THE ENDOWMENT OF INDIAN TRIBES.

I cannot admit that there is any reason for the apprehensions which many persons feel, that when the Indians cease to be formidable, they will be neglected. It is certainly desirable on all grounds, not merely to avoid the possibility of an occasional failure in the provision for their wants, but also for the sake of securing comprehensiveness and consistency in the treatment of the subject, that the endowments for the several tribes and bands be capitalized, and placed in trust for their benefit, out of the reach of accident or caprice. The proceeds arising from sales, as their reservations are from time to time diminished by authority of law, for the sake of securing a higher culture of the portions remaining, ought, if the Indians are honestly treated in the transaction, to be suffi cient to provide for all ordinary beneficial expenditures in behalf of tribes and bands having lands secured to them by treaty.

The reservations granted heretofore have generally been proportioned, and rightly so, to the needs of the Indians in a roving state, with hunting and fishing as their chief means of subsistence, which condition implies the occupation of a territory far exceeding what could possibly be cultivated. As they change to agriculture, however rude and primitive at first, they tend to contract the limits of actual occupation. With proper administrative management the portions thus rendered available for cession or sale can be so thrown together as in no way to Impair the integrity of the reservation. Where this change has taken place, there can be no question of the expediency of such sale or cession. The Indian Office has always favored this course, and notwithstanding the somewhat questionable character of some of the resulting transactions, arising especially out of violent or fraudulent combinations to prevent a fair sale, it can be confidently affirmed that the advantage of the Indians has generally been subserved thereby.

For those tribes and bands which have no reservations secured to them by treaty, from which they can hope in the course of time to realize a civilization and improvement fund, provision will still require to be made by law. Their right to endowment is none the less clear than the right of other tribes whose fortune it was to deal with the United States by treaty, before Congress put an end to the treaty system, with its many abuses and absurdities. We have received the soil from them, and we have extinguished their only means of subsistence. Nothing in the history of the United States justifies the belief that either Congress or the country will be wanting in justice or generosity in dealing with the necessities of a people who have been impoverished that we might be rich. Our national charity has sought the objects of its benefactions at the ends of the earth: Americans will never be wanting in simple ustice to helpless dependents at home. I have, therefore, no fear for the future of the Indians of this continent when once the arms of their resistance are laid down, and Indian outrages are no longer reported to uflame the hostility of the border States, and to mingle doubt and misLivings with the philanthropic intentions of the charitable and humane.

THE PRESENT SITUATION AND CONDITION OF THE INDIANS.

With these remarks I respectfully submit the following detailed account of the numbers, the location, and the present condition of each tribe and important band within the administrative control of the Indian Office. This account, whether statistical or descriptive, has been care

fully studied, with a view to securing the highest degree of exactness consistent with the nature of the subject. No unpleasant feature of the situation has been softened. No suppression has been permitted with any thought of relieving the service from odium thereby. On the other hand, the more agreeable aspects have been presented, if not in a skep tical, at least not in a sanguine spirit, for it is known and painfully aj preciated how obstinate are the faults of character with which those who would improve the condition of the Indian have to deal; how de lusive is oftentimes the appearance of improvement; and how easy the relapse to indolence and vice. Within the past year the Indian Office has seen the habits of industry of two important tribes, which had made a progress really commendable and even admirable toward self-support and independence, terribly shaken by the catastrophe of a total loss of crops from drought and the ravages of grasshoppers; the progress of the people completely arrested thereby; and large numbers driven off to hunting and fishing, from which they will not easily or speedily be re called. Such calamities are apt enough to discourage and demoralize communities that have made large accumulations, and, having been long in habits of industry, are not easily moved from them. But to a peo ple just emerging from barbarism, making their first painful efforts at agriculture, ignorant and superstitious, with no resource and no reserve. it could hardly be a subject of wonder or blame if such a calamity as the utter destruction of their crop should undo the beneficial work of years and throw them back in complete discouragement upon courses which it was hoped they had abandoned forever. It is always a weary work to lift any man or people from degradation to self-respect, self-re straint, and self-reliance; while with the Indian of this continent w have the exceptional difficulty of a nature singularly trivial, and habits singularly incompatible with civilized forms of life and industry.

But such considerations as these afford reason for moderating antie pations, not for relaxing effort. Even were it hopeless to rescue the men and the women of single tribe now under the control of the Gov ernment from the life and the death of savages, it would still be the in terest and the duty of the nation to organize and maintain an increas ing service for the instruction of these people in the arts of industry and life, in the hope and reasonable expectation that another generation may be saved from becoming a pest and a scourge to themselves and to the larger community upon which they are to be thrown, their traditiona morality unlearned, their tribal and social bonds dissolved, all that there was of good in their native character and condition completely lost, an with only such substitute for all this as we shall now give them.

