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K I : I'O K ^1^ 
 
 810UX AM) POMvA INDIANS 
 
 T II K M ISSO I U 1 i: 1 \ K K 
 
 \V I I. 1.1 A M \V K 1. S H 
 
 JULY, 1872 
 
 \V A S H I N (J TO N: 
 
 i; I » V F. K X .M K N 1 I' It I X T I N I ; f > I i i 
 
71 K 3^ O R T 
 
 OK A VISIT TO TlIK 
 
 SIOUX ANJ) POXKA IXDIAXS 
 
 THE MISSOURI UIVETv, 
 
 I 
 
 WILLI AIM WELSH 
 
 THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR. 
 
 .11" LV, Id- 2. 
 
 W A S H I N T O X : 
 
 G O V E R N M i: N T I' IC I X I I X O O K I" ICE. 
 
 l!?72. 
 

 M 
 
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR. 
 
 "Wasuixgton, D. v., July lOtIt, 187-2. 
 Beau Sir : 
 
 I have received, and read with great satisfaction, your valuable 
 and interestinjL,' Report of the 8th instant, in regard to the Indian Agencies 
 that have been assigned to the Board of Jlissions of the Protestant Epis- 
 copal Church. I liavo not time to refer to it in detail, but I wish to say that 
 the facts which you have presented, and the suggestions made, are of 
 great value to our Indian Service, and I trust the Rejjort will have a wide 
 circulation. 
 
 I feel sure that this report will strengthen the faith of all right minded 
 persons, and create new zeal in the breasts of those who believe that 
 truth, jiLstice and humanity, arc sure to be rewarded by Oir.niputence. 
 I am, very tiiily, yours, 
 
 C. DEi.AXO, 
 
 i>ecretarj/. 
 UoN. William AVklsii, 
 
 PhiladclpJdu, Pa. 
 
Tin- following; letter from tlio bislinii iif Hie I'lotestant Kpiscoiml Chun-li 
 ill the diocese of XeJuiiskii, :iii<l in tlif 'renilorv of |);ikot.i. fully imlorses 
 the iuincxed io|)oit. 
 
 Omaha, ./»/.(/ 1-^, l-<7-i. 
 
 My Dkah Mk. Wki-sii : I have oulv time, on a hasty visit home in tlit- 
 midst of a visitation, to tell yon how rejoiced I have been on reading; yonr 
 most admirabh^ hotter to the Secretary of the Interior on onr Indian mis- 
 sions, &c. 
 
 It is the most eomidete, the most satisfactory, and the most enc(»nra<;iug 
 doenment of the kind ever put before our people. I sincerely hope it will 
 be pnldished cntirr in the " Spirit of Missions," and in other more permanent 
 forms. It is Jiist such an array of facts, and of wise, humane, and forcible 
 pleas, that will arouse the church and the nation to their duty to the Indian. 
 I am delighted to see in ]irint over your name such a vindication of the pol- 
 icy of the Government. May the Lord bless and reward yon tor your noble 
 wonls and nobler works in behalf of this jioor race I 
 Kver your attached friend. 
 
 KOBERT H. (JL.\RKSOX. 
 
rniLAnr:i,rinA, July 8tb, 1ST2. 
 To THE Hon. CoLUMurs Dei-axo, 
 
 Secretary of the Interior, 
 
 Washington : 
 ^Iy Deau Sin : 
 
 I returned to this city on the 4th inst., after spending more than six 
 weeks in an othcial visitation to most of tlic Indian Agencies, that were, 
 about eighteen months since, phiceil by the United States Government, 
 under the conti'ol of the Board of ^Missions of the Protestant Episcopal 
 Church. 
 
 Although my visitation was made at the request of that ^Missionary 
 Board, yet as the Church is merely the representative of the Government 
 in nominating and supervising Indian Agents, there is an obvious pro- 
 priety in making a semi-official report to you, especially as governmental 
 action is asked for. 
 
 I was accompanied by ^Ir. E. C. Kemble, the Sccretaiy of our !Mis- 
 siouary Indian Commission and by the Ilcv. S. D. Ilinraau, our experi- 
 enced and successful Missionary to the Sioux Indians. lie speaks their 
 language fluently, and has the aficction and confidence of a large propor- 
 tion of the Sioux nation. I was much favored, throughout the entire 
 visitation, by the presence of a lady of great intelligence and experience, 
 who sympathises deeply with Indians. As a woman .she was able to in- 
 vestigate thoroughly the moral and industrial condition of Indian girls 
 and women, with the view of intelligently directing appropriate means 
 for benefiting them, and stirring up her sisters in the Church by pen and 
 . voice, to the now hopeful work of bringing Gospel light and love to our 
 home heathen, who have too long been sitting in darkness and timorou.s 
 superstition. The Rev. .1. A. Paddock, of Brooklyn, New York, a mem- 
 ber of the Executive Committee of our Indian ^lissionary Commission, 
 joined us in time to visit the Ponkas, the Yanktons and the Mission of the 
 Episcopal Church on the Santee Sioux Reservation. 
 
 Near the close of my trip I met, at Council Blufls and at Omaha, Gen. 
 Cowan, Assistant Secretary of the Interior, and also Mr. John Delauo. 
 your son and Secretary, and Mr. Turucy, a member of the Govenmiental 
 Commission. 
 
 As I was fresh from conferences with Indians, and they were just start' 
 
6 
 
 ing t:.o meet tlie wild Sioux or Tetons, as they are termed, our confer- 
 ences were free and mutually profitable. 
 
 To give definiteness to my report, I must state the names and locations 
 of the Indian tribes, that, less than two years since, the then Secretary 
 of the Interior, acting for the President of the United States, pressed 
 upon the Missionary bodies of the Protestant Episcopal Church, claiming 
 their control and supervision of certain tribes, although unsolicited and 
 undesired. 
 
 1. PONKA INDIANS. 
 
 This tribe, about 700 in number, is located on the west bank of the 
 Missouri River, in Dakota Territory, at the southeastern extremity of the 
 great Sioux Reservation. 
 
 It is separated from the State of Nebraska by the Kiobrara River, 
 which can be forded in all seasons. The Ponkas are affiliated with the 
 Omahas, and speak the same unwritten language. 
 
 2. YANKTON INDIANS. 
 
 This is one of the fourteen tribes of Sioux or Dakota Indians that are 
 in Dakota, Montana and Wyoming Territories. This tribe numbers 
 2,000, and is located on the east bank of the Missouri River, about sixty 
 miles above the town of Yankton. Their Reservation begins at Choteau 
 Creek, and continues along the river Missouri, about thirty-five miles, 
 up to the Fort Randall Military Reservation, extending many miles 
 back from the river over high prairie land only suited to grazing. 
 
 3. YANKTONNAIS SIOUX INDIANS. 
 
 This tribe, about 1,000 in number, is located on the east bank of the 
 Missoviri River, about one hundred miles above the Yankton Agency. 
 The official designation is, " The Agency of the Upper ]\Iissouri," but it 
 is usually called Crow Creek, and was formerly known as Fort Thompson. 
 
 4. LOWER BRULE SIOUX INDIANS. 
 
 These Indians, estimated at 2, 500, are under the control of the Agent 
 of the Yanktonnais, and are located on the west bank of the Missouri, 
 extending from the mouth of the White Earth River, up to a j)oint oppo- 
 site to Crow Creek Agency. The sw6-agency buildings are about nine 
 miles from the Agency, and on the opi)osite bank of the Missouri. A com- 
 pany of United States soldiers is there, principally needed to hold the 
 lawless whites in check. 
 
 5. MINICONJOU, SANS ARC, TWO KETTLE, AND OTHER SIOUX. 
 
 The Agency for these Indians, varying in number from 2,000 to 5,000, 
 
is on tho west baiik of the Missouri Hivcr, below tlie mouth of the 
 C'heyouue River, from which the Aj^ciicy takes its name. It is about nine 
 miles above Fort Sully, and one hundred miles from Crow Creek. 
 
 The Sioux Reservation above this, is at Grand River, under the charge 
 of tho Roman Catholic Church. If the Afi;ont had been on the Reserva- 
 tion, I would have gone there, not as an official visitor, but from personal 
 interest in him and his work. 
 
 The Sioux Indians, at Urand Hirer, and at the Cheyenne Agency, are 
 of the same general character, and many of them move from placo to 
 place. 
 
 These upper Agencies are just now points of the greatest interest and 
 dithculty, as the roving hostile Indians come there to trade, and to pro- 
 cure food when suftering from hunger. Some few of these Indians that 
 have recently come in, are discourteous to their agents with the view of 
 keeping up their standing with the wild roving Sioux ; whilst others, who 
 were, until recently, leaders in the hostile camps, are already well ad- 
 vanced in agriculture and other civilizing occupations. 
 
 The other three Agencies, under the care of the same Missionary 
 Board, cannot be reached from the iVIissouri River. 
 
 These are the Eastern Shoshones and Eanuocks, in Wyoming Territoiy, 
 and the agencies for the Ogallalla Sioux, under Red Cloud and other 
 chiefs, and the upper Brale Sioux, under Spotted Tail and others. 
 
 These agencies will, perhaps the coming autumn or sooner, if it appear.^ 
 necessary, be ^^sited from the Union Pacific Railroad. 
 
 "NVe called at the old "Whetstone Agency, on the west bank of tho 
 Missouri, above Fort Randall. It was the location of the Upper Brule 
 but is now a depot for supplies, guarded by a small squad of soldiers. 
 The Agency buildings and barracks appeared to be in good order, and 
 there is a prevailing belief that the Upper Bruh'- Indians must again be 
 brought there to prevent discord between them and the Ogallallas, under 
 Red Cloud. Tlieir young men can then be resti-ained from going on war 
 parties against Indian.s — the Pawuees, the Ponkas and the Arickarecs — 
 located jwacefully on their resjMictive Reservations. 
 
 Col. Stanley, the Commander at Fort Sully, one of the best friends the 
 Indian has in all that region, accompanied us in our si.x days' jouniey 
 from Sioux City to Sully. We were glad to k-ani from him and other 
 officers of high standing, that army officers generally, not only feel officially 
 bound to sustain President (Jrant's policy with the Indiaius, but that it 
 
meets with their cordial approval, as the best and indeed the only solution 
 of the difficult problem of Indian civilization. 
 
