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Show I REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. XV 1 had duplicated his crime by murdering the United States deputy mar-shal who liad him in charge. Still another and more recent case is that of Spotted Tail, junior, and Thunder Hawk, who killed White Thnnder (all of them Sioux Indians), the Rosebud Agency on the Sioux reservation. Under the decision in the Orow Dog case, tKis office bad no alternative but to reluctantly order the prisoners, who, in the first instance, had been placed in the custody of the military, back to the reservation. In regard to this af-fair the agent reports as follows : The qnietnde and monotony of affairs at the sgency was broken on the evening of May 29, by the killing of Chief White Thnnder by Spotted Tail (son of the late Chief Snotted Tail) and so Indian named Thunder Hawk. Mvinformation, obtained principally from Spotted Tail afterthe fracas, is that White Thunder, feelingaggrieved, went to Spotted Tail's camp, and took therefrom seven horses end other propelty ; I . . Spotted ail going to his cany and seeing some of his horses dead on theroad, he, with two others, Thunder Hawk and Long Pumpkin, went to and commenced firing into tho oamp of White Thunder's friends, during whioh Whit.? Thunder received two rifle shots, aue from Spotted Tail in the leg and another from Thunder Hawk in the breast, from which he soon died. Long Pumpkin was thought to he mortally wounded; he has ~uagressed till the present time with prospects of final recovery. The fathe7 of White Thunder vas also less seriously wounded, but on account of extreme may not recover. Six horses were killed in the affray. The next morn-ing Spatted Tail and Thunder Hawk suswercd my 8ummOn8 end appassed before me for exmninration. I sent them to Fort Niobrara. They have been kept prisoners at the fort since that time. If there is no law to punish or detain offenders of auch character in dnranoe, they should not he returned to the place of their crimes, where the friends snd SelDutives of tho murdered reside, and who stand reedy, whenever afflicted with "bad hearts" or are "mourning," to avenge the offense, endangering the lives of many, and good gov-ernment of all. I look upon this trouble as an outgrowthof thereturn tothie aganay of "Crow Dog" (the murderer of Chief Spotted Tail, August, 1831), imprisoned, tried, convicted, and condemned for this crime; afterwards on the decision of the United States Supreme Court, "that the oourt had no jurisdiotion aver Indian offenders against Indians," he was released and returned here, feeling of mare importance than the highest ohief of the nation. His preeenoe from the time of his return ha.8 been the cause of jealousy and heartburning; it has at different times appeared a8 though trouble would result from thisonnse. "White Thunder" had become one of the pro-gressive men among the Indiana; had recently induced a, number of his band to leave the vicinity of the agency to form a new camp where good fsms could be msde, end by his example induced them to go to work. His death will be a, loss to his people, a3 also to the whites, to whom he was s good friend; his infioenoe was on the side of good government, law and order. Other illstances may be cited, but enough have been given to show the necessity for an amendment of the law in this particular. The aver-age Indian may not be ready for the more complex questions of civil law, but be is sufficiently capable to disorimina,te between right slid wrong, and should be taught by the white man's lam to respect the per-sons and property of his race, aud that under the same law he himself is entitled to like protea ~ito'n . In this connection I desire to call your attention to the importance of establishing n, United States court in the Indian Territory, in accord- |