A FEW GENERALIZATIONS.

The Indians within the limits of the United States, exclusive of thos in Alaska, number, approximately, 300,000.

(a) They may be divided according to their geographical location, ez range, into five grand divisions, as follows: In Minnesota and States east of the Mississippi River, about 32,500; in Nebraska, Kansas, and the Indian Territory, 70,650; in the Territories of Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho, 65,000; in Nevada and the Territories of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Arizona, 84,000; and on the Pacific slop, 48,000.

(b) In respect to the three lines of railroads-built or projectedBetween the States and the Pacific Ocean, viz, the northern, centra',

and southern routes, they may be divided, excluding those residing east of Minnesota and of the Missouri River, south of Dakota, as follows: Between the proposed northern route and the British possessions, about 36,000; between the northern and central routes, 92,000; between the central and the proposed southern routes, 61,000; and between the Southern route and Mexico, 85,000, making a total of 274,000.

(c) As regards their means of support and methods of subsistence they may be divided as follows: Those who support themselves upon their own reservations, receiving nothing from the Government, except interest on their own moneys, or annuities granted them in consideration of the cession of their lands to the United States, number about 130,000; those who are entirely subsisted by the Government, about 31,000; those in part subsisted, 84,000-together about 115,000; those who subsist by hunting and fishing, upon roots, nuts, berries, &c., or by begging and stealing, about 55,000.

(d) They may be divided again, with respect to their connection with the Government, as follows: There are about 150,000 who may be said to remain constantly upon their reservations, and are under the complete control of agents appointed by the Government; 95,000 who at times visit their agencies either for food or for gossip, or for both, but are generally roaming either on or off their reservations, engaged in hunting or fishing; and 55,000 who never visit an agency, and over whom the Government as yet exercises practically no control, but most of whom are inoffensive, and commit no acts of hostility against the Government.

(e) Again, it may be said that of the 300,000 Indians of the country about 180,000 have treaties with the Government; 40,000 have no treaties with the United States, but have reservations set apart by Executive order or otherwise for their occupancy, and are in charge of agents appointed by the Government; 25,000 have no reservations, but are more or less under the control of agents appointed for them, and receive more or less assistance from the Government, the remainder consisting of the same 55,000 already twice described, over whom the Government exercises, practically, no control, and for whom there are no treaty or other provisions.

(f) As to civilization, they may, though with no great degree of assurance be divided, according to a standard taken with reasonable reference to what might fairly be expected of a race with such antecedents and traditions, as follows: Civilized, 97,000; semi-civilized, 125,000; wholly barbarous, 78,000.

MINNESOTA, AND EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER.

New York.—The Indians of New York, remnants of the once powerful "Six Nations," number five thousand and seventy. They occupy

*The northern route consists of the proposed Northern Pacific Railroad, commencing at Du Luth, Minnesota, and terminating at a fixed point on Puget Sound, Washington Territory. The central route is composed of the Union Pacific Railroad, running from Omaha, Nebraska,, to Ogden, Utah Territory, and the Central Pacific, from Ogden, tah Territory, to San Francisco, California. The southern route is composed of the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad, starting at Springfield, Missouri; thence to a point on Canadian River, in the Indian Territory; thence to the head-waters of the Colorado Chiquito; thence along the 35 parallel of latitude, as near as may be found practicable, to the Colorado River, at such point as may be selected; thence by the most practicable route to the Pacific; and of the Southern Pacific Railroad, which is authorized to connect with the Atlantic and Pacific at or near the southeastern boundary of California.

