American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1878-12-07
Report of the Secretary of the Interior.

Secretary S.hurz begins his annual report
This year with II reference to the plun o. III
9ian policy" seetehea by him In his last
hna' re,'o'.. .he principal points of which
We're the following:
FIrst-The permanent location of the In
dams on n smaller number of reserv atoms,
containing a fair proportion of arabic and
pasture lands. ...-
ond-Encor-a-s .na.lt OF agricultural and
"as1rrai pursuits by the furnishing of agrt-
cultural implements and domestic animals,
and proper instructions by practical farmers.
1h1d-rhe gradual allotment OF small
tracts of land to the heads OF families to be
held in severalty, under proper restrictions
FouuH--The' dfscouragement of hunting.
proper restrictions as to the possession OF
arms apd ammunition By the Indians. and
fYffh-Thh extension Of the laws of the
'-nitet states over Indian reservations, to be
enforced by proper tribunals and the organ
ization of an Indian police.
.Sirfh-The labor of white men on Indian
reservat29s as uen Is 70 ne 4, az
made In the distribution Vi supplies and an
',u.ty soous and the granting of iavors be
tween Indians who work and those who I'VE
as idle vagabOnds.
.ScrenthEThe establishing of schools for the
instruction of Indian children in the English
language, the elementary brances of knowl-
edge. and especially in practical work
EiQRth-Sufficientp provision for the wants OF
the Indians until they become lt-support-
insE ,..,.,a.s, ;:x,,i ,,,,,, WIT tor.,,
sIithout any pretension to novelty, seemed to
meet with general appreciation so Tar as pup
lie opinion expressed Itself, ana nrIlS De-
lieve that its execution, if properly aided by
Congress, and not interfered with by the
white population o. tbs Western states ana
,orth satisfactory results. Considerable
progress has been made in the execution OF
the plan above set forth.
Fifty Indian children, boys and girls, Sc
lected from different tribes. have been taken
to the Hampton Norm al and Agricultural In
stitute, in Virginia, where they will receive
an elementary English edntat.on and thor
Sng RsaEtiHs m ~ h farin ~ tb hnE
ribes after the completed course.
1.-THE Indian service has been reorganized
in several of its branches 1t was found
necessary to remove a number of agents on
account OF improper practices or lack OF bust
ness emciency, ana great care has been
taken in filling their places with new men
Where mistakes were found to have been
made in the new selections. they have been
promptly rectifed. Important changes have
been made in the contract system and in the
methods of accountability. An active super
vision has been exercised by inspectors and
special agents, the detection OF fraud has
been followed BY vigorous prosecution, and.
character ot the ssrti,:e has been raised in
point of integrity and efficiency.
1t the recurrence of trouble and disturb
ance is to be avoided, the appropriations
made by Congress for the support OF the In
dians, who are not self supporting, must be
pose. and they must be made early enough
IN the year to render the purchase and de.
livery OF new supplies possible before the old
supplies are exhausted.
''The citizens of Western States and Terri
torres must be made to understand II
the Indians are to cease to be troublesome
paupers and vagabonds, are to become ord
erly and self-supporting, they must have
lands nit for agriculture and pasture; that on
such lands they must be permitted to reign
and establish permanent homes, and that
such a result can not be attained if the Willie
people insist upon taking from them by force
or ttickery every acre of ground that is good
Tor any thing.
'To keep the Indians on their reservation
and prevent disturbance and conflicts the
Commissioner of Indian Affairs recommends
n IN
an auxiiaries,' to be drawn from the young
men OF the various tribes, and to be under
the command of the the military authorities
heartily concur in this recommendation
The young men enlisted in such an organiZa-
drawn from the fighting element of the Indi-
an tribes, and be disciplined in the Service OF
peace and order S l. y mattel OF general raj
depended upon as to loyal fidelity to the du-
ties assigned to them.
AS regards the outbreak of three hundred
Northern CheyenncS, the Secretary corroD-
crates the allegations heretofore made by
the Commissioner of Indian Affairs in the
special report on this subject, showing that
it was not caused by hunger nor by any
neglect on the part of the Government off
treaty; but that, On the contrary, they re-
ceived ample supplies, anu more than they
The Secretary, speaking of the timber dep
relations, says that the disastrous conse-
quences which always follow the destruction
OF the forests of country will inevitably
come upon us in a comparatively short pc
Rod of time, considering the rapidity with
which the timber growth OF this country is
being swept away, unless legislation be en-
acted to arrest this indiscriminate spolia-
ton. To that end he earnestly renews his
recommendation for the passage OF
bill already introduced In Congress at
his suggestion, which provides that all tim
Der bearing lands, chiefly valuable for the
timber upon them, shall be WITHDRAWN rom
sale, or other disposition under existing laws,
and be held by the Government with view
to preventing indiscriminate destruction and
waste, and to the preservation of the young
timber and the reproduction of the forests.
The report contains a large amount OF sta
tistical matter, showing the business con-
ditfon of the various railways which have re-
ceived land or money subsidies from the Gov
eminent.
The necessity of providing additional room
for the work of the Patent Oflice is pointed
out, and hearty endorsement Is given to
the Patent Commissioners plea for liberal
appropriations with which to purchase books
of reference to prepare complete digests OF
United States patents.