ments were in progress to bring to them their wives and children, wh at that time were living on the San Carlos Reservation in Arizona. Bu the appearance of some officers of the law on the reservation, whom th Indians suspected of having come there for the purpose of arrestin them under indictments found against them for horse-stealing and mu der, Victoria and his men effected their escape, suddenly left the Mesc lero Reservation, took with them other southern Apaches, and resume their old marauding practices until after many fights and vicissitud they came to their end. Some remnants of his band seem to be still a large, but it is thought that they can easily be overcome and caugh and that then peace will be restored on our southern frontier. THE LEMHI AND FORT HALL INDIANS. Congress at its last session passed an act providing for the sett emer of the Lemhi Indians upon Fort Hall Reservation, and also for the ce sion of a part of that reservation to the United States in consideratio of certain annuities to be paid to the Indians affected thereby, subje to the consent of the latter. I had a personal conference with the chie of the Lemhi and Fort Hall Indians at the agency of the latter in Augus last, in which a majority of the Lemhi Chiefs and headmen declared the unwillingness to abandon their present abode. Their consent to the removal provided for in the law not being obtained, no further ste were taken in that direction. The Fort Hall Indians, on the other hand declared themselves satisfied with the arrangements made; and it w therefore be necessary so to change the law as to adapt it to this ne state of circumstances, which is hereby respectfully recommended. THE PI-UTES. Early last winter Chief Winnemucca, his daughter, Sarah Winnemucc and some headmen of the Pi-Utes, asked permission to come to Washin ton for the purpose of making certain arrangements for the permane settlement of their people. That permission was granted and they repr sented that most of the Pi-Utes scattered over Nevada and Souther Oregon, as well as those settled on the Yakama Reservation in Washin ton Territory, were desirous to move to the Malheur Reservation in Orego for the purpose of cultivating the soil and establishing permanent home They received the assurance that this department would facilitate suc a movement, provided the Indians concerned really desired it, and th in such case their settlement upon the Malheur Reservation would aided in every possible manner, but that those Pi-Utes who were present working for wages, or who were settled on the Yakama Reserv tion or other lands, and did not desire to remove to the Malheur Reserv tion, should in no way be forced to do so. On the occasion of my vis to the Pyramid Lake Reservation in Nevada, where I met several chie and headmen of the Pi-Utes, I discovered that among those Pi-Utes who were scattered among the white population and working for wages the desire to remove to the Malheur Agency did not exist, as had been represented to me; that, on the contrary, they wished to continue in their present condition. A great many of them are employed by white people in chopping wood or doing other jobs of work, for which they are sufficiently paid to make a living; thus they appear to be self-supporting. I met many white men among whom those Indians lived, who declared themselves well satisfied with their presence, and desired that they should stay. Information was also received from Washington Territory, through General Howard, as well as from Agent Wilbur, that the removal of the Pi-Utes-who in consequence of the Bannock war had been taken to the Yakama Reservation-from their present abode to the Malheur Agency would be attended with great danger to the Indians, as well as lead to the breaking up of those beginnings in agricultural work which they had made on the establishment of homes at Yakama. Under such circumstances it was thought best to give up the project of their removal from the Yakama Agency, and the settlement of the other PiUtes on the Malheur Reserve as an improper experiment. Arrangements have been begun to establish for the Pi-Utes living in that neighborhood a boarding school at the Pyramid Lake Agency, where their children can receive the benefits of education, which otherwise would not be easily obtainable by them. A special agent was sent to the Malheur Agency for the purpose of ascertaining whether that establishment could not be dispensed with, and its business is now being wound up. THE CROWS. With a delegation of the chiefs and headmen of the Crows in Montana, who visited Washington last winter, an agreement was made, providing for the relinquishment of a part of their reservation not used by the Indians, but valuable for its mineral resources; in compensation therefor an annuity was agreed upon to be paid to the Crow Indians. When the chiefs laid this agreement before their people in order to obtain their consent, the latter insisted upon a modification of the agreement, somewhat changing the boundaries of the ceded tract. It is thought that this change will be mutually advantageous, and the bill now before Congress giving to the agreement the force of law should be altered in that respect. While visiting the Crow Reservation, I had conferences with many of the chiefs and headmen of that tribe, who all expressed themselves satisfied with this arrangement, and also desirous of having lands allotted to them in severalty and to receive title therefor. I informed them that their wishes in that respect coincided entirely with the policy of this department, and would be promptly complied with as soon as Congress should have passed a bill submitted to it, giving the department the necessary authority to that end. THE SIOUX. Of all Indian tribes, the Sioux Nation has for a long time been garded as the most important, not only on account of their numeric strength and warlike qualities, but also on account of their geographic location and the many conflicts which for years have disturbed our rel tions with them. One after another the different bands composing th nation have been pacified, until finally only one of their promine men, Sitting Bull, and with him a number of restless spirits belongin to different bands, appear to be the only nucleus of a hostile organiz tion. When this administration came into office Sitting Bull with his wa riors had fled across the line of the British possessions. A commissio with General Terry at its head, was sent there with the offer that th hostiles might return to the United States if they would give up the arms and horses and consent to be distributed among the different