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SIR: I have the honor to submit the following report for the month of July, 1866, relative to the condition of my agency.

The condition of the Yumas is about the same as represented in my last monthly report. No complaints have reached me concerning them, and at present they are engaged in planting. The Mohaves are peaceable and industriously inclined; the vast numbers of this tribe that for months have been wandering about in idleness now manifest the greatest eagerness in selecting suitable places and preparing the ground for planting.

The Yavapais are peaceable and rapidly settling on the river; about one hundred of this tribe returned from the mountains during the month, the most of whom have joined their head chief Qua-shack-a-mah on the reservation, and are now devoting their attention to planting.

Some of this tribe, either from the uncertainty of raising a crop without irrigation or from an aversion to agricultural pursuits, intend returning to the mountains and pursuing the chase. The condition of the Hualapais is the same as represented in my last monthly report. They are peaceable and quiet, and manifest a friendly disposition towards the whites.

I have the satisfaction of stating in this report, as in my last, that peace prevails along the river from its mouth to the northern boundary of the Territory. I received a communication on the 5th instant from William A. Hardy, esq., of Hardyville, Arizona Territory, stating that he had just returned from Prescott, and on the way to that place and back saw many signs of peace, and that no depredations had been committed of late, and that he believes all the tribes of Indians around Prescott and between there and Hardyville are desirous of peace; that the Hualapais are very quiet, and that the trains travelling through the country turn out their animals with safety, and no hostile indications are anywhere to be seen.

There have been two great rises in the Colorado this summer. One occurred in June, and the other in the early part of the present month, each flooding all the bottom lands on either side of the river. As the first was subsiding, early in June, many of the Indians commenced planting, and their crops looked very promising, when the second freshet came and swept them entirely away. The bottoms are still overflowed, though the river is receding slowly. These two great rises in this river in so rapid succession and short space of time are occurrences both uncommon and extraordinary, particularly at the planting season, and have been the cause of the delay in raising crops this year, which delay from the above cause was unavoidable. The Indians, however, are not disheartened, but, on the contrary, are greatly rejoiced at the thorough saturation which the soil has received by these immense freshets, and intend planting extensively as soon as the water shall have sufficiently receded to allow of their so doing.

I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

JOHN FEUDGE, Special United States Agent of Colorado Indians. Superintendent Indian Affairs, La Paz, Arizona Territory.

G. W. LEIHY, Esq.,

No. 28.

UNITED STATES INDIAN AGENCY, Tucson, Arizona Territory, June 4, 1866.

SIR: I have the honor to report that, in accordance with instructions left with me by Colonel M. O. Davidson, special Indian agent, I have visited the several tribes connected with his agency and made distribution to them of the articles left in my care, as per abstracts, also sent by this mail. I appointed the 10th day of May to meet the Papagoes. The goods intended for them were stored at the Enriquetta mine, as at the time of their arrival I was acting as surgeon of the company; but owing to a suspension of the work I removed to Tucson, making a request of the quartermaster at Tubac for transportation to convey the goods also there, but was refused, as I had no order for the same. I was in lopes, until almost the day appointed for the meeting, to make the distribution at San Xavier del Bas, and directed Josi, chief, to call the delegates together there, but I was obliged to assemble at Enriquetta. Early on the morning of the 10th they came in. They were entirely without food; I was therefore under the necessity of purchasing from the company agent beef and flour to feed them. There were present one hundred and two delegates; ten villages were represented. Mr. Lyon, deputy collector of the customis at Tubac, was present and assisted me. His long acquaintance with these Indians renders his services valuable.

The portion of goods intended for them was now divided into parcels, according to the size of the village; the chief and captains taking charge of the same expressing, on behalf of

the delegates, many thanks for the kindness of the government, and making renewed promises for the future good behavior of their people. I distributed the total amount of Colonel Davidson's purchase, excepting the part intended for the tame Apaches, the blacksmiths' tools, and the books, papers, &c., pertaining to the school. They were much gratified with their presents, saying that never before had they been so liberally dealt with.

