The Army and Navy Journal labeled the latest raids simply one more chapter in the old volume, the result of alternately feeding and fighting the tribes. We go to them Janus-faced. One of our hands holds the rifle and the other the peace-pipe, and we blaze away with both instruments at the same time. The chief consequence is a great smoke-and there it ends.
The Army and Navy Journal described the recent raids as a continuation of a longstanding pattern of ambiguous relations with Native tribes, marked by a cycle of aggression and appeasement. The metaphor of being "Janus-faced" implies that the U.S. approaches these tribes with conflicting intentions, simultaneously employing military force and offering peace. This duality leads to ineffective outcomes, as it results in confusion and tensions rather than any lasting resolution.
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