The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1879-11-22
ANNUAL REPORT.
The Commissioner OF Indian A fairs
Deals In Facts and Figures.

| ~--o ~~~NAsHS AtA 6ShCAai, oICdug
advance in civilization, which has had
no parallel in any previous year. In
this, the Ogallala and Brule Sioux have
taken the lead, and their progress dur
ing the last eighteen months has been
simply marvellous. 1t is no longer a
question whether the Indians will work
those who are anxious to do SO are
largely in the majority. From all, ex-
cept five civilized tribes in the Indian
territory, there is call for lands in
severalty. There is largely increased
desire for houses and agricultural i'm
/ plements, wagons, ETC., and for citizens
clothing. The following table shows
the substantial results of Indian labor
during the year. They are much larger
than ever before, and but FOR the severe
drouth in the Indian territory. and
among the Navajoes, the increase in
the crops would have been far greater,
especially in the corn crop, which is
less than that of last year. BY In
dians, exclusive of the five civilized
y.
is the statement for 1879:
Number of acres broken. 27.13l
Number of acres cultivated :. 157,O56
Number bushels wheat raised. 1928, ,637
Number bushels corn .643, 286
Number bushels oats and barley 1S9, 954
Number bushels vegetables. 800, sos
Tons hay cut. ............. 4S, 1913
By the five civilized tribes
Number acres cultivated. go. 273,OOO
Bushels wheat raised. - 565, 400
Dusnels corn. 2,Ol5,00O
Bushels oats and barley. 800. 200, 900
Bushels vegetables. s..... 1886, 900
Tons of hay cut. 176, 500
The only sure way to make the In
ians advanced in civilization under the
the best condition to promote their well
fare, is to give each head of a family
100 acres of land, and to married adults
80 acres, and to issue patents for the
same.
The necessity for early legislation to
provide suitable and permanent home
for the mission Indians of California is
urgent. They are estimated to number
about three thousand, and are scat
tered in small bands over San Diego,
San Bernandino and Los Angeles coun-
ties, earning precarious livelihood by
cultivating small patches of land and
working for ranchmen and white set
tiers when opportunity offers. Many
of them have been occupying by suffer-
ance lands which their ancestors had
cultivated from time immemorial, and
to which they supposed they had a
right; but these lands have lately been
found to be within the limits of private
land claims confirmed by courts to
grantees under the Mexican govern
ment before the acquisition of Califor-
MIA by the United States. In many
cases the owners or occupants of the
ranches have availed themselves of the
labor of the Indians in cultivating the
land, frequently, however, at most un-
just and oppressively low rates; and the
indians have also been permitted to
occupy and cultivate small tracts for
themselves, but now desiring to dispose
OF the ranches, or use the whole for the
purpose, the owners have threatened
the Indians with summary ejectment
This, together with the conflicts aris-
ing from trespasses by cattle and
horses belonging to the Indians upon
lands of the ranchmen and settlers, has
kept these poor people in hot water for
two years past, until at the present day
they are in Il state Of the most abject
poverty to be found anywhere in Amer
lea. Several small reservations have
been set apart by executive order for
these Indians, but on account of the |
lack Of water for irrigating purposes,
and the consequent sterility of the soil,
they have been found to be of little
value. Moreover, the agent reports
that his efforts during the past year To-
suppress the sale of intoxicating liquors
to his Indians have not met with graf
living success