THE WILD CHIEPS ON THE BLACK MILrs. Gruard acoompanied Louis Richards and Man Afraid of his Horses to the Rosebud Creek this summer to aid in securiug the attendance of representatives of the wild bands at the Council. He there talked over the pro- posed cession of the Black Hills to the government with the principal chief, Sitting Bull of the North. He has re- counted to me the knowledge which ho gained by his’ visit, Tho gist of it I have already sent you by tele- graph, There is little to bo"Rdded to that, A WAR CLOUD. Sitting Bull declares that ho will nevercome in to @ rear with tho whites, Ho merely dgairop t9 | country and Europe, and the number of Tramps in the correspondent, and with much dignity demanded com” pensation from him for his invasion of the Black Hills and sojourn there during the summer, He granted ‘time for deliberation to the correspondent. An attempt was made on Saturday to issue poor tobacco to the Missouri River Indians, but they would not accept it, The commission will take samples Kast as evidence of fraud. LEGAL TENDER MOTTOES. New York, Sept. 13, 1875, Hon. Trropore Tomutnson:— Dear Sin—You request me to furnish your Legal Tender Club with mottoes that would be used at the meeting to be held at Cooper Institute, and desire ones that would be effectual appeals to all classes of so- ciety. Tis true that you or your class do not deserve aid or advice from the working class, for when the money monopolists commenced this contraction of the currency, and the workingmen, the first to feel the pres- sure from want of employment and lack of reserve capi- tal to exist in idleness, rebelled against it and tried by means of strikes for shorter hours and living wages, to retain the status and advantages war had given them, your class, the so-called men of brains, united with the monopolists to crush us. You have done so; but you did not realize your dependance upon us, you couki not’ seo that you lived by speculating upon our labor, we wero your slaves who produced for your benefit the milk cows who gave you milk, that five non-prodacers lived upon one worker, and the idleness of one million workers meant the idleness and bankruptcy of all the speculators who lived by supplying them with their own products. But our class, like woman, has grown magnanimous by ages of use to oppression; we know, also, that the interests of all men aro mutual and inter- changeable, and that we must all rise or fall together, and we will strive to forget if not forgive. I will comply with your request to the best of my ability and submit for your approval the following mot- toes, with my reasons for their selection, Ido not think it necessary to furnish mottoes for the working classes ; the bitter experience of the last five years bas taught them the need of more money, more food, moro clothing, employmeat and all the other accompani- ments of an abundant currency; if you think it neces- sary I would suggest a tabulated statement of the num- ber of idle men and women in the different cities of this country begging for work or bread and a list of the rates of wages paid to those in employment; it more is needed a list of the number of Milis & Manufactories stopping work and reducing wagos may cause somo anxiety for the future, and a copy of Fitz John Porter's $1.60 per day order would not be out of place in this community. For the middlemen we have a variety to select from, you all have afew that you can sparo for that occasion. To Let is a good motto and admits of a variety of ay Is to all kinds and all tastes; This Store is good, This Mill, This House, This Office, This Shop, aro all taking if not taken; and then there is this better ono to fall back on, as the owners do—For Sale; it will rat. isfy all tastes as the sellers offer to do, and from a few real eatate offices you can obtain enough to cover all the walls, Another class of Traders may bo appealed to by anothor kind of motto, Selling off at cost is good, Below cost is better and Al a sacrifice is best. Others may be reached by a notice or two of a consolidation of two or more monopolies, the Western Union and At- lantic Pacific, for example, and the number of agents or middlemen wipod out in the process. It might ap- to the fears of the middlemen as the notice of the invention of the new labor saving machine raises dread in tho minds of thoso now secking employment, I do not know if you desire mottoes for the bondholders or money lenders, but send a few in case you need them, A list of tho States and cities that have been compelled to repudiate their bonds might awaken thought if, not fear, and a tablo showing the inability of the People to pay their pound of flesh would awaken both, The Shylocks might like one liko bate) money to loan for 2 per cent at call for we aare not Jend on any security except from day to day. Then you have the notice of the failure of Duncan Sherman & Co, Bank of California, wreck Ahrens & Co Btc—tho list is innumerable and you will have a great variety to_se- lect from if you have patience till we got down to Bed Lak ROL leash Xow hare sagan Tenth avenue,.......