imbursable appropriation or from tribal funds subject to expenditure in this manner. However, there is a very small balance in the regular reimbursable appropriation which will be entirely insufficient to permit the purchase of seed and implements therefrom on the same scale as in previous years, although if you have any unhypothecated balance in your allotments of tribal funds available for support and civilization purposes within the limitation imposed by the Indian act for the current fiscal year, such as "Indian moneys, proceeds of labor, Indians' support, 1919," it can be utilized for the purchase of seed and implements for Indians on the reimbursable plan if not required for other necessary purposes. I especially desire that you move early and definitely in these very essential preparatory matters and keep continually before the Indians the necessity of complete readiness for spring work and for bumper results. The replies indicate a full recognition of their responsibility along this line on the part of the superintendents, employees, and the Indians, and a considerable increase in crop acreage on many of the reservations over that cultivated during the war. There are quoted below extracts from several reports, which will serve to show the attitude of our field service and something of the results it is hoped to accomplish. Last year we cultivated every foot of available land. We raised an excellent garden, had quantities of early vegetables for canning, and our large root cellar was filled to the brim with winter vegetables. From an acre of alfalfa five tons of excellent hay was raised, and about one hundred bushels of corn from two and one-half acres of thin land. Our farmers are now arranging to secure seed oats and potatoes. Gardens are now being ploughed and ground is being prepared for seeding oats. Prospects for a large wheat crop are excellent. Many reports reaching this office indicate that our restricted Indians are showing unusual interest in preparing for aggressive farm work. Considerable new ground is being cleared, the soil is full of moisture, and the season is in many respects opening under very favorable conditions. The matter of having every available foot of agricultural land within this jurisdiction placed in cultivation has been kept in mind, and it is believed that the increase for the coming season over last season is approximately 8 per cent. Every allotment suitable for agricultural purposes has either been leased or is being farmed by the Indians themselves. An effort has been made to induce each family to have a garden, with very satisfactory results. An increase of about 200 per cent was made two years ago, which was maintained the past year. The coming year will probably make an equally good showing, although the demand for labor and high wages paid has taken many of our Indians from their home work. We began our farm operations last fall as soon as the crops were removed. We have prepared and have ready as much of the land as was possible and we are still continuing the preparation. We saved from our crops last year seed corn, seed wheat, and other seeds and have already invited bids and placed orders for those required and not raised for the coming season. We will have a larger acreage this year than last and believe the production will be greater per acre. The necessary steps have already been taken under this jurisdiction in the way of securing seeds for the Indians of this reservation to be used in connection with their farming operations. We are also endeavoring to secure a goodly supply of various kinds of garden seeds for issue to Indians to interest and encourage them in raising a large amount of vegetables for their own consumption. Everything in our power is being done to have all raw lands subdued and placed under cultivation during the coming farming season. Everything is being done to make the coming season a greater success than the last. We shall have a larger acreage this year than last; practically every Indian family has a garden, and many of them will raise considerable quantities of garden stuff if we have an average season. During the fiscal year 1918, $4,200 was expended for irregular labor in connection with argicultural activities, placing in cultivation over four hundred acres, more than half of which was unfenced and in sagebrush in the early spring. From that acreage 55,000 pounds of oats, 64,000 pounds of wheat, 20,000 pounds of corn, 40 tons of potatoes, 10 tons of sugar and stock beets, 500 tons of straw and forage, and large quantities of cabbage, onions, turnips, and rutabagas were harvested. Additional areas were cleared of sagebrush, 60 acres seeded to winter wheat, and approximately 100 acres is ready for spring seeding, all of which puts us in better shape for early spring activities. Our Indians are actively engaged in preparations for a larger acreage than last year. More of them will put out gardens than before. The fact that one of their number raised a garden last year that was pronounced the best in the county, and which carried off first premiums at Nevada State Fair, has had a wide-reaching effect. While it is too early to give complete figures as to results, preliminary reports and estimates justify the belief that there will be substantial increases over the previous year. It is my hope to maintain the high standard of war period accomplishment in order that the industrial progress of the Indians may continue unabated under the impetus thus given it. That there is substantial basis for this hope is found in the fact that, while the patriotic enthusiasm for increased production may be less active now than during the war, there are definite signs that many of the Indians are acquiring the "habit" of sustained industry, which will give permanence to their progress along successful lines. A most encouraging element in the situation is the fact that the use of agricultural machinery, modern improved methods, etc., is constantly growing among the Indians, with consequent better and more remunerative returns in crop production. This has been increasingly reflected in improved homes, live stock, and the acquisition by the Indians of the varied appurtenances of civilization to a greater extent than formerly. Hailstorms on the Crow Reservation, in Montana, and grasshopper outbreaks on the Southern Ute Reservation, in Colorado, and the Moapa River Reservation, in Nevada, did considerable damage to crops during the year. While, of course, the hailstorms can not be controlled, remedial measures have been taken, which it is hoped will result in the complete eradication of the grasshoppers and the prevention of serious ravages in the future. EXPERIMENTATION. Systematic experimentation work has felt the disturbance of normal conditions more than some other lines and was confined to the cooperative farms at Sacaton, on the Pima Reservation, in Arizona, and the date farm at Palm Springs, under the Malki jurisdiction, in California. Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs-Continued. Annuity and per capita payments. Indians in New York. The Seminoles of Florida_ Alabama Indians in Texas Homeless Indians in California_ Papago land litigation_. Legislation Court decisions_. Purchase and transportation of supplies_ The Indian exhibit at the Interior Department exposition_ Conclusion Statistical tables: TABLE 1. Work and force of Indian Office since 1899, compared__ 5. Areas of Indian lands, allotted and unallotted__ 3. Allotted and unallotted Indians and those holding trust 4. Marriages, missionaries, churches, English language, 80 86 90 7. Lands set aside temporarily for mission organizations_ 108 109 16. Indians, self-supporting, and those receiving rations and 30. Certificates of competency issued under act of June 183 31. Certificates of competency issued to Kaw and Osage 183 32. Lands leased for mining, production of minerals, and 184 33. Buildings erected. 186 34. Buildings under construction___. 187 35. Live stock belonging to Indians, sold and slaughtered__ 37. Property of Indians, tribal and individual, value.. 42. Sales of Indian lands, receipts and disbursements_ 43. Treaty liabilities of the United States to Indians. 209 211 213 214 214 Navajo Indians, Arizona and New Mexico_. 229 Supplemental report of the Navajo Indians by Malcolm McDowell... 242 Sac and Fox Sanatorium and Fox Reservation, Iowa--- 244 Report of the Superintendent for the Five Civilized Tribes of Oklahoma_ 339 341 Auction sale of unallotted, timber and surface, of segregated coal 345 Sale of miscellaneous tribal land__. 349 Appraisement of coal and asphalt deposits in the Choctaw and 349 Sale of coal and asphalt deposits in the Choctaw and Chickasaw 350 Appraisement of land and improvements on the segregated coal Applications of lessees to purchase the surface of the segregated Recording of deeds and other instruments_ 352 352 353 Rental of the surface of the segregated coal and asphalt lands_. 353 |