THE M1LITARY OPERATIONS OF THE YEAR AMONG THE INDIANS.
THE DISPOSITION OF TROOPS.
The necessity of guarding the frontier toward the Indian Country, of protecting settlers, miners, and surveying-parties from hostile tribes or marauding bands, and of preventing unauthorized intrusion upon Indian reservations, still occupies the greater portion of the Army of United States. These objects require a disposition of troops along very extensive lines, which may be rudely sketched as follows:
to protect the northern and western frontier of the State, Forts Richardson, Griffin, Concho, McKavett, and Stockton. To prevent the Kickapoos and other Indians residing in Mexico from raiding into the State on the southern border, Forts Duncan, Clark, Davis, and Quitman.
In New Mexico, to restrain Indian depredations, protect settlers, keep open lines of communication, and restrict the Indians to their reservations, Forts Bascom, Bayard, Cummings, McRae, Selden, Stanton, Union, and Wingate; in Colorado, for similar objects, Forts Garland, Reynolds, and Lyon.
In Arizona, exclusive of the troops in active operations against the hostile Apaches, for the protection of the citizens of the Territory upon lines conforming generally to the course of settlement, Forts Whipple and Yuma, and Camps Boone, Date Creek, Cady, Grant, Hualapai, Lowell, Colorado, Crittenden, McDowell, Mohave, Thomas, and Verde.
In California, to preserve the peace between whites and Indians, and to prevent the latter from depredating upon the settlements, Camps Bidwell, Gaston, Independence, and Wright.
In Nevada, for similar objects, Camps Halleck, McDermit, and Winfield Scott.
In Oregon, Fort Klamath, four miles distant from the Klamath Indian agency, and Camps Harney and Warner, the nearest Indians to the latter being the Klamaths.
In Idaho, Fort Lapwai, near the Nez Percés Indian reservation, and Fort Hall, within the limits of the Fort Hall Indian reservation.
In Washington, Fort Colville, in the northeastern part of the Territory, and Fort Walla-Walla, in the southeastern part.
OPERATIONS.
The movements of troops among and against the Indians under the administrative charge of this Office, so far as the same have been officially reported to the Department, may be epitomized as follows:MINNESOTA.
Several murders have been committed by individual members of the Pillager band of Chippewas, and serious trouble being at one time apprehedded, Captain W. S. McCaskey, commanding at Fort Ripley, was, upon application of the agent in charge of the Chippewa sent in May with his available force to the White Earth reservation. The presence of these troops, together with the expressed determination of the main body of the Indians belonging to the agency to assist in repressing an outbreak, soon quieted matters, and the troops, about the middle of June, returned to their post.DAKOTA AND MONTANA.
As a protection to the surveying-parties of the Northern Pacific Railroad between the Missouri and Yellowstone Rivers, two considerable detachments of troops were sent out during the year – one from Fort Ellis, in Montana,, under Major Baker, of the Second Cavalry, the other from Fort Rice, in Dakota, under Colonel Stanley, of the Twenty-second Infantry. Several slight skirmishes were had with Indians by both detachments, but no serious engagement took place. Of Colonel Stanley's detachment, Lieutenants Eben Crosby, while away from his camp hunting, and L. D. Adair, while in advance of his company, were killedby Indians. Colonel Stanley's servant, while hunting, was also killed. Of Major Baker's command one sergeant was killed and three privates were wounded. The loss of the Indians is not known.
WYOMING.
Owing to threatening demonstrations made by the Indians of the Red Cloud agency, the commanding officer at Fort Laramie, thirty miles distant, has several times been called upon during the year for troops to protect the lives of the agent and employés and the Government property at that agency. A prompt compliance with the request of the agent for such assistance, and the presence of troops near the agency, has in all cases quieted the difficulties without serious trouble or the loss of life.UTAH.
A considerable number of Ute Indians belonging to the Uintah Valley and White River agencies, together with others roaming at large in the Territorv, becoming dissatisfied from various causes, congregated during the past summer in San Pete County and vicinity and assumed a hostile attitude, committing some depredations upon white citizens of that section. By the prompt action and wise counsel of Lieutenant Colonel H.A. Morrow, Thirteenth Inftntrv, commanding at Camp Douglass, the Indians were induced to cease their depredations and return to their respective agencies.CALIFORNIA.
The only operations of the military in connection with Indian affairs in this State during the year, reported to this Office, is a trip made by Captain R. F. Bernard, commanding at Camp Bidwell, for the purpose of looking after certtain Indians charged with having committed depredations upon citizens. The charges were found to be not well sustained.INDIAN TERRITORY.
