has recently been introduced into this country, has led to the belief that its use in some of our Indian schools would be advantageous, and accordingly the necessary books of instruction and practice in the system were procured, and have recently been placed in the hands of several teachers. The system is particularly adapted to attract to and retain in the schools the younger children, and great hopes of its success are entertained.

Many of the schools are found to be lacking in the proper supply of books, charts, and other modern helps and objects of attraction, and measures will be taken to supply the deficiency as far as the means of this office will allow. Beyond the regular appropriation under treaty stipulations with various tribes, whatever expenses of education accrue must be paid from the limited fund of $10,000, placed at the disposal of the department, and a very careful economy is necessary. Under the admirable provisions of the Osage treaty, elsewhere mentioned, this fund will before long be much increased.

It is gratifying to be able to state that the complaints heretofore justly made on account of irregularity and tardiness in the shipment of annuity goods across the plains have had no foundation during the present year. A competent and active special agent upon the frontier has thoroughly managed this business; and the good result is manifest in the fact that we have already been notified of the arrival of some of the goods at their destination in ample time for distribution to the Indians, so that they can depart comfortably equipped for their fall and winter hunt. This is a matter of great importance in preserving peace among the roving tribes.

The examination of the annual reports and statistical tables discloses the gratifying fact that the Indians of many tribes are improving in their attention to agriculture, and that their efforts during the past year have generally been crowned with success. In some of the agencies the average of annual products of labor and of individual wealth will compare favorably with frontier settlements of the whites. It is manifest that misapprehensions exist in the minds of some of the agents as to the proper method of making up the tables of statistics, so that we do not yet attain to the full means of comparison as to the progress of the Indians from year to year; and it is in contemplation to prepare rules and and regulations for the preparation of these tables, so that they may be thoroughly reliable.

Considerable improvement is shown in the regularity of monthly reports by superintendents and agents; and this office is thus able to present an abstract of matters of interest occurring in some districts whence no annual reports have been received, but there is still a lamentable want of promptness in forwarding the annual summary, which is required to be here by the 1st of October. At that date, this year, but one or two out of the whole number of reports had been received.

year

I beg leave to renew, in the most earnest manner, the recommendations of my last report in relation to a reorganization of the working force of this bureau. The reasons which impelled me to those recommendations last have continued and increased in force, as the business of every kind has largely increased. A bill designed to accomplish this necessary reform was prepared, and passed the Senate almost without opposition, but failed to be reached in the House of Representatives. I regard it as almost indispensably necessary to the proper conduct and management of the business of the bureau.

It is also very desirable that, at the earliest practicable day, provision be made by Congress for the reorganization, to some extent, of the superintendencies and agencies in accordance with the provisions of a bill which is pending in Congress, and which seemed so sure to pass that the annual appropriation act supplies the funds for paying the officers therein provided for. Perhaps some slight changes or additions may now be found necessary, and, if so, they may be specially reported to you in time for action by Congress.

Upon the question of compensation, I have no hesitation in repeating the recommendations of the last report of this office, and being about to retire from the position which I hold, I can do so without incurring the imputation of any selfish motive.

The Commissioner of Indian Affairs who does his duty faithfully earns a compensation not inferior to that provided for any bureau under the government; the Indian service suffers constant loss and discredit from the impossibility in many cases of obtaining the right kind of men to accept its places at the present meagre compensation; and the various employés upon the office-work of the bureau, are the worst paid men under the government. I believe that this government can well afford to pay its responsible employés a fair day's wages for a fair days work, and that it is true economy to pay them a living compensation in the ratio of their labors and responsibilities.

In closing this portion of my second annual report, I take pleasure in acknowledging my obligations to the clerical force of this bureau, and especially to the chief clerk and the heads of divisions, for their faithful attention to their duties, and the unflagging industry, often beyond regular office hours, by which alone we have been able to accomplish so much, with no increase of our regular number, in a year in which, in correspondence, careful and studied reports requiring great research through files of many years, and in general business, the amount of labor has been nearly, or quite double that of any previous year. I proceed to a more particular notice of the several superintendencies aud agencies, referring for details to the accompanying documents:

WASHINGTON.

The annual report from this superintendency, one of the most important of those in charge of this office, not having arrived, I am unable to do more than refer briefly to such matters of importance as have been presented for attention in the current correspondence of the year.

The tribes and bands of Washington Territory are very numerous, and are grouped together in a series of treaties made by governor Stevens in 1854-'55, reservations being provided for them in the central and northwestern part of the Territory; many small bands, however, whose lands had, for the most part already been taken possession of by whites, in the southwest, between the Columbia river and the ocean, were not treated with; nor were there any arrangements made with the tribes in the northeast, near the British line.

