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The Pueblo Indians under my charge have not been allotted lands in severalty, as they yet live in communities, as has been their custom for the past three hundred years, and it is probable such will be their system for some time to come.

Very respectfully,

Capt. CHARLES L. COOPER,

CHARLES L. COOPER, Captain, Tenth Cavalry, Acting Indian Agent.

JICARILLA SUBAGENCY,
Dulce, N. Mex., April 13, 1898.

Tenth Cavalry, Acting United States Indian Agent,
Pueblo and Jicarilla Agency, Santa Fe, N. Mex.

SIR: In compliance with instructions in your communication of April 9, inclosing letter from honorable secretary of Board of Indian Commissioners, I have the honor to submit the following report:

1. Number of allotments made to Indians of this reservation, 847.

2. Number of patents issued, 845.

3. Number of Indians living on allotted lands, 350.

4. Approximately the number of acres cultivated by each Indian living on their respective allotment is 4 acres.

5. No land on this reservation is formally leased, but as the greater portion is principally grazing land, many of the Indians rent their unfenced ground in the spring, during lambing season, to sheep raisers, for a period of twenty to sixty days, deriving quite an income therefrom.

6. The alloting of lands on this reservation has been beneficial to some of the Indians and detrimental to others, and for the reason that the water supply as well as agricultural land is very limited. In many cases one spring of water on a certain allotment has to furnish water for from five to twenty neighboring allottees. During the summer season the water supply at all springs is usually very limited, and in many cases to such an extent that the Indian who owns the spring cuts off the water supply from his neighbors; therefore the latter are compelled to take their families and stock and go to the mountains. It is also a fact that in many cases an Indian has on his allotment not more than 3 or 4 acres of land suitable for cultivation, while his neighbor may have from 20 to 50 acres of good tillable land. Therefore the allotment of land under the existing circumstances has caused a jealous and envious feeling among these Indians, which is hard to overcome. Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

Gen. E. WHITTLESY,

JOHN L. GAYLORD,
Clerk in Charge.

NEZ PERCES AGENCY, Spaulding, Idaho, April 15, 1898.

Secretary Board of Indian Commissioners, Washington, D. C.

SIR: Replying to your communication of 5th instant, I have the honor to submit the following:

1. There have been 1,997 trust patents issued to these people; 109 of this number have been canceled, disallowed, or relinquished, 17 of which were duplicates (two allotments made to the same person under different names).

2. The patents have all been issued and are now in the hands of the allottees. 3. About four-fifths are living on their allotments or some portion of the same. Many of the allotments embrace separate parcels of land, usually the smaller portion lying along or bordering the streams, the balance being situated on the high benches or table-lands.

4. The Indians do not cultivate to exceed one-tenth of their land, and even in this they hire white men to do most of the work. But few full-blood Indians confine themselves to steady hard work. This order of things may be changed to some extent after the expiration of the semiannual payments, which now amount to about $200 per annum to every man, woman, and child.

5. There is at present about 100 farming leases in force, aggregating some 15,000 acres, at an average rental of about $1.50 per acre; adding to this the dozen business leases gives a revenue from this source of about $23,000 per annum, which amount would be materially increased were the able-bodied members of the tribe allowed to lease their allotments.

6. I would enumerate the benefits as follows: It gives the Indian a chance to become a man among men; it gives the Government and the white race in general an opportunity to ascertain whether or not the Indian can become an American citi

zen in the full sense of the word. It is true that some of them will "go to the wall," but it is too early yet to say what the proportion will be. Owing to former environments, the proportion may exceed that of the white race for a generation or two, but it will give those who are composed of the right material a chance to get out of bondage, and show to the world that the color of a man's skin or former conditions does not necessarily make him a loafer and mendicant.

It is doubtless true that quite a proportion-possibly one-fourth-of these people were not materially benefited by the change, but it would be an injustice to hold back three-fourths of a tribe for the real or imaginary benefit of the one-fourth. Another very important fact is, that allotment helps to break up tribal relations; it curtails the power of the so-called chiefs, sorcerers, and conjurers; it throws the Indian in closer contact and relation with the whites. The latter, even in the "wild and woolly West"-many assertions to the contrary notwithstanding-are morally and intellectually far ahead of the average "noble red man" of to-day.