 Col, Stanley, although strict in the performance of his duties, has the 
 respect of all the Indians in that region and the affection of many of 
 them. 
 
 He has confidence in them and trusts them, and they have not forfeited 
 his confidence. He was present at our public conference with the Indians 
 near Fort Sully. 
 
 CHEYENNE AGENCY. 
 
 The badly located buildings at this Agency are inadequate, disgraceful, 
 and injurious to much of the j)rovisions sent there. Bats and other 
 vermin have very appropriately claimed the buildings as their own ; and 
 fortunately the Missouri is washing away that bank of the river, com- 
 pelling the Agent and the army officers, from time to time, to move their 
 quarters farther inland. 
 
 The weekly issue of jirovisions occurred the day after our arrival, and 
 this enabled us to see nearly all the Indians in their holiday costume. 
 They were very quiet and well behaved, and enjoyed various kinds of 
 sports ; one game was a foot race by old women, a j^ony being the prize 
 Whether engaged in their sports or in subdividing the allotment of pro- 
 visions, there did not seem to be any unkind acts, or even harsh icords. 
 1 was very glad at the public council, held that morning, to hear com- 
 plaints that the rats had fouled their flour, and that the meat was soiled 
 by being dragged through the dust, as it seemed like the dawning of 
 civilization on a debased people. 
 
 Elsewhere I had seen dogs feeding for hours upon the carcasses of the 
 beeves, before distribution was made to the Indians. This is an old habit, 
 but it must be changed, as the Indians are offended by it when they begin 
 to show the humanizing influences of civilization. 
 
 Eighteen months since, when I held a conference with this barbarous 
 people, their council-chamber was ornamented with human scalps, ex- 
 tended on small hoops, and elevated on poles, such as we use in displaying 
 our banners. 
 
 On this occasion there were no such evidences of barbarism. We were, 
 however, notified that the council would be disturbed by an impudent 
 Indian, who desired thus to gain the favor of the hostile party and of 
 certain low whites. 
 
 It was stated that he acted under the promptings of men, whose interests 
 had been interfered with by the uprightness of Agent Kowes. 
 
After my opening remarks, Burnt Face, a leading chief, replieil. It 
 was toudiing to hear liis aimlDgolic oi>ening, confessing tliat lie and his 
 brother had quarrelled, and althougli tlie fault was almost entirely with 
 the brother, Burnt Face merely confessed his own sins, without referring 
 to his brother's still greater iniquities. 
 
 He and others asked why telegrajih poles, the usual precursors of rail- 
 roads, had been placed on Indian reservations without the consent of tlie 
 Indians liaving been first obtained ; and also, why irliite men persisted in 
 building a raihoad tlirough the hunting grounds of the Indians, without 
 first agreeing upon a compensation for thus <lestroying or driving away 
 their subsistence. When Burnt Face had finished an eloquent speech, 
 Bull Eagle, the impudent young Indian already referred to, arose witlunit 
 waiting for speeches by chiefs and other sui^eriors, as is usual. He 
 marched forward, and snatched the notes of Burnt Face's speech from 
 Mr. E. C. Kemble, who was acting as Secretary, tearing them in jtieces, 
 and saying that all irhite men are liars, and ought to leave the Indian's 
 country and never come to it again. 
 
 This trilling incident is only noteworthy, because it revealed the fact 
 that Bull Eagle stood alone, all others being courteous to me, and Well- 
 disposed towards the whites. 
 
 It seems that Indians are just as desirous of having their speeches re- 
 ported as any youthful member of Congress, when making his maiden 
 speech. 
 
 An Indian, kn<iwn as.bjhnSaus Arc, put an extinguisher on Bull Eagle, 
 by proclaiming that he was as fond of eating white man's food, and of beg- 
 ging for more, as any other Indian. 
 
 The other speakers referred feelingly to the proposed Black Hill's expe- 
 pedition, and also said that the Government was not fullilling its pledge 
 to furnish them witli work-oxen and cattle for breeding. They said, trulj% 
 that there were many Indians quite able and willing to take care of them. 
 
 In this plea these Indians are right, an<l it is specially important to them, 
 for in the dry region extending from below Crow Creek to the Grand 
 River Agency, agriculture is rarely i)roductive, whilst herding cattle and 
 raising stock would be very prolitable. 
 
 Intelligent Texan herders testify to the nutritious quality of the budalo 
 grass of thai region, in winter as well as in summer. Little snow falls there, 
 but lower down the Missouri, where there is more rain, tin* .snow storms 
 are frequent and severe. Last winter over 1200 oxen i)erLshcd from one 
 
10 
 
 herd, that the beef contractor attempted to winter on a fann above 
 Yankton. 
 
 It was very interesting to listen to the nnmber of apologies that were 
 made for the rudeness of Bull Eagle, who told Col. Stanley the next day 
 that he did not mean to be disrespectful. In the evening of the same 
 day we rode on horseback, wholly unarmed, up the Missouri River, to- 
 wards Little Swan's Camp, at the mouth of Cheyenne River, returning 
 long after dark, without even the thought of danger. At night tlu'ee 
 prominent chiefs sought a private interview, which continued until the 
 small hours of the morning. They asked me to blot from my memory the 
 folly of that young man. Little Swan, from whose camp two bullets were 
 fired into a steamboat, formerly a hostile chief, but now a cultivator of 
 the soil, said that Bull Eagle's conduct caused a painful recollection of 
 the time when he also was insulting to white people. 
 
 That h)ng, frank interview with three intelligent and earnest Indians 
 deeply impressed mo with the fair-mindedness of these men, when honor- 
 orably treated, even before the civilizing influences of Christianity had 
 reached their minds and hearts. 
 
 Every point they made was just and tenable. If such men covdd be 
 selected from the Reservations nearest to hostile camps, to act as negotia- 
 tors, I feel sure that most of our difficulties with the Indians could be 
 adjusted, provided there is for a few years as much liberality by Congress 
 as is desired by all the officers of the army with whom I conversed. 
 Most of the difficulty with hostiles arises from our lack of liberality 
 to those who are living peaceably on Reservations. 
 
 On the following day we drove down to the portion of the Cheyenne 
 Reservation opposite Fort Sully, and there we were glad to see, not only 
 fields well cultivated by Indians, but also comfortable log-houses built by 
 them . 
 
 These Indians made a strong plea for a scliool, and arrangements have 
 been made to i:)rovide a missionary and teachers for this Reservation. 
 
 You have no doubt ere this received the resignation of Agent Kowes, 
 and the nomination of Mr. Henry W. Bingham, of Faribault, INIinnesota, 
 who is strongly recommended by Bishop AVhipple, and by business men 
 to whom he is favorably known. 
 
 Mr. Bingliam is the brother-in-law of the Rev. S. D. Hinman, our 
 Missionaiy to the Santee Sioux, Nebraska. His Avife accompanies him, and 
 she seems to be equally well adapted to the difficult and important work 
 of civilizing the Indians, who are in constant intercourse with the roving 
 
11 
 
 Teton Sioux. -Mr. Kowcs did not l;ikc Id.s family, not intending to re- 
 main permanently on an Indian Reservation. 
 
 The day we left Cheyenne a hostile Sioux \V(mndcd an unarmed soldier 
 with an arrow and then escaped to the camp of the roving Indians. 
 There is a..n;itural enmity af;ainst .soldiers, therefore it is unwise for them 
 to wander away from the camji alone and unarmid. Little Swan was 
 mueh grieved that guns were tired from hi.s camp, although by .strangers, 
 who e.seaped iunnediately. This lawless act was owing to a paroxysm of 
 grief and rage occasioned by tidings of the killing of relatives on the 
 Platte River. Wild Indians are unreasoning when they first liear that a 
 relative has been killed, and here lies the chief danger uf travelling near 
 to them. 
 
 YANKTON XAIS INDIANS. 
 
 Some of this band of Sioux, numbering about one thousand, spend the 
 winter at Crow Crock Reservation, and go out in the spring to plant on 
 the James River, wiiere there is abundant rain. These Indians are all 
 tlioroughly peaceable, but have settled down into a lethargic condition, 
 leaving most of the field-work to their wives, and manifesting less am- 
 bition than at my last visit, to have their children taught. They evinced 
 much interest in us, and did me especial honor by cooking a dog for me, 
 inviting all of my party to the feast. They actually complained that 
 their Agent was building some houses for them, viewing it as an innova- 
 tion upon the habits of their forefathers. 
 
 I will not here dwell further upon details, intending to suggest string- 
 ent remedial measures at the close of this rei)ort. The Yauklonnais com- 
 plain bitterly of the builders of tlic telegraph line to Fort Sully, because 
 they defrauded them of a part of the sum they agreed to pay for poles 
 cut on their land. 
 
 If the entire sum has not yet been paid by the War Department, can 
 you not delay payment until these wards of the nation are .settled with 
 by the contractors, and one Just cause of irritation thus removctl? 
 
 Tiio army officers and all others in that vicinity sjieak in the highest 
 terms of the Agent, Dr. Livingston, who has hail li.ird work in jturifying 
 the reservation fnmi squaw-men and the neighborhood from whiskey 
 ranches. This was not effected \n ithout risk of life and freouent manifesta- 
 tions of personal bi-avcry. 
 
 Tliis agent has kindly agreed to make jjrovision for the Missionary 
 whom we iuti ud soon to send to Crow Creek, and for a Indy of exj'cri- 
 
12 
 
 ence, who probably ere this has gone from the Santee Mission to show 
 kindness to the Yauktounais, and draw their children into school. 
 
 These Indians were present, and manifested much interest in our 
 Sunday services, at which a child of a Christian Santee was ba^jtized. 
 
 White Ghost, the son and successor of a noble old chief, who died just 
 before my last visit, presented me with the beautiful pipe that was 
 smoked at the council, as an evidence of his good will. Yle visited the 
 good old man's gi'ave, and also that of his brother, a chief who died since 
 my former visit. 
 
 LOWER BRULE SIOUX. 
 
