For the purpose of showing the character of the prisoners, I shall at an early day send a special report, which will include charges that have been made against them from time to time since 1862, and which, in my judgment, should be made to operate in the degree of punishment to be inflicted on the offenders. An opportunity now presents itself for asserting our authority over these savages by their judicious punishment. Two of the prisoners, in my judgment, taking the legal view of the question, merit sum mary execution for the murders they have committed, but if they can be sent to the eastern States, never to return-perhaps educated there-the same good would result to the tribe, who would believe them dead. I respectfully suggest that all the prisoners remain at Steilacoom until I can see and confer with you. I avail myself of this opportunity to express my high appreciation of the promptness and despatch you have used in forwarding assistance to me at a time of great peril and danger, not only to myself, but to the employés and government property under my charge. I most respectfully invite your attention, and through you the attention of the department, to the energy, efficiency, and promptness of First Lieutenant Kistler and the men of his command. Not only have they proved themselves soldiers in the effectual manner in which they have discharged the duty devoiving upon them, but by their deportment have made a favorable impression on the minds of the residents. The effectual means employed by Lieutenant Kistler will result, I doubt not, in a more orderly state of affairs among the Indians, who, having experienced the force of the government, will be willing to yield a more ready obedience to the rules and requirements of the department. The report of employés, as per my report of labor by employés herewith, is a partial statement of services rendered by them. In addition to the labor enumerated by them, they perform numberless daily jobs, necessary to the proper conduct of a farm, care of tools and buildings, to record and report which would require the services of a clerk, and the time of all is more or less required to prevent gross violations of law by the more savage of the Indians. Labor on the farm has been much retarded this month by weather, which has given us but few days without rain, and a fall of 11 inches during the month. The Indians on higher lands have planted ten acres with potatoes, but on the government farm, owing to its wet condition, little more than preparing the ground for seed has been done. The buildings have been repaired, and whitewashing and painting commenced. The presence of a military force has somewhat interfered with the regular duties of the employés. The report of the teacher and acting physician, Mr. Swan, will show the state of the school under his charge and the sanitary condition of the tribes. We cannot effect much in the way of improving the children till the parents are subjected to our rules. I have been fortunate in securing the services of a most estimable lady and her husband to be added to the corps of employés, and I trust that her presence and teaching will have a more salutary influence, and be of great assistance in imparting useful knowledge to the tribe. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, W. H. WATERMAN, Esq. HENRY A. WEBSTER, Indian Agent. No. 5. OFFICE SUPERINTENDENT INDIAN AFFAIRS, SIR: I have the honor herewith to transmit a copy of Agent Webster's auswer to your suggestions in relation to the school in this agency. My own judgment of the matter is in no respect changed by the views of the agent expressed in this letter. I have no faith in the present management of the school, and I shall continue to press the necessity of a radical change, although I have to do it at the risk of incurring the displeasure of the agent. It is true that at Yakama there are some natural, local, and historical advantages; but all those advantages would avail nothing for the progress and good behavior of the Indians without that constant vigilance and fidelity which so highly distinguish the administration of Agent Wilbur. And, in my opinion, the same earnest devotion to the moral, intellectual, and religious well-being of the Indians at Neeah bay, conducted in a true Christian spirit, would, in spite of all the impediments cited, work out satisfactory results. I am confident that the view taken of this school in the letter to which the enclosed is a reply, is a just view. The facts, both as regards the teacher himself personally and as regards the results of his operations, do not justify any higher view of it. I am confident that the Commissioner is right in demanding improvement, and I believe the means suggested by him viz., that of the introduction of missionary labor in place of the work now going on, is the right means to bring about the desired ends. I do not accord with the notion of asking missionaries to be put into the service at the cost of missionary societies. The money paid by government for the amelioration of the condition of the Indians should be paid to just that kind of men and to no others. The choice of men to be placed among Indians as teachers and governors is a matter of the first and highest importance. A failure at this point is an absolute and total failure of the high results which alone are worthy of a Christian government. If, therefore, the present teacher at Neeah bay is found wanting in important particulars, I have but one thing to say about it, and that is that he should retire and give the place and the pay to another who can better answer the responsible demands of the position. The policy which I adopted on entering upon the duties of my office in relation to appointees was to consult the preferences of agents, and endeavor as far as practicable to harmonize with them in regard to employés under them. This course was advised by those officers in the service in whose judgment I placed confidence, and has generally proved satisfactory, and because of the remoteness of the Neeah Bay agency and its difficulty of access by any regular conveyance, I have depended more upon the will of the agent there than in other agencies; but with the school I have never been satisfied. I have not, however, as yet thought it wise to insist on the arbitrary removal of the teacher in face of the agent's remonstrance and in the absence of the proper person to take his place. