their children. In the resources of the teacher depends much of the success of the Indian school system.

Sufficient wages should be paid to secure teachers of brains, teachers who have common sense and who are able to devise means by which not only the scholar can be interested and encouraged to attend the school, but the parents must also be interested in the work.

The following statistical table shows the number of school districts, number of pupils of school age, attendance, etc., at the several Indian schools upon the reservations in this agency.

A bill was introduced in the New York State legislature in February, 1890, by Mr. Whipple, member of assembly from Cattaraugus County, to authorize the governor to nominate and appoint three commissioners to superintend the survey of all lands within this State now held or occupied by any band or tribe of Indians, and to allot the same in severalty in fee-simple to the Indians entitled to the occupancy thereof. Said commissioners were authorized to allot one share to each person and to secure as far as possible to each occupant the land now held and the improvements already made and owned by him and to permit all persons to select for themselves and their families so far as the same is consistent. All land not practical to allot shall be sold for the benefit of the band or tribe. Section 12 provided as follows:

The land belonging to the Seneca Indians lying within the villages of Vandalia, Carrollton, Great Valley, Salamanca, West Salamanca, or Red House, as well as that leased to railroad corporations, may be sold to white people whenever the said Seneca Nation can legally sell the same and choose to do so.

Said act also makes all Indians to whom or in whose behalf any allotment of land has been made, and the children of such Indians, citizens of this State from the date of the approval by the governor of the allotments provided for in said act, and makes every Indian who, by purchase or otherwise, has become or may hereafter become a resident of this State, shall become and is hereby declared to be a citizen of this State, and shall be subject to the civil and criminal laws of the State, and entitled to all the rights, privileges, and protection thereof, except to be exempt from all laws for the collection of debts or taxation, so far as the same may affect the alienation of their lands, provided said land is within the limits of any Indian reservation, until the expiration of thirty years. Said bill also provides that after the allotment is completed it shall be a misdemeanor for any person or persons in this State to institute or continue any custom or organization or to confer any title inconsistent with the laws of this State in the name of tribal custom, usage, or government.

Said act also provides that it shall not apply to any land in the Allegany, Cattaraugus, or Oil Springs Reservations now occupied by the Seneca Indians nor to the lands of the Tuscarora Indians until all claims of the Ogden Company to said lands is extinguished. The Onondaga Reservation was excepted from the provision of this bill.

The friends of the Indians criticised very severely the motives of this bill and claimFirst. That as soon as this bill becomes a law and the tribal relations are broken up all rents and annuities will cease, and that the Ogden Land Company can immediately proceed to enforce their claims upon the reservation lands.

Second. That the bill is drawn more particularly for the benefit of white persons who are living upon leased reservation lands in the villages of Vandalia, Carrollton, Great Valley, Salamanca, West Salamaca, and Red House, and that these lands are not allotable under the bill and are exceptioned from the provisions that no land shall be alienated for thirty

years; and that their claims were well-founded may be judged from the following, over the signature of one of the advocates of the bill:

Let us briefly consider what will be the effect on our lease-holders upon the Allegany Reservation. Suppose there is no longer a Seneca nation of Indians. Then, of course, there is no council to renew our leases or to receive any annual rents, they having been abolished, wiped out by act of legislature. Now, this same authority having by a legislative act been abolished, dissolved the nation and its council, it would be incumbent on them to provide for our relief. The Indians and their friends would also demand that something be done. They could not take our lands and allot them among the tribe. They could no longer be leased. We are as secure in our titles as are the people of Dayton or any other town to theirs.

The bill passed both branches of the legislature, but in the face of these serious objections and many others the governor allowed the bill to die by refusing to sign it.

In my opinion the proper way to civilize the Indians of New York is to secure a division of their lands in severalty, and placing them in full citizenship; but there are many questions and difficulties to be overcome before this can be done without injury to the rights of the Indians. The first and most important thing to be settled is the right of the Ogden Land Company; and the next, the lease problem in the villages of Vandalia, Carrollton, Salamanca, West Salamanca, Great Valley, and Red House. These are momentous questions, and to be settled fairly requires the best assistance on behalf of the Indian that can be furnished by the Government for their protection.

