Walker Array - Campaigns of General Custer in the North-west, and the final surrender of Sitting Bull

Now the writer does not in the least manner feel disposed to question the conduct of any particular parties, but will merely suggest, now that Sitting Bull is in the hands of the proper officials, fully and properly surrendered in accordance with all demands made upon him by the proper authorities, he be treated with, to say the least, common decency, all of which he is certainly entitled to, for we must admit that the war was forced upon him and his people for no other reason only for the advancement of our noble Saxon race.

The idea of forcing him into a common puppet show in different places, much to his displeasure, was, to say the least, very disgusting to him and wholly uncalled for. No wonder he said he thought the white folks were making fools of themselves in forcing him into a position to be sneered and laughed at.

It must be borne in mind that Sitting Bull has not lesa than twenty-five hundred braves, all of whom are able-bodied warriors, and are now within his call, and all the while he is submitting so quietly to the powers that be, it is well enough to consider that it is not impossible thai plans will be laid and carried into effect within his apparent deaf ear, which may be the means of calling out the entire force under command of General Sheridan; and we again, suggest that the artful old chief be dealt with in a fair and respectable manner, and be allowed to receive such treatment as he is entitled to.

In the way of a gentle hint as to what might happen, the writer respectfully refers to the first section of this volume, " General Van Couvnor," where the leading war-chiefs were in council at a " peace commission,'' and at the same time the young warriors were raiding in Texas, capturing women, children, horses and mules, and it is fair to presume that similar scenes may be enacted on the frontier plains of Dakota and among the ranchmen in the hills of Montana, as it was on the borders of Kansas and Texas.

The writer does not propose to dictate nor even suggest a policy to be pursued by our authorities, but modestly claims-the right to state what possibly might occur, judging from facts and precedents already established on .our frontier; and in the meantime we have no reason to apprehend that there will be any napping or negligence while Sitting Bull and his warriors are being herded and cared for.

A Careful Review of the Present Situation.

A careful view of the situation, and a glance over the list of field officers that have been on duty in the Northwest for the purpose of subjugating the Sioux nation and cutting the way through the bad lands and over the plains, in order to cross the continent on this line-running nearly mid-way between the 46th and 47th parallel of north latitude-it will at once be seen that no insignificant amount of military genius and executive ability has been arrayed in the new Northwest to accomplish this final and most satisfactory result, that the country may justly feel so proud of.

Any one of the above-mentioned officers; if called upon to take command of an army corps of twenty thousand men, would not shrink from the responsibility, but would, judging from their past career and from laurels already won in many a hard-fought battle-some in civil war and others in Indian wars on the frontier-would discharge the various and onerous duties devolved upon them in a manner becoming an officer in the American army.

We have had on duty in the Northwest a greater portion of the time since 1873, between thirty and forty field officers and over two hundred officers of the line, with about three thousand men in the ranks, to confront the hostiles of the Sioux nation. In addition to the above, we must add the list of army surgeons, artificers, mechanics, teamsters and laborers at the various military posts; also Indian scouts and interpreters; all of which will number not less than three hundred, and at times would swell the number to over seven hundred.

We will now call the attention of our readers to the fact that the officers of the line in all of the regiments above mentioned, and others that have been on duty in the Northwest during our Indian troubles, have shared no less of the hardships and dangers than their superiors mentioned in this volume. En regie ; selon les regies, de jure. In speaking generally, we must say that their heroic conduct on the field and their industry and faithful services entitles them to volumes of credit and a general vote of thanks from their countrymen, many of whom are sure to follow in the west-ern path that is now in a great measure paved for civilization.

In making special mention of officers, the writer does not consider it his proper mission, strictly speaking, to give the record of army officers, as this work is not intended for an army register, but we think it not out of place to make mention of some of the material facts connected with the history of the officers who have takfcn an active part in this long and vexatious Indian war that is now terminated, in order to more fully illustrate to our readers that our Indian difficulties have been managed by officers not only of long and varied experience in both civil and Indian warfare, and as their records show, they have proved themselves industrious, zealous and faithful to the various trusts imposed upon them, as well as proving themselves equal to the emergencies that have suddenly arisen before them from time to time during the several years just past, and some of whom have been constantly engaged against the hostile savages since the close of the civil war.

The successful management of the various campaigns since the battle of the " Little Big Horn," in 1876, and the well-trained discipline throughout the rank and file of the troops in this department, reflects great credit upon the sagacious and conscientious Department Commander, Brig.-General Alfred H. Terry, and his staff of skilled and gentlemanly officers. It must not be inferred that we hold General Terry responsible for the result of the Little Big Horn battle. Far from it. Certain high officials at Washington, in order to give vent to their personal spite, detained the column nearly or quite a month, thereby giving Sitting Bull an opportunity of enormous magnitude to recruit his forces from the various tribes throughout the West and Northwest, all of which swelled his hostile army that awaited in the valley of the Little Big Horn only to meet the gallant Custer, who was known among the Indians all the way from the "Brazos to the Yellowstone," as the "Long-Haired Chief," thus enabling him to mow down the brave troopers of the 7th Cavalry, with Custer at the head, by platoons and companies, as they were found on the field lying in regular winrows, sleeping the sleep that none but dauntless soldiers, do.

Our countrymen throughout the land ought to speak in loud tones and say to the veterans, officers and brave men of their respective commands, that have stood the brunt of a score or more of hard-fought Indian battles and skirmishes on the plains all along the frontier, from tho Gulf of Mexico to the British Possessions, and who have with stout hearts buried hundreds of their heroic brothers that were mowed down, not only man by man, but by companies and battalions, whose bones now lie mouldering under the sod of the green earth, some in the valley of the Washita, and others in the lonely valley of the Little Big Horn, with scarce a rude head-board that well might read, Here lies a jnan that nobly lived and bravely died in honor, glory and fame, that his white brothers might follow in the peaceful paths of civilization. Yes. Well might the country at large, in one loud voice say to those brave officers and men, Well done, good and faithful servants, you have opened the way for Christian civilization that is sure to follow in your footsteps. Tour tents, camp equipage and other paraphernalia used in wars, also the tepees of the savage warrior must now make room for the onward march of civilization, with its churches, school-houses and teachers.