the fact that they were greatly annoyed by white adventurers hovering around the reservation, who stole many of their cattle and ponies and smuggled whisky into their encampments, engendered among them a spirit of discontent which threatened to become unmanageable. They urgently asked for permission to send a delegation of chiefs to Washington to bring their complaints in person before the President, and it was reported by their agent that unlesss this request be granted there was great danger that they would run away to their old reserve on the Missouri River. To avoid such trouble, the permission asked for was given, and the delegation arrived here on November 7. They expressed the desire to be taken back to their old reservation on the Missouri, a request which could not be acceded to. But permission was granted them to select for themselves, among the lands at the disposal of the government in the Indian Territory, a tract at least equal in size to their old reservation, and they also received the assurance that they would be fully compensated in kind for the log-houses, furniture, and agricultural implements which, in obedience to the behests of the government, they had left behind on the Missouri.

The case of the Poncas seems entitled to especial consideration at the hands of Congress. They have always been friendly to the whites. It is said, and as far as I have been able to learn, truthfully, that no Ponca ever killed a white man. The orders of the government always met with obedient compliance at their hands. Their removal from their old homes on the Missouri River was to them a great hardship. They had been born and raised there. They had houses there in which they lived according to their ideas of comfort. Many of them had engaged in agriculture, and possessed cattle and agricultural implements. They were very reluctant to leave all this, but when Congress had resolved upon their removal, they finally overcame that reluctance and obeyed. Considering their constant good conduct, their obedient spirit, and the sacrifices they have made, they are certainly entitled to more than ordinary care at the hands of the government, and I urgently recommend that liberal provision be made to aid them in their new settlement.

INDIAN POLICY.

While thus some progress has been made in the adjustment of difficulties and the danger of disturbance on a large scale seems remote, it would be unwise to lose sight of the lesson taught by experience, that in these things appearances are sometimes deceptive, and that the general condition of our Indian affairs is by no means satisfactory. It is useless to disguise the fact that a perfect solution of the "Indian problem," that is to say, so complete an absorption of the Indians in our social and political system that they no longer appear as an incongruous and troublesome element, is, in our days at least, fraught with perplexities which cannot be solved by a mere stroke of legislation. We have to deal with a population whose character (and habits of life are

such as to present extraordinary difficulties to civilizing influences. This circumstance alone, however, does not in itself constitute the main difficulty we have to contend with. We are frequently reminded of the fact that the character of our Indians does not materially differ from. that of the Indians in the British possessions on this continent, and that nevertheless peace and friendly relations are maintained there between the Indians and the whites. That is true. But the condition of things in the British possessions is in some very important respects essentially dif ferent from that which exists in the United States. In the British possessions the bulk of the Indian population occupy an immense area almost untouched by settlements of whites. On that area the Indians may roam about in full freedom, without danger of collision, and the abundance of fish and game furnishes them comparatively ample sustenance. The line dividing the Indians and the whites can be easily controlled by a well-organized body of police, who maintain peace and

But in the United States we have no longer a dividing line. The Indian frontier" has virtually disappeared. Our Indian population is scattered over a vast extent of country into which the agricultural settlers, as well as the adventurous element of our people in quest of rapid gain have pushed their skirmishers in all possible directions. Wherever in the far West the enterprise of the whites advances, whites and Indians come into immediate contact and are in one another's way." That contact is apt to bring on collisions, especially as the more reckless element of the whites, which abounds in that part of the country, holds the rights and lives of Indians in very light estimation, and can, in many localities at least, scarcely be said to be under the control of law, while in frequent instances also the Indian provokes retribution by following, without restraint, his savage propensities.

There are still other complications aggravating this condition of things. The early colonists on this continent saw in the Indian tribes surrounding them a very formidable power, and naturally entered with them into formal treaty relations. That system has come by inheritance down to our days, when the Indians, under a radical change of circumstances, appear at the same time as "independent tribes," as "national wards," and as subjects. It is needless to recount the history of Indian treaties. As white settlements rapidly spread over the country treaties were, in a large number of instances, made only to be broken. When the advance of civilization found them as barriers in its way, they could not stand as finalities, although they were usually called so. That in the frequent and rapid changes to which those treaties were subjected, the Indians sometimes suffered great injustice, no fair-minded man will deny. In the course of time new difficulties supervened. As the Indians were crowded out of their hunting-grounds their sustenance became precarious, and upon the government devolved the duty to supply them with food and clothing. That duty was and is now performed on a contract system, and through Indian agencies located at a great dis

tance from the seat of the general government, and far-removed from its immediate supervision. Thus tempting opportunities were presented for fraud and peculation, demoralizing the service, and resulting, in many instances, in grievous disappointment and suffering among the Indians. Not seldom the promises made to them failed of the expected performance on account of insufficient appropriations. In this way the Indian has become distrustful of the good faith of the whites.

Taking all these things together: The interspersion of white settlers, reckless adventurers and more or less wild Indians in one another's way; the anomalous and, in some of its features, absurd treaty system with its ever-changing "finalities," its frequent deceptions, unavoidable misunderstandings and incessant disappointments; the temptations to fraud and peculation in furnishing and distributing supplies; the careless and blundering management of agents, removed from immediate supervision; the sometimes accidental, sometimes culpable non-fulfillment of promises. and engagements; the distress and suffering ensuing therefrom, and the comparatively lawless and uncontrollable condition of society in that part of the country which the bulk of the Indian population inhabits, we find in the "Indian question" an array of difficulties, complications, and perplexities, a complete solution of which, in a short period of time at least, appears unattainable. What, under such circumstances, can be done is, to adopt and follow a plan of systematic action calculated to mitigate the evils inherent to the existence of an incongruous population among us, and to confine them within the narrowest possible limits by improving the condition of the Indians as much as it is capable of improvement, and removing the causes of hostile collision between the Indians and the whites.