As stated in my special report upon the subject of leases in these villages, there are many abuses existing in consequence of these, many of which the Indians are alone to blame for. Corruption in its worst form has existed in their councils; and for a small sum of money, lease-holders have been known to enter the council and have their annual rent reduced one-half. Many of the complaints made to me by the Indians of their trouble with white intruders I find, upon investigation, to have been brought about by the Indians themselves. For a trifling sum they allow some low white man to occupy their land, and then, after seeing the poor bargain they have made, seek to have him removed by the agent or nation. I find that, after going to an immense amount of trouble and expense in getting one or two intruders removed from the reservation, the council or individual Indians will turn around and, in one-tenth of the time required to remove them, will let on twice as many more. These things make it quite discouraging for the agent. This state of facts applies more to the Allegany and Cattaraugus Reservations than to any of the others, scarcely any complaints coming from any of the reservations in regard to intruders except the Allegany.

SANITARY.

The sanitary condition of the Indians during the past year has been very good; on account of the mildness of the winter they were not compelled to keep housed up, and the most of the time were able to be out around exercising, and this, in my opinion, does away with a large amount of sickness. If it were one continual summer all the time the Indians of western New York would be able to live better, but our winters are too much for them. Scanty clothing, scanty food, impure and unclean living, make the lot of our Indians a hard one during the cold weather.

AGRICULTURE.

The crops of the Indians upon the reservations in western New York are, I think, fully up to the average. In consequence of the agitation among the Indians in regard to the bill in the legislature for the division of their lands in severalty, there have been few improvements made during the past year. This unsettled condition of these In

dians is a great hindrance to their advancement towards civilization. They are expecting at any time some new steps will be taken to change their condition, and they are consequently loath to make extended improvements, either in building or clearing up their land, as they are afraid the benefit will be reaped either by the whites or other Indians.

WHISKY.

There has been very much trouble upon the Allegany Reservation during the past year on account of the sale of whisky to the Indians. At Red House drunken rows have been frequent and fights between white men and Indians in several instances have resulted in serious injuries to the Indians. All efforts to secure conviction of the guilty parties have proved unavailing on account of the refusal of the Indians to tell where they got their whiskey. Early in the spring the Commissioner of Internal Revenue was notified by the authorities at Washington not to issue stamps to persons who were to sell liquors on the Indian reservations, and stamps were refused to the dealers residing in the villages upon the Allegany Reservation. Pending an appeal by the dealers to the authorities at Washington some were given authority to sell until the matter was de

cided. After considerable delay the opinion of the Attorney-General upon the question was received deciding that the Government had no authority to issue licenses to sell liquors upon the reservations, and consequently the sale of liquor in the villages upon the reservation has been stopped altogether. This action on the part of the officials at Washington has caused great consternation among the local liquor dealers.

SIR: In compliance with Department regulations and printed circular of your office bearing date July 1, 1890, I have the honor to submit my second annual report of affairs at this agency and the Indians under my charge.

The population of the Indians, as shown by the enumeration, is 3,372, and are embraced in the following table, to wit:

From the above it will be observed there has been a decrease in numbers since last enrollment. This is accounted for in the fact that the year just past has been one of unusual affliction, la grippe or influenza, in conjunction with malarial and hereditary diseases, proving fatal in a large number of cases.

In comparing the condition of these Indians with their condition a year ago some improvement has been effected in their customs and habits towards a better civilization. This improvement is apparent more in individual cases than generally among the people. As a people they are tenacious in holding to their barbarous customs and vicious habits. It is apparent to an observing mind that in the past few years very little has been done by prohibitory measures tending to discourage them in these customs and habits. From the record of these Indians I should say that it has only been a very few years since it was possible for an agent to undertake successfully to dictate to them in regard to these matters.

The Indians have an organization of men called dog soldiers, whose duty is to carry out and enforce the dictum of the chiefs and head men, to discipline such Indians as oppose the will of the tribe as promulgated by them. Under this condition of things, if an individual Indian became convinced of the wrongness and fallacy of any custom or habit of his people and refused to participate therein when notified, the dog soldiers were instructed to discipline him, which they did by destroying his property, and, if necessary, inflicting personal punishment, until he surrendered his convictions.

I became convinced after a short period of administration of affairs here that the dog soldier element was a menace against the advancement and civilization of the Indian. I therefore notified the Indians that the dog soldiers had no authority whatever over their persons or property, and that if the dog soldiers undertook to intimidate or coerce any Indian to do that which was contrary to his convictions of right, or prohibited by the rules and regulations of the Indian Office, some punishment would follow the offense. This gave courage to many Indians, particularly returned students, to openly oppose vicious and degrading customs.