With allotment and the surplus lands thrown open to settlement, the Indian's next-door neighbor-the homesteader, is as a rule a hard-working farmer, whose circumstances demand care, thrift, and economy-has his house, barn, stable, sheds, corral, etc., which may be small and rude, but they are substantial and conveniently arranged; his team, cows, pigs, and chickens are housed and cared for; the inside of his house as a rule is neat and tidy; all of which his neighbor, Mr. Indian and his wife, notice closely and in many instances pattern after. A district school is soon established in the neighborhood in which, as is already the case in several instances here, the white and Indian children sit side by side, vying with each other for the mastery of their lessons; in this school the Indian youth is quickly taught to speak English; a church soon follows the schoolhouse, and it is only a matter of a short time when the worshipers will be composed of both races.

The only disadvantages that I can call to mind, in my desire to be impartial and unbiased, is that the range for stock is materially reduced thereby, causing inconvenience to a very few of the Indians who have large herds of cattle and horses. The allotment policy, if carried to a finish, will also work a hardship on my friend Cody, by soon depriving him of suitable material for his "Wild West" shows. Very respectfully,

S. G. FISHER, United States Indian Agent.

SAC AND FOX AGENCY,

Toledo, Iowa, April 9, 1898.

The BOARD OF INDIAN COMMISSIONERS,

Washington, D. C.

GENTLEMEN: I am in receipt of your letter of April 5, relative to the results of the policy of alloting Indian lands. In reply, will say that the Indians at this agency own their land in common, having purchased it from white settlers, and that no allotments have been made and none are contemplated under the present legal status. Our Indians, however, are making considerable progress in agriculture, in the raising of wheat, oats, corn, and vegetables for their own use.

I do not believe it would be wise to institute a policy among the Sac and Fox Indians of Iowa for the allotment of their lands, but two years ago I recommended to the Department the creation of a commission for the purpose of apportioning the Indian lands for agricultural purposes for a period of ten years. I believe that would materially advance the interests of our people, give independence and encouragement to such as desire to enjoy the rewards of their own labor, and finally prepare them for the allotment of their lands in severalty, but this final problem I believe to be removed as much as twenty-five years from us. I would be glad to cooperate with the honorable Board of Indian Commissioners and the Indian Department in a plan for a more systematic and satisfactory apportionment of our lands for the reasons above stated.

Very respectfully,

HORACE M. REBOK,

United States Indian Agent.

Hon. E. WHITTLESEY,

POTTAWATOMIE AND GREAT NEMAHA AGENCY,
Nadeau, Kans., April 9, 1898.

Secretary Board of Indian Commissioners, Washington, D. C.

SIR: Replying to your letter of the 5th instant, in reference to the results of allotting lands in severalty to Indians, and submitting certain queries pertaining to the subject for answer, I have the honor to submit the following, viz:

1. One thousand and sixty-six allotments have been made.

2. One thousand and sixty-six trust patents have been issued.

3. A majority of the Indians are living on their allotted lands, both from choice and necessity, as in three of the tribes there are no unallotted lands for them to occupy, and in the case of the Prairie Band of Pottawatomies, who have surplus lands, allotments were made in every case to cover their houses and fields.

4. They are cultivating their lands to a less extent than before allotments were made by personal labor.

5. Their lands are leased to a very large extent with discouraging and dangerous results. As at first proposed, the ill results might have been checked, but with the numerous modifications that have been adopted an agency is becoming a machine through which large sums of money are disbursed to immoral, dissipated, and utterly thoughtless persons, who have neither occasion nor disposition to resort to labor, and many of whom are without moral perception. УЧИ ОЦЯЯ 6. The benefits are that from 15 to 25 per cent of the Indians avail themselves of their rents for practical improvements, and place themselves within the sphere of actual civilization; 25 per cent will possibly not retrograde materially, and can, by persistent watchfulness and care, be brought to an appreciation of their responsibilities as men and women.

The evil results are, that the unrestrained use of more money than they need or should have will encourage their natural tendency to dissipation, gambling, and lewdness, and result in a slow but certain extermination of a large percentage of them. These views may be better understood, when I state that the average number of acres of land held by a Prairie Band Indian and his family is about 480 acres, worth, if in cultivation, from $2 to $2.50 per acre, while the lands of the Kickapoos, Iowas, and Sac and Fox Indians, bring $3 per acre cash. The allotment of lands was necessary to the individualization of the Indian citizenship and indiscriminate leasing, in my opinion is wrong and ruinous.

