DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,
SIR: In the annual report of the Indian Bureau, which I have the honor to present herewith, I have embodied the usual reports of agents, as prescribed by law, as also a schedule of all bids received and awards made at the public lettings of contracts, and the various tabular state. ments, together with the. usual information to be found in the reports of this office. As a preliminary to this report, I invite your attention to the following brief outline of some of the subjects which are discussed in it, and of the conclusions reached.
tuitous supplies, but to minister to their self-help by insisting on their contributing their labor in return for the supplies given them.
There is no act of Congress which deals with the punishment of crimes against person or property (within the meaning of the common law, as distinguished from statutory crimes against the United States) committed by or against Indians within the boundaries of an Indian reservation. It is most desirable that a judicial system or code of laws for Indians should be established, under which crimes by or against Indians may be prosecuted and successfully punished. The machinery of the United States judicial system in the States and Territories in which there are Indian reservations could be utilized to this end by proper congressional legislation.
Civilization has loosened, in some places broken, the bonds which regulate and hold together Indian society in its wild state, and has failed to give the people law and officers of justice in their place. This evil still continues unabated. Women are brutally beaten and outraged; men are murdered in cold blood; the Indians who are friendly to schools and churches are intimidated and preyed upon by the evil-disposed;
children are molested on their way to school, and schools are dispersed by bands of vagabonds; but there is no redress. This accursed condition of things is an outrage upon the One Lawgiver. It is a disgrace to our land. It should make every man who sits in the national halls of legislation blush. And, wish well to the Indians as we may, and do for them what we will, the efforts of civil agents, teachers, and missionaries are like the struggles of drowning men weighted with lead, as long as by the absence of law Indian society is left without a base.
The preservation of order is as necessary to the promotion of civilization as is the enactment of wise laws. Both are essential to the peace and happiness of any people. As a means of preserving order upon an Indian reservation, an Indian police has been found to be of prime importance. I have recommended an additional outlay of money to enable the government to extend the usefulness of a police system now in its infancy with us. In Canada, the entire body of Indians are kept in order by such force. In this country, as far as it has been tried, it works admirably. I would recommend that the force be composed of Indians, properly officered and drilled by white men, and where capable Indians can be found, that they be promoted to command,
as reward for faithful service. The Army has used Indians for scouts with great success, and wherever employed the Indian has been found faithful to the trust confided to him. I would also recommend that the police force be supplied with a uniform similar to the style of clothing which I shall hereafter suggest to be furnished for all Indians, with the addition of a few brass buttons by way of distinction. The employment of such a force, properly officered and handled, would, in great measure, relieve the Army from doing police duty on Indian reservations. I am thoroughly satisfied that the saving in life and property by the employment of such a force would be very large, and that it would materially aid in placing the entire Indian population of the country on the road to civilization.
There is little hope of the civilization of the older wild Indian, and the only practical question is how to control and govern him, so that his savage instincts shall be kept from violent outbreaks. There is, however, much encouragement to work for the gradual elevation of the partially civilized adult Indians, and especially of the youths of both sexes; and considerable progress has been made, notwithstanding the difficulties which a humane treatment of the Indians has had to encounter. These difficulties may be stated as partially growing out of the dishonesty of Indian agents, traders, and contractors, by which Indians have been deprived of their just dues, and sometimes of the necessaries of life. Another and serious drawback is to be found in the encroachment of greedy white men, who surround them and continually plot to deprive them of their possessions. Unfortunately, Indians judge all white men by these specimens, with which they are only too familiar. Notwithstanding all the disadvantages, there is, as I have said, a perceptible progress, which, under more favorable circumstances, might be greatly accelerated.
competent men who now perform the service with discredit to themselves and detriment to the Indians.
The Indian, in his savage state, is the only born aristocrat on American. soil. He despises labor and looks upon it as an indignity. He will hunt or make war at an immense expenditure of strength, and in the prosecution of those pursuits he will exhibit great tenacity of purpose; but when he is talked to about the necessity of toil as a means to earn his bread legitimately, he turns a deaf ear, and imposes on his squaw the burden and drudgery of work. To overcome the natural repugnance of the Indian to work, it is needful to adopt a system of training that will gradually incite him to labor by appeals to his self-interest.
To that end agents must use care in the distribution of supplies, and should demand from the Indian some work for the rations furnished him. Again, instead of giving out contracts to dissolute or idle white men, who are hanging around the agencies, for cutting fire-wood and splitting and hauling rails for fencing, or for getting hay, the Indians should be made to perform all these offices. Some agents are eminently successful in utilizing Indian labor – Agent Wilbur, of the Yakama agency, for example, who not only has all this work done by his Indians, but has trained them to manufacture saddled and harness, as well as make wagons and do carpenter's work. This office has recently refused to approve contracts made by agents for cutting fire-wood and fencing, on the old plan, and has insisted that agents shall secure this work to be done by Indians, by holding out to them the inducement of extra rations or some other compensation.
Beef is the staple food for the Indian, and great care should be taken to furnish a good quality of it. The want is mostly supplied by Texas cattle, which are driven north by easy stages, and are allowed
to feed in the many ranges furnishing an abundance of grass of excellent quality. These Texas cattle, properly cared for, make very good, nutritious beef; more like wild meat, however, as the meat is lean and not so interlarded with fat as stall-fed eastern cattle. The southernmost agencies get the poorer class of cattle, which have been driven only a comparatively short distance without the advantages of such grass as grows in the Platte Valley. Heretofore the government has paid little attention to the quality, or even weight, of cattle for the Indian service. This, however, is undergoing investigation with a view to a better regulation of this branch of the service.
The blanket must give way. It is only tolerable in the rudest savage life. It is unfitted to be the garment of civilization and labor; and as the Indian is gradually brought to give up his nomadic life for one of labor and industry, the question of clothing becomes one of practical interest as bearing upon his advancement and civilization. The custom hitherto pursued has been to furnish blankets, and clothing made of cotton-warp fabrics, known in the market as "satinets" and "meltons." Clothing made of these materials is not serviceable, as the garments become threadbare with the least wear; and will rend with slight strain.
In an economic point of view nothing is more useless, and, indeed, extravagant, than clothing made of these materials. We should have a uniform material, made entirely of wool – like army-cloth – for Indian clothing; and the garments should consist of a coat and pantaloons, the coat to be in shape like the old fringed rifle-coat or blouse, with a belt at the waist. The object should be to secure the comfort of the wearer and uniformity in style of clothing, so that competitors for clothing-contracts might know in advance precisely what kind of garments would be wanted for the Indian service. In this connection I would say that one Indian agent proposes to erect a woolen-mill at his agency; to enable the Indians to make their own cloth from wool of their own raising. This would be advisable if the necessary machinery to do the work were simple and inexpensive.
Experience has demonstrated the impolicy of sending northern Indians to the Indian Territory. To go no farther back then the date of the Pawnee removal, it will be seen that the effect of a radical change of climate is disastrous, as this tribe alone, in the first two years, lost by death over 800 out of its number of 2,376. The northern Cheyennes have suffered severely, and the Poncas who were recently removed from
contact with the unfriendly Sioux, and arrived there in Ju1y last, have already lost 36 by death, which, by an ordinary computation, would be the death-rate for the entire tribe for a period of four years.
The anomaly of the present system of paying Indian agents needs only to be stated to be apparent. We pay an agent having charge of three hundred and twenty-five Indians $1,500, while another, having the care of seven thousand, is paid only the same sum. It may also happen that an agent having the oversight of but three hundred and twenty-five Indians may have with him a son employed as a clerk at $1,000 per annum, a daughter as a teacher at $600 per annum, a brother as a farmer at $900 per annum, a cousin as a blacksmith at $900 per annum, with a nephew as a carpenter at $800. At the same time, another agent having the care of seven thousand, having only his wife, (not under pay,) though obliged to entertain all strangers and military officers visiting his agency, draws from his salary only a bare subsistence for himself and wife, and is necessarily in very straitened circumstances. This latter case, to my knowledge, is literally and exactly true of one agent. The first case stated, though a supposable one, is possible to have occurred under our present system.
Agents of the third class, having in charge more than 3,000 and less than 5,000 Indians, $2,000.
In large mercantile establishments it is the practice to employ one or more solicitors, to be always present in counting-rooms, whose special
office it is to draw contracts, to give legal advice, and to make collections by law. The Indian Bureau needs the services of a competent solicitor in drawing contracts, in passing on land and other legal questions, and in prosecuting defaulting contractors, who, until recently, have been suffered to go for want of a prosecutor. The outlay of three thousand dollars per annum for this purpose would result in saving to the government many thousand dollars annually. Such an officer is indispensable for the proper working of the bureau.
A very important subject for consideration is that of Indian traderships. As the agency traders have daily intercourse with the Indians upon their reservations, they have unlimited opportunities to influence them for good or evil. The true interests of the Indians are not always in harmony with the personal interests of the traders. From time to time facts come to light which serve to prove that not all of them are worthy of the recommendation upon which their licenses were granted. The fact that in every outbreak of Indians it is found that there is no lack of arms and ammunition, proves that at least with some traders, the accompanying horrors of a war with savages have not always been sufficient to overcome their greed for gain. So, too, the opportunities afforded to dishonest men to cheat the Indians through the use of tokens and tickets in lieu of money, and again by demanding of them much higher prices than are asked of white men, even when money is used, are far too frequently availed of.
of gaining subsistence by the chase which is a relic of barbarism and an obstruction to the progress of Indian civilization.