It was not my intention at first to distribute all these goods at this time, but retain a portion for the fall meeting. I could not, however, well do otherwise, as there was so large a delegation. My order to the chief, Josi, was to call together only three from each pueblo, but instead there were from eight to twelve; and, too, I did not like to leave the remainder of the goods at Enriquetta, as the place at present is poorly protected against raids from the Sonora border. I could not get transportation to remove them to Tucson. Again, I thought the bill of goods which Superintendent Leihy some time since advised me he had sent from La Paz, would be ample for the fall distribution. The matter of transportation I will again allude to. The following day I drove to Tubac and met the Apaches Manzos, taking with me their portion of presents. It gave me great gratification to meet these Indians; although but a rempant of a once powerful tribe, they are the most efficient in their services to the government of any Indians here. There are but twenty-five men now to represent the tribe; twenty of these had just come in from a scout against the wild Apaches, bringing with them two scalps and three pairs of ears. I was very liberal in the distribution to them, giving every man, woman, and child a present. They were greatly pleased, and promised renewed zeal in assisting the troops as guides and citizens as escorts. I advised them also of the desire of the government that they should select a place that might be secured to them as a home. They are very anxious to have such a spot. I told them it was expected they would do all they possibly could towards subduing the wild Apaches, now such a terror to the country. One fine young man, who speaks Spanish readily, replied: "We need no urging from the great captain of the whites to turn our feet towards the mountains where live our murderous brethren, while we have left to us the widows and children of our own braves who have tallen by their hands; we only live now to avenge their wrongs." These Indians have again gone out on the war-path; the citizens have made up a bounty of $100 each for every scalp they take. I will again refer to the condition and wants of these tribes after report of my visit to the Pimos and Maricopas.

Leaving Tubac Saturday evening, in order to pass the most dangerous part of the road in the night, (I had no escort,) I reached Tucson Sunday afternoon, rested my animals until Monday evening, and then left for the Pima villages. I was cordially received by Brigadier General Mason, who has his headquarters on the reservation.

Mr. A. M. White, licensed trader for these Indians, seut notice to the various pueblos for them to come in on the following day (Friday) for an interview. In the mean time I had the goods intended for distribution properly arranged according to population of each village, laying one side the portion belonging to the Maricopas, in accordance with the request of the chief, in order that they might come quietly next day and got it, as heretofore, when their por tion has been laid out with the Pimos, the latter had rushed in (wild young men among them) and took all. Friday morning they commenced to gather in, and by noon two thousand were present. It happened that they had also appointed this day for a council of war, which brought all the chief men of the tribe together. They were about sending a large force against the Apaches. After a short talk, in substance the same as that held with the Papagues, I gave them their presents. They were more than pleased with the articles, as they were just what they needed. I refer more particularly to the agricultural implements. They told me they had never been so well and appropriately thought of before in the selection to meet their need. It was a real pleasure to meet these Indians. They are noble specimens of the red man. There are many well-to-do farmers among them. They have a large area of ground sown to wheat this year. It is estimated they will have a million and a half pounds of grain to sell. I made arrangements with Mr. White to do their blacksmith work, turning over to him the bill of tools and iron. The ploughs sent out I placed in his charge, as here tofore when given to the Indians they have sold them. They are to borrow them now, and return when through using them. I arranged with Mr. White to do what work they might need in way of repairs, he to receive his compensation from use of tools and iron.

The Pimos and Maricopas are living very contentedly and pleasantly on the Rio Gils. There have been seasons when the water has failed, but as a general thing there is enough to meet their wants. This year they have gone above the reservation, and are working an unoccupied piece of land on the river, which is very fertile. They do this to let their old lands have one season's rest.

These Indians need more agricultural implements, such as hoes, spades, shovels, axes, sickles, carts, and harness. These latter especially should be given them, as they have to carry their grain in some cases fifteen to twenty miles, and the women are obliged to bring the wood they use from six to eight miles on their backs. They do not require from the gov einment clothing, as they are able to purchase it, and when given to them it only has a tendency to make them indolent. They need good stock animals. Some four or five California stallions and bulls would be a great acquisition and prized more than any present the gov ernment could give them. They have excellent breeding mares. A small herd of blooded sheep would also be a benefit, and in time a profitable property. But of all these needs I feel

to urge upon the attention of the department the procurement of carts and harness. They could be bought for one hundred and fifty dollars in coin each. One should be given to each village, (ten Pimo and two Maricopa.) I do most earnestly recommend that your agent be empowered to purchase these things.