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, WM. H. WATERMAN, UNITED STATES INDIAN RESERVATION, SIR: Your esteemed favor of 28th May, with copy of Commissioner Cooley's suggestion of 16th March, 1866, relating to the schools at this agency, was received without the delays usual in reaching this isolated place. The regret I feel at our school not having worked up to the anticipations of the department at Washington is very great, especially as the most untiring efforts have been made to meet the hope to carry out the benignant views of the government; and I really entertain the hope that when the honorable Commissioner is correctly informed of the progress of and truthful status of the school of the Makah tribe, he will have no cause of complaint against us. In the discharge of our duty, under the instructions of the department and laws of Congress, over that tribe that from time immemorial have exercised theft, robbery, and murder of all men, and especially the shipwrecked mariner, as a legitimate calling, we did not expect to bring immediately, but by slow degrees, into comparison with the Yakima, a very old reservation upon which large sums have been expended, and among Indians who from the time of Lewis and Clark have shown no tendency to civilization, and where there is an agricultural and industrial school, (as alone provided for us,) together with an additional school of the character selected by you for us. The view of the honorable Commissioner to entist the interest of missionaries for the benefit of the Makah school has never been lost sight of by me, and I entertain the hope that one of the religious societies at the east will send us the desired aid. Now the appropriation of Congress being for an agricultural and industrial school, will it do for me to pass these, change the school, and, under a missionary teacher and wife, inaugurate "a family school, instructing the resident children, teaching the adults in morals and religion, and taking in and protecting the numerous slave children about the sound doomed to a life of infamy, whom now we (you) have no way to protect, because we (you) have nowhere to send them?" You are already aware, Mr. Superintendent, that all the slaves in the possession of the Makahs have been emancipated and cared for by me, and whilst your philanthropic views are, to my mind, admirable, I would take the large liberty of suggesting whether the additional school at the Yakima, where civilization too has been perfecting for twenty years, would not be a better place for the emancipated, (not of this tribe,) than to station them at Neeah bay, could we do so. The almost total abstinence from the use of spirituous liquors, when by stealth offered the Makahs, compares well with the other Indian countries, and exhibits the practical effects of morality preached and prac ticed by the present teacher, J. G. Swan. Specimens of writing will be forwarded, it is hoped, in our next report. The progress of the farm, the increased industry of the people in other work, will exhibit the progress of the agricultural and industrial school; and could we have, as at Yakima, a religious school also, it would be very desirable, if to be obtained without conflict as to the denominational character of the religious teacher. Until further instructed, I deem it my duty to follow the requirements of the laws, fulfilling the primary object of Congress-the civilization and moral and religious instruction of the Indians of the Makah tribe; and believing Mr. Swan to be well adapted to the position of teacher, for which purposes I do not really think he could properly be replaced, I know of no man so well adapted to putting them in an industrial train, and being able to make himself understood, to explain to them the teachings of that Holy Book to which we all should look for instruction. Hence, I repeat, to your proposal to change the management of the school, I should deem it an act of injustice to remove Mr. Swan, a gentleman more successful than any teacher, starting a year before him, among Indians of the coast tribes, and that too with the most difficult tribes to manage. His only means of obtaining attendance at school are those of such attraction as he may offer, and has had no force to compel attendance. Incidental to the agricultural and industrial pursuits taught, au effort is made to teach the fundamental doctrines of the Christian religion. They are hardly capable of understanding the most simple moral and religious truths taught by our Saviour, and much less to comprehend denominational doctrines. By degrees, however, they may comprehend and practice Christianity. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, Hon. W. H. WATERMAN, Superintendent Indian Affairs, Washington Territory. HENRY A. WEBSTER, Indian Agent. No. 6. FORT COLLVILLE, W. T., August 12, 1866. SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 25th instant enclosing copies of correspondence concerning a treaty with the Spokane Indians. I am quite certain that Gary misrepresented the sentiments of his people when he informed Mr. Chapman that it was the wish of the Spokanes to remove to and settle upon the Flathead reservation. I have conversed with several leading men of the tribe upon the subject of a treaty, and their removal to reservations, and while many of them are in favor of a treaty, they have invariably expressed the wish that their reservation be within or convenient to the country they now claim and occupy. They reside on the Spokane river, from its mouth to the 117th meridian, having no permanent homes or improvements of any kind east of this meridian, and are in Washington Territory instead of northern Idaho, as stated in Mr. Chapman's letter to the department. I propose starting for the Upper Spokane in about ten days to meet the Indians in council; take an accurate census of the tribe; ascertain the feeling in