Since the year 1870 the influence exerted by the Board of Indian Commissioners has made itself felt in the purification of the Indian service. Prior to that time it was the custom to receive bids for annuity goods and supplies in classes. By this system a bidder was obliged, for example, to bid for all the dry-goods needed in one class, i. e., to make a price for every article in the long list called for, the bureau reserving the right to alter quantities to suit its requirements. Under this system the contract went year after year to one house, and was looked upon by the public as a practical monopoly, so much so ,that competition fell off, one house seeming always to have inside information from some one connected with the bureau. The original Board of Indian Commissioners aimed its first blow at this faulty system, and secured a reform in this particular by requiring bids to be made for each article separately. By this method only, a fair competition could be had. From this date a decided improvement in the manner of purchasing took place.
The Nez Percés originally inhabited the country in Idaho lying between the Bitter Root and Blue Mountains, and extending from the Pelounse River on the north to the Salmon River and Valley on the south. By the treaty of June, 1855, signed by fifty-eight chiefs, headmen, and delegates, a portion of this Territory on the west and south was ceded to the United States, Chief Lawyer occupying the Kamiah Valley, Big Thunder the Lapwai, Timothy the Alpowai, Joseph the Wallowa, and Billy the Salmon River Valley.
whereby that portion of the reserve lying north of the Snake and Clearwater Rivers, the South Fork of the Clearwater, and the trail from said South Fork by the "Weipo root-ground" across the Bitter Root Mountains, was opened to the whites in common with the Indians for mining purposes. In defiance of law, and despite the protestations of the Indian agent, a town-site was laid off in October, 1861, on the reservation, and Lewiston, with a population of twelve hundred, sprung into existence. To this another grievance was added in the distribution of annuities, articles being supplied in inadequate quantities. In 1862, only 247 blankets were furnished the tribe, or one blanket to six Indians, and 4,393 yards of calico, which was less than two yards to each Indian. Giving a blanket to one Indian works no satisfaction to the other five, who receive none, and two yards of calico to each Indian affords but little help and no advancement; yet this was all that could be distributed owing to the meagre appropriations allowed.
additional settlement, to declare the valley an Indian reservation, and thereby check further encroachment of settlers until some decisive action could be taken by Congress to remove the whites from Lapwai reserve, and to settle the non-treaty Indians thereon. Accordingly, on the 16th of June, 1873, the President declared the Wallowa Valley a reservation for the roving Nez Perce Indians, so long as they remained peaceable and committed no depredations on the settlers or their improvements. There being a number of settlers within the reservation thus set apart by the President, an appraisal of their improvements was made and submitted to the department to be recommended for appropriate legislation. Congress, however, failed to make any appropriation for the payment of the claims of these settlers, and Chief Joseph, after a lapse of two years, showed a disposition neither to settle upon the Wallowa reserve nor to respect title rights or property of the whites whom he encountered in his unrestricted roving. Having thus failed to secure the results contemplated by the issue of the order of June 16, 1873, the Indian Office then recommended a revocation of said order, which was signed by President Grant June 10, 1875.
the three chief leaders of all the non-treaty Indians, agreed to go upon the reservation with their several bands. In accordance with this agreement, arrangements were made to visit the several localities on the reserve suitable for the settlement of their bands. The first visit was made on the 8th of May, to the valley of the Lapwai, for a location for Joseph and his band. The next day Looking-Glass and White Bird visited the valley of the Clearwater, at the month of Kamiah Creek. Here, among the Kamiah Indians, Looking-Glass proposed to settle upon the spare lands of this valley. On the 10th of May they proceeded some sixteen or eighteen miles up the Clearwater, where they found a country abounding in wood, water, and grass, with plenty of arable land. Encouraged by Looking-Glass, White Bird settled upon this as his location. Having accomplished this part of their plans, the Indians met on the 15th of May, at Fort Lapwai, to hold a final council in regard to the removal of their bands to these localities, and agreed to remove their stock and settle thereon in thirty days. So confident were General Howard, Inspector Watkins, and Agent Monteith of the honesty of purpose of the Indians as displayed in their councils, and their definite selection of homes, that they felt justified in telegraphing the successful termination of any danger of an outbreak, and the approaching peaceable removal of all non-treaty Indians to suitable homes within the limits of the reservation.
Instructions were issued to General Terry that if the hostiles should reach the park and cross into the Big Horn country, on the passes of the Stinkingwater, Colonel Miles should be ordered to attack them. The Indians made an attack upon General Howard at Camp Meadow, near Lake Henry, capturing some one hundred horses, one-third of which were, however, retaken after the battle, in which General Howard lost one man killed and seven wounded. On the 27th of August, the Nez Percés crossed the Yellowstone above the falls, at the upper end of a cañon in the National Park, on their way to Wind River.
The causes which led in February, 1876, to a military campaign against that portion of the Sioux Nation, known as the non-treaty Sioux, or followers of Sitting Bull, were fully detailed in the last annual report of this office,* as also the fact that after the opening of hostilities they received large accessions to their number from the agency Sioux. This report showed that such desertions were largely due to the uneasiness which the Indians had long felt on account of the infraction of treaty stipulations by the white invasion of the Black Hills, seriously aggravated at the most critical period by irregular and insufficient issues of rations, necessitated by inadequate and delayed appropriations.
Indians, however, took this opportunity to escape in the direction of Tongue River. The trail was followed down the Tongue, across to the Powder River, and down the Powder to its month. At this point, on August 25th, the two forces separated, General Terry going north of the Yellowstone to prevent escape in that direction. General Crook followed the trail southeast toward the Black Hills until it became so scattered as to be indistinguishable. During this pursuit, on September 14th, General Crook's advanced column surprised and attacked a village of thirty lodges near Slim Buttes, 180 miles from the Cheyenne River agency. This was followed up by an attack on his main column by the band of Crazy Horse. The troops then came into the vicinity of the Black Hills, and soon after assisted in disarming the agency Indians of Red Cloud and Spotted Tail. General Terry likewise disarmed and dismounted the Indians at Cheyenne River and Standing Rock.
not great enough to prevent any but the immediate relatives of the hostages from again joining the hostile camp.
but that their presence was a source of grave apprehension and anxiety on the part of both the Indian and white population of that part of Canada, and requesting the United States Government, without delay, "to take such steps as will induce these Indians, and any others who may similarly cross the boundary-line, to return to their reserves in the United States territory."
In the mouths of September and October, 1876, the various Sioux agencies were visited by a commission, appointed under act of August 15 of that year, to negotiate with the Sioux an agreement to surrender that portion of the Sioux reservation which included the Black Hills and certain hunting privileges outside that reserve guaranteed by the treaty of 1868; to grant a right of way across their reserve; and to provide for the removal of the Red Cloud and Spotted Tail agencies from Northwestern Nebraska to the Missouri River. The commission was also authorized to take steps to gain the consent of the Sioux to their removal to the Indian Territory.
thus entered into provided for subsisting the Sioux on a stated ration until they should become self-supporting, for furnishing schools, and all necessary aid and instruction in agriculture and the mechanical arts, and for the allotment of lands in severalty. The agreement was ratified by Congress February 28, 1877.
REMOVAL OF RED CLOUD AND SPOTTED TAIL AGENCIES.
In May last D.H. Jerome, of the Board of Indian Commissioners, Lieutenant-Colonel P. Lugenbeel, First Infantry, U.S.A., and J.H. Hammond, superintendent of Indian affairs for Dakota, were appointed a commission to select locations on the Missouri River for the new Red Cloud and Spotted Tail agencies. For the former, the site chosen is the junction of Yellow Medicine and Missouri Rivers, and at that point agency buildings have just been erected. For the latter, the old Ponca reserve was decided upon, where the agency dwellings, storehouses, one hundred and fifty Indian houses, and five hundred acres of cultivated fields, left vacant by the Poncas, offer special advantages for present quarters.
Let us for a moment consider that the Spotted Tail agency was in 1871 on the west bank of the Missouri River, where the whites became exceedingly troublesome, and the river afforded abundant facilities for the introduction of intoxicating liquors. In 1874 the Red Cloud and Spotted Tail agencies were removed to, what a subsequent survey proved to be, the State of Nebraska, the former agency 165 miles from Cheyenne and the latter 108 miles from Sidney, the nearest points on the Union Pacific Railroad. Here the usual ill fortune attending the removal of these Indians was again exemplified, in placing the agencies on absolutely barren ground, where there was no possibility of cultivating the soil, no hope of their being enabled to become self-supporting, and where they have of necessity been kept in the hopeless condition of paupers.
These Indians for several years past have been reported as receiving rations with the Sioux, at Red Cloud agency, but as "belonging" with their southern brethren in the Indian Territory, whom they could not be induced to join by any persuasion or command unsupported by force.
Irwin with the Shoshones, their consent to the arrangement desired by the Arapahoes was obtained, and the removal of the latter is now in progress.
