[No. 18.—Second Series.—3000.] 
 
 /" 
 
 A TOUR OF OBSERVATION 
 
 t 
 
 AMONG 
 
 Indians and Indian Schools 
 
 IN 
 
 ARIZONA, NEW MEXICO, OKLAHOMA, 
 
 AND KANSAS. 
 
 * 
 
 BY 
 
 CHARLES F. MESERVE, 
 
 President of the Shaw University, Raleigh, A 7 , C. 
 
 PRINTED BY ORDER OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 
 OFFICE OF THE INDIAN RIGHTS ASSOCIATION, 
 
 No. 1305 Arch Street. 
 
 1894. 
 
 E*-- 
 
 97 
 
 . M474 
 
Persons desiring to become members of the Association 
 should present their names and addresses to the Corres¬ 
 ponding Secretary, who will submit them to the Executive 
 Committee for election. An annual fee of two dollars is 
 required of members, in return for which they are entitled 
 to all publications of the society. 
 
 HERBERT WELSH, 
 
 Corresponding Secretary I. R. A., 
 
 1305 Arch Street, Philadelphia. 
 
 Press of Wm. F. Fell & Co., 
 1220-24 Sansom St., 
 PHILADELPHIA. 
 
[No. 18.—Second Series.—3000.] 
 
 A TOUR OF OBSERVATION 
 
 AMONG 
 
 Indians and Indian 
 
 Schools 
 
 IN 
 
 ARIZONA, NEW MEXICO, OKLAHOMA, 
 
 AND KANSAS. 
 
 BY 
 
 CHARLES F. MESERVE, 
 
 President of the Shaw University, Raleigh , N. C. 
 
 PRINTED BY ORDER OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 
 OFFICE OF THE INDIAN RIGHTS ASSOCIATION, 
 No. 1305 Arch Street. 
 
 1894. 
 
E 
 
 3-nc( Scr, 
 no'* 18 
 
 O’NOIl LIBRARY 
 BOSTON COLLEGE 
 
 L 
 
 OCT t 2 3E7 
 
A TOUR OF OBSERVATION AMONG INDIANS AND 
 U. S. INDIAN SCHOOLS IN ARIZONA, NEW 
 MEXICO, OKLAHOMA, AND KANSAS. 
 
 In compliance with instructions received from Mr. Herbert 
 Welsh, Secretary of the Indian Rights Association, of Philadel¬ 
 phia, I left New York on the 25th of May, to visit various Indian 
 tribes in the Southwest. I proceeded from Chicago over the 
 world’s greatest railway, the Santa Fe, to Gallup, New Mexico, 
 a town of about a thousand population that annually sends to 
 various points on the Pacific Coast about three hundred thou¬ 
 sand tons of bituminous coal. After a refreshing night’s sleep, 
 I was driven for seven hours across the desert to Fort Defiance? 
 in the eastern portion of Arizona. This is the headquarters of 
 Lieut. E. H. Plummer, of the Tenth Infantry, who has been since 
 April 1, 1893, acting U. S. Indian Agent for the Navajo Indians. 
 My object in visiting this tribe was to ascertain its present con¬ 
 dition and future needs, but more especially to examine into the 
 progress and possibilities of irrigation on its semi-desert reserva¬ 
 tion. The Navajos number twenty thousand, and occupy a 
 reservation that is half as large again as the State of Massachu¬ 
 setts, larger than the State of Maryland, and greater than the 
 combined area of New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Delaware. 
 They have been known for many years as the Arabs of the 
 Western Hemisphere ; their habits being nomadic, it is more 
 difficult to keep track of them than of any of the other tribes. 
 I found, contrary to what had previously been told me, that the 
 Navajos were poor. They are non-ration Indians, and I had 
 for years understood that they were the wealthiest Indians of the 
 Southwest; that they were rich in flocks of sheep and goats, 
 and derived annually a large revenue from the sale of their 
 wool; that they were also skillful silversmiths, and that their 
 
 3 
 
4 
 
 bridles and saddles were richly decorated with trimmings and 
 mountings of the white-metal wrought out by their own clever 
 handicraft. I found, however, as soon as I saw them, that they 
 were poor, and their pinched cheeks gave plain evidence that 
 they were hungry. I learned, upon conversation with Lieut. 
 Plummer, that such has been the case for some time. They 
 have about 1,500,000 sheep and goats, and it might be consid¬ 
 ered that this would be a source of wealth. The Navajos, as a 
 matter of fact, have for several years been growing poorer and 
 poorer. For the last four years there has been an unusually 
 short supply of rain in their country, which at best has only a 
 slight rainfall. Their flocks for a number of years, in conse¬ 
 quence of in-breeding, an insufficient food supply, and weather 
 unusually cold, have greatly deteriorated. I was informed by 
 reliable parties that the fleeces sheared from these sheep average 
 to weigh only two pounds and a half; that sometimes a sheep 
 is sheared that will yield a fleece weighing three pounds, but 
 that this is rare. There have been instances, also rare, in which 
 a single fleece weighed but half a pound. The present low price 
 of wool is a serious obstacle to the support and advancement of 
 the Navajos. At points on the reservation distant from the 
 railroad, wool brings only five cents a pound ; and at or near 
 the railroad station, only seven and one-half cents. When the 
 average weight of the fleeces is considered in connection with 
 this low price, it can be seen that the Navajo Indians are indeed 
 having a hard time. I believe there will be much suffering 
 among them next winter unless they receive aid. 
 
 On account of their poverty, trouble frequently arises with the 
 whites who live contiguous to the reservation. The Navajo 
 Reservation is situated partly in Arizona and partly in New 
 Mexico, the north and south line between the two Territories 
 dividing the reservation into two unequal parts. On ac¬ 
 count of the shortage of pasturage during the last few years, 
 probably from a third to one-half of the Navajos have wandered 
 from their reservation in search of “ pastures green.” The re¬ 
 sult is that it has been very annoying to the whites who live in 
 various portions of these two Territories adjacent to the Navajo 
 Reservation. Were it not for the fact that the white people realized 
 that many of these Indians were on the verge of starvation, 
 
5 
 
 more serious trouble would have arisen than has already. The 
 whites frequently say in response to inquiry, “Yes, I know that 
 the Indians have taken a few steers or a few of my sheep, but they 
 are starving and I do not feel like interfering.” It is clear that 
 the Government has a duty not only to the Navajos themselves 
 directly, but also to the white settlers who have made homes 
 near the reservation, and who have become important factors 
 in the civilization and advancement of these two Territories. 
 It is my opinion that there is only one course to be pursued by 
 the Government, and that is to establish a complete and 
 thorough system of irrigation, and also to introduce among 
 these Indians a better class of sheep, so that in a few years their 
 flocks can be greatly improved. The raising of alfalfa and 
 other crops, which the system of irrigation proposed will make 
 possible, will enable them to become independent and live at 
 least in comfort. I have looked into the matter very carefully, 
 and believe that there is no other solution for the Navajo prob¬ 
 lem. I was glad to learn that an appropriation of $64,000 
 had been made by Congress, with which to open up the water- 
 holes, clear out the springs, and later on sink artesian wells and 
 conduct irrigating ditches from the Little Colorado and San 
 Juan. There are also many smaller streams that originate in 
 springs at the heads of the various canons, that can be brought 
 down through the canons and led out into valleys of a few acres 
 in extent that are always found at the opening of the canons. 
 We are accustomed to think of Arizona and New Mexico as a 
 vast expanse of desert, but the fact is that large sections are very 
 fertile when a proper amount of water has been provided. 
 There are also opportunities of storing large volumes of water 
 by diverting certain streams into natural reservoirs or storage 
 basins which would never be in danger of bursting. 
 
 When this system of irrigation, which, of course, must be begun 
 in a small way and increased from year to year by additional 
 appropriations from Congress, has been fully carried out, there 
 will be no question but what the Navajo Indians will cease to 
 be nomadic in their habits. A hundred thousand acres can 
 easily be irrigated. Alfalfa, corn, oats, and wheat, and possibly 
 other grains, can be raised in large quantities, and I believe as 
 agriculture is more developed there will be a larger variety of 
 
6 
 
 products. Both the Indians themselves and their sheep and 
 goats have for some time had an insufficient supply of food. 
 The alfalfa and grain that they can raise will enable them to 
 keep their flocks in good condition, and will also supply a suffi¬ 
 cient amount of food so that they can dispose of the small 
 ponies that they now use, and raise large, strong, and serviceable 
 horses instead. It will also tend to lead at least a portion of the 
 Navajos into strictly agricultural pursuits, rather than the raising 
 of horses, cattle, and sheep. The whole trend of a proper 
 system of irrigation will be toward a fixed abode, and until they 
 have a fixed abode and diversified industries it will be well-nigh 
 impossible for them to make the progress in civilization which 
 the friends of the Indians desire to see made, and which they 
 are capable of making. There must be engendered a love for 
 home, a fixed abode, and individual realty. 
 
 I was very much gratified to find that progress is being made 
 in the education of the Indian youth. There are, in all prob¬ 
 ability, at least 4000 Indians of school age among the Navajos. 
 Not more than 300 at the outside, and probably less, are now 
 in school. One year ago there were enrolled in the Navajo 
 school at Fort Defiance about 90 pupils; at the time of my 
 visit there were 199. This was very gratifying, and proba- 
 bly is the most marked example of increased attendance that 
 can be found in any Indian school in the country during the 
 past year. It was especially gratifying to learn of this increased 
 attendance, because I knew what trouble the former Agent had 
 with Black Horse, who was the leader of the non-progressive 
 Navajos, and had done his utmost to discourage the sending of 
 their children to school. He said that none of his children 
 should attend school, and advised all the Indians of his band 
 not to send theirs. To the surprise of every one, a few months 
 ago Black Horse, of his own accord, came to Fort Defiance 
 with his oldest boy, and asked the Agent to place him in school. 
 The increased attendance has been largely due to the wise man¬ 
 agement of Lieut. Plummer. He is a man who thoroughly un¬ 
 derstands the situation and receives the highest commendation 
 from all who are acquainted with the work that he has done, is 
 doing, and is planning to do. Miss Merritt, the Superintendent 
 of the Boarding School, is also popular, and her influence has 
 
7 
 
 also been a prominent factor in the increased attendance. It is 
 but just to say of Miss Annie Thomas, a full-blooded Pueblo, 
 that since she has been assistant matron the attendance of the 
 girls has increased from twenty-three to forty-six. Without 
 doubt the poverty of the Navajos has had some effect in increasing 
 the attendance. There ought to be at least four more schools, 
 similar to the school at Fort Defiance, established at different 
 points on the reservation and remote from each other. It is the 
 sheerest folly to attempt to solve the problem by educating some 
 two or three hundred children when there are at least four 
 thousand of school age who ought to be in school. When the 
 scheme of irrigation has been more developed and the Indians 
 have become less roving in their habits, there should also be 
 established a few day schools, as well as the four boarding 
 schools recommended. 
 
 The Fort Defiance school should be enlarged by the addition 
 of several industrial departments. I used to believe very 
 strongly that it was unwise to foster reservation schools of a 
 high grade, and I still believe that it would be far better for all 
 Indian youths, above ten or twelve years of age, to be taken at a 
 distance to some non-reservation industrial training school, like 
 Haskell or Carlisle, and kept there for a number of years, but in 
 the absence of a compulsory attendance law, and in view of the 
 general refusal of the Indians to allow their children to attend 
 school at a distance from home, reservation schools must be en¬ 
 couraged and receive more and more attention, and on a reserva¬ 
 tion like the Navajo, with an Indian population of twenty 
 thousand, there should be one industrial training school as large, 
 as well equipped, and as efficient as any of the training schools 
 at a distance from the reservations. While the absence of a 
 compulsory attendance law and the unwillingness of the Indians 
 to send their children at a distance to school is retarding their 
 progress, it is encouraging to find them willing to send their 
 children to school near home and asking that they be taught to 
 do things that are needed at home. 
 
