Indian should be treated like a man, held responsible as an individual, and given the rights other men enjoy. During the past year one of my Indians had a horse stolen. He was found in the possession of a white man near Bismarck, and the facts reported. I sent my interpreter with four Indians, all of whom knew the horse, to identify him. An officer was applied to who informed them that the horse could not be recovered on Indian testimony. If white witnesses were brought, and the agent appear, give bond for costs, he would proceed in the case. This was 100 miles away. The horse was not recovered. While the Indian should be held amenable to the law, he should also be protected under the law. Give him an equal chance in the race of life. It is said he does not love to labor; this might also be said of many white men, but when the Indian is made to feel that he must work or starve he will labor like other folks. When he makes money by his labor, protect him from the high prices charged by the licensed trader. It is unfair that Indians should be required, with the hard earnings of their unskillful toil, to pay 100 per cent. more for what they buy than cost and transportation of goods. No white man could make a support if treated in like manner. Abolish licensed traderships; allow any one to trade with the Indians held strictly amenable to the law; expel them for violation of its provisions, or allow at least two traders, that there may be some competition, which is equally desirable on an Indian reservation as at other places. I am strongly in favor of giving my Indians the benefit of competing traders, to enable them to obtain more nearly the worth of their products and to purchase supplies at their market value. To deprive them of these benefits is doing them a great injustice in having their earnings taken from them without a just equivalent. At the beginning of this fiscal year I reduced my police force from 20 men to 12. These were carefully selected, and are men of influence and energy, carefully guarding the general good order of this community-1 captain, 1 lieutenant, and 10 privates, with a white employé chief of police. This change has been quite satisfactory to myself and of advantage to the Indians. Good order has prevailed during the year, with few slight exceptions, which cases were readily harmonized. No cases of whisky or drunkenness among my Indians have come to my knowledge during the past year. These Indians are peaceable and friendly; many would assume the position of citizens and compare favorably with the average white man if they could have lands in severalty and the protection of the law thrown around them. During May and June last I had flouring-mill gearing put in position in agency mill for grinding wheat; raised at this agency last year and manufactured 44,000 pounds flour, of good quality. There was also sawed during the year at the agency saw-mill 20,812 feet lumber. During the past year the government school has been kept in continuous session for ten consecutive months, from September 1, 1881, to June 30, 1882, with an average daily attendance for the year of 31.5 pupils. The school is in prosperous condition, and evident progress is being made, but it is difficult, with school-house situated so near the village, to secure regular attendance of pupils. Efforts at discipline usually result in staying away from school. I trust such arrangements will be made that we may be enabled to secure buildings suitable for establishing a boarding-school. Indian children learn to write with remarkable rapidity, and would make rapid progress in other studies if regular attendance could be secured. It is an established fact that, among the tribes of Indians where the rudiments of education have been well established, they have never lifted their hands in hostility toward the whites. The Indian is steadily and surely improving; let us be patient in our work in helping him up to a higher plane of life, and teach him the important lesson that there is a better life than savage life, a higher ambition than possessing scalps, and a better hope than the Indian knows. Let us never doubt the future of these people, but labor faithfully on for their good. Although it is a difficult task to overcome old traditions and superstitions, and lift humanity from a lower to a higher plane in the scale of civilization, yet time and patience, with the necessary means employed, will accomplish the much desired end. Missionary work, under the American "Board of Commissioners of Foreign Missions," by Rev. C. L. Hall, resident minister at this agency, is steadily carried forward. An increased attendance at chapel service, a better observance of the Sabbath day, in quietude and good order, are among the evidences of improvement in the moral condition of these Indians. Rev. Mr. Hall being absent from the agency, and not having access to his records, I am unable to give statistics of the missionary work. School was held in the chapel by Miss Ward and Miss Pike, who are faithful and competent teachers, and also in missionary work. I send herewith statistical report of agency affairs, also annual report of agency physician and school teacher. I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, JACOB KAUFFMAN, United States Indian Agent. The COMMISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. CROW CREEK AGENCY, DAKOTA, SIR: In compliance with instructions