 Both bands of these Indians were present at our conference at Crow 
 Creek, and we also met them separately at their two camps. That of 
 Iron Nation and White Buffalo Cow is near tire sub-agency, where the 
 United States troops are stationed. The of&cers speak in the highest 
 terms of all the Lower Brule Indians, who are peaceful and remarkably 
 moral, because they have not had much contact with white people. We 
 arranged for the establishment of a school, and for ministering women to 
 give it efficiency by visitations to sick and sorrowing Indians. We then 
 drove over high prairie bluffs, and through miry rivers, to the camp of 
 Little Pheasant and Medicine Bull, numbering two hundred lodges. It 
 is beautifully located at the confluence of the White Earth and JMissouri 
 Rivers. This is a genuine Indian camp, without a white person or a 
 house of any kind. 
 
 The chief. Little Pheasant, cordially welcomed us at his "tipi," 
 which our party, comprising two ladies and five gentlemen, occupied by 
 day and by night, with the chief, his wife, and three children, two of 
 them being daughters nearly grown. 
 
 A fearful thunder and wind storm occurred at night, testing the firmness 
 of this form of tipi, which is constructed like a Sibley tent. As one pole 
 after another seemed to yield unduly to the power of the blast, the girls 
 stayed them by driving the pointed end of a stick into the ground, and 
 then placed the crotched end against the yielding tent-pole. 
 
 Immediately after our arrival in the afternoon, a hereditary chief, the 
 wearer of a medal of President Grant, formally invited us to a dog-ieast. 
 The fatling had been killed, cakes hastily baked, and coffee made, that 
 we might receive the highest honor shown by Indians. 
 
 That evening we conferred privately with some of the chiefs, but they 
 begged that wc would not hold couiicil before the next day, that they 
 might confer through the night and bring their wives and children to the 
 
1*^ 
 
 coiiferoiicc. Wc obsorvoil that [kittle I'hiasant iliil nut close his eyes 
 (luriii;,^ tlio iii^ht hecaiisn hn was fearful that two or three hostile In- 
 dians who were on a visit to the eanip. nii;;!it take a fancy to the team of 
 CJovernment mules that an ollicer lunl driven down. 
 
 In the morning the Indians made an amphitheatre of poles and tent 
 covers, arranging themselves around it, according to established rules of 
 precedence. They looked very unlike the almost nude beings we had 
 seen the afternoon before, lolling in their tipis, or under some shady 
 adjacent bower, fanning themselves with eagle's wings. Now they were 
 fancifully dressed and i)aiutcd, and they seemed instinct with life. 
 
 Their most urgent pleas, being well founded, were readily granted by the 
 Agent who was present. Hitherto, these Indians only remained six 
 months at their planting ground, because the steep blufTs ami miry 
 streams that intervened between it and the sub-agency, where supplies 
 are issued, become impassable in inclement weatlicr. It is apparent that 
 Indians so situated can gain but slowly in civilization, and are not likely 
 to acquire property and become thrifty and self-supporting. 
 
 The Agent, at our solicitation, agreed to erect a log store-house and 
 furnish their rations at the camp. This made them very happy, but the 
 shrewdness of Indian diplomacy was very manifest, for they all insisted 
 that their Great Father in Washington should fullill his promises, to 
 furnish them with work-oxen and cattle for breeding, before they send 
 their children to school. 
 
 They argued their case very forcibly, by showing that hostile Indians 
 •would not leave their wild and lawless life unless they saw that their 
 brethren on the Reservations were trusted, and had something beyond a 
 dole of daily food that necessarily dcterioi-atcs the Indian. 
 
 They had evidently agreed among themselves to insist pei-sistcntly that 
 this plea slK>uld be granted, and they thought they could gain their point, 
 for they knew how anxious wc all were to have their children educated. 
 
 I told them that their Great Father in Washington had an Indian 
 heart, and that he was well disposed to do all that tlie great council of 
 this nation would authorize him to do ; but, if I was to tell him that his 
 red children refused to trust him, and that they were unwilling to comply 
 with a condition in the Peace Commissioners' Treaty, under which they 
 obligateil themselves to send their children to school, he might feel him- 
 self constrained to order the discontinuance of the issue of rations. I 
 said, however, that as they viewed me as their special friend, I would say 
 
14 
 
 nothing to their Great Father about my visit to them, and that they 
 might also forget that we had been there. 
 
 Before we left the Reservation that afternoon, the chiefs came and said 
 that they did want a Missionary and school very badly, but that they 
 needed the cattle so much, they thought they could, by bargaining, get 
 both things they wanted. 
 
 We agreed to found a Mission establishment, with male and female 
 teachers and visitors, under the supervision of a Missionary who is to be 
 located at Crow Creek. 
 
 At the Council the head soldiers and such young men as are too often 
 on the war-path, spoke through the elected head of their band — an 
 association formed to dissuade any of the Lower Brules from being ex- 
 cited by war narratives, and duped and decoyed to take the war-path. 
 The band also promotes temperance by preventing the wood-chopjDers 
 and other whites and half-breeds who have settled on the opposite banks 
 of the Missouri, from introducing whiskey into the Reservation. 
 
 These Indians manifested entire confidence in us, as they said, because 
 we belonged to the family of the Great Spirit, and desired to do them 
 good, without asking anything in return. They and the other Indians 
 know that we have never taken any of their annuities to support our Mis- 
 sions. Last year one of the sisters trained at the Philadelphia Memorial 
 House visited them, and communed with their wives and daughters. 
 
 This season, when the chiefs went to the Yankton Agency, where this 
 sister is performing her labors of love, they begged her to come and teach 
 their women the ways of the whites, and to lead them into the better way 
 of life. 
 
 The crops cultivated by this band of Lower Brules looked well, and 
 the Indians obtained a promise from the Agent that he would break 
 more prairie sod this summer, that they might extend their cultivation 
 the coming season. 
 
 YANKTON SIOUX RESERVATION. 
 
 As we entered it from the north, the Chief AVhite Swan was at the 
 door of a pretty Chapel, which he had aided in building, and in which he 
 and his people worship. It seemed almost miraculous that a chief, once 
 noted for bravery on the war-path, now clothed with the garments of 
 civilization, and "in his right mind,", should welcome us, with evident 
 satisfaction to the House of God, and to the school in which the children 
 of his band are instructed. At a subsequent interview, asked for by 
 Christian Yanktons, White Swan, in an eloquent speech, showed his 
 
15 
 
 Bimiilc fiiitli aiul the strength of his tnist. Ho said all the white men 
 wlu) came befttre those snitbylho Cireat Spirit made vain ami iiiueli- 
 able iiiomises, whilst those now sent tiM)k words from God's IJuok, which 
 wci-o trne and evcr-eudiuii g. He gave this illustration : Althungh great 
 forests are swept away by the tornado, yet when the trunk of a tree 
 without its branches is buried deep in the earth, even the largest steam- 
 boat can by its help outride the most violent storm ; so we Indians have 
 now that to which we can with certainty cling, lie asked us to look 
 at the noble band of ChriUian young men about him, as they liad 
 withstood great trials and temptations, their presence spoke louder than 
 any words of his. Soon after we reached the >Iission IIouso and 
 princii)al Chapel, the Indians began to assemble for their weekly practice 
 in s;;cred music. Voices of young men, that might otherwise have 
 been shrieking the savage war-whoop, were now swtetly singing 
 "Nearer, my God, lo Thee,"' in the liquid language of the Dakotas. 
 The lad wlu> played the organ, with full harmony, is an Indian, the son of 
 a chief. About a year since, after he had been taught at the day-school 
 to pray, he plead earnestly to be received into the Mission House, saying 
 " In my father's house I have no place to pray." The Christian name of 
 William Selwyn was given to him, and he has since tlien walked worthy 
 of his name and of his Christian profession. Like many other Indians, 
 his musical talent is quite remarkable, for with a little instruction from 
 Daniel Hemans, the Santcc Indian Deacon, "William performs very credit- 
 ably the varied music of our Church Service. On Sunday the Church 
 ■was filled at nine o'clock a:id at half-past ten with Indians, and I ob- 
 served that Strike-the-Rec, the principal chief, and Deloria, the chief of 
 the half-breeds, were present at both services, seeming to be reverent 
 worshippers. Children foniied part of the early congrcgatitMi. and some 
 of them were also assembled in the afternoon for catechising. The suc- 
 cess of our mission to the Yankton Sioux Indians has exceeded oiir 
 most sanguine expectations. Most of the chiefs have been baptized or 
 are using their intluence in favor of Christianity ; one or two of them, 
 however, still fiwor the heathen jtarty, which is weakening day by day. 
 Young men, belonging to the White Hoi"sc Band and the Grass Band, 
 asked for an interview to assure me that the whole power of their or- 
 ganizations would continue to be exerted in favor of Christian practices. 
 Much credit is due to the Rev. S. I). Hinman, who originated and con- 
 tinues to supervise our ^lission, and to the Rev. J. W. Cook, who for 
 more than two yeare has devoted himself to this self-<leuying work with 
 
16 
 
 primitive zeal and efficiency. Much, very mucli, can be accomplished 
 among our Indians by introducing the industries of civilized life, by 
 teaching adults and children in schools, and by the faithful illustration 
 and enforcement of revealed truth in the Church, when aided by public 
 worship and the Sacraments of our holy religion. We have, however, 
 been constrained to illustrate Christianity, by embodying it in self-deny- 
 ing and sympathizing acts performed in Christ's name and for His sake. 
 There lies the great secret of our success in dispelling superstition and 
 prejudice, and in reaching minds and hearts which seemed to be unap- 
 proachable. The daily and almost hourly acts of kindness to the sick and 
 son-owing and to the neglected ones, silently but irresistibly dispel the 
 prejudices against Christian men and ministering women, which are 
 naturally stirred up by the conjurors of the tribe. The occupation and 
 support of these heathen medicine-men leave them as Christianity ad- 
 vances ; therefore, where words have not been preceded by Christian acts, 
 these conjurors have stirred up the whole community, and in some in- 
 stances have driven oft' both missionaries and teachers. Fortunately there 
 is a power that God has placed in the hands of Christians which is every- 
 where and under all circumstances irresistible, for the Holy Spirit works 
 in it and through it. With such holy ministries, not only the warlike 
 Sioux, but even the Apaches and Comanches, can eventually be success- 
 fully reached ; but without practical exhibitions of Christianity the 
 unsubdued and untamed red man vrill continue to cry "blood for 
 blood."' 
 