After the removal in June, 1876, of 325 Chiricahua Apaches to San Carlos, the Chiricahua reserve was abol1shed, and the military commander of Arizona requested to treat as hostile all Indians found in that locality. Raids by the renegades, of whom Pionsenary, Heronemo, Nolgee, and Hoo were chiefs, became frequent. Many lives were taken, much property stolen or destroyed, and by February, 1877, the old reign of terror seemed to have returned to the southeastern portion of Arizona. In March last it was definitely ascertained that not only were the renegades re-enforced by Indians from the Hot Springs reservation in New Mexico, but also that that reserve was being used as a harbor of refuge for the outlaws.
field against them. On the 10th of September a second engagement occurred between the renegades and a party of San Carlos police, which was in advance of a force of United States troops and Indian scouts enlisted by the War Department, whom they had joined in the pursuit. The loss to the hostiles was reported to have been 12 killed and 13 captured. On the 13th of last month 3 chiefs with 187 Apaches surrendered at Fort Wingate, finding themselves unable to successfully carry on war in a country thoroughly occupied by United States soldiers and Indian scouts. These, with 51 who have since surrendered, have been taken to the old Hot Springs reservation, where their final disposition will be decided upon. Active scouting must still be continued, in order to secure to Southeastern Arizona and Southwestern New Mexico freedom from raids made by other renegades who were outlawed at the time of the Southern Apache and Chiricahua removals.
The unfortunate location of the Poncas on account of their exposure to unfriendly contact with the Sioux, which has been a matter of frequent comment in the annual reports of this office, has led to the removal of that tribe to the Indian Territory, in accordance. with provisions contained in the last two Indian appropriation bills. The party reached Columbus, Nebr., en route for the Indian territory, April 28th, having been thirteen days in making the journey from the agency thither, a distance
of 135 miles. The weather had been most unpropitious; rain, snow, high water, and heavy roads were encountered on nearly every day's march. The party moved down from Columbus under my direction, as far as the Otoe agency, following the Big Blue River, through Nebraska. The continuous rains rendered it impossible to make the daily marches contemplated and provided for in the contract. Our average day's travel to this point was a fraction over eleven miles. There were days when it was impracticable to go forward. On the Otoe reservation we were greatly impeded by water, the streams being all unbridged. We were delayed here nearly a week.
It having been determined that the removal of the remainder of the tribe must now be insisted upon, troops were ordered to the Ponca agency. But it was decided to attempt to forestall the need of their presence by sending back the Ponca agent, Mr. Lawrence, with his successor, Agent Howard, to again urge upon the Indians a quiet compliance with the wishes of the government. They so far succeeded as to be able to request that the four companies who had started for the agency be recalled, and on the 16th of May the last Ponca crossed the Niobrara and turned his face southward. At Columbus, the twenty-five soldiers who had remained at the agency after the departure of the first party, and had accompanied the second part to that point, returned to Dakota. The succession of disasters which befell this second party on their sixty-five days' march are fully detailed in the report of Agent Howard append hereto, page 68.
will be undergone by these Indians during the coming winter. Even with most ample provision on the part of the government, it will be difficult for some time to place these Indians in comfortable quarters.
Should the Poncas, however, remain where they now are, it will be necessary, before a purchase of Quapaw lands can be made for them, that action be had by Congress authorizing a negotiation with the Quapaw Indians for the cession of the whole or a portion of their reservation, and their removal to and consolidation with the Osages, as recommended in the last annual report of this office. It is understood that the majority of this small tribe have already de facto "removed," and have settled among the Osages. It is believed that the best interests of the Quapaws will be promoted by such removal, irrespective of any consideration of the possible necessities of the Poncas.
An act of Congress approved July 2, 1864, (13 Stats., p. 355,) granted to the State of Oregon, to aid in the construction of a military wagon
road from Eugene City by way of Middle Fork of Willamette River and the most feasible pass in the Cascade Range of Mountains, near Diamond Peak, to the eastern boundary of the State, alternate sections of public lands, designated by odd sections, for three sections in width on each side of said road.
pany, leaving an area sufficiently large to meet all the wants of the Indians.
Pawnee Lands in Nebraska.
A commission, consisting of Lewis M. Briggs, of Atchison, Kans., Loran Clark, of Omaha, Nebr., and Albert W. Swalm, of Fort Dodge, Iowa, was appointed by the Secretary of the Interior on the 29th of August, 1876, to appraise the Pawnee Indian reservation in Nebraska, as provided. by act of Congress approved April 10, 1876. (19 Stats., p. 28.) This commission, under instructions from this office dated September 27, 1876, has completed its labors in the field and submitted a schedule of appraisement for the approval of the department. The reservation, embracing an area of 278,837.20 acres, has been appraised at an aggregate valuation of $752,455.21; the improvements thereon were appraised at $9,345, making the total valuation of reservation and improvements, $761,800.21.
Under an act of Congress entitled "An act to provide for the sale of a portion of the reservation of the confederated Otoe and Missouria and the Sac and Fox of the Missouri tribes of Indians in the States of Kansas and Nebraska," approved August 15, 1876, (19 Stats., p. 208,) a commission, consisting of Wm. V. Lagourge, of Beatrice, Nebr., H.D.
Baker, of Salina, Kans., and F.M. Barnes, of the Otoe agency, was appointed January 22 and 27, 1877, by the Secretary of the Interior, to appraise the Otoe and Missouria Indian lands; and a commission, consisting of Barclay White, of Mount Holly, N.J., Tyler C. Hoyt, of Rulo, Nebr., and William A. Margrave, of Nohart, Nebr., was appointed by the Secretary of the Interior on the 17th of March, 1877; to appraise the Sac and Fox Indian lands. While the act contemplated the sale of a portion only of these reservations, it required the appraisement of all the land. These commissions have completed their work, and the schedules of appraisement have been approved by the department.
in Nebraska have been appraised at $54,634.97, and 4,863.74 acres lying in Kansas have been appraised at $28,911.86~, making a total valuation of $83,546 .83 1/2 for the whole reservation of 14,411.98 acres. The act aforesaid authorizes the sale of only ten sections of this reservation, to be selected from the western side. In accordance therewith, 4,397.39 acres in Nebraska, at a valuation of $26,352.09, and 2,000.81 acres in Kansas, at a valuation of $10,577.78, making 6,398.20 acres, at a total valuation of $36,929.87, have been designated as the land to be sold.
A commission, consisting of Thomas P. Kennard, of Lincoln, Nebr., Ebenezer H. Topping, of Louisburgh, Kans., and Thomas E. Smith, of Paola, Kans., was appointed by the Secretary of the Interior on the 30th January, 1877, to appraise the Cherokee lands in the Indian Territory, lying west of the 96th meridian of west longitude, and west of the land of the Osages ceded to the United States by the Cherokee Indians under their treaty of July 19, 1866, for the settlement of friendly Indians, as provided in the fifth section of the Indian appropriation act of May 29, 1872. (17 Stats., p. 190.)
The Indians of Alaska, numbering over 20,000, being within the jurisdiction of the United States, have at least a moral claim upon the government for assistance in the way of civilization. Under the policy of letting these tribes alone, Indians who are as yet without the influence of either the virtues or vices of civilization will gradually become victims to the practice of whisky-drinking and other deteriorating influences;
those whose contact with whites has already resulted in demoralization will become still more degraded; and those who, under Russian rule and influence became partially civilized, will, by the withdrawal of the restraints and protection of Russian law, and the failure to substitute the authority of the United States Government, relapse into barbarism.
Indians under civilizing control of the government should be adopted at an early day, especially for furnishing them educational facilities. I would recommend the appointment of a special agent, whose duty it shall be to ascertain their condition and wants and make report thereon, to be the basis of future action.
Hon. SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR.
OFFICE OF INDIAN AFFAIRS,
November 1, 1877.
In considering any comprehensive scheme for the civilization of the Indian race, it is indispensable at the outset to throw aside the sentimentality that is so fashionable in our day, and to treat the subject in a practical and common-sense way. This is the only course by which we can hope to deal successfully with the matter. I assume that there is no intrinsic impossibility in the way of the great mass of our Indians being brought to a degree of advancement that will render them harmless, as its first results, and that will assist them in working out ultimately a completed civilization. But in order permanently to lay the foundations on which to build up such a civilization, the following preliminaries are essential:
1. A code of laws for Indian reservations, and appliances for dispensing justice, neither of which at present have any existence.
2. Provision for the preservation of order and the enforcement of laws by means of an Indian police, composed of Indians under white officers.
3. The endowment of the Indians with lands, divided into farms of convenient size, the title to which shall be vested in individuals and inalienable for twenty years; and the promotion in every feasible way of the knowledge of agriculture and a taste for agricultural pursuits among them.
4. The establishment of the common-school system (including industrial schools) among them, with provision for their compulsory education in such schools.
5. Opportunity for the free access to the Indians of Christian teachers and missionaries, in order to reclaim them from a debasing paganism, and to win them to a purer and more ennobling faith.
