OCR Text |
Show I REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. XXI and ponies wonld have npon the Indians. Notwithstanding the fact that agaiust their e l l one officer and tmentyfive men nere left at the agencr, the Indians broke out in hostilities, as the agent said that they wo~ild, as soon as the g~a s sw as in good coiidition for their l>oiiiest o t ra~el . The long chase after these Ii~dianiss a matter of recoi~la. nd as. nit11 the history of the war, it more properly belongs to tlie War ncl,arhnent to set i t forth, suffice i t to say that under the vigorol~sc al~q>aipoif General 0.0. Howard the war b e p i n June was ended b ~t-h e last of -ingust, and the s~wx-ir-orso f the hostile bands, either by c a l ~ t ~o~r rsen rrencler, mere held as prisoners of war. General Howard reports their immber, in men, women, and children, to be about 1,000. In this connection the following letter, which was referred to this office by the honorable the Secretary of the Interior, will shed some light upon the difficulties with which General Howard had to contend: USITEDS TATESJ IIRSHIL'~ OFFICE, BoisP City, Idefio, dugast 8, 1878. SIR: I wish to call your sttention to the iuclos~rlc opy of a letter jmt received from Department commanrler, Brig. Gen. 0. 0. Ho~olrard. I lmre sent the letter above referred to to the Hon. Charles Devens, Attorney-General of the United States, in order that he may know the facts and give me such iu~trnetiousa s to him may seem proper. It is a notorious fact here that the present hostile Indians conld ,lot keep the field but for the constant aupply of arms and ammunition received from white men. There are four suspected localities, to nit, Malad City, Silver City, a, post near Lewiston, and n post near Great Camaq on the overland route. The onlymode of detsotion that to I I I m~ ind promises success would be to employ detectives at the suspected pointq and in time either the preotice would be broken up or the guilty parties brought to justice. I trust you will confer with the honorable the Attorney-General, anddevise some means that will be effective to deatroy this infamous practice. E. S. CHASE, Zkited Statee Marshal for the fist,-iot of Idaho Tetvitory. Hon. CARL SCHURZ, Swretary of the Int&or. Although the Bannock war was *ally ended in August, it will be learned by the following report, which was referred to this office by the honorable Secretary of the Interior, that a fight occurred at Olark's Fork as late as September 5 : CHICAGOS, eptember 9, 1878. E. D. Ton?-SESD, TTnshinpton, D. 0. : Folloeng dispatch just reaeived, and forwarded for the information of the Generill of the h r . P. R. SHERIDAN, Liettteaant-Gennrl. "O~ZAHAN,E BR, s ~ p t p n ~9b, ~iur a. "Major Uphnm, eommandiug Canq Broan, telegmphs as follorrs: " 'Dick Washakiss sou, jwt in fromClarklaFork, hringssecou~~oft n sucersrful fight of a detachment of infautv and C1.o~ Indians with about tm-enty ind~es of hostile Bannocks. Fight. occurred on the morning of tho 5th instant. on Clnrlr'a Fork, the troops killing n good mzay hor~e-mostly stolen Amerienuena~l all tile squaws and ohildren. One no~l-eolamisaio~leorlf ficer, oua citizen, autl one CI.OIT killed, and one soldier woollrlud. Ploqnz, Ban110ck cllief, among the c~pture~l.' "R. WILLIAMS." |