, 1862-07-19
The Indian Appropriation Bill

The Indian Appropriation Bill
Remarks of Hon. ]. w. NEsMITH, of Oregon
upon the Indian Appropriation Bill, in the Sen
ate of the United States, May 18th and 18th
1862:
May 18th. The Senate as in the Committee
of the Whole, having under consideration the fol-
lowing amendment to the Indian Appropriation
Bill:
SEC. -. find be 1t further enacted, That the
sum of $4,000 be, and the same is hereby, ap-
propriated to enable the President to negotiate
treaty with the Nez Perces Indians of Oregon and
Washington Territory, for the relinquishment of a
portion Of all their present reservation, or its ex-
change for other lands
Mr.. NEsMITH said Mr. President: There has
been no proposition before the Senate during the
present session of Congress of such very great i'm
portance to the people of the State of Oregon and
of Washington Territory, and, in fact, to the peo-
pie of the Pacific coast generally, as this amend
ment. 1t is an amendment which l submitted to
the committee, and which has the sanction of the
Secretary of the Treasury in his letter submitting
the estimates of the Secretary of the Interior and
Of tbe Commissioner of Indian Affairs. 1t is a
matter of such very grave consequence to the peo-
pie whom l. in part represent that l t2H!!nk
should be derelct in my duty if failed to pre-
sent to the Senate some of the considerations
which think should govern the body in their ac-
ton upon the amendment.
The Nez Perces Indians have heretofore occu-
pied very large portion of eastern Oregon as
well as large district of country in the interior
of Washington Territory. The treaty made with
them in 1856 provides, among other things, as
follows:
CART. g. The Nez Perces desire to exclude
from their reservation the use of ardent spirits,
and to prevent their people from drinking the
same and therefore it is provided that any In
dian belonging to said tribe who is guilty bring
ing liquor into said reservation, or who drinks Ii
quor, may have his or her proportion of the an
nuities withheld from him or her for such time as
the President may determine"
In the annual report of the Commissioner of
Indian Affairs he states that the white population
now in the Nez Perces country in search of gold
amounts to ten thousand, and that it is necessa-
ry to negotiate treaties, in order to adapt the To-
cation of the reservation of the tribe to the circum
stances now surrounding them so widely different
from those in existence at the time their present
treaty was negotiated. have here also report
from the acting Commissioner of Indian Affairs,
Mr.. Mix, addressed to the chairman of the com
mittee on Indian Affairs of the House of Repre-
sentatives, dated Jan. 81, 1861, which covers the
whole ground, and shows, as l think, conclusively
the necessity for this appropriation. At the risk
of wearying the Senate, desire to refer to some
historical facts connected with the condition of
this people and the treaties which have been ne
gotiated with them.
In 1856 Governor Stevens and General Palmer
negotiated treaty with the Nez Perces, by the
terms of which the tribes relinquished to the Uni
ted States all of their claim to an immense region
of country, sufficient in itself to constitute re-
spectacle sized State, retaining to themselves a
reservation said to embrace about 5000 square
miles. For the large tract of country ceded by
the Indians, the Government agreed to pay them
100000 in annuities, and to expead other sums
for their benefit, amounting to about 100000
more. In the second article of the treaty the
United States stipulated that the Indians should
be protected in the exclusive occupation of their
reservation, and that no white man should be per-
mitted to reside upon the same, except by permis-
sion of the Indian department. Subsequently rich
deposits of gold discovered upon the reserve,
and white men have focked there in large num-
bers for the purpose of digging it, they have
overspread and occupied the reservation in viola
ton Of the treaty, and to the great detriment of
the Indians, who constantly threaten that if the
Government longer refuses or delays to protect
them in their rights they will protect themselves
The Indians are anxious to dispose of the res
ervation and remove to some point where they
will not be intruded upon. They allege, and
believe that it is not disputed that they have faith
fully observed the obligations of the treaty, but
that its provisions have been violated by the Gov
eminent in permitting our citizens to invade their
reservation in search of gold. From this very
reservation our people have for the last year ex-
tracted gold at the rate of half million of dol
lars per month, and it is estimated that during
the present summer the'yield will amount to be-
tween one and two millions per month. The plain
question which now presents itself is, will the Gov
ernment authorize the holding of a treaty by
which peace can be maintained, or will it permit
the miners and the Indians to become involved in
an exterminatng war, the expense of which we
will some day be called upon to payP
To say nothing of our treaty obligations to the
Nez Perces the hitherto peaceful character of the
tribe, and the eminent position which they have
nnnnnied with s11rrnnndino tribes entitle them fo