I have lived and worked thirty-two years among Indians, and have engaged in many struggles to protect their funds and to obtain more for them, but in view of present conditions I sometimes think that my whole course has been wrong, and that should better have subserved their interests by taking their money from them and forcing them to labor for all that they required.

I respectfully refer you to my annual report and statistics thereto for further information on this subject, as I endeavored therein to candidly state the conditions existing throughout the agency.

Very respectfully,

GEORGE W. JAMES, United States Indian Agent.

OMAHA AND WINNEBAGO AGENCY, NEBR.,

November 16, 1898.

Hon. E. WHITTLESEY,

Secretary Board of Indian Commissioners, Washington, D. C.

SIR: In reply to your letter dated April 5, 1898, which was mislaid and under the rush of business forgotten, and copy of which has just been received with your letler of November 9, I have to say:

1. Nine hundred and fifty allotments have been made to Winnebagoes; 960 allotments have been made to Omahas; total allotments at agency, 1,910.

2. One thousand nine hundred and ten patents have been issued.

3. About 1,200 Indians are living on their allotted lands. (This includes about 300 who live on the allotted lands of their relatives.)

4. Six hundred Indians are cultivating their lands or the lands of relatives. This cultivation runs from a partial acreage up to the full extent of the allotment, and includes raising of grain, corn, vegetables, and the harvesting of wild hay, and in quantities during the present year, about as follows:

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5. The lands are leased to the full limit of possibilities under the law and regulations, and of 140,000* acres allotted 112,000 acres are leased, with the result that the Indians have or should have an income from their allotted lands-Winnebagoes, $55,000; * Omahas, $40,000*-and their tribal lands bring them-Omahas, $15,800; Winnebagoes, $4,000-divided yearly among members of the tribe, all of which is, in my opinion, a premium on laziness and a discouragement to industrious effort and self-support among the Indians.

* Estimated.

Leasing of allotted agricultural lands should never be permitted. The Indians should be compelled to live upon their allotments and support themselves by cultivating the land. They can do it, but will not unless compelled to. Not one acre of allotted agricultural land should be leased to a white man, and it would be far better to burn the grass on the allotted lands than to lease them for pastures to the white man. The Indians could use them to advantage for stock raising if they would. The mixing of the Indians with the class of whites who live upon and hang around an Indian reservation means the production of a mongrel race, embodying all the vices and none of the virtues of the dominant race; it means death industrially, morally, and physically to the Indian. Not a white man should be allowed within the limits of the reservation until the Government has so far advanced the Indian, by compulsion if necessary, in the industries of his reservation that they are a self-supporting community and all business and trades conducted by them. If they are to be allowed to mix, let the Indians go among the whites-not the whites among the Indians-and he will then meet them as an independent, self-susporting individual, capable, through proper instruction, to transact his own business as between man and man and with the better class of whites; not as now, as an ignoramus in the hands of unprincipled sharpers.

6. The allotment of agricultural lands to Indians as at present made is a mistaken policy. If Indians have a reservation of agricultural lands it should be kept in its tribal form for purposes of control, government, and isolation from disreputable whites. It should be apportioned in uniformly suitable tracts in size, locality, etc., for future allotment. The Indians should be carefully selected, everything considered, and assigned certain lands which they should understand is to be theirs if they prove worthy of taking it, otherwise it will be taken away from them and given to some other Indian who is. Under present laws the Indian is given an allotment; it is his, and can not be taken from him except by voluntary relinquishment. All the mistakes of a general and hasty allotment are perpetuated, while the Indian feels he is independent of the Government and can do as he likes with his land, and if he don't want to work it, be won't. The advantages of the former system or temporary apportionment subject to constant necessary revision over definite allotment, are only to be considered in all its phases to be appreciated.

The allotment of timber and mineral lands should be allowed only where, in case of the former, the laws or treaties compel allotment in order to protect the timber from decay or destruction by fire or wind. Otherwise, mineral and timber lands should be held as tribal property and developed, and products prepared for market by the Indians. No better school in the industrial arts could be given them than one in which every pound of energy was expended in their own interests and where industrial advancement meant constantly increasing revenue.

If the Indian can not be developed into a higher state of civilization on these lines, it is useless to try it under the present policies.

What a revelation it would be to our Mr. Indian if he could travel in the plane of average honor and virtue of the white man, instead of being forever brought in touch with the level of maximum vice, fraud, and deceit of the white race. W. A. MERCER, Captain, Seventh Cavalry, Acting Indian Agent.

Very respectfully,

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