 The improvement of the Yankton Sioux in temporal things is 
 quite as marked as in spiritual. A few years since the men viewed 
 manual labor of all kinds as degrading, except when on the chase or 
 war-path. Then, they could not be hired to bring water from the Mis- 
 souri, and the Sautee Sioux were performing much of the labor on this 
 Agency, and receiving wages therefor. Now, most of the Yankton In- 
 dians are anxious to work for wages, and many of them have built com- 
 fortable log-houses with their own hands, on lands which they hope 
 soon to obtain by allotment. From their own savings many have pur- 
 chased wagons and horses and articles of household comfort. Their 
 Agent is doing all he can to promote industrious habits, and in other ways 
 to aid in civilizing them ; and I was glad to learn that the Indian De- 
 partment had given him authority to build a slaughter house, and thus to 
 remove one of the brutalizing iuHuences before referred to. The most 
 intelligent and inlluential of the Yankton Indians expressed in their 
 
speeches a strong desire to aid the C'hurcli and tho Government in civil- 
 iiiwj their roving wild brethren. They said that visits were constantly 
 made by such to the Yankton Reservation, but those who were liostilc to 
 the Government, finding the Indians on Reservations poorer and less 
 independent than themselves, see no inducement to abandon their 
 wild life. The Yanktons say, when wo get cattle and farms we can con- 
 vince tho wild men and their wives that a settled life is better than a 
 roving one. There is not half as much arable land on the entire Yank- 
 ton Reservation as each Indian could get by leaving his tribe and becom- 
 ing a citizen ; still, there is an unlimited extent of high prairie well 
 suited to docks and herds. 
 
 Our exit from tho Yankton Reservation was as rcplett; with in- 
 terest as our entrance. Andrew Botin, tho fii-st adult baptized by our 
 Y'ankton Missionary, met us with a deputation of his neighboi-s, six miles 
 below the centi-al Chapel. They plead successfully for a school-house to 
 be built there, stating that education is tho only hope for their children. 
 We promised to collect money immediately, and erect a school-house on 
 tlie site they had selected. 
 
 "When we reached the lower end of the Resert'ation, occupied liy 
 ^lad Bull's Band, that once impetuous chief was waiting our arrival 
 at the Chapel, which he had aided in building. The bell was mug 
 and all his people were assembled in the Church to meet us. After 
 religious service in their own language, by the Rev. ^Mr. Hinman, 
 and "our addresses through an interpreter. Mad Bull asked his 
 young Christian men to speak for him, which they did humbly but earn- 
 estly. They said that all tho people attended Church, and that the 
 chiUh'en went to school except during planting season. They also truly 
 said that this band of Indians is sober, although a whiskey rancheis with- 
 in fifty yards of their Reservation. ^Mr. Robinson, their white teacher, who 
 lives in the Mission House adjoiuing tho Chapel, testifies to the sobriety 
 and industry of these Indians. As we left the Yankton Reser\-ation, 
 ^lad Bull accompanied mo in a walk to all the fields and pat<hes under 
 cultivation, that I might see the work of his people. Their little herd is 
 allowed to increase from year to year, for they do not kill any of them. 
 Mad Bull's son, who had for a little season yielded to temptation, was 
 silent in the Church, but privately handed a letter to the Rev. Mr. 
 Hinman. He said that he had learned by sad experience that there were 
 many sloughs in the Christian's pathway, and that through carelessness 
 he had been mired for a little season in ouo of them, and meant to be 
 
18 
 
 more watchful in the future. A "sun-dance" had been held on the 
 Yankton Reservation a few days before we reached it, but at the request 
 of the Agent, every barbarous practice had been omitted. If the arrange- 
 ments had not been fully made before it was known to the Agent, I 
 think out of respect to him it would have been discontinued. Much 
 credit is due to the Rev. John P. Williamson, Jr., a model Missionaiy of 
 the Presbyterian Church, who also has wrought a great work at this 
 Agency. 
 
 SANTEE SIOUX. 
 
 This tribe of Indians, being in the State of Nebraska, is included in 
 the Suiierintendency which President Grant gave to one of the Societies 
 of Fi-iends. They nominate and supervise the Superintendent and the 
 Agents, for the Santee Sioux, Omaha, Winnebago, Pawnee, Otoe, and 
 other Indians. 
 
 The Episcopal Church and the American Board of Commissioners had 
 Missionaries with these Santee Sioux, in Minnesota, before they were 
 in a measure drawn into the massacre of 18G2. The chiefs who had been 
 influenced by Christianity, performed important services by delivering 
 up hundreds of white prisoners taken by the hostile Indians. This tribe, 
 after having been protected at Fort Snelling, was taken to Crow Creek, 
 and starved there, as is alleged and believed, by the frauds and neglect of 
 those to whose care they were entrusted by the Government. They were 
 at length located on their present Reservation, and after unjustifiable de- 
 lays, are now being settled on farms of 80 acres, allotted to each family. 
 Those who knew these Indians when in Minnesota, and have recently vis- 
 ited them, are amazed at what God hath wrought. Then blood-thirsty and 
 vindictive, and abounding in superstitious rites ; now thoroughly peace- 
 ful, industrious and thrifty ; each family owning a log house built wholly 
 or in part with their own hands. They are clothed like other civilized 
 people ; nearly all of them read and write in their own language and 
 many speak English. A verv few Indian policemen, mainly used in pro- 
 tecting their Reservation from bad whites, preserve perfect order in this 
 community. Houses are unlocked, carpenters and other mechanics leave 
 vailuable tools out during the night, and, as they testify, without losing 
 one of them. I know of no community of whites, comprising the same 
 number, in any one district, as industrious, as moral, and as religious as 
 the Santee Sioux of Nebraska. The Rev. S. D. Hiuman, our Missionary, 
 has the best organized congregation that I have ever known in any com- 
 munity. He is assisted by a most devoted Indian Presbyter, two Indian 
 
19 
 
 Deacons and a largo body of earnest catochists, both men ancl women. 
 We wore present at his weekly meeting, c-oniposed of catecliists and other 
 young men, whom they had drawn tlicre for instruction. The catei;liists 
 subsequently asked for a separate interview, speaking through Josej)!! 
 Wabasha, the son and heir of the head chief anrl a devout and exemplary 
 Christian, lie is also a skillful and industrious mechanic and agriculturist. 
 Si)eaking for his fellow catechists, he manifested deep gnititude for what 
 had been done for his tribe, and promised the assistance of the young 
 men in carrying the blessing of Christianity from house to house and 
 heart to heart. This band oi catechists is detailed to watch over the 
 weak, the tempted, the erring and the sick, and they do it systematically 
 and elTectually in their various districts. 
 
 The older Christians also sought an interview and manifested like 
 gratitude. At this memorable conference, Wabasha, the head chief, con- 
 fessed that if the tribe had listened to the good advice given by their 
 Great Father, when it was in Minnesota, instead of persisting, as the 
 Santec then did, in their wicked and foolish way.s, they would have been 
 saved from much misery, and would long since have been brought into 
 the happy way in which they are now so peacefully walking. They have 
 been so often driven from their homes by the rapacity of the whites, that 
 although they now have full faith in Christians, there is a little lingering 
 apprehension that the present state of things will not always continue. 
 They said that some of their white neighbors had assured them that the 
 pci>ple of Nebraska meant to drive them out of the State as soon as the 
 ground they now occupy was wanted by white settlers. I assured them 
 that the day of such wi'ong and oppression to the Indian had pas.sed, 
 never to return. That in my opinion any Indian who takes an allotment 
 of land on their own Reservation, builds a house, occupies it, cultivates 
 the soil, will have a title as secure as that of any white man. I said tliat 
 this kind of title had been confirmed by the Supreme f'ourt and acknowl- 
 edged by the great Council of our Nation as well as by its Chief Magi.s- 
 trate. I further comforted these Indi.-vns with the assurance tliat in con- 
 nection with our Church there are eminent lawyers prepared to <lefend to 
 the uttennost the just title of the Indian to his laml. This rea.ssuranco 
 was needed, for some of their people had feared to jmt valuable improve- 
 raents on their land lest, as hitherto, it might be taken from them. 
 
 Mr. Webster, their excellent Agent, Iwgged me to look into the state 
 of their accounts with the Government, and, if possible, to procr.re for 
 them the implements and cattle they now need to make them iudepeu- 
 
20 
 
 deut and productive citizens. A Church, a Mission-house and a commo- 
 dious Hospital were utterly destroyed by a fearful whirlwind two years 
 since. All but the hospital have been rebuilt of more durable materials, 
 and are still larger and more beautiful than the first. 
 
