United States Indian Service,
Siletz Indian Agency, Or
June 11th, 1886.
Hon John D. C. Atkins
Com Indian Affairs
Washington DC
Dear Sir
I arrived at this Agency on May 20 and commenced taking an invoice of the Govt property with F.M. Wadsworth ex U.S. Agent here and was able to complete the work May 31st and receipted to him for the same, in doing so I was compelled to receipt for a lot of worthless property which I will accede to in a request hereafter for authority to convene a board of survey for its disposition my experience with Mr Wadsworth have been some what embarassing to me as I was almost compelled to be a guest of his and wishing that every thing would go off in a satisfactory manner and labored hard to that end. but I have found him anything but a gentleman. the respectable white employes here I have found out have
long since been disgusted with him. and I have unmistakable evidence that he is a corrupt man morally & otherwise. a bigoted egotist and Crank. he has allowed the greast immorality to exist under his sight and permitted and upheld his own sons to practise the same with the Indian school Girls in fact I found this place a foul nest of corruption. it has been his delight to insult and tyranize over any body that would protest against his methods. a petty tyrant by nature. he has had full sway. he is loud in his denunciation of democrates and the Indian department in general and against religion and moral teaching. and I am quite sure that a thorough overhauling of his accounts would find crookedness. I have found it necessary to prohibit his boys the privilege of the school here. I have been compelled to
tolerate him in order to give him a chance to straiten up his papers as he was a long way behind with his office work. Otherwise I would have been justified in removing him from the reservation. I am glad to say that this bad state of affairs is not sanctioned by a number of the white employes here the Clerk. Physician. & Industrial Teacher and Principal of the school & assistant Teacher are good people of honest purpose and for being such are heartily hated by the ex Agent. I would not have written thus long only to show you the embarassing circumstances of my introduction here. but I am fully confident that I will be able before long to theroughly improve–the morals at least of this place if not make improvements in other particulars
I am Very Respectfully JBLane
US Ind Agt