ST. LOUIS, Sunday,
Dec. 30, 1866.
Dear Brother: I came
up from New Orleans right through the country that I had been the means of
raiding so thoroughly, and did not know but I should hear some things that
would not be pleasant, but, on the contrary, many people met me all along the
road in the most friendly spirit. I spent a whole day at Jackson, where chimney
stacks and broken railroads marked the presence of Sherman's army. But all
sorts of people pressed to see me, and evinced their natural curiosity, nothing
more. . . .
I expect to have two
Indian wars on my hands, and have no time for other things. The Sioux and
Cheyennes are now so circumscribed that I suppose they must be exterminated,
for they cannot and will not settle down, and our people will force us to it.
It will also call for all possible prudence to keep us from war with the
Mormons, for there are people that yearn for the farms and property the Mormons
have created in the wilderness.
I have a despatch
from Mr. Stanton, saying that my action in the delicate mission to Mexico meets
the approval of the President, the Cabinet, and himself, so I got out of that
scrape easily. I do not want to come to Washington, but to stay here quietly as
long as possible. When Grant goes to Europe, then I shall be forced to come.
The longer that is deferred the better for me. Affectionately,
W. T. SHERMAN.
SOURCE: Rachel
Sherman Thorndike, Editor, The Sherman Letters: Correspondence Between
General and Senator Sherman from 1837 to 1891, p. 287
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