They desire very much to have a school. Lieutenant Walker, who lives with the Pimos and understands their language almost perfectly, is competent to teach them. For a reasonable compensation he would take charge of a school. It could be more advantageously conducted with these Indians than with the Papagos, for the reason that they are more concentrated.

The chief and captains of the ten pueblos should each have compensation from government, even if not a very large sum; not only as encouragement to look after their people's wants, but also to repay them for much that they are obliged to expend incident to their office, especially the chief, Antonia Azul. He is kept poor on account of the many he has to entertain. In conclusion, these Indians, now numbering, Pimos 10,000, and Maricopas 1,000, deserve the marked attention of your bureau. They are orderly and industrious, virtuous and happy. If properly looked after by some one who has an interest in their welfare, who is actuated by an earnest and honest heart, they can be enlightened and elevated. Their history is replete with interest. It comes down to us from an age reaching back of the time when our country was discovered. They have monuments of antiquity surprising to behold. I have followed out the instructions of Colonel Davidson in regard to bringing before the Papagos in all its bearings the matter of a reservation. With some the idea is favorably received, with others not. Many have become so attached to their old places, that they dislike to leave; yet, if government deems it advisable to remove them, they could be induced to go without much difficulty.

At present they are a source of much assistance to the whites struggling to open the coun try; as laborers they are excellent help. They are mixing with the Mexican population to quite an extent through northern Sonora and southern Arizona. Becoming identified with these people, they are of much assistance as escorts and guides. Their presence in the vicinity is a great protection to us from the Apaches. In view of these facts the question arises, is it advisable to remove them to a reservation?

To establish them properly would require at least $25,000, as for two years they would be dependent upon government for support, and, until they could protect themselves, a military post would be necessary in their midst. There is an excellent point on the Gila river, some distance below the Pimos, for a reservation. The Papagos have expressed a desire to live there if they could be assisted to take possession. A school has been much talked of at San Xavier. You were informed by Colonel Davidson that the bishop of New Mexico had promised a teacher; he reported to me, but could not speak a word of English; he was not qualified, therefore, according to your instructions. I have engaged Mrs. William Tonge, an American lady living here, of excellent character, to take charge of the school. She has lived near the Papagos some time; understands their character and habits well. She is held in high estimation by them on account of her kindness to them. She will open the school in Jaiy. I thought best to make a commencement in the matter, although there is this in the way: If the school is to be for the benefit of all, some provision must be made to pay for the board and care of the children who come from the distant villages; in fact, those at San Xavier will have to be clothed. A room suitable must be procured and furnished. These Indians are poor and cannot afford to dress their children. I shall, however, open the school and await results. I am not yet informed that means have been provided to meet the expenses of this school, as well as to pay the several salaries indicated in your instructions. C. H. LORD, Deputy Agent.

Hon. D. N. COOLEY,

Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Washington, D. C.

* #

NEVADA SUPERINTENDENCY.

No. 29.

SUPERINTENDENCY of Nevada,

Carson City, September 10, 1866.

SIR: In obedience to the requirements of the department with which I am connected, I have the honor to submit my first annual report on the condition of Indian affairs within my superintendency.

confused state.

In entering upon the discharge of the duties of my office, I found everything in a very Governor Nye had ceased to be ex officio superintendent more than a year before, and Agent Lockhart had six months previously left this part of the country. No papers or records of importance had been transmitted to me, and I was compelled to collect

facts and rearrange the affairs of the office as best I could. The details of this work under such disadvantages have necessarily required patience and consumed time.

The Indian tribes included in this superintendency are dispersed measurably over the whole State.

THE BANNOCKS.