six reservations in the State, containing in the aggregate 68,668 acres. Two of these reservations, viz, the Allegany and Cattaraugus, be longed originally to the colony of Massachusetts, but by sale and assign ment passed into the hands of a company, the Indians holding a per petual right of occupancy, and the company referred to, or the individua members thereof, owning the ultimate fee. The same state of facts formerly existed in regard to the Tonawanda reserve, but the Indians who occupy it have purchased. the ultimate fee of a portion of the reserve, which is now held in trust for them by the Secretary of the Interior. The State of New York exercises sovereignty over these reservations. The reservations occupied by the Oneidas, Onondagas, and Tuscaroras, have been provided for by treaty stipulations between the Indians and the State of New York. All six reserves are held and occupied by the Indians in common. While the Indian tribes of the continent, with few exceptions, have been steadily decreasing in num bers, those of New York have of late more than held their own, as is shown by an increase of one hundred in the present reports over the reported number in 1871; and of thirteen hundred over the number embraced in the United States census of 1860. On the New York reserv ations are twenty-eight schools; the attendance during some portions of the past year exceeding eleven hundred, the daily average attend ance being six hundred and eight. Of the teachers employed, fifteer are Indians, as fully competent for this position as their white associates. An indication of what is to be accomplished in the future, in an edu cational point of view, is found in the successful effort made in August last to establish a teachers' institute on the Cattaraugus reservation for the education of teachers specially for Indian schools. Thirty-eight applicants attended, and twenty-six are now under training. The stati ties of individual wealth and of the aggregate product of agricultural and other industry are, in general, favorable; and a considerable in crease in these regards is observed from year to year. Twenty thousand acres are under cultivation; the cereal crops are good, while noticeable success has been achieved in the raising of fruit. An instance is fur nished, from the Tuscarora reservation, of one Indian who realized a profit of over $2,000 on the sale of peaches alone during the past year. Favorable reports are given of the annual fairs held upon one or more of the reservations, at which the displays of fruits, home manufactures, &c., were quite creditable. A subject of importance to many of the Indians in New York is the proposed allotment of the lands of Catta raugus and Allegany reservations. The Society of Friends, at Phila delphia, have prepared a memorial upon the subject, and will, it is understood, present the same with a proposed bill to Congress at its next session. The United States agent, Daniel Sherman, esq., in ex pressing his views upon this matter, as set forth in the proposed bill, a copy of which was furnished, remarks that the Tuscaroras have already as good if not a better plan as to the division of their lands. Upo that reservation, he says,

The improved lands are practically allotted to the individual adult Indians, in f who can buy and sell only as between themselves; two-thirds of their reservation under actual cultivation, and the balance, being timbered land, is owned by the Indian in common. The chief's have appointed a committee to protect the timber, to see tin” no waste is committed, and that none is used by the Indians, except for fuel and bui ing purposes.

These Indians have, by treaty made with them in 1794, a permanet “ annuity in clothing and other useful articles to the amount of $4,00 The Senecas on the Tonawanda, Cattaraugus, and Allegany reservations

have a permanent annuity in money of $6,000, by act of February 19, 1831, and interest in lieu of investment, &c., by act of June 27, 1846, amounting annually to $5,902.50, in all $11,902.50, which is paid to them per capita. The Tonawanda band of Senecas, residing on the Tonawanda reservation, also have United States bonds held in trust for them to the amount of $86,950, the interest thereon, amounting to $5,217, being paid annually to that band.

MICHIGAN.

The bands or tribes residing in Michigan are the Chippewas of Saginaw, Swan Creek, and Black River; the Ottawas and Chippewas; the Pottawatomies of Huron, and the L'Anse band of Chippewas.

The Chippewas of Saginaw, Swan Creek, and Black River, numbering sixteen hundred and thirty, and the Ottawas and Chippewas, six thousand and thirty-nine, are indigenous to the country. They are well advanced in civilization; have, with few exceptions, been allotted lands under treaty provisions, for which they have received patents; and are now entitled to all the privileges and benefits of citizens of the United States. Those to whom no allotments have been made can secure homesteads under the provisions of the act of June 10, 1872. All treaty stipulations with these Indians have expired. They now have no money or other annuities paid to them by the United States Government. The three tribes first named have in all four schools, with one hundred and fitteen scholars, and the last, two schools, with one hundred and fifty-two scholars.

The Pottawatomies of Huron number about fifty. They have by treaty of 1807 a small money annuity, $400, paid to them annually, and rank in respect to civilization with the other Indians of the State. The L'Anse band of Chippewas, numbering eleven hundred and ninetyave, belong with the other bands of the Chippewas of Lake Superior. They occupy a reservation of about 48,300 acres, situated on Lake Superior, in the extreme northern part of the State. But few of them are engaged in agriculture, most of them depending for their subsistence on hunting and fishing. They have two schools, with an attendance of fifty-six scholars.

The progress of the Indians of Michigan in civilization and industry has been greatly hindered in the past by a feeling of uncertainty in regard to their permanent possession and enjoyment of their homes. Since the allotment of land, and the distribution of either patents or homestead certificates to these Indians, (the L'Anse or Lake Superior Chippewas, a people of hunting and fishing habits, excepted,) a marked improvement has been manifested on their part in regard to breaking and and building houses. The aggregate quantity of land cultivated by the several tribes is 11,620 acres, corn, oats, and wheat being the chief products. The dwellings occupied consist of two hundred and forty-four frame and eight hundred and thirty-five log-houses. The aggregate population of the several tribes named (including the confederated Chippewas, Ottawas, and Pottawatomies," about two hundred and fifty souls, with whom the Government made a final settlement in 1866, of its treaty obligations) is, by the report of their agent for the current year, nine thousand one hundred and seventeen, an increase over the number reported for 1871 of four hundred and two, due, however, perhaps as much to the return of absent Indians as to the excess of births over deaths. In educational matters these Indians have, of late, most unfortunately, fallen short of the results of former