REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, OFFICE OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, SIR: I have the honor to submit herewith the annual report of the Indian Bureau for the year 1880. Gradual progress in the arts of industry has been made by the various Indian tribes during the past year, and in some instances the advancement toward civilization has been marked. The efforts of a number of the tribes in cultivating the soil have been attended with a degree of success that has set at rest the question not only of their ability to learn the arts of husbandry, but also of their willingness to engage in pursuits at once honorable and Incrative, which, at no distant day, will make them self-supporting, and place them beyond the care of the government. Special reference will be found hereinafter to those tribes whose progress in farming and other pursuits has been especially noteworthy. The following table gives a general exhibit of the work accomplished and the gain made during the year by the Indians of the country in the direction of farming, stock raising, house building, &e.: |