regard to a treaty, and collect such other information bearing upon the subject of the correspondence as will enable me to report fully on my return. Very respectfully, W. H. WATERMAN, Esq., Sup't Indian Affairs, Olympia, W. T. GEORGE A. PAIGE, Acting Indian Agent. OREGON SUPERINTENDENCY. No. 7. WASHINGTON, D. C., October 15, 1866. SIR: In making my annual report for the current year, at a distance of many thousand miles from the Indian superintendency which I have the honor to represent, and while suffering from severe illness, it will be impossible for me to be as minute in detail as if I were at home. The full reports of the several agents, however, render it unnecessary for me to go as much into particulars as has been usual. With a few brief remarks about each reservation, I shall, then, confine myself to some general matters which do not properly come within the purview of the agents. GRANDE RONDE RESERVATION. This reservation consists of two townships and two fractional townships of land adjoining the Coast reservation, withheld from sale by an executive order, and upon it is located the oldest Indian agency in the superintendency. The tribes located there are those who earliest came into intercourse with white people, and they therefore exhibit most completely the effect of civilization upon the savage. There has been among them a steady progress in useful arts; a constant though slow advance in education, and a regular diminution in numbers. They are always peaceable and well-behaved when whiskey can be kept away from them. Most of them are industrious and thrifty. They are located upon the border of an extensive white settlement, and are therefore more exposed to the tempting influence of the vile whites, who are always ready to minister to the depraved wants and habits of their savage nature. The soil of the reservation is well adapted to the production of cereals, and produces some vegetables tolerably well. Its great elevation, however, being near the summit of the Coast mountains, makes it too frosty for any but hardy plants, and renders it liable to more snow in winter than the lower regions of Willamette valley. The Indians have for several years raised enough grain and roots for their own subsistence, with the exception of a few old and decrepit ones, and orphan children, who are supported wholly or in part by the government. They own a few cattle and more horses. They are on the whole moderately prosperous, though of course that community, like any other, has a share of vagabonds, paupers, and criminals. SILETZ AGENCY. This agency is situated upon the Coast reservation, a tract of land which was reserved for Indian purposes by Joel Palmer, superintendent of Indian affairs, in 1855, and confirmed by an executive order in 1856, and is about one hundred miles north and south, by twenty miles east and west. A larger number of Indians are located at Siletz than at any other agency in the superintendency, and they are in some respects the most prosperous. Their land is not well adapted to the production of wheat; and oats, peas, and potatoes are their principal articles of food. Of these their soil is remarkably prolific, and as new land is brought into cultivation the products of them steadily increase. They own but few domestic animals, but have a strong ambition to possess them, and are gradually increasing their stock. The want of funds applicable to this agency has been a serious embarrassment. Only a very small part of these Indians draw annuities, and the whole appropriation applicable to their benefit is only two dollars and fifty cents per head. With this very limited means much has been accomplished. A part of this no doubt is due to the very favorable location, which affords plenty of fish and game, and yields agricultural productions with but little labor; but much is also due to the efficient and judicious management of Agent Ben Simp son. A special report which I made to Hon. J. P. Usher, Secretary of the Interior, under date of December 12, 1864, in reply to inquiries concerning Yaquina bay, was published in the annual report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs for 1865, (page 105.) To that I respectfully refer you for a full description of the Coast reservation. In that report I urged the importance of providing for a removal of the Indians located upon and about the bay before the land was thrown open to settlement. My suggestions in this respect were totally disregarded, and a district about twenty-five miles north and south, by twenty miles east and west, beginning two miles south of the Siletz agency, and including ths whole of the Yaquina bay, was thrown open to settlement by an executive order. Upon this tract were located some Indians who had been encouraged to open farms, erect dwellings, and establish themselves permanently. The effect upon them and upon the other Indians was most disastrous. They had all been promised protection in the possession of these lands, and that protection had hitherto been afforded them; but now the agent was powerless, and whites occupied the lands as they pleased. There were also some public buildings upon the reservation, and some boats belonging to the Indian department, but these were of comparatively small consequence. Common justice required, and still does require, that some compensation be made these Indians, and that provision be made for their removal to lands not occupied by whites. There is nothing so ruinous and so corrupting to Indians as intimate association with whites. The northern boundary of the abandoned tract also was fixed unfortunately near (two miles) to the agency. It gives an opportunity to any vagabond white or half-breed who desires to do so to establish a whiskey shop within two miles of the largest settlement of Indians on the Pacific coast, and there, for paltry gain, by ministering to the depraved and vicious desires of the Indians, to be able to undo the good work of twenty missionaries and school-teachers. The whole treatment of the government towards these Indians has been full of bad faith. At the risk of repeating what I have said in reports of former years, I will now