contained in office circular, dated July 15, 1882, I have the honor to transmit herewith my first annual report of the condition of affairs at this agency, being for the year ending September 1, 1882. On the 1st day of October, 1881, I assumed charge of affairs of the agency, relieving Captain Dougherty, who had been in charge for some three years previously. On July 1, 1882, this agency having been consolidated with Lower Brulé, I ceased to be an agent, and was then appointed by the honorable Secretary of the Interior "farmer in charge," the appointment to hold good until formally relieved by the agent at Lower Brulé, and it is in this capacity that this report is submitted. CENSUS. A careful count of the population of this reservation shows the entire number to be as follows: There are three chapels, located upon different portions of the reservation, under the immediate supervision of Rev. H. Burt, of the Protestant Episcopal Church, a gentleman of many years' experience in the work, which is progressing as favorably as could be expected. MORALS. The morals of the Indians at this agency will compare favorably with those of other places. An attempt was made last spring, by some Indians who came here from Standing Rock, to introduce some objectionable dances, but which was at once, at my request, suppressed. INDIAN POLICE. The force is composed of one captain, one sergeant, and eight privates, and is very reliable and efficient in preserving and maintaining order. SANITARY. The general health of the tribe at present is good. The total number of deaths during the year was fifty-two, while only thirty-two births have been reported. The excess of deaths was caused by a peculiar disease breaking out last spring among children, and which was in almost every case fatal, and at a time when the services of a physician could not be procured, the attending physician, who resided at Fort Hale, having met with an accident which prevented him from visiting the agency for several weeks. EDUCATIONAL. The industrial school was opened October 1, 1881, and continued in operation until July 1, 1882, when a vacation was given until September 1. The scholars have been instructed in the different branches of a common-school education in the English language and have made good progress; in fact, I do not see but they learn as rapidly as white children do with the same facilities. The boys have been instructed in gardening and other out-door work by the agency farmer, while the girls have been taught sewing and general household duties by the matron. The school has been in charge of Miss King, assisted by Edward P. H. Ashley, a full-blood Indian, a pupil returned from Hampton. THE AGENCY FARM consists of about ninety acres, sixty-five of which were sown in oats, twenty in corn, three in potatoes, and two in vegetables, and has been worked almost exclusively by In dian labor under the direction of the agency farmer. LANDS IN SEVERALTY have been taken by 241 persons, a large majority of whom are heads of families, who evince an intense desire to improve their claims and to erect good, comfortable houses, and to inclose their fields with good fences. There are very few but what are willing and anxious to work, and I can safely say that these people are in better condition to-day than they ever were before. About three-fourths of them wear citizen's clothing. MECHANICAL. The blacksmith and wagon shop was, unfortunately, burned on the morning of June 13, up to which time five apprentices were constantly employed therein, while, owing to the large number of log houses that were erected by the Indians themselves, requiring to be roofed with shingles, floored, furnished with doors, windows, &c., the services of a much larger number of apprentices were required in the carpenter shop, there having been employed in that department almost constantly from fifteen to twenty, all anxious to learn. I would recommend, in view of the large amount of harness, stoves, and tin-ware now in use on this reservation, that when a new blacksmith and wagon shop is erected rooms overhead be fitted up and furnished with the necessary tools for a harness and a tin shop. I have requested that some of the youth now at Hampton be instructed in those trades. SUPPLIES furnished by the department have been plentiful and of a good quality, with the single exception of beef, which fell short. A more liberal supply has been furnished for the ensuing fiscal year. RAILROADS. There are now two railroads bordering upon the reservation, the Chicago and Northwestern on the north, and the Chicago, Milwaukee and Saint Paul on the south, and as these roads are the forerunners of civilization, the country on all sides of the reservation is rapidly being taken up, and there has been a disposition in some instances to encroach upon the reservation, but, so far, all attempts to take up lands have been successfully resisted. The Indians make it a subject of general complaint that while they have ceded the right of way to the two corporations above mentioned, and they have built and have been operating their roads for some time, they have not yet received a single cent from the companies. I would recommend an early adjustment of their affairs, and that the amount due them be invested in stock, agricultural implements, tools, &c., for their benefit. The question of opening up the reservation for settlement by the whites has for the past few months been the cause of considerable excitement among the Indians, and the consolidation of this agency with a neighboring one on the west side of the Missouri River has given rise to much uneasy speculation, they looking upon the movement as a step in the direction of removing them from their homes on the east side of the river to the west, thus compelling them to take a new start in life, only to have the same process repeated in a few years. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, The COMMISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. GEO. H. SPENCER, LOWER BRULÉ AGENCY, DAKOTA, August 31, 1882. SIR: In compliance with circular letter bearing date July 15, 1882, and in reply thereto, I would respectfully report: The Lower Brulé Agency is located upon the west bank of the Missouri River, and is nearly in the same latitude of Portland, Me.; longitude about 23° 30" west from Washington. The report made by me for the year 1881 contains in detail the nature of the climate, topography, &c., of the country surrounding the agency, as well as the character of soil and other topics incident to agriculture, water, and timber, with a statement of the supplies of each, being intended at the time of writing to give such a description of the agency and surroundings that a stranger, hearing of the agency for the first time by the report, would be able to form some definite idea of the place, the people inhabiting, and surroundings. Premising that when the report for 1881 was written my experience was limited, I will here state that a further acquaintance with all the topics considered at that time have in nearly if not all cases deepened the views then presented. 66 As at the present time à strong effort is being made to throw open a part of the Great Sioux Reservation, and the most glowing descriptions are published of its "unexampled fertility,' 'magnificent forests," "deep, clear, and cooling streams," making it appear (on paper) as an earthly paradise, needing but the hand of the hardy settler to make the wilderness "bud and blossom as the rose," descriptions written for the most part by people who can scarcely tell wheat from weeds, perhaps a few words from one who has traversed a portion of this “paradise" may not be amiss. No doubt but that land can be found in Dakota capable of bearing wheat, rye, oats, barley, with other small grains, provided they are sown early, that they may mature before the scorching blasts of August arrive; but, unless there is a radical change in climate, this part of Dakota cannot be classed as a corn-producing" region. A crop was made upon the agency farm in 1881, called by good judges a first-class crop for Dakota," but which a New England farmer would call "poor." In many years the extreme dryness and heat combined make the corn crop almost a total failure. The Omaha and Ree varieties in some locations mature, but not in quantities to warrant the statement that this section of Dakota is a "corn country." The magnificent forests exist only in the fancy of some penny-a-liner; the same may be said of the "clear, cooling, and abundant streams." The fact is that the greatest drawback to the settlement of this part of Dakota arises from the scarcity of fuel and water. The discovery of coal, and some means of supplying water, would be the greatest blessings that could be conferred upon Dakota. An extended drive of miles upon miles over the rolling prairie reveals almost an entire absence of both. Some means may be possibly devised in the future to overcome these wants, but as at present situated the greater part of the Great Sioux Reservation is as useless for agricultural purposes almost as the Desert of Sahara. CLIMATE. The range of temperature for 1881-82 has not been as great as of 1880-'81, neither were the snows as deep or the storms as severe as in that fearful winter, nor has the temperature risen to so great a height as during the summer of 1881. Very little snow or moisture fell during the winter, but the rains continued later during the spring and early summer months, making the average nearly the same, as far as moisture is concerned, with the year preceding; the cold winds of March and April being really more disagreeable than many of the days of January and February. HEALTH. The tribe during a part of the year enjoyed an excellent state of health, but during January, February, March, and a part of April suffered severely from pneumonia, lung fever, and whooping-cough, and measles. The mortality among the young children was very great, and quite a number of adults were also carried off by lung diseases in one form or another, causing a feeling of deep gloom to rest upon the entire tribe. With the usual perversity of the Indian, in many cases the help of the physician was not sought until too late, and, in other cases, the directions given as to diet, exposure, &c., were ignored wholly or in part, producing many fatal results which with proper attention would have been avoided. The advent of warm weather proved one of the most beneficial remedies, and checked disease that in many cases would otherwise have proved fatal. At the present time the health of the tribe is excellent. IMPROVEMENTS. During the past year the boarding-school building, the school-room building, and the laundry building connected with the new school have been completed and occu pied; besides these, a new dormitory, to