434 INDIANS. 



He makes himself a power among them, to their constant 

 injury and to the detriment of the Government. 



He becomes rich, gets special Acts through Congress 

 for the benefit of his half-breed children, and not unfre- 

 quently, as he grows old, he returns to civilisation, to a 

 wife and family in the States, takes a prominent position 

 in society, and is looked up to as an authority on all 

 Indian matters. 



At this moment almost every agency is surrounded 

 by the houses of these men ; and at Spotted Tail and 

 Eed Cloud he may now be seen on ration day, buying 

 here, for one dollar, a sack of flour which cost the Indian 

 department seven or eight dollars to deliver, and there, 

 a sack of corn on similarly favourable terms. 



On the other hand, the Indians, complaining that they 

 are swindled by their agents, that their annuities are not 

 fully paid, that white men encroach on their reservations, 

 cut off their wood, kill their game, &c., make these 

 charges, whether true or false, the excuse for raids, 

 plunderings, and murders. Under the pretence that the 

 agent starves them on their own ground, parties go off 

 ostensibly on a hunt ; really on a foray. The Govern- 

 ment complains of the damage done by these parties. 

 The chiefs and head men reply that they are friendly, that 

 they have not left the reservation, that they do not 

 believe that the outrages were committed by Indians of 

 their tribe, that they cannot control their young men, and 

 wind up with recriminations and counter charges. 



The agent wants anything but an investigation. He 

 hushes the matter up. The murderer may publicly wear 

 the trinkets of the murdered man ; the thief may habit- 

 ually ride the horses known to be stolen. Nothing is 

 ever said. JSTo murderer or thief is punished. But 

 little over two months ago a young man herding cattle 

 on Cottonwood Creek was killed and scalped by Indians 

 from the agencies. 



Four different plundering raids were made this 