 There is an important matter that should receive the attention 
 of the United States Government in a practical way at the 
 earliest possible day. Whisky is one of the worst enemies that 
 the Indian meets, and it has more to do with preventing him 
 
8 
 
 from advancing along the road to civilization than anything else. 
 In the Annual Report for 1893 of Hon. W. L. Thornton, Gov¬ 
 ernor of New Mexico, to the Hon. Secretary of the Interior, I 
 find the following, and as it is so important, I give this quota¬ 
 tion :— 
 
 “ Another cause of poverty among the Navajos is their great 
 love of drink, which they will gratify by the sale of the last hoof 
 of their stock. Upon every side of the reservation may be found 
 small storekeepers whose ostensible business is the exchange of 
 goods for wool and pelts of the Indians, but whose real business 
 is the secret selling of whisky to them. So far as I have been 
 able to learn there has not been a conflict between the Indians 
 and the settlers for a number of years not directly caused through 
 the sale of whisky to the Indians or by their thefts. It is impos¬ 
 sible to bring these violators of law to justice, except by the ex¬ 
 penditure of large sums of money. The fees paid the marshals 
 do not justify them in assuming the expense and incurring the 
 danger incident to making arrests and securing the testimony 
 necessary to make convictions. The stores are generally located 
 in isolated localities, where the trading can be done with im¬ 
 punity. The Indians will not, as a general rule, betray the party 
 from whom they purchase drink, and when they do testify, so 
 little confidence can be placed in their statements that jurors 
 very rarely convict. 
 
 “ A resident dare not attempt their arrest and conviction, for 
 if he fails he would no longer live in peace. He would be per¬ 
 secuted in various ways. The Indians would be induced and 
 aided in running off his stock ; his property would be secretly 
 destroyed, and, if this did not induce him to move to other 
 parts, his life would be taken. 
 
 “ I recommend that the Department appoint two or three special 
 detectives or deputy marshals to remain for a number of months 
 upon the borders of the reservation. They should assume some 
 occupation, live and associate with the law-breakers until they 
 obtain proof necessary for their arrest and conviction. A few 
 arrests and convictions of the most prominent offenders would 
 put an end to this traffic in a large measure. When they once 
 learn that a few fearless, determined men are secretly working 
 in this matter, backed by the strong arm of the Government, 
 
9 
 
 they would stop their traffic and seek less dangerous occupa¬ 
 tions.” 
 
 With reference to the education of Indian children I would 
 remark that there has been, during the last few years, a marked 
 change in this part of the country. The last Annual Report of 
 the Governors of the Territories of Arizona and New Mexico 
 spoke very favorably of educating the Indian youth, and of 
 making their education as practical as possible from the indus¬ 
 trial standpoint, as well as in the ordinary English branches. 
 
 Lieutenant Plummer is doing a grand work in trying to help 
 the Navajos in the great straits in which they now are. He is 
 giving his whole life and soul to the work, and should receive 
 the heartiest support possible from Congress. He does not 
 begin to have the help that he ought in attending to his clerical 
 duties. It is frequently the case that he is at work in his office 
 until one o’clock in the morning, or even later ; and on one 
 occasion after he had been out for a number of days on a long 
 trip over the reservation, he returned at nine o’clock in the 
 morning, and, finding that a vast amount of correspondence had 
 accumulated in his absence, went to his desk and did not leave 
 his office until three o’clock the next morning. The Indian 
 Office believes most heartily in Lieutenant Plummer, and would 
 be glad to give him an additional clerk, but the money has not 
 yet been appropriated by Congress for this purpose. Something 
 should be done to help him in this extremity. Work in an In¬ 
 dian agency is not the pleasantest at best; and when there is a 
 whole-hearted, big-souled man like Lieutenant Plummer, who is 
 willing to go to Fort Defiance, when he might have a pleasanter 
 position, and give his whole life to the work, as he is doing, 
 everything ought to be made as pleasant as possible, and every¬ 
 thing done to afford him all the encouragement possible. If he 
 could be properly supported, and remain there for a decade, I 
 believe that the Navajo problem would be well-nigh solved. 
 
 The buildings at the agency are more or less dilapidated. 
 Most of them are nondescript, adobe, tumble-down affairs, that 
 are a disgrace to the United States. The various school build¬ 
 ings are of stone, and are in a good state of preservation, and 
 meet the purposes for which they were designed very well. 
 There should be a large expenditure made at Fort Defiance, so 
 
IO 
 
 that things may be put in a proper condition for carrying on 
 the work, as well as commanding the proper respect of the 
 Indians. 
 
 I had the pleasure of meeting at Fort Defiance Mr. Edward 
 C. Vincent, Superintendent of Irrigation for the Navajo Reserva¬ 
 tion. He gave me in detail his plans, and they seemed to be 
 wise, and I hope ere this he has been able to start upon his 
 work. He has, however, arrived too late to accomplish much 
 good this season. Frost in this part of the country forms as late 
 as June, and again late in September. It will hardly be possible 
 for him to get his system under way so that the Navajos can put 
 in any crops this year, but much should be accomplished during 
 the coming autumn and next spring. 
 
 The entire reservation has been looked over by a competent 
 body of engineers from the War Department, and maps and 
 diagrams made of the various localities where Superintendent 
 Vincent will carry on his operations. The project is. not at all 
 visionary, and in a few years there should be substantial results. 
 
 The Navajo reservation should, as soon as possible after the 
 system of irrigation proposed has been started, be divided into 
 a number of districts, in each of which there ought to be a 
 farmer who is more than the average man. He should not only 
 understand farming, but have a general knowledge of business 
 and of the laws of the Territory, so that he could be a mediator 
 between the Indians and the white men, and see that the Indians 
 have their rights, as well as give them necessary instruction in 
 farming and care of cattle. As soon as the proposed plan of irri¬ 
 gation has been fairly started, there should be provided additional 
 field matrons to go out among the Indian women and give them 
 instruction in the ordinary matters of housekeeping, cooking, 
 care of sick, etc. 
 
 There are at various points on the Navajo reservation large 
 deposits of bituminous coal. I believe that the time will come, 
 when this country has been more developed and the scheme of 
 irrigation been carried out, and the Navajos have taken their 
 allotments, that it will be a valuable country, and that when 
 railroads are introduced and the coal is more accessible, the 
 Navajos will be well off. 
 
 In addition to the industries that would be taught, if the 
 
boarding schools that I recommend should be established, there 
 ought to be some attention paid to improving the looms. Navajo 
 blankets are known the world over. They are made in a very 
 crude, coarse way; and if they had improved looms and spin¬ 
 ning wheels, instead of the ordinary crude frames and a stick, 
 their product would be worth a great deal more. I learned there 
 are among the Navajos few half-breeds, and that they are clean 
 morally among themselves. There is very little polygamy, and 
 this is generally among the older men, who wish to have more 
 than one wife so that they can work for them and be a source of 
 income. 
 
 I met here Mr. White, a Methodist missionary, who, with his 
 wife, has come to do what he can to enlighten the minds of 
 these Indians. They are deeply interested in their work. A 
 chapel is very much needed for general gatherings as well as wor¬ 
 ship, and I trust that the great Methodist denomination will see 
 that the money for this is soon provided. 
 
 The situation of the Fort Defiance Agency and the Navajo 
 Boarding School is very beautiful. The elevation above the sea 
 level is 7500 feet. There are mesas on nearly all sides, and the 
 Canon Bonita broadens out into a valley quite near the school. 
 There is a large spring of soft, sweet water that flows down from 
 this canon. Lieutenant Plummer has placed a pump in position 
 and excavated a reservoir, with a capacity of 30,000 gallons, 
 in the solid rock up on the side of the mesa, and has the water 
 pumped into it. This is high enough to carry the water into all 
 the buildings, and it is under sufficient pressure to cover the 
 buildings in case of fire. This could indeed be made a beautiful 
 place, a veritable oasis in a desert of surrounding and sheltering 
 mesas, a school and agency that would exert a powerful influence 
 for good upon all the surrounding country. 
 
 I found civil service reform in a healthy condition. Not a 
 change had been made in positions on the classified list, and 
 only two in the unclassified. This means that the spoilsman is 
 not “ on deck ” at Fort Defiance. There is not apt to be a call 
 for political pie when merit rules instead of the spoilsman. If 
 Lieutenant Plummer were hampered by the spoils system, his 
 plans for bringing the Navajos out of darkness would soon be 
 frustrated. An Indian Agent or an Indian-school Superintend- 
 
12 
 
 ent cannot run his agency or school and a political machine at 
 the same time. One or the other will have to suffer, and ul¬ 
 timately get smashed. It was usually the case under the spoils 
 system that the machine prospered and the Indians suffered, be¬ 
 cause the agency or school was smashed. There is scarcely a 
 reservation where there are not such wrecks. Millions upon 
 millions of dollars have been appropriated for the support, civ¬ 
 ilization, and education of Indians, and much of this has been 
 wasted by the unbusiness-like methods made necessary by the 
 spoilsmen of the party in power. One of the grandest acts of 
 General Harrison was placing by executive order the positions 
 of superintendent, assistant superintendent, physician, matron, 
 and teacher under the protection of the civil service rules. 
 President Cleveland has recently and very wisely added that of 
 assistant teacher. 
 
 On June 9th I arrived at Ponca, Oklahoma. This is the 
 headquarters of the Ponca, Oto, Pawnee, and Tonkawa tribes, 
 and is about thirty miles south of Arkansas City, Kansas. These 
 Indians, with the exception of the Tonkawas, were removed 
 from Nebraska, some years ago, to the reservation they now oc¬ 
 cupy, and which was purchased for them by the government, 
 from the Cherokees. Their land originally comprised a part of 
 the famous Cherokee Strip. My object in visiting this agency 
 was to look into the present condition and needs of the Indians, 
 as well as to see what progress had been made in allotting land, 
 and whether the civil service rules were being properly observed. 
 
 I found the Indians in good condition, and that the Poncas es¬ 
 pecially had made considerable progress since I became 
 acquainted with them some five years ago. There were large 
 fields of corn and wheat, the latter being nearly ready for har¬ 
 vesting. Only a portion of the Poncas have taken their allot¬ 
 ments ; the Pawnees have all taken theirs, but less than half of 
 the Otos. The Tonkawas have their allotments, and are settled 
 upon them. I was very much interested in the work of Miss 
 Helen P. Clark, the allotting agent, who herself is a Blackfoot 
 Indian. I was sorry to find that she was ill, being confined to 
 a cot in her tent, from malarial fever. Her camp was in a beau¬ 
 tiful grove of elms on the bank of a creek near the Oto sub¬ 
 agency. She received me for a few moments, and gave a brief 
 
!3 
 
 but interesting account of the allotting of land to these four 
 tribes. She has met with considerable opposition, but has man¬ 
 aged her work very wisely and discreetly, and has won her way 
 in the face of many obstacles. The Poncas are pretty evenly 
 divided, rather more favoring than opposing allotment. The 
 element that may be termed the progressive element, that favors 
 the individual holding of land, is under the leadership of White 
 Eagle. Were he a white man, brought up under the environment 
 of white civilization, he surely would have been a great leader 
 of men. Some time ago he saw the inevitable and put himself 
 in a position where he urged and favored the allotting of land.' 
 He is also a firm supporter of the Government schools both on 
 and off the reservation. Some five years ago, when I first vis¬ 
 ited the Poncas, I found that very many of them were living in 
 tepees, although a house was situated near by. I find now that 
 it is rather the exception to find the tepee; and even where 
 there is a tepee beside the house, the house is the domicile in¬ 
 stead of the tepee. This, to those who are acquainted with the 
 Indians, means a marked improvement. Practically all of the 
 children of school age among these four tribes are in school, 
 the Pawnee school being the largest, having one hundred and 
 twenty-nine in attendance. The Ponca school is also as full as 
 it can be, and the Oto school has all it can do to care for the 
 children from the Oto reservation. 
 
