FROM UTAH.
Mormon Memorial to the President—Gen Harney’s Talk with the Indians.
The Salt Lake City correspondent of the St. Louis Republican writes :
The following petition was forwarded to President BUCHANAN by the inhabitants of Utah, last week, for the removal of certain officers who seem to be ob-noxious to them. The petition ought to be granted: To his Excellency James Buchanan, President of the United States:
Whereas, For reasons herewith assigned, the fol-lowing United States officers for the Territory of Utah, to wit: Chief Justice ECKLES, Postmaster Moa RELL, and Indian Agents HURT and CRAIG have ren-dered themselves obnoxious to the citizens of the United States and residents in the Territory of Utah, respectfully ask your Excellency to remove the aforesaid officers.
The reasons presented by your petitioners are as follows : Cheif Justice ECKLES, while yet en route to this Territory, expressed himself in most vindictive and prejudiced terms against, the people of the Ter-ritory. Contrary to law and the established princi-ples of constitutional justice, he summoned a Grand Jury of the attaches and followers of the army, and before them did himself cause testimony to be pre-senied, and indictments found (for most serious of-fences) against numerous citizens of the United States, residents of the Territory. He has himself acted as judge, prosecutor and clerk of his own court, and has ever, during his residence in the Ter-ritory, used not only his personal but judicial in-fluence to provoke a collision and disturbances be-tween the people of the Territory and the Federal Government. Though often invited, and assurances of safety and protection given he has refused to come into our settlements or separate himself from the army up to this time.
Mr. MORRELL has, by published statements, slan-dered the people of the Territory. He is not, nor ever was, a resident or Great Salt Lake City, and hence, according to the laws of the United States, is not competent to fill the appointment.
Agent HURT, within the knowledge of your Excel-lency, according to official reports recently forwarded by Governor CUMMING, has made and published false reports of the most serious character, charging the people of this Territory with burning the public li-brary and the United States Court records, thread-ing federal officers with assassination, rebellion against the Constitution and laws of the United States, tampering with the Indian tribes to the overthrow of the Government, together with other grave accusa-tions all equally false and unfounded.
Agent CRAIG is a man of gross immoral practices, and in every way incompetent to discharge the duties of his office.
GREAT SALT LAKE CITY, Utah Territory, Friday, June 25, 1858.
The St. Louis Democrat, of Saturday, has the following account of General HARNEY’S “talk” with the Indians:
General HARNEY, accompanied by his Aid-de-Camp, Captain PLEASANTON, and by Dr. WEIGHT, arrived in St. Louis yesterday afternoon, on the steamer Ben Lewis. Major BUELL, Assistant Adjutant-General, took the case at Jefferson City, but hardly got in before the General. Our special correspondent, Mr. POT, who accompa-nied head-quarters far the purpose of furnishing the Ieaders of the Democrat with authentic accounts if the anticipated “Mormon War,” also came down on Ben Lewis.
Father De Smet, Chaplain to the Utah forces, returned to Leaven worth, whence he has set out for a short visit to the Pottowattomie Mission. He will reach St. Louis in the course of the ensuing week.
On the 18th ult General HARNEY had a “talk” with the Cheyennes at Cotton Wood Spring. About noon on that day a delegation of twenty of them arrived in the camp. The General had sent Captain PLEASANTON, on a kind of embassy to them ten days previously. The Captain was accompanied by a guide and by the Good Bear, a Cheyenne Chief, who had presented himself to the General, at the village of Ogalallas, with overtures of peace. When Good Bear had left his people to go on the mission to the General, they were encamped on the Republican Fork-a tributary of the Kansas. Before the arrival of Captain PLEASANTON among them they had gone elsewhere. The General had agreed to wait only ten days, so Captain PLEASANTON, under the direction of the guide, altered his course for Cotton Wood Spring-the appointed place of rendezvous, while Good Bear followed the trail of his tribe. On the 10th day, the Captain and the guide got into the camp, as well as the Cheyennes, but at a late hour.
Ten days was the term which General HARNEY had agreed to wait for the Cheyennes, and on the tenth day they made their appearance, having traveled desperately to keep the appointment. They have the reputation of being the bravest tribe this side of the mountains, and the appearance and bearing of the delegation did not belie the reputation. The “talk” was conducted in the same style, and with the same etiquette as the talk with the Ogalallas. They came up, one by one, in a manly manner, each shaking hands with the General, who sat in the shade of a tree, and those whites who were with him. They seated themselves in a circle, and proceeded to light their pipes. The orator of the occasion, was as faithful to the rules of his art, as if he had studied in the school. He commenced by saying that the fame of General HARNEY as a great chief, was known to them, and that they were all exceedingly glad to see him. The substance of the discourse was that they were desirous of being at a peace with the whites, that the success of the mission of Great Bear, brought happiness and peace of mind to the whole tribe; that they were also desirous of being at peace with the other Indian tribes, but that the Pawnees were always robbing them.
General HARNEY’s counsel to them was judicious and humane. He reminded them of their outrages upon the whites, but told them if henceforth they acted right he would ask the Great Father at Washington to forgive them. He had not come to make a treaty with them, as his business was to chastise white children of the Great Father who had been acting badly, but that these white children, knowing the power that was arrayed against them had submitted. The General’s aim was to impress them with the idea that if they transgressed they could not escape punishment, and that they would receive justice if whites committed any outrages upon them. He promised to be their friend if their conduct continued good, but that otherwise they would find him a “devil.”
In the progress of the talk it was learned that a war party had gone out against the Pawnees before the return of GOOD BEAR, and this time the warriors present regretted, as the counsel of their grandfather (so they call Gen. HARNEY) inclined them to peace, with Indians as well as whites.
The talk was protracted for a considerable time, or rather there were two talks—one on their arrival and the other in the evening—the latter the more important. They were treated hospitably, and in addition to bread and meat, got weak grog to drink, and tobacco to smoke, but the condition of the commissariat and circumstances of the meeting did not warrant the giving to them of any presents. From what transpired, it is certain that they will not molest the whites this year, at least, and that they have a salutary dread of Gen. HARNEY. It was noticed that the old chiefs laid the blame of past matters upon the “young men,” just as BRIGHAM YOUNG and the apologies of Kansas rescalities lay the blame of all misdeeds upon the “boys.”
General HARNEY had a talk with the Pawnees also. He lectured them severely about their thieving, but they defended themselves by accusing the Cheyennes and Sioux of various murders and robberies. He also advised them not to retaliate upon the Chey-ennes, as the latter were disposed to make peace. Their knitted brows and unbroken silence gave evidence that they did not much relish this advice, but yet in their reply they promised to remain quiet, although the perfidy and blood-thirstiness of the Cheyennes was the topic upon which they most elaborately dwelt. One of them, who had been at Washington, and who displayed the medals which he had received there, urged with great skill the atrocious nature of the insults given to the whites by the Cheyennes, in spilling blood under the walls of the Fort. Indeed, Gen. HARNEY himself that that the Cheyennes should have been prevented from attacking the Pawnees or any other nation within sight of the flag staff, and Col. May, who is now in command at Fort Kearney, promised that if the Cheyennes should venture again to make war near the Fort, he would chastise them. The talk with the Pawnees was the most formal and impressive of the three, and all the chiefs, without exception, gave manifestations of the eight which the General’s counsel had with them, and of the fear with which they regard him.