During the year it became necessary, in order to fill up the schools, to withhold rations from those families who had children of school age and refused to put them in 13059 I A-12

school. I ordered that when the head of a family presented his ticket for rations, accompanied by a certificate from the superintendent of a school stating that he had placed his children in school, rations would be issued on such ticket. Whirlwind and others of the non-progressive element called at the office and objected strenuously to the enforcement of the order; said it was selling the children for rations to put them in school under such circumstances, and threatened uncomfortable results if I persisted in withholding rations to compel the attendance of children at school; said I was trying to force them on the war-path, and that I had no right to do it. I directed their attention to article 7 of the treaty of 1867, and also told them it was my instructions from the Indian Office at Washington. They said they did not believe it.

The following morning, while rations were being issued to Indians who had placed their children in school, "Pawnee Man," captain of the dog soldiers, backed by eight or ten of his men, entered the commissary with cocked rifle and drove every person out. was notified at once and immediately ordered his arrest, which was accomplished by the police without serious trouble. "Pawnee Man" was brought before me, and being questioned said he was instructed by the chiefs and headmen of the tribe not to permit rations to be issued to those putting their children in school; that he did not mean any offense to the Government or to the agent; that it had heretofore been the custom of the Indians to control the action and conduct of their people by the authority of the dog soldiers. I told him it was wrong; that the dog soldiers had no authority whatever, and would not be permitted to interfere with the administration of affairs at the agency; that the Government provided Indian police, whose duties were, under the agent, to protect them in their rights and compel obedience and good behavior on the part of every one. Upon his promise not to offend again he was discharged from arrest. The following morning I was informed by the superintendent of the Cheyenne school that "Pawnee Man" had placed his daughter in the school. The schools were filled without further trouble.

During the fall and winter reports reached the Indians of this agency from the Indians of the Shoshone Agency, Wyo., alleging the advent of the second Christ, and stating that Christ was located about two hundred miles north of that agency in the mountains; that he had come exclusively to benefit the Indians, and that certain prominent medicine men had seen and held conversation with him; that he informed them the whites were to be removed from the country, the buffalo come back, and the Indians restored to their original status. Considerable interest was manifested by the Indians of this agency in these reports, particularly the Arapahoes, and they finally raised money to defray the expenses of two of their number to Wyoming to investigate the matter. Lieut. Black Coyote, of the agency police, and Sergeant Washee, of the scouts, were chosen. They were gone about two months.

On their return they reported the snow so deep at Shoshone Agency they could not make the journey to the mountains, and therefore did not see Christ, but the reports received here were verified by the Indians there. Great excitement soon prevailed among the Indians, both Arapahoes and Cheyennes; all industrial work among them came to a standstill; so-called religious meetings were held; drums, rattles, and all kinds of musical instruments were prohibited (as they said Christ did not like so much noise), and only preaching and singing permitted. They were very earnest in their devotions; an Indian would apparently exhort for awhile, the excitement growing more and more intense as he told them what Christ was going to do for them, until finally hundreds of them would rise from the ground, commence circling around, singing and crying until they were apparently exhausted. It was reported to me a few days after the return of the two Indians from Wyoming that the Indians had about concluded to leave the reservation and go to seek Christ. I talked with some of them about it, and was informed they had the matter of going under consideration. I told them they would not be permitted to leave the reservation; they replied that Christ would protect them. A few days after I was informed a letter had been received from Shoshone Agency stating that Christ had written to the Great Father at Washington notifying him to remove the whites within two years or they would all be destroyed. Upon receipt of this information the Indians decided to remain quiet the two years upon the reservation.