 The area of the Ponca reservation is one hundred and forty- 
 four square miles, and the number of Poncas five hundred and 
 ninety-five. They have two pastures of 60,000 acres which have 
 been leased for $6000 per annum. They also receive an 
 annuity from the United States, but no rations. Aside from 
 the Indians of the five civilized tribes, namely, the Cherokees, 
 Creeks, Chickasaws, Choctaws, and Seminoles, I think that the 
 Poncas have made the most progress during the past five years of 
 any of the tribes of Oklahoma or Indian Territory. Instead of 
 the usual small Indian ponies, you frequently find good horses, 
 and it is no uncommon sight to see an Indian at work with a 
 pair of large, stout horses, plowing or cultivating, according to 
 the season of the year. 
 
 The Otos are perhaps the most stubborn and non-progressive 
 of all the Indians at this agency. They oppose land in severalty 
 
14 
 
 and the sending of their children to non-reservation schools, 
 although comparatively near home. Rev. S. P. Merrill, D.D., of 
 Rochester, N. Y., was the first white person born in Nebraska. 
 His father, at the time of his birth, was missionary to the Otos, 
 and lived and labored among them many years. He learned 
 their language and prepared a book in the Oto tongue for use in 
 the tribe. In 1891 Dr. Merrill visited the Otos on their pres¬ 
 ent reservation to see what traces he could find of his father’s 
 labors. On his return he informed me that he had found none 
 of his father’s books and almost no direct results of his long years 
 of service for this tribe. The Otos in stature are large and strong, 
 and should be compelled to take their land, live upon it, and sup¬ 
 port themselves. 
 
 I found the spoils system at its best here among the Indians 
 whose headquarters are at the Ponca Agency ; and when I say 
 the best, I mean the best you could expect to find under either 
 a Democratic or a Republican administration; i. e., if there is 
 any best in the spoils system. Inquiry elicited the fact that 
 there was only one employee at Ponca that was in the service 
 during the past administration. Nearly all at Oto had been 
 changed, and most of the employees at Pawnee. Between the 
 middle of May and the first of June, the Superintendent at Oto 
 and the Superintendent and Matron at Pawnee, and three teachers, 
 had left the service. I was informed that some of these changes 
 were for cause, and others were voluntary resignations. The 
 school year in all Government schools closes the last of June ; 
 hence the reader can readily see what injury was done these 
 schools by changes in the teaching force at a time when the year’s 
 work was drawing to a close and when preparations for the clos¬ 
 ing exercises were under way. The old employees, even if they 
 were all incompetent, should have been retained, unless grossly 
 immoral (and nothing of this sort was charged), until June, 30th, 
 the close of the year, and then discharged. Some of the em¬ 
 ployees said to me quietly that politics was back of these 
 changes, that they were sorry to see them made, and that, 
 although they themselves had secured their positions through 
 political pull, they believed in the merit rather than the spoils 
 system, and would like to see all positions in the classified list. 
 I ought to say that I found the employees of excellent character 
 
i5 
 
 and doing the best they could in view of their lack of experi¬ 
 ence. 
 
 Is it not high time that all positions in the Indian school and 
 agency service were placed in the classified list, so that there 
 should not be the loss that comes from spending two or three 
 years in learning how to perform duties ? I talked with a num¬ 
 ber of employees, who in every instance were people of good sense 
 and excellent character, who admitted that the work was new to 
 them, and that they thought at the end of four years, when they 
 expected to leave the service, they would be well acquainted with 
 their duties, and competent to render most efficient service ; and 
 in several instances they asked me to use my influence to have 
 their positions placed in the classified list, so that they could 
 remain in the service regardless of any other time limit than the 
 continuance of good behavior. 
 
 It is the sheerest folly for the Government to conduct its busi¬ 
 ness in the way it is doing. There is no private business or 
 enterprise that could succeed if every few years the entire corps 
 of employees were to be thrown out and others, that were untried 
 and new to the business, were to be put in, and simply because 
 they had some strong political pull. 
 
 I was greatly disappointed at not meeting Mr. Woolsey, the 
 Agent, who had been recently called to Arkansas by the serious 
 illness of a brother. I have had considerable correspondence 
 with him, and regard him very highly. He is a good agent, a 
 clean man, and is doing a good work, but needs to be converted 
 to civil service reform. I sincerely hope President Cleveland 
 will heap coals of fire on his head by placing Indian agents upon 
 the classified list, and thus retain him and all other worthy agents 
 in the service. 
 
 Mr. A. M. Hurley, chief clerk, was acting agent, and had 
 everything well in hand. 
 
 I might remark in this connection that there seemed to be 
 little enthusiasm on the part of many employees. This doubtless 
 resulted from a feeling on their part that there was no permanency 
 of tenure. 
 
 Excellent work was being done at the Ponca school, under the 
 superintendency of Mr. Elliff, a young man of considerable 
 experience in teaching. He lamented the fact that there was 
 
4 
 
 i6 
 
 / 
 
 little, if any, prospect of future advancement in the Indian work, 
 and he probably should not continue in it more than a year or 
 two longer. This is the feeling that I found almost everywhere, 
 and I do not believe that the Indian Service can attain the degree 
 of proficiency that it ought until there is a more permanent 
 tenure of office, and also some inducement in the line of advance¬ 
 ment held out. 
 
 In this connection, it might be wdd to state the method of 
 administering agencies and schools. An agent is appointed 
 through some political influence, usually that of a Senator or the 
 two Senators of some State, the appointment being based wholly 
 upon political influence rather than the possession of merit ascer¬ 
 tained after a proper examination of the applicant. All the 
 superintendents of Indian schools are in the classified list, and 
 can receive their appointment only after they have passed a 
 satisfactory examination and been placed on the list of eligibles, 
 it being necessary to attain a certain per cent, in order to get on 
 this list. Indian agents and superintendents of bonded schools 
 report directly to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs. Superin¬ 
 tendents of non-bonded schools report to the Commissioner of 
 Indian Affairs through the Indian agent. 
 
 The agencies and schools are supervised by a Superintendent of 
 Indian Schools, who, however, spends a portion of his time in 
 the performance of his duties at Washington; by supervisors, 
 special agents, and inspectors, who spend their whole time in 
 the field. The power of appointment, outside of the classified 
 list and for all removals, rests entirely with the Secretary of the 
 Interior. Special agents and supervisors report directly to the 
 Commissioner of Indian affairs, while inspectors report directly 
 to the Secretary of the Interior. Usually the recommendation 
 of an inspector that an employee be dropped or relieved from 
 the service is adopted. This gives a large opportunity for im¬ 
 proper work, if an unworthy man holds the position of 
 inspector. 
 
 The strong and sensible attitude of the present Administration 
 on the land-in-severalty question is shown in an interview be¬ 
 tween the Hon. Frank M. Armstrong, Assistant Commissioner of 
 Indian Affairs, and Standing Buffalo, the leader of the non-pro¬ 
 gressive Poncas. Through the courtesy of the Assistant Com- 
 
i7 
 
 missioner I am enabled to present the whole of this interview, 
 which will be found in the appendix to this report. 
 
 My next visit was to Darlington, Oklahoma, where is located 
 the agency for the Cheyennes and Arapahoes. I arrived there 
 on the day of beef issue, and large numbers of both tribes were 
 at the agency. Beef was drying at every tepee, it having been 
 cut up in thin slices and hung on lines. The Cheyennes number 
 about two thousand and the Arapahoes one thousand. They 
 have been slightly decreasing in number during the last decade. 
 A goodly portion but not all of the children of school age of 
 these two tribes are in school. There are at the present time in 
 the Arapahoe school at Darlington, one hundred and ten boys 
 and girls; in the Cheyenne school at Caddo Springs, one 
 hundred and ten; at the Seger school, sixty-five; at the Men- 
 nonite, at Cantonment, sixty; and at Darlington, fifteen. I 
 found the school and buildings and surroundings kept in a neat 
 and attractive manner. They presented a marked contrast to 
 their condition when I first saw them in the autumn of 1889. 
 The Cheyennes and Arapahoes had their land allotted in 1891 
 and 1892. There were issued in all 3349 patents, and only 
 twelve double allotments were made, which were speedily cor¬ 
 rected. This was remarkable on account of the limited time 
 allowed in making such a large number of allotments. The re¬ 
 sults of allotting the land are not yet what its friends antici¬ 
 pated. Instead of the Indians living on their individual hold¬ 
 ings, they are still in bands, camping and roaming over their 
 combined allotments. It was hoped they would live upon their 
 individual allotments, and thus travel the white man’s road. 
 The Indian, however, is timid by nature when he is alone. He 
 longs for companionship ; and this is more characteristic of the 
 Indian woman than of the man. It is sometimes said that white 
 women are much more given to gossip than men. If this is so, 
 it is true in a much larger degree of the Indian women, for there 
 is nothing that they delight in more than to congregate and talk 
 over the simple gossip of the camp, the reservation, and the 
 tribe. Before the Indian will live upon his allotment, he will 
 have to possess much greater confidence in the whites than he has 
 at present, and feel that law will protect him as well as the white 
 man. 
 
 2 
 
18 
 
 The Indians that I saw on the day of my arrival had in some 
 instances been traveling since the preceding Thursday in order 
 to arrive in season for the issue, and would not be able to return 
 to their homes until the following Wednesday. It is the inten¬ 
 tion of Captain Woodson to have several places of issue on the 
 reservation to which the cattle can be driven and' slaughtered, 
 and this will save the Indians a great amount of travel. It fre¬ 
 quently happens during their absence from home that their 
 farming tools and other property are stolen, and in some in¬ 
 stances even the windows have been taken from their houses. 
 As long as this state of affairs continues, and they have their 
 present distrust of the whites, it will be very difficult to induce 
 them to live upon their respective holdings. I think, however, 
 the plan that Captain Woodson, their Agent, has in mind, if put 
 into operation, will be successful. He wishes to have them set¬ 
 tled on their respective allotments, and use a portion of their 
 money that is now on deposit in the United States Treasury in 
 building houses and barns, purchasing teams and the necessary 
 farming implements. He would then have additional farmers 
 under Government pay placed over them, who would not only 
 be farmers, but men having a knowledge of the common laws 
 of the Territory, who could be mediators between the Indians 
 and the whites when trouble arose, and thus bring about a more 
 kindly feeling. This plan of Captain Woodson is wise, and 
 should be carried out. In order for the money to be used, as 
 suggested, it will be necessary for both tribes to agree to the 
 plan. The Arapahoes have already agreed, and I believe that 
 the Cheyennes will after further consideration. They have a 
 million dollars in the United States Treasury, and a portion of 
 it could be spent in this way to great advantage. 
 