With the exception of the Yakamas, whose reservation is east of the mountains, and who have improved rapidly under the charge of a faithful agent, and employés who make it a matter of conscience to set a good example before the Indians, there is not much of encouragement thus far in the attempt to civilize the tribes of this Territory. Living along the shores of the bays and inlets which make a large portion of the superficial area of the northwestern extreme of the Union, they have been able to procure a livelihood, sometimes scanty, but usually sufficient for their simple wants, by fishing and hunting; and some of them are very expert fishermen, going some distance out to sea in pursuit of the whale and other fish, from which they obtain considerable quantities of oil for sale. Last year it was proposed to encourage in this trade, the tribe whose reservation is near Cape Flattery, by procuring for their use a small vessel, but we are not advised as to the result. The presence of United States troops at various posts established in that region has aided very materially in preserving quiet among the tribes, and it is feared that the general reduction of the force and abandonment of several posts will result in serious damage to the Indian service. A very small garrison, under an efficient commander, will suffice to keep the peace; but if hostilities are once commenced, a small army may its efforts in vain, since the Indians will not risk a battle, but carry on desultory

find

operations. The military officers of the district have cordially seconded all the efforts of the superintendent to maintain good order and discipline. One expedition, of which we have received full advices, resulted in the arrest of a number of Indians who had for several years been notorious for committing outrages upon whites or friendly Indians, and they were, at last accounts, still held in custody by the military authorities, awaiting trial. The superintendent does not doubt that they can be proved guilty and punished; but thinks it hard to inflict the utmost rigor of the law upon Indians, while no white man is ever convicted and punished for criminal conduct towards them.

Aside from the Yakama agency above referred to, and, to some extent, the Tulalip agency, educational matters are in a low state among the Washington Indians, and the generally liberal provisions of their treaties have thus far proved of little advantage to them. The teachers of the Yakamas, and reverend Mr. Chirouse at the Tulalip agency, have succeeded, especially the former, in establishing the fact that some of these Indians can be brought to appreciate the advantages which education confers upon them, and to attend the schools with regularity and interest. It does not appear that there is any such radical difference between these tribes and the others as to prevent us from expecting a like result from equally judicious efforts with the latter. A strong desire has been expressed by the Tulalip teacher for the appropriation of sufficient funds to enable him to open a girl's boarding school, where many orphan children, now held in a disgraceful state of slavery among the Indians, may be cared for and taught, and an estimate for the purpose was transmitted to Congress at its last session, but without result. The legislature of the Territory made a special recommendation upon this subject, and this office would take pleasure in responding to their wishes if the means should be placed in its hands. Books for the introduction of the Kindergarten system have been sent to the two schools above referred to, and to the one at Neah bay for the Makahs.

OREGON.

The annual report of Superintendent Huntington, and the reports of the several agents, furnish full information of the condition of the Indian service in that quarter.

The Siletz and Alsea agencies have charge of the Indians of the coast, with whom a treaty was made by Superintendent Palmer in 1855, but which, for some reason, failed of ratification by the Senate, though most of the other treaties of that year with the Oregon Indians were ratified. By the provisions of that treaty, the Indians ceded nearly all the land lying between the Coast Range of mountains and the ocean, save a reservation set apart for their residence; and they immediately retired to the proposed reservation, in full faith that the government would carry into operation the stipulations of the treaty. But this has not been the case, and ten years have elapsed, during which the Indians have awaited the action of the government, being aided meanwhile by means of the general fund appropriated for the service in Oregon. They have profited by the teaching afforded them, and have labored with much energy in cultivating the soil and earning their own subsistence, much troubled, meanwhile, lest they might at some time, because of the uncertain tenure by which they hold their lands, be driven from their homes. That which they feared has, to some extent, happened during the past year, a portion of their reservation, hitherto reserved from sale, under orders of the department, having been thrown into market and opened for settlement.

This office having reported fully upon the subject when it was under discussion last spring, I do not desire to reopen it, but allude to it now only to state my full concurrence in the view taken by the superintendent as to the duty of the government to enter at once upon a policy which shall vindicate its good

faith, by securing, under treaty stipulations, a home for these tribes. The measures recommended by the superintendent will result in concentrating the Indians upon one agency north of the Yaquina bay, and that part of the reservation thrown into market will, it is thought, pay the whole expenses of the proposed arrangement.

During the year a supplementary treaty has been made with the tribes of the Warm Springs agency, by which, for a small consideration, they yield the right heretofore reserved to leave the reservation for the purpose of fishing-a right, the exercise of which has been a fruitful source of trouble, leading to great demoralization among them. They can now be kept upon their reservation and more easily restrained.

The accounts from the Umatilla reservation, in the northeastern part of the State, continue favorable.