A large number of whites from Kansas having settled in the Cherokee country, west of the ninetv-sixth degree of longitude, the commanding general of the Department of the Missouri was called upon, in compliance with law, to remove them. Captain J. J. Upham, of the Sixth Cavalry, was assigned, with a detachment of troops, to this duty. The work was promptly and judiciously accomplished, without any violent collision with the intruders, about fifteen hundred of whom were removed.upon the marauders was the expedition in command of Colonel R. S. McKenzie, Fourth Cavalry. The troops under Colonel McKenzie, on the 29th of September, struck a camp or village of Qua-ha-da Comanches on McClellan's Creek, being no other than the camp of Maowi, the most disaffected and dangerous of all the "Out Comanches," and, after a brisk fight, carried the village, killing twenty-three Indians and taking one hundred and twenty-four prisoners, principally women and children. The command lost two killed and two wounded. This signal example to the Comanches was promptly followed by the surrender of the only two white captives remaining in their hands, and by a large increase in the number of Indians on the reservations. It is not doubted that this righteous retribution for long courses of cruel and cowardly outrages will bear further fruits of repentance. It is the intention of the Department to provide liberally for the nurture, care, and education of the children thus captured, but, meanwhile, to hold them when turned over by the military, (in accordance with the expressed intention of the General of the Army,) until such time as their Tribe sball restore all stolen stock, and give ample assurance of future good behavior.
NEW MEXICO.
In this Territory the only operations of the military during the year, in connection with Indian matters, as reported to the Indian Office, were the removal of the Apache Indians from Cañada Alamosa to the Tularosa reservation, which was successfully accomplished bv Lieutenant Colonel Thomas C. DeVin, Eighth Cavalry, in May last; and a slight skirmish, in which, however, no one was injured, between some troops and hostile Ute Indians at the Abiquiu agency, prior to its removal from Abiquiu to Tierra Amarilla, its present location.ARIZONA.
The operations against the hostile Apaches in this Territory have been too active and varied to allow a detailed account of them to be presented in this connection. Among the most important results, however, may be mentioned an engagement between a detachment under command of Captain J. W. Mason, Third Cavalry, and certain Apache Mohave Indians. Captain Alason reports, under date of the 24th of September, that his force attacked four rancherias simultaneously, and killed forty Indians, wounded many more, and captured eight women and children. At nearly the same time, Lieutenant Max Wesendorff, First Cavalry, with a detachment of troops, while on a scout, attacked and destroyed a rancheria, killing seventeen warriors and capturing one girl.ASSIGNMENT OF ARMY OFFICERS TO INDIAN SERYICE.
Brigadier-General O.O. Howard, United States Army, was, by direction of the President, early in the year, assigned to duty as special
commissioner, to visit the Apache Indians of New Mexico and Arizona with the view of inducing them, if possible, to cease their depredations and settle permanently upon reservations set apart for them. General Howard has twice visited these Territories in the execution of this commission, and, though his efforts have not proved entirely successful they have yet been productive of much good. For a detailed statement of General Howard's proceedings, reference is made to his reports accompanying.
Colonel J.E. Smith, Fourteenth Infantry, commanding at Fort Laramie, on the 2d of November, 1871, at the request of this Office, relieved Agent J.W. Wham from charge of the Red Cloud agency. He was in charge of the agency from that date until February 9, 1872, when he was relieved by the present agent, J.W. Daniels. During the time he was in charge, Colonel Smith conducted the affairs of the agency with marked ability.
SPECIAL COMMISSIONS DURING THE YEAR.
INDIAN DELEGATIONS VISITING WASHINGTON DURING THE YEAR.
this year. The delegation consisted of two Pimos, one Papago, one Yuma and four Apaches. The representative character of these Indians, or their influence with the tribes to which they belonged, was not in all cases verv well assured; but General Howard is confident that their visit resulted in good and has forwarded the ultimate settlement of the difficulties so long experienced in Arizona.
(d) The Kiowas, &c. – This delegation, the largest and most important which ever visited Washington, was brought to this city by Captain R. E. Alvord, special commissioner of the Indian Office, for the pacification of these tribes. The delegation comprised representatives of the Kiowas, Comanches, Apaches, Arapahoes, Wichitas and affiliated bands. The absence of the Cheyennes, who had been scared away from the place of meeting with the special commissioner by the advance of Colonel McKenzie's force, and the refusal of the Qua-ba-da Comanches to send representatives to Washington, constituted the only defects ia the completeness and authority of the delegation.
