together with the reports of the several agents, and your attention is invited to a brief statement of the affairs of each agency, as follows:

NAVAJO AGENCY.

The Indians of this agency number about 8,234 souls, and are located on the reservation in the northwestern part of the Territory, set apart under the treaty of June 1, 1868, embracing about 6,120 square miles. They are an agricultural, pastoral, and a hard-working people, and but for their unfortunate location as regards facilities for farming, they might have been self-sustaining before this time. Last year they planted largely, but owing to the absence of rain and the severe frosts early in the fall they raised comparatively nothing, and when I assumed charge of the superintendency, on the 30th of November last, I found them in an almost starving condition and raiding upon the surrounding country to sustain themselves. The sum of $75,000 had been appropriated by Congress to feed them during the year ending on the 30th June, 1871, but owing to some informality in the wording of the clause. making the appropriation it could not be drawn from the Treasury. I was therefore compelled to assume the responsibility of purchasing in open market 300 head of beef cattle, which, together with the corn that had been saved by the agent in issuing, and 50,000 pounds borrowed from the Quartermaster's Department of the Army, was sufficient to relieve their urgent wants and to enable the agent to control them until the Department, on the 8th and 15th of March of this year, authorized me to supply them by contract with subsistence, and a large amount of seed-corn, wheat, cabbage, potatoes, beans, &c., to plant. The subsistence has lasted till now. As will be seen by the accompanying report of Agent Miller, they have worked harder, and planted more this year, than at any time since they have been on the reservation, but their crops will be a total failure, owing to the same causes that operated last year.

In view of the repeated failure of the crops, and the fact that the Indians have worked faithfully this year, I would urge upon the honorable Commissioner the necessity of asking Congress to make an appropriation of at least $100,000, for feeding them during the year ending June 30, 1872, as a failure to do so would entail a much greater expense upon the Department, and would certainly be the cause of serious trouble between the white settlers and the Indians.

I concur in the opinion of Agent Miller, that these people cannot be made self-sustaining by tilling the soil alone, and think it would be advisable to supply them liberally with sheep, for the reasons given in Agent Miller's report, and to make an attempt to introduce spinningwheels and looms among them, which would greatly facilitate the manufacture of their blankets, and in time the sale of these blankets would be a source of great profit.

Agent Miller gives a very encouraging account of the school at his agency, and of the progress made by the scholars, considering the difficulty they have in pronouncing our language, and I invite especial attention to his remarks in regard to the kind of schools that would be most beneficial, and I trust his recommendation in regard to the appointment of a special agent will be favorably considered.

ABIQUIU AGENCY.

The Indians embraced in this agency are the Wemenuche and Capote Utes, numbering respectively about 650 and 250 souls. They claim and

occupy the land on, and in the vicinity of, the San Juan River, in the northwestern portion of the Territory. These, and the Utes of the Cimarron agency, have been in a very unsettled state since the treaty of the 2d of March, 1868. They have taken no interest in farming, but have sustained themselves mostly by the chase, seldom visiting the agency, and then only for the purpose of getting what few articles the agent has had authority to give them. As they were considered parties to the Ute treaty of 1868, no other provision has been made by the Government to feed or clothe them, and they have had nothing except the limited quantity of food that could be furnished out of the fund for the incidental expenses of the superintendency. The present condition and past good behavior of the Utes call for prompt assistance, and I cannot too strongly urge upon the honorable Commissioner the necessity of asking Congress to relieve them from the provisions of the treaty of 1868, and to make other appropriations for their support.

On the 3d of December last I recommended that the present agency be removed from Abiquiu to Fort Lowell, (at the town of Tierra Amarilla,) and that a temporary agency be established at a favorable point on the San Juan River, with a view to make it permanent should the agent be successful in his efforts to induce the Indians to take an interest in farming, and I am still of the opinion that this is the best disposition to make of these Indians for the present. They claim that country, and will not be persuaded to leave it. They have made less trouble and fewer complaints than the circumstances of their case would seem to justify, and I commend them to the prompt and favorable notice of the Department.

CIMARRON AGENCY.

This agency is located at the town of Cimarron, about one hundred and sixty-five miles northeast from Santa Fé, and includes the Mouache Utes, numbering about 645 souls, and the Jicarilla Apaches, numbering about 864 souls.

One cause of complaint at this agency is the failure of the Department to send the annuities claimed by these Indians, like the Utes of the Abiquiu agency. The Mouaches were considered parties to the Ute treaty of 1868, and the Jicarilla Apaches say the refusal of the Mouache Utes to recognize that treaty is the cause of the stoppage of their annuities. Another, and the greatest, cause of complaint and trouble, is the fact that the Indians claim what is known as the " Max. well grant" of land upon which they are at present located, and where they have lived for a long time. This grant has been purchased by a company of English capitalists. The land is being rapidly disposed of to actual settlers, and this company is making extensive improvements in and about the town of Cimarron, all of which is viewed with great dissatisfaction by the Indians, who cannot be made to understand it.

