173
WRITINGS OF 5AM HOUSTON, 1858
When the Indian Department applies to the War Department for troops, the 1atter consults the feelings of the officers. These gentlemen do not want to be a frontier police; they do not want. to go on the border; they remonstrate against it. It is out of the question. It will be unfortunate; and they will ruin their horses if they go, and they will be wet! It will be a very disagreeable business; and they would rather let the cursed Indians alone. They think the agents are no better than the Indians. The Secre- tary of War defers to the gentlemen. They have all friends and families and political influence to come to the Department and show that frontier service among the Indians is a very disagree- able thing. A gentleman may say to the Secretary of War, "You know I would be happy to oblige you; and my people have a good deal of influence at home, and all this influence is at your com- mand; this officer is a peculiar favorite with us all; he is a pet; do not send him out; maybe he will get killed out there." Sir, I would wipe out such men, as the Indians say. I would begin wiping, and I would wipe away until I got to the root of the evil; and I would find that in the delinquency of the heads of Depart- ments and officials, who should say to one of their officers, "go," and he should go, and to another "come," and he should come. That was the way in the time that the Roman eagles floated gloriously over subjugated nations. But it is not so in our day. Well, sir, I ask that this agency may be transferred to the superintendency in Texas. It has no connection with the eastern agency, in Arkansas. It has every connection with us. An agent there can anticipate incursions, for it is through this territory that the hostilities will have to pass; he can have Indian spies planted that can run and give information to our frontier, that the bands are congregating there, and meditating an attack upon us, and we can be ready to repel them. Give us a Texas regiment of rangers that we may defend ourselves, that we may keep constant scouts on our frontiers, and anticipate these invasions; for if that is the case, the Indians will be careful how they make trails into our settlements, or on our frontier, as our men will be far advanced, and if they were to strike their trail, they know they would follow them and arrest them before they struck the blow. Give us a regiment of rangers; take away your regular thousands-take them away. Take them to where you can get beef and supplies cheap. Why, sir, you waste more in the trans- portation of supplies to them in a single year than would to support a regiment of rangers. The quartermaster's department
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