Lest this appear pessimistic, it is well to explain that it was hard to deal reasonably with these strange people who claimed the land. As said by Rev. Samuel W. Pond, "They were not models for imitation, neither were they properly objects of contempt." Those who care to investigate will find many reasons for the outbreak of 1862, but the essential facts are, that the Indians were obnoxious to and in the way of the whites, were preyed upon by conscienceless traders and boot-legging liquor-sellers, and were neglected by the government and its agents, till at last long smothered anger and acute hunger produced a storm that broke in fury, the opening event of which was the murders at Acton on Sunday, the 17th day of August, 1862.