The superintendent alludes to the action of the department during the year, in directing that permission should be given for the opening of a wagon road through the reservation. This office reported against the movement, on the ground that such a thoroughfare must, by bringing many whites into communication with the Indians, result in their demoralization; but the interests of the public, desiring a short route from the Columbia river to the gold mines of Idaho, were urged by the Oregon delegation in Congress as outweighing those of the Indians, and the road was authorized. It is gratifying to learn that the road has been so laid out as not to interfere seriously with the Indians; but the superintendent has felt it to be his duty to forbid the opening of a county road, which was intended to be laid out so as to pass through the Indian farms.

Good results are anticipated from the opening of the new Klamath Lake reservation, and the concentration thereon of the Klamaths, Modocs, and Yahooskin Snakes. A good beginuing has been made here under the charge of Agent Applegate, and the Indians are found to labor with great willingness and energy. Superintendent Huntington does not think that the Wollpahpee Snakes, who were also intended to be placed upon this reservation, have joined the hostile bands, but supposes that they have only returned to their old country in the interior of Oregon, and may be induced to come to the reservation when they learn that their treaty is ratified.

The allotment of land in severalty to such of the Indians of this superintendency as are prepared to settle down permanently to the cultivation of the soil, would be of great benefit to them, and in that opinion this office fully conEstimates have been submitted for making the necessary surveys upon the Umatilla reservation, and others will be prepared and forwarded in time for action by Congress.

curs.

The superintendent makes special allusion to the fact that under recent orders for withdrawing the United States troops from many of the posts, the reservations are left wholly without protection or the means of enforcing discipline. He refers particularly to the Coast Range reservation, where there are 4,000 Indians now left without a single soldier to aid the agents; and to the Warm Spring reservation, which has been for several years subject to attacks by the hostile Snake Indians, being also left without any protection. I recommend an earnest representation of the necessities of the case to the War Department, in order that a few small garrisons may be left at proper places near the exposed points.

Besides the Indians upon reservations in Oregon, there are many others, some not treated with because they will not consent to treat, as the Snakes of the southeast, whose hand is against every man, and every man's hand against them, and upon whom a desultory but costly warfare is being made by small parties of United States troops; and some who have been so weak that it was probably considered useless to attempt to provide for them. These latter live in the northwest, between the Columbia river and the ocean, and are similar in

most respects to the tribes in Washington Territory, immediately north of them. They are poor, degraded, and debauched. The superintendent estimates them at 1,200 in number, and thinks that the sum of $2,000 could be well expended in placing them upon a reservation, and trying to do something for their benefit. In regard to education, the remarks of previous reports are repeated in favor of encouraging manual labor schools, as the only ones which promise any permanent good to the Indians; the children who attend the day schools, and return to their families in the interval, losing nearly all the benefits of the instruction given them.

There are five schools in the superintendency, one each upon the Umatilla, Warm Springs, and Siletz reservations, and two at Grand Ronde. That at Siletz and one of those upon the Grand Ronde reservation are manual labor schools, and, under faithful and competent teachers, are doing good. The Umatilla school has latterly been placed under charge of a Catholic missionary teacher, and promises well; the Indians, who have in past years been under the influence of missionaries of that denomination, receiving the teachers with great pleasure. A good manual labor school at this point would doubtless meet with abundant success.

CALIFORNIA.

The annual reports of Superintendent Maltby, and of most of the agents in charge of reservations in that State, are received, and present a very full view of matters relating to the Indian service during the past year. Various interesting suggestions and recommendations will be found in these reports.

The reservations at present recognized in California are Round Valley, in the northeast; Hoopa Valley, in the northwest; Smith River, south of the latter, and near the coast; and Tule River, in the interior, in the southern part of the State.

The act of Congress for reorganizing the Indian service in this State authorizes four reservations and agents, but only three have been appointed under regular commissions, to wit, those having charge at Smith river, Hoopa val ley, and Round valley. Movements have been made by the California delegation in Congress to effect a consolidation of some of these agencies, and the policy heretofore pursued at Smith river and Tule river, of leasing lands of private parties for reservations, has received some attention. A careful report from this office, upon the subject of the California reservations, was made during the present year, and is placed among the accompanying documents for convenience of reference.

While it is certain that the practice of leasing private lands is one which should not be followed, it is not so clear that the service can well be carried on with less than four reservations, while there have been cogent reasons presented for a fifth. Round valley appears to have the preference of the delegation for the northernmost reserve. The government has just paid a large sum for securing title to the improvements of settlers in Hoopa valley, but if it shall be determined to concentrate the Indians in Round valley, the lands and improvements would doubtless sell for much more than the amount expended. The Smith River agency could, perhaps, with advantage, be consolidated with one of the above-named agencies.

This office has recommended that the Tule River agency be made permanent, and that lands adjoining the present leased farm be set apart by government for the purpose. Some arrangement in behalf of the Mission Indians in the extreme south, near the coast, will be found necessary, and can be effected at small cost, as the Indians of that region are somewhat advanced in civilization and abundantly able and willing to provide their own subsistence if they can be secured in the occupancy of sufficient land, and be assisted occasionally by