6. The institution of a wise economy in feeding and clothing them, making sure that it is not wastefully done, and being careful especially not to make paupers of them by the encouragement of a system of gra-
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7. A steady concentration of the smaller bands of Indians upon the larger reservations, and discontinuance of the removal of the northern Indians to the Indian Territory. This last is essential to the well-being of the Indians, since the effect of the change of climate to which they are subjected by such removals tells with fatal effect upon their health and longevity. Southern Indians, however, who are in Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico, should be settled in the Indian Territory, the climate being favorable to them, and there being sufficient arable land for their maintenance. . .
The enactment of a code, based upon the result of the experience of those familiar with Indian life and manners as a supplement to the adaptation of existing laws, would cover the defects in the system by which the civilization of the Indian is now being attempted. These are merely suggestions, which can be elaborated by those whose duty it is to make laws.
The evils resulting from the absence of law forcibly described by Bishop Hare in his fifth annual report, dated September 11, 1877:
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Undoubtedly our chief hope is in the education of the young, and just here our best and most persistent efforts should be made. The Indian youths in the various schools show surprising progress in penmanship and drawing, and can be taught the ordinary branches of a common-school education as readily as white children, except, perhaps, arithmetic. Such being the case, every effort should be made to take advantage of the aptitudes they have exhibited, and to bring Indian children into schools. I would advise the establishment of a rule making it compulsory upon all Indian children between the ages of six and fourteen years to attend schools, and requiring English alone to be spoken and taught therein; and it is decidedly preferable that as many of them as possible should be placed in boarding schools, Which possess more
advantages in every way than day-schools, for the reason that the exposure of children who attend only day-schools to the demoralization and degradation of an Indian home neutralizes the efforts of the school-teacher, especially those efforts which are directed to advancement in morality and civilization. Forty children can be boarded and instructed at an expense of one hundred and twenty-five dollars each per annum, the cost being slightly reduced in schools containing a larger number of pupils.
I recommend that provision be made to give a higher education, in some of our normal schools at the East, to Indian youths sufficiently advanced to enable them to enter such schools, in order that the bureau may be supplied with educated interpreters to take the place of the in-
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In order to carry out the policy which I have briefly outlined, I have recommended an appropriation of fifty thousand dollars, as a special fund, for the establishment and support of additional schools wherever, in the judgment of the Secretary of the Interior, they may be most needed. In addition to the ordinary schools, I particularly recommend the establishment of industrial schools, in which those over fourteen years of age may be taught the various trades and thus be qualified to become self-supporting.
Increased expenditure on civilization account is called for by the additional number of Indians who are actively seeking for the means of civilization. The recent visit of the Sioux chiefs at Washington was remarkable for the earnest unanimity with which they besought the government for implements of agriculture, for cattle, and for schools for their children. The expenditure of one hundred thousand dollars during the next year, in addition to the agricultural fund, would be a wise economy, and tend materially to lessen the demand for supplies in the early future. There is no good reason why the Sioux Indians, for example, might not, in the course of time, become extensive breeders of cattle. The business would not be laborious in itself, and is one for which they have exhibited considerable aptitude. Besides, it would tend directly to interest them in the accumulation of property, which is one of the most important steps in civilization.
[Page 5]
Flour is the next great article of food furnished to the Indians, and the standard quality used for the purpose is known as the New York XX flour. The chief difficulty in getting the full percentage of value out of flour arises from the ignorance of the Indians in the art of breadmaking. This is only to be overcome by a more systematic and thorough course of education for Indian girls.
Corn has been furnished to the Indians recently in large quantities, but where they have no facilities for making it into corn-meal, they have in many instances sold it to the traders. It is, therefore, useless to send the corn unless there are mills to grind it at the agencies. Corn-meal cannot be sent to the agencies, as it sours very soon, and can only be used when fresh ground.
[Page 6]
In this connection, I recommend the removal of all the Indians in Colorado and Arizona to the Indian Territory. In Colorado, gold and silver mines are scattered over a wide extent of territory, and are to be found in every conceivable direction, running into Indian reservations. Of course miners will follow the various leads and prospect new ones without regard to the barriers set up by an Indian reservation. Hence the sojourn of Indians in this State will be sure to lead to strife, contention, and war, besides entailing an enormous expense to feed and provide for them. Again, there is no hope of civilizing these Indians while they reside in Colorado, as all the arable land in the State is required for its white settlers. A mining population needs in its immediate vicinity abundant facilities for agriculture to feed it. The question of feeding the white population of the State is one of paramount importance, and will certainly force itself on the attention of the government.
What is true of Colorado is to a certain extent true of Arizona also;
but in addition thereto, it must be considered that the expense of transporting annuities and supplies is enormous. The government has been paying eight and ten cents per pound for the transportation of flour and other necessaries to feed the Indians, and the total cost of maintaining the Indian tribes of Arizona for the past three years has been $1,084,000. While the Indians are kept there this expenditure will go on, perhaps indefinitely increasing, without any corresponding improvement in their welfare or civilization. Moreover, the Indians of the State and Territory are uneasy and restless, and are constantly moving about, both on and off their reservations. The true remedy for these evils is their immediate removal to the Indian Territory, where 58,000 square miles are set apart for the use of Indians; where they can be fed and clothed at a greatly diminished expense; and where, better than all, they can be kept in obedience, and taught to become civilized and self-supporting.
I recommend, to remedy this inequality and unfairness, a classification of the agencies as follows:
Agents of the first class, having in charge 7,000 or more Indians,
$2,500.
Agents of the second class, having in charge more than 5,000 and less than 7,000 Indians, $2,200.
[Page 7]
Agents of the fourth class, having in charge more than 2,000 and less than 3,000 Indians, $1,800.
Agents of the fifth class, having in charge more than 1,000 and less than 2,000 Indians, $1,500.
Agents of the sixth class, having in charge more. than 800 and less than 1,000 Indians, $1,200.
Agents of the seventh class, having in charge less than 800 Indians,
$1,000.
The classification of agents above suggested, although securing to some of them a higher salary than they now receive, will not entail a larger expense upon the government when the consolidation of Indian tribes upon a smaller number of reservations is accomplished, as the number of agents will then be correspondingly reduced. It is also to be hoped that a higher rate of compensation will secure to the government a superior class of officers.
The estimates presented by this office are based upon the old system, for the reason that the changes herein suggested will require additional appropriation.
It is necessary that, as far as possible, temptation be put out of the way of agents, by discouraging purchases in open market. Such purchases have been in the past a fruitful source of speculation. Such purchases should only be made, with the approval of the Hon. Secretary of the Interior, in cases where he is convinced that a real emergency exists. To avoid open-market purchases to a greater extent than heretofore;
ample notification will be given to agents to send in estimates of the goods and supplies needed at their respective agencies before the commencement of the fiscal year, in order that the annual lettings of contracts and making of purchases shall, as much as possible, include all needs, and that goods and supplies may be apportioned properly, thus leaving little room for future wants or deficiencies.
Up to the present time nepotism has prevailed at the Indian agencies to such an extent as to have become a public scandal, a nuisance that must be immediately abated. For instance: It is not an uncommon thing to find four relatives quartered upon a single agency. Sometimes more than that number may be found, including the traders. One case has been discovered in which the agent has had his wife appointed matron at a salary, and the only individual to matronize is his family cook. One agent recently forwarded for the approval of this office the nomination of one of his sons, a lad of 17, as farmer, at a salary of $1,000, while his real market-value probably would not exceed $150 per annum; and another son, aged 16, as assistant farmer, at a salary of $900; the market-value of such a boy probably being $100. In such cases, however, the fraud on the service would be greater than the difference between the market-value of the two boys' services and the salaries paid them, since they would be utterly unfit to work with the Indians and train them to a knowledge of farming, for which alone the expenditure could properly be made. These are not solitary instances, and an extended list of others, quite as flagrant, might be made. We are endeavoring to suppress such abuses as rapidly as they are discovered.
[Page 8]
To enforce the laws respecting the sale of arms, ammunition, and intoxicating drinks; to do away with the pernicious system of checks and tickets, which by traders are misnamed dollars; to insist that no distinction shall be made between whites and Indians in the prices to be paid for purchases and sales of goods, and to guard against it by calling upon the traders to furnish printed price-lists which the Indians can understand, for the principal articles which they may have to sell; to counteract as much as possible the bad results of that self-aggrandizement on the part of traders which results injuriously both to the present interests and future welfare of the Indians; in fine, bearing in mind that the trading business in the Indian country is to be conducted primarily for the benefit of Indians and but incidentally for the benefit of the traders, to utilize the money-making instinct, and through a system of fair dealing to make the traders most potent instruments in the civilizing process, will be but carrying out that law which requires this office "to make such rules and regulations as it may deem, just and proper." That I have no desire to disregard or avoid the duty which the law has put upon me is made manifest by the fact that I have already issued the requisite instructions for the accomplishment of the objects herein mentioned.
There are still other difficulties resulting from the establishment of traders in the Indian country. Each year the Indians are clamorous to, be permitted to hunt buffalo; and each year it becomes more and more certain that the proceeds of the hunt subserve the interests of the traders in securing buffalo-robes in trade for goods, and lead them to encourage the Indians in keeping up an enthusiasm for the hunt. Despite the annual losses of fences, dwellings, and out-buildings, occasioned by the prairie-fires which rage unchecked during the absence Of their owners, the trader's influence is potent in maintaining that habit
[Page 9]
I am not disposed to favor any monopoly of the business; but, on the contrary, shall grant a sufficient number of traders' licenses to secure a wholesome competition. At the same time I shall hold them to a rigid accountability; and any failure to conform to the rules and regulations of this office will cause the speedy revocation of a trader's license.