(e) The Grand River and Fort Peck Indians. – This double delegation was brought to this city by the commissioners who visited the Upper Missouri for the Pacification of the roving Sioux. It consisted of fifteen Indians from the Grand River agency, the principal chief of each of the three bands of Sioux attached to that agency being present, and of nineteen Indians from the vicinity of Fort Peck, and from the hunting-grounds west and south. The absence of Sitting Bull and Black Moon, the most influential chiefs of the "hostile camps," prevented that complete success which had been hoped for from the visit of this delegation; but the Indians thus brought to Washington were genuine Indians, out of the hostile camps, and of no mean reputation and influence among the "implacables." Their visit to Washington cannot fail to produce a decided effect by reducing the number of those who stand out agains the progress of the railroad, even if it does not wholly withdraw the roving bands from their position of antagonism to the Government.
(f) The Utes of Utah. – This delegation, consisting of three Indians from the Uintah Valley reservation, was brought to Washington by late special agent Dodge, of Salt Lake, under permission granted upon urgent telegraphic representations of the necessity of such a visit. The delegation seemed not to have been fortunately constituted, nor was the judgment of the special agent, as to the importance of the business to be transacted, approved by the Department.
(g) The Sacs and Foxes of the Missouri. – This delegation, consisting of four Indians, visited Washington at the expense of the tribe, with a view to concluding arrangements for the disposition to be made of the proceeds of their lands about to be sold under authority of law, and for their location among the Osages in the Indian Territory. The objects of the mission were satisfactorily completed so far as they could be without legislation.
The advantages of bringing well-constituted delegations from wild and potentially hostile tribes to Washington are very decided, and amply repay the expenditure involved. The impression derived thereby to the savages of the strength of the Government, and the wealth and power of the whites, is a more effective peace-maker than mamy soldiers, yet the expenses of all the Indian delegations that have visited Washington the last three years have not equaled the cost of maintaining a company of cavalry for six months in the field.
It must be considered that the Indians of the plains have, up to a recent date, really believed that they outnumbered the whites. How,
indeed, should they have thought otherwise? Most of them had at one time or another, seen as many as five thousand, some as many as ten thousand of their people camped together, one-third fighting men. Of the whites what had they seen? A few ranches miles apart, a few hunters and trappers, a few soldiers. The stories that had been brought to their ears of a country where the whites were like the sand on the sea-shore, where houses were piled on top of houses,* and where houses stood side by side with houses for miles in every direction, were received by them as the merest fables invented to amuse or deceive them. Even when the first delegations that visited the East, though composed of their own trusted chiefs and braves, returned and reported what they had seen, they were not believed; but it was said among their tribes that the white men had put "bad medicine" upon their eyes to made them see things that did not exist. It has only been the concurrent testimony of many chiefs and braves, out of many bands and tribes, that has dissipated this happy conceit of the Indian of the plains, and made him to appreciate, as he is beginning to do, the power and resources of the whites. As it is at once cheaper and more humane to bring the savages to a realizing sense of their weakness and the impossibility of long contending with the Government, by giving a few chiefs and braves free rides on our railroads and Broadway omnibuses, than by surprising their camps on winter nights and shooting down men, women, and children tocether in the snow, it will be well to continue this system, in moderation as to amount of expenditures, and with discretion as to the subjects of it, until the occasion for thus impressing the minds of the Indians shall have passed away.
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*I. e., houses of several stories.
LEGISLATION RECOMMENDED.
SISSETON AND WAHPETON BANDS OF SIOUX.
The commissioners appointed under the provisions of the act of June 7, l872, to examine and report what title or interest the Sisseton and Wahpeton bands of Sioux have to certain land, mentioned in the second article of the treaty made with said bands on the 19th of February, 1867, and described as follows: Bounded on the south and east by the treaty line of 1851 and the Red River of the North to the mouth of Goose River, on the north by the Goose River and a line running from the source thereof by the most westerly point of Devil's Lake to the Chief's Bluff, at the head of James River, and on the west by the James River to the mouth of Moccasin River, and thence to Kampeska Lake, have, after carefully examining the subject and counciling with the Indians interested, reported in favor of allowing and paying to said Indians or expending for their bedefit the sum of $800,000, for the full relinquishnient of all claims they may have to said lands or any portion thereof, said sum to be paid or expended in ten equal annual installments of $80,000. The amount reported by said commissioners and recommended by them to be paid for said lands certainly seems very large. When, however, it is taken into consideration that an annual appropriation of $75,000 is now being made for said Indians, the necessity for such appropriation being likely to coutinue for some years to come – probably not less than five or six; that each installment of $80,000 proposed to be paid will render it practicable and proper to dispense with one such annual appropriation, that the claim of the Indians to the land will be extinguished by such payment, and that by the extinguishment of such claim several millions of acres of the best agricultural land in the United States will be thrown open to settlement, it must be apparent that it would be for the interests of the Government, as well as of the Indians, to conclnde the purchase. I would, therefore, recommend the confirmation by Congress of the action of said commissioners, and that the legislation necessary to perfect the purchase of the Indian claim to said land, and to appropriate one installment of the purchase-money, be had by Congress at its next session.SHOSHONES.
