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viz: Six pounds of sugar per 100 rations; one pound of bacon per ration; one half pound tobacco per 100 rations; one half pound saleratus per 100 rations. The latter article can be purchased very cheap, and it would be a great saving of flour, the Indians would also prefer it in place of salt.

Companies A and F, Seventeenth Infantry, are stationed at this agency; good feeling exists between the Indians and troops. I have constructed during the past year the following buildings, viz: one warehouse, 18 by 90 feet; one blacksmith shop; one cook-house; one carpenter shop; one dining-room and quarters for employés.

The conduct of the Indians during the past year (with the exception of stealing a few horses) has been very good. There is considerable dissatisfaction existing among them concerning the wood chopping along the river. I would respectfully recommend that some system be adopted for the agent to act upon the matter. In 1868, at the treaty at Fort Rice, the Indians permitted fifteen white men with Indian families to chop wood for the steamboats passing up and down the river, and now they want these men to give them one-half of the proceeds derived from the sale of said wood.

I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant.

Hon. E. S. PARKER,

J. A. HEARN,

Captain United States Army, Indian Agent.

Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Washington, D. C.

(Through Hon. John A. Burbank, governor and ex officio superintendent Indian affairs, Yancton, Dakota Territoy.

No. 77.

UPPER MISSION AGENCY,

Fort Berthold, Dakota Territory, August 1, 1870. GOVERNOR: I have the honor to submit the following report for the year ending August 1, 1870.

On account of the small supply of subsistence stores furnished for the use of the Indians at this point last fall, and the small number of horses or other means of transportation at their disposal, it was found necessary to devise some means of getting those that could obtain their living by hunting away from the fort to the hunting ground, as, if they were left here, the supply of food would be exhausted long before the expiration of winter, and, as a consequence, starvation must ensue. Accordingly quite a number of Indians and several tons of corn were shipped by steamer to Fort Buford, Dakota Territory, which is the nearest point to the Yellowstone River hunting grounds. This move enabled the agency to feed those of the Indians who were left in the village, and the winter passed without a case of starvation, though, at times, the distress was very great. On account of the severity of the winter, seventeen head of the working cattle belonging to the agency were frozen to death.

Owing to the late arrival of the seed for planting, the crop will not amount to anything, in some cases not even returning the seed. No full agricultural report can be made until about the end of September. The Indians received the seed and farming implements that were sent to them with many expressions of gratitude and thankfulness, and frequently apply to the farm hands for instruction.

gistrat, on s'est défié aussi de l'indépendance de sa situation. L'inamovibilité, regardée, en France du moins, comme une garantie suffisante au civil et au correctionnel, n'a pas paru de nature à écarter toutes les craintes quand il s'agit de la mort ou de l'infamie. On a pensé que trop de liens encore unissent le fonctionnaire, même non révocable, au pouvoir qui l'institue et dont il attend son avancement, pour que, dans les affaires où celui-ci peut avoir dans le résultat des poursuites un intérêt direct, celui-là ne soit jamais exposé à un soupçon de partialité ou de complaisance toujours funeste, alors même qu'il n'est pas fondé. Pour avoir des arrêts d'une autorité morale incontestée, on a cru devoir les demander à un tribunal que l'opinion publique ne pût désavouer, parce qu'il procéderait de la même source qu'elle, et qui, par la mobilité de ses éléments, par leur vocation fortuite et fugitive, échappât à toute influence de nature à en faire un instrument d'oppression.

A ce point de vue, la vindicte publique profite elle-même des précautions prises contre elle, et la législation n'a pas sacrifié à l'intérêt de la défense celui d'une répression légitime. Si quelqu'un pouvait en douter, qu'il se représente par la pensée la plénitude de la juridiction criminelle, surtout en matière politique, remise à des tribunaux permanents portant l'attache officielle du pouvoir, assumant sur un petit nombre de noms propres, toujours les mêmes, la responsabilité de leurs actes, et qu'il se demande quel corps judiciaire, si fortement constitué qu'on le suppose, pourrait, dans l'état de nos mœurs, soutenir un pareil fardeau. C'est une réponse péremptoire à ceux qui craignent que la société ne soit désarmée par l'institution du jury.