briefly detail it. In 1855, Joel Palmer, then superintendent of Indian affairs, made a treaty with nearly all the tribes along the coast from Columbia river to the California line. By the terms of the treaty the Indians ceded all their lands and agreed to remove to the Coast reservation. In consideration the government promised to pay certain annuities, to build mills, provide schools, physicians, open farms, erect buildings, &c., &c. This treaty the Senate refused to ratify, and it has therefore not been held to be binding upon the United States, but the Indians fully complied with the terms of their side of the treaty, abandoned their lands, removed to the reservation designated for them, and have with few exceptions remained there since. White settlers occupied their lands, and still occupy them. The Indians complain, and justly, I think, that having complied with their side of the treaty, we ought to comply with ours. This discontent is much aggravated by seeing that other Indians draw annuities, and are so much better provided for. It is also often aggravated by the machinations of malicious whites, who foster their discontent and encourage them to leave the reservation, and, seeking their own country, endeavor by retaliation to recover just compensation. They had concluded, however, that at least they were secure in the possession of the lands they occupy, but they are again now doubly alarmed by having a part of their reservation suddenly taken from them, and apprehensive that the taking of a part is only preliminary to the taking of the whole. I recommend either that the treaty of 1855 be ratified, that provision be made for making another, or, in default of either, that some other plan be devised by which those tribes can be assured in the possession of the reservation, and some compensation guaranteed them for the lands they have surrendered. In case a new treaty is decided upon, an appropriation of $8,000 will be necessary to defray the expense of making the same. But whatever disposition is made of the general question, it is very important that measures should be taken to remove the Indians from the tract thrown open to settlement, (which tract, I may remark, is rapidly filling up with whites,) and to compensate them for their improvements. I deem an appropriation of $5,000 sufficient for that purpose, and recommend that it be made. The boundary between Siletz agency and the district thrown open to settlement being an imaginary line is uncertain, and ought to be located by actual survey, and marked by durable monuments. I recommend that an appropriation of $350 be made for that purpose, to be expended under the joint direction of the surveyor general and the superintendent of Indian affairs. The teams at this agency are old, worn out, and many of them die off each year. The agricultural implements are, many of them, worn out and worthless. As the number and extent of the Indian farms increase, the demand for both teams and tools increases also. I recommend an appropriation of $5,000, to be expended in the purchase of teams, agricultural implements, and seeds for the use of this agency. The old flouring mill, an account of the destruction of which will be found in my report of 1865, (page 464,) ought to be rebuilt. The burrs and irons are in good condition, and can be used again; all the rest of the structure is valueless. I recommend an appropriation of $4,000 to rebuild the grist-mill. ALSEA AGENCY. This agency is situated on the Yawhuch prairie, a fertile tract of about 2,000 acres, situated on the ocean, about eight miles below the mouth of the Alsea river. It is on that part of the Coast reservation which lies south of the tract recently opened for settlement. The tribes which are nominally located there are the Coos, Umpqua, Alsea, and Sinselaw. The first three live in the vicinity of the agency; the Sinselaws occupy some fertile lands near the southern end of the reservation, and they live partly by agriculture and partly by fishing. These tribes were all parties to the unratified treaty of 1855, mentioned under the head of Siletz agency, and the remarks made concerning them apply with equal force to these. I again urge careful attention to the subject. In my special report to Hon. J. P. Usher, Secretary of the Interior, December 12, 1864, I recommended the removal of these Indians to Siletz, or to that vicinity. I now repeat that recommendation, and refer you to the estimate then submitted for the amount of appropriation necessary. I remark, however, that if that course is determined upon, and that appropriation made, the one of $5,000 recommended above for the removal of the Indians from Yaquina bay and vicinity will not be necessary, as the action in relation to the tribes at Alsea can be made to cover these also. The arguments in favor of removal are, first, collecting the Indians more compactly together; second, avoiding the expense of one agency, (the Alsea;) third, opening for settlement the south part of the reservation, a tract forty miles long by twenty wide, which contains a large amount of fertile land, an immense body of superior timber, and some fine fisheries. The sale of land from this tract in a few years would many times remunerate the expense of removing the Indians. The expense is, so far as I know, the only objection to the removal. If it is decided to allow them to remain where they now are, some provision should be made for a school among them, for medical attendance, and for the purchase of teams, agrieultural implements and seeds, the supply of these articles having been hitherto very meagre. I recommend an appropriation (if the removal plan is not adopted) of $2,500 for the purchase of seeds, agricultural tools and teams, and the usual amount for the other purposes named. WARM SPRING AGENCY. This agency is located in the edge of the Cascade mountains, at the eastern base of Mount Jefferson. It contains a small amount of tillable land, but has a vast extent of "bunch grass," which affords excellent grazing. Timber is abundant on some parts of the reservation, but there is very little within less than eight miles of the agency. The buildings are |