In the latter part of the summer of 1889, the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway Company filed map of right of way, running their line east of Cheyenne school building, between it and Caddo Spring, with evident intention of securing the spring. This was reported to your office, and resulted in the line being changed to run west of the school buildings, leaving it and the spring on the east side of the railroad. When the graders reached individual occupants, the company was notified to settle damages; they refused, claiming the Indians had no title to the land. I telegraphed your office the situation, and received instructions not to permit any construction until individual occupants were settled with. President Lowe of the company then requested me to call the individual occupants to meet him at my office, which was done. The company offered the Indians $5 per acre, the Indians asked $50. President Lowe then requested me to instruct the Indians: First, that the Indians had no title as individual occupants which

entitled them to damages for land taken; second, that all damages individual occupants were entitled to have paid them was for fences, damage to buildings, and cost of breaking sod where right of way run through plowed fields, and damage to crops. I refused to so instruct the Indians. Settlement was finally agreed upon by the payment of the following amounts to the Indians: David Pendleton, 2.77 acres, $40; Red Bird, 8.76 acres, $140; Standing Bull, 1.04 acres, $22.50; Big Nose, 4.51 acres, $100; Wolf Face, 4.61 acres, $136; Cloud Chief, 3.40 acres, $136; Edward Geary, 31.65 acres, $500; Mrs. Curtis, 2.76 acres, $137.

By the Choctaw Coal and Railway Company, Albert Curtis, 21.29 acres, $200.

In the early spring the outlook for a successful season was bright and encouraging. The Indians commenced plowing with energy, and the prospect was that a very largely increased acreage would be cultivated. Before the plowing and planting was finished the messengers sent north by the Indians to investigate the alleged arrival of the second Christ returned. From thence all industrial pursuits were pretty much abandoned by the Indians and all interest centered in their so called religious meetings. Notwithstanding adverse influences the Indians plowed 2,659 acres and planted 2,082.

Owing to the unprecedented dry season (no rain falling during the months of May and June) the corn crop will be almost a complete failure; about half crop of oats will be realized. Wheat will be a fair yield, the cultivating of which was confined almost exclusively to the Indians of Seger Colony. I believe wheat to be a surer crop in this climate than any other grain, and as there is now an outlet to market I shall try and induce the Indians to cultivate it more generally.

During the year 11,163 bushels of grain was harvested by the Indians and sold to the traders and dealers in the towns bordering on the reservation; 465 tons of hay cut; 10,260 rods of fencing erected or repaired; 29 new houses erected for Indians, they furnishing part of the labor and material; 24 Indians who had never farmed were induced to begin; one hundred and fifty tons of bones picked up on the reservation by the Indians and sold at $6 per ton. They have hauled with their own teams 1,823,104 pounds of freight, receiving therefor $7,020.81. The value of their products sold to the Government was $2,294.39; to other parties, $1,840.

There have been four boarding schools in operation during ten months of the year, the Cheyenne, at Caddo Springs, with an average attendance during that time of 81; the Arapaho, at agency, 6943; Mennonite mission at agency, 45, and Mennonite mission at Cantonment, 41.

With the exception of having to withhold rations to compel the return of pupils to school after the expiration of the holiday vacation, the attendance at the schools during the year has been very encouraging. The children have improved in every respect, both mentally and morally. They are taught the common branches of education, farming, gardening, stock-raising, and other industrial work. The superintendents and teachers have accomplished good work the past year, and I expect still greater improvement and progress will be made the ensuing year. For further information in regard to schools see accompanying statistics and reports of superintendents.

COURT OF INDIAN OFFENSES.

Owing to insufficiency of funds the judges were authorized for eight months only. Several cases where ownership of property was involved were considered by them and settled apparently to the satisfaction of interested parties. No record of proceedings was kept.

I finally came to the conclusion that the court as organized could not be relied upon to punish offenders, where the offense committed was a custom of the tribes. For instance, a case of polygamy involving the purchase and sale of a woman was brought to my notice before being consummated. I talked with the judges in regard to this matter, to learn what the probable action of the court would be in case the matter should be brought before them. "Pawnee Man," Cheyenne, said that God made the Indian to have as many wives as he wanted, and an old Indian to buy a young wife if he wanted to, and if I undertook to interfere in these matters I would get into trouble. Wolf Face, Cheyenne, grunted an assent; White Snake, Arapaho, thought the wishes of the great father at Washington should be carried out. I told them I should do everything within my power to break up these customs, and would send to Fort Reno for confinement any Indians violating the rules and regulations of Indian office which prohibited the sale of women and polygamy. Pawnee Man and Wolf Face, Cheyenne, are opposed to allotments and to the sale of surplus lands; White Snake, Arapaho, favors both.

CRIMES.

United States vs. No Horse, jr., Cheyenne Indian, arrested by police for stealing a pump from the commissary, which he took to Reno City and sold. On examination before United States commissioner was bound over for trial.