The Portland daily press., 1880-03-01
THE INDIANS.

EEOpOS0u i0SlSldUlOul OT Gll0 Gl6VdUlOu OI
the Indians-The Pencas and their Re-
moval to Indian Territory.
WASHINGTON Feb 29.-The Senate COM
mittee on Indian affairs today reached an
agreement to prepare and report all original
bill designed to cover the entire range of the
Indian question by the enactment of new
provion based upon the general principle that
abandon the policy of treating the Indians as
children and place them as speedily as posi-
BILE upon the footing of citizens The main
features outlined by the committee are first:
Permanent lecalization of Indians by alloting
homesteads to them in severalty with the pro-
vision that lands allotted shall be absolutely
inalienable during % years; second, extension
over the Indians of general civil and criminal
| laws of the United States or of states and ter
ritories within whose border they are locat-
ed: third, continuation of certain degree of
| assistance to them by the government in view
of their progress toward civilization until they
become self-sustaining by means of agricul-
| tural and pastoral occupations.
| 1t is not proposed by the committee to trans
| fer the control of the Indians to the War De-
partment, but the bill largely divests the Inte-
| rior Department of discretionary power in re-
| gard to the Indians by placing them individu-
| ally under the control of the country'S general
| laws. The provisions of the bill are not to
| apply to the five civilized tribes of Indian
| Territory. Its details are yet unfinished and
| will be the subject of consideration at future
| meetings
| Col. Brooks, acting commissioner Of Indian
| affairs, was before the committee today and
| furnished specific information as to the pres
ent condition and progress in civilization of
each tribe of Indians in the United States ex
| cept the civilized Indians of Indian Territory.
| He was specially examined as to the adap-
liability to agricultural uses Of lands now occu-
| pied by each tribe and it was ascertained that
| all the tribes except two-the Utes and Lem
his-are in reservations capable of supporting
| them by means of agriculture and stock rails
| ing:
| The special Senate committee on removal of
the Poncas, took testimony today from Edward
Miller, an Omaha employed as blacksmith on
| the Ponca reservation at the time of their re-
moval, and from John Springer, another
Omaha, who narrated through an interpreter
| his conversation at the Omahas' reservation
| with Ponca chief on their fugitive return
| homeward from Indian Territory.
| The inquiries of the committee for the past
| few days have been directed toward the ascer-
tainment of bottom facts in regard to the docu-
ment purporting to be an application of the
| Ponca for removal to Indian Territory which
was forwarded to the Indian Department in
| 1876. The rPonca witnesses have unanimous
| ly testified they never signed any such docu-
| ment and that the tribe never proposed to re-
move there, and that no such proposition
| ever was made to them until an officer came
| and fOrcibly removed them.
| Tibbles informed the committee that Nor
| gan, who interpreted to the Poncas the docu-
| ment which they did sign on that occasion re-
ferred to, repeatedly told him and had pub
lished an article stating that ne never inter-
preted to them any document asking their re-
moval to Indian Territory. This made the
document on file at the Indian bureau look
very much like forgery, but Bright Eyes day
| or two ago made statement to the committee
| which seems to shed new light upon this docu-
| ment. He said that the Poncas knowing
! nothing of the white mems geography were at
| tho time of signing that document utterly ig-
| norant of the location or even existence of In
| dian Territory; that neither he nor the Poncas
had any word in their language corresponding
| it in their language as the Indian country or
reservation; that when Morgan asked them as
to their willingness to remove to the Indian
country or reservation they understood him to
mean the reservation of Indians with whom
| they had been talking of uniting their for
| tunes to wit-the Omahas-they therefore, said
| Bright Eyes, signed the document which they
| supposed to be petition for removal to the
| Omaha reservation, but which really was pc
| tition for removal to Indian Territory. After
| ward they made treaty of peace with the
| Sioux and reconsidered that action, deciding
| to remain on their own reservation, and did so
until they were forcibly removed.
This statement of Bright Eyes was elected
in the course of comments on testimony given
by Major Currier, agent of the Poncas. When
the paper in question was signed Major Cur
rier testified that the paper was unanimously
signed by the Indians and he refused TO have
anything to do with it unless it was so signed,
on the ground that he would on no occasion
divide or make trouble in the tribe.