++ +» Of . 804 43 oT Maintenance of aqueduct and reservoirs........s.6 IL a 5 - Finishing work around stor- GO FOLOTVOIT.....c..0505 a pe In pipo yard, foot of Kast 4, Twenty-fourth street...., 2 16 - 1 Construction of road: ty avenues. 86 1,684 186 1 Laying and pipes... + 1% % nis 156 Repairing pavementa, - 0 6 pont 24 Maintenance and sprinkling Toads and avenues....... — 10 6 2 Totals. ..+....ssseeeeese 169 2,209 a2 24 Increase over previous week 7 _ -~ - PO MOM DICVIONS Woks om 103 6 aa “the ear of the manager” unless he happens to possess influence. ‘The only native plays produced of late have been “The Gilded Ago” und “The Mighty Dollar,” One was written by an eminent humorist; the other by a journalist. Both individuals did possess influence. ‘If either of theso gentlemen had previously been obseure and unknown what would have been his fate? I know exactly, If he had sent his manuscript to one of the theatres, addressed to tho manager, the manuscript, on reaching ts destination, would be placett on one of the shelves of the managerial sanctum, and there remain, unread and despised, and the un- fortunate author would never hear any more of it; or he might endeavor to obtain an interview with a man ager, which he would find more difficult than to be granted one by President Grant He would go with hesitating steps to the stage entrance, and on encoun- tering the stony Cerberus who gi is the portals of that mysterious entry he would be informed, to his great surprise, that the m: r Was not in the theatre, that he seldom was there, and that nobody knew when he would be there, he could get. And the poor neglected author would struggle homeward, with an aching heart, mentally cursing his fate and inwardly resolving to lay down and die rather than nourish the ambition of becoming a dramatist, This is no highly colored picture, I speak from unhappy experience. "If managers aro really sin- cere in their desire to revive the native drama let them show that consideration to native authors which shall prevent struggling talent from being discouraged and “nipped in the bud.” Let them be “just, if they cannot be generous,” and hold outa holping hand to neglected geniuses, Ifthey do that there will assuredly be no dearth of native dramatists, While managers pursue their present lamentable policy 1s it to be wondered at that the native drama is of such insignificant proportions? Is it at all surpris- ing that the native drama is strangled at its birth? Your insertion of vhis letter will greatly oblige, yours respectfully, ‘A NEGLECTED GENIUS, CITY DEPARTMENTS. DEPARTMENT OF BUILDINGS. The following are the principal ports of the wookly report just submitted by Superintendent of Buildings ‘Adams:— NEW BUILDINGS, Number of irae and specifications filed, &c., 18; number of buildings embraced in same, 33 (classified ag follows) :—First class dwellings, 16; second class dwell- ing, 1; French flats, 4; tenement houses, 7; tirst class store, 1; manufactory and workshop, 1; stable, 1; framé buildings (in upper districts), 2—total, 83. Plans passed upon, including those previously filed, 2L Aj proved, 13; amended and approved, 2; disapproved, 1; ALTERED BUILDINGS. Number of plans and specifications filed, 12; number of buildings embraced in same, 12 (classified as fol lows) :—First class dwelling, 1; second class dwelling, 1; French flat, 1; tenement houses, 3; hotel und boarding house, 1; manufactories and workshops, 3; frame buildings, 2 --total, 12. COMMISSIONERS OF CHARITIES AND CORRECTION. ‘The following deaths in tho institutions under their charge are announced by the Commissioners of Chari, ties and Correction:—At Lunatic Asylum, Blackwell's Island—Sarah Sheridan, transferred from Alms House, June 17, 1868; Eliza Mack, aged seventy years, trans- ferred from City Prison, July 23, 1876; Sophia Mare sam, aged thirty years, transterred from Charity Hospital, Angust 14, 1875. At Workhouse, Blackwell's Island—Mary Dwyer, | committed August 8 for vagrancy; James Anderson, committed September 2 for.vagrancy; Albert Rau, | agod thirty-six years, committed tor vagrancy. At Penitentiary, ‘Blackweil’s Island—Edward De- graw, aged eighteen years, committed October 28, 1874. Nothing is known of thé friends oF relatives of these | parties, DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS, The following table gives the number of mechanics and laborers employed in the Department of Public Works during the past week and tho character of their employment, Matters are considered very dull at present around this department:— Mechan- Labor. Nature of Work. ics, = ers, Teams. Carts. Alterations of aqueduct on ‘This would bo all the satisfaction 4 | trance into the’ house, pao wa Wo captured cargo of the other parties, although we sus pected nothing, for they conveyed us ina circuitous way up to the captain's lodge. Had we told them thal we had come from Washington things