After the resignation of the original board, consisting of Messrs. Brunot, Stuart, Welsh, Dodge, Farwell, Bishop, and Campbell, in the early part of 1874, there was a change for the worse in the purchases for the year 1874, when a loose system of purchase and inspection again prevailed, and loud and earnest complaints were made, among which were those by Professor Marsh, on the inferior quality of all goods purchased. On the filling up of the board in July and August, 1874, the system of the original board was again established, and improved in some particulars.
The main action of the board has been in the interests of good government, and it has exerted a beneficial effect in reforming the service; and although it has had many difficulties to contend with within its organization, its influence has been salutary, and has, tended to keep out abuses.
Upon the discovery of gold in the fall of 1860 the reservation was soon overrun with settlers rushing to the mines, and to avoid a conflict between them and the Indians an agreement was entered into, but not confirmed by Congress, on the 10th of April, 1861, between Superintendent Geary and Agent Cain on the one part, and Chief Lawyer, with forty-seven chiefs, headmen, and delegates, on the other part,
[Page 10]
By the spring of 1863 it was very evident that, from the change of circumstances and contact with whites, a new treaty was required to properly define and, if possible, curtail the limits of the reserve. Accordingly, on the 9th of June, 1863, Calvin H. Hale, Charles Hutchins, and S.D. Howe, commissioners on the part of the United States, and Chief Lawyer, whose opinion Governor Stevens held in higher esteem than that of any other Indian in the Territory, with fifty other chiefs and headmen, (twenty of whom were parties to the treaty of 1855,) on the part of the Nez Percés, made a new treaty, whereby the reserve was reduced to its present limits, excluding Wallowa, Salmon River, and Alpowai Valleys. After the conclusion of these negotiations, the Nez Percé tribe divided into two factions, viz, the treaty or peace party and the non-treaty or war party, the latter being led by Joseph, Looking-Glass, Big Thunder, White Bird, and Eagle from the Light. Chief Joseph and his band, utterly ignoring the treaty of 1863, continued to claim the Wallowa Valley, where he was tacitly permitted to roam without restraint, until the encroachments of white settlers induced the government to take some definite action respecting this band of non-treaty Nez Percés.
A commission, consisting of Hon. J.P.C. Shanks, Hon. T.W. Bennett, and Agent H.W. Reed, was appointed March 26, 1873, to investigate and report upon Indian affairs in Idaho; and Superintendent T. Odeneal and Agent J.B. Monteith were designated, February. 7, and 25, 1873, respectively, as a special commission to make an investigation and hold a council with Chief Joseph and band, and other Indians occupying Wallowa Valley in Oregon, with a view to their removal, if practicable, to the Lapwai reserve. The first-named commission state the source of the then existing troubles with the Nez Perce Indians to have been the encroachment of whites upon their farming-lands and upon their fishery and hunting-grounds, as well as the actual settlement of four white men within the limits of the reduced reservation, in violation of treaty stipulations. The other commission held the removal of these roving Nez Percés to the Lapwai reservation to be impracticable.
So long as the Wallowa Valley remained unsettled, Chief Joseph and his followers retained it in quiet possession, under the full sway and influence of Smohalla and other "dreamers" or medicine-men, who held that the earth was a part of themselves, and that Chief Joseph had a right to roam wherever impulse or inclination led him. As a removal had been declared to be impracticable, and his right as a non-treaty Indian to occupy the Wallowa Valley was still mooted, it was deemed to be good policy, in avoidance of a conflict liable to be the result of
[Page 11]
Owing to the imminent danger of a conflict between the settlers and these roving Indians, growing out of the murder by the whites of one of Chief Joseph's band, and of the depredations upon the crops and stock of the whites by the Indians, a commission, consisting of D.H.
Jerome, esq., Brig. Gen. O.O. Howard, Maj. H. Clay Wood, A.A.G., and William Stickney, esq. and A.O. Barstow, esq., of the board of Indian Commissioners, was appointed in October, 1876, by the Secretary of the Interior, Hon. Z. Chandler, to visit these Indians with a view to secure their permanent settlement upon the reservation, and their early entrance upon a civilized life, and to adjust the difficulties then existing between them and the settlers. The report of the commission, submitted December 1, 1876, (which accompanies this report, page 183,) recommended, first, the return of the dreamers or medicine-men to the reserve, and, in case of refusal, their transportation to the Indian Territory; secondly, the speedy military occupation of the Wallowa Valley by a force adequate to suppress any outbreak, the agent in the mean time to continue his efforts in persuading them to settle upon the reserve; thirdly, failing to secure a quiet settlement upon the reserve, that forcible means be used to place them on it; and, fourthly, should depredations upon property or any overt act of hostility by the Indians be made, the employment of sufficient force to bring them into subjection and to place them on the reservation.
The department' acted upon these recommendations, instructing the agent to hold interviews with these Indians, and also requesting the War Department to take military occupation of the valley in the interest of peace, and to co-operate with the agent in the effort to place Chief Joseph and his band in permanent homes upon the Lapwai reservation. General Howard, with agent Monteith, took charge of the proposed negotiations. Several interviews were held with Chief Joseph, but owing to the pernicious influence of the dreamers – Smohalla especially – no suggestion from the Indian agent seemed to Chief Joseph worthy of consideration; and it becoming evident to Agent Monteith that all negotiations for the peaceful removal of Joseph and his band, with other non-treaty Nez Percé Indians, to the Lapwai Indian reservation in Idaho must fail of a satisfactory adjustment, General Howard was placed in full control of all further attempts for their removal.
He held three councils with these Indians, on the 3d, 4th, and 7th of May last respectively, in which Joseph, Looking-Glass, and White Bird,
[Page 12]
One day, however, prior to the expiration of the time fixed for their removal (namely, June 14, 1877,) open hostilities by these Indians began by the murder of twenty-one white men and women on White Bird Creek, near Mount Idaho, in revenge for the murder of one of their tribe. The few troops under the command of General Howard were ordered out at once, and on the 17th of June Captain Perry made the first attack in a cañon of Hangman's Creek, near Spokane, 75 miles east of Lewiston, losing thirty-four men. On the 4th of July the attack was renewed by Colonels Berry and Whipple at Kamiah, near Cottonwood on Salmon River, with a loss of thirteen men. The next battle was under the immediate command of General Howard, which occurred on the 12th of July, on the South Fork of the Clearwater, near the mouth of Cottonwood Creek, the government sustaining a loss of eleven killed and twenty-six wounded. On the 19th of July the Indians were reported as having fled on the Lolo trail to the buffalo country east of the of Bitter Root Mountains, having crossed the Clearwater 20 miles below Kamiah. At this juncture, Joseph showed a disposition to surrender, Red Heart and twenty-eight followers having voluntarily given themselves up; but the threatening attitude of White Bird compelled him to abandon this design and join the others in their flight to the Bitter Root Mountains. By this parley of Joseph, the Indians gained four days' advance of the troops which were sent in their pursuit. By forced marches, however, General Gibbon, on the 9th of August, came upon the Nez Percé camp, at Big Hole Pass, Montana Territory, 135 miles from Missoula, making an immediate attack. Both sides lost heavily. General Gibbon himself was wounded and sustained a loss of seven officers and fifty-three men. From this battle-field the Indians fled down the Bannack trail to the vicinity of Bannack City, where they turned southwesterly to Horse Prairie, and proceeded on to Old Fort Lemhi, on the Mormon Fork of Salmon River, south of Salmon City. After passing into Idaho, the hostiles again turned eastward and crossed into Montana, evidently making their way up Henry's Fork of Snake River, in the vicinity of Lake Henry, toward the Yellowstone Park, with General Howard in pursuit.
[Page 13]
Colonel Sturgis was directed to leave the Crow agency for the Clark River Valley to capture the Nez Percés. On the 13th of September he had a battle with them on Cañon Creek, Clark's Fork, near the Yellowstone, in which but few men were killed and wounded, but the Indians lost heavily in men and ponies. The Indians were evidently making for the Judith Mountain, with Sturgis and Sanford in pursuit, followed by General Howard. They crossed the Missouri River at Cow Island on the 23d September, and entered the pass between Bear's Paw and the Little Rocky Mountains on the 28th, carrying many wounded. On the route from the Yellowstone to the Missouri River, the Nez Percés encountered the Crow scouts, who made a sudden charge upon them, capturing large numbers of their ponies and mules, as well as killing and wounding many of their men. General Miles, who had been ordered to intercept, did not strike their trail till they had crossed the Missouri. As the hostile Nez Percés were coming out of the Bear's Paw Mountains, on the 3d of October, General Miles moved his command rapidly to Snake Creek, met, and surprised their camp at eight o'clock in the morning, capturing about six hundred horses, mules, and ponies. This engagement was the severest blow the Indians had yet received. Besides the loss of their horses, they lost seventeen killed, including Looking Glass and Joseph's brother and three other chiefs, and forty wounded.
