REPORT

OF

THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR.

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,

Washington, November 1, 1883.

SIR: I have the honor to submit my second annual report of the operations of the Department of the Interior, and in so doing to renew many of the suggestions and recommendations of my former report, together with such others as in my judgment will promote the public interest.

INDIAN AFFAIRS.

The report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs shows that there has been a very considerable improvement among the various Indian tribes, with but little dissatisfaction and but one outbreak, and that among the Apaches of Arizona. It is believed that it is quite possible, with a wise and judicious treatment of the Indian question, to prevent the recurrence of hostilities between the Indian and his white neighbors that have marked nearly every year of our history. The Indian can no longer hide himself in the fastness of the mountains or in the solitude of the wilderness. Contact has come between the settler and the Indian in all parts of the country. Civilization and savagery cannot dwell together; the Indian cannot maintain himself in a savage or semi-civilized state in competition with his white neighbor, and he must adopt the "white man's ways" or be swept away by the vices of savage life, intensified by contact with civilization. Humanity revolts at the idea of his destruction, yet it is far better that he should disappear from the face of the earth than that he should remain in his savage state to contaminate and curse those with whom he must necessarily come in contact in the future.

It has been demonstrated that the Indian is capable of advancement, although he has not reached a high state of civilization, except in a few individual cases. The progress of the Indians of the Indian Territory and New York, as well as some other sections, not only demonstrates his capability but also affords convincing proof that the race is not to die out, but has the inherent strength to maintain itself, even under

quite unfavorable circumstances, and that with intelligent assistance from the Government it may become self-supporting.

If the Indian is to become a civilized being it must be by the aid of the Government, intelligently directed; and one of the first steps to be taken is to fix the Indian in a permanent home. Civilization will come slowly, if it comes at all, to those who wander about without fixed homes, however well the Government provides for their wants. To this end the reservations should be reduced in size commensurate with the wants of their occupants, and a fee-simple title thereto given to the tribe, to be held for the benefit of the members thereof, according to Indian polity, until such time as the Indians themselves shall choose to divide it. The surplus lands of such reservations should be bought by the Government, and parceled out to actual settlers only. The proceeds of the lands so sold should be used, not in providing food only for the Indian, but in the purchase of stock, farming implements, and in the education of their youth. When the Indian is fixed in his home and understands that he has a title to his land of which he cannot be deprived, one great source of his discontent will be gone.

The destruction of game in the country renders it impossible for the Indian to continue to support himself by the fruits of the chase, and he must support himself by labor or be supported by the Government. If supported by the Government, he will be a pauper and a vagabond, an expense to the nation, and a curse to the people among whom he may dwell. His evil influence will be felt far beyond the neighborhood in which he may live. He has no claims on the Government for support beyond the time when he has acquired the ability to support himself. If the Government has purchased his land, he should be paid for it according to the contract, having, however, due regard to his interest. If the system of annuities provided for in many of the treaties will keep him a savage pauper, payments should be made to him in such a way as to save him from such a state. He will not advance if the Govern ment supplies all his wants and demands nothing from him; and no greater injury can be done him than to supply his wants and allow him to live in idleness. If allowed to continue in idleness, he will continue in vice and savagery. He must be taught to labor and care for himself, by persuasion if possible, by compulsion if necessary. The Government should provide schools for his children, where they should be taught the English language, and all kinds of useful labor; and the attendance of all children of school age should be required. If he chooses to be a farmer, he should receive suitable assistance in the first instance, with the understanding that such assistance is only temporary and must soon cease. If he prefers to be a stock-raiser, as he will in most cases, he should be furnished stock suitable to his wants, instructed to care for them, and then left to his own exertions. The manual-labor schools should instruct the male children in labor on the farm and in the shops, and the females in household affairs. Oppor

tunities to engage in such labor can be readily found among the settlers on the borders of the reservations.

Laws should be enacted for his protection, not, however, at his dictation, but such as enlightened philanthropy determine for his benefit. He must not only have the protection of law, but he must be subject to its provisions. The courts should be as free to him for the protection of his person or property as to his white neighbors.