Under the provisions of the act of June 1, 1872, Hon. Felix R. Brunot, president of the board of Indian commissioners, at the request of this Department, negotiated with the Shoshone Indians for the cession to the United States of a portion of their reservation in Wind River Valley, Wyoming. From Mr. Brunot's report accompanying, it will be seen that instead of agreeing to exchange a portion of their reservation for an equal quantity of other land, as was contemplated in said act, the Indians agreed to cede to the United States that portion of their reservation lying south of a line beginning at a point on the eastern boundary of the reservation due east of the mouth of the Little Popoagie at its junction with the Popoagie, and running from said point west to themouth of the Little Popoagie, thence up the Popoagie to the North Fork, and up the North Fork to the month of the cañon, thence west to the western boundary of the reservation, in consideration of the payment to the Shoshiones of the sum of $25,000 in five equal annual installments of $5,000, the same to be expended under the direction of the President in the purchase of stock-cattle to be delivered to the Shoshones on their reservation; and of the further sum of $500 to be paid to their chief, Washakie, annually, for the term of five years. As there is more land in the present reservation belonging to the Shoshones than they need, I am of the opinion that the agreement made by Mr. Brunot with the Indians would be better for all concerned than a transfer of the southern portion of the reservation for the same quantity of land adjacent to the northern part of it. I therefore recommend the ratification of the agreement made by Mr. Brunot with the Shoshones, and that the first installments of $5,000 and $500, severally, be appropriated by Congress at its next session.
ARAPAHOES.
Under the provisions of the fifth section of the act of May 29, 1879, negotiations have been had with a duly authorized delegation of the Southern Arapaho Indians for the relinquishment of their claim to land ceded to them and the Southern Cheyennes by the second article of the treaty made with both tribes, October 28, l867. The Arapahoes have agreed to relinquish all claim to the land ceded to them by said treaty, and to accept in lieu thereof the following described tract, viz: Commencing at a point in the middle of the main channel of the north fork of the Canadian River ten miles east of the ninety-eighth meridian of west longitude, thence up the middle of the main channel of the said north fork to a point where the present trail from the Upper Arkansas Indian agency, so called, to Camp Supply crosses the said stream, thence due north to the middle of the main channel of the Red Fork of the Arkansas River, thence down the said river in the middle of the main channel thereof to a point in said channel ten miles east of the ninety-eighth meridian of west longitude, thence south to the place of beginning. The agreement entered into by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs with the Arapahoes in the above matter will be submitted to the Department at an early day, with the recommendation that the necessary legislation be had by Congress to perfect the relinquishment and cession of the treaty reservation of 1867, and to vest in the Arapaho tribe of Indians the title to the land which they have agreed to accept in lieu thereof.WICHITAS AND AFFILIATED BANDS.
The Wichitas and other affiliated bands, having for a long time resided within the limits of the tract known as the "leaseed district" in the Indian Territory, without any defined reservation set apart for their occupancy; and having also a claim, good or bad, to a large tract of country, an agreement was made by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs with a duly authorized delegation of said Indians, by which the following described tract of land is set apart for them, viz: Commencing at a point in the middle of the channel of the Washita River, where the ninety-eighth meridian of west longitude crosses the same, thence up the middle of the main channel of said river to the line of 98° 40' west longitude; thence on said line of 98° 40' due north to the middle of the main channel of the main Canadian River; thence down the middle of said main Canadian River to where it crosses the ninety-eighth meridian; thence due south to the place of beginning. In consideration for saidtract of land the Indians cede and relinquish to the United States all their right, title, interest, or claim of any nature whatsoever to any lands in Texas, Louisiana, the Indian Territory, or elsewhere within the limits of the United States. These Wichitas, &c., have always been friendly and loyal to the Government; have suffered severely on that account; are a good class of Indians, inclined to labor for a support, and absolutely require a reservation which they can call their own. For these reasons, as well as to quiet their claim to unceded lands, I recommend the ratification of the agreement made with the Wichitas &c., by Congress at its next session.
