, 1867-07-12
Indian rreaties-swindIing systematlzed.

bOlEOh PAOmAsSI
will still further ventilate the "Indian Treaty.
business. You are no doubt conversaut with
the illegal" manner aud style in which the Ter
rtory (now State) of Oregon was settled up
under the Donation act. That act gave so many
acres to a man, so many acres to his wife, and
so many acres to each child. The passage of
this act may have induced some 10 remove to
the then "Far West" and 1 have been told that
some of the early immigrants were so eager to
procure "acres" on their arrival, that they even
"yanked" children out of asylums, and in some
instances, borrowed children of their friends,
counted as so many acres. As said before,
this law may have induced some to emigrate,
but their coming for that avowed purpose
simply to get land-has been, and is yet blight
on the advancement of Oregon. Hundreds of
acres of this Donation land still lies unimproved,
and will continue to 90 so until taxation cuts it
up and divides it round.
But you will ask, what this has to do with
"Indian Treaties" will tell you. A good
many of the Indian Agencies have bee1supplied
with "ictas" on this same Donation planl l
will ask you if you ever knew of such healthy
localities as Indian ReservatiOns2 1t is strange,
out nevertheless true. For the last eight or ten
years, there has been but a small mortality
among the Indians on Reservations; the returns
to the Department show, if anything-inGrease, q
little ahead-(On Reservations, mind, y with sad
mortality among the hostiles. The reason of
this nroTonUed life op Rasarvatioou Ia e;p,nlv he
cause the Agents can't spare any. The Agents
draw on the Department according to the num-
Der of Indians on Reservations, and as | have
never heard of any of the "ictas" being sent
back to the Department, or reported as ''over,"
it is fair to presume that after keeping those
"uncalled for" for a few years, they are confs.
Gated.
1t is frequently the case, that Indian Agents
have on their Reservations what may be called
"sutler stores.' These stores are supposed to be
carried on by some party licensed by the Agent,
but somehow or other, great many Indian
goods found in them, that bear striking
resemblance to those given to the Indians by
the Agent at his great "potlaches !" and In
dian Agents are frequently found looking au1i>
ously after the manner and style in which these
suffers do their business. If remember right,
it has only been a few years since a "special''
| from Washington, found the small amount of
$1,000 dollars worth of annuity goods in one of
/ thrse suffer stores, being sold to Indians and
| whites alike. The gentlemany agent was re-
| moved, it is true, but never learned that Uncle
| Sam ever got whole on this transaction, but
presume the Agent did-they always do.
| heard of a Donation, borrowing. case" that
occurred not long ago, a Reservation on the
Plains The private secretary of the Agent was
kept busy whole week manufacturing names
| for his ROLL More names-more ''ictas"-G2n't t
you see? This agent had come through Kansas,
where they used to borrow an old Cincinnati
directory to get names for their petitions to
Congress, asking for aid in the shape of Bibles
and Sharp's Rifles, to put down the Hborder
rnfhans p' lived in Cincinnati, twenty years
ago, and find that my name figures on one of
these petitions as "bleeding Kansasite," but
| never was there in my life A great MANY of
those petitions were like Summers (homer rmade)
foreign correspondence. l would not be surS
prised, any day, to hear of my name being read
off in the Senate of the United States, by Sum
ner, as one of his Georgia or Alabama CORES.
poudents "on the situation" Humbug-Hum.
bug, nay dear boy, is the order of the day, and
the study by night.
After few extracts from Senator Nesmith's
close. 1t appears from this report, that the
swindles are inaugurated in Congress, and
commence in New York and Boston, where
these Indian goods have mostly been purchased.
The Hon. Senator says:
"From the personal inspection which have
given those goods, aud on comparing them with
the invoices, | am thoroughly convinced that
the contractors are guilty OF the most outrageous
and systematic swinding and robbery y
Blankets, made of shoddy and glue which came
to shreds the first time they were wet
But the folly or wrong of these purchases made
| by dishonest agents from dishonest contractors
does not cease here. Many articles are pur-
chased which would be utterly useless to the
Indians, If their quality was ever 90 good, such
as iron spoons, mirrors, gimlets, iews.barps
hair oil, fnger-rings, and in one case which
came under my observation, forty dozen pairs
Of elastic gdrterS were sent out to a tribe wbera
there was not single pair Of stockings These
little things help to make up an assorted stock
| for sutler stores, Cumtux.) Prices are
alS9 little huge. Fancy mirrors, two inches
10 diameter, i've dollars per dozeul Steel weed
ing hoes, it only for use by some delicate lady.
| Frying pans of thin sheet>irou An Agent In
oregon asked for "small steel plows" and thew
sent him "fancy mirrors" he asked for uharness
for ponies" and they sent him ''frying pans and
knitting needles" be asked for "axes aud grain
cradles, and they responded with Scissors and
iron spoons" &c.
1t is useless to pursue the subject farther
bad published Senator Nesmith's report to the
senate entire, it would have shown up these
indian Treaties, and management of Reservations
10 much worse light than have. No wonder
Tue Eastern people have such a love for the moor
Lo, they don't make less than SIS, 900, 900 off
them, every year. The swindle first commences
10 10 Congress, then goes to the Shoddyites of New
FORK and Boston, and eliminates and is closed
out at the agencies, and under the present
system 1t cannot we'll be avoided in some in
stances, nor corrected in others-the whoIs
thing should be wiped out CUNrux.
0~~>~7-~~-~op--~-~-~-O~>.~
THE SURArT TRIAL.-The evidence on the trial
OF Suratt, as telegraphed, would seem to Justify
bis conviction as an accessory to the assassiua-
honof President Lincoln. RecolleetinR the man.
uiActured testimony which led to his mothers
conviction, the country will look with distrust
upon the evidence now presented against the
/ aaA I'LL -