 These Indians realize that Christianity has lifted them from degrada- 
 tion, and therefore venerate their Churches much as the Jews did their 
 Temple at Jerusalem. Nowhere else have I ever seen as reverent w^or- 
 ship. On Sunday the children and adults filled the Church at 9 o'clock, 
 and at 10^ o'clock it was again full for the regular morning service, the 
 congregation uniting in the responses, and in chanting and singing. 
 The choristers, comprising young men as well as boys, meet weekly for 
 pi-actice, and on Sunday occupy the choir adjoining the chancel. There 
 was no levity among them ; indeed, they seemed to sing with the "spirit 
 as well as the understanding." The musical portion of these services 
 seems especially attractive, serving to attune these Indians for spiritual 
 worship. There sat Paixl Mazakute, the Indian Presbyter, who, though 
 failing in health, tells incessantly at a mission station, by deeds and 
 words, of Jesus and His salvation. Those who understand the Dakota 
 language say there are few better preachers, and none who manifest 
 more beautifully the spirit of their Lord. Near him was the Deacon, 
 Christian Taopi, so far wasted by a pulmonary affection as to look like 
 one on the very borders of what he calls "my other home." One of his 
 eyes is disfigured by a wound received on the war-path when a mere 
 stripling, hence his name Taopi, "wounded man." His minister and 
 co-workers testify that they never saw a more holy, zealous and uni- 
 formly consistent Christian. You may well suppose that every nerve 
 within us thrilled as we partook of the Lord's Supper, kneeling side by 
 side with Indians who were once the fiercest warriors, or the most super- 
 stitious medicine men, now humble, consistent and devoted Christians, 
 with the respect and confidence of all the whites and Indians who know 
 them. In this Church there are nearly three hundred communicants, 
 although the tribe numbers but nine hundred of all ages, and there is 
 another Mission connected with the American Board. To give com- 
 pleteness to their organization, the catechists and the Christian chiefs 
 modestly, but earnestly, asked that another Hospital might be built, in 
 which their sick and injured could be properly cared for, and freed from 
 quackery and the superstitious rites still secretly practiced by one or two 
 old medicine men. AVe will try to comply with their request this season, 
 and also to found a Boarding-school for girls, that we may have native 
 
21 
 
 women teachers and suilable wives for the younj; men of the various 
 Sioux tribes who are bt in;; thoroui^hly cdueated. (tirls, more timid 
 than boys, and havinj; fewer opi)ort unities of being with English-si)eak- 
 ing people, seldom acquire our language. Experience has demonstrated 
 that it is better to liavo a boarding-school for girls in the Indian country, 
 than to send them where they are likely to acquire tastes and habits 
 whicli will unlit them for living with their families. Mrs. Ilinman and 
 the other zealous teachers and ministering women connected with this 
 Mission, deserve high commondation for their intelligent and .sympathiz- 
 ing labors. 
 
 THE POXK.V INDIANS. 
 
 Wben I first visited the Ponkas, nearly two years since, they interested 
 me deeply, being well nigh in -a starving condition, because they were too 
 peaceable to awaken the fer.rs of the nation, and the Govemmcnt had 
 not then adopted this principle of equity which is now very generally 
 received: "Wlien a civilized people deprive the uncivilized possessors 
 of the soil, of their food and clothing, bountifully provided for them by 
 their Creator, the civilized people arc bound to subsist and clothe the un- 
 civilized until they can be made self-supporting." The hunting-grounds 
 of the Ponkas had been circumscribed, and their game destroyed or 
 driven beyond their reach ; whilst raising Indian com in a rude way was 
 the only means of subsistence known to them, and on this article of diet 
 alone no human being can lioalthfully subsist. 
 
 At my first visit their cops had failed from excessive drought, and 
 they were tantalized by seeing great herds of cattle, intended to feed the 
 wild hostile Sioux, pass tlirough their Reservation, even eating their 
 grass. Steamboat loads of pork and flour, coffee, sugar and tobacco, 
 with an abundance of clothing, passed by them up the Missouri for the 
 same destination. The Sioux thus fed and clothed were in the constant 
 habit of making raids on the Ponkas, stealing their horses, destroying 
 their crops, and killing their people when found away from their village. 
 "When I asked if tliey would like to take the first and most important step 
 toward civilization, by having their land surveyed and allotted to them 
 in separate farms, they .said: "This is impossible until we can be pro- 
 tected in accordance with a .stipulation in our treatj*." That stipulation 
 is to this day virtually a dead letter, for the murder of peaceful Indians 
 on such Reservations is not dealt with as it would be if the same Indians 
 attacked a settlement of whites. It is high time that this treaty stipula- 
 
22 
 
 tion should be observed, and I feel confident that you will give your pow- 
 erful aid in bringing this about. 
 
 All the experienced ai*niy officers with whom I have conversed think 
 the civilization of the Indian is impossible, unless, when he puts himself 
 under the care of the Government and stays on the Reservation, he is 
 well fed, and as fully jjrotected as his vphite neighbor. These raids on 
 the Ponkas continue to this time. Two months since a raiding party 
 from one of the wild camps connected with the Upper Brvile Siovix came 
 through Nebraska, and made a descent on the Ponkas. They killed and 
 scalped, and otherwise mutilated one of the Ponkas, who had ventured a 
 mile or two from the village in search of his horse. The whole tribe then 
 rallied and pursvied them, but they could not bring them within range of 
 their bows and arrows, and other imperfect implements of defence. In 
 their grief, some of them sent an appeal to be allowed to join the Omalias, 
 of Nebraska, as they speak the same language and have a common de- 
 scent. All, however, united in an urgent request that Mrs. Stanforth, 
 the mother of our Missionary, and, as the Indians say, their mother, 
 would in person take to me their appeal for arms, to enable them the 
 more effectually to resist these attacks. They sent by her not only the 
 scalping-knife with which their brother was mutilated, but also one of 
 the balls and a copper cartridge-shell, to show that the attacking party 
 had breech-loading guns, of long range and accurate aim. During your 
 absence, I visited "Washington, and after conference with the Commis- 
 sioner of Indian Affairs, I obtained an order for arms from the Secretary 
 of War, at the request of the acting Secretary of the Interior. Through 
 the courtesy of Lieut.-Col. Otis, of Fort Randall, the Ponkas have about 
 half the requisite number of guns. On the 14th of June, before the arms 
 had been received, another war party of the Sioux made a descent upon 
 the Reservation. This party had been seen by Major Sweitzer, of Ne- 
 braska, and fiill particulars given to Gen. Ord, at Omaha, the Comman- 
 der of the Division of the Platte. He reported sixty-seven Ogallalla and 
 Upper Brule warriors, well mounted, and many of them armed with breech- 
 loading guns. Both of these expeditions foraged upon and were fed by 
 the people of Nebraska, who were told that it was only an expedition 
 against Indians, and not whites. This second attack was made just as 
 the steamboat Peniuah made a landing, and drew the attention of the 
 people to the river front. Fortunately the Sioux were discovered just 
 as they slid from their horses to crawl through the long grass. The alarm 
 was given, and Lieut. Smith, with his party of twenty-four unmounted 
 soldiers, did what he could for the defence of the Reservation. 
 
23 
 
 Tlio war spirit of tlio Ponkas was iiistaiifly roused, and their rhargo 
 was so impetuous, that oven with niiserahlr weapons they dnivi- tlie well 
 armed Sioux and OjjaUalla at all points, pnrsuin;^ them for more than 
 twenty miles,until they took cover in a dense wood. The Ponkas wounded 
 sonic two or three of the Sioux, as they were afterwards seen on travoys 
 (horse litters). Under such circumstances, you can well understand how 
 cordially we were welcomed by thia starving and persecuted i>cople, some 
 7o of whom, out of a population of 7:13, are suflerinj; frf>m scrofulous 
 diseases resulting; mainly, as the physicians testify, from insutTicient and 
 improper diet. The ajinouncement that u)ider the appropriation bill 
 which took etVcet on the Ih'st of the month, you ha<l it in your power to 
 feed them, was cheering indeed, for they believe me imi>lieitly. Yet, like 
 Jacob of old, their spirits will not fully revive until they see the wagons 
 laden with good things. The Ponkas have improved more than could 
 have been expected under the circumstances. They cidtivate the soil 
 and even use the largest plows, breaking the prairie sod as accurately as 
 any white fanner I have ever seen. I agreed with them and their Agent, 
 to dispense with the services of the white fanner, and to divide his salarj- 
 among three young Indian men who will be apprenticed to the black- 
 smith, the carpenter, and the mechanic who acts as engineer, and runs the 
 grist and saw mill. The Ponkas have not yet had the opportunity of 
 learning these trades, for they have been too poor to pay apprentices, as 
 is found necessary elsewhere to insure regularity, industiy and persever- 
 ance. Where this .system of paying apprentices has been fully tried, it 
 has resulted in protlucing good Indian mechanics. 
 
 In the Council the Ponkas spoke most highly of our Missionary and of 
 his mother, whom they call their mother, aud to whom they l<iok as to a 
 ministering angel. They touchingly alluded to her tears at the death of 
 their comrade, and when tiying to relieve their sick and suffering. 1 did not 
 wonder at this, when I saw a lady of refinement cleansing and anointing a 
 most loathsome scrofulous patient, and then providing nourishing food 
 for her and for others, who needed sustenance more than medical care. 
 Our ^Ii^sionary is trying to reduce their barbarous language to writing, 
 having already formed more than 5,000 words, 3,000 of them being verbs ; 
 many, however, have but a single tense. The schools composed of 
 adults anrl children arc prosperous, and as the Christian religion 
 came to this people in its most lovely garb, their superstitious prejudices 
 arc gradually melting away. We were not at the Ponka Resenation on 
 Sunday, but we witnessed a service of deep interest. A beautiful Church 
 
24 
 
 is in process of construction, and we appropriately inaugurated its ser- 
 vices by a baptism solemnized on a temporary floor laid over the joist. 
 Ten men, three women, and fifteen children were baptized, and two 
 women who had been privately baptized in infancy, made a public ac- 
 knowledgment of their Church membership. One of these men was so 
 strongly prejudiced against Christians, that at first he v/ould neither 
 speak to nor look at the Missionary. Loving acts, insensibly to himself, 
 were impressing his mind and heart, until he was constrained openly to 
 confess Christ. He now seems firm in his purpose, and from his intelli- 
 gence and earnestness he will, beyond doubt, strongly influence his fellows 
 for good. 
 
 Although the Ponkas were glad to hear that a sympathizing Secretary 
 of the Interior and Commissioner of Indian Affairs are now authorized 
 to feed them just as they had long fed their murderous enemies, and al- 
 though they were greatly relieved when guns were loaned to them for 
 defence, and were much pleased at the target-practice necessary to famil- 
 iarize them with the moveable sight graduated for long ranges, yet there 
 seemed to be hanging over them an unaccountable sadness which we 
 could not understand. 
 
 . Before leaving the Reservation we visited the village of the full-blooded 
 Indians on the banks of the Niobrara. These Indians begged for a sepa- 
 rate Council at which they portrayed piteously their inability to improve 
 in the ways of the white man, when in hourly dread lest the Sioux should 
 suddenly spring up and murder them, their wives and children. They 
 said: " How can we go to God's llouse with guns in our hands? We 
 love our Missionary and his mother, and want them to be our teachers 
 and guides wherever we are." They then said that the Omahas, their 
 brethren after the flesh, had offered to receive them and incorporate them 
 into their tribe and to exchange part of their Reservation for an equal 
 quantity of land belonging to the Ponkas. As the idea of thus getting a 
 peaceful home had taken complete possession of this half-starved and 
 long neglected people, it was in vain that we pictured to them their 
 beautiful land and the graves of their loved ones. 
 