 There was on the part of many of these Indians, as with other 
 tribes, opposition to allotment, and some of the more prominent 
 Indians, even when the allotments had been made, declined to 
 receive their patents. They are, however, changing. While I 
 was sitting in the office conversing with Captain Woodson, he 
 was informed that Whirlwind, the only hereditary chief of the 
 Cheyennes, and very non-progressive, who had refused to take 
 his allotment and receive a share of the cash payments, wished 
 to talk with him about taking his land. He came in and 
 
19 
 
 said that he wanted a plat of his land, and that he would live 
 on it. 
 
 In the afternoon of the following day the Agent wished me to 
 go out and attend a religious or Pawnee dance, as called by the 
 Indians. This was about three miles from the agency, on a level 
 tract of land. There was an arbor arranged in the form of a 
 segment of a circle, very much after the plan of a locomotive 
 roundhouse, and the place where the dance was to occur occu¬ 
 pied the same position relative to the arbor that the turntable 
 does to the roundhouse. A large company of Indians had 
 assembled. There were drums and seven drummers and twenty 
 dancers, some of whom were women. After the Agent and my¬ 
 self had been received by the chiefs and given seats, the dancers 
 took their position. The male dancers were nearly naked. 
 Their bodies were painted, and they had bells around their legs 
 and waists. They had eagle feathers in their hair, for, as Little 
 Raven informed me, the birds fly about when rain is coming, and 
 these feathers typified birds. A dish of chuck , as it was termed 
 by the Indians, was to be blessed before the eating began. This 
 ceremony of blessing began at 1.30 p. m. Little Raven, Jr., 
 son of the old Chief, presided, and gave me much information 
 concerning the dance and its significance. The weather was 
 very dry, and had been for some time, and the Indians were 
 anxious that there should be a rainfall to refresh the parched 
 ground and prevent their crops from drying up. Little Raven 
 informed me that the streaks of paint on the various parts of 
 their bodies were typical of lightning, while the yellow rings 
 represented raindrops. The black paint represented rain clouds. 
 The upper half of the face was painted red, and the lower half 
 black. The strings of bells around their waists and just below 
 their knees were ordinary sleigh bells, such as you would find 
 on the old-fashioned New England cutter. Row-of-Lodges and 
 Left Hand, old, respected, and prominent chiefs, were present. 
 All of this ceremony was carried on ostensibly under the protec¬ 
 tion of the United States Government, for in the center of the 
 dancing ground a United States flag was flying. The chuck, or 
 food, consisted of coffee, crackers, meat, and fried bread. Be¬ 
 fore the prayer or blessing began, Left Hand gave the Agent a 
 pipe of peace. He took a few whiffs and handed it to me, and 
 
20 
 
 I did the same, when it was returned. While the dancers were 
 engaged in the act of blessing the food, they had arrows in their 
 hands, which, as they advanced in even line, they pointed 
 towards the food (signifying that arrows in the old time were 
 used in killing game), and then pointing them up to heaven in 
 thanks to the Giver of all good. It was both a feast and a 
 dance. Presently the dancers moved further forward out into 
 the sun to offer the blessing. The food was brought on, mainly 
 in large tin dishes, which were placed near together, in two 
 parallel rows about thirty feet long. When they began to ask 
 the blessing they knelt and faced the sun. They prayed for 
 rain; asked God’s blessing upon all, here and everywhere. 
 They said in their prayer that the Day of Judgment was coming, 
 and that all must be judged. All bowed their heads during the 
 blessing. The Agent and I did not know what was coming at 
 this juncture, and when we failed to take off our hats, through 
 our ignorance of their ceremony, we were politely requested to 
 do so. The prelude to the blessing, or the greeting, as they 
 termed it, was long, and the prayer longer. Little Raven, Jr., 
 knelt and held up his right hand as he prayed. His tone of 
 vqice was that of devotion and supplication. At this juncture 
 the dancers took up the dishes containing the food, and moved 
 the two lines thirty feet apart, and then formed between them. 
 Little Raven in his prayer said: “ Look upon us, my Father. 
 My Father, we pray for rain.” With outstretched'hands the 
 dancers advanced toward each other several times and retreated. 
 Now and then a shrill, piping voice would be heard, followed 
 by a loud, shrill chorus. 
 
 Then the movements of birds, as they scurry across the sky- 
 before the rain falls, were imitated. Native flutes, to which 
 feathers were attached, were blown continually while asking the 
 blessing. There was also flying, in addition to the Stars and 
 Stripes, a white flag, which indicated that all must be clean in 
 heart. 
 
 There was more drumming before getting ready to eat. At 
 times there was something like merriment mingled with the ser¬ 
 vices. The sub-leader watched continuously Little Raven, and 
 he and his band imitated his every movement. The buckskins of 
 the women were ornamented with string fringes. While the men 
 
21 
 
 were nearly naked, the women were becomingly and properly 
 dressed. As is always the case, the men and women danced 
 apart from each other. It is the custom when food is being dis¬ 
 tributed, for some prominent Indian to rise up and give the tribe 
 some good advice. Left Hand said : “ I want you to think for 
 yourselves. We are to be made good by this chorus. We are 
 to think more and more of the Great Spirit, and have good 
 hearts and be made better. The Great Spirit will help us. He 
 will keep us from stealing and doing other wrong things. This 
 is the advice that the Agent always gives us, and this will make 
 us all right every way. We should work and keep our children 
 in school, and our children will do better than we can do, and 
 will think of God. We help the young to think of the Great 
 Spirit. That is why I advise putting the children in school. If 
 we do these things we ask of God, He will love us and we will be 
 friends with every one. We now have found out how to worship 
 the Great Spirit, and now we do not cut and slash ourselves, as 
 we did in the olden time. When our friends are taken away, we 
 bury them, instead of leaving them on the ground or putting 
 them up in trees. I want you to listen to me, and then 
 you can read this Bible (pointing to a Bible on the ground), 
 and live and dress like white people. My friends before me make 
 a report to the Commissioner, and I hope that this will meet 
 with his favor. It is four years since we have had this form of 
 dance, and we will have a still better form in the future, as we 
 become more intelligent. Tell the Agent the dance is good. I 
 am old. If this was bad, would have nothing to do with it. 
 We consider this sacred. God sent His son to live among white 
 people, and He hopes there are more good than bad, and we 
 have learned there is a Father in Heaven. He hopes the chil¬ 
 dren in the Eastern schools are learning, and this prayer is to 
 them too.” He then came forward and shook hands with each 
 of us, sat down, and said he wanted the Agent and me to talk to 
 them, and we did so, speaking very briefly. When the blessing 
 began it was 1.30 p.m., and when we ceased our brief talks it 
 was four o’clock, and I think we were as hungry as the Indians 
 themselves. The length of an Indian’s blessing is a good 
 appetizer or tonic, but a little trying to his white brother’s 
 patience. 
 
22 
 
 I was very much impressed with the prayer, the talk, and the 
 appearance of Little Raven, Jr. He was a fine specimen of 
 manhood, and there was evidently much of devotion in his 
 prayer and in his service. I asked him if he would come to the 
 Agent’s office on the next day and tell me all about this dance. 
 He promised to be there at eleven o’clock. He came promptly, 
 and gave me the following account: — 
 
 “ He had heard of some one in the North, and that he had re¬ 
 ceived a great blessing. His name was John Wilson. I found 
 out where he was located ; I think they call it Wyoming. I went 
 up there and saw him, and told him to tell Little Raven all about 
 this new profession. By report, some things were made too 
 great, but he wanted me to know all about it. The Great Father 
 had blessed him, and had given him a new lesson. He would 
 describe this new dance, and he must not forget it. See that he 
 associates with good men. He must be straight, honest, and 
 have good friends. He must be good, and treat every one good. 
 And he had a dream that he ought to tell this to other Indians. 
 This voice said this new dance was for Indians. They cannot 
 read the Bible, and in this way they can get their knowledge of 
 it. The Lord has blessed the white man with a book, and in it 
 Christ, and in this dance the Lord speaks, and these school chil¬ 
 dren will learn about the Bible. He must be in harmony with 
 every one, must quit all his Indian habits, and stop horse steal¬ 
 ing, and make them live better. Wilson said to me that in this 
 way the Indian would be honest and would have friends; that 
 he must not keep back anything from the whites or Indians; 
 that there must be no underhanded schemes.- Tell the Indians 
 they must worship the Great Father in Heaven, and give up 
 their old habits. As a nation on earth, the whites have taught 
 us there is a Great Father in Heaven, and this dance teaches us 
 that they will get to Heaven and escape the bad place. Wilson 
 said he preached out publicly, and people liked him, and Little 
 Raven could do the same. If other Indians do anything wrong, 
 to pray and try to get them on the right road. He had told 
 these same things to the whites, and they would see it was right. 
 Wilson said ministers and other Christians had visited him, and 
 he had told them of this voice, and so for this reason he tells me 
 everything to tell the Government, and have good religion. 
 
2 3 
 
 Little Raven believes in worshiping the Great Father in Heaven. 
 Other Indians worship different, just like denominations among 
 the whites. He was forced to believe, because everything has 
 come as Wilson said. Wilson said tell every one, and through 
 an interpreter not prejudiced. Whenever he saw any one wor¬ 
 shiping wrong, he stopped him and told him how to worship. 
 White men had many ways of worshiping, and Wilson said 
 do the same. When Wilson got through talking, he presented 
 this new dance. These things—imitating birds, wearing feathers, 
 and whistling—corresponded to various portions of the white 
 men’s service. The white man uses organs, etc. ; the Indian, 
 drums and whistles. The whole nation was placed on this earth 
 with a drum, and, if anything was said against the drum, he was 
 off. He thus gave him another dance. He went to preaching 
 about this when he came back, and they saw into it without 
 being told fully. The old way of living was not the way. When 
 they died, they used to slash their bodies. He is now following 
 a new lesson and way of living. Before he had anything to do 
 with this dance, they were disobedient to the Great Father. He 
 had never heard of Christ and the new way before. He was 
 living naked and bloody when he had lost a friend, and tried to 
 kill some one, or to raise a fight with some one, and was not 
 willing to take good advice. Everything has changed among 
 the Indians since this dance has been practiced. He was like a 
 boy, crazy against the Great Father. He is working for the 
 Great Father now, and has learned a great many good things for 
 both tribes, and was doing wrong in cutting himself. In the 
 dance he asks the Great Father to bless the whites. He told 
 them to be like the whites; when they lost their friends, to fix 
 up and be of good feeling, for they will soon see their friends. 
 Their children will soon take a lead with the Bible, and the 
 dance will stay behind. There are three different ways of 
 dressing for the dance: First, in citizens’ clothes; second, in 
 Indians’ clothes; and third, in paints, etc. Since he had 
 preached this, he has been glad to meet others and get encour¬ 
 aged. He believes it, because it is like Christianity. At Indian 
 camps they are always willing to have a blessing asked. He is 
 going to tell what they are doing. They have a blessing before 
 they eat, just like white people. They used to practice hand 
 
gambling as one of their games a long time ago ; now there is 
 something different. They cook meat, and bread, and coffee, 
 and take it into the tepee, where they used to gamble, and now 
 they have food just like white people have ice-cream after a 
 game or some pleasant gathering. Another way is to sing and 
 pray at night. A few gather in some tepee with drum and 
 rattle, and have something to eat. He said he believed in what 
 he saw and heard. The young men stay at night and have a 
 little drum. They used to practice the scalp dance, the sun 
 dance, the war dance, and the ghost dance, but they have been 
 prohibited, and they are now all given up. The Pawnee dance 
 is the only one that is allowed.” 
 