If he desires to abandon his tribal relations and become a citizen of the United States, he should be allowed to do so, without the loss of his interest in the tribal property.

Treaties impossible of fulfillment, or contrary to the public interest, should be modified or repealed; no more treaties should be made, or statutes enacted according to agreements made with the Indian. If he has more land than he needs, he must surrender the excess, and it cannot be left to him to determine either the amount he ought to retain or the price he ought to receive. He is incapable of determining such weighty questions; they should be determined by the legislative branch of the Government, or by some suitable tribunal created for that purpose. To many of the reservations he has no title whatever, and is but the occupant thereof by Executive favor. Such occupants ought not to be left landless, neither should they be allowed to hold large tracts not necessary for their support, and of which they make but little or

no use.

In most cases appropriations for support are in consideration of cessions of lands heretofore made by the Indians to the Government, and the money so appropriated cannot be considered a gratuity; but in addition to such appropriation a large amount is appropriated for the support of Indians with whom we have no treaty engagements for such support. The amount so appropriated for the fiscal year 1883 was $1,520,000.

Such last-named appropriations have been made in the same manner that those made under treaty engagements have been made; that is, a specified sum for each tribe or band. The propriety of this method, when applied to those Indians with whom we have treaty engagements for such appropriation, is not to be questioned; but no reason exists why the same course should be pursued with reference to those appropriations that are a gratuity on the part of the Government. All such appropriations should be at the disposal of the Department, so that distribution can be made according to the necessity of the Indians for whose benefit these appropriations are made. If the Department could use these funds at its discretion, they could be made not only a means of support, but a valuable agency in the civilization of the Indians. The Indian receiving the supplies so provided for should be made to understand that he has no claim on the Government, and that such assistance is only afforded him to enable him to become self-supporting,

and that if he fails to show reasonable progress in that direction such support will be withdrawn. It should be within the power of the Department to withhold such supplies, except in payment for labor performed by such Indians when the Department can furnish them an opportunity to labor. The cultivation of land or the care of stock should be made a condition precedent to receiving aid from the Government, except in the case of those unable, to perform such labor. Such has not been the practice of the Government, but, on the contrary, the Indian has been allowed to refuse to do work of any kind, and yet demand and receive support from the Government. Why should the Government support the able-bodied Indian who refuses to work, any more than it should the white man who refuses to exert himself for his support? I therefore recommend that all appropriations of the character namedthat is, those made without consideration on the part of the Indians— be placed at the disposal of the Department, and that their distribution be made to depend as far as practicable on the disposition shown by the Indians to become self-supporting.

In my former report I recommended the disarming of the Indians, and I renew that recommendation. If we subsist the Indian, he has no use for fire-arms, and it is not economy to allow him to retain his arms for the purpose of supplying himself with game; far better to give him a sufficiency of food, and require him to remain on his reservation. If the Indian is disarmed he will cease to be an object of terror to his white neighbor, and the friendly relations that ought to exist between the white settler and his Indian neighbor will not be wanting. It is unsafe to trust an Indian with a gun; the very possession of it incites in him a desire to use it. The unarmed Indian is as safe in any country as the unarmed white man; it is the possession of his weapon and the knowledge that he may be tempted to use it that creates hostility towards him on the part of the settler. Disarm him and put him under the protection of the law, and his person and property will be as safe as that of his white neighbor. His arms ought not to be confiscated; for every rifle give him an ox of twice its value to till his field, cows, sheep, or horses, as he may need. The propriety of doing this cannot be doubted; the beneficial results would be readily seen. I renew the following suggestion made in my former report:

I therefore suggest that the Commissioner of Indian Affairs be authorized to adopt some system of disarming the Indians, and to that end to purchase the arms of the Indians on fair terms, and that suitable appropriation be made, out of which payment shall be made, and that the sale of arms or ammunition to Indians holding tribal relations be prohibited under severe penalties.

INDIAN EDUCATION.

The subject of Indian education has lost none of its interest since my former report; on the contrary, an increased public interest has been