replace a log house, has been built for the white agency employés, giving them a healthy, comfortable room in place of the rotten, damp, and unhealthy quarters before in use. A new frame house has been built for Chief Medicine Bull, an addition put upon the house of Chief Iron Nation, a commodious agency office completed and occupied, a hospital building, dispensary, and physician's office completed, and a residence for the agency physician nearly finished, and an engine-house for the two fire-extinguishers, and a new cattle corral also built. The buildings already built have also been repaired and put in good order. The most of this labor has been performed by Indian mechanics, under the supervision of a white master-carpenter, and will compare favorably with buildings of a similar nature constructed by white labor entirely. A large number of Indian homes have also been erected during the year, in the place of the cloth lodges formerly in use. Many of these log houses are clean and neat, and even tasty, in appearance, and will serve as a powerful influence in keeping the Indians from that straggling, wandering life formerly led by them and their ancestors. A comparison now and a year since reveals the fact that in place of the lodge, with its column of smoke streaming from the opening in the top, may be found neat and comfortable log houses, furnished with stoves, bedsteads, chairs, washstands, and other articles of furniture, to which, until within a short time, they were utter strangers. The desire to possess furniture, &c., acts as a powerful stimulus to good behavior and industry, as they are informed that the needed articles can only be obtained by their working for them, i.e., cutting and hauling their logs to the saw-mill, assisting in the sawing, building a house, and fitting it for a habitation, for which, when done, the furnishing will be supplied. The distribution of wagons and harness is also made upon the same general plan; those families who for the year preceding have made the most improvements, and conducted themselves the best, being the fortunate recipients of the coveted articles. A system of rewards and punishments seems the best adapted to bring them to a sense of duty, and when the reason for either is given, seldom fails to commend itself to the party in question. Like all human beings, some kind of a stimulus is needed to incite them to action. AGRICULTURE. The system of Indian farming heretofore has been largely in common, i. e., a band or portion of a band having a common field, cultivating the same in common, sharing the produce also in common, to a greater or less degree. This system is radically wrong, for by it the lazy share alike with the industrious, as each Indian has an idea that anything produced by another Indian is his by right of kinship—all being Indians; thus those who labor faithfully contribute largely to the support of those who do not labor at all. As the Indian grows in intelligence he is not slow to see the unfairness of the old method, and to inquire if there is not some way in which this evil may be remedied. When inquiries are made of this kind, the party has been advised to "set up for himself" in another location, and assisted in breaking and fencing land for a farm where he would be sole proprietor. Many have availed themselves of this plan, and the number is constantly increasing, and it is hoped that ere long the commune system will be abolished wholly or in part, and each have his own farm, less or greater, as the case may be, to his sole use and benefit. By this means a spirit of harmless rivalry will be fostered, and be the means of more thorough cultivation and an increased production of crops, with corresponding satisfaction on the part of the producer. The demand for breaking teams the past spring was much larger than could be supplied, and breaking was the order of the day as long as the land could be turned by the plow. Breaking in this section can be done but a short time during the spring or a part of the fall; the land speedily becomes hard and "bakes" to such a degree that a plow cannot be used to advantage. In my judgment the time has arrived when it would be wise to distribute to this tribe from twenty to twenty five pairs of work cattle, the selection to be made, as to distribution, among those who by the care of cattle already distributed have shown that they can and do, appreciate their true value; the cattle thus distributed to be the property of the person to whom issued, with the distinct understanding that unless properly cared for they would be taken from him and placed in the hands of those who will properly care for them. In this manner the best men in the tribe will be incited to still further efforts for their own support, and others would be induced to do their best in the hope that they would in turn also be provided with cattle of their own. Another consideration is this: a new "standard of values" would in due time be established, and the "ox" supersede the "pony" and be quite as highly prized. Some few in the tribe now own and use oxen entirely, and as a rule they are by far the best workers, less liable to roam from agency to agency than those whose "rolling-stock" consists of "ponies" only. As stated in my report for 1881, this section of Dakota is far better adapted for a grazing than a farming country, and it should be borne in mind that while in some few |