The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1874-12-17
Ixp4AS AGENCY REPORT.


necnnd aanual Npoft Of the conditf0n o.
ehc Indian Agency under my care. !
have . very important changes 70 note
h regard 70 tfe Indians in my charge
sincc my last report. This part OF the
tribe Of the Sac and -Fox Indians Of the
Mississippi, embracing almost cneshalf Of
the whole remaining tsibs. reside on the
purchased from individuils, and the set
Element was mede By permission Of the
Legislature ct Iowa. This tract Of land
which Is not very valuable, 10 situated
1long the Iowa river. and embraces an
area of AID acres. About 100 acres OF
this land are under cultivation; the bal.
Ance Is used for pasturage for the ponies.
Nearly all Is enclosed with q substantial
fence. Most Of the Indians have been To-
Gated this Summer, - last Summer. on
from to 10 acres per family and have
cultivated, under the direction Of the
farmer, well, what was assigned to them.
The number Of Indians is about the same
as reported last year, an increase Of three.
The number at this time is as follows
Men, 1903; Women, IS; Boys, 70; Girls, II;
Total. $685. Several old Indians and q
number Of children have died during the
past year. The health Of the tribe, % 4
general thing. is good; they have no cpl
demic disease among them, and very lit
tie scrofula or vencreal disease. that pre-
vail TO such an alarming extent among
some tribes OF Indians. They have had
plenty of good food and clothing during
the past year. In this respect there hes
been manifest improvement lately.
THEY WILL NOT Ri CIvIAIzED.
With very few exceptions am not able
20 report any very great progress In the
way Of civilization during the. past year.
These Indians cling with great tenacfty to
their old ideas. They follow their natur-
n instincts, and regard these instincts a.
the voice Of the Great Spirit" to them.
They are an intensely religious people In
their way; they observe the ceremonies
OF their system Of religion with the great.
est punctuality and fervor Only . few
have or seem to have a disposition 70
adopt the white mans ways Of living"
II they are to be civilized they must be
educated, and this cannot be done a. long
Us they roam about more than half the
year engaged in hunting and trapping.
am of the opinion that there should Be 1
system Of compulsory education inagura-
ted in the case of this tribe, il they are 70
remain in Iowa. contemplate asking
the Legislasure Of Iowa for some legisla-
ton on this point It is of the highest
importance that something be done that
these Indians be put in condition that
they can tie reached by missionaries. Az
long as they persist in roaming over the
country at their pleasure it is utterly I'M
possible to accomplish much in the way
OF their civilization and Characterization.
To-day you may be able to induce them
TO send their children to school, but the
next day, in order to prevent their chill
drcn from attending school, they are of
'ou a hunting expedition with their squaws
and children.
About the usual number labored faith.
fully during last harvest for the neighbor-
ing farmers. binding wheat and making
hay. The statistical returns of farming
for the year ending August 81, "a (which
l herewith transmit,) show the individual
wealth of this tribe to be nearly Ga, OO0
not including their lands They have too
many ponies. They are q dctriment to
them. have been trying to induce them
to exchange some Of their ponies for
cows; trust will succeed by and by.
In conclusion, have only to say such
is the unsettled condition Of these Indians
ut present, owing to the almost constant
agitation of their removal to the Indian
Territory, but little can be done to civil
iZe and Christianize them under the cir
cumstances. It is matter, therefore, Of
great importance that the question
whether they shall beallowed to re-
main in Iowa or go to the Indian
Territory should bedisposed Of one
way or the other. If they are per
mitted to remain where they now arc, the
buildings necessary for educational and
missionary purposes should at once be
erected; If they must 60, the fact should
be communicated TO them distinctly, and
measures taken to accomplish the end
without delay.
A. r. HowgERr.
The foregoing report has gone the grand
rounds Of the Chicago papers, and a mum.
Der Of our Iowa exchanges. We presume
that copies have been expressly sent to
several OF them by the reporter. On its
face the document appears to be honest,
and fair statement Of the situation Of
that branch or portion Of the Sac and Fox
Indians who are now located on reserva-
ton in Tama County, Iowa. The circum.
stances have been such that we could not
give it room in our columns until now, al
though It can be seen that the report was
transmitted from Washington full two
weeks ago. We clipped it from the col.
umns OF the Chicago Journal, and pre-
sumo it to be correct as maze by the in
dlvidual whose name appears at the bot
tom thereof. In commenting on this piece
Of government literature we wish it parti.
cularly understood that We desire to do
but simple justice in the premises. and no
more.
We venture to say that there never was
. report made by any agent Of these In
'disns since, their permanent location in
llama county, which was so fraught with
falsehood IS the above report by the
schristian gentleman whose name is ap.
pended thereto. This man A. r. How
bert claims to be minister OF the gospel
and we presume that he is, in practice
externally, but his course in this Indian
agency affair is not very we'll calculated
to impressany enc in. or about this BALL.
wick that his heart is in the work of chris.
tianizing tho world, or any portion of it
whatever. We remember seeing this man
Howbert when he first came to Toledo to
sofficiate as Indian agent. We noted then
his Byronic locks, his pricstly garb, and
cant, phrase, his loud professions publicly
made of what he intended to do towards
'civi1izing these red skins, and We then set
him down a. base hypocrite. Recent
Developments have not caused US to
change our mind. This may sound harsh
to many Of our readers, but we haye not
yet done. An explanation is due, with
'whicll.we lure willing,to rest all our asser-
tons herein made. The interstate Indian
Agency is now, and has been controlled
Tor some time BY the church missionaries,
Through the Secretary Of tho Interior.
Columbus Delano. This state of things
was brought about we understand by the
eftsrfs OF number of self constituted
peace commissioners, for the ostensible
purpose of making a mighty effort to
-christianize. and civilize the remaining
-aborigines of the states, and in the an
portionment Of the pap, the lama County
Agency was given to the Lutheran church.
This arrangement threw the appointing
power into the hands of the Secretary of
the Interior. The worthy Secretary being
from the State Of Ohio, Of course would
only select men from his own State for
such places, hence he must needs send
this man Howbcrt from that State to look