The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1853-1911, 1872-02-22

disposed of next term"
by the same letter | am Informed that
satisfactory change has been made in
the manner of distributing the annuity.
goods to the Pawnees The Chiefs of that
tribe have, by treaty and ancient custom,
the privilege of receiving aud distributing
them among the people. l found they
did it very unfairly, keeping an undue
propotion themselves and distributing
most of the remainder among their friends
or tayorites, so that the poorer class re-
ceived little or nothing. On application
to the Department for authority to dis
tribute the goods to families in proper
tlon to their numbers, | was informed
that 1T could not be done without the
consent of the Chiefs. They refused to
| give their consent, and another issue had
to be made in the old way. Blu. some
months ago the Pawnee Council, which
is composed of Chiefs and soldiers, passed
resolution requesting the Department
to allow the salaries for their services, to
be taken out of the annuitymoney, which
is fifteen thousand dollars. On transmit.
ting their resolution to the acting Com
missioner of Indian Affairs, recommend.
ed that their request should be granted
on condition that they would relinquish
to the Superintendent the privilege of
distributing the goods. This recommend
alton was approved, and the Chiefs in
Council consented to the change
| Barclay White, the Superintendent,
writes as follows: F 5i
ga little incident occurred in our first
council that l will relate. After the
decision was made concerning the dis
tridu;ion of goods, l inquired of the
Chiefs in what proportion | should divide
their $4,000 among the interpreter,
Chiefs, aud soldiers. They proposed that
should divide it according to my own
judgment, but thinking the goods dis
tribution was sufficient responsibility for
one day, it was declined. They retired
to the interpreters house for consultation.
When we again met in the afternoon, the
! interpreter informed US the Chiefs and
soldiers had been about two hours max
ing the division, using peck of corn in
the calculation they had finally decided
to give the interpreter $3.50, to the Is
Chiefs each $50, and to the 24 soldiers
each $50, and now wished to know if
that division would foot up three thous-
and dollars. 1t required but fraction
of minute to inform them Of the result,
| when there was a simultaneous exclama-
! ton, Tab wah-rax, tab (wonderfuD,
practical lesson teaching the Importance
of school education"
The wagons, harness, ploughs, moving
machines, and other agricultural i'm.
plements issued to the Pawnees within
two years past, are highly priced and sue
cessfully employed. Many of the men
and some of the Chiefs have manifested
willingness to labor that is very encourag-
ing. | hope they may soon be settled on
farms allotted to them in severalty, which
will be great incentive to industry.
The Government has not fulfilled its
treaty obligations to this tribe in relation
to the education of its children. BY the
fifth article of treaty with the Pawnees,
made IN 1887, they are required to keep
every one of their children between the
ages of seven and eighteen years con.
stantly at school for at least nine months
in the year. This implies correlative
duty on the part Of the Government to
furnish schools for all the children but
there are not now and have never been
| schools sufficient for half the children of
| the tribe. In my annual report Of this
! year [ have brought this subject pro.
minently forward. At the Manual Labor
School First day school is kept, which
is attended not only by the pupils, but by
other Indians, and meeting for divine
worship is regularly held on the first day
| of the week
The Otoe and Missouri Indians, now
constituting one tribe number $50 males
and 220 females total, $50. ema
There has been in this tribe very
decided Improvement since my first visit
to the Agency in the year 1869. Then
they were rapidly diminishing in mum.
bers, now they are increasing; then they
had no school and apparently no desire
for Improvement; now they have a
fourishing school hich they highly prize.
and many of them are opening farms,
fencing lots, and building houses. They
have cut for building purposes about one
thousand saw logs this year. The annuity
of this tribe is small and the Agent, A.
4 l.. Green, is cramped in his efforts to
make the needed improvements by a
deficiency of funds o ' it
At this Agency store has been estab-
lished by Friends in Philadelphia, intend
ed to supply the Indians with useful goods
at low rates A clerk is employed to con-
duet it and the profit charged is only
sufficient to pay cost of goods and ex-
peuses, including six per cent. interest on
| the capital employed. 1t has proved a
4 complete success, and given much satisfac
tion to the Indians. Hafa 1H
! The Iowa Indians, together with the
Sacs and Foxes, are embraced in the
Great Nemaha Agency under the care Of
Agent Thomas Lightfoot. The Iowas