 After Little Raven had given me this description of the dance, 
 Cut Nose said that he had a new dance that he wished to explain 
 to me. As I had been listening to Little Raven, Jr., for a long 
 time, and it was about noon, I told Cut Nose that I had not time 
 to hear about his new dance, but hoped it was something that 
 was beneficial to his people. He said that he believed in the 
 old dance, but that the new dance was better. He said that he 
 was glad to see me, and hear what I had to say to Little Raven 
 and the other Indians at the dance yesterday. He said that any¬ 
 body could worship God, and that sometimes a person can be¬ 
 lieve what he sees. He said that while Little Raven’s dance was 
 a good dance, his dance was better, and that it was even better 
 than the dance of the white people (referring to the prayer¬ 
 meeting), for, while the white people have their dance or prayer¬ 
 meeting for only an hour or an hour and a half, his dance, which 
 they call the mescal dance, continues all night. This mescal 
 dance has, very properly, been prohibited by the Indian Office, 
 because the participants use the mescal bean, which is a danger¬ 
 ous opiate or narcotic. 
 
 My own idea of the dance that I witnessed is this : The Indian 
 is by nature religious, and as he gives up gradually his barbarous 
 practices, he is looking for some way in which he may worship, 
 and yet in a degree retain some of the less offensive of his old- 
 time practices. He believes in the Great Spirit; he has come 
 in contact with the whites, and has learned something of the 
 details of their religious worship. As he says, he has no knowl¬ 
 edge of books, but believes in the Great Father, and this dance 
 
2 5 
 
 is his form of religious worship. I think, however, that this 
 must be taken with some allowance, for the Indian is crafty and 
 cunning, and is very much attached to his former practices, his 
 rites and customs. I think it would be wise, as I stated to Agent 
 Woodson, for this dance to be allowed, but with the idea that 
 it is to be held with increasing infrequency, and ultimately 
 abandoned. 
 
 As the attention of the general public has been so frequently 
 called to the rations issued to the Cheyennes and Arapahoes on 
 account of the claim that they were starving, or on the verge of 
 starvation, I looked into this matter very carefully and present 
 the following tables. A reference to the first will show a large 
 reduction made after their land had been allotted. The last 
 shows a marked increase. It is now, I believe, sufficient, with 
 the exception of coffee and sugar : — 
 
 A STATEMENT OF SUPPLIES furnished for the subsistence of the 
 Cheyenne and Arapahoe Tribes of Indians, Cheyenne and Arapahoe 
 Agency, Oklahoma Territory, during the fiscal years of 1891, 1892, and 
 1893 - 
 
 Articles. 
 
 H 
 
 00 
 
 H 
 
 1892. 
 
 i8 93 - 
 
 
 Lbs. 
 
 Lbs. 
 
 Lbs. 
 
 Beef, gross,. 
 
 3,000,000 
 
 3,000,000 
 
 1,500,000 
 
 Bacon, . 
 
 100,000 
 
 100,000 
 
 60,000 
 
 Baking Powder,. 
 
 5,000 
 
 5,000 
 
 4,000 
 
 Beans,. 
 
 30,000 
 
 30,000 
 
 
 Coffee,. 
 
 37,000 
 
 36,400 
 
 15, 000 
 
 Flour,. 
 
 550,000 
 
 481,250 
 
 250,000 
 
 Salt,. 
 
 20,281 
 
 19,000 
 
 19,700 
 
 Soap,. 
 
 18,000 
 
 18,000 
 
 18,000 
 
 Sugar,. 
 
 70,000 
 
 70,000 
 
 35,ooo 
 
 ESTIMATE OF BEEF AND FLOUR required to subsist the Cheyenne 
 and Arapahoe Indians, from January I, 1S94, to June 30, 1894. 
 
 Beef. 
 
 Quantity required to issue 2J- pounds gross per day to 3000 Indians 
 
 on basis of 1891 ration table,.1,404,000 
 
 Quantity to be received from John T. Blanks under contract, from 
 
 January I, 1894, to June 30, 1894,.1,015,302 
 
 Balance required,.388,568 
 
2 6 
 
 Flour. 
 
 Quantity required to issue X pound per day each to 3000 Indians, 273,000 
 Quantity to be received under contract of C. H. Searing, from 
 
 January I, 1894, to June 30, 1894,.135,290 
 
 Balance required,. 
 
 Quantity required each month :— 
 
 Beef,. 
 
 Flour,. 
 
 Comparison between quantities furnished in fiscal years of 1891 and 
 
 1891. 
 
 Beef,.3,000,000 
 
 Flour,.550,000 
 
 137,710 
 
 234,000 
 
 45 , 5 °° 
 1894:— 
 1894. 
 
 !, 75 °, 000 
 250,000 
 
 A STATEMENT OF SUPPLIES for the subsistence of the Cheyenne and 
 Arapahoe Tribes of Indians, Cheyenne and Arapahoe Agency, Oklahoma 
 Territory. Kind and quantities estimated for and allowed for the fiscal 
 year of 1894, with table of daily ration. 
 
 Articles. 
 
 Estimated 
 
 for. 
 
 Estimate 
 
 Reduced. 
 
 Allowed. 
 
 
 Lbs. 
 
 Lbs. 
 
 Lbs. 
 
 Beef, gross,. 
 
 2,500,000 
 
 750,000 
 
 1,750,000 
 
 Bacon, . 
 
 75,000 
 
 15,000 
 
 60,000 
 
 Baking Powder,. 
 
 5,000 
 
 1,000 
 
 4,000 
 
 Beans,. 
 
 10,000 
 
 
 10,000 
 
 Coffee,. 
 
 35,000 
 
 20,000 
 
 15,000 
 
 Flour,. 
 
 400,000 
 
 100,000 
 
 300,000 
 
 Soap,. 
 
 15,000 
 
 3,000 
 
 12,000 
 
 Sugar,. 
 
 55,000 
 
 20,050 
 
 34 , 95 ° 
 
 Table of Daily Ration. 
 
 Beef,. 
 
 Bacon,. 
 
 Baking Powder,. 
 
 Beans,. 
 
 Coffee,. 
 
 Flour, .. 
 
 Soap, . 
 
 Sugar,. 
 
 Salt,. 
 
 Number of Indians,. 
 
 One head of beef issued to twenty persons every fourth week. 
 Other subsistence supplies issued every second week. 
 
 Number of Indians issued to in fiscal year 1892,. 
 
 Number of Indians issued to in fiscal year 1893,. 
 
 Decrease in number of Indians by death,. 
 
 I2j£ ozs. 
 Not received. 
 
 f oz. 
 X oz. 
 4f ozs. 
 
 f oz. 
 I J ozs. 
 f- oz. 
 
 3,084 
 
 3,269 
 
 3,210 
 
 185 
 
 I 
 
27 
 
 The civil service rules and regulations were well observed both 
 at the agency and the schools near by. 
 
 On the 16th of June I left the agency at Darlington, and 
 proceeded to Seger Colony, some sixty miles distant. The 
 journey required the entire day, and led across portions of the 
 Caddo Reservation, and was not interrupted by anything unusual 
 except now and then wild turkeys running through the tall grass 
 by the roadside. The Caddos have been in this locality for 
 many years, are self-supporting, have made much progress in 
 agriculture and stock raising, and should be required to take their 
 allotments as soon as arrangements can be made therefor. I 
 found that quite a portion of their land was rich, that they 
 owned large horses, and in some instances mules and herds of 
 cattle. I passed by the house and farm of White Bread, the 
 Caddo chief, who dresses in citizen’s clothes, and is a fine speci¬ 
 men of what can be made of a full-blooded Indian. All the 
 surroundings of his place indicated prosperity. He has a herd of 
 one hundred and fifty as fine cattle as can be found on any Kansas 
 or Nebraska ranch. He also had a number of fine horses, and a 
 mile from his house there was a field of at least fifty acres of 
 excellent corn. 
 
 The school at Seger deserves more than a passing notice. It 
 is impossible to think of it apart from Supt. John H. Seger, 
 whose name the school, the neighboring town, and this part of 
 the country, bears. The school was established by ex-Commis- 
 sioner Morgan, and has been in operation a little more than two 
 years. It is situated on Cobb Creek, fifty-five miles from the 
 nearest railway station, and sixty miles from the Agency. There 
 are four sections of land set apart for the use of the school. The 
 buildings and the larger part of the school grounds are situated 
 in a beautiful grove, which has been appropriately termed Seger’s 
 Glen. This grove comprises forty acres, and contains twenty- 
 five varieties of trees, many of which are large and furnish with 
 their wide-spreading branches abundant shade. There is near 
 by a never-failing spring of cool, soft, clear, sweet water, some¬ 
 thing that is rather unusual in this part of the Territory. There 
 are one hundred and fifty acres under cultivation, and two 
 sections under fence. In the school herd are more than two 
 hundred head of cattle, and, in addition to numerous horses and 
 
28 
 
 mules, there are twenty swine. The school numbers sixty-five 
 pupils, who, with the employees, are crowded into the same build¬ 
 ing. The crying need of the school is the erection of a large and 
 commodious dormitory for girls, for the school population of this 
 part of the reservation numbers one hundred and forty-five. 
 
 I found the school in good condition and doing splendid work 
 in all the departments. Its influence for good upon this portion 
 of the reservation can hardly be over-estimated. 
 
 In this connection there ought to be given a brief sketch of 
 the so-called “ Seger Colony,” which preceded the establishment 
 of the school. Mr. John H. Seger is a little less than fifty years 
 of age, in the prime of life, and has been employed in various 
 capacities in the United States Indian Service for a period of 
 twenty-one years. In 1886 the idea was conceived of taking a 
 large number of the Cheyennes and Arapahoes at a long distance 
 from the agency, and setting them to work farming. Mr. Seger, 
 from his long experience in handling Indians, was selected for this 
 difficult, arduous, and in some respects dangerous undertaking. 
 In the fall of 1886 he set out from the agency with one hundred 
 and twenty Indians, and later with three hundred and fifty, and 
 subsequently others came, until there were six hundred that con¬ 
 stituted what has become known throughout the country as the 
 Seger Colony. This was a new method of solving the Indian 
 question, and many predicted its failure. Under the direction 
 of Mr. Seger they adopted a constitution and by-laws, and many 
 of them made considerable progress in building houses, breaking 
 land, and taking other steps necessary to become self-sustaining 
 farmers. Unfortunately, just as a good start had been made on 
 the road to self-support, various obstacles presented themselves, 
 which Supt. Seger classifies under the head of five set-backs. 
 The first was a report circulated among them that they were to be 
 moved to Old Oklahoma. On this account they failed in the 
 spring and early summer to plow and put in their crops. The 
 second set-back was caused by treating for the sale of their land. 
 In one respect an Indian is like a horse. He can think of only 
 one thing at a time ; so the Indians were all engrossed in these 
 propositions, one by one, as they were taken up. The third set¬ 
 back was the taking of their allotments and receiving their first 
 cash payment. They bought stock on credit, and used a great 
 
2 9 
 
 deal of time in doing this business. The fourth set-back was in 
 receiving their second payment in money. They worked hard 
 to get this measure through Congress ; and when the money was 
 received, they consumed the entire summer in spending it. The 
 fifth and last set-back was the devoting a year to regretting that 
 they had sold their land, had spent their money, and had little 
 or nothing to show for it. They are, however, now beginning 
 to realize that they must work ; and as soon as their treaty, 
 which has only three more years to run, expires, I think there 
 will be no trouble in inducing them to go about the cultivation 
 of the soil, and depend upon themselves for their livelihood. 
 