This tribe occupies most of that portion of Nevada north of the forty-first degree of north latitude, with the southeastern corner of Oregon and the southwestern corner of Idaho. Their country is diversified with mountains, valleys, and barren wastes. Frequently there are strips of fertile soit around the springs and along the margin of the small streams, which afford a supply of grass-seed and of other vegetable productions, upon which they subsist. They also obtain quantities of pine-nuts from the groves of the piñon, which in places cover the mountain sides. In regard to their food, however, they are not particular, and very often live upon the insects and reptiles which abound through the country. The few streains and small lakes afford a scanty supply of fish. The antelope, deer, and mountain sheep are found in places, but not in large numbers. The rabbit and large hare of the plains are more abundant. The burrowing marmot, the fox, the wild cat, and the cayote or prairie wolf, all exist to some extent in this region, and contribute to the food and clothing of these Indians. But since the discovery of the silver mines in northern Nevada, and especially since the excitement about the mineral wealth of Idaho, white men have steadily encroached upon the territory of this tribe. Roads have been made across their country, stations and settlements have been established at convenient watering places and wherever there were productive lands. Paradise valley, the most extensive fertile valley in their country, is now occupied and cultivated by white men, a number of whom have taken their families there and propose to be permanent residents.

The Bannocks, numbering about fifteen hundred, are well supplied with horses and exist in roving bands, controlled by sub-chiefs. As white men have encroached upon their territory they have manifested a wailike disposition, have made repeated raids upon the newly formed settlements, destroyed trains along the highways and committed many depredations, for which the military authorities have severely punished them. Forts have been erected, outposts established, and such forces provided as were necessary to maintain peace. It is proper to state that many of these bands, into which the tribe is divided, have from the first preserved the most friendly relations and are under the influence of this superintendency. Less is known about the mental and moral characteristics of the Bannocks than about either of the other tribes in this State.

THE SHOSHONES

This tribe has a population of about two thousand five hundred, and occupies almost the whole eastern half of the State. The line separating them from the Pai-Utes on the east and south is not very clearly defined. Since the settlement of Pahranagat and the recent explorations of Governor Blasdel and party, it is ascertained that the Shoshone language is spoken mostly by all the bands of Indians in southeastern Nevada. A letter accompanying this report from Rev. A. F. White, state superintendent of public instruction, is the most authentic information received at this office in regard to the condition of this portion of the tribe. The statements of Mr. White have been fully confirmed, not only by those who were with him during the long and hazardous journey of which he speaks, but by the miners of Pahranagat, Silver Peak, and other places.

About Austin and along the overland mail route, the Shoshones have, through constant contact with the whites for three or four years, become accustomed to their habits and in many instances learned to speak the English language. They have also made themselves useful in various capacities. Some of the women have become good washers, while the men cut and saw wood, cultivate gardens, and go on errands. They have made but little or no progress in morals. Like other savage tribes they incline to imitate the vices of the superior races rather than their virtues.

The Shoshones exist in bands commanded by sub-chiefs. Along the south and eastern border of their territory these bands are often constituted of many renegades from neighbor ing tribes. Governor Blasdel's party often found individuals who could speak only a few words of the Shoshone language, and in one instance an entire family, including six men and two or three women, who could not speak it at all, who had probably wandered from some tribe in northern Arizona. These Indians are more destitute of the necessaries of life than any other under the care of this superintendency. Comparatively few of them have been enabled to provide themselves with clothing obtained from the whites. Government has as yet only furnished goods through this superintendency for that part of the tribe living in Ruby valley and its vicinity. The supply which was forwarded for distribution last spring arrived in this city so late that it was thought best to store them here until fall. In fact, I had no funds unappropriated to pay for their further transportation at that time. These goods will be forwarded and distributed towards the approach of winter, when they will be of the greatest service to the Indians.

