title upon fulfillment of certain conditions, which were complied with. Authority was granted January 4, 1897, for the purchase of the several tracts at the prices specified in the deeds.

The deeds were recorded in the register of deeds office for Pennington County, S. Dak., in Book G-that of Mr. Temple, on page 284; that of Mr. Williamson on page 283, and that of Mr. Long on page 282. In this Office they will be found in Miscellaneous Records, Volume IV, pages 132, 136, and 140.

THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI INTERNATIONAL EXPOSITION

АТ ОМАНА.

Indian Congress.-The Indian appropriation act of July 1, 1898, (30 Stats., p. 571), contains the following clause:

That the Secretary of the Interior be, and he is hereby, authorized to cause to be assembled at the city of Omaha, in the State of Nebraska, at such time and for such period as he may designate, between the first days of June and November, anno Domini eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, representatives of different Indian tribes, as a part of the Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition, to be held at the city of Omaha, in the State of Nebraska, pursuant to an act of Congress entitled "An act to authorize and encourage the holding of a Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition at the city of Omaha, in the State of Nebraska, in the year eighteen hundred and ninety-eight," approved June tenth, eighteen hundred and ninety-six, for the purpose of illustrating the past and present conditions of the various Indian tribes of the United States, and the progress made by education, and such other matters and things as will fully illustrate Indian advancement in civilization, the details of which shall be in the discretion of the Secretary of the Interior. And for the purpose of carrying into effect this provision the sum of forty thousand dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated; but the Secretary of the Interior is hereby prohibited from making, or causing to be made, any expenditure or creating any liability on behalf of the United States in excess of the sum hereby appropriated.

As showing the purpose and scope of the proposed congress of Indian tribes, I quote the following from a letter of instructions sent to Indian agents in regard to securing the attendance at the congress of representatives of various tribes.

It is the purpose of the promoters of the proposed encampment or congress to make an extensive exhibit illustrative of the mode of life, native industries, and ethnic traits of as many of the aboriginal American tribes as possible. To that end it is proposed to bring together selected families or groups from all the principal tribes and camp them in tepees, wigwams, hogans, etc., on the exposition grounds, and there permit them to conduct their domestic affairs as they do at home, and make and sell their wares for their own profit.

It is represented that the Indian tribes are rapidly passing away or modifying their original habits and industries by adopting those of civilization; that there are yet many tribes within our borders whose quaint habits and mode of life, which have remained practically unchanged since the days of Columbus, are little known to the majority of our own people, and that an assemblage of the kind proposed would not only be beneficial to the Indians participating, but would be extremely interesting, as well as profitable, to the large body of people in attendance.

The first step will be to select the families or groups of Indians who are to represent their respective tribes at the encampment. It is desired that the encampment should be as thoroughly aboriginal in every respect as practicable, and that the primitive traits and characteristics of the several tribes should be distinctly set forth. This point should be constantly kept in view in the selection of the Indians and in the collection of material.

The Indians chosen to attend must be full bloods, and should be good types of their respective tribes, consisting preferably of leading men or chiefs and their families. The latter should be made up of man, wife, and one or two (and never more than three) minor children. While it is desired that family groups and family life should be portrayed, it would be preferable that at least a majority of the delegation consist of adults.

Only Indians of good morals and habits should be selected, and most important of all they must be strictly temperate.

They should bring native dress if possible. They should also bring their native domiciles or the materials with which to make them. They should also bring the necessary articles with which to furnish and decorate their tepees or other domiciles. As this will be a most interesting part of the exhibit the furnishings should be as attractive and complete as possible. The necessary materials for carrying on their native arts should also be brought, so that they may engage in making articles for sale on the grounds. Where this can not be done they may bring things illustrative of their craft in reasonable quantities for sale. Necessary cooking utensils should be brought, and these should be as primitive as possible.

A collection of the implements and emblems of warfare would also be extremely interesting, and where it can be arranged with any degree of completeness it is suggested that such collection be brought. Articles to which a historical interest attaches for any reason should also be brought if practicable.

The Indians will not, of course, be at any expense for transportation to or from the Exposition or for expenses of living while in attendance there, and they will be well cared for.

July 11, 1898, the Department detailed Capt. W. A. Mercer, U. S. A., acting agent of the Omaha and Winnebago Agency, Nebr., to install and conduct the congress of Indian tribes at the Exposition, and on July 13, 1898, granted Mr. J. R. Wise, a clerk in this office, leave of absence without pay and appointed him as assistant manager to aid Captain Mercer at Omaha. From Captain Mercer's report of September 15 the following account of the congress is summarized:

The work of installing the Indians was prosecuted with as much expedition as possible, and on August 4, 1898, the Indian Congress was formally opened, and, although not nearly all of the Indian tribes which it was originally intended to have present were on the grounds, the Indians in attendance and in the parade of that day numbered about 450.

"Indian Opening Day" was a complete success, and the attendance on that day had only once been exceeded during the progress of the Exposition, and that was on July 4. There were present for that occasion about 150 Omahas and about 45 Winnebagoes-all from the Omaha and Winnebago Agency. These were not intended as permanent delegations for the congress, and they returned to their reservations after remaining about ten days. The Indians comprising the permanent delegation at that time numbered about 225, representing about 15 tribes and 18 reservations.

The work of procuring and installing delegations from other tribes was prosecuted without interruption, and at this date tribes are represented at the Exposition as shown in the following table:

Included in the band of Apache prisoners of war from Fort Sill are Chief Geronimo, the famous Apache warrior, and his able lieutenant, Nachie. The various delegations from other agencies also have many prominent men.