In my opinion, our efforts should be mainly directed to the following points:

1. The first thing necessary is that we should keep good faith with the Indians in every respect; we should never promise them more than we are able and willing to perform, and then perform what we have promised.

2. The pursuit of hunting is as much as possible to be discouraged among the Indians. The excitement of the chase stimulates their warlike propensities. When the Indians cease to be hunters, they will in a great measure cease to be warriors. To this end they should be permitted to possess only a limited supply of arms and ammunition, and their ponies should be exchanged as much as practicably for cattle.

3. As a number of Indian tribes are still depending, in part at least, upon hunting for their sustenance, their wants must be provided for in another way. They should be gradually gathered together upon a smaller number of reservations where agriculture and cattle-raising can be carried on with success, and where they can easily be supplied with their necessaries until they are self-sustaining.

The Indian Territory has room for most of the southwestern tribes, which should be gradually located there as they come under the control of the government. One or two reservations in the northwest, this side of the mountains, and a similar consolidation of reservations. on the Pacific slope, to be determined upon after more minute inquiry into local circumstances, will accommodate the northern Indians. The interspersion of Indians and whites, which is so apt to lead to troublesome collisions, can in this way be considerably limited, and greater facilities will be afforded for the promotion of civilization.

4. While Indians cannot be expected to become successful farmers at once, several tribes have already made appreciable progress in that respect, and others are likely to do so under favorable circumstances and judicious management. It will probably be found that many tribes are more adapted to pastoral pursuits, and in such cases agriculture, although not to be neglected, should be made subordinate to the raising of cattle. All beginnings in such things will necessarily be small and slow, but they should be patiently guided and encouraged by attentive supervision and liberal aid.

5. The enjoyment and pride of the individual ownership of property being one of the most effective civilizing agencies, allotments of small tracts of land should be made to the heads of families on all reservations, to be held in severalty under proper restrictions, so that they may have fixed homes. Indians who can furnish sufficient evidence that they have supported their families for a certain number of years should be admitted to the benefits of the homestead act, and, if they are willing to detach themselves from their tribal relations, to the privileges of citizenship.

6. To protect the security of life and property among the Indians, the laws of the United States, to be enforced by proper tribunals, should be extended over the reservations, and a body of police, composed of Indians, and subject to the orders of the government officers, should be organized on each of them. It is a matter of experience that Indians thus trusted with official duty can almost uniformly be depended upon in point of fidelity and efficiency.

7. The establishment of schools for the instruction of the young is gradually being extended among the Indian tribes under our control. The advantage to be derived from them will greatly depend upon their discipline and the course of instruction. As far as practicable, the attendance of Indian children should be made compulsory. Provision should be made for boarding children at the schools, to bring them more exclusively under the control of educational influences. One of the most important points is that they should be taught to speak and read the English language. Efforts have been made to establish and teach the grammar of Indian dialects and to use books printed in those dialects as a means of instruction. This is certainly very interesting and

meritorious philological work, but as far as the education of Indian children is concerned, the teaching of the English language must be considered infinitely more useful. If Indian children are to be civilized, they must learn the language of civilization. They will become far more accessible to civilized ideas and ways of thinking when they are enabled to receive those ideas and ways of thinking through the most direct channel of expression. At first their minds should not be overbur dened with too great a multitude of subjects of instruction, but turned to those practical accomplishments, proficiency in which is necessary to render civilized life possible. In addition to the most elementary schooling, boys should be practically instructed in the various branches of husbandry, and girls should receive a good training in household duties and habits of cleanliness. In this way, a young generation may be raised up far more open to civilizing influences of a higher kind and more fit for a peaceable and profitable intercourse with the white people.

8. At many of the agencies farmers are employed, and salaried by the government. But in some, if not most cases, the farms have been worked by white men, merely to raise crops for supplying the agencies and the Indians. They are to be turned to much greater advantage. The farms should be used in the first place for the instruction of the youths at school. Besides this, the farmers are to visit the farms cultivated by Indians, to give the latter practical instruction in their work and aid them as far as may be in their power.

9. On the reservations the labor of white men is to be dispensed with and Indian labor to be employed as much as possible. To what extent this can be done, under prudent and energetic direction, is shown by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs in his description of the results accomplished by Agent Wilbur. Proper discrimination should be made in the distribution of supplies and annuity goods and the granting of favors between those who work and those who live as idle vagabonds, so that honest effort be encouraged by tangible recognition and reward.

Some of these reforms have for some time been in progress; others are in course of preparation. Their accomplishment requires time and patient labor, and, above all things, an honest and efficient Indian service. The Indian service has, in some of its branches, long been the subject of popular suspicion. Without attaching undue importance to vague rumors or allegations, it must be said that frequent investigations have shown that suspicion to be not without good reason. Inquiries instituted by myself since I was charged with the conduct of this department. have convinced me of this fact. As a result of such inquiries, presumptive evidence of fraudulent practices of a gross character came to my notice, which justified me in handing over a number of cases to the Department of Justice for criminal prosecution as well as civil action. While following the principal object of discovering abuses at present existing, I have thought it my duty to extend, incidentally, such