 If these various obstacles had not been encountered, this part 
 of the former reservation known as Seger Colony, would now be 
 fairly well cultivated. I visited, with Mr. Seger, the larger part 
 of the colony where the allotments had been made. We started 
 in the morning at eight o’clock, and, with the exception of stop¬ 
 ping twice for food and change of horses, we drove until a little 
 after midnight. I found some thirty-five Indians who had fields 
 of corn or wheat or oats, and in some instances vegetable gar¬ 
 dens. In numerous instances these fields of grain were large in 
 extent. Little Chief, one of the Indians that came out to this 
 colony with Mr. Seger when it was established, had a fine field 
 of twenty-five acres of corn, oats, and wheat. He also had a 
 vegetable garden, and took considerable pride in digging into a 
 hill of potatoes and handing me a fine specimen of the Early Rose 
 variety. He has been on his land eight years, and lives in a 
 house. His wheat will yield heavily; I should judge from ap¬ 
 pearances not less than twenty-five bushels to the acre. He 
 selected his land along the west bank of the Washita, started in 
 a small way, and bought everything himself. The first year, 
 having no team, he hired his land broken, and then sold his 
 wheat and used the proceeds in buying a team of horses. He 
 now has two miles of fence. I found the thriftiest Indians near 
 the farmers and the school. It was not so when the school was 
 established and the farmers were first appointed. This shows 
 the importance of employing more farmers, and having them 
 sufficiently near the Indians, so that they can easily reach them 
 for consultation, as well as for the farmers to reach the Indians 
 
3 ° 
 
 readily, and show them how to till their land and manage their 
 farms. 
 
 One of the obstacles to the Indians settling upon their indi¬ 
 vidual allotments and becoming farmers in reality as well as in 
 name, is the hostility of many of the Whites to everything that is 
 for the best good of the Indian. It is not many years since this 
 entire land was rented by cattle-men, and they are still anxious 
 to obtain, if possible, either by fair or foul means, the Indians’ 
 land, so that they can graze their cattle as in the past. The 
 feeling on the part of the Whites, especially the Texans, is quite 
 bitter against the Indians. Not long ago, while the District 
 Attorney of this county was empaneling a jury, he asked such 
 questions as these: “Where are you from?” “I am from 
 Texas.” “Have you any prejudice against the Indians?” 
 “No, sir; only the prejudice that the average Texan would 
 have.” “ You will be excused from service,” was the reply. 
 This shows the general feeling of the Texans against the Indians. 
 I would not wish to assert that all the Texas cow-punchers 
 entertain these ideas against the Indians, but the truth is, the 
 majority of them do. The grazing laws have at various times 
 been a source of trouble. There has been the “free range” 
 law, which permitted the owners of cattle to allow them to roam 
 at their own sweet will. There has also been the “herd ” law, 
 which requires the owners to restrain them by fences. The 
 “free range” law is what the cattle-men in this part of the 
 country want. It was voted by quite a majority, and the Indians, 
 who are citizens by law, did not vote, for they were told by the 
 cow-punchers that if they did vote, their property would be 
 taxed, and this caused them to refrain from going to the ballot- 
 boxes and casting a ballot against the “ free range ” law and in 
 favor of the “herd” law. However, there is a judge at the 
 county seat who is made of the right stuff, and has declared that 
 the “ free range ” law, inasmuch as the Indians had no voice in 
 making it, is unconstitutional, and thus far the Indians have been 
 protected. 
 
 This part of Oklahoma is going through the same experiences 
 that were familiar in the early days to the Pan Handle of Texas 
 and Western Kansas. Such high-handed measures were resorted 
 
3i 
 
 to that settlers were driven out of Western Texas and Western 
 Kansas. Men were purposely dressed up like Indians, so that 
 the scattering white settlers might really feel that the Indians 
 were on the warpath. Attempts have been made in Oklahoma 
 to cause an Indian uprising, so that they would go off and leave 
 their land, and thus render a herd law practically inoperative. 
 Some two or three months ago there occurred in this country 
 what was known as the Washita Indian War. I was in the East 
 at the time, and met several people who took particular pains, as 
 they knew I was interested in the Indians, to condemn them, 
 and recommended they should be killed off. I replied that when 
 the truth was known, the people would learn that the Whites 
 were to blame rather than the Indians. The Washita War 
 originated, as I have learned from people who were there and 
 knew all the circumstances, in the following way: A cow- 
 puncher was riding by an Indian’s house, near which was a cow 
 and a calf. The owner of the property was away from home. 
 When the cow-puncher learned this, he untied the calf, drove it 
 off, and tied the rope to his saddle. The Indian on learning of 
 this, and in order to get even, goes off and steals a horse from a 
 white man. The latter misses his horse, begins to look around, 
 and finds an Indian has it, and without making any further in¬ 
 vestigation, shoots at the Indian twice. Fortunately for the 
 Indian, but unfortunately for the white man, he missed his mark. 
 The Indian at once went to his house, got his Winchester, and 
 shot twice, killing one man and injuring another. The report 
 was then sent out, that there was an uprising, that the Indians 
 were on the warpath, and that all the Whites in that part of the 
 country were to be massacred. In the midst of this excitement, 
 a white man who ought to have known better, for he had for 
 years been acquainted with these Indians, rode hastily and in 
 an excited manner to the Seger school, where the superintendent 
 was busy issuing beef to a large number of Indians, who had 
 gathered there for that purpose. He announced that the In¬ 
 dians were on the warpath and that scalping had taken place, 
 and that the Indians should go to their homes at once to protect 
 their wives, their children, and their property. Mr. Seger was 
 fortunately at the school, or there might have been an uprising 
 that would have caused many deaths. He told the Indians he 
 
3 2 
 
 did not think the report was reliable, and that the best thing 
 they could do was to remain quietly at the issue, receive their 
 rations, and then pass quietly home, and he believed there 
 would be no uprising. This is the foundation, briefly stated, 
 for the long and numerous dispatches that were flashed over 
 the country last spring concerning the Indian uprising in 
 Oklahoma. 
 
 I remarked above that the Seger school was in good condition. 
 This would, however, have been greatly changed for the worse if 
 the recommendations of a United States Indian Inspector had 
 been finally carried out by the Honorable Secretary of the In¬ 
 terior. This inspector was formerly an efficient Indian agent. 
 When the Harrison administration came in, he was dismissed 
 from the service, in accordance with the spoils system that has 
 prevailed so long. As he was an efficient agent he should have 
 been retained, and I presume very naturally feels bitter that he 
 lost his position. However, I cannot consider this a sufficient 
 justification for the course he took in his recommendations con¬ 
 cerning the clerk and farmer at the Seger Colony. He is a 
 genuine spoilsman, and should be muzzled or at once called 
 down. He arrived at the Seger Colony about five p. m. early in 
 May. At the time of his arrival, Superintendent Seger was at 
 some distance from the school, at work in the field. A messen¬ 
 ger was sent to inform him that an inspector had arrived, but 
 before the superintendent could get to the school the inspector 
 started for the town. He was evidently after scalps. To speak 
 figuratively, he seems to be going around with a tomahawk at one 
 side and scalps dangling at the other, only in this case, thanks 
 to the justice of Secretary Hoke Smith, the scalps of the clerk 
 and farmer didn’t dangle worth a cent. He was very unsociable 
 while at the school, and scarcely noticed any one, and the em¬ 
 ployees, of whom I inquired concerning him, remarked that 
 they could not see that his visit had been of any use whatever to 
 the Seger School, for he made no suggestions, and did nothing 
 that could be construed in the line of helpfulness. He told the 
 superintendent he wanted to look around sharply and find out 
 what he could, for there were some politicians who were holding 
 down positions at the Seger School. I was informed that he 
 met people and asked them if they hadn’t something they could 
 
33 
 
 bring against the superintendent, but they said they had nothing. 
 He said to Mr. Seger, “ Who is this clerk?” referring to Mr. 
 Davis, the very efficient and experienced clerk. He remarked 
 that he had no special qualifications for the place ; that he was 
 partisan. He also asked who the farmer was, and said he was 
 a politician, and accused Mr. Seger of appointing them because 
 they were Republicans. He said, “ This looks as if there were 
 no competent Democrats to hold these positions. You may yet 
 have to divvy up. It is damned funny no one competent can 
 be found anywhere about to fill these positions but Republicans.” 
 He arrived at five p. m., and left the next day at one p. m., and 
 had never been there before. A few days after Superintendent 
 Seger received word from Washington that the clerk and farmer 
 were to be relieved. 
 
 It is true that these two employees have, in times past, held 
 political positions and have done political work; but they state 
 that they have held no political positions and have done no 
 political work since they have occupied their respective positions 
 at the Seger School. They were selected by Mr. Seger inde¬ 
 pendently of politics; for every one who knows Mr. Seger is 
 well aware that he would not be influenced at all by political 
 considerations in the selection of employees. The fact is that 
 Mr. Seger, who has been many years in the Indian Service, de¬ 
 sires to so advance this school as to place it on a self-supporting 
 basis. He has been so long in the service that his ambition 
 now is to spend the next ten or fifteen years of his life, if he 
 can be undisturbed in so doing, in placing this institution upon 
 a self-supporting basis and bringing it up to a high plane. He 
 believes that, if he can be allowed to continue to surround him¬ 
 self with a competent force of employees, the school will in a 
 few years be entirely self-supporting. 
 
 Superintendent Seger is a unique character. His school ad¬ 
 vantages, when young, were very limited, and he makes no 
 claim to book learning, but his knowledge of practical things is 
 unlimited. He is loaded to the water’s edge with that rare 
 quality known as gumption or horse sense. He thoroughly un¬ 
 derstands the Indian, and believes a man can be made of him, 
 and the Indian in turn thoroughly believes in Superintendent 
 Seger. He is a master of circumstances, and understands the 
 
 3 
 
34 
 
 situation so fully, that I have no doubt, if he is not interfered 
 with, he will be able to accomplish his purpose. In the selection 
 of employees his aim has been, as the school is yet compara¬ 
 tively small, to find those who are capable of doing well in more 
 than one thing. Be it said to the credit of the Honorable Sec¬ 
 retary of the Interior, that when the situation was fully made 
 known to him, hfe at once recalled his instructions to remove the 
 clerk and farmer, and they are still in their positions and render¬ 
 ing efficient service. The new farmer, however, did appear; 
 and after looking the ground over, he said that the present 
 farmer was in every way the man for the place, and that he 
 himself would not accept the position. The following is a copy 
 of a letter written by him to the Honorable Secretary of the 
 Interior, and will show the grand spirit that actuated him. 
 
 Seger Colony School, Seger, Oklahoma, June 9, 1894. 
 
 To the Honorable Hoke Smith, Secretary of the Interior, 
 
 Washington, D. C. 
 
 Sir :—In response to a notice of appointment as farmer for this 
 school, I reported here under date of the 7th instant. I soon 
 found the position was one that would not suit me at all, and 
 further, that the young man now filling the place is in my mind 
 the proper person to keep there for the benefit of the service. 
 I find that the school employs no common labor, except that 
 done by the regular employees and the superintendent, and that 
 the task before them is quite irksome and combined with the 
 climate is, in my opinion, one that I would find most trying. 
 I desire to say, too, that the school is doing most excellent work, 
 that the plans have been laid for other extensive work, and that 
 myself, or any other man unacquainted with the duties to be per¬ 
 formed, would work to such a disadvantage that much loss would 
 necessarily follow any change. I do not see how any man can 
 take up this work and acquire a similar degree of success under 
 months, if not years, of experience that is now manifested. I 
 desire to express my appreciation of the favors shown me by the 
 Department in this appointment, and my action in now declin¬ 
 ing it should not be taken as want of appreciation on my part, 
 but purely from the belief that it will be better for me, and will 
 reflect no discredit on the administration, to continue the work 
 here as it is, by reason of the good results so plainly to be seen. 
 