Siou agencies. That offer was rejected, and it was then hoped that Sittin Bull and his followers might be kept on British territory without further serious interruption of the peace of our northern frontier. B it soon appeared that the British authorities could not, at any rate d not, keep Sitting Bull and his band of hostiles on the northern side the line, and that the latter, driven by want, would come upon the te ritory of the United States for the purpose of hunting, on which occ sions they caused much annoyance to the white settlers as well as our friendly and peaceable Indians. In September last I visited Fo Keogh for the purpose of informing myself of the condition of things i that region, and it became clear to me that Sitting Bull and his ban although they had been repeatedly driven back, would remain a caus of disquietude in the Upper Missouri country until the British author ties could be induced to remove them into the interior of the Britis possessions far from the American line and there subsist them, whic hope it seemed useless to entertain any longer, or until on this side the line their surrender to the authorities of the United States coul be effected. As at last the latter seemed to be the only solution the problem, measures were pushed to effect the disintegration of th hostile band, and to bring them gradually under the control of th government. A large number of them have surrendered to the m itary posts near the northern frontier, especially at Fort Keog and under the direction of General Miles have been successfully s to work there. It is hoped that the small remnant of them st under the control of Sitting Bull will gradually follow that exar ple. When that is accomplished, measures are to be taken so to locat them that they may become permanently settled and cease to be disturbing element. The other bands of the Sioux Nation, comprising nearly nine-tenth of its whole numerical strength, located at different agencies in th northern, eastern, and southern part of Dakota, have made very er couraging progress in the pursuits of civilized life. Many of them have devoted themselves to agriculture, herding, freighting, and mechanical pursuits with remarkable energy and success. At the Santee, Sisseton, and Devil's Lake Agencies they are virtually self-supporting. They are located in severalty, living in houses, wear white man's dress, are well provided with farming implements and stock cattle, and their crops during the past year will average ten bushels of wheat, five bushels of corn, and sixteen bushels of vegetables to each member of the tribe. They are still receiving some aid from the government, but are at the same time investing their surplus crops largely in farming implements, cattle, and other appliances of civilized life. At. Cheyenne River, Crow Creek, Standing Rock, and Lower Brulé, where a few years ago the progress of the Indians was seriously retarded by the Sioux war, they have erected 718 houses, broken a large tract of land, and this year raised 41,000 bushels of wheat and corn and 12,000 bushels of vegetables. The Ogalala and Brulé Sioux, whose chiefs, Red Cloud and Spotted Tail, are well known, removed to the locations they occupy at present in 1878. They now have 700 log houses, cultivate 2,200 acres of land, own 300 mules, 5,600 head of cattle, and 280 swine, in addition to many thousands of horses. This year their crops were seriously injured by an early drought, which caused great disappointment, but they have bestowed great care upon their stock cattle, and should be encouraged by the government in this respect as much as possible. Instead of living together as formerly in crowded camps and villages, they are now scattering over a large extent of ground, locating farms and building homes apon them. Their success in the pursuit of freighting with their own horses has been particularly remarkable: Their conduct, with the exception of one or two inconsiderable disturbances, has been peaceful and satisfactory in every respect. One of these occurrences is worthy of special notice. A small party of Brulé Sioux, consisting of six young men, stole some horses and shot a white man in Nebraska. Although they were all great favorites with the chiefs and headmen, they were without resistance arrested by the Indian police and turned over to the civil authorities for trial. In the first week of October I received a letter from Chief Spotted Tail inclosing a check for $332.80, with the request to employ that money, which had been collected by the Indians among themselves, in procuring an attorney to assist the six young Indians, so that while they should be punished if guilty, they might if not guilty have "the ehance of a white man" for acquittal. This is one of the signs indicating that the respect for law and authority, and a desire to accommodate themselves to the white man's ways, is rapidly growing among the same Sioux, a large part of whom were still in arms against the gov ernment a comparatively short time since, and who, two years ago, ac cording to the predictions of some, could never be depended upon as peaceable Indians "unless they received another thorough whipping." THE INVASION OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY. Attempts by evil-disposed persons to invade the Indian Territory a to take possession of certain unoccupied lands there have so far b successfully frustrated by the prompt action of the government, they have been as persistently repeated. It is reported that anot attempt is in preparation now. The military forces of the United Sta in the Territory are instructed to arrest the intruders and to take pro measures to bring them to justice as they have done heretofore. Bu is evident that the penalty imposed upon repeated intrusion into Indian Territory, which penalty consists in a mere fine and is diffic of enforcement, is not sufficient to deter lawless characters from s undertakings. I concur with the Commissioner in recommending t a law be passed adding the penalty of imprisonment to that of a fi If this is done invaders will know that such attempts are not with serious risks to them. In conclusion I desire to express to the War Department my grate acknowledgments for cordial and prompt co-operation whenever exigencies of the service called for it. PUBLIC LANDS. During the last fiscal year public lands were disposed of as follow Cash sales.... An increase of 228,166.67 acres on the sales of the previous year. Homestead entries.. An increase of 785,459.31 acres. Acr 850, 740 6, 045, 570 2, 193, 184 3,757, 888 1, 157, 375 19, 485 1,280 88,522 435, 189 1,720.00 1,514.27 480.00 10, 905 |