For some time past I have been aware of the necessity of moving the Indians from this place, and on the 10th of December last I suggested to the honorable Commissioner that probably during the present year the Mouache Utes could be persuaded to join the Wemenuche and Capote Utes at the Abiquiu agency, and the Jicarilla Apaches might be induced to join the Southern Apaches. I think this change can be effected without much trouble or expense, as I have since learned that the Jicarillas (with the exception of a small party who prefer to live with the Utes) affiliate with the Mescalero Apaches at Fort Stanton. By this arrangement considerable expense would be saved, and the Indians, being far from the evil influence of persons in the vicinity of their pres

ent agency, would no doubt be benefited. However, if it is not deemed advisable to make this change I think a suitable reservation could be found in the northeastern portion of the Territory, where the Indians could live in peace, and where their presence would have a tendency to deter the hostile bands of Comanches and Kiowas from raiding upon the settlers. These Indians, as well as those of the Abiquin agency, should receive prompt attention and assistance from the Department.

SOUTHERN APACHE AGENCY.

This agency is at present located at the Mexican town of Cañada Alamosa, on the west side of the Rio Grande, and about twenty-five miles west from Fort McRae. The agency comprises the Mimbres, Mogollon, and a few Mescalero Apache Indians, numbering about 1,210 souls.

When I assumed charge of the superintendency, in November last, I found the affairs of this agency in a most unfortunate condition as regards supplies for the Indians. The agent was powerless for want of authority, and there were no funds that could be spared for the use of that agency. The Indians had been waiting patiently for the past two years for positive assurances of aid from the Government, and at times had suffered considerably for want of food and clothing, owing to frequent and unavoidable delays in obtaining these articles by their agent. The reports of Lieutenant A. G. Hennisee, agent for these Indians, dated on the 7th and 8th of December, 1870, regarding the critical condition of the affairs of his agency, and the visit of the chief "Cochise," with a number of his people, to Cañada Alamosa, convinced me of the necessity for using any means at my disposal to prevent the Indians from leaving the reservation. I therefore wrote, December 12, 1870, to Agent O. F. Piper, who relieved Lieutenant Hennisee at that agency, as follows:

In view of the necessity for prompt action in this matter, I have to inform you that I have ventured to assume the responsibility of furnishing as many blankets of the number asked for by Lieutenant Hennisee as can be had at this place. They will be sent to you without delay, and you will consider yourself authorized, should you be convinced of the necessity for doing so, having learned the condition of affairs, to purchase a sufficient amount of provisions, so that a full ration of beef and corn (1 pound of each) may be issued to each Indian on the 21st instant, for one month.

I furnished all the blankets that could be found in this market, (less than 300,) and Agent Piper contracted for one month's supply of subsistence. I ventured to renew his authority monthly, and the Indians have been well fed since that time. It will be seen by Agent Piper's report that the number has increased 670 within the year. On the 1st

of May Agent Piper removed his agency from Paraje to Cañada Alamosa, where he could be near the Indians, and by issuing rations once a week, (instead of twice a month as before,) he could be better able to keep them in hand, and to know when they were absent.

On the 8th of March, 1871, I was directed by the honorable Commissioner to invite the chief Cochise, and such other chief as I might deem to be a proper person, on account of his influence among that tribe, to visit Washington, for the purpose of conferring with the Department, &c., and at once directed Agent Piper to send a party of messengers to communicate with Cochise. The party sent out by Agent Piper on the 6th of April, under José Trujillo, returned on the 18th, without finding any trace of Cochise or his people. I met this party at Cañada Alamosa on their return; and on the 26th April I sent another party, under José Trujillo, with instructions to find Cochise if he was alive, and to bring him and his band to Cañada Alamosa. This party returned on the 21st May, having found the camp and the family of Cochise in Arizona,

about one hundred and sixty miles west from Cañada Alamosa. (It is impossible to fix the locality of this camp with any degree of certainty, as the messengers knew little or nothing of the geography of the country.) Cochise, with a few warriors, was absent on a scout in Sonora, and the Indians in the camp were nearly naked, half-starved, and badly frightened. The messengers returned bringing all the Indians at the camp, (except the family of Cochise,) numbering over 100 men, women and children, and including three captains of Cochise's band.

