The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1860-12-05
Our IasesnAi AaAtsv.

our lnfeSD2h Au@lsD.
We publish to day the s,naal report u ~
SEC, etsry OF the Interior. which presents very
interesting account OF the internal conditisa II
the country.
The care of the pablo domain b the msA
important branch 81 the duty dsvoivins on TIE
, bead Of this department The whole ares
Of the public lands covers an extent Of ovss
| fourteen bur0red millions Of sores, Or tvs-
thircs OF the entire territory OF the United
S'stea OF this vast trAct, Is 3s5 3S1 acres hsvs
been proclaimed for sale during the last dsol
year sDd mp 10 September 80 Of the present yssr,
and Of tbeee 97T.6l9 acres have been sold fur
casA, bringing In revenue OF 2,02l 425. Oves
twelve millions OF acres have been disposed "
altogether in that time either for cash or for
bounty lands, swamp lands aud grants to rai.-
| road companies The railroad interest aloae
absorbed over two miliious and q half of acres
| Something over eisot millions Of acres will bs
! required TO satisfy the outstanding military
bounty land Ssrrsnts In addition to tnsss
items we 6nd thas 964947 acres have be~a
surveyed and prepared for the Market the
| surveys In Washington Territory, however,
| have been Interrupted In conseq uepce Of s,tne
G,spute about land claims on the par. of NE
Puget Sound Agricultural Company aud the
Secretary recommends that the Surveyor Gens-
| raj Of the Territory he au'borizei by special
/ enactment 10 settle these claims aud thus per
nit the survey Of this fine region to proceed, 50
that the land may be srought into market
Our whole land system, "a at present condsot-
ID. meets with the entire approval Of Secretary
Thompson, and be dsconoteuances the priRei-
pie OF granting lands by donation In toto.
| Amorg the most important and interesting
orunehts Of the Interior Department ia the %
r.au of ladisn Affairs, regulating as II does osr
relations with the req man on our fronsiers
with ~boss Care the government Is charged. aAA
whose condition 80 often proves source Of ,rou-
Die and expense The present position OF there
! tribes ID represented ~ very favorable, With
| the exception OF the hostile bands In New Meg
leo and that region, Of which the article on The
War report speaks more particularly. Most Il
| the triDes are coming rAp,dly into . state q
civilization, abandoning the customs, super.
ssitioDs and habits u the savage, and aseumiag
the dr~S, nsnne1 and employ ments Of ~
white man.
The Dsootah or Sioux Indians, Of Minnesota
| are . remarkable instance Of this. and of tAs
aptitude OF the red races for civilization FOG
| although but ten years ago they were wi,a
and barbarous tribe Of husters, moro thss Aslf
Of them have assumed the dress OF their wAits
neigbborA They have abandoned their srra6s
ife, adopted the Cnrissian religion in messy
cases, and have become industrious and exssrt
srmers. In order to cultivate their habits, u
| u earnestly recommended by tho Secretary Il
| the Interior that the Indians be located h
mali tribal reservations and preserved frsu
the miscbievoa- Interference Of that class Of
white men who hang around ths Indian sstls-
n,ents, and in Dost cases originate all TIE
1oubie and hostility which characterize oar
frontier reeiona A curious instance OF ~
Dertinscity with which antisisvery fanatics
purrue their calling IL furnished In the oss-
o,uop OF the Cherokee tribe who are repre-
-~nted 10 be In . state OF perpetual strife ssd
civil dissens.on, 30 much so rs To render
pec~rsary ths exstence Of secret xssociAtian
among them--a kind Of red skin vigilance oosA-
pitt-e-o~ing TO the meddlibs Of tos VINO
missionaries abolition psrso,s-~ith the .ys-
tenn OF slavery recognized IN tns Cherokee
nation. Another remsrksnls evidsoc- Of sks
Dutility, not 70 say mischief Of this al ~ u
persons In the Indian reservations may -
'ound In ths fact that the Nez Psroes ars ~
mot &C vanced In civilization ana Chrisdsnisy
Il any tribe In their region Of country, although
'or thirteen years they have nos seen tns fAss
u a white teacher II religion.
Considerable suffering and distrsss y exps-
ri-no~d In portions q the Southern superis-
tendency, owing to . long drought sad
The almost total failure OF the drops,
aud Il Il urged upos Congress TO make
An appropriation for the relief Of tie
tDdisns With this exception the tribes ap-
pesr 70 be generally In . very favorable and
progressive condition. Nearly three millions a
dollars. In cash ana goods, have been dis:riss-
I'd among tie IDoiape this year, aud over too
millions ssiI remain In tho Treasury Of the -
preparation for their purpos~~
The affairs OF the Patent OfHcs claim no litsse
share OF interest, a. they exhibit the progress a
'nv~ution throughout the country. The inoous
tor the present year vas sl97 CAS-, and the ex-
sepdrure sis0G7e -sho siug q surplus al
1896. The whole number Of patents applied
or was 63s. and 646 Caveats we're 6ieA
There were $50 patents issued, ano 20 exscad-
ID for seven years from the expiration Of tn
first term.
The Pension Oflce b briefly referred 10 -
he report There were el~ven thousand ps.a-
-ioDers paid Oh, ss an expense Of soout mtl-
lion OF dolisrs Relative 10 asricuIturs bst
little Ia sAid. further than the expression OF a
opinion that, judging from shs results Of scsss-
tic INVESTIGATIONS In this branch Of hs~rnsl
improvement, the United Stsse- are destinsa -
b~cons "she sr~nsry Of tn world
Tia report ssstrs that the national census -
progressed 20 far that full returns Of popsla-
dos aad stssissiS ~iil BE- ready for prsssaA-