MALHEUR RESERVATION.
During the year a reservation has, by Executive order, been set apart in Southeastern Oregon, for the settlement thereon of roving bands of Indians infesting the southern and eastern portions of that State. As nothing can be done toward collecting these Indians, until funds shall have been provided for the erection of agency buildings, purchase of subsistence, &c., a special estimate will be submitted to Congress, at an early day, for an appropriation necessary to accomplish these objects.SACS AND FOXES OF THE MISSOURI.
By the fourth section of the act of June 10, 1872, provision was made for the sale of the reservation of the Sacs and Foxes of the Missouri, lying in the State of Nebraska. These Indians have consented to sell their entire reservation, and desire to remove to the Indian Territory. About one-half of their reservation is in Kansas, and I recommend that additional legislation by Congress be had at its next session, authorizing the sale of that portion of the reservation belonging to these Indians lying within the limits of the State.KICKAPOOS.
Under the provisions of the second article of the treaty concluded with the Kickapoo Indians May 18, 1854, a contract was made between Hon. George W. Manypenny, the then Commissioner of Indian Affairs, on the part of the United States, and the Board of the Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church, for the erection of certain buildings for the education of the children of the Kickapoo tribe. This contract bears date January 22, 1856. While this school was in operation the said board of missions expended in the management of the same $2,125.13 in excess of the amount paid therefor by the Government; and in the erection of school-buildings and improvements over and above the amount allowed therefor by the Government, the sum of $2,934.33, making an aggregate of $5,059.46 in excess of the whole amount received. By the eleventh article of the Kickapoo treaty of 1862 it is provided, among other things, that 320 acres "of land where the mission-house now is, ***** with the improvements thereon, shall be disposed of when the purposes for which they have been reserved shall have been accomplished," in such manner and for such purpose as may be provided by law. The mission-house and improvements alluded to are those erected by the board of missions, under contract as above mentioned, and have been so used for the purposes for which they were constructed. A treaty, wasconcluded with the Kickapoos, February 27, 1867, in which provision was made that the board of missions should have the privilege of purchasing the 320 acres of land upon which the school-buildings and improvements had been erected, at $1.25 per acre, this to be in full of all claims against the Government on account of said mission. This treaty was submitted to the Senate, but has never been ratified. Regarding the unratified treaty as sufficient evidence of the assent of the Indians, I deem it desirable that at the coming session such action should be taken as will effect a satisfactory adjustment of the claim of the board of missions. This matter was fully discussed in Office report of November 15, 1871.
BLACK BOB SHAWNEES.
Thirty-three thousand three hundred and ninety-two and fifty-seven one-hundredths acres of land were set apart for members of Black Bob's band of Shawnee Indians in Kansas, under the treaty of May 10, 1854; selections in severalty have been made from these lands for many of these Indians and patents issued therefor, and parties have purchased lands from the patentees, and have submitted the deeds of conveyance to the Department for approval. Regarding the issuing of patents as unauthorized by law, recommendation was made in Office report under date of January 13, 1872, (see H.R. Ex. Doc. 64, 2d sess. 42d Cong.,) that Congress be asked to provide for the sale of these lands and the application of.the proceeds for the benefit of the Indians, who are in needy circumstances. No legislation was had by Congress on this subject, but the necessity for such legislation is deemed imperative.MIAMIES.
There are in Eastern Kansas less than one hundred Miami Indians, all of whom are sufficiently advanced in civilization to manage their own affairs, with an ability corresponding at the least to that of the poorer classes of white people, in the same locality, while some few of them are men possessing more than ordinary business tact and ability. These Indians possess some 10,000 acres of land, which belongs to them in common. In view of their situation, and in order that they may no longer be an unnecessary care to the Government, this Office, under date of February 9, and again of February 28, 1872, recommended that legislation be had providing for these Indians becoming citizens of the United States, and also for the sale of their lands and the proper adjustment of all their financial affairs. I deem it highly important that action bv Congress should be taken at an early day for the final settlment of the affairs of this tribe.POTTAWAT0MIES.