Mais il n'en est pas moins vrai de dire, à prendre les choses dans leur principe et dans les rapports directs qu'elles ont entre elles, qu'ici encore c'est l'accusé que la loi protége, non plus contre les chances communes de l'infirmité humaine abandonnée à elle-même, mais contre celles qu'y pourrait ajouter un ascendant de position exercé sur le juge dans des vues de gouvernement; de telle sorte que l'intervention du jury n'est rien de moins qu'une garantie individuelle de l'ordre politique. Ceci n'est pas une conjecture, une interprétation arbitraire; les documents abondent pour établir qu'on en a toujours jugé ainsi partout où, n'importe sous quelle forme et sous quel nom, le jugement par jurés a existé.

for breaking. Food should be sent to them at once, as there are a number of them who cannot obtain their own living, and are in constant danger of starving.

I have the honor to remain, very respectfully, your obedient servant, W. CLIFFORD, Captain and United States Indian Agent.

Hon. J. A. BURBANK,

Governor and ex officio Superintendent Indian Affairs,
Yancton, Dakota Territory.

No. 78.

SISSETON AGENCY, DAKOTA TERRITORY,

September 30, 1870.

SIR: In compliance with requirements of the Indian Bureau, I have the honor of transmitting the annual report of the Indians under my charge.

The Sisseton and Wahpeton Sioux Indians are, by the treaty of February 19, 1867, located on two reservations which are known as the Lake Traverse, near Fort Wadsworth, and Devil's Lake Reservation, near Fort Totten. The former having been surveyed, is being rapidly settled by individual farmers who are industrious and fast advancing in the knowledge of agricultural pursuits. The number of Indians belonging to this reservation is-men, 332; women, 515; children, 651; total, 1,498. They have fenced, and under cultivation, 539 acres-the work of their own hands, from which they have raised 12,980 bushels of corn, which is worth, taking flour at what it cost here, $25,960; potatoes, 2,800 bushels, valued at $4,200; oats, 140 bushels, valued at $140; turnips and rutabagas, 3,500 bushels, and garden vegetables in large quantities. They have cut 900 tons of hay, most of which is drawn up and stacked at their stables, which is valued (contract price, at Fort Wadsworth, $5 per ton) at $4,500. The number of cattle belonging to them, which were received from Government, is, oxen, 86; cows, 14. The oxen and implements of agriculture given them have stimulated their energies and produced results far above the expectations of their most sanguine friends. These bands only exist in name on this reservation, as there is but one man recognized as leader, and his official duties are more that of a governor than any tribal chieftainship. His example and assiduous labors for their benefit have aided much to advance them in civilization. There is a very general desire for schools, that they may be taught the English language. During the winter four were established, three English and one Dakota, which continued in operation an average time of two and one-half months, with an average daily attendance of fourteen. The difficulty of obtaining good teachers, it is hoped, will have been overcome by the Presbyterian Board of Missions, they having erected, under the charge of Rev. S. R. Riggs, a school and boarding-house designed for the education of young men and women for teachers among these people.

A blacksmith and carpenter have been employed since July in repairing wagons and farming implements, and the property turned over by my predecessor.

The erection of one log building, 15 by 20 feet, for a blacksmith's shop, constitutes all the improvements. An addition to the warehouse, for the protection of supplies, 20 by 30 feet, is being built of logs. I have had

30 barrels of lime burnt for the purpose of pointing or plastering the log. houses at this agency, and also for the benefit of any of the Indians who may require it, as they have built 46 log-houses, and, with the sash, glass, and doors furnished, made them as comfortable as that class of buildings can be in a country destitute of lumber. As an abundance of good limestone may be found in this vicinity, the cost of lime will not exceed 75 cents per barrel,