After this day's battle Joseph resorted to diplomacy, and gave his solemn pledge that he would surrender, but did not do so, evidently waiting for aid from other Indians. This failing him, and General Miles renewing the attack the next day, he was compelled to end the long and severe struggle on the 5th of October by an unconditional surrender of all his forces.
Upon the capture of Joseph and his Indians, the first question that arises is, "What shall be done with them?" Humanity prompts us to send them back and place them on the Nez Percé reservation, as Joseph and his followers have shown themselves to be brave men and skillful soldiers, who, with one exception, have observed the rules of civilized warfare, and have not mutilated their dead enemies.
There is, however, an insuperable difficulty in the way, owing to the fact that at the beginning of the outbreak of the Nez Percé war, twenty-one whites in the immediate vicinity of Joseph's home were murdered in cold blood by the Indians, and six white women were outraged. Because of these crimes, there would be no peace nor safety for Joseph and his Indians on their old reservation, or in its vicinity, as the friends and relatives of the victims would wage an unrelenting war upon the offenders. But for these foul crimes these Indians would be sent back to the reservation in Idaho. Now, however, they will have to be sent to the Indian Territory; and this will be no hardship to them, as the difference in the temperature between that latitude and their old home is inconsiderable.
The gallant achievement of General Miles in the capture of these Indians has had a decided and beneficial influence on other hostile tribes. It is mainly owing to this influence that the Sioux have quietly assented to the removal they before refused to make.
[Page 14]
Of this campaign a full and detailed account will of course be found in the reports of the honorable Secretary of War. It has, however, seemed to me proper to present herewith a brief outline of its principal events, in order that the records of the Indian Department may contain, at least, a summary of the most important Indian war of recent date, and one which has involved every interest of the largest tribe with which this office has to deal. The campaign was carried on for the most part
in the region south of the Yellowstone, between the Big Horn and Powder Rivers, in Montana and Wyoming. It opened with an attack made upon an Indian camp on the Powder River, March 17th, 1876, by forces under General Crook, who had approached from the north by way of Forts Reno and Phil Kearney. After this attack the troops returned to Fort Fetterman, March 26th, and remained there until the last of May, when they again started out, pursuing the same route as before, and on June 17th engaged in an all-day fight with the hostiles near the head of the Rosebud, after which they went into camp, and General Crook sent for reinforcements, which arrived August 4th.
About the middle of May a force of about one thousand men under General Terry left Fort Abraham Lincoln and ascended the Yellowstone to the mouth of the Rosebud. There the Seventh Cavalry, numbering 600 men, commanded by General Custer, left General Terry with orders to proceed up the Rosebud and across to the Little Big Horn. General Terry then proceeded to the mouth of the Big Horn, where he was met by a body of 450 men under General Gibbon, which had marched from Fort Ellis down the Yellowstone. The combined forces ascended the Big Horn to the mouth of the Little Big Horn, which latter stream they also ascended, and arrived June 27th at a point about forty miles above its mouth. Here they found that two days previous the forces under General Custer had had an engagement on this ground with the hostiles, which bad resulted in the entire destruction of five companies under General Custer's immediate command; and that by their arrival the remaining seven companies, under Major Reno, had narrowly escaped sharing the same fate. The troops then returned to the mouth of the Big Born, leaving behind 259 dead and carrying with them 53 wounded.
A month later, July 20th, at the request of Lieutenant General Sheridan, the Interior Department conceded to the military the supervision of the Lower Brulé, Cheyenne River, and Standing Rock agencies; and military officers were made acting agents at the Red Cloud and Spotted Tail agencies. About the same time, General Terry, who had meanwhile received reenforcements, descended the Yellowstone to the Rosebud, and ascended the Rosebud 36 miles, where, August 10th, he joined General Crook. The
*A still further account of the same is contained in Senate Ex. Doc. No. 52, 1st sess.
44th Congress.
[Page 15]
The main body of the hostiles under Crazy Horse went in small companies toward the Yellowstone, near the Powder River, then up the Yellowstone to the Tongue River, and down that river to a point near Suicide Creek, where a winter camp was made in the heart of the buffalo country. This cOnstituted the headquarters of the hostiles under Crazy Horse until March, 1877, when the camp removed to the Powder River. Another portion, under Sitting Bull, took a more northerly course toward the Yellowstone and Glendive Creek. The winter camp of this chief was about two hundred miles north of the Tongue River toward the Dry Fork of the Missouri. He seems to have made frequent trips between the camps for consultation and to distribute ammunition, which he obtained by trade with the Red River half-breeds near the British boundary.
On the 18th of October a large force under Sitting Bull attacked a supply-train near Glendive Creek, ran off sixty mules, and retreated across the Yellowstone in the direction of Fort Peck. This movement was anticipated by Colonel Miles, who, with troops belonging to the just-completed cantonment at the mouth of Tongue River, started to intercept them, and came upon their camp October 21. Under a flag of truce presented by the Indians, two councils were held with Sitting Bull and other leading men, at which the latter reiterated their old desire to be independent of the United States, their indifference to any government aid in the way of supplies and annuities, and their wish to be connected with agencies only to the extent of trading in ammunition; nor would they give any pledges of good faith. The second day's council was immediately followed by an engagement, in which the Indians were driven from their position and fled, closely pursued by the troops, a distance of 42 miles, until, in the vicinity of Bad Route Creek, on the other side of the Yellowstone, the main body consisting of Minneconjoux and Sans Arcs, sued for peace on the terms which five days before they had rejected Ÿ unconditional surrender – and delivered up five of their number as hostages, viz, Red Skirt, White Bull, Black Eagle, Sun Rise, and Foolish Thunder. During the flight Sitting Bull, with his immediate followers, succeeded in breaking away to the left, and escaped in the direction of Fort Peck. The hostages were taken to the Cheyenne River agency, and their people, estimated at from four hundred to six hundred lodges, were placed, under the direction of Bull Eagle, Small Bear, and Bull, and ordered to reach the Cheyenne River agency not later than December 2, five days being allowed them to provide a supply of buffalo-meat, and thirty to make the march. This arrangement seems to have been made in good faith by some of the leading men taking part in it; but their influence over the others was
[Page 16]
On the 15th of November a new expedition, under General Crook, started from Fort Fetterman to again follow up Crazy Horse. On the 25th of that month a detached camp of Cheyennes was struck by a portion of his troops under General Mackenzie, on the west fork of the Powder River, which resulted in the complete destruction of the village, and the loss to the Indians of all their ponies and camp equipage. The expedition then went down the Belle Fourche, and about the 1st of January returned to the cantonment, near Old Fort Reno.
On the 16th of December, five Sioux chiefs from the hostile camp on Tongue River, followed at a distance by twenty or thirty other Indians, approached the Tongue River post bearing the white flag; but while passing the camp of Crow scouts the five leaders were surrounded by twelve of their old enemies and instantly killed, whereupon their companions fled. The Crows were forthwith disarmed, and twelve of their horses, with other gifts, were immediately dispatched to the friends and relatives of those who had been killed. These presents were accompanied by assurances that no white man had taken part in the outrage. The Indians, though at first inclined to doubt the genuineness of these protestations, have since expressed their full belief that the troops were in no way responsible for the affair, and report their errand to have been to return some stolen horses.
After the surrender of October 27, Colonel Miles continued his operations against Sitting Bull. By sending three companies north of the Missouri and three others south, between the Muscle Shell and the Dry Fork of the Missouri, and four more to operate on the Dry Fork, he succeeded on the 18th of December in striking the hostile camp near the head of the Red Water, Sitting Bull having crossed the Missouri near Wolf Point. The Indians were driven south across the Yellowstone, and escaped with the loss of all their ponies and camp equipage.
The next move was made by Colonel Miles on the camp of six hundred lodges, under Crazy Horse, in the valley of the. Tongue River. They were found below Suicide or Hanging Woman's Creek, and after skirmishes on the 1st, 3d, and 7th of January, 1877, and a five-hours' engagement on the 8th, were driven from their position, but, owing to worn-out army trains, could not be followed. On the 7th of May, Colonel Miles surprised and attacked a village of fifty lodges, under Lame Deer, near the mouth of the Rosebud. The village was well supplied with ponies, camp equipage, and dried meat; all of which were captured. In July following, raids were made by members of Lame Deer's band on settlers, surveying parties, and wagon trains in the vicinity of the Belle Fourche and the boundary-line of Wyoming.