most probably would have terminated in a more serious manner, Upon the arrival of the plundered parties at the La Plata River two men, well acquainted with the country and known to the Indians, were despatched in search of us, as it was feared that some @anger might have befallen us, especially as wa were to pass through this same section in the vicinity of the Sierra Abajo and Sierra la Sal. Trailing us down into Arizona and back as far as the first mentioned of these mountains in Utah, the men fell short of pro-~ visions and were compelled to return to the La Plata with no satisfactory news of us. They had been out fifteen days, and could have been but a day or two behind us when they gave up the hunt, and at the very time when we unconsciously camped within a distance of three or four miles of the Indians, who had pre. ceded us down the canyon of the Montezuma two days at the furthest, as we could see by their trail, on their return from the battle. This incident will show THR PEACEFUL DISPOSITION of the Utes generally, taking this most dangerous band as anexample. Much surprise was manifested on both sides on our return, All were astonished to see us come in safely, and we were equally surprised to hear of tho events of the past two weeks We arrived just in time to stop another party which was to start out for us the uext morn- ing, and as the three parties of the survey sat around the camp fires that night, on the banks of the La Plata, the time was passed in recounting the events of the battle, with much merriment at the expense of some of the participants. ‘This is but the prelude to an Indian war, unless things are tnore satisfuctorily arranged. This seems inevitae ble from the general feeling of the whole tribe, and to fight 4,000 Utes in their own country, whero water only occurs at long intervais, hidden in some unlikely spot only known to. them, woukl cause much suffering and inconvenience. There should be at least an immediate inspection of affairs here, and whatever is wrong should be righted as speedily as possible, PROWLERS IN WILLIAMSBURG The cold snap has had the offect of driving the tramps who during the summer have been operating on Long Island into the cities, and Hunter's Point, Greenpoint and Williamsburg are overran with them. Housekeep- ers are continually answering the bell calls of these fel lows, who appear in all characters—sometimes as beg+ gars, othor times as chimney sweops, and again ag distributers of circulars, On Saturday evening one of these fellows called about nine o'clock at No, 93 Fifth stfeet, Williamsburg, rang the bell, and presented (o the lady of the house a written circular detailing his vicissitudes and wounds as a drummer boy in the late war, and asking for orders for visiting cards, or if no cards were wanted, requesting charity. He was sent | away by a gentleman who happened to be in the house, On Monday some of the residents of Fifth street ob. served a well dressed fellow mount the steps of the residence of Mr. Jones, No, 95 Fifth strect, and ring | the bell repeatedly. The house was vacant, the famil; being at their summer residence in Morristown, N. When he had discoveret the absence of the family he descended to the area way, and, hidden by the stoop from observation, began operations to force an en- His movements naturally raised suspicions in the minds of the ladies who noticed them, and one, more brave than the rest, left her houso, and, proceeding to the area way, orderel him out. He represented that he had called to seo Mr. or Mra, Jones, and would cail again in the evening. After hig departure an examination of tho premises showed that in the fow minutes he was hidden under the stoop he had removed « pane of glass at the side, and had at- tempted to push back the bolte and lock of the door.* In expectation of the return of the prowler in the even- ing pistols were provided by many of the gentlemen re- siding on the block bounded by Fourth and Sixth and South Fourth and South Fifth streets; but ho did not return. —$—$—$<——— THE BLOODY DISPUTE AT BAYONNE. John Murray, who wns.fatally stabbed at Bayonne, N. J., was still living yesterday tn 8t, Francis’ Hospital at Jersey City, and the physicians say that ho exhibited & vitality almost without precedent, Modical assistance ‘was no longer of any avail, and ho was fast sinking Into death, The bdlado of the knife had penotrated the ribs and entered the region of tho heart, His sister sat by his bedside, When Connolly was in- formed that Murray wag alive ho breathed freely and said he hoped he would recover. Connolly refuses to admit or deny that he had the knifo. In his first state. ment he admitted that he had the knife and used it in self-defence, while in his second statement he denied that he carried the knife at all, He has been always regarded by his fellow laborers as a very treacherous man, and they shunned him in consequence, The aying man was confident that he had in him a bosom fri till he received the fatal thrust, Graad Jury wilh