Many difficulties were encountered in the work of preparing and installing the Indian Congress, and in making it what it was originally intended by the Department that it should be, namely, a congress of the several Indian tribes of the United States, at which their native customs, habits, mode of dress, domestic life, dwellings, etc., should be portrayed. The greatest difficulty lay in the fact that Congress delayed the appropriation for the purpose so long that insufficient time was allowed to select, equip, and prepare the several delegations. In many cases the Indians were distrustful or did not want to come to the congress. This was especially true of some of the oldest and best types of Indians-the ones that were really most desired as delegates. As a rule, no difficulty was experienced in obtaining any number of mixed bloods or partially civilized representatives, who for many reasons were the least desired.

It required repeated efforts and much persuasion to get Indians of the desired class, such as the Utes, the Bannocks, the Shoshones, the Nez Percés, the Osages, the Navajoes, and Northern Cheyennes. After some of them had been at the Indian Congress camp a few days and

seen the Exposition and its surroundings, no difficulty would have been experienced in getting from their respective tribes delegations of any size desired, including the best men.

The delegations present are, on the whole, well equipped as to camp. and outfit, and are most excellent types of their several tribes, and the Indian encampment affords an opportunity for the student of aboriginal Indian life never before presented. It was soon found, however, that this feature was of comparatively little interest to most visitors, who, having seen one or two camps, had seen them all. In other words, the real differences and characteristics of the Indians were of slight interest to the average visitor. A scientific exhibit appeals to but a small percentage of those who attend the Exposition. The greater portion of the people coming to the Exposition visit the Indian Congress, and express the fullest satisfaction. However, what they really want is amusement. They prefer to see the Indians, in their full Indian dress, on parade, conducting their ceremonies, and their dances, or engaging in sham battles. All of these are being provided so far as practicable, and the eager crowds are often larger than the grounds can comfortably accommodate.

For many weeks after the encampment opened the weather was extremely trying. Great heat, accompanied by dry, hot winds, made camp life anything but pleasant. Close upon the heated period came a week of cold, heavy rains, which made it even more disagreeable. But with the coming of clear, cool weather the camp has taken on a new aspect, and conditions are more favorable in every respect.

Indian school exhibit. From the opening of the exposition on June 1, the work of the Indian Bureau has been represented there by an exhibit in the Government building similar to that prepared for the Atlanta and Nashville expositions. It presents mainly the effort of the office to educate Indians, and for lack both of space and facilities does not undertake to show what progress, outside of the schools, Indians are making in adopting the habits of thought and life, as well as the occupations, which pertain to civilization.

The attempt is made to set forth the aim, scope, and success of Indian schools, both intellectually and industrially. Certain schools were asked to send samples of the regular work of their pupils in schoolrooms and shops. The exhibit is necessarily incomplete in that it can indicate the training given Indian youth in domestic arts and in farming, gardening, care of stock, etc., only by photographs. But the trades are well represented. The course of instruction is shown, and the age and experience of the Indian workman are given. There is blacksmith and wheelwright work, from a bolt to a farm wagon; woodwork, from sloyd to a finely finished cabinet; leather, from the sewing of two pieces together to a complete harness and well-made shoes; needlework, from patchwork and darning to fine embroidery, drawn work and "real" lace,

and complete suits for men and women. Tinsmithing, printing, and painting are also shown.

Class-room papers, from kindergarten exercises and first attempts in English to geometry, physics, bookkeeping, typewriting, and stenography differ little from those that would be furnished by white schools of similar grade, except for early deficiencies in the use of English and perhaps a rather unusually good average in drawing and penmanship. A new feature of interest is some excellent "studies" in oil by a young woman of the Winnebago tribe who is under careful training and gives promise of becoming an artist of unusual ability. The subjects are taken from Indian life.

Interesting sets of photographs give interior and exterior views of schools, and sets of floor plans and elevations of buildings now in use show the provision which the Government makes for housing its Indian school children.

Fewer schools are represented than in former exhibits, so that the work of each school may be more fully presented. They are: Nonreservation training schools at Genoa, Nebr., Lawrence, Kans. (Haskell Institute), Carlisle, Pa., and Carson, Nev.; reservation boarding schools as follows: Winnebago in Nebraska, Seger Colony and Riverside (Kiowa) in Oklahoma, Oneida in Wisconsin, Crow Creek in South Dakota, and Hoopa Valley in California; also day schools on the Pine Ridge and Rosebud reservations in South Dakota and among the Mission Indians in California.

Under the supervision of Miss Alice C. Fletcher special attention has been given to the installation of the exhibit. For decorative purposes, and also to differentiate the Indian educational exhibit from those of white schools, specimens of native Indian handicraft have been addedblankets, matting, plaques, baskets, pottery, beadwork, articles cut from red pipestone, etc. Out of these a "cosy corner" has been fashioned, and fine color effects have been secured which arrest the attention. The taste and skill displayed in the workmanship of these articles give unmistakable evidence of the native capacity which is ready to respond to the Government offer of instruction in new avocations. They show the aboriginal soil upon which education sows its seeds.

EXHIBITION OF INDIANS.

During the past year the Department has granted authority for the taking of Indians from their reservations for exhibition purposes, as follows:

September 10, 1897, to C. L. Timmerman, secretary of the Morton County Fair Association, to secure a reasonable number of Indians from the Standing Rock Reservation, N. Dak., for exhibition purposes at the State fair held at Mandan, N. Dak. In this case no bond was