 Very sincerely yours, 
 
 (Signed) Jeremiah B. Hewell. 
 
35 
 
 Among the faithful employees at this school is Mrs. Enoch 
 Hoag, the widow of that well-known preacher, Rev. Enoch Hoag. 
 She has been for many years in the Indian service, and is here 
 at this school, fifty-five miles from civilization, from a pure mis¬ 
 sionary spirit, for the good that she can do the children. I have 
 seen her several times at her work here and elsewhere, and it 
 affords me great pleasure to testify to her faithful service. Her 
 very presence is a benediction, and I trust she may be spared for 
 many more years of usefulness. 
 
 It was interesting to note how heartily Superintendent Seger is 
 sustained by the best people in Oklahoma. When it was known 
 that an attempt was being made to deprive him of faithful and effi¬ 
 cient employees, and, if this was done, Superintendent Seger him¬ 
 self would leave the service, a mass meeting of citizens was held at 
 Minco, to protest. It was called by Democrats, and Democrats 
 were the leading spirits throughout. I speak of this to show that 
 Mr. Seger is doing a non-partisan work, and is highly respected 
 and commended by leading citizens of Oklahoma, regardless of 
 thffir political affiliations. 
 
 I proceeded from Seger Colony to Haskell Institute, Lawrence, 
 Kansas, and spent four days there, for the reason that I believe 
 there is no institution that presents such a grand example of gen¬ 
 uine civil service reform. It is a most successful institution, by far 
 the largest in the West, and under the management of Superinten¬ 
 dent J. A. Swett is doing a noble work. Superintendent Swett 
 was for several years the successful assistant superintendent, and on 
 this account was promoted to the superintendency. The attend¬ 
 ance is about 500,—three hundred boys and two hundred girls. 
 There are something like thirty buildings and six hundred and 
 fifty acres of land. The crops, orchards, and gardens were all 
 looking finely, and the work of caring for them is done entirely 
 by the Indian boys, under the direction of competent employees. 
 There were at the time of my visit more than two hundred acres 
 under cultivation, the balance being used as a campus, for pas¬ 
 turage, etc. The farm carries one hundred head of cattle, one 
 hundred swine, about twenty horses and mules. There were one 
 hundred acres of corn, twenty-eight acres of oats, and eight 
 acres of millet. The hay crop will in all probability be at least 
 two hundred and fifty tons. Last year 2158 bushels of corn, 
 
3 6 
 
 1060 bushels of oats, and several hundred bushels of wheat were 
 raised. There is a garden of fifteen acres, which produces from 
 early in the spring until the frosts of autumn a great variety of 
 vegetables for the children’s table. The institute boasts of 
 several barns, one of which is two hundred feet long and sixty- 
 five feet wide, in which there can be tied up ninety-six cows, and 
 two hundred tons of hay stowed away. 
 
 Aside from farming, gardening, and care of stock, a variety of 
 other industries are carried on. For the present fiscal year there 
 have been made eighty wagons, which are substantially like 
 the standard Studebaker wagons. There is also a tailor shop, in 
 which all the clothing for the boys is made. On the day of my 
 visit there were at work three Indian girls and fourteen Indian 
 boys, all under the supervision of Robert D. Agosa, an Indian 
 from Northport, Mich., who entered the school as a pupil Sep¬ 
 tember 17, 1890, and who for nearly two years has had charge of 
 the shop. He knew nothing of the business until he commenced 
 to learn it at Haskell. He informed me with considerable pride 
 that last year the shop turned out about twelve hundred pairs of 
 pants, coats, and vests. There is a shoe shop in which last year 
 were made fifteen hundred pairs, while two thousand were re¬ 
 paired. In the sewing room three thousand garments of various 
 kinds were made. There were ten girls at work by hand and at 
 the sewing machines on the day of my visit. The quality of the 
 work done in the harness shop is excellent. It is all done by 
 hand and it would be difficult to surpass it in a city shop. They 
 made during the last fiscal year about two hundred sets of differ¬ 
 ent styles, some being, fine driving harness, while others were 
 heavy but finely finished farm harness. All of the repairing of 
 wood work about the institution is done by Indian boys under 
 the direction of the carpenter. During the last year, in addition 
 to the repairs, which in such a large institution must necessarily 
 be extensive, there has been built a band stand, a wagon house, 
 and two barns, besides fitting up an abandoned ice house into a 
 two-tenement house. 
 
 Even a brief visit can but convince an unprejudiced mind that 
 the Indian is capable of learning the various trades, and acquir¬ 
 ing a good common school education. I spent some time in all 
 of the school rooms, and found that excellent work was being 
 
37 
 
 done by the teachers, who are under the immediate supervision 
 of Prof. H. B. Peairs, a man of much experience in the Indian 
 work, and to whom a large share of the credit was due for the 
 splendid school display at the World’s Fair last year. 
 
 It would hardly be just to Supt. Swett and his intelligent and 
 faithful employees to fail to call attention to the general neatness 
 about the hospital, the dormitories, the barns, and the entire 
 grounds, and the air of thrift and systematic business that per¬ 
 vades the entire institution. More than a passing notice should 
 be made of the office. The office work at this large institution 
 is very important; and while the superintendent is responsible 
 for everything, the work is directly in the hands of the Chief 
 Clerk, Mr. J. W. Alder, who has had eleven years’ experience 
 in the Indian service. The Commissioner of Indian Affairs re¬ 
 cently told me with considerable pride that when new clerks, 
 inspectors, special agents, and supervisors were being sent out 
 into the service, he had them come to Washington, and took out 
 the accounts of Haskell Institute and showed them as models to 
 
 be followed. 
 
 The following is a list of the corps of employees and the length 
 of the term of service of each. 
 
 Years. Months. 
 
 Mr. J. A. Swett, Superintendent,. 
 
 Prof. H. B. Peairs, Asst. Supt. and Principal Teacher, . . . . 
 
 Mr. J. W. Alder, Chief Clerk,. 
 
 Dr. C. R. Dixon,. 
 
 Mr. C. W. Jewett, Assistant Clerk, , .. 
 
 Mr. Malcolm Macbeth,.’.. 
 
 Mr. S. M. Wilber, Storekeeper,.. 
 
 Mr. W. M. Lindley, Engineer,. 
 
 Mr. R. O. Ployt, Farmer,. 
 
 Mr. E. N. Kelso, Disciplinarian,. 
 
 Mr. A. B. Iliff, Carpenter,. 
 
 Mr. J. B. Churchill, Painter,. 
 
 Mr. W. H. Moffett. 
 
 Mr. Geo. R. Dove, Harnessmaker,. 
 
 Mr. A. S. Hickey, Blacksmith,. 
 
 Mr. J. M. Cannon, Shoemaker,. 
 
 Mr. David Bunker, Wheelwright, . .. 
 
 Mr. R. Z. Donald,. 
 
 Mr. Anthony Caldwell,. 
 
 Mr. John Buch, Bandmaster, . 
 
 Miss Sarah A. Brown, Principal’s Assistant,. 
 
 Mrs. Laura Lutkins, Matron,. 
 
 Miss H. W. Ball, Teacher,. 
 
 Miss D. L. Cones, Teacher,. 
 
 Miss L. P. Jones, Teacher,. 
 
 4 
 
 7 
 
 11 
 
 3 
 
 .3 
 
 O 
 
 1 
 
 4 
 9 
 
 5 
 
 4 
 
 6 
 
 2 
 
 5 
 5 
 7 
 
 3 
 
 i 
 
 5 
 
 5 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 9 
 
 5 
 
 o 
 
 9 
 
 9 
 
 3 
 
 o 
 
 3 
 
 10 
 
 o 
 
 O 
 
 6 
 
 9 
 
 11 
 
 11 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 I I 
 
 O 
 
 o 
 
 6 
 
 3 
 
 io 
 
 7 
 
 io 
 
38 
 
 Years. Months. 
 
 Miss Mariette Wood, Teacher,.13 o 
 
 Mrs. M. C. Williams, Teacher,.2 10 
 
 Mrs. E. L. Johnson, Assistant Matron,.3 10 
 
 Miss Lulu Wallace, Teacher,.5 7 
 
 Miss E. L. Clark, Dining Room Matron,.7 3 
 
 Miss Ida S. Johnson, Assistant Matron,.o 3 
 
 Miss Anna Fischer, Seamstress,.4 9 
 
 Mrs. Eva Anderson, Laundress,.8 o 
 
 making an average of five years and three months. 
 
 I .give the above as a fair illustration of the cause of the 
 present degree of efficiency and high standard of the work at 
 Haskell Institute. This, it seems to me, ought to be a sufficient 
 answer to those who maintain that every few years all of the 
 employees should be changed, and that these- positions should 
 be looked upon as rewards of political work. 
 
 There has also been a large reduction in the annual cost of 
 running the institution, and this has resulted from a wise econ¬ 
 omy that could be practiced only by employees intelligent and 
 experienced in their various departments. Four years ago the 
 per capita appropriation was $175 per annum. Last year it 
 was $167 per annum, and the actual cost per capita was a little 
 less than $152 for the entire year. The cost for one quarter 
 was on a yearly basis of $132. Running expenses have not been 
 reduced by neglecting the physical condition of the plant, for 
 buildings, grounds, etc., were never in better condition, nor 
 have issues of food or clothing been reduced. On the contrary, 
 the full amount of each allowed by the regulations has been reg¬ 
 ularly issued. The saving has been made through a wise econ¬ 
 omy, made possible by a faithful performance of daily duties, 
 with which the various employees have become familiar because 
 of experience. Daring the last few years Haskell employees 
 have not, as was sometimes true in the past, left their daily 
 duties to go out and look after the political fences of some U. S. 
 Representative or Senator, nor have they, as a proof of their 
 devotion to the cause of civilizing and educating the unfortunate 
 red man, hied themselves away to district school houses and aired 
 their political eloquence, while drawing a salary for duties un¬ 
 performed, a salary paid by the United States Government, but 
 really in part contributed by admiring auditors from the proceeds 
 of forty-cent wheat, six-cent cotton, and ten-cent corn. Strange 
 
39 
 
 it is that people will still tolerate the spoilsman, when civil ser¬ 
 vice reform would lessen the taxpayer’s burden. 
 
 A prominent official, high in the councils of the nation, said 
 to me not long since, “ Our people are complaining and we 
 must have some of these positions. They want to know, if 
 there are not Democrats, as well as Republicans, capable of 
 filling these places.” This complaint need not be labeled 
 “ Democratic.” It might with equal appropriateness be labeled 
 “Republican,” “Populistic,” or “ Demo-Pop,” or “Repub- 
 Pop.” The breed is the same, and has all the undesirable points 
 that have resulted from the many crossings and inbreedings since 
 the days of “ Old Hickory.” It is the spoils system seeking an 
 opportunity for action. The official who repeated the above 
 complaint, is educated, cultured, refined, and of the finest in¬ 
 stincts, and can render his country a grand service by setting his 
 face like a flint against the spoilsman. His pathway, it is true, 
 will not be bordered with roses, and sleep, sweet and refreshing, 
 will not always come at his bidding, but he will be rewarded by 
 the approval of the plain, common people of the land, who are 
 still in the majority everywhere and are demanding economy and 
 reform in the administration of the government. 
 
 CHARLES F. MESERVE. 
 
 Raleigh, N. C., July i, 1894. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 CONFERENCE BETWEEN STANDING BUFFALO, AN INDIAN 
 OF PONCA AGENCY, AND THE ACTING COMMISSIONER 
 OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, IN THE INDIAN OFFICE, 
 WASHINGTON, D. C., MAY io, 1894. 
 