On the 11th January, 1877, information was received from Inspector Walsh, commanding the detachment of mounted police at Cypress Hills, Canada, that one hundred and nine lodges of American Sioux had crossed the Canadian boundary near Wood Mountain, and were camped on the British side, and that they declared themselves to be desirous of peace and to have no intention of returning to the United States to carry on war. Later the number was reported to have been increased to over two hundred lodges, and they had been joined by Sitting Bull. On the 20th of June, 1877, the honorable Privy Council of Canada, with the approval of the governor-general, officially notified the United States Government of the presence of these Indians within the British Possessions, stating that owing to their destitute condition, permits for the purchase of limited quantities of ammunition had been granted them,
[Page 17]
In accordance with this request a commission, consisting of General A.H. Terry and A.J. Lawrence, esq., was appointed by the President in September last to proceed to Fort Walsh and negotiate with Sitting Bull for his peaceful return to the United States and settlement at some agency. At the council held on the 17th of October, Sitting Bull and his chiefs declined all proposals made by the commission, and announced their desire and intention always to remain within the British Possessions. After the close of the council, the Canadian authorities conferred with the Indians, warning them that after the extinction of the buffalo no help whatever beyond protection could be expected from the British Government, and that a crossing of the line by any of their young men with hostile intent would be considered an act of hostility by both governments. With this full understanding the Indians adhered to their former decision, and the commission returned, and Sitting Bull and his adherents are no longer considered wards of this government.
During the progress of the Sioux campaign, in the fall of 1876, small parties began to deliver themselves up at the different agencies, laying down their arms, with the declaration that they were "tired of war." Other parties who surrendered in the following spring so generally represented that sentiment to be shared by the main body of hostiles that the chief Spotted Tail agreed to visit in person the hostile camp, accompanied by 250 subchiefs and headmen, and urge the return of his people to their agency and allegiance. His return in April with a following of 1,100 attested the remarkable success of his mission; and for this eminent service, which virtually ended the Sioux war, and his unswerving loyalty throughout the whole campaign, some suitable testimonial should be tendered him.
In the following month most of the Cheyennes and 899 Indians under Crazy Horse surrendered at Red Cloud agency. Others found their way into the cantonment on Tongue River, and finally, in September last, Lame Deer's band of 500 gave up the contest.
From their report, which was published as an appendix to the last annual report of this office, it will be seen that the commission were successful in all the negotiations with which they were charged; and that the Indians made every concession that was desired by the government, although we were engaged at that very time in fighting their relatives and friends. On behalf of the United States, the agreement
[Page 18]
Representatives from the Red Cloud and Spotted Tail agencies with two of the commissioners visited the Indian Territory as a preliminary to a practical consideration of the subject of removal thither. Whether it is probable that by following up the matter on the return of the delegation, any portion of the Indians of those agencies could have been induced to adopt as a home the country which they visited, I am unable to say. Any effort in that direction was promptly forestalled by a provision in the act of February 28, by which Congress explicitly prohibited "the removal of any portion of the Sioux Indians to the Indian Territory, until the same shall be authorized by an act of Congress hereafter enacted."
Notwithstanding their consent given to the commission, to hereafter receive supplies on the Missouri River, the Spotted Tail and Red Cloud Indians persisted in making strenuous objection to such removal, in which they were seconded by the surrendered "hostiles," who were not parties to the agreement. Their earnest desire to talk with the President in regard to the matter was finally gratified, and a delegation of twenty-three chiefs and leading men of the Sioux and Northern Arapahoes visited this city for that purpose, in the latter part of September last. The interview failed of results satisfactory to the Sioux, since by law and treaty no concession could be made by the President or the department beyond a promise to examine, next spring, the country lying along the Cheyenne and White Rivers, and to endeavor to find on them suitable locations for farming purposes.
The removal of fourteen thousand Sioux Indians at this season of the year, a distance of three hundred miles from their old agencies in Nebraska to their new quarters near the Missouri River, is not a pleasant matter to contemplate. Neither the present Secretary of the Interior, nor the present Commissioner of Indian Affairs is responsible for the movement, but they have carried out the law faithfully, though reluctantly. The removal is being made in accordance with the act of August 15, 1876. (Stat. 19, p. 191.) It is proper to say here, that I cannot but look on the necessity thus imposed by law on the executive branch of the government as an unfortunate one, and the consequences ought to be remedied as speedily as possible.
[Page 19]
In the hope of placing these Indians upon arable land, where they might become civilized and self-supporting, the determination was hastily taken to remove them back to the Missouri River. This step was undertaken without a proper examination of other points on the reservation, where it is stated, on good authority, that a sufficient quantity of excellent wheat-lands can be found on either bank of the White River running eastward into the Missouri, and where, also, there is timber sufficient in quantity and quality for all practical purposes. This, however, should be fully determined before another movement of these Indians is attempted.
The Indian chiefs, in their interview with the President in September last, begged that they might not be sent to the Missouri River, as whisky-drinking, and other demoralization, would be the consequence. This was the bes[t] judgment of the best men of the tribe, but the necessity was one that the President could not control. The provisions and supplies for the ensuing winter had been placed according to law on the Missouri, and, owing to the lateness of the season, it was impossible to remove them to the old agencies. Accordingly the necessities of the case compelled the removal of these Indians in the midst of the snows and storms of early winter, which have already set in.
The same difference between the disposition of the two tribes has been shown during the Sioux war that was manifested in the Cheyenne and Arapahoe war of 1874 and 1875 in the Indian Territory. The whole body of the Cheyennes took prompt and active part in hostilities, while the Arapahoes, almost without exception, remained loyal to the government. After the surrender of the main portion of this tribe, the Cheyennes were suddenly seized by a desire to remove to the Indian Territory. This unexpected announcement was followed by prompt action, and on the 28th of May last, 937 Cheyennes left Red Cloud agency under military escort, and after 70 days' journey reported at Fort Reno, and were turned over to the Cheyenne and Arapaho agent.
In accordance with their earnest request made to the President during the recent visit of the delegation in this city, permission was given the Northern Arapahoes to join the Shoshones on the Wind River reserve in Wyoming. In a formal council held last month by Agent
[Page 20]
Agent Clum was accordingly instructed to proceed to the Hot Springs reserve with a force of San Carlos Indian police, arrest the renegades, and remove the Southern Apache Indians to the San Carlos reservation, in Arizona. He reached Oji Caliente with 103 police on the 20th of April. He found on the reserve next day 434 Indians, among them Heronomo, Gordo, and others implicated in raids, of whom he arrested 14. On the 1st of May, 453 disarmed and dismounted Indians, escorted by a company or cavalry, left the reserve en route for the San Carlos agency, and all other Indians belonging to the agency were declared renegades. the reserve was restored to the public domain and the buildings placed in the care of the military until disposed of by the General Land Office under sections 2122 and 2123 of the Revised Statutes. In effecting this removal, every possible assistance was rendered by the military commander of New Mexico, under authority to use for that purpose all the infantry and cavalry which could be safely taken from other points in the Territory. The strong force displayed, and the skillful posting of troops around the reserve, convinced the Indians of the folly of either refusing to surrender arms or of attempting to escape by flight. On reaching San Carlos, May 17th, they were located on the Gila River, and it was hoped that no more trouble would be occasioned by this hitherto most intractable of all the Apache bands.
Some of the prisoners were kept in irons, and all were compelled to work at whatever labor was required around the agency.
Although active scouting after renegades was carried on in Southeast Arizona and Southwest New Mexico, raiding, to a greater or less extent, did not cease throughout the summer. On the 26th of May, a reward of $100 was offered for the capture of Pionsenay, (nine of his band had surrendered themselves at San Carlos two weeks previous,) and in July authority was granted this office for the employment of additional police from the San Carlos Indians, to be used for scouting service.
On the 2d of September, a majority of the Hot Springs Indians and a portion of the Chiricahuas, numbering in all about 300, suddenly left the San Carlos reserve. They were pursued and overtaken next day by volunteers from the agency Indians, who fought the fugitives till their ammunition was exhausted, and brought back to the agency 30 women and children and 28 animals. The fugitives then struck a settlement in New Mexico, killing 8 persons and stealing some horses, and immediately all the available troops in that Territory were put into the
[Page 21]
As the initiative step, Inspector Kemble in January last visited the Poncas to obtain their consent to a settlement among the Osages. They at first disclaimed any wish to remove and finally agreed to look at the Indian Territory, but were informed that the expense of sending a delegation could not be incurred without consent on their part to a surrender of their Dakota lands. Such consent was given by the Poncas in formal council, on the 27th of January, with the understanding that after the return of the delegation, final negotiations should be completed in Washington. Unfortunately the delegation of ten chiefs, on account of the failure of the Osages to show hospitality, inclement weather, and other causes, became disheartened at the outset, declined the friendly advances of the Kaws, refused to look farther, scarcely noticed the rich lands along the Arkansas River, and on reaching ArkansasCity, eight left in the night on foot for the Ponca agency, which they reached in forty days. The other two, with the inspector, their agent, and Rev. S.D. Hinman who had accompanied the delegation, selected that northeast part of the Quapaw reserve which was set apart in 1875 for the location of the "captive" Indians of the Territory.
On their return, they found the tribe divided in sentiment, the more civilized portion, consisting of the half-breeds and many full bloods, favoring removal, the others opposing it; the opposition being constantly strengthened through the unwarrantable interference of outside parties, insomuch that before the starting of that half of the tribe which had signified a willingness to remove, forty-five troops were sent from Fort Randall for their protection from the terrorizing tactics of the other party. The adverse influence, however, so far prevailed that only one hundred and seventy crossed the Niobrara on the 17th of April. Among them were two of the three chiefs now living who made 'the tribal treaties with the United States in 1817 and 1826. The train containing the agency supplies had preceded, and had already reached Columbus, Nebr. The misfortunes which attended every step of their journey southward, are thus described by the Inspector Kemble.