 ]My companions having other engagements, went to Minnesota and to 
 "Wisconsin to visit our Indian Missions there. In fulfillment of a promise 
 to meet a delegation of Ponkas at the Omaha Reservation, I started for 
 Omaha City with the lady before referred to, and succeeded in inducing 
 Gen. Ord, Commander of the Platte Division, and Mr. Barclay White, 
 the Superintendent of Indian Agencies in Nebraska, to accompany me and 
 
25 
 
 be present at the confiTcnce between the Ponkas and tbo Omahas. The 
 Omaha ehiefs said that they frit (U-en synipatliy with tlii-ir snfluriujf 
 brethren, and that they woidd cordially weUonn- them nji the land mndi- 
 tionally sold to and oeeuiiii-d by tliL- Winnthauocs, if that tribe eonld be 
 removed from it. The elanse tt) which they referred is Art. .j, in the 
 Treaty of March (it h, 18l>."», readin^j thus: "Shoidd their location there 
 prove detrimental to the peace, quiet and hannony of the whites, as well 
 as of the two tribes of Indians, then the Omahas shall have the privilege 
 of repurchasinj; the land herein ceded, upon the same tenns they now 
 sell." The tract measures about 97,000 acres, and $.30,000 was the price 
 paid. The ;,'ronnd upon which the Omahas based their ri;,'ht to repur- 
 chase is, that the Winnebagos arc in the habit of stealing their horses, 
 although not of molesting or injuring the persons, or any other property 
 of the Omahas. It seems desirable that the Ponkas .shoulil be freed from 
 disheartening strife, and live jieaceably with their brethren where civil- 
 izing influences can be favorably exerted. Another reason that induced 
 me to give the subject a thorough investigation, was that by the Treaty of 
 18G8, known as the "Peace Commissioners Treat}"," the Government of 
 the United States solemnly conveyed to the ^^ioux Nation, the Reser\-a- 
 tion which belonged to and was in possession of the Ponka Indians at 
 the time the Treaty was made. As this may some time occasion a diffi- 
 culty, it appeared to me wise to seek for a remedy. 
 
 > We were much pleased with the Omahas and their worthy Agent, Dr. 
 E. Painter, who has been long and favorably known to me. Their Reser- 
 vation is the most desirable and fertile I have ever .seen. The Indians arc 
 making steady progress in education and in industrial ])ursuits. The 
 white carpenter, shoemaker, and other mechanics, speak well of their 
 Indian apprentices and assistants, who receive liberal wages. 
 
 Gen. Ord and Superintendent White then accompanied me to the 
 Winnebago Reservation, contiguous to that of the Omahas, and twenty- 
 four tniles below Sioux City, on the west bank of the Missouri River. We 
 were all much pleased with the Agent, a son of Superintend«'nt ANTiite, 
 and with the teachers, employees and Indians lUKlcr his charge. The 
 Wiimebagoes are certainly more attractive in their appearance and man- 
 ners than any large body of Indians I have ever .seen. Roth here an<l on 
 the On\aha Resers-ation, the Indi.ins are steadily increasing in industry 
 and in the intelligent cultivation of the soil. They arc thorou:,'hly peace- 
 able, are not comjilained of by their white neii^hbors and when they can 
 get a supi>ly of cattle and agricultural appliances, they will soon become 
 4 
 
26 
 
 productive citizens. This time will soon arrive -witli the Omahas ; as to 
 enable them to stock their farms, &c., they have have just been author- 
 ized to sell to white settlers 50,000 acres of their land under restrictions 
 that will insvire a fair sale. On minute inquiry, we found that the 
 Omahas had no sufficient cause of complaint against the AVinnebagoes, 
 to warrant the contemplated pui'chase. The Winnebagoes have occupied 
 the land for seven years and improved it, and the United States has 
 erected mills and other buildings at large cost; therefore a repurchase is 
 not likely to be allowed unless for flagrant and continued wrong doing. 
 . As far as we could learn, the horse-stealing is mainly, and perhaps 
 solely chargeable to the Winnebagoes of Wisconsin, who use up their 
 ponies in visiting their relatives in Nebraska and then replenish their 
 stock from an adjoining tribe. Indians of the same tribe rarely steal from 
 each other. The difficulty complained of by the Omahas has no doubt 
 been amicably adjusted at a Council which was to be held two days after 
 I left there, at which Superintendent White, the two Agents, and selected 
 men from the Omahas and Winnebagoes were to meet for the purpose of 
 making some equitable arrangement. 
 
 It appeared that the offer made to the Poukas for an exchange of land with 
 the Omahas was wholly without warrant, therefore the Ponkas are likely 
 to remain on their Reservation, and should be defended from all attacking 
 parties in accordance with a stipulation in their Treaty. At a conference 
 with Lieut. -Gen. Sheridan, at Chicago, on the 2d inst., he expressed deep 
 sympathy with the Ponkas and with all other peaceable Indians who are 
 on their Reservations. As the usual route of the Ogallalla and Upper Brule 
 Sioux, when on the war-path, is through Nebraska, Gen. Ord will watch 
 for them in that direction, and Lieut.-Gen. Sheridan promised to direct 
 Gen. Hancock, who is charged with the defence of Dakota to cooperate 
 with him, that the Ponkas may be thoroughly protected on both sides of 
 their Reservation and all attacking war parties punished. 
 
 In dictating this detailed sketch of my visitation, without not&s or 
 memoranda of any kind, I have presumed on your philanthropic dispo- 
 sition towards the Indians, and the great gravity of the subject which at 
 this time is being dragged into the arena of politics. The merciful policy 
 towards the Indians, inaugurated and persistently followed up by Presi- 
 dent Grant, meets with the universal favor of all right-minded . people 
 vrith whom I have been brought into contact. It is not to be forgotten, 
 however, that many persons are still skeptical of "Indian Civilization and 
 Christianization," owing to strong prejudices against the red man, or 
 
27 
 
 because they have fnily si'cii Indians corrupted by contact with bad 
 w liitcs. St) far as I may be viewed as ;i rifdible eye-witiiess, tlics*; d«.>tail.H 
 must remove some prejudice and inspire hopefulness, and i\u> rea<lily 
 accounts for the character of this report. Another rca«ou for extending 
 this report is, that an organized opposition to the present Administ.ration 
 is being formed in our frontier States and Territories, bcaiusc the Pre.si- 
 deut has phiced the hvrgo appropriations for Indians beyond tho reach of 
 the dishonest men who chiim this patronage as their right. Powerful 
 combinations, formed to dispossess Indians of their lands, having been 
 foiled by President Grant, are using money and intlucneo to create a di- 
 vision in the Republican party. Sucli men, and the papers under their 
 contiol, pronounce tho President's Indian policy a failure; lience the im- 
 portance of publislung tho testimony of credible eye-witnesses, who 
 neither hold nor desire any office under the Government, and do not re- 
 ceive honor or prolit from it. When an Administration is traduced for 
 its noblest and most merciful act, it suiely behooves every good citizen to 
 lend his testimony to the truth. The following editorial was written by 
 the man who w;vs prevented by President Grant from leading a land- 
 stealing party into tho great Sioux Reservation, with the avowed design 
 of robbing the Indian of rights guaranteed to him by solemn treaty. 
 The editor of the Western paper in which it appeared brought it to the 
 hotel, and had tha article marked and sent to my room. If a private 
 citizen, who pays his own expenses and does not disburse a dollar of tho 
 public money, is thus villilicd, tho abuse heaped upou men in ottice may 
 be imagined ; 
 
 "William Welsh, a distinguished member of the Indian ring, and a 
 disburser of a large .share of the religious .stealings and patronage con- 
 nected with the management of Indian Atiixire on the Upi)er Missouri, is 
 trying to bolster up the interests he represents by writing hypocritical 
 Icttera in the name of religion, in favor of Indians, to Western newspa- 
 pei-s. Whenever you hear a fellow connect the name of either religion, 
 honesty or philantlu'opy with the Indian government on the Upiwr 3Iis- 
 .souri, he can safely be put down as a religiously-washed thief." ''The 
 , election of Horace Greeley will purge the Indian Department of its putrid 
 idcers. ' ' 
 
 I was truly thankful for this editorial, as it enabled me to realize the 
 designs of some of the men who -ire striving to divide the Republican 
 party. It is duo to some of the Western Democratic paiHjrs to state tliftt 
 
28 
 
 their justice to the present Administration in its merciful Indian policy 
 is in striking contrast with some of the so-called Republican papers. 
 