On the 7th of June I sent another party in charge of Thomas J. Jef fords, with the same instructions that had been given José Trujillo. This party returned on the 26th or 27th of June; Mr. Jeffords reported that he had found Cochise on the 16th of June in a spur of the Dragoon Mountains-a range running parallel with and joining the Chi-ri-cua-hui Mountains south of the Gila river, in Arizona. Cochise is reported to have said, in reply to the messages I sent him, that he desired peace, but was afraid to venture to take his women and children to Cañada Alamosa at present, on account of the numerous scouting parties of troops and citizens in Arizona and New Mexico, and that he would not go without his people, &c. I was disposed to credit the main facts as stated by Mr. Jeffords, but subsequent events and information have compelled me to regard his report as doubtful. On the the 31st of July another party was sent out under José Trujillo, by my direction, to communicate with Cochise, and to endeavor to persuade him and his band to come to Cañada Alamosa. These messengers returned on the 21st of August, having been turned back by General Crook, who was in the field in command of about 400 cavalry near Camp Apache, Arizona Territory. The Hon. Vincent Colyer, of the Board of Indian Commissioners, arrived about this time with enlarged powers upon the whole subject, and parties have been sent out, by his direction, from Zuñi and Cañada Alamosa, to communicate with all hostile bands of Apaches. · The duties at this important agency have been arduous during the past year, owing to the various causes that have operated against the successful control of the Indians. The agency has incurred the enmity of the citizens of Southern New Mexico, and those Indians are accused of having committed most of the depredations in that section. While I am free to admit that too many of the complaints made by citizens are warranted by facts, yet I am satisfied, from what I have learned in conversation with reliable parties, that very many of the depredations charged to these Indians, in the absence of proof to the contrary, have been committed by others than Indians. However this may be, the citizens have been very much excited and exasperated, and have threatened to attack the Indians of this agency. I have therefore directed the agent to call for troops, should he consider it advisable, to prevent any such unlawful act, and also to assist him in taking stolen property that might be brought to his reservation, and in securing the thieves for punishment. Every effort has been, and will be, made to secure justice to the citizens when it is sought in a lawful manner.

In the latter part of August I accompanied Commissioner Colyer to the Tulorosa Valley, west of the Rio Grande, which valley he has declared to be an Indian reservation for the Indians at present located at Cañada Alamosa, and other roving bands of Apache Indians. The res ervation commences at the head-waters of the Tulorosa River and its tributaries, in the mountains, and extends down the same ten miles on each side for a distance of thirty miles, and embraces some of the best timber and farming lands in the Territory. Agent Piper has been directed to remove his agency and the Indians under his charge to that

valley at once, and the commanding officer of this district has been requested to furnish a sufficient military force for the protection of the agency, &c.

The appropriation of $70,000 for collecting and subsisting the Apaches of New Mexico and Arizona is entirely too small. According to the reports of Agents Piper and Curtis, there are about 1,700 Apaches already located in New Mexico. The cost of simply feeding these 1,700, leaving out the expense of clothing and other necessary articles for them, will be more than $6,000 per month, and in a year would exceed the appropriation for all the Apaches of this and Arizona Territory. In Arizona the number of Apaches will, no doubt, be as great as that of this superintendency, and I suggest and respectfully urge that Congress be asked to make an additional appropriation of at least $125,000 for the year ending on the 30th of June, 1872. This amount is fixed after a careful consideration of the expense of collecting, feeding, and supplying the Apaches with necessary articles of clothing, &c., and I trust it will not be considered unreasonable.

MESCALERO APACHE AGENCY.

This agency includes the Mescalero Apache Indians, numbering at present between 500 and 600 souls, and is located at Fort Stanton, in the southeastern portion of the Territory. In the fall of 1865 these Indians left the Bosque Redondo (or Fort Sumner) reservation, on account of differences with the Navajoes, and have been at war since that time. In October last Captain Chambers McKibbin, Fifteenth Infantry, United States Army, then commanding the post of Fort Stanton, captured two Mescalero women, who were sent to communicate with the balance of the tribe. In February of this year a small party visited Fort Stanton under José La Paz, a sub-chief, who stated that the wholetribe desired peace. General A. V. Kautz, lieutenant colonel Fifteenth Infantry, United States Army, commanding Fort Stanton, at once sent La Paz out to the Comanche country to bring in the Mescaleros, and to assure them that they would receive care and protection. La Paz returned to Fort Stanton on the 12th of April, and reported that his people were much pleased at the prospect of peace, and would come in as soon as the grass was sufficiently advanced to allow their animals to cross the "Staked Plains."

I visited Fort Stanton in June last, accompanied by Mr. A. J. Curtis, the newly-appointed agent for these Indians, and met about 30 Mescaleros, who had just arrived in advance of the main body. At the pres ent time there are between 500 and 600 Indians at Fort Stanton, and peace is established with the Mescaleros, owing to good management on the part of the commanding officer of that post and the persistent efforts of Hon. L. G. Murphy and Major Emil Fritz, citizens of Lincoln County. These Indians are being supplied with beef and corn temporarily, at the contract rates for those articles at that post, and during this fall a permanent reservation will be selected in the vicinity of the post. I have not yet received the annual report of Agent Curtis.

PUEBLO AGENCY.

These Indians number about 7,683 souls, and occupy 19 villages in different portions of the Territory. The reports of former superintendents and agents leave little to be said in praise of these people, and I will simply characterize them as law-abiding, industrious, and selfsustaining.