[Page 22]
On taking charge of the expedition, I had deemed it expedient to organize a small police force from among the Indians, not less for the protection of our own property than that of others along the road, and for the prevention of whisky traffic and its consequent disorders. The entire march was made without disturbance of the peace, or the destruction of private property beyond the value of ten dollars. The few sick were cared for among ourselves. The Indians moved with cheerful alacrity, and gave me no trouble beyond the petty annoyances inseparable from the management of a large family of children. Our worst enemy was the weather, which could hardly have been more unfavorable or trying.
On the 29th of May we reached the Neosho, down which stream I intended to move.
The bad weather continuing, caused me to deflect from its course after reaching Iola. Rain, thunder and lightning still hung along the line of march. The roads were in a terrible state, and high streams continually presented formidable obstacles to our progress. The Indians behaved well under all these adverse circumstances; but our journey was becoming a very long and expensive one. The contract under which the Poncas were being moved allowed the discontinuance of teams at any point on the road where loads could be lightened, or diminished transportation was possible. But the almost unprecedented storms and heavy roads had so broken down our light Indian work-stock that I was under the necessity of turning in the hired teams to haul their loads as fast as a reduction of supplies gave us "spares."
We arrived at the new location selected for the Poncas, June 12th. Our misfortunes en route had culminated at the Osage Mission, June 8th, in our whole train getting hemmed in by rising waters, from which the only mode of extrication was a rapid forced march and detour around, near the heads of the streams. We struck the railroad leading to Baxter Springs two days afterward, and thence southward our course was easy. The Indians with me appeared exceedingly well pleased with their new home. Along the way they had not infrequently showed their doubts and anxietyrespecting the country to which they were being taken and which not one of them had ever seen. They immediately began the selection of their individual sites for farms and homes, and furnished willing gangs of field hands to cultivate the three hundred acres of corn which had been p]anted in expectation of their arrival, and which we found in fine condition. The time consumed in the march was fifty-nine days.
The plan of taking the Indians overland with their ponies was adopted with a view to economy and at the express desire of the Indians. The unprecedented weather encountered made the expense of the removal much greater than if rail and water transportation had been used. As a consequence, that portion of the funds appropriated for the removal of the Poncas, with which it was intended to begin the work of settling them in their new location, is materially reduced. Unless funds are speedily secured and made immediately available, it is feared that much suffering, owing to the change of climate and exposure to the elements,
[Page 23]
The adjustment of their land-titles is a matter of prime importance.
Legislation should be secured at the earliest practicable day, providing for giving the Poncas full compensation for the land, homes, and other property and improvements relinquished by them, the funds thus procured to be applied, 1st, to the purchase of the lands on which the Poncas shall be permanently located, and, 2d, to the civilization of the tribe. As has been remarked above, the Ponca reserve has already been taken possession of for the benefit of the Sioux.
The final location of the Poncas is not yet decided upon. A delegation of the tribe recently visited Washington, and presented to the President their earnest request to be allowed to return to their old reservation in Dakota or to join the Omahas, a kindred tribe, in Nebraska. The obvious unwisdom and even impossibility of removing Indians from the Indian Territory necessitated a refusal of their request; but they were given permission to select a permanent home upon any unoccupied lands in the Territory which the government still owns.
They were urged to take immediate steps to effect a settlement of the matter, and were promised, as soon as the locality should be decided upon and Congress should provide the necessary funds, such assistance in the way of schools, houses, stock, seeds, tools, agricultural implements, &c., as would enable them to more than replace the property and improvements unwillingly relinquished in Dakota; but they were made distinctly to understand that all assistance by the government would be in the line of teaching them self-helpfulness, and would be conditioned on exertions put forth by themselves in that direction.
It seems desirable that they should leave their present location in the northeastern part of the Indian Territory in order to seek a place farther removed from the border, and it is presumed that they will settle on that tract east of the Pawnees which lies between the forks of the Cimarron and Arkansas Rivers, and which is probably in all respects as desirable a district as is now unoccupied. It contains 105,456 acres, which must be purchased of the Cherokees in accordance with provisions of article 16 of the treaty with that nation dated July 19, 1866, by which they ceded to the United States a large region of country west of the 96th meridian, upon which friendly Indians should thereafter be settled.
[Page 24]
Subsequently, on the 14th of October, 1864, a treaty was concluded between the United States and the Klamath and Modoc tribes and Yahooskin band of Snake Indians, which, however, was not ratified till February 17, 1870, (16 Stats., p. 707,) by the terms of the first article of which the United States recognized the existence of the Indian title or claim to the region of country therein described, by having the Indians cede and relinquish their right, title, and claim thereto to the United States, with the proviso "that the following-described tract within the country ceded by the treaty shall, until otherwise directed by the President of the United States, be set apart as an Indian reservation." Then follows a description of the tract of country reserved, known as the Klamath Indian reservation in Oregon.
The route of the said wagon-road passes through the entire length of the tract of country reserved for these Indians. On the 4th of November, 1874, the General Land Office advised this office that the odd sections falling within the Indian reservation had been approved to the State for the benefit of said road, as follows:
Under date of the 28th of December, 1874, Mr. B.J. Pengra, agent for the parties in interest, stated that these lands granted to the State of Oregon by the act of July 2, 1867, were, by the legislative assembly of said State, in September following, granted to the Oregon Military Road Company, by whom they have recently been conveyed to said Pengra of Oregon, and by him to Nicholas Lunning, Edgar Mills, N.D. Rideout, W.H. Parks, G.W. Colby, W.O. Belcher, John Boggs, and others, of California; that said owners of the grant had instructed him to propose, as an equitable settlement. of the matter and to indemnify them for the lands taken by the government, that Congress pass an act at its present session allowing said owners, in lieu of their lands embraced in the Klamath reservation, to locate an equal number of acres of any vacant government lands elsewhere, &c.
Acres.
April 21, 1871.
.........................................
51,248.56
December 8, 1871
.........................................
37,414.51
April 2, 1873
.........................................
4,487.34
Total
.........................................
93.150.41
This matter was before the first session of the Forty-fourth Congress, in House bill 1316, but no definite action was taken.
A report was made to the department on the 29th of February, 1876, giving the views of this office on this bill and questions involved therein, with several propositions for their adjustment, one of which is for authority to negotiate an agreement between the road company, the Indians, and the government whereby the company may receive such a fair and equitable assignment of lands within the Indian reservation and lying in a compact body, as will be an equivalent, in area and value to the alternate sections within the reservation claimed by said company. The Indian reservation contains over one million of acres of land, while the number of Indians is but little in excess of one thousand. One hundred and thirty thousand acres, or an area equal to the quantity that may be found to be lawfully claimed by the road company within the reserve, could be relinquished in compact form to said com-
[Page 25]
This question is becoming more and more embarrassing every year, and reports of a late date have reached this office from the Indian agent and the post commander at Fort Klamath, through the War Department, that unless these differences are satisfactorily adjusted difficulties of a serious nature, if not an open outbreak, will arise between the Indians and the whites. It is deemed highly important that action by Congress should be taken at an early date for the final settlement of these questions between the road company and the Indians.
Of the Otoe and Missouria reservation, 128,330.81 acres lying in Nebraska have been appraised at $506,716.70, and 34,608.26 acres lying in Kansas have been appraised at $127,676.41, making a total valuation of $634,393.11 for the whole reservation of 162,939.07 acres. The act authorized the sale of 120,000 acres from the western side of the reservation; and, under date of the 29th of August last, 94,240.89 acres in Nebraska, at an appraisement of $338,357.64, and 25,605.28 acres in Kansas, at an appraisement of $88,733.68 1/2k, making 119,846.17, acres, at a total valuation of $427,091.32 1/2, have been designated as the land to be so1d.
Of the Sac and Fox of the Missouri Indian lands, 9,548.24 acres lying
[Page 26]
Instructions were issued to this commission on the 3rd of March, 1877, to appraise by townships all the land lying east of the Indian meridian, and, if desirable, some few townships west of said meridian, but that much, if not all, of the country west of the Abilene cattle-trail and stage-road from Caldwell, Kans., to the forks of Turkey Creek and Cimarron River might be appraised in large areas at one price per acre. This commission remained in the field until July, 1877, when it was compelled, by reason of the excessive heat and drought, to adjourn till September 15, 1877. In the mean time Mr. Kennard resigned and Mr. William N. Wilkerson, of West Line, Mo., was appointed by the Secretary, under date of September 8, 1877, to fill the vacancy, and instructed to join the commission at Wichita, Kans., on the 15th of September, for the completion of the field-work.
The commission has not submitted its report, but it is presumed that the work is nearly completed. When the schedule of appraisement with report is submitted, it will be forwarded without delay for your approval and submission to Congress as required by said act of 1872.
The fact that these tribes are not dependent on the government for subsistence, and are not occupying lands which United States citizens covet, should not serve as an argument for leaving them without law, order, or civilizing influences. Unless it is the intention of the government to abandon Alaska altogether, some plan for bringing these
[Page 27]
I have the honor to be, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
E. A. HAYT,
Commissioner.