 It also aifords me pleasure to testify to the noble conduct of prominent 
 members of the Democratic party, Senators, Representatives, editors, and 
 other distinguished and merciful men, and to thank them for their ofiicial 
 support in the small share that has been allotted to me of the great -work 
 of dealing justly with the aborigines of this land. Indians were cheered 
 when I told them that President Grant had been renominated, and a 
 "Vice President who also will deal justly and riiercifully with Indians 
 under all circumstances, 
 
 I cannot close this report without asking that the consideration of the 
 Indian Office and of the Department of the Interior, and so far as it may 
 be necessary, of the President of the United States, be given to the fol- 
 lowing subjects of practical importance to the Indians and to the various 
 religious bodies called upon to aid in civilizing them: 
 
 1. NOKXn PACIFIC RAILr.OAD. 
 
 This subject is of such grave moment, requiring such a combination of 
 Governmental power and intelligent jihilanthropic consideration, that I 
 suggest the aiDpointment of a Commission, comprising Officers of the 
 Army, of the Railroad, and men of intelligence, who have the confidence 
 of Indians and can properly represent their interests. Ik- 
 
 As I desire to sj^eak without restraint, I will state that no member of 
 my family or of my mercantile firm, has either directly or indirectly any 
 interest in the Xorth Pacific Railroad, or its branches, or lands, or in the 
 country which it is likely to open up. Being somewhat familiar with the 
 subject, I am now free to state that I know of no modern enterprise so 
 important to this country as the North Pacific Railroad. I do not refer 
 to the road as a continuance of the great natural .highway through the 
 northern lakes, or of its importance in developing the mineral and agri- 
 cultural resources of a vast country otherwise valueless, or of its value 
 as a highway to the territories on the northwestern extremity of this 
 country, great as these are. I desire now to consider this railway as a 
 military necessity, enabling the War Department to bring the lawless In- 
 dians of the North into siibjection, and thus to aid effectively the religious 
 bodies charged with bringing Christian civilization to bear ui)on the 
 Northern Indians. This gives the road a national importance, and should 
 induce all who will be assisted by it in the great work of civilizing the 
 aborigines, to aid in removing difficulties which may otherwise retard its 
 
29 
 
 projjrcss. To soiiu* i)arts of tin? land ti-avorsod l)y this ioa<l, Indians 
 liavo natural ri^^hts, and to otlirrs tn-aty stiimlations, that white men 
 sliall not i>ass tiuouLjh or sfttlo on the land, without the i>cnius.sion of 
 the Indian tribes havin;^' been lirst obtained. It is probable that all lic- 
 lieve that this road, with its benclieial and civilizing intluenccs, should 
 III >t be delayed in its eonstruction because a barbarous jKioplc desire to 
 roam undisturbed, or to procure from large tracts of fertile laud susten- 
 ance and clothing. It is, however, clear that the jxissessors of the soil 
 have eiiuities which should be intelligently determined and liljcrally paid 
 for by the Government. If a largo military force is placed in that re- 
 gion, and the eciuitics of the Indians arc fairly considered, I do not anti- 
 cipate either trouble or delay in the construction of the ro.id. Ilcnce, in 
 myjudgnient. the importance of a Commission such as that now suggested. 
 I was appealed to in regard to this road, in councils and in private con- 
 ferences wit ii Indians, to whom I promised that the subject should receive 
 consideration. 
 
 Speaking with Indians as their friend, without being connected with 
 the Government or the road, I assured them that nothing coulil prevent 
 its completion, unless it was a power that could hinder the sun from 
 shining or the clouds from giving rain, I told them tliat their Great 
 Father in AVashington had not power enough to prevent the railroad 
 from being made, even if he desired it, but that I felt sure he would not 
 allow any rights of the Indians to be trampled upon, as he was their 
 avowed iVicnd. I told them that wise men would this .season confer with 
 some of the Indian tribes on the subject, and if they had any just claims, 
 I was conlldent that such would be properly considered and settled, 
 unless there was an attempt on the part of Indians to resist the Govern- 
 ment. The Indians on Reservations can, to a certain extent, intluence 
 those who are roving, but the presence of a large military pt)wer can 
 alone insure peace. 
 
 Although the Indian is trained from his youth to self-sacrifice, and to 
 stoical endurance when in captivity, yet he has quite as much regard for 
 his personal .safety as any other man. Bringing Indians to Washington, 
 who are resistant of authority, seems to work a mighty change in them, 
 as they realise the futility of resisting the power of the white man. Dr. 
 Daniels, in a letter to me dated the 1st instant, speaks most encourag- 
 ingly of the pacilic intluence and civilizing efTect of their visit upon tho 
 Indian chiefs wlumi he lately brought to Wa.shington. If this system 
 is extended, the Government can get allies that will insure a peaceful 
 
30 
 
 continuance of the North Pacific Raih-oad, especially as the officers of 
 the road have entered into an agreement to befriend Indians by giving 
 them a preference in furnishing supplies, and in the transportation of 
 merchandise. 
 
 2. WHISKEY TRAFFIC ON THE MISSOURI. 
 
 Allow me to ask, through you, that officers of the army in that region 
 be directed to prevent the landing of whiskey on or near Indian Reser- 
 vations. The influx of low whites to the line of the railroad is well cal- 
 culated to aggravate Indians ; therefore, at this time it is especially im- 
 portant that the existing trade in whiskey should be stopped. It may 
 become necessary to declare all that region Indian Country, and for a 
 time to allow no traffic of any kind, except through licensed traders, 
 who have too much at stake to violate the severe existing laws. A mili- 
 tary commander can suppress this illegal traffic by a very summary pvo- 
 cess, whilst appeals to territorial courts have thus far presented little 
 obstacle to it. Messrs. Durfee & Peck, the principal steamboat owners 
 on the Missouri River, being urgent for the destruction of the whiskey 
 traffic, write thus to me, under date of the 29th ult. : ' ' The crews and, 
 at times, the officers of our own boats, smuggle whiskey on board to 
 trade to soldiers and Indians. To our own knowledge, whiskey has 
 been sold to Indians on Reservations put up in tin fruit cans, labelled 
 and i^urporting to be peaches, tomatoes, &c. We have known bottles of 
 whiskey tied to a fishing line and dropped overboard at night to float to a 
 given point below the boat, where the dealer sold the liquor to Indians 
 and soldiers." 
 
 If, as I suppose, the treaty made by the Peace Commissioners indicates 
 the eastern bank of the Missouri as the boundary of the Indian Reserva- 
 tion, your control is, I presume, complete. 
 
 3. INDIANS ON THE WAR-PATH. 
 
 Allow me to suggest that notice be given, through all Indian Agents, 
 that hereafter Indians who go on war parties against other Indians 
 located on Reservations, shall receive the same treatment as if attacking 
 white persons, and that Army Officers be directed to carry this order into 
 effect. This notice should also extend to horse-stealing parties, as that 
 is often the avowed intention of war parties, and the life of Indians is 
 always taken when they attempt to thwart horse thieves. It is vain to 
 try to make industrious, self-supporting citizens of the Pawnees, the 
 Ponkas, the Arickarees, and other peaceable Indians, who are subject to 
 
31 
 
 raids from tlio Sioux, unless those war pnrtics can be effectually stopped. 
 I have already spoken at lenjjtli about the effect of war i)artiis on tlio 
 Ponkas, and ^Ir. Barclay White, tho Superintendent of Indian Affairs in 
 Nebraska, writes thus to nie, under date of the '2Sth ult. : " Allottncnts of 
 land in severalty have been made to tho Skider banil of Pawnee Indians, 
 but they aro pi-cvcntcd from moving their families on the said allotments 
 for fear of raidiuj; i>arties from the Brule and ();,'a!lalla bands of Sioux. 
 Two such raids were made during ISTl. In tho lirst, three squaws work- 
 ing in a corn-field, were murdered, an<l the last resulted in tho death of 
 two school-boys. If these raids could bo stopped, the Pawnees would 
 turn their attention to agriculture, and I believe the raids to be the great- 
 est impediment to their progress in civilization." I tioist tl»at this sub- 
 ject will receive yoiu* prompt consideration. 
 
 4. 1XDI.VX3 ox nuxTixa pauties. 
 I ask you to consider the propriety of disallowing, as soon as may bo, 
 the customary biennial hunt, now made under authority from your ofBce. 
 "Where Indians are supplied with animal food, clothing and shoes, there 
 is no necessity for their hunting, whilst it promotes vagrancy, and tribal 
 animosity, and hinders them from making material progress in agriculture 
 or the mechanic arts. Intelligent Anny Oflicers and Agents are of the 
 opinion that it costs less to the pcoiilc to feed Indians on their Resena- 
 tions until they can be incited to self-support, than to allow them to go 
 on hunting parties. The rights of tlie frontier settler should no longer bo 
 invaded and his larder emptied by these wandering Arabs, whose appetite 
 he does not like to refuse to satisfy. Tho hardy pioneers of civilization 
 complain sadly of these hunting parties, and Army OflBcers find it very 
 diflicult to determine between them and a war party. Last week when 
 I was on the Omaha Reservation, I learned that those' Indians had pretty 
 much concluded that they would not make up a hunting party after this 
 summer as their homo interests sulVer thereby. Agents often i)revent 
 Iiulians from starting on the summer hunt luitil after the second hoeing 
 of their corn, and even then the crop yields little in very dry weather 
 because the surfixcc of tho ground is not regularly stirred. 
 
 5. KEEPIKG IXDI.\XS ON UESERVATIOXS. 
 
 Please restrain Indian Agents from issuing rations, except under ex- 
 traordinary circumstances, to Indians who are not recorded as belonging 
 to that Reservation, or to those who leave it without the pennis.sion of 
 the Agent. All Indians ou Reservations should be notified that after the 
 
32 
 
 issue of tliis order they can only draw rations on tiie Reservation where 
 their names are registered, unless they have a written certificate from 
 their Agent stating the time for which he authorizes their absence, the 
 object they have in leaving, and the number of rations he has issued 
 when they started on their journey. If Indians are to become self-sup- 
 porting, or settled tillers of the soil, their migratory habits must be 
 checked. They now occasionally draw a week's rations at one place and 
 then visit other Agencies and draw in like manner. After the distribu- 
 tion of annuity goods, Indians usually scatter and often barter or sell 
 their clothing tlirovigh improvidence. It will be well, therefore, that such 
 Indians be notified that clothing is furnished for individual use, and, if 
 sold, the Agent will be restrained from giving them a supply the coming 
 season. 
 
 6. RATIONS TO FAMILIES AND NOT TO BANDS. 
 
 I ask that an order be issued obliging Indian Agents within sixty days 
 after the receipt of the direction, to issu.e rations to families and not to 
 bands, as is commonly practiced. Congress has decreed that no more 
 Treaties shall be made with Indians, having in view the importance of 
 dissolving their tribal relation and preparing them for citizenship. 
 Hitherto Superintendents, Agents, and Commissioners appointed to treat 
 with Indians, have found it easier to bribe chiefs than to deal with the 
 great body of the Indians. This practice is so injurious in many ways 
 that it should be stopped. Indians have in most cases lost confidence in 
 their chiefs, and they do not hesitate in their presence to declare that 
 they have accepted bribes to induce them to sign dishonest treaties. 
 The head soldiers, or as in some cases the "soldiers' lodges," hold the 
 power, except where rations are issued to the chief and distributed by him. 
 This feeding power gives the chief undue influence and he often favors 
 certain members of his band and neglects the superannuated, the widow, 
 and the orphan. The distribution of rations to families has been tried 
 on some Resei'vations, and in spite of the opposition of chiefs, it works 
 admirably and economically, as the number in each family is counted, 
 issue-cards are given, separate days appointed for the different bands 
 and the cards are punched at each issue, therefore, fraud is impossible. 
 On one Reservation of 2,000 Indians, one issue-clerk suffices, as he can 
 weigh and deliver all the rations during the six days of the week. The 
 slight addition of expense is saved by avoiding frauds, and the benefits 
 of the system in other ways are incalculable. It is important that the 
 order should be issued at Washington, for all Agents have not that 
 
33 
 
 peculiar power of controlling savago nifii. tliat will warrant thoir ha/.ani- 
 ing tho enmity of the chiefs. 
 