 Standing Buffalo : “ The red man feels that he has no protection other 
 than the government. I have a couple of questions that I would like to 
 submit to you which I feel as though it was actually necessary for me in order 
 to satisfy myself and my people. 
 
 “ The first matter that I want to state is the fact that I was actual owner of 
 my country in the North, but I have been removed from it, and here I am 
 to-day, an Indian in a destitute condition. While I was North I still held 
 a portion of my reservation there and had a home of my own. Then I and 
 my people were removed without cause from our original home to the land 
 we at present occupy.” 
 
 Acting Commissioner: “ There is no use going back and talking about 
 what happened long years ago, about what cannot be undone or remedied 
 now. Our business pertains to the present condition of affairs.” 
 
 Standing Buffalo : “ My present reservation is a tract of land that I purchased 
 from the Cherokees. Since we became recognized owners of our new home 
 we went to work and leased a part of our country. We have settled upon 
 our homes and support our children in toiling and working the land.' We are 
 bothered and unsettled about our leases, and this is what I would speak to 
 you about. 
 
 “ The surplus of our lands has been leased, but I have not known anything 
 about on what conditions the leases are made, or the payments, and I under¬ 
 stand from your agent that it was by the instructions of your office here, and 
 if so I want to know. I have felt that the Indian Office has attended to the 
 matter very carelessly, as I have not been able to understand just on what 
 principle these leases have been made, and the proceeds from them, and how 
 the proceeds are disbursed, or anything about it. I merely want to understand 
 the action of the authority on the question of those leases generally. Is the 
 land leased to the highest bidder?” 
 
 Acting Commissioner: “ Yes; we lease it to the men who bid the highest.” 
 
 Standing Buffalo : “There is something else in regard to our home there 
 
 40 
 
4 i 
 
 that I would like to speak about. When we went on the reservation we 
 understood that every protection that could be given us by the government 
 would be rendered to us in the way of protecting our interests. If any busi¬ 
 ness is going on into our country—anything coming into our country—we and 
 our interests should be protected, and that is what I want to know. 
 
 “ Now, on the reservation there have been bridges built from the Ponca side 
 across to the Osage and Oto side, and there has been no understanding with 
 myself and my people about in what way there is any revenue coming from 
 those sources.” 
 
 Acting Commissioner: “The bridges are free—free as the streets of this 
 city—and there is no revenue from them for anybody.” 
 
 Acting Commissioner : “ Is that all you have to say?” 
 
 Standing Buffalo : “ Yes, for the present.” 
 
 Acting Commissioner: “ If that is all you have to say, I don’t think you 
 were justified in coming all this long way to say it. The agent is there to 
 attend to this kind of business. If there is anything the agent cannot attend 
 to, then he can refer it here. That is what the agent is there for. 
 
 “ You have not said anything about what I want to talk to you about— 
 about taking your lands in severalty—your allotments. We have an agent 
 there—Miss Clark—who has been allotting land to the Indians, and I think 
 the majority of the Poncas want to take their lands in severalty. 
 
 “You tell me that you come here and that all the time you are trying to 
 work for the good of your people. Now, you say also that you are dependent 
 entirely upon the office here and upon your white friends, and the government 
 to look after the interests of your people and help them take care of them¬ 
 selves. Now, we think here in this office that the best thing you can do is 
 to take those lands and settle down there and live upon them, and each man 
 attend to his own business and we will attend to the business of the crowd. 
 We understand all about their affairs down there—we look after and attend to 
 them here; and I think the best thing that you can do is to go home, get on 
 your allotment of land, go to work and make a crop, and stay there and 
 attend to your own business, and let the other Poncas do the same. The 
 Poncas have advanced far enough for each one to attend to his own affairs, 
 and they do not need or want you to travel about the country to attend to their 
 business. The government puts an agent there to attend to the business of 
 those Indians. 
 
 “ You have been complaining and finding fault with the lease business. 
 You now see that this business is all right, and you will find that everything 
 else is all right. The bridge business is all right; the bridges are free; they 
 were built for the benefit of the Ponca Indians, and the Ponca Indians derive 
 as much benefit from them as anybody else without it costing them a cent. 
 
 “Now, you have not said a word about the land business. The best thing 
 you can do is to talk to me all you have to say, and I want to give you some 
 good, friendly advice : Go home and settle down on your place, stay there and 
 attend to your own business, make a crop, and try to make money and be com- 
 
/ 
 
 42 
 
 fortable, and you will be much happier if you will attend to your own affairs 
 and let other people’s affairs alone. 
 
 “I know all about you and all about your people ; you are not talking to a 
 stranger. I have been on your reservation and know all about it—I have all 
 the papers about it, all the books, all the writing. When you went to Ponca 
 and Indian Territory you complained. When you went there we kept land 
 for you in Dakota, and the government waited for you and gave you an oppor¬ 
 tunity to go back to Dakota, but you would not do it—-did not want to do any¬ 
 thing that anybody else wanted you to do—and you have been going on in that 
 way until I will not have it any more. 
 
 “ Under the law a great many of the Indians are taking their allotted lands, 
 and in time they will all have to take them, because that is the law. We will 
 give you a limited time, and if you do not select your lands and take them 
 from the allotment agent, then after a while we will allot your lands to you 
 anyhow. 
 
 “ I am not going to let the civilization and the advancement of the Ponca 
 Indians be stopped by such Indians as you. The children of the Ponca Indians 
 are getting along well. They are going to school, becoming civilized, becom¬ 
 ing advanced, self-supporting, and progressive, and are trying to get along and 
 do well; but you, and a few followers like you, who do not represent the Ponca 
 Indians, are trying to keep them back, and I do not intend to let you do it. 
 
 “ What I say and what you say I am taking down, and I am going to send 
 it to the agent and to Miss Clark, so that they will know, and the Indians will 
 know, what this talk is all about, and the Indians will know just what we have 
 been talking about. When I talk I don’t talk under the table—I talk plain.” 
 
 (The provision of the General Allotment Act, which requires Indians to take 
 their allotments within four years, was read and explained to Standing Buffalo. 
 Section 2.) 
 
 Acting Commissioner : “ Have these other two Indians anything to say, or 
 is this the end of it?” 
 
 Standing Buffalo : “ I would like to have a little talk with you, and I want 
 to show you the facts of my position with my followers, and I would like to 
 have you know exactly how these other men stand.” 
 
 Acting Commissioner: “I know. I have been there. Ten years ago I 
 was there. I have talked and I know all about your people and reservation, 
 and I know that for the last ten years you and a handful of your followers 
 have been doing all you could to retard the progress of the Indians. The 
 Ponca Indians are doing first-rate, but you want to rule things in your way, 
 and we don’t propose to allow you or your little band of followers to run that 
 reservation. The progressive Indians, the Indians who are trying to get away 
 and do like the white man—do you suppose that we are going to allow them 
 to drift back to wearing blankets ? 
 
 “ I know how you have been doing it for the last ten years. You would come 
 here and go back and tell your people that you had done this and that in 
 Washington. But I am taking down everything I say and everything you say, 
 
43 
 
 and I intend to send it to the agent, and the agent will call the people up and 
 read it to them. 
 
 “ The majority of your people want to become civilized, and the government 
 will not permit you and a handful of your followers, against the will of your 
 own people, to retard their progress. If you don’t choose to progress, sit 
 down on your land and stay there and drift along until your time is out, but 
 leave the other people alone. 
 
 “ I am friendly to you and to all of your people, and tell you this in the best 
 and kindest feeling. Settle down on your places and attend to your own 
 business. You have been traveling about the other reservations too much. 
 You are not agent for the Poncas; you are not chief of the Poncas; there is 
 no chief. Every man that settles down, and every Ponca Indian that settles 
 down to work and sends his children to school is his own chief, and you are 
 not chief. 
 
 “If you will talk to our agent when you want any help the agent will give 
 it to you. The Indians who have taken their lands have by so doing become 
 citizens of the United States. There is only one chief among us and that is 
 the President. * 
 
 “ I am very glad you came here, and am glad to have seen you so that 
 we can understand one another. You say you want to work for the good of 
 your people. If you will do what I tell you to do that is the best way we can 
 help your people. You cannot help your people by complaining and trying 
 to stop them from advancement. You have tried to stop them from taking 
 their lands in severalty, and in that you are not helping your people, for they 
 are going to take their lands in severalty and so are you; and if you don’t, we 
 are going to give it to you anyhow.” 
 
 Standing Buffalo : “ We came here to visit the Great Father. We are poor 
 people and very destitute, and our object in coming here was to gain the 
 sympathy of the Indian Office, but this talk pierces me.” 
 
 Acting Cotnmissioner : “ We have the greatest sympathy, but if you want to 
 gain the sympathy of this office you must do right. When we send an agent 
 down there to do certain things and to allot lands to your people, and you go 
 against these agents and go among your people and try to prejudice them 
 against the Indian Office, and then come here begging, you cannot expect 
 any sympathy. I want you to do what is right and what is according to the law. 
 I know what is best for you to do and will do everything I can for you, but at 
 the same time you must do what you are told to do. 
 
 “ When are you going home—shortly?” 
 
 Standing Buffalo: “Yes; just as quick as the Osages go, we are going 
 with them.” 
 
 Acting Commissioner : “ I hope when you go you will take my advice and 
 stay at home and attend to your own business. And the last thing I want to 
 say to you is this: You are not doing yourself any good nor your people any 
 good by going around this way. You are just losing your time and money and 
 influence, and doing no good to anybody.” 
 


 
 
 
 
 

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LIST OF OFFICERS FOR THE YEAR 1894. 
 
 PRESIDENT, f 
 
 PHILIP C. GARRETT. 
 
 VICE-PRESIDENT, 
 
 DR. JAMES E. RHOADS. 
 
 TREASURER, 
 
 E. Y. HARTSHORNE. 
 
 CORRESPONDING SECRETARY, 
 
 HERBERT WELSH. 
 
 RECORDING SECRETARY, 
 
 ALBERT B. WEIMER. 
 
 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. 
 
 F. Hazen Cope, 
 
 W. W. Frazier, 
 
 Charles W. Freedley, 
 Philip C. Garrett, 
 
 Rev. J. Andrews Harris, D.D 
 
 D. Henry Hartshorne, 
 
 E. Y. Hartshorne, 
 
 Francis Fisher Kane, 
 George Gluys Mercer, 
 
 N. Dubis Miller, 
 
 Charles E. Pancoast 
 Henry S. Pancoast, 
 
 J. Rodman Paul, 
 
 Dr. James E. Rhoads, 
 
 ., Rev. H. L. Wayland, D.D., 
 Albert B. Weimer, 
 
 Herbert Welsh, 
 
 Miss S. P. Wharton, 
 
 Rt. Rev. O. W. Whitaker, D.D., 
 E. M. Wistar. 
 
The Indian Rights Association is a non-partisan, non¬ 
 sectarian organization for promoting the civilization of the 
 Indian and for securing his natural and political rights. 
 To this end it aims to collect and collate facts, principally 
 through the personal investigations of its officers and 
 agents, regarding the Indian’s relations with the Govern¬ 
 ment and with our own race, concerning his progress in 
 industry and education, his present and future needs. 
 Upon the basis of facts, and of legitimate conclusions 
 drawn from them, the Association appeals to the American 
 people for the maintenance of such a just and wise policy 
 upon the part of the Executive and Congress in dealing 
 with these helpless wards of the Nation as may discourage 
 fraud and violence, promote education, obedience to law, 
 and honorable labor, and finally result in the complete 
 absorption of the Indian into the common life of the 
 Nation. 
 

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