South of Ruby valley many white settlements are being formed, and the fertile lands of

this degraded people are being taken from them, their grasses consumed, their groves of pine trees (piñon) destroyed, and the scanty supply of game is being killed or driven away by the invaders, whom the Indian has learned to regard as his natural enemies. The country increases in sterility towards the south until it becomes probably the most barren district on the American continent. The families and bands which dwell in this region are destitute of horses and other domestic animals. They live in the depths of poverty, and are emaciated from hunger. When they steal horses, mules, and cattle, it is to appease the cravings of appetite; to keep themselves and their families from starvation. But these acts, with their utter want of moral perception, and their degraded and wretched condition, have given rise to such a strong and general aversion to them that the miners almost universally demand their extermination. Acts of injustice, wrong, and cruelty are not unfrequent. The civil law cannot protect them at so great a distance. An existence maintained under such natural disadvantages must, of necessity, fade away before the encroachments of a superior race. I beg leave respectfully to recommend that all necessary measures be at once adopted by the department to select and establish a suitable reservation for the Shoshones somewhere in the vicinity of Pahranagat. Lands, with proper facilities for irrigation, adapted to agricultural and grazing purposes, might now be obtained.

THE PI-UTES.

The territory occupied by this tribe is about one hundred miles broad, and is bounded on the north by the country of the Bannocks, on the east by that of the Shoshones, on the south by the State line between Nevada and California, and on the west by the territory of the Washoes. The population is estimated at about four thousand two hundred, including all classes. There are no Indians within this superintendency who have been so much benefited by their intercourse with the whites as the Pi-Utes. Situated immediately on the old emigrant road, at an early day they became acquainted with our habits and customs. Trading posts, stations, and settlements were established among them before the discovery of the rich deposits of silver ore east of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Many of them learned the English language, and conducted a limited traffic with the emigrants and settlers.

The Carson, Truckee, and Humboldt rivers, with the lakes into which these streams emptied, afforded an abundant supply of fish, accessible at all times. Along the margin of these rivers and bordering upon the lakes were extensive bodies of fertile land, producing annually quantities of grass-seed, and of such vegetables as completed the stock of food necessary to the wants of this people. Being thus better fed than the surrounding tribes, they were also much better developed, both physically and mentally. They made themselves serviceable in a variety of ways to the white man. Their willingness to work, and the efficiency and faithfulness with which they discharged the duties in which they were engaged, enabled them to find employment. Some of them earned both food and clothing for themselves and their families. Some of them became dissipated and fell victims to the vices which white men introduced. The great majority, however, resisted to some extent the temptations to which they were exposed. At times, through repeated provocations, they were impelled to take up arms against the whites. Still, upon the whole, they have been peaceable; have yielded readily to the will of the government, and are now cheerfully obedient to its laws. They are usually teachable, kind, and industrious. Their habits of temperance are proverbial, and deserve special mention. It is not known that there is an inebriate in the tribe. It is rare to find an individual who will even taste intoxicating liquors in any form. They have witnessed the evil effects of intemperance in their early acquaintance with white men, and, with a full conviction of its fatal and destructive tendencies, they have determined to abide by the principles of total abstinence. Their habits of virtue are equally rigid. It is the testimony of their agents, and those who have had ample opportunity of knowing for years, that they are scrupulously chaste in all their intercourse. This is especially true of their women. these habits and excellence of character may be attributed the fact that they are annually increasing in numbers, and that they are a strong, healthy, active people. Many of them are employed as laborers on the farms of white men in all seasons, but they are especially serviceable during the time of harvest and haymaking. The lessons of husbandry which they thus learn are not forgotten, and a disposition is often manifested to put them in practice on the lands reserved for their special benefit, but hitherto we have been unable, for want of means, to afford them much encouragement.

THE WASHOES.

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This is a small tribe of about five hundred Indians, living in the extreme western part of the State. They are usually a harmless people, with much less physical and mental development than the Pi-Utes, and more degraded morally. They are indolent, improvident, and much addicted to the vices and evil practices common in savage life. They manifest an almost uncontrollable appetite for intoxicating drinks. They are sensual and filthy, and are annually diminishing in numbers from the diseases contracted through their indulgences A few have learned the English language, and will do light work for a reasonable compensation. They spend the winter mouths about the villages and habitations of white men, from whom they obtain tolerable supplies of food and clothing. The spring, summer, and

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