 7. UATIONS DECnKASKI) TO THK IDLK. 
 
 Where rations other than beef and (lour, the neces&irics of lift", an- 
 issued, it is high time that tho Agents bo directed to give notice that in 
 six months after the issue of this order, rations of pork, sugar, eoft'ec 
 tobacco, etc., or indeed any extra ration.s, shall cease, in the case of each 
 man who does not in iwrson, and in a manner .satisfactory to tho Agent, 
 culti%ate the .soil or engage in some other i)roductive industiy. As Indians 
 have said that they saw no occasion to work, being satisfactorily fed with- 
 out it, such an order is necessary, and Agents have not the authority, 
 neither would it bo wise for them to issue it. Such a stinnilus to industry 
 is found necessary with white people ; and it is much more important 
 with Indians who have a hereditary belief that the war-path alone ennobles, 
 and labor degrades. This proposal will not violate any Treaty stipulation, 
 as the articles proposed to be withheld from indolent Indians are gratuities. 
 
 8. RATIONS rPi;n to ruo.MOTE iiDriATioN. 
 
 Compulsory education has wrought great benefits in States and in 
 kingdoms even where there is a reasonable ambition for education, an«l 
 children are subjected to parental control. The native American is still 
 a child of nature, caring little for what we temi education, and his chil- 
 dren are allowed to develop naturally, being rarely subjected to authority. 
 Under such circumstances Governmental schools have generally failed in 
 their purpose, and although many Mission schools are successful, yet 
 they are too costly, because clothing, food, or other things must 
 often be given to children to induce them to attend with regularity. 
 Fortunately in the great Sioux treaty of 1808, there is an obligation on 
 the part of the Indians to send their children to school. I projMj.so that 
 an order bo issued to take effect on the 1st day of July, 1873, that no 
 rations be Issued to Indian children between tho ages of eight anti eigli- 
 teen, who reside within a reasonable distance of a suitable school, unless 
 they produce acertilicate from the teacher that they have attended school 
 not less than six months during tho preceding year, and have conducted 
 themselves with propriety. 
 
 9. STUIPriNG THE nocsE OP Mounxixc. 
 In many of the Indian trilH>s, as soon as the death of any memln'r of a 
 family is announced, their uoighboi-s consider it a religious duty to pro- 
 
34 
 
 mote proper sorrow by taking every moveable thing away from the 
 house or tent, leaving the inmates old, tattered garments. At the 
 death of a child parents are subjected by their neighbors to this process, 
 and even the widow and the orphan are completely stripped and left in a 
 most pitiable condition. This custom discourages Indians from accumu- 
 lating moveable property, therefore I ask that an order be issued to the 
 Indians on Reservations to discontinue the practice, and to the Agents to 
 restore the property so taken to its former owner, with the aid of military 
 force, if necessary. Our Missionaries have, in many cases, induced the 
 afflicted family successfully to resist tliis encroachment upon their rights, 
 but it subjects the Indian to an opprobrium from which the Government 
 should try to screen him. Indians cannot become traders until this 
 custom is discontinued. 
 
 10. TITLE TO FARMS. 
 
 Indians on some of the Reservations where their land has been sur- 
 veyed and farms given to families or individuals, are discouraged from 
 making valuable improvements because of some ambiguity in the form 
 of certificate issued, showing an uncertainty in their title. Superintend- 
 ents and Indian Agents desire to be able to assure the Indians that they 
 are the bona fide owners of the land allotted to them, therefore allow me 
 to suggest that the law officers of the Government be called on to prepare 
 satisfactory title deeds, or to indicate the form of legislation that may be 
 necessary. At the Cheyenne Agency some of the best Indians, with the 
 view of greater security from the visits of hostiles, have located on the 
 east bank of the Missouri River, near Fort Sully. In fulfillment of a 
 promise made to the Commander of that Fort, I ask that, if possible, a 
 title to farms may be given to such Indians ; for white settlers are never 
 likely to need this land, owing to the absence of rain. Indeed it is averred 
 that no white man has been able to support himself in that I'egiou, un- 
 less he was a thief or kept a whiskey ranche. This sweeping assertion, 
 made by the most intelligent people in that neighboi-hood, is not applica- 
 ble to a few wood-choppers located in the timber on the banks of the 
 Missouri. 
 
 11. CATTLE FOR BREEDINa. 
 
 So much has already been said on this subject in my report, that i 
 merely refer to it as one of the subjects which should receive immediate 
 consideration. I am sure that you agree with me in the necessity for such 
 an encouragement to Indians who are prejjared for the movement, and 
 
35 
 
 desire to beooine self-siipportinj; ; :iiiil if fiicre is any luicxpended balance 
 from last year's appropriation, you will uo doubt, so far as authorized, 
 contract for the delivery i>f suitable cattle. 
 
 12. TRADEKS ON HESF:UVATI0NS. 
 
 When the patronage of the Indian Office was allowed to political parti- 
 sans a competition among traders could not be expected. Now that n«> 
 person is allowed on the Reservation who is deemeil uusiiitable by the 
 Agent, that difficulty no longer exists, and it is desirable that the Indian 
 be able to effect his sales and make his purchases on as favorable terms 
 as his white neighbors. The Indians frequently conii»laiued to me that 
 the old system had not yet fully passed away. The f)ld habit of paying in 
 trade a high nominal price for peltries, and charging exorbitant prices 
 for merchandise, is dissatisfying and discouraging to the cash pur- 
 chaser. The trader cainiot have two prices without dissatisfying the 
 Indian, who therefore gets so little for his money, that he charges exor- 
 bitant prices for his lal)or. I anr disposed as yet to find fault with the 
 system rather than the individuals who practice it, many of them being 
 liighly honorable men. In some instiinces we found the Indians paying 
 from three times to live times the cost of goods in the Eastern States, 
 witli freight and expenses added. I feel sure that you will cooperate 
 with us in our efforts to allow a fair competition on Indian Resei-vatioiis. 
 
 13. PCUCHASING SUPPLIES NEAR RESEnVATIONS. 
 
 When possible, this should be done as an act of justice to the nei;:l>- 
 boring white settlers, and also to make Indian Reservations popidar in 
 the States in which they are located, and to procure supplies at the lowest 
 prices. It is but just that the Govenuuent should, as far as is practical 
 cable, encourage pioneer settlers by purchasing the products of their 
 farms. Indian Reservations are less desirable than the same amount of 
 land in the hands of white settlers, and from the improvidence of un- 
 civilized Indian.s, the neighboring farmers often feel obliged to feed them. 
 Hence, Indian Reservations are likely to be unpopular in neighborhood.^ 
 and in States, unless they afford a market for products, which nuisi 
 otherwise be carted a great distance. The very l(»w i)rices of grain near 
 several of the Indian Reservatiou.s, and the rapid increase in the pni- 
 duction of pork and beef cattle, will make purchases there an economic 
 measure. In some places wheat can no doubt Ik? had this season at 40 
 to .50 cts. a bushel, and if u'louud •m the A'^rcny. it will cost little Over 
 
36 
 
 a cent a pound for good flour. Corn will, from present prospects, be not 
 more tlian half that price. I beg leave to call your attention to the sub- 
 ject now, as an amendment to existing laws may be necessary, unless the 
 hostility to Indian Reservations creates an exigency that will authorize 
 purchases in open market, instead of by public bids and contracts. 
 
 It seems proper that I should notify you of an order issued to all 
 Agents under our control to disallow the too customary temporary mar- 
 riages between white men and Indian women, and in every such instance 
 to compel such a marriage as is i-ecognized by the laws of the land, mak- 
 ing an official record of the same. In the event of a refusal to comply 
 with this order, the Agents are directed to eject the offender from the 
 Reservation, be he high or low, rich or poor. You can easily understand 
 that I'eligious bodies cannot continue the supervision of Indian Reserva- 
 tions upon any other conditions. 
 
 And now, Mr. Secretary, before closing this report, I feel constrained 
 by a sense of justice to thank the President of the United States, through 
 you, for his fii-mness in resisting the powerful political pressure for party 
 patronage, in connection with the Indian Department, urged, as you well 
 know, both plausibly and violently. 
 
 As in a former report to you, I freely censured the wrong, and then 
 earnestly contended for Indians' rights, it would be dishonorable in me 
 to pass over without comment the noble conduct of our President, at a 
 time when political patronage is considered the very life-blood of the 
 party. I have seen United States Senators not only claiming as a right 
 the nomination of Indian Agents, but also pleading for the privilege of 
 appointing a single employe on an Indian Reservation. They were told 
 that the President had withdrawn all that appertains to the civilization 
 and Christianization of Indians from party patronage, and placed it 
 under the control of the various religious bodies of the country. If the 
 rulers of China and Japan should authorize the same religious bodies to 
 nominate the Governors of each Province, and to appoint all minor officers, 
 with the view of promoting the Christianization of the inhabitants, grati- 
 tude would be universal ; and I think that the religious i^eople of this 
 land have an equal cause for gratitude, and that the greatest national re- 
 proach is now being rolled off from this nation. 
 
 Yours, very truly, Wm. WELSH. 
 
 This Report has been approved by the Secretary of the Interior, and is published by 
 his authority ; but it is only to be viewed as a record of observations for which the writer 
 is individually responsible. The official report of the Visiting Couiuiittee will be made 
 to the Missionary Indian Commission. AV. \V. 
 
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