Arizona citizen., 1877-12-14
Synopsis of tine Report of the See
 retary Of Ihe Interior.

the Government in it's relation with theI Indians. Says while some progrcssI has been made in the adjustment of theI difficulties, and danger of a disturb ance on a large scale seems remote, itI would be unw:se to lose sight of the lesson taught by expeuence, that in those things appearances are some times deceptive, and that the general condition of our Indian affairs Is by no means satisfactory. It is useless to disguise the fact that 8 perfect solution
 of the Indian problem is in our day al
 least fraught with perpleXities which
 can't be solved by a mere stroke of legislation. We have to deal with a population whose character and habits
 of life are such as to present eXtraOr-
 dinary difficulties to cIvilizing infC-
 ences. This circumstances alone, how
 ever does not in itself constitute the
 main difficulty we have to contend
 with. The early colonists on this con
 tinent saw in the Indian tribes sur
 rounding them a very formidable pow
 CT, and rationally entered with them
 into formal treaty relations. That sys-
 tenn has come by inheritance down to
 our days, when the Indians, under a
 radical change of circumstances, ap-
 pear at the same time as independent tribes, as national wards and as sub .jects.
 It is needless to recount the history
 of the Indian treaties. As with set dement's rapidly spread oyer the coun- try, treaties were in large number of instances made only to be broken. ! When the advance of civilization found
 them as barriers in their way, they could
 not stand as fatalities, though they were
 usually called so. That in the frequent
 and rapid changes to which these Urea I ues were subjected, the Indians some times suffered great injustice, no fair . minded man will deny. h the course of time, new difficulties superveEed. As the Indians were crowded out of their 5 hunting grounds, their sUsteRance be- -I came precarious, and upon the Govern - ment devolved the duty to supply them f with food and clothing. While Indians ' cannot be expected to become success q flI farmers at once, several tribes have ? already made apprecIable progress in { that respect, and others are likely to dc s so under favorable circumstances and I iudicious management It will proba - bly, be found that many tribes are more ,. adapted to pastoral pursuits and II r such cases agricultural, though not tc - be neglected, should be made subordi $ nate to the raising of cattle. All begin $ ings in such things will necessarily ] be small and slow, but they should bC s partially guided and encouraged by at b tentive supervision and liberal ald e The enjoyment and pride of the Tn e dividual ownership of property being e one of the most effective civilizng U agencies, allotments of small tracts o % Hand should be made to the heads O n families on all reservations, to be held II - severalty, under proper restrictions, SC
 that they may have fixed homes. In
 idians who can furnish sufficient evi
 dence that they have supported thei families for 8 certain number of year sbould be admitted to the benefits of thu a homestead act, and, if they are willln! to detach themselves from their rlba
 relations, to the privilege of citizenship ' The establishment of schools for tn - instruction of the young IS gradual.
 heinz extended among the Indian tribe
 under our control. The advantages t
 be derived from them will greatly dc
 pend upon their discipline and tn , course of instruction. As far as praC
 ticable. the attendance of Indian chll
 dren should be made compulsory.
 h There is no doubt that fraud in tn 'e nerformance of contracts, and dishor re est practIces in the delivery and dIstr h bution of supplies and annuity goods in have freouentlv been the cause oi Jus .d discontent among the Indians, some 'N times resulting in trouble and disaster -ll I do not deem the present machlheI lg of the Indian service sufficient for .h ,gl Dreyenuon or discovery Of abuse an fraudulent practices. The Inspector
 and SuDerlntendents who are charged
 among other things, with such duty O. have in but rare instances been sl' es cessfuI in ferreting out the willy exp ..,i dlants resorted Co by dishonest cOl
 tractors or agents. The records of th
 Indian Office bear out this assertion w When a Superintendent or an lnspe V. tor visits an agency his coming Is ,t most always known beforehand, so IiI' = there Is time enough to conceal eV H dence of fraud and miSmanagement. De is very much like coaching blrds Wl' in o brass band. What the Indian Burea n- needs, perhaps more than any olh'
 branch of the Government Is SD II cial service composed of eiiicleI
 arents. who, under the immediate coi
 trol of the Department, can act mol he secretly and can bounce upon the pon .,r to be investigated without premonluol ,- ! venture to express the hope that Co 'l- press will not refuse the gppropriaiio ITS asked for to serve this purpose.
 h. proper use made of such an appr in priation will not only improve Il ~. character of the service but also be 'H efficient measure of economy. ITS The subject of extensive depred
 tion committed upon the timber on Il
 nublic lands of the United States h' " largely engaged the attention oi IH ,i