It having been ascertained that eighty-six Pottawatomie Indians, who were justly entitled, had not received their proper share of moneys and land belonging to the tribe, legislation was recommended in Office report of February 13, 1872, (H.R. Ex. Doc. 151,) to secure the same to them. This was specially provided for in the Indian appropriation act of last session, but the provision therein contained has been held by the Department not to be sufficient to authorize the conversion of their share of stocks held in trust by the United States, which action should be authorized at the coming session of Congress.UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
By the twenty-fourth section of the act of Congress of 1834, and "for the sole purpose of carrying that [this] act into effect," the Indian Territory was annexed to what is now the western district of the United States court for the State of Arkansas. The court is now held by law only at Van Buren, in that State. The inconvenience and expense attending the prosecution of persons in the Indian Territory charged with crime, and the attendance of witnesses from so great a distance, is very great, and, except in the most serious cases of crime, the present plan operates practically as a denial of justice. This Office therefore recommended, under date of February 17, 1872, (H.R. Ex. Doc. 153,) that Congress be asked to authorize the holding of a term of the United States district court for the western district of Arkansas at Ockmulgee once in each year. This was not done by Congress; but in view of the rapid increase of crime in the Indian Country I am satisfied that the reasons for this action are every day becoming more urgent, and that the aggregate expense of the judicial district would not be greater, but less, by reason of a term once a year at Ockmulgee.DELAWARES.
Provision is made in the fourteenth article of the Delaware treaty of July 4, 1866, that the Secretary of the Interior shall cause to be ascertained the value of stock which has been stolen from the Delaware since the treaty of 1854, and that the same shall be reported to Congress, with a recommendation for an appropriation to pay the same[.] The value of the stolen stock referred to was ascertained through the superintendent and agent to be $26,284, and an appropriation was asked of Congress for this amount by the Department January 31, 1870. No favorable action having been taken thereon by Congress, the Department was requested by letter from this office, of February 28 last, (H.R. Ex. Doc. 169,) to again invite the attention of Congress to the matter, which was accordingly done, but no appropriation has yet been made. As this claim is in compliance with treaty stipulations, and the parties entitled are in very needy circumstances, Congress should be urged to appropiate the necessary amount without further delay.RED BEAR, A PEMBINA CHIEF.
Provision was made in the ninth article of the treaty of October 2, 1863, with the Red Lake and Pembina bands of Chippewa for a reservation of 640 acres of land for the Chippewa chief "Red Bear," to be located on the north side of the Pembina River. The agent reported that before he could make this selection there was not a section of suitable land in one body remaining on the north side of the Pembina River for a long distance from its mouth, and he, therefore, made the selection on both sides of the river and reported it in that form. As this was not in accordance with the treaty, legislation by Congress was recommended in Office report of March 5, 1872, (H.R. Ex. Doc. 183,) authorizing the selection in this manner. Favorable action was not taken by Congress in the premises, and as such action is necessary in order to ensure to this chief the benefits contemplated by the treaty, Congress should be again be requested to legislate for his relief.NEZ PERCÉS.
By the tenth article of the treaty concluded with the Nez Percés tribe of Indians June 11, 1855, it was agreed that the tract of land then occupied by William Craig (in consideration that said Craig had consented to reside among them as their friend and adviser) should not be considered a part Of the reservation set apart for them by said treaty, except for the purpose of enforcing the intercourse act. The privilege accorded to Craig by the treaty has been regarded and held by the Departnent as giving him the right to personal occupancy only. Craig having deceased, the improvements upon the tract in question were purchased by his son-in-law, at the administrator's sale. It is represented by the agent that these improvements are very desirable, and necessary for the accommodation of certain Nez Percés Indians now living outside of the reservation; that said improvements cover between 300 and 400 acres of land, which is under very good cultivation, with between 500 and 600 rods of fencing, and that there are 50 acres in timothy, which yield from 2½ to 3 tons per acre, worth $21 per ton.INDIAN PENSIONS.
The Pension-Office has rejected the applications of Indians for pensions on the ground of the inability of these Indians (not being citizens of the United States) to take an oath to support the Constitution of the United States, as required by the first section of the act of February 14, 1871. This subject was presented to the Department under date 28th March last, and after a review of the same it was submitted that if it should be held by the Department that the Indians cannot qualify, and prove their claims under the law as it now stands, additional legislation, by Congress, on this subject should be requested. It does not appear that any action was taken by the Department on this report. In view of the large number of Indians entitled to pensions, and in whose favor, in many cases, pensions have been allowed and for several years paid, though now suspended under the decision of the Pension Office, it is of importance that early legislative action should be taken on this subject.
FRANCIS A. WALKER,
Commissioner.
Hon. C. DELANO,
Secretary of the Interior.