I would recommend that houses be built for a portion of these Indians, as contemplated in the treaty. As all but a small portion of the material for building can be produced on the reservation, good brick houses can be built for $400. The farmer Indians are very desirous that the 60 acres required to be fenced and under cultivation, before they receive a patent for their land, be reduced to 10 acres, as they think it impossible to accomplish so much. They desire to do all they can to obtain a paper that secures to them a home for life, and only request that the conditions be placed within their reach. I would recommend that their request be favorably considered by the Government, as it would be a great source of contentment and satisfaction for them to feel that they had homes of their own to which they would become attached, and lose that spirit of restlessness desire to roam about—so characteristic of their race. Their industry and progress in the arts of peace is greatly due to the interest taken in their work by having a farmer visit their homes to instruct and encourage them, together with the knowledge that they must show a sufficient amount of work done to pay for their provisions and clothing. The transportation of their supplies has been done by themselves, under the charge of a white man, and the money which other wise would have been paid to contracting parties for that service was used to purchase oxen and wagons, which were given to the most worthy Indians. By this means supplies can be delivered without unnecessary delay, and the Indians are taught to use and care for the cattle and wagons.

Having been their physician many years before, they look to me for medical aid now; therefore it has been necessary to have a supply of medicines at the agency that their wants might be attended to. The diseases usually prevalent among the whites, during the hot seasons of the year, have been very common among them this summer; otherwise they have been healthy and requiring but little aid.

The Indians at Devil's Lake are well disposed and show a better disposition to work than ever before. They number, men, 152; women, 143; children, 245; total, 540. They have increased the past season. by the return of those who left at the time of the outbreak in 1862, to the number which entitles them to an agent by the treaty of 1867. It will be much for their benefit to have an officer of the Government reside among them. They have raised 276 bushels of corn from 336 pounds of seed sent to them from this agency in May. Their potatoes had not been dug by the latest advices from their reservation. I have not been able to find any one to act as interpreter for them for the pay allowed by Government; therefore the man in charge, as well as the Indians, labor under disadvantages that are not favorable to correct understanding. The pay of interpreter is not sufficient for the duties they have to perform, and the responsible positions require men that command better wages. There are no buildings for employés, or for the storage of supplies on the Devil's Lake reservation, belonging to the Indian Department. The acting assistant quartermaster at Fort Totten has kindly offered the old log-quarters for the use of the Indian Department the ensuing winter. If it is intended to retain those Indians on

that reservation, it is important that an agency be built for them at an early day.

I desire to call the attention of the Government to the great necessity of law for the protection of person and property. Communities are never so perfect in self-government as not to require some law, and people emerging from heathenism are not exempt from the imperfections of human nature. With but few exceptions they have not left the reservation without a pass. They have been free from the incursions of the Chippewas, and their enemies on the Missouri River, and nothing has occurred to disturb them, neither have they given the whites on the frontier any cause for alarm, although they were accused of trespassing when evil-disposed white men and a gang of horse-thieves on the border were the cause. The Sioux Indian has shown by his industry and good habits, on this reservation, that he is capable of advancement. Notwithstanding a physical constitution untrained to the duties of a farmer, his ignorance of the use of implements of husbandry, and his scanty means of support, he has advanced, within two years, from barbarism to a state of civilization. Men who knew no other means of subsistence than the chase are to-day enjoying the fruits of their own industry in the peaceful pursuits of agriculture. This desirable and satisfactory result is the fruit of good seed sown years ago by men connected with the Presbyterian Board of Missions.

The kind intercession of Right Rev. Bishop Whipple, who saved them from starvation, has dispelled the dark cloud of adversity, so that they may see the advantages of peace and industry. Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

Hon. E. S. PARKER,

J. W. DANIELS, M. D.,

United States Indian Agent.

Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Washington, D. C.

NORTHERN SUPERINTENDENCY.

No. 79.

OFFICE OF NORTHERN SUPERINTENDENCY,

OMAHA, NEBRASKA, 9th month, 20th day, 1870. RESPECTED FRIEND: In submitting this, my second annual report, together with the reports of the Indian agents in the northern superintendency, I am gratified in being able to state that, in the tribes under our care, there has been a manifest improvement.

THE SANTEE SIOUX.

Since my report of last year, the allotment of lands in severalty to the Santee Sioux, then in contemplation, has been completed, assigning to each head of a family 80 acres, and to each unmarried person eighteen years of age or upwards 40 acres. The total number of farms allotted is 400, some of which are occupied, and preparations are now being made to provide materials and assist the Indians in building for themselves comfortable houses. This is a work in which they take great interest. In tilling their lands many of them are disposed to be industrious, but they require assistance in breaking the sod and in fencing.

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